Chapter 13

After taking the medicine, Xiaxia slowly fell asleep, her long eyelashes still glistening with tears. The others seemed to have gotten used to this situation. They left Sun Qin to look after Xiaxia and continued to catch chickens, but everyone was heavy-hearted and worked in silence.

They quickly caught the required number of chickens, and Wang Yong paid for them. He didn't know how to comfort Li Hongxing, but Uncle, who seemed to have known about Xiaxia's condition for a long time, patted Li Hongxing's shoulder and offered a few words of comfort. Then, the two of them drove ahead to lead the way, with the truck carrying the chickens following behind.

On the way, Wang Yong learned more about Xiaxia from Uncle. Xiaxia was diagnosed with Eisenmenger syndrome at the age of seven, which stunned the whole family. Watching his sleeping daughter, Li Hongxing disbanded his construction team and returned home to start a chicken farm, just to spend more time with her. The family didn't hide her condition from Xiaxia, and her naturally optimistic personality often led her to comfort her worried family. She always tried to live and study like everyone else. To outsiders, Xiaxia seemed no different from a normal person, but in reality, she was always under the shadow of death.

The two of them returned home with heavy hearts and first went to the mountain to release the chickens into the chicken farm surrounded by nets. After sending off the delivery truck, Uncle took a half bag of corn from a newly built house and scattered it on the ground, then filled the water trough. When Uncle wasn't paying attention, Wang Yong added some spiritual spring water to the water trough, believing that the chickens would grow better after drinking it. After finishing their work, the two of them went down the mountain and returned home.

When they got home, Auntie was preparing to cook. Seeing the two of them come in with heavy hearts, she thought something had happened and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong with you two? Why do you look so gloomy, like donkeys?"

What puzzled Tian Xiu was that her usually quarrelsome husband was unusually quiet today, looking as if someone owed him 80,000 yuan. He came into the room, sat on the sofa without a word, lit a cigarette, and smoked one after another, lost in thought. Wang Yong, who had never seen him smoke at home, also lit a cigarette and stared at the floor without saying a word. What was going on? Seeing that neither of them was speaking, the impatient Auntie became even more anxious.

"What's going on? You should say something, you're making me anxious!"

Wang Yong looked up at Auntie and said weakly, "Auntie, it's nothing. The chickens are bought and already on the mountain."

Tian Xiu became even more anxious. How could it be nothing? These two were acting abnormally. Could it be something Li Hongxing did? No... Suddenly, Auntie remembered something and asked more urgently and with a trembling voice, "Father, is Xiaxia's condition acting up again?" Without waiting for Wang Dahai to answer, she quickly added, "You should say something!"

Seeing Auntie like this, and knowing about Xiaxia's condition, Wang Yong quickly said, "Auntie, it's fine now. She took the medicine and is much better. She was already asleep when we came back. Really, it's fine."

Hearing Wang Yong's words, Auntie's heart finally settled. She was truly worried. She had heard that this disease was very strange and couldn't be cured, and the more you treated it, the faster it would kill you. Why was the sky so blind? Such a good girl, how could she get such a disease? Tian Xiu decided to visit this lovable girl the next day. For so many years, the Lao Lis had been worried sick about this girl. Money wasn't the issue, but this wasn't something money could solve!

The next morning, Auntie took the first bus to Li Hongxing's house to see Xiaxia. Wang Yong picked a few half-meter-long cucumbers and three or four tomatoes, each weighing more than half a pound, from the small world and asked Auntie to bring them to Xiaxia. These were specially grown by Wang Yong the night before, hoping that these spirit-infused foods could help Xiaxia.

The next day, the greenhouse was completed, and after paying the final installment, Manager Li and his team left. Wang Yong, Auntie, Uncle, and Grandpa spent two days planting various vegetables in the two greenhouses. Everyone was looking forward to growing the giant, beautiful, and delicious vegetables that Wang Yong had.

Three days later, the old house was finally renovated. The construction team had finished the work the day before, and today they were just cleaning up and removing the garbage.

Wang Yong, who had been away from home for many years, walked into this house filled with countless memories. The yard was still the same, even the cherry tree by the east wall was still there. The three rose-scented grapevines in the middle of the yard had almost all their leaves fallen, leaving bare branches on the trellis.

Walking into the house, Wang Yong immediately noticed the changes. The original five ordinary rooms had been transformed into a city apartment style. The main room became a living room, and the kitchen was moved to a new small kitchen by the east wall. Inside, there were not only traditional large pots and stoves for heating the bed in cold weather, but also a set of cabinets! This was a big surprise for Wang Yong. It looked like a famous brand, placed in the corner of the kitchen, and it seemed out of place with the large pots and stoves.

Auntie, who was busy cleaning, noticed Wang Yong's confusion and explained, "Your brother heard about you renovating the old house and ordered it from the city for you. He said you were used to city life and found it more convenient to cook with this. It does look good, with the gas stove, cabinets, cutting board, and even a refrigerator all combined. It saves space and looks nice. Your uncle said he would get one for his house too, saying it looks clean."

Listening to Auntie's chatter while she worked, Wang Yong felt warm inside. The love from his family made him, who had lost his parents, feel a ray of winter sunshine in this cold society.

"Wang Yong, Wang Yong." Uncle's voice came from outside.

"Coming, coming." Wang Yong turned and walked out, seeing Uncle and Auntie and Uncle-in-law excitedly pointing at something in the yard.

"Auntie, Uncle-in-law, why are you here? You didn't even give me a heads-up, I would have come to pick you up!" Wang Yong greeted them.

"Hmph, you talk big, how long have you been home? Have you called your aunt even once? If it weren't for your uncle calling me, your aunt would still think you were in the provincial capital," Auntie said, looking at Wang Yong disapprovingly, making him scratch his head in embarrassment.

"What are you all standing around for?" Grandpa's voice came from outside.

"Second Uncle."

"Father."

"Grandpa."

Everyone quickly greeted Grandpa. He came to the middle of the yard, looked at the familiar yet strange place, and nodded. "Good, the aluminum windows and doors look bright. Let's go inside and take a look." He led the way inside.

Everyone followed Grandpa into the living room, which Wang Yong and Auntie had already cleaned. Sitting on the sofa by the west wall, he waited for everyone to sit down, and Wang Yong quickly brought water for everyone. The water was bought from a purified water wholesaler in town, and the water dispenser was also new. The sofa was chosen with Uncle and bought in town. The appliances hadn't been bought yet, so the room still looked empty.

Grandpa looked around the newly painted walls and marble floor, nodding continuously. "Good, the house looks spacious."

"Grandpa, why don't you and Grandma move in here? Let your grandson have a chance to take care of you," Wang Yong said quickly.

"No need, I'm not used to living here. I've lived in my place for decades and am used to it," Grandpa waved his hand, refusing.

Actually, everyone knew that Grandpa wouldn't move out to live with anyone. Uncle had suggested it many times, but Grandpa always refused. When you get old, you don't want to leave a familiar environment. Without a compelling reason, no elderly person would leave a place they've lived in for a lifetime. Just like Wang Yaowu, if it weren't for his pregnant daughter-in-law needing care, he wouldn't have left home for the unfamiliar Nanjing. As they say, every time you leave a familiar place for a new environment, it's like dying once.

Auntie, being a restless and industrious person, didn't even sit down before going out to help Auntie clean. The four men in the room chatted for a while and then got up to see if there was anything to do.

"Wang Yong, your house is built, so you should prepare for the pot-bottom-burning ceremony. When are you planning to do it?" Auntie's voice came from outside.

"Auntie, I remember. Since Grandma hasn't come back yet, I'll do it when she returns," Wang Yong said, mopping the floor without looking up.

Hearing Wang Yong's words, Auntie fell silent, and Grandpa, standing nearby, continued, "Your grandma will be back tomorrow. Set the pot-bottom-burning ceremony for tomorrow. Tell everyone, and Auntie, stay here tonight. Help Wang Yong buy the food and prepare for a couple of days."

"What? Grandma is coming back tomorrow?" Wang Yong asked excitedly, then curiously added, "Grandpa, where did you and Grandma go? Where exactly did you go?"

"Why so many questions? Do your work. You'll know when you should, and asking about what you shouldn't know is pointless," Grandpa said irritably, then turned and left the room. The others looked at each other, their curiosity piqued. Could Grandma have gone to meet an old lover? If Grandpa knew what Wang Yong was thinking, he would probably give him a couple of slaps, no matter how much he loved his grandson.

Uncle took out his phone and started contacting people, including the family of Auntie, Wang Qiang, and a few older villagers, plus a few close families. He calculated that they could make about five or six tables and instructed them to prepare for six. Normally, when villagers held a pot-bottom-burning ceremony, they would invite their neighbors, but since Wang Yong's house was surrounded by mountains and the nearest neighbor was about a mile away, this wasn't necessary. The group worked all day, cleaning the yard inside and out, and by the time the sun set, they returned to Auntie's house to cook dinner.

The next morning, before five o'clock, while it was still dark, Wang Yong was pulled out of bed and, without eating, went to the county market with Uncle-in-law. Following the menu discussed by Uncle, Auntie, and Auntie, Wang Yong and Uncle-in-law busily shopped for vegetables, pork, chickens, fish, and especially a lot of various seasonings and cooking oil. Since he would be living alone and cooking for himself, he bought extra of these items to save time later.