Chapter 86

In the Great Inner Palace, Tingting ate a meal with great restraint. Apart from learning about his godfather's past achievements, it seemed they didn't talk about much else, not even about the super vegetables or the incident in YN. After the meal, Uncle Zhang went back to work. At his current position, there was always an endless amount of work to do. Wang Yong also took the opportunity to quickly bid farewell to Auntie, who reminded him to visit his godfather often, and hurriedly left with Zhang Kai.

Originally, Wang Yong thought about visiting his uncle, but Zhang Kai said his uncle was out on an inspection trip, and his aunt had taken Wang Gang and Wang Qian back to their hometown for a relative's wedding. Feeling dejected, Wang Yong decided to drop Zhang Kai off at school and then head home directly.

When they arrived at the basement of Zhang Kai's dormitory building, Zhang Kai suddenly remembered something and said, "Didn't you say you were going to give me something? Where is it?"

"I thought you had forgotten. Here, catch. Go play by yourself, I'm leaving." With that, Wang Yong took a green object from his pocket and threw it to Zhang Kai. Unprepared, Zhang Kai almost didn't catch it, but he quickly snatched it with his right hand just before it hit the ground.

When Zhang Kai saw that the object in his hand, about the size of a fist, was a glass-type emerald, he first felt a wave of fear, followed by a burst of anger at Wang Yong for not treating the treasure with care.

This was a genuine glass-type emerald! Such a large piece, if he hadn't caught it just now, Zhang Kai didn't even want to think about what might have happened. He carefully carried the emerald back to his dormitory.

That day, from spending some time at the animal protection station in the morning, to the car and plane rides, and then back to the car, and having a meal in the Great Inner Palace, and finally dropping Zhang Kai off at school, it was already dark by the time Wang Yong was ready to head home.

The night in the city was different from the silence of the primeval forest. The dim streetlights, the flashing neon lights, and the lights shining through the windows on both sides of the road made the city seem to have less of a concept of night.

This was unlike the village, where once it got dark, the only light came from the houses, and the faint stars provided a bit of security in the pitch-black night.

Wang Yong, eager to get home, didn't start driving on the highway until after ten o'clock at night. He sped straight toward home.

After being away from home for so many days, he didn't know what the situation was like at home. Although he called home every day to prove he was still alive, and could learn a bit about the village and home through his family, not much was said about his safety.

After this long journey, Wang Yong had a deeper understanding of home. What is home?

Home is the heavy words of advice when you leave, home is the old father who is still awake late at night, home is the mother who is busy before dawn, home is the lover who is far away but still thinks of you.

Bai Juyi once said, "No matter how far apart, if the heart is at peace, it is home." But where is the true home that can bring peace to the heart? Everyone may have their own answer. But Wang Yong knew clearly where his home was.

Relying on the excellent performance and handling of the Range Rover, after getting on the highway, with the dark night and few cars, Wang Yong drove at high speed for the first time. A journey that would normally take two to three hours was completed in less than two hours, and he parked the car at the village entrance.

The village was quiet. Wang Yong stopped the car at the village entrance, not out of hesitation, but to avoid disturbing the peaceful and beautiful night scene.

Wang Yong had never looked at the small mountain village where he had lived for over twenty years so seriously at night. Under the countless stars in the night sky, the small village nestled in the mountains was incredibly beautiful.

The dark mountain ridges blocked the cold winter winds, and the two hot springs in the village continuously emitted warmth, making the withered season still show green plants and flowers. It seemed as if they were protecting the villagers, driving away the winter's desolation and bringing the scent of spring.

Occasional bird calls or dog barks echoed far in the silent night, then disappeared quietly, as if afraid to disturb the tranquility.

At the village entrance, a few clumps of grass trembled in the cold wind, as if they couldn't bear the cold of the winter night and were about to die quietly. Suddenly, a warm breeze from the village direction instantly drove away the cold, making the grass stand up straight and strive to live.

Wang Yong was moved by the sight of these resilient grasses. He himself had once been like these grasses, enduring the cold every day, and always finding unexpected warmth to drive away the deep cold in his heart, helping him through one difficulty after another.

Opening the car door, Wang Yong got out and walked to the grass. It seemed like he was talking to the grass, or to himself: "Living is the biggest challenge in the world. Why do you struggle so hard?"

A cold wind blew away the warmth, and the grass began to tremble again, but they always tried to stand straight. They seemed to disdain answering Wang Yong's question, just struggling and living.

Wang Yong was truly moved. He bent down to pull up these resilient lives and send them to a warm, never-cold world.

Suddenly, as his hand touched the leaves of a grass, all the grass began to shake, as if using the wind to convey their refusal.

Yes! Every life has its own destiny. No one can escape the fate of birth, aging, illness, and death. From birth, they fight against death, but in the end, they can't escape the fate of death.

Why? Why live? Wang Yong seemed to find the answer from these resilient grasses.

Wang Yong's hand didn't retract. He gently stroked the grass. A large drink bottle appeared in his hand. He unscrewed the cap and poured most of the remaining liquid onto the grass.

Yes, it was the gene modification liquid. Since they wanted to live through the cold winter, Wang Yong felt that this kind of help might be what they needed.

Putting away the bottle, Wang Yong found many dry branches in the small world and built a small fence around the grass to protect them from being eaten by animals. Then he stood aside and watched them struggle against the cold wind, striving to live.

Suddenly, the village became lively. First, there were dog barks, then the lights in every house suddenly turned on. The whole village seemed to wake up from a deep sleep, and the dog barks and human shouts instantly drove away the night's silence.

"Wang Yong is back! Wang Yong is back!"

This sudden, childlike shout made Wang Yong understand immediately. It was Diao Zhu, the big-mouthed mynah bird, who sensed his return and came to welcome him. But he didn't expect that it would wake up the whole village.

To Wang Yong's surprise, the first to come and welcome him were not Diao Zhu, the talking mynah bird, but Xiaohei and Xiaobai.

The two rushed over like a gust of wind. Before Wang Yong could react, they had already pounced on him, rubbing their big heads against him to express their longing. Wang Yong, moved, squatted down and stroked their heads, softly comforting the two little creatures he had raised from a young age.

At this moment, the culprit who had woken up the whole village finally flapped its wings and flew over, followed by Xiaolian.

"Missed you, missed you!" Diao Zhu, perched on Wang Yong's shoulder, kept calling. The annoying voice that usually annoyed him now sounded particularly warm.

A hurried footsteps came from the distance. Wang Yong looked up and saw Er Nai, followed by his godmother and godfather.

"Er Nai, Godmother, Godfather." Instantly, his eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Wang Yong, you're back. I missed you so much. Don't run away again without telling me. Got it?" Er Nai, holding Wang Yong's hand, said anxiously.

Before Wang Yong could respond, his godmother said, "Er Nai, let's talk at home. It's so cold, don't freeze here. We haven't even entered the village yet!"

"Okay, let's go home. Wang Yong, come with Er Nai. Your godmother and godfather have prepared a big meal for you, just waiting for you!" She said, tightly holding Wang Yong's hand and leading him home.

Seeing this, his godfather shook his head and didn't stop Er Nai. He turned to his wife and said, "You drive Wang Yong's car back. It's not cold in the village anyway. I'll walk back with them."

Wang Yong and his godfather supported Er Nai as they walked. Before they had even walked a hundred meters, his godmother drove up. Wang Yong quickly helped Er Nai into the car. As soon as she got in, Er Nai saw the five little creatures on the back seat, especially the two sloth monkeys, whose big, adorable eyes looked at the stranger being supported by their owner.

Er Nai's maternal love burst out, and she immediately ignored Wang Yong, hugging the two sloth monkeys and showing great affection.

Especially after Wang Yong introduced them as orphans rescued from the wild by the animal protection station, Er Nai felt even more sympathy. Even his godmother, who was driving, couldn't help but glance at them through the rearview mirror, making his godfather and Wang Yong worry that she might drive the car into a ditch.

When they got home, Er Nai refused to let anyone help her and ran into the yard with the two little creatures, completely unlike an eighty-year-old grandmother.

His godmother also scooped up the two red pandas, and her maternal love made his godfather look stunned. The maternal glow made his already beautiful and charming godmother look like an angel descended from heaven.

Inside, his godmother's scream was heard, followed by his uncle and Er Ye appearing at the door. Wang Yong and the others hurried to the door.

"Er Ye, I'm back!" Wang Yong greeted Er Ye excitedly.

Given Er Ye's status, he must have been informed about Wang Yong's border incident as soon as it was confirmed. Er Ye, who regretted not having a military man in the family, should be pleased with Wang Yong's actions.

Sure enough, Er Ye smiled and said, "Good, very good, you've made Er Ye proud. Come inside, your godmother is warming up the dishes. Let's have a good drink together."

When everyone was seated at the table, a large meal was quickly heated and served by his godmother and his godfather's wife.

A big iron pot with two large grass carp, fried ribbon fish, stewed chicken, stewed beef, three delicacies, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried cabbage, and a large pot of stewed pork ribs with potatoes and green beans, all dishes Wang Yong loved.

Seeing his family waiting for him to eat at midnight, Wang Yong felt a warm feeling in his heart, and a sense of home filled his mind.

Wait a minute! He hadn't called them to say he was coming back, so how did they know? (To be continued.)