Chapter 138: Reunion

"What is so strange about that? In the eyes of these folks, we are monsters right now. Many people here have never stepped out of this small mountain village in their entire lives, and it is a very rare event for an outsider to visit. Once we get to my house later, a lot of people will definitely come to look at us. This is just the custom of the small mountain village," Wei Hua said calmly.

Wei Hua continued walking along the village path deeper into the settlement. The houses in the small village at this time were not arranged very neatly, and the dwellings of various families were not closely connected. The ancestral home of the Wei family was located relatively far back in the village.

Soon, Wei Hua and Ding Peng arrived in front of the ancestral house. Through the wooden fence, Wei Hua saw a young man around his own age busy working in the courtyard, seemingly tidying up the place. Standing outside the fence, Wei Hua watched the young man work. Looking at that youthful face, Wei Hua recognized him: this young man was the second son of his third older sister, a nephew of the exact same age as himself.

The young man inside the fence quickly noticed Wei Hua and Ding Peng standing outside. Judging by the two large duffel bags held in Ding Peng's hands, the two visitors had come looking for someone, yet he found it odd that they were just standing there motionless. So, the young man asked:

"Are you looking for someone? Who are you looking for? I know everyone in the village! Tell me, and I will take you to them!"

"Are you Gouzi? I am your Young Uncle! You don't even recognize your Young Uncle after a dozen years? But I recognized you!" Wei Hua suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and said calmly to Gouzi. However, tears were already swirling in his eye sockets. Although Wei Hua had transmigrated into this world, he still held a deep affection for this little mountain village.

"Young Uncle? You really are my Young Uncle?" Gouzi asked in disbelief, acting as if he were stunned.

"If you don't believe me, take a look. See if the mole behind my ear is still there? Besides, do I have any reason to lie to you?" With that, Wei Hua leaned his head close to the fence to display the mole behind his ear to Gouzi.

Upon seeing the mole behind Wei Hua's ear, Gouzi suddenly turned and bolted. Running out of the courtyard, he shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Mom! Mom! Come out and look! My Young Uncle is back! My Young Uncle is back!"

Wei Hua's eldest, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth older sisters had all married men within the village. Gouzi was undoubtedly running off to inform his aunts. Wei Hua turned to Ding Peng and said:

"Let's go in! Never mind him; he'll be back himself in a moment. There will surely be many people soon, so take care of yourself. All of my sisters live in this village. Just put the bags on the stone table, and let's sit down for a while."

Wei Hua's ancestral home consisted of four adobe rooms, which were said to have been built by Wei Hua's grandfather leading his father. The courtyard was a typical rural one—quite large, with a portion of it planted with common vegetables, most of which were just sprouting seedlings. Wei Hua had Ding Peng sit down in the courtyard while he went inside the house to find a cup and pour Ding Peng a glass of water.

Before long, a large group of people arrived in front of Wei Hua's ancestral home. At a glance, Wei Hua immediately spotted the leaders—his eldest, third, and fourth sisters. Seeing his sisters, Wei Hua could finally no longer hold back his tears. He stealthily wiped them away, hurried out to the front of the fence, and said to his sisters:

"Sisters! I am back!"

Those few short words stunned Wei Hua's sisters for a moment, after which they rushed forward to embrace Wei Hua and burst into bitter tears. This weeping caused Wei Hua's own tears to flow uncontrollably once more. After a while, Wei Hua's brothers-in-law began stepping forward to comfort their wives, and Wei Hua's nephews and nieces also joined in to soothe them.

Wei Hua wiped away his tears and said to his sisters:

"Alright! Sisters, stop crying! Look, aren't I completely fine and already back? If the villagers see us standing here crying like this, it won't look good. Let's go inside the house!"

Wei Hua pulled his sisters along and returned to the small courtyard of his ancestral home. Once everyone was seated, his sisters began eagerly pressing him for details about his situation over the years. Wei Hua explained:

"Sisters! All these years I have been abroad, and I've made a lot of money! My life has been very good all this time. In the past few years, I wanted to come back to see you, but I was afraid my return might bring you trouble, so I kept putting it off. This time, the national leaders in Beijing invited me to visit the capital, so I just happened to come back to see you along the way."

"Little Nine! Is what you're saying true? You aren't tricking us, are you? I've heard that foreign countries are separated from our nation by vast oceans; how on earth did you get abroad?" asked the fourth sister.

"It's true! Sisters, I am not lying to you! If you don't believe me, ask him—he can vouch for me!" Wei Hua certainly couldn't tell his sisters that he had been a stowaway to Hong Kong and then traveled onward to the United States, so he pointed at Ding Peng, who was sitting to one side.

The family's gazes instantly locked onto Ding Peng, making him feel thoroughly awkward and uncomfortable. He quickly stammered:

"It's true! What the boss said is true! The boss is the richest man in the world right now!"

Wei Hua's sisters didn't care to understand, nor did they know what "the richest man in the world" meant; they only wanted to know how Wei Hua's life had been all these years and whether he had suffered any hardships or misery. From Ding Peng's reply, they gathered that Wei Hua seemed to have lived a good life and hadn't endured hardship.

Only then did Wei Hua have the time to carefully observe his sisters. They had aged considerably, especially the eldest sister, whose white hair was now clearly visible—yet she was not even fifty years old.

Knowing that their younger brother had not suffered or endured hardship outside, Wei Hua's sisters finally set their minds at ease. Since their younger brother had just returned home, they naturally had to prepare a proper, hearty meal. The sisters immediately began bustling about to organize the cooking, and with a guest like Ding Peng present, nothing could be done carelessly!

At this moment, Wei Hua finally had the opportunity to let Ding Peng open the duffel bags they had brought. Inside were cigarettes, liquor, candies, and melon seeds—all prepared by Wei Hua for his brothers-in-law, nephews, and nieces. Ding Peng, being a smoker, opened a carton of cigarettes and handed them around to Wei Hua's brothers-in-law and adult nephews, while generous handfuls of candies and melon seeds were distributed to the nieces and younger nephews.