After checking the list of empty houses located in Xie Village, Han Jinhe wrote down several houses and said, "Comrade Wei, there are several empty houses in the outer ring of the village."
"One is located near the mountain foothills but far from the village. Another two are located near the village but far from the mountain foothills. The houses' condition is mostly the sa—needing repair before you can move in."
Standing up from his chair, he added, "How about I show you the houses now?"
Father Wei and Mother Wei nodded and followed him out. Since they were carrying a lot of luggage, Han Jinhe used his bicycle to help them carry the bags and suitcases.
As he pushed the bicycle, he said, "The situation in Xie Village is vastly different from the capital. While the villagers are honest and hardworking, so of them tend to gossip and look for trouble. If one day you are troubled by them, just report it to the production team. We will handle the matter fairly."
When he heard this, Father Wei smiled and said, "Then I have to thank you in advance, Comrade Han."
Han Jinhe returned the smile and inford them about the relationships between the families in the village and also the production team's planting and harvesting schedule.
As they chatted, they arrived at the house located near the mountain foothills. Pointing at the house on the roadside, he said, "Comrade Wei, this is the house."
Parking his bicycle, he opened the gate and walked into the yard while saying, "There is a well in the front yard, and the river is located twenty ters away from the backyard."
"The house has three buildings. The main building has three bedrooms and one living room. The kitchen is built separately behind the house."
"In the backyard, there is a woodshed and a warehouse. As for the latrine, you can build one later or just use the public latrine located 200 ters away from this house."
When Mother Wei heard that there was no bathroom or latrine in the house, she hesitated. But before she could voice her rejection, they heard a familiar voice coming from the backyard direction.
"Cousin, look! I was finally able to catch the hairy crab!"
It took Father Wei and Mother Wei a mont to react and walk to the backyard. The backyard was full of weeds, but the fences were still intact. As they opened the backyard's gate, they saw their grandsons playing in the river with a group of children.
Seeing how her grandsons were wearing only short pants and not even wearing clothes or shoes, Mother Wei couldn't help but call out in horror, "Mingze, Yuze!"
Hearing their grandmother's voice, Chen Mingze and Chen Yuze stopped what they were doing. Turning around, they saw their grandparents looking at them with shock and disbelief.
The children also looked at the old couple with curiosity.
"Brother Yuze, who are they?" Chen Jianfang asked in her milky voice.
"That's my maternal grandparents," Chen Yuze replied as he ca out of the river.
After he wore his straw sandals, he ran to the Wei old couple while shouting, "Grandpa, Grandma!"
Following him, Chen Mingze and the children also ca out of the river and walked to the Wei old couple.
When they were in front of Father Wei and Mother Wei, they greeted them in unison, "Grandpa, Grandma!"
Being called so intimately by the children they had never t, the old couple was taken aback.
Noticing their awkwardness, Chen Jianmin smiled and introduced himself, "Hello, Grandpa. Hello, Grandma. My na is Chen Jianmin. I'm the oldest son of Chen Gang. My father is the second son of the Chen family."
Then, he pointed at his brother and said, "These are my siblings, Chen Jianguo, Chen Jianbai, Chen Jianyan, and Chen Jianfang."
"Jianguo is the second son of my eldest uncle, Chen Bo. But he is now adopted and listed under my father's na, so he is ranked second in my family."
When the Wei old couple heard his words, they looked at Chen Jianguo from head to toe. In their eyes, dislike and disdain flashed for a mont. But even if it was only a mont, Chen Jianmin saw it.
In an instant, the smile on his face disappeared and his eyes turned cold. He turned to look at his cousin and said, "Mingze, Yuze, the two of you should go back with your grandparents and inform your mother. We won't accompany you two."
Hearing his words, Chen Yuze protested, "Cousin, I only got one crab. I don't want to go back yet!"
Facing this younger cousin, Chen Jianmin softened his tone and coaxed him, "You go back first. Later, Cousin will catch more crabs for you."
The mont he heard this, Chen Mingze chid in, "Cousin, don't forget my share."
This ti, it was Chen Jianguo who replied, "Third Brother, I will catch two more crabs for you."
As soon as he heard this, Chen Mingze nodded and said, "Thank you, Second Brother."
Standing on the side, the Wei old couple's eyes flashed with surprise. On the day their daughter and grandsons left the capital, they could see the reluctance, unwillingness, and also hatred in their eldest grandson's eyes.
They thought that the relationship between the half-brothers would be distant, even if they didn't go against each other.
But in just one month, their relationship had already beco this close? What exactly happened in the past month?
While the two of them were confused, Han Jinhe smiled and said, "Comrade Wei, this house's location is not bad. But we can go check another house first before you make your decision."
Hearing this, Chen Mingze asked, "Grandpa, are you and Grandma coming to stay here with us?"
Father Wei nodded and replied, "This ti, Grandpa and Grandma plan to stay here for a long ti. Your mother and the two of you can stay with Grandpa and Grandma."
After he said this, he glanced at Chen Jianmin and his siblings before he added, "It's not good to stay at distant relatives' houses for a long ti. After all, your father and your uncles have already separated their household registers."
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