421: Chapter 421 Returning Home

At around 9:30, Chen Cheng's motorcade entered Chenba Village.

This was a village located just two or three kilometers in a straight line from the Great Lake. The terrain was flat, crisscrossed with rivers, and only to the south were there a few hills with elevations of no more than one or two hundred meters.

Although it was called a rural village, every household had built a villa.

It was the kind of place that would shock any folks from the north.

"Is this what you meant when you said your home was in the countryside?"

The houses in the village were arranged like a fishbone, with a row built along the main road passing through the village, and some scattered in the alleys off the secondary roads.

It was common knowledge that Southern Jiangsu was wealthy, and while the houses in the village varied in appearance, they were all quite imposing.

There were also some houses with uniform appearances; those had been renovated collectively under the later "New Countryside" initiative.

Because of some historical reasons, the old house of Chen Cheng's family was neither on the main road nor on a secondary road.

You had to follow the secondary road past the built-up area and walk five or six hundred meters north along the farmland to reach it.

Back when Chen Chengs Father and his two brothers started their own families, Chen Cheng's eldest uncle built a new house to the left of the old family home, and Chen Cheng's uncle built a new house to the right.

By the time it was Chen Chengs Father's turn to start a family, the foundation of the old house was no longer enough.

In the end, with no other choice, Chen Chengs Father built his new house right on the edge of his own field.

Back in the early nineties, no one cared about agricultural land usage.

Later, when land rights were confirmed, the residential land was passed down just like that.

The courtyard faced east. In front of the door was a former tractor road, which had now been paved into an asphalt road.

Beside the asphalt road was a small river ditch about ten meters wide.

Further east was the farmland.

To the north of the courtyard, the asphalt road in front of the door took a turn.

To the south, there used to be a grove of trees that Chen Chengs Father had planted for shade, but during this renovation, Chen Cheng had some of them cut down.

To the west was Chen Cheng's own family farmland, which was now contracted out to a large-scale farmer in the village.

In many rural areas now, those still farming were agricultural companies that specifically came to contract the land.

Farmers couldn't make money farming, so gradually, no one did it anymore.

The only ones left were the elderly who stayed behind.

Of the three brothers, Chen Cheng's eldest uncle was named Chen Hai.

He was the only honest farmer who stayed until he couldn't do farm work anymore before going to South Guangdong to depend on his son.

However, he died of esophageal cancer two years ago.

Chen Cheng's uncle, Chen Zhong, had never farmed.

After graduating from vocational school, he joined a machinery factory and worked there until he retired a few years ago.

Chen Cheng's father, Chen Feng, farmed for a few years, but as Chen Cheng grew up and family expenses increased, Chen Chengs Father decisively took Chen Chengs Mother and went out to work.

Later, he started a small business, selling wontons in the great metropolis of Shanghai.

Chen Chengs Father had a shrewd mind and picked up business quickly.

Before striking it lucky, Chen Chengs Father already had four wonton shops in Shanghai, and Chen Chengs Mother had also opened two milk tea shops.

When Chen Cheng was in college, the old couple bought him a house in Shanghai.

When Chen Cheng was a junior, they bought a second one.

They planned to retire once Chen Cheng got married so they could live in it themselves.

As it turned out...

Those two houses, along with the four wonton shops and two milk tea shops, were Chen Cheng's original capital in this timeline.

The Chen Cheng who transmigrated here relied on the money from selling the houses, plus capital from various channels, to make his first pot of gold in the stock market.

As the motorcade turned into the village's side road, in front of the small shop at the village entrance, several old men and women chatting idly pointed at the motorcade.

"Whose is this?" a plump Aunt asked.

An old man with white hair standing nearby spoke up: "With this kind of spectacle, it must be the family of Chen Guangfu's second son. Haven't they sent a woman over to supervise the house construction for the past six months?"

Chen Guangfu was the grandfather Chen Cheng had never even met.

Chen Cheng's great-grandfather was a landlord, so his grandfather's family background was poor, and he had been denounced. He also did farm work, had poor health, and died a few years before Chen Cheng was born.

The old man speaking was also surnamed Chen, of the same generation as Chen Cheng's grandfather.

In this village, those surnamed Chen were basically all related to one another, with some connection to some degree.

Plus, since he spent his time whiling away the hours at the small shop at the village entrance every day, he knew more.

The plump Aunt sneered, "Oh my, Chen Old Second is dead, but his son certainly has airs."

The old man rolled his eyes at this sour-minded younger generation, ignored her, and got up to leave.

His children and grandchildren had all gone up the mountain to visit the graves, but his legs were bad, and he was too lazy to go.

He also didn't want to face his daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law at home, so he came out for his usual stroll.

When Chen Cheng's motorcade arrived at the entrance of the renovated courtyard.

Chen Cheng's uncle, along with his whole family, and Fang Sijin were already waiting at the door.

Since he was back, he definitely had to visit the graves.

Chen Cheng could find Chen Chengs Father's grave, but for the others, he would have to rely on his uncle.

It was the New Year again, and it coincided with the completion of his new house, so Chen Cheng simply invited everyone to his home to spend the New Year together.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Chen Cheng leaned out of the car window and waved to call out to them.

"Uncle!"

"Hey!"

Seeing Chen Cheng calling him so enthusiastically, the usually serious Chen Zhong immediately smiled and responded happily.

As soon as the car stopped, Chen Zhong came up to open the car door, "Chen Cheng is back."

"I'm back, I'm back," Chen Cheng laughed as he got out of the car, "Thank you, Uncle."

Chen Zhong pretended to be angry, "I haven't seen you for years, and you're still being polite to me?"

Chen Cheng shook his head with a smile, "Not at all."

After saying that, Chen Cheng smiled and greeted the two middle-aged women, "Aunt, Aunt, Happy New Year."

The short, stout one with short hair was the widow of Chen Cheng's eldest uncle. Chen Cheng remembered her surname was Tang, but didn't know her name; in any case, he had always called her Aunt since he was a child.

The tall, thin, curly-haired woman with broad shoulders was Chen Zhong's wife, Liu Rong, whom Chen Cheng called Aunt.

"Oh, Chen Cheng," the two Aunts were also very enthusiastic.

Aunt came over and patted Chen Cheng, "Chen Cheng has grown so tall?"

This remark immediately made everyone present laugh.

Chen Cheng also laughed, "Aunt, I was this tall when I was in high school. You just haven't seen me in too long."

When Chen Cheng was in high school, his cousin had a child, so Aunt went to South Guangdong, and she returned less often.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Cheng greeted his cousins.

In the Chen family, except for Chen Cheng who was an only child, his uncles' families each had one son and one daughter.

Family planning?

That didn't exist; the second child was known as a 'fine notice,' just pay the money and that was it.

Chen Liang and Chen Min were from the eldest uncle's family; Chen Songtao and Chen Li were from the uncle's family.

Chen Liang was the eldest, and then Chen Min, Chen Li, and Chen Songtao were all older than Chen Cheng.

Now, they were all married with children.

"Brother Liang, long time no see," Chen Cheng laughed and shook hands with Chen Liang.

His cousin Chen Liang was one zodiac cycle older than Chen Cheng, and now in middle age, he had put on some weight.

He wore black-rimmed glasses on his round face and looked radiant.

Except for a jacket, one really couldn't tell he had any of the bearing of someone in the establishment.

Chen Liang attended a certain petroleum university, and after graduation, he naturally entered a certain offshore energy company.

From drilling platforms to storage and transportation centers, it seemed he had now been transferred to Shenzhen for management.

Chen Liang smiled enthusiastically, "How many years has it been since you came back? Isn't that a long time no see?"

"Hahaha~"

In the crowd, Chen Li's five-year-old daughter tugged at Chen Li's sleeve, "Mom, who is this big brother?"

Chen Li looked down and said with a smile: "This is Mom's cousin. Baby, you should call him Uncle."

Chen Li was an English teacher who taught at a private middle school in the city.

The uncle's son and daughter didn't spend much money on college; one was in teacher training, and the other was a commissioned medical student.

Chen Li was slim with long chestnut hair and wore rimless glasses. Her temperament was cool yet gentle.

"Oh, okay~" the Little Girl said in a soft, sweet voice, then pointed to Xiao Ye, who was standing to the side looking a bit uncomfortable, "Then, who is that pretty sister?"

Chen Li glanced at Xiao Ye, then at Li Na and Zhu Zhe, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

She looked at Chen Cheng, who was hugging Chen Min.

She shook her head; other people couldn't even bring one home and were pestered by their families to get married.

This kid brought three back at once.

Chen Li smiled and said to her daughter:

"Mom doesn't know either. Why don't you ask Uncle yourself in a while?"

The Little Girl nodded heavily, "Mm!"