He Familyâs eldest daughter-in-law, Wang Erni, tugged at her mother-in-lawâs sleeve: "Everyoneâs at the gate now, so donât overthink it."
As she spoke, she smiled and went over to greet them: "Xinyan, you all finally came back. Mom started getting busy yesterday, making lots of delicious food for you."
Seeing the two children standing next to them, she continued: "These must be our Sili and Siyan, theyâve grown quite a bit taller."
Mr. He also greeted Mr. Ye, who had just gotten out of the car: "Itâs cold, hurry back home and warm up."
At this point, many neighbors gathered around: "Oh, Old He, is this your third son back?"
Mr. He showed a proud expression: "Yes, our Jinxuan is back."
Before he could say more, someone asked, "And who are these people?"
Despite feeling uneasy, Mr. He still proudly said: "This is my cousin-nieceâs in-law family, her father-in-law, husband, and children, coming to visit."
Everyone was momentarily confused. Cousin-nieceâs wife, they hadnât heard of such a person?
But seeing the two children standing next to He Jinxuan, someone remembered: "Oh, are these the two children sent to your home that year?"
With those words, the neighboring households next to He Family all remembered.
Nobody dared to speak much more, as they had heard some things about what happened before and feared saying something wrong that might upset He Family.
They all awkwardly shifted the topic towards He Jinxuan and his wife: "Jinxuan, you two have been married for a while, is your wife expecting?"
He Jinxuan, hands full of stuff, responded: "Auntie, my wife is still attending university, weâre not planning on having kids just yet."
"Already married, why still study? Itâs not easy for a woman to have kids when sheâs older."
"Auntie, even my parents arenât concerned about this, so thereâs no need for you to worry."
The aunt wanted to say more, but was stopped by her daughter-in-law pulling her: "Jinxuan, my momâs just old-fashioned, donât mind her."
"Itâs okay, elders are always eager to talk about this and that, I understand."
Hearing this, the auntâs face turned unpleasant: "Young people these days, just donât appreciate good intentions."
He Jinxuan wouldnât indulge her: "Auntie, my wife is attending the best university. Itâs not easy for the country to cultivate a university student. We canât betray the countryâs efforts and have her drop out to have kids, donât you agree?"
This left the aunt with nothing more to say.
At this point, Mother He also came over: "Iâm her mother-in-law and Iâm not worried, whatâs your hurry?"
As she spoke, she took the things from Xinyanâs hands: "Itâs so cold, quickly take the two children inside to warm up."
After saying this, she looked towards Mr. Ye with an awkward expression.
Mr. He quickly introduced Mr. Ye: "This is Jinxuanâs mother."
Mr. Ye nodded to her: "Mother-in-law, sorry to bother you."
Mother He saw his smiling face and felt relieved: "No bother, come in quickly, itâs cold outside."
The items from the car, except for those for the Ye family, the He Family carried in several trips, making the neighbors quite envious.
When everything was moved in, He Jinxuan handed out candies to the children and women nearby, and gave cigarettes to the men, exchanged a few words and then returned to the yard.
Mr. Ye took a seat inside the house: "When the children were sent over back then, if it werenât for you taking them in, who knows how much they would have suffered? This visit is to thank you."
Hearing this, Mr. He looked embarrassed: "Jinxuan took care of the two children, we really canât take credit."