Chapter 277: Taking You Back to My Grandma's House

"Woof, woof, woof..."

A series of dog barks rang out.

Chen Shu kicked at the dog while walking into the courtyard.

"Grandma."

"Grandma."

"You've both come? You've arrived early..."

"It's not early, it's already lunchtime."

After Chen Shu replied, he grabbed one with each hand, pulled the sisters over, and introduced them to her: "Qingqing, and Xiaoxiao, do you still remember them?"

"I remember..."

Grandma is eighty-nine this year; her hair has only just begun to gray, but her complexion is still quite good, she doesn't have many wrinkles, and her body and bone structure show no signs of decline. She raised her head to look the two young women over carefully and said, "You're growing more beautiful and taller; you really are two great beauties..."

"Call her Grandma."

"Grandma."

"Grandma!"

The two young women each called out as well, one coldly, one seriously.

Chen Shu grinned to the side.

The last time he brought Qingqing here was several years ago, but Qingqing hadn't grown much in height since she was fifteen or sixteen, though her appearance had changed slightly—she was currently at the most beautiful time of her life, whereas before she had been slightly green.

Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, hadn't changed much.

Grandma and Grandpa were no strangers to them. Back when the two families were still neighbors, Chen Shu's grandparents knew of their existence, and every year when he came to Grandma's for the New Year, they would ask about those two little girls from back then.

"Good, good..."

Grandma stared at Qingqing, her eyes full of Joy.

When Chen Shu called her yesterday, he had already said that this was her future granddaughter-in-law, telling her to bring out all her best skills.

Looking at her now, she naturally felt more and more Joy.

The old woman couldn't help but reach out and take hold of the two young girls, one in each hand.

Neither of them resisted or pulled away.

The older sister was expressionless.

The younger sister was completely uncomfortable.

Taozi pressed tightly against its master's leg, staring defensively at the dog not far away.

"Tsk tsk..."

Chen Banxia's expression control was slipping; she couldn't keep her mouth shut and was even winking at Chen Shu.

Chen Shu couldn't help but reach out to hit her.

The moment his hand was raised, before it could land on her, she started yelping and ran behind Grandma in a few bounds to complain to her.

Grandma then looked at Chen Shu, using the same tone as in previous years, saying the same words as in previous years:

"Don't hit your sister!"

Chen Banxia was also the same as in previous years; as soon as she heard this, it was as if she had received an imperial decree, and she immediately hopped about, repeating to Chen Shu: "Did you hear that? She told you not to hit your sister!"

"You two siblings must be harmonious!" Grandma urged again. She didn't know how many times she had given this reminder, but the smile at the corners of her eyes had never faded.

"You two siblings must be harmonious!" Chen Banxia repeated, adding on her own, "You must be respectful to your sister!"

"I'll spare you for now."

"Grandma, look! He's so fierce! He has no respect for his sister at all!" Chen Banxia looked aggrieved and urged Grandma again, "Quick, teach him a lesson!"

"I'm going to cook, you all go play."

Grandma stood up, finally let go of the sisters' hands, and walked toward the kitchen.

Only then did Qingqing and Xiaoxiao breathe a sigh of relief.

Chen Shu naturally knew how awkward they felt, but he didn't go to save them; instead, he stood to the side and laughed. The more uncomfortable they were, the happier he felt inside.

"Bang!"

Chen Shu took a straight punch.

Although this was the countryside, the conditions were not crude; it was more like a villa located in the mountains, with an even better environment than the courtyards on the outskirts of the city.

Grandma's house also had a courtyard, only it didn't have a wall but a metal fence, with a bamboo forest growing beside it and a pond in front. Some wildflowers were scattered along the fence, and they weren't really tended to. The only drawback was that it was several kilometers away from the nearest market, making it inconvenient to buy things, but one could ride an electric tricycle there.

Nestled against the mountains and by the water, it was a paradise for retirement.

Taking advantage of the time before dinner, Chen Shu and Chen Banxia took them around the neighborhood to compare memories; everything was almost the same as it had been several years ago, as if time had bypassed this place.

As he walked, Chen Shu said to Qingqing: "I told Grandma that you are her future granddaughter-in-law, haha, she will definitely pay special attention to you today. Later at the dinner table, she will definitely keep piling food into your bowl; prepare yourself to be annoyed to death."

Ning Qing pursed her lips and didn't respond.

She had to learn to get used to this.

The group slowly climbed the mountain behind the house.

Behind Grandma's house was a thousand-acre forest farm, mainly producing oranges, backed by a mountain gully with cliffs and a reservoir; every place was somewhere Chen Shu and Chen Banxia had walked and played together. When they were little, they had met a few playmates here, but now, where they were and what they were doing seemed impossible to know. The world was too big.

The two's memories were stirred up.

Ordinary scenes from back then, when thought of now and compared with each other, actually made them nod excitedly, and for a time, the whole mountain was filled with the sound of their voices.

Ning Qing lowered her head to admire the wildflowers, listening silently.

The little girl just looked at the scenery on her own.

Taozi wasn't shy at all; without that flowery dog, it had become lively again. Sometimes it ran to the front of the group, stretching its neck to look around; sometimes it walked to the edge of the cliff, poked its head out to see how deep the gully was, and was so scared it quickly pulled its head back; sometimes it stopped by the road to sniff wildflowers, and when it fell behind the group, it would trot along with happy steps to catch up.

Just as they were about to circle back to Grandma's house, Chen Shu called out to it:

"Taozi!"

"Woof?"

"Don't be afraid of that dog," Chen Shu said sincerely. "I think you could try communicating with it; you speak dog language anyway."

"!"

Taozi scurried to Ning Qing's feet, only tilting its head slightly to peek at him out of the corner of its eye.

Lunch was naturally sumptuous.

The two elders had bustled about to prepare a table full of dishes, mostly hot ones rather than the filler cold platters, and there was no lack of "hard" dishes meant for major occasions like the Nine Great Bowls. They also boiled a pot of Slippery Meat Soup full of rustic, farm-style flavor and deep-fried some Crispy Meat. Chen Shu told Qingqing that this was top-tier specification.

For the elders, it was indeed top-tier.

A table of dishes like this required fussing over since yesterday.

It was not easy.

Afternoon.

Chen Shu was full and satisfied, basking in the sun in the courtyard.

Everyone was free for the New Year, which was usually a peak time for chatting, but the Ancient Cultivation Group was actually rather quiet; everyone had just exchanged New Year's greetings yesterday and said nothing more.

Chen Shu was scrolling through short videos.

Ning Qing was huddled next to him, tilting her head to watch.

At the start of the New Year, most of the videos he scrolled past were related to the New Year.

They were either New Year's blessings from major official media, clips from New Year's Eve galas, or news reports about the New Year and the Spring Festival travel rush. It was rare for Ning Qing to watch him scroll through over a dozen videos without a single young lady in sight, nor any of his usual unique quirks.

This year, the Emperor offered the first incense stick at Xinzheng Temple, while last year it was at Yuan'an Temple, but this time the Calamity-Responding Bodhisattva did not come out to receive them.

On the second day of the New Year, Yiguo once again militarily intervened in the Puluo unrest.

Last year, the birth rate and marriage rate dropped again, while the divorce rate hit a new high.

"Buzz, buzz."

There was a message from the group.

Chen Shu tapped it open casually.

Gate of All Wonders: Did the group leader go to Puluo?

Gate of All Wonders: @Haoran

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: The group leader wanted to go last time too, but his studies weren't finished back then.

Gate of All Wonders: Puluo is even more chaotic this time than the last.

Gate of All Wonders: A junior uncle of mine in Puluo sent word that Puluo is not only internally chaotic now, but there are also forces from Lanya and the Mengyue Sect, and in this era, it's not so easy to suppress public sentiment; one has to consider international public opinion.

Haoran: Yes.

Haoran: We don't intend to suppress public discourse; let them protest. However, we must ensure the Puluo Government remains under our control and clear out those folk Cultivator forces that launch attacks on our country.

Haoran: This time, we must clear them out by the roots.

Gate of All Wonders: Wish you success.

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: Amitabha, may everything go smoothly.

Qingcai Keke: Wish you success.

Zhaoyeqing: Wish you success.

Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs: Group leader, may everything go smoothly.

Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs: /scatter flowers

Gate of All Wonders: Where is Grandma?

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha: Maybe the signal is bad on the mountain.

Grandma Always Says: Bullshit!

Grandma Always Says: We of the Sword Sect have Wi-Fi too!

Grandma Always Says: Just on the way flying down the mountain to eat spicy hot pot.

Grandma Always Says: Oh, sorry, forgot you two are still Fifth Stage scrub dogs who can't fly; accidentally leaked information that hurt your self-esteem /smile

Green Lamp Ancient Buddha and Gate of All Wonders both stayed silent.

Qingcai Keke and Zhaoyeqing also stayed silent.

Everyone was probably thinking the same thing: let her posturing message hang there for a few more days to let her feel embarrassed.

"Heh..."

Chen Shu stretched, yawned, and handed the Mobile Phone back to Qingqing. Seeing her legs crossed and stretched out straight, he followed suit and stretched his own legs, but after discovering they were a segment shorter than Qingqing's—and quickly ruling out the influence of the bench—he pulled them back in quickly.

Qingqing turned her head and looked at him calmly.

Her eyes conveyed four words: Overestimating one's own capabilities.

Can't understand, can't understand.

The next day, afternoon.

The grandparents walked them all the way to the road outside.

The spotted dog followed loyally.

Seeing this, Taozi had no choice but to stick close to its owner, looking back from time to time to prevent the spotted dog from ambushing it. This dog always harbored hostility toward it—it had tried listening to Chen Shu and reasoning with the dog, but the dog was too stupid to understand the high-level language it spoke, which left it quite helpless.

"Don't see us off anymore."

"It's only a few steps."

"We're already here."

"Alright then."

Grandma took four red envelopes out of her pocket, one thick and three thin, and handed them out one by one.

As a child, although Chen Banxia had already passed her expiration date, she still appeared to be in good quality, so she also received a share.

"Qingqing, Grandma wishes you a happy New Year, success in your studies, and that everything goes your way. I also wish for your relationship with Chen Shu to go smoothly, and I hope Grandma can still drink your Joy wine."

"Thank you, Grandma."

Ning Qing accepted the red envelope very calmly.

Then, Grandma turned to the little girl beside her and also handed out a red envelope: "Xiaoxiao, happy New Year to you too, may you have success in your studies and may all your wishes come true."

The little girl's eyes rolled, and she secretly glanced at her brother-in-law beside her.

"Hurry and take it."

"Thank you, Grandma."

Only then did the little girl take it with both hands and bow to thank her.

The doors of both cars had already been opened.

Chen Jiaoshou drove his beloved vintage car, while Qingqing drove President Ning's luxury car over; the six of them got into the cars one after another, and Taozi observed carefully, then quietly snuck forward, and while the flower dog wasn't paying attention, she quickly slapped it on the face and swiftly ducked back into the car.

"Bang!"

The car door closed.

The timing was just right.

Ning Qing was not driving, but sitting in the passenger seat, holding the red envelope in her hand, looking down at it, and thinking quietly.

This red envelope was the thickest one.

It was much thicker than the other three.

It is very heavy...