Seeing your parents is to repay the cause and effect.

As the knocking sounded, footsteps soon followed, and a middle-aged man's voice came from the inner room: "Who is it!"

"Creak!" The door opened.

A middle-aged man, wearing a thick black cotton coat and with a slightly weathered face, opened the door.

He stared blankly at Zhao Dongchuan.

"Dongchuan?"

This middle-aged man was none other than Zhao Zhengguo, the original owner's father.

He looked at Zhao Dongchuan with an expression of disbelief, then rubbed his eyes. After confirming it wasn't an illusion, he joyfully exclaimed, "Dongchuan, why are you back?"

Zhao Dongchuan, as if possessed by the original owner, felt his heart swell with emotion and couldn't help but cry out, "Dad, I'm back!"

"Good, good, good! It's good that you're back! Come, come inside! Your mom is making dinner!" Zhao Zhengguo stood stunned for a moment, his eyes red, then quickly took the suitcase from Zhao Dongchuan's hand and urged him inside.

The suitcase was something Zhao Dongchuan had prepared long ago and kept in his spatial storage. He only found an opportunity to take it out when he was close to home. Inside were some common clothes and toiletries, as well as many local specialties from Huangyuan.

Seeing Zhao Dongchuan enter the house, all those who had been secretly observing in the courtyard immediately knew.

This was Zhao Dongchuan, the Zhao family's boy who had gone to the countryside to join a production team a year ago.

"Hey, it really is him!" Second Aunt exclaimed in surprise from the side.

Qin Huairu also looked a bit surprised, saying, "I just thought he looked familiar, but I didn't expect it to really be him. Didn't he go to the countryside to join a production team? How could he be back?"

"How else could he be back? He must have secretly run away!" A fat, elderly woman scoffed from the side.

Everyone nodded thoughtfully, but no one responded.

Zhao Dongchuan was completely unaware that his return had already become the hottest news in the courtyard, spreading and being discussed.

He walked into the inner room and looked at the familiar yet strange home.

Only two slightly worn sofas in the house seemed somewhat upscale; the other tables and chairs were quite old.

A portrait of Chairman Mao hung in the center of the wall, and on a wooden shelf nearby were enamel washbasins and several teapots... There was a faint, lingering smell of traditional Chinese medicine in the room.

"A-Ping, look who's here!" Zhao Zhengguo said, smiling cheerfully towards the curtain leading to the inner room.

"Who is it, Old Zhao? Look how happy you are!" A faint female voice came from the inner room.

A woman with short hair, a slightly pale complexion, and wearing a floral cotton jacket, pushed aside the curtain and walked out.

"Look, who is this?" Zhao Zhengguo said, pointing at Zhao Dongchuan with a cheerful smile.

"Little Dongzi?"

As soon as Guo Ping came out, she saw Zhao Dongchuan standing in the hall and couldn't help but exclaim.

Although the original owner had been gone for nearly a year, and during this year, due to Zhao Dongchuan's transmigration, his physique had greatly improved, and his figure, appearance, and demeanor were completely different from before.

Yet, out of a mother's intuition, she recognized him at a glance—this was her son, the Zhao Dongchuan she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Mom, I'm back!"

Zhao Dongchuan was also emotional at this moment, unable to control himself as he choked out the words.

At this moment, the original Zhao Dongchuan and the transmigrated Zhao Dongchuan seemed to merge into one.

Amidst his choked emotions, Zhao Dongchuan felt a sense of relief, as if a layer of shackles had been removed from his body, and he felt clearer in mind and spirit.

He had a vague intuition that at this moment, he had truly become Zhao Dongchuan. The qi within his body began to circulate on its own, continuously completing cycles.

Moreover, his qi seemed to have broken through a realm, becoming much stronger than before.

"My son!" Guo Ping suddenly rushed over, embracing Zhao Dongchuan and sobbing.

After a while, Guo Ping slowly released Zhao Dongchuan, wiped away her tears, and said with a joyful smile, "A while ago, you wrote to say you'd be back for Spring Festival. Your dad and I didn't believe it, but I can't believe you actually came back! And several days early!"

"I applied for a family visit leave from my unit, and the curator gave me special approval, so I came back!" Zhao Dongchuan said with a slight smile.

"Your curator is a good person!" Guo Ping said with a smile, her face flushing slightly.

"Mom, how's your health?" Zhao Dongchuan asked with concern.

"Your mom, ever since she knew you were doing well and succeeding over there, her health has been much better than before!" Zhao Zhengguo said with a cheerful smile from the side.

"It's just that you said in your letter to be low-key and not to publicize your recruitment and article publication. We've been keeping it a secret, haven't told anyone. It's really been hard to hold in!" Zhao Zhengguo also had a look of resentment when he mentioned this.

Originally, with his son doing so well, he should have boasted about it in the courtyard to gain some face. But Zhao Dongchuan's letter about being low-key made them wary, so they kept it bottled up, which was really difficult for them.

"Hahaha, I thought you wouldn't be able to resist telling everyone. From now on, you don't have to hide it anymore. With me back, it definitely won't be a secret! Let it be what it is!"

Zhao Dongchuan chuckled and said.

Zhao Dongchuan then briefly explained his experiences over the year since he went to the countryside to settle down to his parents.

"You really must thank your curator. If it weren't for him, how could you have been recruited into a unit and even come back to see us!" Zhao Zhengguo said with a serious expression.

"That's also because our Dongchuan is capable; others wouldn't get this kind of treatment!" Guo Ping said with a proud smile.

"How many days are you planning to stay this time, and when will you go back?"

"Mom, I plan to stay a bit longer. When I came, there wasn't a specific time limit set, probably before the Lantern Festival!" Zhao Dongchuan replied.

As they were talking inside, there was a knock on the door from outside.

Zhao Zhengguo got up to open the door.

"Old Zhao, I heard your boy is back!"

A sturdy man with a gossipy expression walked straight in, looking around as he went.

"It's Sha Zhu! Your news travels fast!" Zhao Zhengguo said with a helpless smile.

"Qin Huairu told me, so I came over to take a look!"

"Little Dong, you've changed so much, your brother almost didn't recognize you!"

Sha Zhu examined Zhao Dongchuan, saying with a curious expression.

This is Sha Zhu? Zhao Dongchuan secretly muttered to himself, looking at the burly man in front of him, he did indeed seem not too bright...

"Zhu Zi Ge, long time no see!" Zhao Dongchuan greeted him politely.

"Heh heh, you've really grown up, and you're polite now!"

The original owner used to like to hang out with the courtyard's young masters and looked down on the other kids in the quadrangle, so he naturally wasn't very polite.

The current Zhao Dongchuan certainly wouldn't be like the original owner, nor would he be overly enthusiastic. His main purpose in returning was to see the original owner's parents, take care of them, and repay a karmic debt.

"Didn't you go to the countryside to join a production team and settle down? How are you back? You didn't run away secretly, did you?" Sha Zhu said with a mischievous smile.

"I took a family visit leave from my unit. I came back openly to see my parents, not by running away!

Zhu Zi Ge, don't go putting labels on me!" Zhao Dongchuan retorted unceremoniously.