30: Chapter 30 My Cousin

Although Chen Jianjun had spent most of the past two months in the county, he would occasionally come back once or twice, so the house wasn't covered in dust from being unoccupied for a long time.

However, even though there wasn't much dust, it was a yearly habit to give the place a thorough cleaning before the New Year.

As a member of the family, Chen Fan naturally had to pitch in.

The chore Wang Mei assigned him was mopping the floor.

The floors in the living room and the two bedrooms were terrazzo, which were relatively easy to mop, but because of the large area, it was still quite strenuous.

However, this amount of work was quite easy for Chen Fan now.

He finished mopping everything in just over ten minutes.

After mopping, he went to help Chen Jianjun lift tables, move beds, and carry chairs.

By the time they finished the deep cleaning, it was already past 6 o'clock in the evening.

The house was thoroughly cleaned and looked brand new.

Chen Fan wiped his hands and looked at the tidy home, feeling a sense of peace in his heart.

The next day, Chen Fan's family drove to Chenjia Slope, which was 5 kilometers away from Wangjia Village.

Chenjia Slope was where Chen Fan's grandparents lived, and where Chen Jianjun and Chen Fan's uncle, Chen Jianguo, had grown up.

Later, Chen Jianjun and Chen Fan's mother, Wang Mei, met and fell in love. Logically, they should have settled down in Chenjia Slope after getting married. But Chenjia Slope was too small and too poor to keep people there.

So after they married, they moved to Wangjia Village to live. Wang Mei had land in the village and had applied for a homestead, so the couple built a house in Wangjia Village. Chen Fan grew up in Wangjia Village and only went back to his ancestral home during holidays.

It wasn't just Chen Jianjun; Chen Fan's uncle, Chen Jianguo, didn't want to stay in Chenjia Slope either. He was doing better than Chen Jianjun and had rented a storefront in town early on to open a restaurant. Business had always been booming, and the whole family had moved to live in town.

Nowadays, only Chen Fan's grandparents still lived in Chenjia Slope, guarding those few old rooms and two mu of land. The two brothers, Chen Jianguo and Chen Jianjun, would go back to visit every few days, bringing some food and supplies, and leaving the old couple some pocket money.

Perhaps because there was no family property to fight over, the brothers had always had a good relationship. During holidays, they could sit together and have a few drinks, unlike some families who were at daggers drawn.

The car drove for twenty minutes and stopped in a courtyard.

The courtyard was relatively new, looking like it had been built less than a year or two ago.

This was rebuilt by Chen Jianguo and Chen Jianjun together for the two old people. One reason was for the two elders to live comfortably, and the other was that the old courtyard didn't have enough rooms, so there wasn't enough space when returning home for the New Year.

So the two brothers chipped in to rebuild it for the elders.

As the elder brother, Chen Jianguo was doing better, so he took the initiative to pay the larger share, while Chen Jianjun, whose conditions were slightly worse, paid less.

A silver car was parked at the entrance of the courtyard, looking like it had seen better days.

Chen Fan knew this was his uncle Chen Jianguo's car, a second-hand Dongfeng Citroën.

After Chen Jianjun's brand-new skoda octavia was parked next to it, that second-hand Dongfeng Citroën looked a bit shabby.

"Creak~"

Just then, the dark red wooden door was pushed open, and a young girl around twenty years old walked out of the courtyard. She had delicate features and a clean temperament—a truly pretty girl. She wore a pink down jacket, which made her look lively and full of youthful spirit; at a glance, she appeared exceptionally energetic.

This girl was Chen Jianguo's daughter, Chen Fan's cousin, Chen Tong.

She was two years older than Chen Fan, and like Chen Fan, she had started school late, so she was a sophomore this year. Her grades were average, and her school was a second-tier university in Chang'an.

Because Chen Jianguo only had her as a daughter and no sons, Chen Tong treated her cousin Chen Fan like her own younger brother.

When they were small, every time they returned to their grandparents' house, she would always use her saved pocket money to buy snacks and toys for Chen Fan, so Chen Fan had always had a very good relationship with his cousin.

In his previous life, Chen Fan had never married, and Chen Tong would often introduce girls to Chen Fan, even mobilizing people from her husband's side to help introduce Chen Fan to others.

Unfortunately, Chen Fan didn't want to get married and only wanted to lie flat and rot, letting down Chen Tong's good intentions.

"Second Uncle, Second Aunt." Chen Tong first greeted Chen Jianjun and Wang Mei.

When Wang Mei saw it was her niece, her face immediately blossomed into a smile. She stepped forward, took her hand, and looked her up and down:

"So Tongtong is back. You're growing more beautiful. Are you getting used to things at school?"

"It's quite good, Second Aunt, just a bit homesick," Chen Tong replied with a smile.

"That's good. Your Second Uncle and I will go in first. You and Xiao Fan chat for a bit."

Chen Tong then looked at Chen Fan, who had just gotten out of the car, her eyes lighting up as she called out:

"Cousin Tongtong." Chen Fan responded.

A smile appeared on Chen Tong's face. She walked briskly to him, looked up to size him up, and said with a hint of surprise in her tone:

"You've grown so tall now, you're a whole head taller than your sister. And you're growing more handsome too."

"Your younger brother here has been handsome since I was little," Chen Fan replied with a grin.

"Oh, give it a rest." Chen Tong gestured with her hand. "When you were little, you only came up to here, like a little follower. Wherever I went, you followed. Now, look at you, you've shot up so tall."

Chen Fan smiled but didn't reply.

The two walked towards the inside of the courtyard. As they walked, Chen Tong's eyes sparkled with gossip.

"By the way, tell your sister, has any girl confessed to you?"

"No." Chen Fan shook his head.

"Really?" Chen Tong looked skeptical. "My younger brother is tall and handsome now, and no one likes you?"

"Really, no one."

"It's okay. When you get into a university in Chang'an after the college entrance exam, sister will introduce her best friend to you."

"Your best friend?"

"Yeah, I have a very pretty best friend. I'll introduce you to her then."

"Alright, alright, we'll talk about that when the time comes," Chen Fan said dismissively.

Naturally, he didn't think his cousin would actually introduce her best friend to him. After all, in his previous life, although she had introduced girls to Chen Fan, that was long after Chen Fan had graduated from university, so he assumed his cousin was just joking.

After the two entered the house, it was already full.

Grandfather Chen Jingshan, Uncle Chen Jianguo, Aunt Sun Hongli, Chen Jianjun, and Wang Mei had just sat down.

"Uncle, Aunt."

Chen Fan proactively greeted them.

His uncle looked up, sized him up, and said with some surprise: "Is that Xiao Fan? You've grown so tall."

His aunt, Sun Hongli, also turned her head, looked at Chen Fan for two seconds, and replied with a smile: "Not only have you grown taller, but you also look more spirited, and you seem to have gotten stronger too."

Chen Fan chuckled and didn't say anything.

"Xiao Fan, go get all the things from the trunk," Chen Jianjun suddenly said.

Chen Jianguo was stunned when he heard this and looked at Chen Jianjun: "You drove here?"

"Yeah, I bought a car to make traveling back and forth more convenient."

Chen Jianguo also became interested. "What brand? Let me see." As he spoke, he pulled Chen Jianjun and walked outside.