155: Chapter 155 The Old House

Zhao Bin parked his pristine Chevrolet on the side of the road, not at all worried about traffic cameras or police checks.

Su Ye got out of the car, and he and Zhao Bin walked side by side toward the old house.

The path went uphill, and they had to climb two flights of stairs to reach the old house nestled against the hillside.

On both sides were red brick houses.

Those who could afford it, like the Old Su Family, would plaster a layer of cement on the exterior, but if they couldn't afford it, nobody really cared.

Come to think of it, very few people lived in these old houses now.

Most young people either had homes in the city or were working away.

The people living in these old houses were basically all elderly, the same generation as Su Ye's grandparents.

It is said that few reach the age of seventy, and Su Ye's grandparents were now eighty-two.

As one could imagine, many of the elderly in the neighborhood had passed away.

Fortunately, their children were all filial, and basically, every day, one of them would come up to visit the two elders, so there was no fear of any accidents.

Three or four minutes later, Zhao Bin and Su Ye reached the end of the path.

The first house on the left was the Su Family's old house.

At this moment, Su Ye could already hear the laughter and chatter from inside.

Pushing open the security door that had been replaced a few years ago, a small courtyard of over forty square meters came into view.

On the left were two bedrooms and an open-air kitchen, and on the right was a bathroom and shower room.

At this moment, two figures were busy in the courtyard.

Su Ye caught sight of that slightly hunched figure at a glance.

"Dad!"

The man chopping vegetables on the cutting board paused, glanced at Su Ye, nodded, and then continued chopping.

Su Ye was used to it.

He knew it wasn't that his father was dissatisfied with him, but rather that Daxia-style fathers never expressed themselves warmly toward their children.

Beside him, a short woman smiled and said to Su Ye, "Little Su is back."

Then she glared at Zhao Bin, "I told you to pick up your younger brother, but you almost lost him, didn't you? You didn't reply to my messages or answer my calls."

Zhao Bin looked puzzled as he reached into his pants pocket.

He opened his phone and took a look; good grief, three missed calls and a dozen WeChat messages.

He chuckled sheepishly, "I must have accidentally put it on silent."

Su Ye's Third Aunt, Su Dongmei, rolled her eyes at her son and said, "Alright, hurry up and go drive to buy some beer, red wine, and drinks. It's almost time to eat."

Zhao Bin habitually glanced at Su Ye.

Su Dongmei frowned and shouted, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and get going. Your younger brother just got back and hasn't even met his Fourth Uncle yet."

Zhao Bin shrugged helplessly and whispered to Su Ye, "Don't forget what I just told you: be sweet-talking and polite."

Seeing Su Ye nod, he patted Su Ye on the shoulder and left.

Su Dongmei smiled and said, "Little Su, hurry on inside. Your Eldest Aunt, as well as your grandparents and your Fourth Uncle, are all in the inner room right now."

"Got it, Third Aunt," Su Ye replied.

Su Ye didn't rush in but asked his father, "Dad, where's Mom?"

Su Hong put the chopped pickled peppers into a bowl and started cutting chicken offal without raising his head, replying, "Your mom is at home. I asked her to go back and stew the chicken; there aren't enough stoves here at your grandparents' place."

After quickly chopping the chicken offal, Su Hong wiped his hands on his apron and said to Su Ye, "Let's go, go inside and meet your Fourth Uncle."

The inner room of the Su Family's old house was connected to the courtyard outside by a three-to-four-meter-long cement stone bridge.

Pushing open the screen door of the inner room, Su Ye first called out "Eldest Aunt" to the person sitting by the door.

Then he looked toward the sofa on the left side, where two people sat—they were Su Ye's grandparents.

Grandfather Su Mu was thin and lean, while Grandmother Zhang Yin was a bit short and stout.

The two elders were likely glowing with happiness because their Fourth Son, who had been "dead" for so long, had returned.

One could tell from Grandmother Zhang Yin's red, puffy eyes that she must have had a good cry.

"Grandfather, Grandmother."

Grandfather Su Mu saw his grandson and hurriedly said, "Little Su, come here and meet your Fourth Uncle."

Su Ye walked over and took a look; sure enough, it was the thick-eyebrowed, big-eyed Su Yi.

Immediately, Su Ye feigned a look of shock and shouted, "Uncle Su!"

Su Yi also pretended to be surprised and shouted, "Little Su?"

The whole family was stunned.

Old Master Su asked suspiciously, "You two know each other?"

Su Yi then recounted the story of how he had stayed in Chengdu for a day, and while out for a morning jog, he had overestimated his abilities by trying to race Su Ye, only to end up with an irregular heartbeat and being helped aside by Su Ye to rest.

Su Ye's Grandmother Zhang Yin pressed her hands together toward the Buddha statue in the living room and said, "Amitabha, Amitabha, Buddha bless us."

"You foolish child, you're so old, yet you still try to compete with young people. You've finally recovered your memory; what would you have done if something had happened to you?"

Listening to Zhang Yin's words, Su Yi felt a warmth in his heart.

From the very first moment he returned to this home, he had felt incredibly at peace.

Everyone chatted for a while longer, and soon Zhao Bin joined them.

It wasn't until nearly seven o'clock in the evening that Su Ye's father, Su Hong, called out, "Time to eat!"

The Su Family had quite a few people.

Young and old, they sat at two tables.

And that was even with some people not back yet; if everyone had returned, plus the partners of the younger generation, two tables wouldn't have been enough.

Grandfather Su Mu and Grandmother Zhang Yin were very happy to see the big family surrounding them.

After a brief speech by Grandfather Su Mu, everyone started eating.

"You haven't been back in so long, eat more. Look, you've gotten thin."

Su Ye's mother, Li Mei, served Su Ye a piece of braised pork.

The wobbly piece of pork was cut to the size of a thumb, coated in a caramelized sugar color.

Su Ye popped the braised pork into his mouth and said with a smile, "Mom, where have I gotten thin? I exercise regularly, and my body is all muscle."

Li Mei rolled her eyes at Su Ye, "What muscles? I see you just skin and bones all day. I don't know what's going on—you eat every day but never gain weight."

Su Ye continued, "I have a special constitution; you can't envy that."

"By the way, where is my Younger Sister Su Li?"

Li Mei picked up a chopstick of mushrooms and said, "She's still at tutoring. She already saw your Fourth Uncle during the day. I sent her off after she ate when I finished cooking this afternoon."

"I'll head back after I eat; I have to pick up your younger sister at ten o'clock. I don't know how long your father and the others will be drinking. After they finish drinking, you take your father back."

Su Ye nodded, lowering his head to gnaw on a chicken foot.

The whole night was filled with family joy, and the laughter never ceased, especially with Su Hong and the others drinking until nearly midnight.

In the middle of it, Zhao Bin brought Younger Sister Su Li back.

Su Ye winked at Younger Sister Su Li, and she didn't reveal Su Ye's current net worth.

The family gathering ended.

Everyone worked together to clean up the leftovers and tidy up.

Then they all headed back to their own homes.

As for Su Yi, he naturally stayed at the old house; after all, Grandfather Su Mu and Grandmother Zhang Yin wouldn't want their son, who had been separated from them for over twenty years, to go off and stay somewhere else—that just wasn't done.