61. Return home

It was around 1:00 in the afternoon when the plane arrived at Seugou City. The airport in Xugou City is very small, but after Hua Jin got off the plane, she found that not only were there people sending flowers, but also TV reporters who were filming.

Smiling and accepting the flowers brought by others, Hua Jin said thank you.

Several well-dressed middle-aged men stepped forward to shake hands with Pei Yan politely and enthusiastically, and whispered to him about the economic development, education and construction of Xugou City in the past few years. Unexpectedly, Hua Jin took a few steps slowly and asked one of Pei Yan's assistants in a low voice, "What's going on?"

"A few years ago, Mr. Pei learned that the economic development level of Xugou City was backward, and he heard about the deeds of local officials who were dedicated to the people, so he did something helpful to the local economic development. Because local officials have always been very grateful to Mr. Pei, this The second time I heard that he was coming to inspect the work, he specially arranged a reception." The assistant replied in a low voice, "We didn't expect such an arrangement in the local area, so we didn't communicate with you in advance, which is our dereliction of duty."

"It's okay, it's good to have someone pick up the plane." Hua Jin glanced at these officials, looking a little dazed. She saw on the plane just now that there are many high-rise buildings in Xugou City, and vehicles are constantly flowing on the viaduct, which is the same as eight years ago. Than, the change is too great.

"Please come to receive me while you are busy." Pei Yan exchanged a few words with the receptionist, looked around, and found that Hua Jin was actually several steps away from him, so he waved to her. , "This time I came to your land, not for the public, but for some private matters."

Several receptionists were a little surprised. Mr. Pei, who has helped a lot in the city, has any personal business that needs to come to such a small place as them?

"This is my partner Hua Jin." Seeing that Hua Jin didn't come to her side, Pei Yan simply turned around and walked in front of her, holding her hand, "She was born in your land, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. I came to accompany her back home to pay homage to her ancestors."

The receptionist had already noticed Hua Jin, but they didn't expect such a relationship between the two. They were surprised at first, then overjoyed. Mr. Pei's partner is the person who built the city. In the future, they want to attract investment and create more jobs for the local people. Isn't it another layer of help?

During lunch, Hua Jin saw that the receptionist wanted to win over the relationship between the two sides, but he didn't dare to open his mouth at will, so he kept calling them to eat the local specialties of Xugou City.

In order to promote the agricultural products of Xugou City, the reception staff also worked hard. The dishes on the table were planted by local people, the fruits were picked from local orchards, the meat ingredients were from local farms, and even the soil ceremonies given to them. , are locally made agricultural products and processed foods.

Compared with those businessmen who tried their best to attract investment, the reception staff of Xugou City looked simple and clumsy, but Pei Yan did not show any dissatisfaction from beginning to end, instead, he was in the middle of the meal. Later, we talked about some cooperation matters, which made the reception staff very happy.

In the afternoon, the reception staff arranged some visits. Perhaps considering Hua Jin's identity, they also specially arranged two female receptionists who were similar in age to Hua Jin.

During the visit, a receptionist in his fifties heard that Hua Jin was a Shu embroidery master, and said with emotion: "In the past, we were here with several cities built along the river, and many people had to raise silkworms. With development, a large number of young and middle-aged people go out to work, and there are fewer and fewer families raising silkworms.”

"The place is small, the level of economic development is limited, and it is not easy to retain talents." The receptionist sighed, "If a city does not have enough young adults and talents, how can it retain its vitality?"

Hua Jin looked at the wide and tidy street outside the car window: "Xugou City has changed a lot, I can hardly recognize it."

The receptionist said a few words of modesty, but in his words, he was still proud of the development of his hometown.

Listening to this, Hua Jin found that the Anonymous County in her memory was dark and the train station in Xugou City was crowded and terrifying, but coming back after eight years, the sun here is bright, the streets are wide, and the people It is enthusiastic, and even the green trees on both sides of the street are full of vitality.

She thought, maybe she grew up and became stronger. In other words, the past is no longer important to her, so she has such a peaceful and happy state of mind.

Pei Yan and Hua Jin spent a day in Xugou City, and set off for Anonymous County early the next morning. The Xugou City side was worried that what trouble they might encounter would affect their impression of the local area, so two staff members were specially arranged to accompany them.

"There is already a direct expressway from the urban area to the county seat. It used to take an hour and a half to drive, but now it takes 40 minutes to get there, which greatly shortens the transportation time." Several districts and counties are all good places with convenient transportation, beautiful scenery and outstanding people. If Mr. Pei and Miss Hua have enough time, we warmly welcome the two of you to take a look around."

Hua Jin smiled and said, "I will definitely go if I have a chance."

"Anonymous County has changed a lot in the past few years. Miss Hua has not been back to her hometown for many years. I am afraid she is not familiar with her hometown." The escort said, "It is enough to ask, where is Miss Hua's hometown?"

"My hometown is in the village of Anonymous County. When I was in high school, my parents and younger brother died in an accident, so I lived with my uncle's family for nearly half a year. Later, because I didn't have the opportunity to take the college entrance examination, I went to other places to make a living." Hua Jin added like a joke. One sentence, "When I was in the third year of high school, I was still the first in the grade, which is a pity."

The escorts were a little embarrassed when they heard this, but seeing Hua Jin didn't seem to care, they said, "It's really a pity."

The elders in the family passed away, but they did not have the opportunity to take the college entrance examination with their relatives. There is no need to say that everyone can guess what is inside.

Thinking of this, the staff of Xugou City are a little worried. Miss Hua has experienced this before, will it have a bad impression on Xugou City and affect Mr. Pei's investment in Xugou City?

Pei Yan shook Hua Jin's hand and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I'll help you out."

Hua Jin twisted his waist gently and yet fiercely.

Pei Yan: "..." Okay, why are you twisting his waist again?

"I'm sorry, I remembered the sentence you once said about hitting the dog to see the owner." Hua Jin raised her finger, "The hand doesn't follow orders."

Pei Yan: "..."

Before dawn, the village party secretary of Jiu Village, Xiashu Town, Anonymous County, got up from the bed. Last night, he received a notice that an investor from a big city was coming to visit them, and asked the staff in their village to prepare for reception work.

In recent years, the life in the village has been pretty good. Businessmen often come and say that they want to invest, but unfortunately they didn't implement it in the end. Of course, he wants the village to develop better. It's just that there's something going on in the village recently. If the investor came over and happened to encounter this...

Thinking of this, he was so sad that he squatted on the edge of the field and took two puffs of cigarettes, staring in a daze at the field where the millet had been cut and only the piles of grain remained.

"Secretary Hua, what are you doing here, you're dead." A villager who was about to go to the county town to work as a geotechnical worker was taken aback and stood there watching for a while before recognizing him, "Early in the morning. Yes, you're not dozing off in bed?"

"I'm so sleepy, I'm so worried that my head hurts." Hua Shuji distributed a cigarette to the villager, "Today, the leaders above brought investors to visit us. I'm afraid that when they come, Hua Chengzhong and Hua Chengzhong will be together. The Chengguo two came to me to make trouble again. When this trouble comes out, who will the investors look at us?"

The villagers lit their cigarettes and squatted down like Secretary Hua: "If you want me to say, Hua Chengzhong and Hua Chengguo should not take the homestead and farmland left by the third Hua, and the third Hua's family should not take them. There is also a girl, these should all belong to the baby in the house, what does it have to do with their elder brother and the old lady? She is studying, asking her to marry a thirty-year-old bachelor, forcing her baby girl to run away, and I don’t know what it has become after all these years, you say wickedness is not wicked?”

They are all from Huajiagou, Jiu Village. Strictly speaking, as long as the surname of Hua is in the village, the ancestors will be more or less related by blood. Even Hua Shuji and Hua Chengzhong's family, several generations up, are descended from the same ancestor, and counted as a family.

Speaking of the third family of Hua Lao, Secretary Hua sighed. When Hua Laosan's family was alive, although they preferred sons to daughters, at least they were willing to let the girls in the family go to school. Later, the Hua family had an accident when they took their son out, and there was only one girl left in the family, and they were treated harshly by their uncles. Who wouldn't say a few words behind Hua Chengzhong's lack of great virtue?

"You're busy, I'll stay here for a while." Secretary Hua threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stepped on it hard, "You're right, even if the things in the third Hua's house are rotten, they belong to other people's children."

It's just that when the daughter of the Hua family ran away, she was less than eighteen years old. Now seven or eight years have passed, and there is no contact information. Where can they find someone?

At that time, Hua Chengzhong was in trouble in the village, saying that the daughter of the Hua family was disobedient and stole the family's money and ran away secretly. They helped Hua Chengzhong's family to find it together. He and a fellow villager had actually seen the girl squatting in the cornfield, but seeing her trembling with fear and her face full of tears, the two elders softened their hearts. .

Everyone in the village knew that Hua Chengzhong wanted to marry his niece to an old bachelor. Everyone thought that he was immoral, and it was normal for the daughter of the Hua family to be unwilling. It's just that these outsiders are not very good at managing other people's family affairs, and sometimes there is no other way than to persuade Hua Chengzhong to say a few words.

don't know if it was right or wrong to pretend that didn't see the Hua's daughter, in case she encounters any accident outside...

The more thought about it, the more panic felt in heart. Secretary Hua went home and changed into clean clothes. Seeing that it was getting late, he went to the village office.

Not long after sitting in the office, two brothers from the Hua family came. One said that the homestead left by the third brother should be divided equally between the two brothers, and the other said that he helped the third brother raise the baby left behind, and the things were just It should be his home.

"How shameless does it take to be able to say such a thing?" Hua Chengguo spit on the ground, "You were a raised Jin Jin back then, who doesn't know that at the head of the village? Lock up Jin Jin at the top of the house, Don't let people go to the college entrance examination, but also want her to marry an old bachelor, these things are not too shameful for you to do, I feel ashamed when I say them."

"You want face, then why didn't you raise her back then?" Hua Chengzhong replied, "Sooner or later, a girl of hers is going to get married. What's the use of reading so many books, can she still be admitted to the top spot?"

"You can't say it that way. If you had asked Jin Wazi to take the exam, maybe our village would really be a champion." A village woman who was watching the excitement interjected yin and yang, "Although the second child is a flower, If you don't raise a golden baby, that won't hurt her."

"It's none of your business about my house." Hua Chengzhong glared at the woman who interrupted, "It's disgusting."

"Hua Chengzhong, you short-lived turtle, how dare you scold Laozi's mother-in-law?" The village woman's husband stood up and put the hoe in his hand on the ground, "Believe me or not."

"Don't make any noise." Secretary Hua walked out of the office, looked at the crowd crowded outside, and stared at the two brothers of the Hua family: "You two have been arguing here for a few days, and the farm work at home has been left behind?"

"It's not that we want to quarrel, it's just that this thing should be whichever one..." Hua Chengzhong stubbornly said, "We can't let others take advantage of it."

"Since which is which is which, what else are you two brothers fighting about?" Secretary Hua put his hands behind his back, "Everything should be for the third daughter, what does it have to do with you?"

"Jin Jindu hasn't come back for seven or eight years. Who knows what she's doing." Hua Chengzhong said, "Why don't you give me the homestead and fill it, it won't be wasted."

"Bullshit, if everything is what you say, what kind of law do you want?" Secretary Hua said with a sullen face, "Don't make any more trouble, anyway, things are expensive, you two brothers don't want to fight for either. The leaders are coming, don't make trouble here, the trouble is big, and it will affect our entire village."

"It's good to have a leader, I'll let the leader tell you what to look at." Hua Chengzhong's wife said sharply, "Hua Jinjin, that short-lived dead girl, if she hasn't come back for so many years, maybe it's long ago. You ran off with the wild man, and you don’t even remember which direction the door of the house opened, you still want to leave the homestead to her, what an international joke.”

During the slack season, when the villagers have nothing to do, they like to watch the fun. When Hua Chengzhong's wife said this, the villagers who were watching the lively began to talk about it. Some people said that Hua Jinjin was kidnapped by human traffickers, and some people said that Hua Jinjin must have been married outside. , she will never go back to this village.

"Go back to watch TV if you have nothing to do, don't hang around here, just walk around." Secretary Hua saw a few cars on the road heading towards the village office, and felt a little nervous. Investors and leaders came so early?

The other staff of the village office also gathered around. Seeing that the villagers were unwilling to leave, they whispered to them not to talk nonsense. This is an investor from a big city. If they are lucky, they can let the investor By investing in this village, they can earn a lot more every year.

Although the villagers like to watch the fun, but they also know the stakes, they all took a few steps back, ready to applaud.

For Hua Jin, the whole village is unfamiliar. She remembered that leaving the village to go to the county seat had to climb two high mountains, but now the mountains are gone, there are only spacious roads and neat terraced fields. She sat in the car, not even knowing where she once lived. village for more than ten years.

"Leaders, the village branch in Huajiagou is in front." The driver whispered, "The road to the village branch has not been fully repaired, so the car will be a little bumpy, leaders please be careful."

As the car got closer and closer to the two-story white building, Hua Jin's heart... didn't waver.

The car stopped outside Xiaobai Building, and the escort helped her open the car door, and she heard warm applause.

"Welcome leaders to come and inspect."

"A warm welcome."

"Please come inside and have a cup of hot tea, you have come a long way to work hard."

"Come on, I'll accompany you to get out of the car." Pei Yan got out of the car, bent down and stretched out his hand in front of Hua Jin.

Hua Jin turned her head and smiled at him, put her hand in Pei Yan's palm, and walked out of the car. Looking around, she saw everyone smiling and applauding enthusiastically.