Chapter 232: Meeting the Reborn

Chapter 232 Encountering the Reborn One Again

Only Ye Changqing remained behind to handle some remaining matters, while Ye Xiaoxiao and the others returned to their hometown in the afternoon.

Traveling by ox cart, they figured they'd get home after dark.

“We've got so much stuff—shouldn’t we get two ox carts?”

Ye Changning kept packing and realized they had more belongings than expected. In the end, they arranged for two carts—one for luggage and one for people.

With so many people, hauling their things home wasn't too hard.

“The roads here are really hard to travel.”

The old cart driver kept muttering as he dropped them off at their doorstep.

“Only I could handle this route. Anyone else would’ve overturned the cart.”

Ye Xiaoxiao whispered to Ye Changning, “Is he angling for extra cash?”

Let me handle him,” Ye Changning replied.

Ye Changning didn’t haggle too much. The driver just wanted a few extra coins, and as long as it wasn’t unreasonable, he was willing to pay.

As Ye Xiaoxiao was unloading their stuff, she noticed a shadowy figure coming down from the hills, passing by the Ye family’s gate.

The person worked himself into a frenzy upon seeing the entire Ye family gathered, becoming visibly agitated.

“This can't be happening… This isn’t real, it isn’t real.”

Li Deshu couldn’t accept it. Since his rebirth, he faced a life even more miserable than his previous one.

His family was bankrupt, he'd gone lame, and even his wife was someone else entirely.

These days, he'd been digging around and found that, apart from his own family, the Ye family had changed the most from his past life.

That woman, Ye Yanyan, had actually left White Stone Village years ago.

The one silver lining was that his current wife was also very beautiful—though she had been staying with her parents and was threatening to leave him.

Divorce?

What woman in her right mind would divorce these days? Who would want damaged goods like her?

Though he had heard some rumors from others, seeing the Ye family all present and accounted for before him was still shocking.

His thoughts spun wildly—where had things gone wrong?

Could it be Ye Yanyan? Had that woman come back too?

After all, they had died together in their past life.

“Li Deshu, what are you doing here? Scram before I make you.”

Ye Changning glared at him with disgust.

Li Deshu flinched at Ye Changning's threatening posture.

"Hey, take it easy... I wasn’t trying to start anything. You guys came back for New Year’s, huh? Why didn’t Yan Yan come back? Did she ditch you guys after finding her birth parents?"

Ye Changning threw the things in his hands to the ground, grabbed Li Deshu by the collar, and slammed him against the tree by the gate.

"Too much lip."

"Don’t... don’t hit me."

Li Deshu was shaking in his boots.

He had no idea he’d poked a hornet’s nest. Hao Yanyan’s relationship with the Ye family was pretty rocky these days.

"Is Third Bro actually gonna hit him?"

Ye Changsheng was completely calm. "Just roughing him up a little."

"Let’s go inside first, it’s freezing out here."

Ye Xiaoxiao carried the things into the yard.

The chickens, ducks, and geese had all been moved to Ye Jianye’s house to be raised, and some had already been slaughtered, so the yard felt kinda dead.

By next spring, Miao Cuifang would surely bring back some new baby birds to raise.

Ye Jianguo wasn’t home—he was over at his uncle’s.

Miao Cuifang came out to help carry things in.

Seeing Li Deshu beg like a dog, Ye Changning was about to let him go. "Watch your damn mouth."

Li Deshu asked weakly, "All I asked was where Yan Yan went. I heard it’s the capital?"

If she really had been reborn like him, maybe he could still find her and pick up where they left off. Dumping him like trash was just too heartless.

Ye Changning punched Li Deshu in the stomach, making him fold like a lawn chair.

"Stay in your lane. Don’t walk past our house again."

Ye Changning released him and turned on his heel, heading home.

Li Deshu’s gaze was pure hate.

Sure, Ye Changning had had his little come-up in business for a while, but he remembered how later, because of certain incidents, he crashed and burned.

"Big man now, huh? You’ll get yours sooner or later."

Li Deshu spat out and limped away.

...

With all the children back home, the house was suddenly buzzing.

Both families sat together for dinner, the house was buzzing.

After the meal, they chatted, catching up on recent family news.

Grandpa Miao had been brought over too. At first, he hadn’t known Miao Cuifang was sick and had gone to the capital, but she was gone so long...

Ye Changqing had to go home and inform them that Miao Cuifang and Ye Jianguo were dealing with some matters in Beijing and would return later.

Old Man Miao wondered if something had happened.

Ye Changqing had to reassure him for quite a while before finally calming the old man down.

Miao Cuifang's first order of business when she got back was to bring the old man home.

When he saw his daughter and son-in-law were okay, the old man finally felt relieved.

Even though he'd been told earlier, not seeing them in person had left him constantly worried.

Ye Xiaoxiao and Ye Changning distributed the gifts they had brought to everyone.

Another nice thing about coming home was that the house now had electricity.

"But there are no light bulbs installed yet," she noted.

Ye Xiaoxiao looked around the yard. "They haven't run the wiring yet."

Ye Jianguo: "Tomorrow we'll go buy the wires and connect them. I know how to do this."

Miao Cuifang: "Don't overdo it—what if you get electrocuted?"

Ye Jianguo: "I did this kind of work in the army. It's pretty simple."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Do we have to go outside to buy the wires?"

They should've gotten them beforehand.

Ye Changning: "I'll go to town tomorrow to get them."

He never seems to get tired.

Ye Jianguo: "Did Gangzi not come back this time?"

Ye Changning: "He'll come back after I return after New Year's. He's staying home a few more days."

Ye Jianguo nodded. "That works. You two have been putting in hard work out there."

Ye Changning mainly didn’t have anyone he trusted enough, so he had to keep Gangzi there to keep an eye on things.

Ye Jianguo: "What about Wang Sheng?"

Ye Changning: "I really don’t know what he’s been up to lately. He chose not to work with me—I didn't shut him out."

Ye Jianguo sighed. "What's Uncle Wang supposed to do? If Wang Sheng's just aimlessly drifting out there, he might as well come home."

Miao Cuifang: "Maybe it's better he stays away. When he was home, all he did was argue with Uncle Wang and Aunt Chun, and he wasn’t the least bit helpful."

At first, when Ye Changning wanted to go out with him, Ye Jianguo had worried that Wang Sheng might lead Ye Changning down the wrong path. Fortunately, they didn’t end up together—it was the right decision.

Ye Xiaoxiao listened to their conversation for a while before slipping away to her room to get settled.

When she went in, she saw there wasn't much to do.

The place was spotless, and the heated bed was still warm.

In the clothes cabinet, there were a few heavy winter clothes, plus her boots and hat.

The only inconvenience was that it was completely dark now.

Things should be better tomorrow after we get the bulbs.

In the evening, Miao Cuifang prepared two hot water bottles for Ye Xiaoxiao and put them in her bed.

"You must be tired today. Go to bed early, and don’t get up too early tomorrow. We don't have anything pressing at home."

Ye Xiaoxiao snuggled into the warm covers: "Thanks, Mom."