Since we are both reborn, of course I would choose the rich woman!

Chapter 443 About Home (Please Subscribe)
In rural areas, bringing a woman home to live in the same house carries special significance.

This represents the closeness of the relationship between the two parties, and for the older generation, it is more of a "hint" from their child about their marriage.

However, this kind of hint usually only applies to the man's family. In the woman's family, even if the man and woman have already married and become a real couple, when the couple returns to the woman's family home, the husband and wife usually still sleep separately. Under this old custom, some fun ways of playing have gradually emerged.

In modern times, even if the wife's family discovers these practices, everyone usually keeps quiet about them.

Just as Lü Yao was about to carry his things upstairs to his own room, there was a noise at the front door; Lü Yao's parents had returned.

My parents are almost the same as before.

My mother's figure has become increasingly plump in recent years. Her hair, inherited from my grandmother, is already completely white even though she is not yet fifty. However, my mother is in good spirits and looks great. She was especially happy when she heard from the villagers that Lü Yao had returned. So as soon as she opened the door, she laughed heartily: "Oh my! Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

Lü Yao smiled and said, "I was so busy I forgot."

At this moment, Lu Yao's father, Lu Hua, snorted coldly: "Yeah, you're such a busy man, how come you don't even know to come back and visit? It's been years! I thought you thought I was dead."

Lu Yao's father had this ability; the way he spoke, full of sarcastic and sarcastic remarks, could instantly ignite a fire in one's heart. Even though Lu Yao had experience from his past and present lives, and even though he had weathered many storms, he was still easily provoked every time he heard his father speak like that. His blood would rush to his head, and Lu Yao would feel the veins on his forehead throbbing, wishing he could immediately have a big fight with his father.

But soon, this anger turned into helplessness in his heart, and was then taken over by the rapidly rising "escape emotion".

Because Lü Yao knew that no matter what she did, this man would not change, and she really couldn't do anything to him.

What could he have done wrong?

What heinous things has he done?

No.

He just has a sharp tongue.

Lu Yao couldn't even send the man to jail like he did with Zhou Bella's father.

It was precisely this indescribable meanness and sharp tongue that became the "helplessness" that Lü Yao could not shake off in his past and present lives.

Fortunately, Lü Yao's mother immediately jumped in to help him out of the predicament. She tugged at Lü Yao's father and said with a stern face, "Say less! I don't understand what you're so eager for."

Lu Yao's father immediately glared at Lu Yao's mother, while Lu Yao appropriately introduced, "Dad, Mom, this is Lin Yongzhen, Miss Lin."

Lin Yongzhen immediately replied politely, "Uncle and Aunt, you can just call me Xiao Lin or A-Zhen."

Lu Yao's mother immediately stepped forward and praised, "Xiao Lin, you're so beautiful! I haven't seen you much in the news or on my phone. What do you do now? Where are you from? Do you have any siblings?"

Faced with his mother's interrogation-like questioning, before Lin Yongzhen could even show anything, Lü Yao became uncomfortable: "Aren't you asking too many questions, Mom? How about we see what we have at home and prepare something to eat? I'm a little hungry."

Lu Yao's mother immediately laughed and said, "Okay, okay, I'll go buy groceries right now. Xiao Lin, what do you want to eat?"

Lin Yongzhen smiled sweetly and said, "Auntie, I'm fine with anything."

Lu Yao's mother immediately said, "Then I'll take care of it."

Lu Yao turned around and prepared to go upstairs. The self-built houses in his hometown were all two-story buildings with an attic. Lu Yao's room was upstairs.

Seeing that Lü Yao was about to turn around and go upstairs, Lü Yao's mother immediately tried to follow him, saying, "Oh dear, I haven't even made my bed upstairs yet!"

Without turning his head, Lü Yao said, "I can do it myself."

Once they finally reached the upstairs, Lü Yao could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The upstairs room was decorated by Lü Yao himself after he returned from university. The bed, TV cabinet, and sofa upstairs were chosen by Lü Yao and bought by his parents. Many of the decorative items were also found and replaced by Lü Yao himself, which formed a stark contrast with the solid wood sofa and bed downstairs.

Once upstairs, Lin Yongzhen immediately reverted to her unrestrained self. She casually found a place to sit, then propped herself up on the sofa with her hands, tilted her head, and looked at Lü Yao with a smile, saying, "Did you decorate upstairs? It looks pretty good."

Looking at the hastily constructed decorations in the shabby place, Lü Yao felt no embarrassment or awkwardness, only endless nostalgia.

Although he possessed youth and the feeling of youth, he also truly lost his "youth" in this round.

Lu Yao glanced around the room with a nostalgic look.

A thick layer of dust covered many places upstairs. His parents weren't the kind of people who were particularly sensitive or caring. Lu Yao learned his tricks for getting along with women by interacting with one woman after another.

Therefore, Lu Yao's upstairs was not spotless; on the contrary, the corners upstairs were excessively dusty.

However, in frequently used areas, signs of cleaning are visible, and those areas have significantly less dust than other areas.

Lü Yao did not answer Lin Yongzhen's question, but said apologetically, "I'm sorry, the conditions in my hometown are like this, I'm sorry to have wronged you."

Lin Yongzhen rolled her eyes, a rare occurrence for her: "What kind of talk is that? I think it's quite nice here."

Early May in northern Jiangsu is neither too hot nor too cold, with refreshing air. The afternoon sun is bright and clean, as if it has been purified by an air purifier. Lin Yongzhen looked out of the window of Lu Yao's upstairs living room. There were some crops that Lin Yongzhen did not recognize growing in the vegetable garden outside the yard, and further ahead was a grove of trees.

Some of the land on both sides of the woods has been abandoned because the villagers have all moved away to work elsewhere, while other areas are planted with large fields of wheat.

Lin Yongzhen said with some emotion, "It's really nice, it has a very peaceful feeling."

Her gaze gradually became complicated, as if she genuinely liked the place.

Lu Yao didn't say anything, and just looked outside with Lin Yongzhen.

After a while, Lin Yongzhen came to her senses and said with a smile, "Okay, let's get ready."

The first thing they had to do was clean up the dust upstairs. Lü Yao put his luggage in his room, then found some cleaning tools and cleaned the room with Lin Yongzhen. The two of them worked very quickly, and the upstairs was cleaned in no more than half an hour.

After tidying upstairs, Lü Yao changed into some loose and comfortable clothes, then went downstairs and carried an old wooden stool outside. This stool was the same kind that used to be with the dining table in Lü Yao's old house. It was only thirty or forty centimeters high, with a small backrest. In this rural area, many old men liked to sit against the wall on such a small stool to bask in the sun, and some would even take it to the street to set up a stall.

At this moment, Lü Yao, just like an old man in the countryside, carried two stools to the cement open space in front of the yard and sat down, feeling the evening breeze. The gentle late spring breeze rustled through the treetops of the poplar trees, making a "whooshing" sound that was particularly soothing to the restlessness and anxiety in people's hearts.

As the sun sets behind the mountains, it filters through the shady leaves of the trees, creating dappled, sparkling patches of light that dance and shimmer, as if the setting sun were casting its golden rays upon a pristine lake.

Since high school, Lü Yao has loved the time in his hometown during late spring and early summer, which is one of the few times in his life when he feels comfortable and free.

Although there is no one in this world who can truly empathize, Lin Yongzhen still sat quietly beside Lü Yao.

On the old stool, in the quiet and peaceful moment, she seemed to vaguely sense a trace of Lü Yao's emotions... and Lin Yongzhen, like a thief in the mortal world, secretly collected these empathetic emotions.

She has had little freedom for a large part of her life so far, so she cherishes the present moment all the more.

As they sat side by side, the villagers seemed unusually busy today. People kept riding electric bikes or tricycles, passing by Lü Yao's house as if they were just passing by. But in reality, Lü Yao's house was at the very front of the village, and there were hardly any other houses further into the village from there.

Those people were just there for the spectacle.

But Lü Yao didn't have time to deal with them.

When the aunt next door came back and greeted him with a smile, Lü Yao also greeted her with a smile, just like many years ago.

When it got a little dark, Lu Yao's parents rode out of the alley next to the courtyard on their electric bikes. When they saw Lu Yao and Lin Yongzhen sitting outside, Lu Yao's mother called out enthusiastically, "Why are you sitting outside? It's cold at night, hurry home."

These words were not spoken to Lü Yao, but to Lin Yongzhen.

Lin Yongzhen immediately stood up with a smile: "Oh, Auntie, what delicious things did you buy?"

"Let me help you with it."

Lin Yongzhen and Lü Yao's mother were getting along very well, but Lü Yao didn't talk much to his father. After buying groceries from the street, he went downstairs to his bedroom and turned on the TV.

Lu Yao didn't have anything in particular he wanted to say to him, and just smoked a cigarette on the cement ground at the entrance of the courtyard.

Home is a place that you miss a little when you haven't seen it for a long time, but when you finally see it, it seems like nothing special, just an ordinary place. But it is this very ordinariness that makes countless people yearn for it.

Even if your relationship with your family isn't harmonious, there are always moments in your hometown that truly belong to you. These moments are the marks left on your life as you grow up, the rings of your life.

Here, no matter how fierce the storm outside, it always makes people feel relaxed and at peace.

Perhaps it was because he was going abroad, and the unknown future and prospects made even someone like Lü Yao, who had experience with the future, feel uneasy, and even subconsciously seek comfort in his hometown.

"call--"

Lu Yao exhaled the last puff of smoke from his chest and returned to the courtyard with two small stools before the sun disappeared.

In rural areas, courtyards often have a dedicated kitchen that is not inside the house. In addition to storing kitchen utensils, it also stores firewood, corncobs, dried peanut vines, and other things that can be used to start a fire.

However, nowadays every household has a gas stove, so wood-burning stoves are basically only used during holidays and festivals.

When Lü Yao returned to the courtyard, the kitchen, filled with the smell of cooking oil, was bathed in warm yellow light, and wisps of smoke drifted out of the kitchen doorway, carrying with them the rich aroma of food...

This is what we call the warmth and vitality of everyday life.

Lu Yao arrived at the kitchen door and saw Lin Yongzhen busy inside with her mother. Lu Yao took a deep breath of the cooking smell and smiled, "It smells so good."

I don't know why, but the food at home is always a little different from what I eat outside. Even though I've eaten a lot of delicious food outside, the food at home always tastes different and more palatable.

Mom quickly said, "You two don't need to wait here, go sit in the main room."

In the main room, Lu Yao's father came out of the living room at some point, carrying a bottle of Shuang Gou liquor. Before everyone else had even sat down, he began to drink it by himself, along with the cold dishes that had already been prepared.

Lu Yao shook his head: "Let's wait and go together."

My mom cooks very quickly; she finished several of the main dishes in no time.

Sauerkraut stewed mutton, tomato stewed spiced beef, braised fish, potato and chicken, pork and cabbage stewed with vermicelli. These are the dishes that Lü Yao remembers as his favorites. When Lü Yao was a child, the countryside was very poor. In his childhood memories, he even remembers that every household was assigned corvée labor.

During the off-season, every household would contribute manpower and labor, bringing their own food to repair railway tracks and river channels.

Lu Yao had never done these jobs, but in his memory, his father and grandfather had done them, digging and moving stones on railway tracks or riverbeds every day, earning no money and having to bring their own lunch.

Back then, life in the countryside was truly tough, so Lu Yao's childhood memories are filled with hunger. Therefore, he always has a particularly deep impression of eating delicious, oily meals during festivals.

Nowadays, the living standards in rural areas have improved. Foods that we used to miss as children and could only afford to eat once in a long time are now readily available to us.

Lu Yao rubbed his hands together with a big smile: "Mom, time to eat."

My mom brought over a bowl of tomato and egg soup last, saying, "It's here, it's here."

Not long after they sat down, Lu Yao's father, who had been drinking alone, suddenly started lecturing: "Da Yao, how many days are you planning to stay at home this time? You haven't been back for so many years, you're not young anymore, are you?"

"Since you're back this time, go find a fortune teller to choose an auspicious date, and I'll take care of this important life event for you. Once that's done, your mother and I will have accomplished our mission. After that, you can go wherever you want, even if I never come back until I die, it won't matter, right?"

When he said that last sentence, Lu Yao's father even had a smile on his face.

Beneath that forced smile, the little bit of good mood that Lü Yao had just managed to build up instantly vanished.

The smoke disappeared.

(End of this chapter)