Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

Zhou Rui remained silent for a while, a feeling he couldn't quite put his finger on lingering in his heart.

It turns out he wasn't fighting alone; he had his father, his mother, and his second uncle behind him...

Zhou Rui originally planned to buy more rice tomorrow to prepare more for the family and spend all the remaining ten or so yuan.

As it turned out, Dad had already thought of it and even told Mom in advance...

Thinking of this, Zhou Rui's feelings were very complicated. He had just been considering many things to come, and in his heart, he wanted to shoulder a lot of things by himself.

Zhou Rui let out a deep breath, turned around, and forced a smile.

"Mom, I'll go buy it. What's Dad doing? He's made me feel like I have no use for anything."

Zeng Jiamei seemed to have anticipated Zhou Rui's answer. She continued wiping the stove, saying nonchalantly:

"Of course I know, so I didn't go to buy rice. I'll save it for you to buy. Just buy some potatoes to cook dishes or staple foods."

Zhou Rui fell silent again, as if something was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

Zeng Jiamei was very careful. She was afraid that if she did this, her son might be at a loss and it would dampen his enthusiasm.

So she cleverly left this difficult task to Zhou Rui.

What left Zhou Rui speechless was that he hadn't expected his mother to be so considerate of his feelings.

My dad always misses home, and my mom misses herself.

Zeng Jiamei noticed something was amiss. She wiped her hands on her apron and patted Zhou Rui's head, but said nothing.

After a while, Zhou Rui calmed down.

"Mom, hurry up and cook, I'm hungry."

Zeng Jiamei smiled and said, "Soon, go and call Grandpa and Grandma back for dinner."

Grandpa Zhou Yong'an and Grandma Meng Dan went out for a walk; the elderly couple couldn't sit still at home.

Zhou Rui nodded, then jogged out.

The second aunt next to her was quietly peeling potatoes because she was going to make a special southwestern snack called "Grandma's Potatoes".

"Grandma's Potatoes" requires peeled potatoes that have been steamed or boiled, then mashed before being used in cooking.

Perhaps because the elderly have poor teeth, this dish is suitable for them, hence the name.

Zhou Rui jogged out. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow on him as he walked along in the evening breeze.

On the country road, villagers who had been working in the fields were carrying hoes home.

Zhou Rui knew that his grandfather usually liked to go to the area at the edge of the village where some elderly people played chess.

The old man loved this game, but since he didn't have a chess set, he had to wait for a long time at the village entrance before he could have a proper game.

Grandma, on the other hand, liked to go to the village's "information station" to chat.

......

"I'll take your car, checkmate!"

As Zhou Rui approached the village entrance, he saw a group of elderly people gathered around, one of whom was his grandfather, Zhou Yong'an.

He was focused intently on the chessboard, remaining silent, while the other elderly men would occasionally offer their opinions.

"Hey, Lao Xia, what are you doing with that horse-jumping? It's like a flying elephant!"

As Zhou Rui approached, he, who also knew a little about chess, immediately realized that one side of the game was at a significant disadvantage.

He was a lean old man, known as Old Man Xia from the village. He loved playing chess and often argued fiercely over a game.

However, the technical skills are not very good.

His opponent was a ruddy-faced old man, and the wooden chess set belonged to him.

He is Yan Dashan, the elder of Aunt Yan, who runs the village store.

At this moment, Yan Dashan sat calmly, confident of victory.

Old Xia was a little impatient, with beads of sweat on his forehead, whether from the heat or from anxiety, it was hard to tell.

Zhou Rui didn't disturb his grandfather, but instead glanced at him quietly. His grandfather was intently analyzing the chess game, his eyes fixed on it.

So, let's go call Grandma first, so she'll be back around the same time.

Before leaving, Zhou Rui noticed a radio next to Yan Dashan. In this day and age, when entertainment options are scarce, this is a real gem.

He noticed that several elderly people were not looking at the chessboard, but were listening to the radio.

Although my grandfather's eyes were always on the chessboard, I could still occasionally see a hint of envy in his gaze as he glanced at the radio.

After selling the wild gastrodia elata, we must set aside some money to buy Grandpa a radio.

Otherwise, the old couple would be bored all day long, and they wouldn't have the confidence to brag in front of other old men.

Well, I can't tell my grandparents about this yet, otherwise, given their frugal nature, they'll definitely stop me from buying it.

Zhou Rui thought to himself, and walked quickly. The two places were not far apart, as this place was a gathering place for villagers after meals.

There were not only elderly people and women, but also children playing games.

"Grandma, come home for dinner!"

As Zhou Rui approached the "intelligence station," he immediately heard today's "Village Daily" in his ears.

Aunt Zhang said to her grandmother in a vivid voice:

"Auntie, you didn't see it! How shameless!"

"Those clothes were scattered everywhere, on the sofa and the floor."

Meng Dan listened intently, her eyes filled with disgust and rejection.

When they were young, the ideas of the Three Obediences and Four Virtues still existed and were very important. Such behavior as having extramarital affairs was strictly forbidden.

Another middle-aged woman quickly chimed in.

"Yes, Sister Zhang is right. Li Dehua's house, tsk tsk, he even came downstairs without properly putting on his clothes."

Meng Dan sighed and shook her head repeatedly. Then, when she heard her eldest grandson calling her, she said goodbye and left with Zhou Rui.

Walking down the street, Meng Dan said to Zhou Rui earnestly:

"Child, you can't learn from these people. They are bad people and they are not good. We should be upright and virtuous people."

Zhou Rui didn't support his grandmother because she was in much better health than his grandfather.

"I know, Grandma, I won't learn these things."

Meng Dan affectionately patted Zhou Rui.

The two quickly returned to the place where a group of old men were playing chess.

Meng Dan yelled at Zhou Yong'an, who was still watching the chess game.

"Old man, still playing around? The kids are all here."

Just then, the game ended, and judging from Old Xia's frustrated look, it was clear that Yan Dashan had won.

Sighs could be heard from time to time, and the sounds of reviewing the game could be heard continuously.

Meng Dan called twice before Zhou Yong'an reacted, and then his gaze quickly fell on Zhou Rui.

He then pushed through the crowd, found his cane on the side, and walked over, leaning on it.

As he walked, the old man looked reluctantly at the chess set, while glancing out of the corner of his eye at the radio that was still making noise.

Seemingly afraid that his grandson would see his reluctant expression, he only glanced back twice before turning away again.

Instead, he walked over to Zhou Rui and said with a smile:

"Son, come on, let's go home for dinner."