Chapter 345 - 342: Returning to the Hometown

Chapter 345: Chapter 342: Returning to the Hometown

The days trickled by, and before they knew it, the end of the year arrived. This year marked the twentieth anniversary of the passing of Li Xiu’s master. Zhou Lian had discussed it with Li Xiu beforehand, and they had agreed to hold a grand memorial for him. Moreover, Li Xiu now held a profound reverence for the divine, so when Zhou Lian suggested inviting monks to perform a Water-Land Dharma Assembly, he readily agreed.

On the day they were to return to their hometown, they took four cars, including Li Bao’s. Mr. Zhou, Mrs. Zhou, the Zhou and Li family members studying in the Capital City, Sister Fang, and the four young men from the front courtyard were all going back as well. The only ones left in the entire courtyard house were Professor Xiao, Professor Fan, and a dozen or so bodyguards from the front courtyard.

The imposing convoy headed toward Li Xiu and Zhou Lian’s hometown. The car carrying the Zhou family members and Zhang Yizhen went directly to Zhou Family Village. Of the remaining three cars, one held Li Bao’s family and Li He, another held Li Xiu’s family and Sister Fang, and the last held Li Guo and Li Cui.

The cars drove directly to Li Xiu’s home. Seeing the three vehicles enter the village, the locals knew the Li family from the Capital City was back. Some of the gossips began to mutter amongst themselves. ’Is something big happening? Otherwise, why would the usually low-key Li Xiu cause such a stir!’

Grandma Li watched as her grandsons, granddaughters, granddaughter-in-law, great-grandson, and great-granddaughter stepped out of the cars one by one, and she grinned from ear to ear. She was getting older with each passing year and feared she didn’t have much time left. Every visit counted.

The hour was growing late. After chatting with Grandma Li for a while, Li Bao and the others headed to their respective homes. Sister Fang, along with the young men who had returned after dropping off the Zhou family members, began efficiently unpacking the things they had brought from the Capital City. Since it was getting late, they also had to start preparing dinner; a meal for this many people couldn’t be cooked in an instant.

"You’re all back? Aren’t you busy?" Grandma Li asked gently, smiling at her eldest grandson and his wife, one arm wrapped around her great-grandson and the other around her great-granddaughter.

Li Xiu handed a cup of freshly brewed red date, longan, and goji berry tea to Zhou Lian. Only after watching her cradle it in her hands and take a sip did he speak softly. "Grandma, this year marks the twentieth anniversary of my master’s passing. I finally have the means to hold a grand memorial for him. My master never married and had no children of his own. I can’t let people say he has no one to pay respects to his spirit!"

"Twenty years already," Grandma Li said with a soft sigh. "You’re doing the right thing. The debt of gratitude you owe your master is as high as a mountain; no act of repayment could ever be excessive!" While Grandma Li didn’t know the full extent of Li Xiu’s current means, she had heard bits and pieces from Li Bao and the others.

Grandma Li knew that if not for his excellent master, Li Xiu would have been nothing more than a farm boy who couldn’t even read. He never would have achieved what he had today, let alone brought along all his younger cousins from the first and third branches of the family. It wasn’t that her grandson wasn’t clever, but without a mentor to set him on the right path, how could his journey have been so smooth!

Besides, just by looking at Li Xiu now, Grandma Li could tell that Ge Xingzhi must have been teaching him as a Closed-door Disciple. Otherwise, Li Xiu wouldn’t be thriving in the Capital City with Li Bao. Li Bao had even hinted to her that his elder brother had connections to the Capital City’s Imperial Palace. A family knows its own history, and for generations, the Li family had been nothing but poor farmers, scraping a living from the soil. They had absolutely no connection to such important people!

Grandma Li was no fool. The only person who could have had connections to such powerful figures was Ge Xingzhi, who had left with the troops in his early twenties. She didn’t know the specifics, but forging ties—good ones, at that—with such important people had to be because of him. Now that her own grandson wanted to properly honor his master, how could she possibly object? Of course she would support him wholeheartedly!

"Mhm. Grandma, I want to arrange a Water-Land Dharma Assembly for my master," Li Xiu said, deciding it was better to tell her in advance.

"A Water-Land Dharma Assembly?" Grandma Li mused for a moment. "As long as you have the means to do it, you should. You wouldn’t be where you are today without your master. When the time comes, you should tell him all about your successes and make him proud. You’ve really made something of yourself now. I’m sure if your master knew, he would be very, very happy."

"I understand, Grandma."

Seeing that they had more or less finished with the topic, Zhou Lian spoke up gently. "Grandma, how has your health been? We were hoping to bring you to the Capital City for a visit, to see our home there."

"I’m old now... I think... I think it’s best if I don’t," Grandma Li said, refusing despite desperately wanting to go. She thought about how busy her grandson and his wife were and decided she didn’t want to be a bother.

Sensing that her grandmother-in-law was tempted, Zhou Lian smiled. "Grandma, I’m a teacher, so I get winter and summer breaks just like the students. I’ll have plenty of time to take you around. Besides, don’t you want to see our home in the Capital City? Or see the schools where Li Guo and Li Cui are studying?"

"I... I still think..."

"Please come, Grandma," Li Xiu interjected, seeing she was tempted and cutting off her refusal. He joined Zhou Lian in gently persuading her. "Once we’re finished with things here, just come with us. You can visit for a while, and whenever you’ve had your fill, we’ll bring you right back!"

"Great-Grandma, don’t you want to see Nuonuo’s house? And Nuonuo’s school? Umm, Great-Grandma, my grandmaster and great-grandmaster are super nice. You’ll see when you meet them! Why don’t you come back to the Capital City with Nuonuo, okay?" Catching the meaningful glance from her mother, Nuonuo looked at Grandma Li and spoke in a soft, sweet voice.

Yanyan glanced at his older sister and quickly chimed in, "Great-Grandma, Great-Grandma, please come back to the Capital City with us! Our house is huge, and it has a big, beautiful garden. You’ll definitely love it!"

Looking at the four pairs of shining eyes fixed on her, Grandma Li chuckled. Her heart melted from the pleading of her two little great-grandchildren. She nodded gently. "Alright, alright, alright. In that case, Great-Grandma will go back to the Capital City with our Nuonuo and Yanyan to see this big house and big garden of yours!"

"Yay! I’ll be your tour guide, Great-Grandma!" Yanyan exclaimed happily, seeing that she had agreed.

As for Nuonuo, she raised a hand to cover her face. ’Oh, for heaven’s sake. Pretending to be a little girl and acting all cute is so embarrassing. My own shameless parents couldn’t persuade Great-Grandma, so they sicced me and my brother on her. I’ve never seen parents so willing to throw their own kids under the bus.’

In recent years, Li Xianglin, also known as Nuonuo, had begun to feel that she was all grown up. Not only did she forbid her family from using her nickname, but she also became more and more taciturn, her face growing increasingly expressionless until she was the spitting image of a mini-poker-face. Because of this, her mother, Zhou Lian, made it her personal mission to get a reaction out of her. It had gotten to the point where Li Xianglin was now terrified of defying her mother, fearing what bizarre new trick she might pull just to mess with her.

Glancing at Li Xianglin, Zhou Lian knew her daughter was grumbling about her internally again. It wasn’t that Zhou Lian enjoyed doing this; it was just that her daughter was losing more and more of the cheerful liveliness she’d had in her past life. Seeing her constantly wearing such a stern little expression, Zhou Lian felt she had no other choice but to tease her, hoping to prevent the expressions on her daughter’s face from vanishing completely.