TGPA Chapter 7 Warmth, Home
There's a feeling called being both familiar and estranged in one's hometown.
As the train slowly pulled into Meicheng, a torrential autumn rain poured down. The raindrops pattered against the windows, and the city seen through them still held no sense of unfamiliarity. The area near the railway tracks, forever the most difficult and least willing to be developed, was dotted with old buildings and bungalows, most of which remained unchanged.
Autumn rain brings a chill, and when Chen Hao stepped off the train with his suitcase, a gust of cold wind hit him, instantly bringing back the feeling of being in the northeast, his hometown.
The simple train station, renovated but still lagging behind in development, the oldest and most dilapidated exit gate with iron railings, and even from a distance, one could hear the voices of taxi drivers and motel staff soliciting passengers. Even in the midst of a storm, it couldn't stop the footsteps of those who needed to make a living. While one might find these people annoying on regular days, when you see them braving the wind and rain outside the station, Chen Hao no longer felt that way. They were all just trying to make ends meet, and it wasn't easy for anyone.
"Xiao Hao, Xiao Hao!"
Next to the closed iron gate, a slightly weathered dark face caught Chen Hao's eye – it was his brother-in-law, Ma Defu.
"Brother-in-law." Chen Hao waved his arm and flashed a bright smile. Apart from blood ties, this man was undoubtedly the closest person to him in the world.
Meicheng was a small station, but it was a transportation hub, so there were quite a few people getting off the train. Some lingered on the platform, reluctant to go out in the rain, as there was shelter from the rain on the platform. Chen Hao quickly left Meicheng Railway Station.
"Quick, give me your stuff." Ma Defu handed Chen Hao an opened umbrella and reached for the large suitcase. Chen Hao dodged a bit but didn't refuse his brother-in-law's help, handing him the lighter computer case instead.
Ma Defu hesitated for a moment, but didn't say anything. He picked up the suitcase and led the way ahead. "My car is parked up front."
Limping.
Watching his brother-in-law hobble along with uneven shoulders, Chen Hao sighed inwardly. He hurried to catch up, feeling a bit sorry for his slightly lame brother-in-law. When his elder sister married him, it was hard to believe there wasn't some family support involved. It was precisely during the most difficult time for his family that they decided on a match after just one meeting. With a dowry of one hundred thousand yuan, this man, who looked older and slightly lame, managed to marry his beautiful elder sister.
Misfortune and fortune are intertwined.
After living together for a while, in the eyes of the neighbors, perhaps finding such a man was the happiest thing his sister had done in her life. Although his brother-in-law sometimes felt a bit resentful, he always did what his sister asked of him, including taking better care of their father-in-law's side than his own family.
Ma Defu's car was a very old Honda sedan. Chen Hao didn't even recognize the model. The car really lived up to the stereotype – it was a second-hand car that had changed hands nine times, and perhaps even more than nine times. With his slight limp, Ma Defu could only drive an automatic transmission car, so he could only choose the cheapest option that suited his needs.
After getting in the car, with the wind and rain blocked out, Ma Defu started the car, turned on the heater, and smiled as he said, "Feeling cold, Xiao Hao? Here, have a cigarette."
There was still a strong smell in the car, a mixture of cigarette smoke, the sweat of laborers accumulated on their clothes over the years, and a distinct smell of tools and materials used for work. Besides farming, Ma Defu also did plastering, plumbing, and electrical work on regular days. The lingering smell in the car was directly related to his work.
On the way, Ma Defu and his nephew smoked and chatted. Ma Defu kept mentioning how much the family missed Chen Hao, how his parents longed for him, how his sister wished he were home. It was clear to Chen Hao that Ma Defu was setting the stage, hoping for a smooth reunion without any conflicts.
"Things at home have improved. We received compensation for the land on the hill east of town, and Dad built a new house. Our home looks much nicer now."
"Mom and Dad want your sister and me to have a child. By next spring, you'll be an uncle."
"Your second sister is doing well. She's a nurse now, working day and night shifts. It's just her boyfriend that worries Mom and Dad."
As Ma Defu spoke, Chen Hao listened. When a wanderer returns home, family naturally speaks highly of one another. Eighty percent of what's said can be trusted.
Chen Hao's home was in a village near Meicheng. With urban development, what used to be a typical rural area had now become the outskirts of the city. The small hill a few hundred meters to the east had been leveled to build a road. Now, it took less than two minutes to drive from their home to the city's outer ring road.
The downpour stopped before Chen Hao arrived home, and the sun came out. A rainbow hung in the sky after the rain. Half of the newly installed large iron gate was three meters wide. The main courtyard consisted of a four-room house built on a one-meter-high cement platform, typical of newly built bungalows. There were also two rows of houses on either side, brightly lit and suitable for living in.
Hearing the sound of the car, two women came out of the main house to greet him, followed by an elderly man in a coat, standing at the door smoking a cigarette. He didn't come forward to greet Chen Hao, but Chen Hao could see clearly that when he stepped out, he hurriedly put on his shoes at the door.
"Mom, elder sister."
"Hey hey, you're back! Come inside quickly, it's warm in the house, cold outside." Typical of rural women in the northeast, over fifty and already showing signs of aging, Qiao Xinmei smiled with all the creases on her face as she held her son's hand and pulled him into the house.
The young woman beside Qiao Xinmei also exuded a simple aura. Her once tender and beautiful face had gradually lost its luster due to years of labor in the fields. However, at this moment, a special radiance on her face added a touch of charm, the maternal glow. With a slightly protruding belly, which would be considered precious in the city, but in the countryside, working in the fields with a pregnancy of eight or nine months was quite common. So Chen Xueyu's cautious welcome, despite the slippery ground after the rain, didn't surprise anyone.
"Elder sister, be careful. You must pay attention in the future, don't be absent-minded." Chen Hao held onto his sister's arm, using his own body to support her. With his strength, he could easily catch her with just one arm if she slipped.
Both Qiao Xinmei and Chen Xue showed the same reaction as Ma Defu did when they saw Chen Hao at the train station – a slight pause followed by a smile. Can the feeling of meeting be the same as meeting unpleasantly or meeting comfortably?
"Dad, I'm back."
Seeing his father Chen Yuanping standing at the door in his coat, Chen Hao greeted him. Compared to the low head or forced smile in the past, this greeting from Chen Hao was genuinely smiling from the heart.
"Mm." Chen Yuanping grunted and turned back into the house. He was the typical patriarchal husband and father figure of a northeastern rural family. At home, his word was law, and he had to be respected. If someone saw the three women, Qiao Xinmei, Chen Xue, and Chen Yu, they wouldn't find many similarities with Chen Hao. But when they saw Chen Yuanping, it was self-explanatory. If they weren't father and son, it would be strange. With a large frame and tall stature, he exuded a strong masculine vibe. Chen Yuanping was born at the wrong time. In his era, with his small, single-eyelid eyes, except for his tall figure, the matchmaker didn't have much praise for him. Chen Hao was lucky to be born in an era when small eyes were popular. So his angular face combined with the popular narrow, single-eyelid look wasn't something he hid. If he knew Gao Hongbo thought like this, he would have met him when he was in Yanjing.