“Dad.”

“Dad.”

“Grandfather.”

Ning Shu’s family all called out together.

Lin Father looked at the third son’s family, his eyes a little red.

It had really been years since he’d seen them, and this time they had come back suddenly without any prior notice, which was such a delightful surprise. “Why didn’t you write to let us know? Good thing your mom has been cleaning your place every few days and airing the quilts; otherwise, if you had arrived suddenly, where would you stay?”

“Guodong’s holidays are hard to predict. I was going to write once we knew the dates, but by the time the letter arrived, we’d probably already be here,” Ning Shu explained. “And honestly, we wanted to surprise you and Mom.”

“Right, right, we didn’t tell Grandpa and Grandma on purpose. Isn’t it a surprise?” Er Bao grinned mischievously.

How could it not be a surprise? It was truly a joyous occasion.

“You little rascal, you’ve grown up so much! And Yi Bao and San Bao have grown up too. They’re almost as tall as you’re dad now.” Lin Father looked at the three grandsons who had grown so tall, feeling happy inside.

“But we’re still far from being as tall as Dad,” Er Bao said.

They were taller than their mother, but still had a long way to go to catch up to their father.

If Ning Shu had heard his thoughts, she would have given him a playful scolding.

“Your mom’s tall, and your dad is tall too. You’ll definitely be taller than him in the future,” Lin Father said.

The three brothers were thrilled at the idea of growing taller than their dad.

“Third Brother, did you drive this car here? Is this a military vehicle?” Lin Laoda’s(Eldest Lin Brother) eyes stopped at the new car beside them.

Earlier, the villagers had mentioned a car arriving, and now with the third family by the car, it seemed like they were the ones driving it.

“Yes, we drove it here, but this car belongs to our family,” Lin Guodong explained.

“Uncle, this car was a reward from the country,” Er Bao proudly boasted without hesitation. “Uncle, how awesome is that?”

Upon hearing Er Bao’s words, even Lin Laoda and the people nearby were stunned.

Everyone knew that Er Bao had become a world champion, as the whole village had followed the news, but it still felt like a dream.

Now, the country had rewarded him with a car?

Was that true?

“Er Bao, is that true? The country rewarded you with a car? So, this car really belongs to your family?” the team leader was the first to react, asking in disbelief.

Once the team leader spoke, everyone else quickly realized and turned their attention to Er Bao, holding their breath and waiting for his confirmation, worried they had misheard.

“Yeah, I’m telling the truth. This is our family’s car,” Er Bao said, speaking with unwavering certainty.

“Alright, we’ll talk more at home. Get your luggage down,” Lin Guodong said, knowing that if he didn’t urge Er Bao, the boy would keep chatting and probably gather the whole village around.

At Lin Guodong’s prompting, the three brothers went to grab their luggage.

“Woof woof woof…”

Da Mao and Tie Dan also barked as they followed the three brothers.

Their belongings were in the luggage too, and they wanted to carry it themselves.

That was when everyone realized that in addition to the five members of the Lin Guodong family, there were also two dogs.

“Yi Bao, Er Bao, San Bao, Da Mao, Tie Dan…” Haicai had also heard that a car had arrived and came to check it out.

He was excited when he saw the three brothers and shouted.

“Haicai…” The three brothers were equally happy to see him.

“Haicai, look, this is our car,” Er Bao said, pulling Haicai over and showing him.

Ning Shu sighed, “Let’s go first. Give the car keys to Yi Bao, and have him lock the car when he gets back.” At this rate, Er Bao would probably invite Haicai to sit in the car, so it was best for them to leave first.

“Okay,” Lin Guodong said, handing the car keys to Yi Bao, and then he and the others headed back home.

As soon as Lin Guodong and his family left, the onlookers instantly gathered around the car.

Some villagers curiously examined the vehicle, and one even asked, “Yibao, can we touch the car?”

They had seen construction vehicles before, but this one felt different—more grand and refined.

“Of course! Touch it all you want. Go ahead and give it a good feel; it’s tough and won’t break,” Erbao said generously.

Meanwhile, Ning Shu, Lin Guodong, and the rest of the Lin family returned to their house.

The home was spotless, with no weeds growing in the courtyard, and the walls and gates were well-maintained, even though no one had lived there for years.

It was obvious that Lin’s parents had been taking care of the place.

“How’s everything in the capital? Has it been going well?” Lin’s father asked, unsure what to say to his son.

This son had always been self-sufficient, yet after so many years without seeing him, he still felt some concern.

“Everything’s gone smoothly,” Lin Guodong replied, bringing out a few stools and inviting his father and elder brother to sit with him. “Where’s Mom? I didn’t see her.”

Indeed, only Lin’s father and eldest brother had come to greet them at the village entrance—there were no women with them.

“They went to do the laundry. With the New Year coming, all the bedding and covers need washing, and they’re too heavy for your mother to handle alone. Your sisters-in-law went along to help.”

Just as Lin’s father finished speaking, they heard Lin’s mother’s voice in the distance.

She had heard that Lin Guodong’s family had arrived and had dropped everything, even the laundry, to come home.

Along with Lin’s mother were Qian Aifen and Zhang Qinfang.

Ning Shu, who was heating water inside, heard the familiar voices outside and went out to see.

She saw Lin’s mother and the others, who looked visibly older than a few years ago, with more gray hair on their heads.

“Mom, Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law…” Ning Shu greeted them with a smile.

As Ning Shu looked at them, they looked at her too, thinking that Ning Shu had grown more dignified and more like a city person.

On the first day back, Ning Shu’s family didn’t cook at home; they had dinner at the old family house.

Since they were tired from the journey, Lin’s mother kept it simple and didn’t make a big meal.

The next day, Lin’s mother invited Qian Aifen and Zhang Qinfang to help prepare a feast, including chicken stew.

She was bustling with activity and enjoying herself immensely.

Back in their hometown, the three kids seemed to come alive, running and playing all over the hills with their cousins.

Ning Shu hadn’t returned in years and had stopped purchasing bamboo shoots from Lin Xiaoshan’s family.

But the money she’d paid for bamboo shoots during her last two visits had been enough to help their family get by comfortably.

Now that Ning Shu was back, some of the women she’d been friendly with before, like Lin Xiaoshan’s mother, came by to visit and brought vegetables and eggs as gifts.

It felt as though no time had passed, as if they’d been in touch all these years.

Ning Shu had always thought that during all her years in the Qinglin Bay production brigade, she had no real friends, but now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

At least in the hearts of people like Lin Xiaoshan’s mother, she was considered a friend.

Ning Shu’s family spent the New Year in the village, and by the fifth day of the New Year, they had to leave because Er Bao’s schedule was tight.

Before leaving, they invited Lin Father and Lin Mother to stay in the capital for a while, but the elderly couple wouldn’t agree to go.

In the end, Ning Shu and her family had no choice but to leave on their own.

After returning from her hometown, Ning Shu began to focus on the cooperative shopping store.

In December 1978, the country began implementing its reform and opening-up policy, allowing and supporting the development of private businesses.

Ning Shu also wanted to resolve the issues with the system as soon as possible.

So, when she saw the news in the newspaper, she immediately took action.

Opening a cooperative store wasn’t easy, and the first challenge was selecting the right products.

However, this wasn’t too difficult for Ning Shu.

Her target was all the rural areas in the capital, so she rented a tractor, hired a driver, and traveled to the production brigades to talk to the brigade leaders and village heads about purchasing goods.

She offered fair prices, and of course, the villagers agreed without hesitation.

Ning Shu’s cooperative store was located next to the vegetable market, so many people from the big compounds heard about it.

Some people found it shameful, while others, though not judgmental, couldn’t understand why she, the wife of a brigade leader and mother of a world champion, would do such a thing.

Although the country was encouraging the development of private businesses, many people still held onto old values and thought it was better to stick to state jobs.

However, Ning Shu didn’t care about what others thought.

She was so busy every day that she barely had enough time.

She even hired a waitress for the store, and coincidentally, that waitress’s mother-in-law was the old woman who had once been mistakenly thought to be a human trafficker by the three Baos.

With the reform and opening up, many places implemented the policy of “land distribution to households with individual responsibility for profits and losses.” As a result, Ning Shu’s food products never lacked a place to supply.

As one of the earliest private business owners, Ning Shu was quickly reported in major newspapers.

Her husband was a brigade leader, her son was a world champion, and she responded to the country’s call to promote private enterprises.

To some extent, she became a representative figure.

The country also used her as an example to encourage others.

As a result, Ning Shu’s cooperative store business flourished.

Of course, there were others who wanted to imitate her, but the people around knew her background, so even if some tried to open similar stores, they avoided opening them near her and instead chose different streets.

Time flew by quickly amidst the busyness, and in the blink of an eye, several years had passed.

Er Bao was still shining in the sports world.

After Yi Bao entered high school, he joined a special class for gifted students.

There was also a spot in the class for San Bao, but San Bao preferred painting over academics.

So, instead of going to the special class, San Bao followed a regular school schedule and focused on his studies and painting.

One day, as usual, Ning Shu had breakfast and went to the cooperative store.

She had just reached the door of the store when someone called her name.

“Ning Shu…” The voice was unfamiliar to Ning Shu.

She looked toward the sound and saw a middle-aged woman with a somewhat flamboyant appearance.

Ning Shu thought to herself, Who is this person?

Before she could ask, the woman spoke again, “Ning Shu, don’t you remember me? You’ve ruined my life—don’t you remember me?”

It was the shop’s peak hour, with people constantly coming in and out to pick up their orders.

Seeing this scene, everyone paused to watch.

One of the benefits of the group-buying shop was that customers didn’t need to rush in early to buy their groceries.

As long as they placed their orders the day before, they could pick them up anytime the next day, with their items reserved for them.

Of course, payment was made in advance.

“Boss lady, who’s that? Seems like she has some serious grudge against you,” a customer remarked.

Ning Shu shook her head. “I don’t even know her.”

That single line—“I don’t even know her”—seemed to trigger something in the woman, who instantly lost control of her emotions. “Ning Shu, you don’t remember? You wrote down my name back then and got me sent to the countryside!”