It was dusk, with the sun setting in the west, casting a hazy golden light over the surrounding green trees, red flowers, fenced courtyards, and thatched houses, creating a surreal beauty.

Yan Runzhi said, “Let’s go inside and wait.”

The courtyard gate was open without a lock.

There were two chickens in the yard, a small pile of grass by the wall with a few branches forked open to dry two pieces of clothing.

The door to the house was also unlocked, easy to push open.

Yan Runzhi pushed open the door, and the dim room immediately filled with sunlight as she entered first.

Jiang Lin led Da Bao and Xiao Bao inside.

When they were outside, Da Bao and Xiao Bao were particularly well-behaved, especially Xiao Bao, who behaved like a little girl.

The space inside was not large, divided into two rooms.

The outer room was narrow, serving as a kitchen with a small stove and a small pot.

There were two barrels against the wall, one for water and the other for grains, and a basin on the ground with some bowls and chopsticks piled inside.

The inner room was slightly larger, mostly occupied by kang beds, likely accommodating four or five people.

Several small wooden boxes were stacked on the kang beds, and besides these, there was no other furniture, not even a table.

On top of one small wooden box was a calligraphy practice book for children, and a pencil that Xiao Bao couldn’t hold.

On another wooden box along the kang bed was a dry wooden root with several balloon flowers inserted into it, along with a half-collapsed clay vase holding a few wildflowers, adding a touch of brightness to the dark little house.

Yan Runzhi clapped her hands and smiled, “This is for me.” She picked out a bunch of balloon flowers and unknown wildflowers and held them in her hands.

Cheng Rushan said, “My father and older brother must have picked these for you every day.”

Yan Runzhi laughed with tears in her eyes, “That’s about right. If they dare to give them to another old lady, watch me break their legs.”

Jiang Lin hugged her shoulders and rubbed them, “Let’s go outside and take a look; they might be back.”

They returned to the courtyard where some onions, garlic, and leeks were planted under the wall, growing well.

After a while, Cheng Rushan said, “Wait here; I’ll go take a look.”

Meanwhile, Cheng Yunzhi was laboring at the team headquarters, where they had planted a lot of hemp and were processing hemp fibers.

He was always silent and spoke little, listening to others talk about current events and policies while working.

Among the topics discussed most often and yearned for the most was exoneration, returning to the city, and finding work.

Someone said, “I have a relative whose family is going to be exonerated. They’ll be returning to the city to continue working.” Others were skeptical and discussed it.

At that moment, Captain Gu’s voice came, “Cheng Yunzhi, your family is here to visit.”

Cheng Yunzhi didn’t pay attention at first.

Everyone looked at him enviously. “Old Cheng, what a good day.”

Someone who knew him explained, “Old Cheng’s family hasn’t had visitors in five or six years. They’ve finally come.”

Cheng Yunzhi suddenly snapped out of his reverie: his family was here?

Five years ago, Cheng Fugui came to say that Dongsheng had been taken away, and later there was more talk about it.

No one had come to his house since then, and he was very anxious.

Fortunately, Secretary Guan was kind-hearted and helped him inquire.

He said Cheng Rushan had been taken away, but the government hadn’t issued any documents stating whether he had been sentenced or executed.

It seemed more like he had been taken away to do something.

Secretary Guan also told him not to overthink, to live well, and not to worry his family.

In these past few years, Cheng Yunzhi had been counting days day by day.

Cheng Ruhai hadn’t come either.

He couldn’t leave and could only occasionally inquire about news from Secretary Guan.

However, Secretary Guan was busy with work and not in good health, so he couldn’t always come.

Gradually, Cheng Yunzhi stopped bothering him and could only occasionally write a letter.

Sending letters was restricted, and they also had to buy envelopes and stamps.

Since they had no income, they had to find ways.

So, although they weren’t very far apart, Cheng Yunzhi had very few contacts with his family over the years.

Now, out of the blue, hearing that someone from his family had come to visit, he was first joyful and then fearful, afraid that there might be bad news.

Although there was no news, sometimes no news was good news, better than bad news arriving.

“Is Cheng Yunzhi here? Hurry!” Captain Gu’s voice rang out again.

“Captain Guan, what’s the matter?” Cheng Yunzhi’s legs went weak, and his face turned pale.

Everyone around said, “Old Cheng must be overjoyed. His family is coming to visit, why isn’t he hurrying?”

Old Yuan, who lived in the same house as him, helped him up. “Don’t worry, it must be good news. How else could they say it’s a family visit?”

Cheng Yunzhi steadied himself. “Yes, it’s good news.” He hurried out.

Captain Gu’s voice came again, “Hurry up, now that your family’s been cleared, why aren’t you rushing? Your wife, son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren have all come with a bunch of people.”

The room where they were working suddenly exploded, “What? Cleared?”

“Old Cheng cleared? How did he get cleared?”

Cheng Yunzhi was originally both surprised and afraid, uneasy.

But now, hearing that he had been cleared, his body swayed and he almost fell.

Old Yuan quickly supported him, also filled with joy. “Old Cheng, congratulations! You’ve been cleared! After so many years, you’ve finally seen the light!”

Cheng Yunzhi’s whole body felt blood rush to his head, buzzing.

He couldn’t hear clearly what they were saying, seeing only their faces and moving mouths, the voices sounding distant.

Slowly, the blood flowed back down, and the surrounding noise instantly flooded his ears, congratulatory voices ringing out.

Naturally, there were also jealous and sarcastic remarks, but Cheng Yunzhi didn’t care at all.

He endured any amount of humiliation; what were a few sour words?

He suddenly took big strides, his slightly hunched back straightening up in an instant!

His family had been cleared!

In his eyes, there was nothing else, only a wide road stretching out beneath his feet, leading all the way to the horizon where his family were waiting.

He had to rush over!

He hurried outside, and everyone quickly made way for him.

Outside, Captain Gu looked at him and congratulated him, “Old Cheng, congratulations.”

But Cheng Yunzhi seemed not to hear.

He just ran outside in big strides, faster and faster, until he tripped and fell to his knees.

Looking up at the sky, he stretched out his arms and shouted with all his might, “Father, mother, elder brother, sister-in-law, you are in heaven, we are innocent!”

He shouted, but stumbled and fell to the ground.

Captain Gu was frightened and hurriedly went over to support him, quickly massaging his chest and pinching his acupuncture points, calling for help.

He hadn’t expected Cheng Yunzhi, usually calm and mild, not showing any anger or fire, to feel so suppressed inside.

Upon hearing he was cleared, he was overwhelmed with both great sorrow and joy, and actually fainted.

At this moment, Cheng Rushan found out and rushed to the brigade headquarters.

Seeing Cheng Yunzhi unconscious, Cheng Rushan quickly rushed over, propped him up, and repeatedly slapped his back.

With a “wow,” Cheng Yunzhi spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly woke up.

Cheng Rushan breathed a sigh of relief and felt a bit regretful.

He should have come with Captain Gu.

He wiped the blood from Cheng Yunzhi’s mouth with his sleeve. “Father, I’m Dongsheng. I’ve come to take you and elder brother home.”

Cheng Yunzhi looked at Cheng Rushan in front of him.

It had been several years, and he almost didn’t recognize him anymore.

His son, who used to be defiant and rebellious, he always worried that his son would get into trouble or be harmed by others, praying day and night.

Unexpectedly, Dongsheng had grown up and become sensible.

Tears streamed down his face as he tightly grasped Cheng Rushan’s hand, choked up, “Good, good.”

Cheng Rushan bent down and lifted his father up on his back, then asked Captain Gu, “Where is my elder brother, Cheng Ruzhou, working?”

Captain Gu replied, “Cheng Ruzhou’s situation is special. He hasn’t been assigned specific labor. He should be weeding over there.”

Cheng Rushan said, “Please ask Captain Gu to call my elder brother home. I’ll take father back first.”

Jiang Lin led Dabao and Xiaobao, accompanying Yan Runzhi, waiting in the courtyard.

They couldn’t wait and stood at the entrance of the path.

After a while, they saw Cheng Rushan carrying someone from afar.

Jiang Lin exclaimed joyfully, “Here he comes!”

Yan Runzhi was a bit absent-minded and quickly touched her own face, “Bao’ers Mom, do I have any dirt on my face? Did I wash my face before I left this morning? When I was in the car, I got dust sprayed all over my face. Did I clean it off?”

Yun Runzhi earnestly tidied her hair, using her index finger to wipe away a few strands that were slightly out of place but looked nice.

Jiang Lin smiled, “You look great. At first glance, you’re like a beautiful flower.”

Dabao chimed in, “Grandma, very handsome.”

Xiaobao added, “Grandpa will definitely like it.”

Yan Runzhi laughed, “You’re making me bloom with joy.” She straightened her dress and walked out.

Seeing Cheng Yunzhi still being carried by his son, she became anxious.

What had happened? In her haste, she forgot to leave a good impression on the old man.

She rushed over and anxiously shouted, “Dongsheng, what happened to your father?”

Cheng Rushan replied, “Nothing, my father is just too happy. I’m carrying him.”

Cheng Yunzhi patted his son’s shoulder, “Put me down quickly, I’m fine.”

Cheng Rushan carefully carried him to the door before gently setting him down.

Yan Runzhi and Jiang Lin hurried forward to help, with Dabao and Xiaobao running over as well, calling out cheerfully, “Grandpa!”

Cheng Yunzhi looked down at his two identical grandsons, tears of joy streaming down his face.

“Ah, good, so good.” He wiped his hands repeatedly on his clothes, reaching out as if to touch their tender cheeks, but afraid his rough hands might hurt their delicate skin, he trembled and touched their hair instead.

Dabao held one of Cheng Yunzhi’s hands and leaned in to kiss him, “Grandpa, I brought you some candy. It’s sweet when you eat candy.”

Xiaobao generously took out his hidden White Rabbit milk candy, unwrapped it, and offered it to Cheng Yunzhi.

Cheng Yunzhi bent down, opened his mouth to take it, and instantly filled his mouth with a strong milk fragrance, his heart overwhelmed with intense joy and a deep, lingering pain.

“Good, good!”

Yan Runzhi wiped her tears repeatedly and pulled Jiang Lin towards Cheng Yunzhi, saying, “This is our daughter-in-law, the mother of our two grandsons. She’s our family’s. You haven’t met her yet.”

Jiang Lin bowed to Cheng Yunzhi and called him “father.”

Cheng Yunzhi was so happy his lips trembled.

Subconsciously, he reached into his pocket to find something as a gift, but sadly, there was only a hole in his pocket.

Yan Runzhi quickly supported him. “Don’t bother, where’s Ruzhou?”

Cheng Rushan said, “Mom, talk to dad. I’ll go find elder brother.”

Jiang Lin wanted Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi to have a heart-to-heart talk, so she led Dabao and Xiaobao to follow Cheng Rushan.

As Jiang Lin and the children walked away, Yan Runzhi supported Cheng Yunzhi, wiping tears on his arm. “Dongsheng did well, he got us justice.”

Cheng Yunzhi nodded. “When that child was seven or eight, he mentioned this matter. I thought he was just speaking out of anger as a child, who knew… Ah, he’s a good kid. Our elder brother raised him well.”

Yan Runzhi led him into the courtyard.

Cheng Yunzhi looked at his wife and sighed, “These years have made me old, but you are still so young and beautiful.”

Due to their poor family conditions and having to take care of Dabao and Xiaobao, Yan Runzhi and Cheng Yunzhi hadn’t seen each other for years.

They both remembered each other as they were in the past, even idealizing their memories to make each other seem younger, almost like when they first met.

In Cheng Yunzhi’s eyes, his wife would always be the beautiful young woman from their wedding day.

Similarly, in Yan Runzhi’s eyes, her husband would always be the elegant and handsome man who used to tell stories to them on the farm.

She smiled, “Stop flattering yourself. You’ve been an old man for a long time now. When I married you, you were almost thirty. If it were my grandfather’s time, he would’ve been close to becoming a grandfather himself.”

Cheng Yunzhi nodded and chuckled, “Yes, I was an old man when I married you, much older than you. You didn’t mind, though.”

Yan Runzhi gestured for him to sit down. “Back then, I didn’t mind, and now, I mind even less. Let’s go home and live a good life.”

She reached into her small cloth bag around her waist and pulled out a wooden comb, gently combing Cheng Yunzhi’s hair. “Once our little courtyard is reclaimed, we’ll all live together again. I’ll cook for you, you can tend to the flowers, Ruzhou will sing for us, Dongsheng will earn money, and Bao’er’s mother can be our commander. Who knows how good things will be then.”

Cheng Yunzhi, hearing that her daughter-in-law was a sent-down youth, found it incredible. “Being married to our Dongsheng is our family’s blessing.”

“This is their fate as a couple,” Yan Runzhi said proudly. “Our Dongsheng had plenty of girls interested in him. If it weren’t for his background, our doorstep might have been worn out by suitors.”

After years apart, the couple met again without feeling like strangers.

There was no need for long recounts of the past or tears; they chattered about mundane matters as if they had never been apart.

The setting sun enveloped them, and the autumn wind blew through the cracks in the fence, creating a warm and peaceful atmosphere throughout the garden.

…

Jiang Lin followed Cheng Rushan, who carried his children.

Along the way, they asked around for the children’s whereabouts and headed to find Cheng Ruzhou.

Cheng Ruzhou was special; though an adult, he behaved erratically, sometimes like a child, sometimes like a madman.

Fortunately, despite his childlike behavior, he never harmed anyone.

Over the years, most people around him were understanding and accommodating, and the children enjoyed playing with him.

Now he was following a group of children to pull weeds and gather firewood.

Following directions, they reached the foot of a nearby hill and heard someone shout, “Those rascals are fighting again!”

Jiang Lin hurried with Cheng Rushan over and from afar heard the boys yelling, “Fight, fight, fight!”

“Big Fool Zhou, run! They’re coming to beat you!”

“Ouch… Big Fool Zhou, you really got hit… it hurts so much!”

“In this battle today, I will not return home until I’ve slain the enemy!” Suddenly, a singing voice rang out, clear and resonant, startling Jiang Lin.

When Cheng Rushan heard his older brother singing opera, he relaxed.

Whenever he was happy or victorious, Cheng Ruzhou would burst into song.

He explained to Jiang Lin, “Grandpa used to make Big Brother study opera scripts all the time when he was little. He hated it the most. But after Grandpa passed away, he started to enjoy singing opera.”

Approaching closer, Jiang Lin saw a group of children surrounding a tall man, engaged in playful scuffles.

Cheng Ruzhou was slightly shorter and more slender than Cheng Rushan, dressed in a tank top and shorts with messy hair.

Despite this, his face was remarkably handsome, with expressions as mischievous and exaggerated as a child’s.

He was playfully chasing after a few half-sized boys, shouting at one of them, “Big Rat, I see you stealing our food again!”

Dabao and Xiaobao got off the ground and ran over, curious about him.

When Cheng Ruzhou turned his head and saw Dabao and Xiaobao, he laughed heartily, “Little Dongsheng, why did you just arrive? Oh my… Heavens, how come there are two little Dongshengs?”

He rubbed his eyes vigorously. “Oh no, I must be blind, blind!”

The kids teased him, “Big Fool Zhou, if you’re blind, how can you see two?”

Cheng Ruzhou immediately called out to Dabao and Xiaobao, “Big Dongsheng, Little Dongsheng, come quickly and help catch the mouse thieves who steal our food.”

Observing him, Jiang Lin remarked to Cheng Rushan, “Big Brother speaks normally and seems just like a child.”

Some people who were mentally impaired couldn’t articulate their thoughts clearly, but Cheng Ruzhou spoke clearly enough that if you didn’t see him, you wouldn’t think there was any problem.

Cheng Rushan said, “He often doesn’t know who he is or how old he is.”

Jiang Lin wondered if it was due to severe trauma, leading to selective forgetting or memory confusion?

Cheng Rushan said, “Big Brother, let’s go home.”

However, Cheng Ruzhou ignored him and instead stared at Jiang Lin, his eyes filled with confusion.

Suddenly, he shouted, “Mom, you’ve finally come to pick me up!”

He dashed towards Jiang Lin, shouting, “Mom, mom!”

Dabao and Xiaobao stood there dumbfounded, turning into two silly statues.

Jiang Lin: “!!!”

Cheng Rushan embraced her waist, whispering softly, “Don’t be afraid, Big Brother doesn’t hurt anyone.”

Cheng Ruzhou ran very fast and in the blink of an eye, he reached her, kneeling down at Jiang Lin’s feet.

He opened his arms wide and hugged her waist, looking up at her with a childlike admiration on his face. “Mom, you’ve finally come to pick me up.”

He pressed his face against her, looking incredibly happy.