Chapter 166

The person who emerged from inside appeared to be around sixty years old, with a slender figure and neat clothing. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, and his temples were already streaked with gray. He had a neatly trimmed small beard, giving him an air of scholarly elegance. If he were wearing a changshan, he would unmistakably resemble a literary master.

The person was even more frightened than Su Xiaoxiao and Han Cheng. It took him a long time to identify him. He trembled as he slowly asked, “Han… Han Cheng? Are you… are you Han Cheng?”

Han Cheng took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly, and called out a title he hadn’t uttered in over twenty years, “Uncle.”

Su Xiaoxiao looked at Han Cheng in disbelief. Uncle? Was he the “uncle” who accidentally killed Han Cheng’s Aunt with a shovel and fled overseas?

The “uncle” in Su Xiaoxiao’s imagination was a bandit who disowned all his relatives for gold—someone who was exuding an air of lawlessness. He shouldn’t have appeared as this refined and scholarly figure. Su Xiaoxiao found it hard to imagine that he had once been so desperate for gold.

Han Songbai’s emotions were a mix of fear and sadness. He wanted to go up and shake his nephew’s hand but didn’t dare. Finally, he clenched his fists and asked, “Han Cheng, are you and your parents okay?”

Han Cheng shook his head. “They’re no longer with us. They fell on the battlefield over a decade ago.”

Han Cheng’s parents were buried in the Martyrs Cemetery in Beijing. They left behind a letter before they passed away. His father said that when people die, everything fades away. The cemetery was being taken care of by someone, and their comrades were there with them. They urged Han Cheng not to make special visits or worry about them, not to disturb their peace, and just to live his own life.

Han Cheng understood his parents’ intentions. He never deliberately “disturbed” them. For Han Cheng, they would always live on in his heart and never leave.

Facing his only elder relative, Han Cheng’s feelings were complex. It wasn’t his place as a member of the member of the younger generation to judge what was right or wrong between elders. Though it was his father’s personal choice, if not for that incident, his father wouldn’t have been burdened with guilt for a lifetime or obsessed with dying on the battlefield.

The weathered old man before him was now Han Cheng’s only surviving blood relative in this world. Han Cheng couldn’t, and he didn’t want to show any hostility toward him.

Han Songbai’s pupils dilated, and he took two steps back, leaning against the door frame for support.

Han Cheng wanted to reach out to help but hesitated and slowly withdrew his hand.

Han Songbai closed his eyes and let his tears flow freely: “Retribution, retribution, all retribution. Why didn’t it fall on me? Why? Wuwuwuwu.”

Snowflakes fell one by one, and passersby couldn’t help but stop to see what was happening.

Su Xiaoxiao squeezed Han Cheng’s hand. “Han Cheng, maybe we should go inside and talk.”

Han Cheng finally stepped forward to help Han Songbai up and walked inside the old house he hadn’t returned to in over twenty years.

Entering the familiar courtyard, Han Cheng could still see the traces he had left as a mischievous child on the screen wall. The bamboo planted beside the dry rockery on the right side of the hallway had withered, leaving only yellowed bamboo stalks. The artificial mountain pool in the front yard had dried up, and Han Cheng used to love feeding the koi swimming in it.

Twenty years might be just a drop in the ocean of time, but it was a quarter of a long-lived person’s life. Things had changed, people had changed, and home was no longer home.

Su Xiaoxiao thought Zhu’s courtyard was already quite large, but she didn’t expect Han’s old house to be even larger. Despite showing signs of long neglect and many areas being unrecognizable after years of abandonment, it didn’t diminish the grandeur of the house. Just from the courtyard alone, it was at least twice the size of the Zhang family’s courtyard. The covered walkway was also twice as wide, and beyond the screen wall and the second gate was an enormous artificial mountain pool. It required crossing a zigzag bridge to reach the main courtyard, with pavilions at both ends. If the pool were filled with water and filled with koi, it could easily be a paid attraction.

Su Xiaoxiao could already imagine how splendid the Han family must have been in its heyday. If it weren’t for that accident, with his grandparents, parents, and father still alive, Han Cheng would have grown up in this house and would now probably be the most esteemed young master in the city.

Han Songbai had only recently returned. While the main room seemed to have been tidied up, the dusty old items seemed untouched; even the ancient clock on the wall was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Han Cheng helped Han Songbai sit down and look around. Seeing only the three of them, he asked, “Where are Auntie and Brother Xu?”

Han Songbai’s sadness deepened as he spoke. “They all passed away in a car accident five years ago. I was left alone. I’ve been applying to return home all these years. International relations have been tense in recent years, and it wasn’t until a few days ago that my return was approved. But I didn’t expect that even your parents…”

Han Cheng hadn’t expected this turn of events either. In fact, he rarely thought of Uncle’s family over the years, especially after marrying Su Xiaoxiao. His family life was happy and fulfilling, gradually easing the pain brought on by his original family. Though he felt a pang of sadness now, it wasn’t as overwhelming as before.

Han Cheng asked again, “What are your plans for coming back this time? Do you want to stay here permanently?”

Han Songbai shook his head. “I don’t know. I originally just wanted to see your parents, but now… Han Cheng, have you ever resented me?”

Han Cheng shook his head. “I dare not judge matters between elders, and it’s been twenty years. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Han Songbai wiped his face, nodding. “Yes, it’s been twenty years. When I left, you were still a half-grown child, and now…”

He suddenly noticed Su Xiaoxiao. “Who is this?”

Han Cheng hugged Su Xiaoxiao. “My wife, Su Xiaoxiao.”

Su Xiaoxiao smiled at the old man: “Hello, uncle, I am Su Xiaoxiao.”

Han Songbai looked at her carefully and nodded. “Good, good.”

Remembering something, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and unfolded it, revealing a sparkling emerald bracelet. “This is an heirloom bracelet passed down in our family. It was originally passed down to Han Cheng’s aunt, and now I’m passing it on to you.”

Su Xiaoxiao blinked twice and didn’t dare accept it. Gold is valuable, but jade is priceless. In this day and age, there was little chance of fake jade, especially when it was a family heirloom. Even someone like Su Xiaoxiao, who knew little about jades, could tell that this was an imperial green jade, and this imperial green bracelet would be worth at least hundreds of millions if it were auctioned by future generations.

Su Xiaoxiao was confused. What kind of family had she married into? She had obviously just married a second-married military doctor who matched her own taste, all for the sake of having food and drink. And now, there was a courtyard house with buried gold underneath, and her uncle was giving her an imperial green bracelet. How deep was the Han Cheng family’s heritage? There should be a plethora of priceless calligraphy and painting antiques, shouldn’t there be?

Seeing that she refused to accept it, Han Songbai continued to trick her: “This thing only looks good and is not worth much. It is a family heirloom passed down through generations as a token of our lineage. Since you are now Han Cheng’s wife, it is only natural that this belongs to you. It must be entrusted to your safekeeping and passed on to the next generation.”

Su Xiaoxiao blinked. If she hadn’t been from the 20th century or the Su Xiaoxiao from Sujia Village who hadn’t seen much of the world, she might have almost believed it. This heirloom is priceless, and yet he described the rare treasures as “family tokens that look good but are not worth much.”

Han Cheng took it for Su Xiaoxiao and put it in her hand: “Keep it and leave it to Xiao Tangyuan when she grows up.”

The smooth and fine jadeite felt cold in her hands as Su Xiaoxiao squeezed it tightly. She pondered its significance—this item would also have its purpose in the future. It had the value of a courtyard house. If she were to accidentally drop it, she wouldn’t even have time to shed a tear.

“Xiao Tangyuan?” Han Songbai asked. “Is this your child’s name? By the way, how many children do you have?”

Su Xiaoxiao said, “We have four children, three boys and one girl. The two youngest ones are twins.”

Han Songbai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the news: “That’s good, that’s good.”

Seeing that Han Cheng and Su Xiaoxiao came without their children, he thought they didn’t have children yet or didn’t plan to have children. Some foreign couples do not want children, even in their thirties and forties, saying they want to live a life of two.

There is nothing to fear about growing old, but the fear of one’s family line dying out and becoming a disgrace for generations to come is scarier. It leaves one without the dignity to face their ancestors, even though they might already be seen as a disgrace within the family and lack the courage to face anyone.

“I don’t think anyone has lived here. Where have you lived these years? Are you living in the capital or somewhere?” Han Songbai asked again.

Han Cheng replied, “We’ll be living in Beijing from now on.”

Han Songbai perked up a bit at that. “So, when will you move back here?”

Han Cheng shook his head politely and spoke, “This courtyard has been abandoned for 20 years. No one currently lives here. Presently, we’re staying at Uncle Zhang’s residence. Xiaoxiao has gained admission to Peking University. We’ve asked Uncle Zhang to help us find a house near Peking University and try to move there before school starts so that it will be convenient for us to go to school in the future.”

Han Cheng was very happy to see him. He will try his best to take care of his elders if anything happens in the future, but he has no intention of getting too close to them or living with them.

When Han Cheng was a child, his grandfather separated the family. Han Cheng’s parents spent most of their time in the military district, so he lived with his grandparents in the second courtyard, while his eldest uncle’s family lived in the third courtyard, and his aunt lived in the fourth courtyard.

His grandfather’s will was written early. It is clear that the property is jointly owned by the three siblings. If anything happens in the future, it has to be sold with the consent of all three.

When Han Cheng was a child, his aunt took care of him a lot, so he was very impressed when he saw Su Xiaoxiao taking care of Xiaobao for the first time in Sujia Village. While Su Xiaoxiao was gentle and graceful, his aunt was straightforward. Their personalities differed greatly, but the bond between Su Xiaoxiao and Xiao Doubao often reminded him of his aunt. Except for gatherings during festivals, his uncle’s family had their own lives.

After Han Cheng grew older, he saw his parents less frequently. After twenty years of estrangement, with a human life in between, even if you asked Han Cheng to take care of his Uncle by his side and serve him like a parent, he couldn’t do it, and he wouldn’t do it.

The disappointment was visible on Han Songbai’s face. He thought Han Cheng would move back, but when he heard that Su Xiaoxiao was admitted to Peking University, he still looked at Su Xiaoxiao in surprise.

Having recently returned, Han Songbai had been out of touch with events happened in his homeland and had not been in contact with relatives or friends in China. He was unaware of what had happened in the country, let alone the suspension and subsequent resumption of the college entrance examination.

Su Xiaoxiao said, “Uncle, you’ve just returned, you might not be aware of the situation in the country.”

Su Xiaoxiao briefly explained the major events of the past decade, then said, “That’s why I postponed taking the college entrance exam until this year. There should be many students my age on university campuses this year.”

Han Songbai lamented: “So many things have happened in these years. Thanks to our family’s integrity for generations, Han Cheng’s grandparents and parents have made outstanding contributions to the country. This courtyard house was also given to our ancestors who have made great contributions. Every inch of land here is clean and pure; otherwise, it might not have been preserved.”

The ancestral home indeed had a significant background, explaining its rich historical significance.

Su Xiaoxiao thought that it would be good for her uncle to live there. These courtyards, with clear property rights, were treasures. Selling one would mean losing one. It was a pity that the gold buried underneath could not be dug out.

Han Cheng said: “Uncle, you can live here with peace of mind. We will come back to see you when we have time.” Han Cheng also felt that since someone was living in the house, there was no need to deal with the house, and his feeling when he came back this time was not as bad as he imagined. In fact, which mansion left over from history doesn’t have some unknown secrets hidden in its door?

The ancestral home was still the ancestral home. Unless necessary, no one would sell the family property. It would be passed down to their children. As his father said, all past events should be left in the past. It had been twenty years; everything should have faded away. He didn’t need to dwell on it too much.

Han Songbai’s lips twitched. He couldn’t bear to let Han Cheng stay here to take care of him in his old age. Han Cheng returned to Beijing without knowing he was back. Even when he returned, he didn’t stay at his own house, showing his clear stance.

Han Songbai didn’t have the shame to mention the past things again: “Can I see the children?” This was one of his few wishes, he wanted to see the descendants of the Han family.

Su Xiaoxiao said: “Of course it’s okay. You are their uncle. You can see them anytime you want. But they went out to play with Uncle Zhang’s family today. How about tomorrow? We’ll bring them to see you then.”

Han Songbai finally showed a smile, albeit faint, and nodded his head and said “good” a few times.

The topic turned to children. Su Xiaoxiao went down to accompany the old man and told him many interesting things about the children’s childhood. She also told him which serialized stories in the newspaper were written by the cubs. The stories made him want to buy newspapers to read them.

There were so many interesting stories about children that they couldn’t stop chatting. Before they knew it, the morning had passed, and Su Xiaoxiao decided to end the conversation.

“Uncle, Han Cheng and I still have some other matters to attend to today. Let’s leave it at this for now. We’ll come to disturb you again with the kids tomorrow.”

Han Songbai really liked his niece-in-law. She was gentle, respectful, and well-mannered, always considering the feelings of the elderly. Listening to her talk was like basking in the spring breeze. He couldn’t help but wish Han Cheng were his son.

Han Songbai nodded. “As a family, you don’t need to say such polite words. This is your home originally. You are welcome to come back at any time.”

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t respond. They had no plans to come back and live here.

Han Cheng pulled Su Xiaoxiao up, stood up, and nodded to Han Songbai. Su Xiaoxiao smiled and said goodbye to the old man before turning around and leaving.

Han Songbai looked at their backs reluctantly, his thin body looking very lonely.

……

On the way back, the snow had stopped, and everything was covered in snow, and the vast expanse of white was really beautiful.

“Are you okay?” Su Xiaoxiao asked Han Cheng.

Han Cheng nodded. “Time really does heal everything. It’s not as difficult as I thought, and moving in shouldn’t be a problem either.”

Some wounds will never heal unless touched. Upon touching, one might find that they had already scabbed over and healed.

Su Xiaoxiao asked in surprise, “Do you want to move back?”

Han Cheng shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. At least while Uncle is still living there, we can’t move back.”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded and said, “I also think that although Uncle is not an outsider, he is indeed unfamiliar with us. We are used to living together as a family, and it would be inconvenient with more people. Should we dig up the treasure?”

If Su Xiaoxiao remembers correctly, the peak of the international gold price was from now until the early 1980s. As for when the decline began, she couldn’t remember. After the peak, there were many years of decline. It would take another ten or twenty years to return to that peak. In the late 1980s, commercial housing began to appear. If they could dig up some gold now, they could invest in real estate later.

Not to mention that the uncle is thinking about gold; even she is starting to think about gold. That is gold; who wouldn’t like it? Since I don’t remember which year it fell, wouldn’t it be better to start cashing out in 1980?

Han Cheng thought for a while and said, “If we won’t sell the courtyard house, there seems to be no use in digging it out now. The one we have is enough to buy a few small houses. However, the recent price of gold is a bit ridiculously high. Everything that prospers must decline. It may not be as valuable in the future as it is now, but it’s good to be able to exchange some of it into cash.”

Seeing no one around, Su Xiaoxiao pulled Han Cheng’s head down and kissed him deeply on the lips. “Han Cheng, you’re really smart. You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met!”

Su Xiaoxiao had time-traveled and knew a bit, but Han Cheng was a local, and his forward-thinking was truly rare.

Su Xiaoxiao kissed him publicly for the first time on the street, leaving Han Cheng stunned.

Su Xiaoxiao continued: “I think it’s best to dig out the gold now and exchange it for cash slowly. It’s okay to share it with Uncle. It can be considered as fulfilling one of his wishes.”

Han Cheng didn’t think so. “He is probably unwilling now. Look. Because of that gold, many people died. Even though it was unintentional, so many relatives died indirectly. Now he might not want to talk about gold.”

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, “The person who untied the bell must tie it back. This may be a problem for him. Let’s find an opportunity to discuss it with him. Anyway, there is no rush at this moment.” ^[1]The phrase “The person who untied the bell must tie it back” is an idiom that suggests that the person who caused a problem or initiated action should also be responsible for resolving it … Continue reading

If she remembered correctly, we are still a few years away from the peak of gold prices, so it is not too late to dig slowly.