Lu Shaotang was tall with long legs, and he walked quickly, covering a great distance in no time.

He was in a hurry to visit a comrade’s home.

The comrade had been injured in the past and retired with some difficulties.

Lu Shaotang wanted to give him some money before heading back to his own village.

He was so rushed that he hadn’t even shaved, planning to do it later on the way back home.

He was eager to return.

In no time, he had walked past a few dozen meters when he heard a small voice call out, “Uncle, Uncle, buy a tea egg for your kid!”

Earlier, when he passed the intersection, he noticed someone looking at him, but since it was just two kids and seemed harmless, he didn’t think much of it.

Now, hearing the voice call “Uncle,” he had a feeling it was meant for him.

He stopped in his tracks.

He had eaten tea eggs before in the southeastern coastal region, but he didn’t think they were available in his hometown.

His family had probably never tried them.

He was tempted to buy tea eggs for his children.

Thinking about his two sweet and adorable kids, and his lovely wife, his heart started to race.

He turned around and walked back towards the kids.

One child, named Tian Tian, smiled up at him with big eyes.

The other, named Pan Pan, looked disappointed.

At first glance, Pan Pan thought he looked like her father, but up close, he didn’t resemble him at all!

This man had a much higher nose, deep eyes, long eyelashes, and thick eyebrows! He had a rough beard, but her father didn’t!

Pan Pan thought this man didn’t look anything like the photos.

Seeing such a tall and handsome man, Pan Pan instinctively straightened up, trying to make herself look a bit taller.

Lu Shaotang crouched down, looking at the two children, who were about five or six years old.

They were fair, well-behaved, and polite.

He felt a sense of warmth, thinking they were similar to his own children.

Of course, he didn’t expect his kids to be as beautiful and well-behaved as these. Children from the countryside often played in the dirt and were quite different.

It was fine if they were lively and healthy.

He didn’t need his children to be this polite.

His parents were capable, his wife was virtuous, and he earned money, so his children didn’t need to work or contribute to the household at such a young age.

Seeing the kids selling eggs made him think that perhaps the family was in a tight spot, and the parents couldn’t come out, so they sent the kids to sell things.

aat 15cents per egg, it was quite expensive.

Normally, Lu Shaotang wouldn’t even glance at it, thinking it wasn’t worth his money.

He had to support his parents, wife, and children.

If the price was fifteen cents per egg and there were adults here, he definitely wouldn’t buy them.

But seeing how cute and well-behaved these two kids were, he felt a pang of sympathy and decided to buy them.

Well, it’s just doing a good deed.

He asked, “How many are left? I’ll take them all.”

Tiantian’s smile was radiant as she asked, “Uncle, how many kids do you have?”

Lu Shaotang, meeting her sweet smile, felt a bit puzzled.

Why did this child seem somewhat like his wife?

He quickly composed himself and said calmly, “Two.”

He wasn’t sure how many he’d have when he got home; it could be three or even four.

Panpan pouted, feeling a competitive spark ignite.

He was usually the most popular, and today Tiantian was smiling so sweetly at this uncle.

Hmph!

He shouted, “What factory do you work in?”

Lu Shaotang’s gaze shifted slightly.

This little troublemaker seemed familiar. “It’s a factory you haven’t heard of.”

Panpan lifted his chin, pouted, and made a fierce face.

He was sure this man wasn’t his father.

This person looked nothing like his father or grandfather!

Tiantian had never seen Panpan act this way before.

She quickly tugged on his sleeve to get him to behave and focus on selling the tea eggs.

Since the man showed no recognition, he clearly wasn’t their father.

Their father had seen them and had been affectionate with them.

Lu Shaotang, seeing there were eight tea eggs left, took out a total of thirty-two cents.

As he looked at the two children, they seemed increasingly familiar.

He asked, “Where are your parents?”

Panpan quickly said, “My mother is at home.”

Lu Shaotang asked, “And your father?”

Tiantian answered, “He’s at work.”

Lu Shaotang assumed their father was a worker at the steel plant.

He packed the tea eggs into his lunchbox, closed it, paid, and stood up, “Alright, once you’re done selling, hurry back home.”

He didn’t say more, as he was eager to get home.

Watching Lu Shaotang’s tall figure leave, Tiantian said softly, “I feel a bit sad.”

Panpan said, “Me too. If I had known he had money, I would have sold them to him for twenty cents each.”

Tiantian took out the photo and looked at it.

It seemed both similar and different.

It was understandable for the kids to be confused.

The photo was black and white, and the image was flat and less three-dimensional compared to a real person, making it somewhat distorted.

The photo was also very small, only two inches across, and after trimming the jagged edges, it was hard to capture the entire height of Lu Shaotang.

In the small photo, the person’s head looked naturally small, only as big as a bean.

The two kids couldn’t match the small photo to the real person, so they compared him to their grandfather’s face.

Their grandfather and Lu Shaotang didn’t look very alike. Lu’s father was refined and elegant, with less pronounced features, and his skin had loosened with age.

Lu Shaotang, on the other hand, had distinct features, deep eyes, and an imposing presence.

They looked completely different.

The kids returned to their home just as Lin Shu came down to find them for dinner.

“Mom, we saw an uncle who looks a bit like Grandpa,” they said.

Recently, while in the city, they had seen a few people who resembled their grandfather a bit, but the faces were quite different.

Today’s man resembled their grandfather the most.

Lin Shu didn’t think much of it. In such a big world, many people can look somewhat alike.

The kids couldn’t help but ask Lin Shu, “Mom, when will Dad come back?”

Lin Shu replied, “Didn’t we say for the New Year?”

Pan Pan looked sad and said, “If it’s New Year, I’ll be a year older, won’t I?”

Lin Shu laughed as she couldn’t help it, “Pan Pan, it’s good for children to get a year older.”

Tian Tian added, “When Huzhi heard he’d be a year older and had to go to school, he cried loudly, so it’s not all good.”

Lin Shu was speechless, thinking they were confusing each other with their comments.

…..

In the middle of the night, Lu Shaotang finally arrived at Lu Jia Village.

He had taken coal trucks and a truck for part of the journey and then walked the rest.

By the time he reached the village, all the chickens and dogs were asleep.

To avoid disturbing the neighbors, he used stealth techniques to silently climb over the courtyard wall.

His eyesight was excellent.

Although he couldn’t see in complete darkness, he could make out the large vegetable garden in the moonlight.

Wow, when did his mother start growing such a big vegetable garden?

The main house door was closed, so he used a wire to unlock it and entered with a flashlight.

He knocked on the door of the elderly couple’s room.

Fang Dihua, alerted by the knock, woke up immediately, slightly disoriented.

She quickly nudged Lu’s father, “Old man, the third son is back!”

Lu’s father, still groggy from his dream, was puzzled, “The third son wet the bed?”

Fang Dihua laughed, “No, your third son is back! Hurry up!”

Old Father Lu woke up instantly, hurriedly dressed, and lit the oil lamp.

Fang Dihua opened the door quietly and said, “San’er, you… snuck back?”

Given the late hour and complete silence, Fang Dihua figured her son must have sneaked in.

Lu Shaotang didn’t want to wake his brothers, so he nodded and picked up Fang Dihua, giving her a gentle shake, “The old lady’s meals are quite good, and the portions are generous, you gain weight mother.”

Fang Dihua laughed and smacked him lightly, “Put me down. How improper.”

Lu Shaotang then shook hands with his Father Old Lu, “Dad, why do you look younger? You’re just the same as when I left.”

Old Lu chuckled softly, “That’s because there’s no one here to annoy me.”

Lu Shaotang offered them some tea eggs, “I’m going to check on the kids.”

Fang Dihua said, “You don’t need to check.”

Lu Shaotang had already reached the door to the west room.

Thinking that his mother was teasing him about rushing to see his wife, he said, “I just want to take a look.”

Fang Dihua replied, “They’re not at home.”

Lu Shaotang paused, shone his flashlight into the west room, and saw that the bedding on the kang (a type of heated bed) was neatly folded.

Indeed, the bed was empty—there was no wife or child.

Lu Shaotang felt a pang of disappointment.

“Did they… go to mother-in-law’s house?” he asked.

He planned to bring them back early the next morning.

Fang Dihua and Old Father Lu, tempted by the aroma, couldn’t resist eating a tea egg. Since San’er had bought them, they had to eat them.

Fang Dihua explained, “They went to the city to visit the factory. Your wife took Tiantian and Panpan to keep her aunt company while she’s having surgery.”

Lu Shaotang was taken aback.

He slapped himself on the forehead.

He had thought the kids looked familiar and close.

If he hadn’t been so certain that his wife and children were at the countryside home, he would have recognized them on the spot.

Fang Dihua and Old Father Lu were startled. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Shaotang didn’t want to admit he had failed to recognize his own children, which would be a source of lifelong embarrassment.

He quickly said, “Dad, Mom, I have to leave now. I only have three days off.”

He grabbed his light backpack and left, scaling the wall into the night rather than using the main gate.

Fang Dihua and Old Father Lu looked at each other.

Fang Dihua asked, “Has our San’er come back?”

Old Father Lu replied, “Yes, and he even brought tea eggs.”

Fang Dihua wondered, “Do you think our family might be expanding soon?”

Old Father Lu smiled, “That would be wonderful. If Tiantian and Panpan have a younger sibling, the family will be even livelier.”