An unknown amount of time passed.
Just as Liu Yushan finished his break and was about to push his garbage cart to continue sweeping the road, a low engine roar suddenly came from the entrance of the village.
The villagers chatting in the square all looked over, only to see a black motorcade slowly driving toward them from the village entrance.
Leading the way was a solid black Maybach, closely followed by five black Mercedes-Benzes.
When this motorcade came into view, everyone immediately knew who had returned. After all, in the entire village, other than the Liu family's granddaughter, Liu Yutong, no one else could afford such a grand display.
"Look! Who's back? Those cars are magnificent!"
"It must be that girl Yutong coming back, right?"
"Definitely. Who else in our village could have such a lineup but her?"
"Let's go over to the old Liu house and join the fun."
"..."
Watching the incredibly impressive motorcade brush past him, Liu Yushan suddenly grew nervous.
Although he often bragged to the villagers, claiming his sister was just testing him and that when she returned he would do this and that, his first reaction upon his sister Liu Yutong's actual return was a guilty conscience and fear.
He couldn't help it; his sister's aura was simply too overwhelming.
The motorcade finally stopped in front of the grand gates of the Liu family's new residence.
The single-story old house of her grandfather that Liu Yutong remembered had long been torn down and rebuilt. With the power of money, it had been transformed into a three-story modern Chinese-style villa courtyard.
A sightseeing elevator connecting all three floors was built on the side of the courtyard. Just installing this elevator and the overall barrier-free design cost an extra million or so. The total cost of the entire house, including the remodeling and renovation of the whole courtyard, exceeded six million.
In 2008, this price tag was absolutely a massive fortune.
However, the dozen or so chickens and large white geese running wild in the yard seemed somewhat out of place compared to the meticulously designed courtyard.
Liu Yutong didn't really mind, though. Since her grandparents liked raising them, she was happy to let them do as they pleased.
The door of the Maybach was respectfully opened by a man in black who had stepped out ahead of time.
Liu Yutong was the first to step out of the car.
She wore a cream-white cashmere coat today, which accentuated her exceptionally slender figure. Her temperament carried a touch more warmth than before, no longer quite so aloof and cold.
Then, she reached her hand into the car.
A fair and tender little hand was placed in her palm. Next, a little girl wearing a babydoll dress with cute braids popped out of the car.
It was the little girl's first time visiting her older sister's hometown. As soon as she got out, she curiously examined the big house in front of her, as well as the chickens and geese running around the yard.
"Tongtong is back!"
Grandfather Liu and the old grandmother had been waiting at the door for a while, their faces filled with undisguised joy.
When the two elders saw the little person Liu Yutong was holding by the hand, their eyes lit up.
"Is... is this that child?"
Liu Yutong immediately smiled and introduced her, "Grandpa, Grandma, this is Yaya. Yaya, say hello to Grandpa and Grandma."
Yaya tilted her little face up, looked at the two kind-faced elders in front of her, and immediately called out obediently, "Hello, Grandpa. Hello, Grandma."
This sweet and crisp greeting was like a piece of candy that instantly melted the hearts of the two elders.
The two elders immediately beamed from ear to ear, "Oh, oh! Good child, so well-behaved!"
Grandpa even stepped forward to pick Yaya up, "Let Grandpa get a good look at you. So cute."
Grandma couldn't stop praising her from the side, "What a pretty little face, just like our Yutong when she was little."
"Are you tired from the journey? Are you cold?"
The old man asked with concern, then muttered to himself, "Listen to me, of course you're tired. Hurry, hurry inside! Grandpa has chicken soup simmering on the stove, it smells delicious. Oh right, and Grandma made some crispy and fragrant rice crackers. Does Yaya want to eat some?"
Yaya immediately nodded, "I want to eat! Thank you, Grandpa, thank you, Grandma!"
This shout made the grandparents even happier, and they joyfully carried her into the house.
"Let's go, let's go home, Grandpa will get you something delicious!"
Liu Yutong followed behind the two elders with a smile, gesturing for her subordinates to bring down the prepared gifts from the cars. The large and small bags of gifts caused the two elders to nag again, saying she spent too much money, that the family lacked nothing, and that they had piles of food and clothes, and so on.
Despite their words, the smiles on their faces grew even wider.
As the two elders carried Yaya inside, beaming with joy, more and more villagers who had heard the news gathered around. They crowded at the courtyard gate, peeking in and discussing, making the scene very lively.
Liu Yutong stopped and turned to face the fellow villagers outside the yard. "Uncles, aunts, thank you all for coming to see us. We just got home today and want to settle in first and spend some time with the elders and the child. Our place is small, and I'm afraid we can't host you properly right now. Once we're settled in tomorrow, I'll invite everyone over for tea and a chat."
She spoke very politely, and the villagers nodded and smiled in understanding.
"Right, right. The girl Yutong just got back and must be exhausted. Have a chat with the old man and old lady first."
"Let's not block the doorway, let the family have a proper reunion."
"Let's go, let's go, we'll come visit tomorrow..."
Chatting and laughing, everyone dispersed in twos and threes.
Relationships in the village were sometimes very delicate.
If it were just an ordinary wealthy family, chasing people away so directly might attract a lot of pointing fingers and sour remarks. They would say things like having money makes you arrogant, looking down on people, or questioning if the money came from legitimate sources. In short, all sorts of rumors would fly around.
But with the Liu family, this situation didn't exist.
Everyone still had fresh memories of what Liu Yutong and her men in black had done in the village during the New Year. She had even sent her own father away; who would dare to cross her?
If they upset her, they might be the next ones to suffer.
In short, even though almost a year had passed since the New Year incident, the villagers still held a deep sense of awe and fear toward Liu Yutong, not daring to show any dissatisfaction.
Lunch consisted of farmhouse dishes personally cooked by the grandparents.
There was a rich soup stewed from their own home-raised hen, cured meat stir-fried with garlic sprouts, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and the golden, crispy rice crackers fried by Grandma.
Meeting her for the first time, the grandparents wished they could put all the delicious food into Yaya's bowl.
Yaya was a bit reserved at first, but after getting familiar for a while, she gradually relaxed. She ate until her little mouth was shiny with oil and her cheeks were bulging, a sight that made the two elders laugh heartily.
After the meal, the old man couldn't wait to take his little granddaughter to inspect their family's territory.
First, he took Yaya to collect eggs, then went to the cellar to dig up some winter radishes. Even on such a cold day, he specifically went to their own pond behind the house to cast a net and catch fish. He guided Yaya to experience a lot of fun rural life that she had never experienced before.
Throughout the afternoon, the little girl's laughter hardly stopped.
Of course, it wasn't completely non-stop.
Once, while Yaya was playing in the corner of the yard, she accidentally provoked a large white goose. She was chased by the goose, took a tumble, and immediately burst into tears out of fright.
That evening, a large iron pot was set up in the courtyard.
Inside simmered the very same audacious white goose from earlier that day. Only now, Grandpa had thoroughly cleaned and prepped it, tossing it in with radishes, glass noodles, shiitake mushrooms, and other ingredients. The stew bubbled away, releasing a rich, mouthwatering aroma.
Just as the goose stew was finally ready, a timid, hesitant figure dawdled at the front gate.
