Xu Huaqian blinked. His mind had already figured out who he was from his words, but he hadn't fully reacted yet.
What should his reaction be upon meeting his brother-in-law for the first time?
Say to him: "Hello, nice to meet you?"
Or call out: "Little Brother?"
Neither seemed quite right. He paused for a moment, then could only nod along with his words: "Mm."
That's right, I am the Second Brother your big brother married for you. No issue there.
"Second Brother!" Chen Jinhu called out to him, a smile on his lips.
He seemed naturally inclined to smile. From the moment he walked over from under the distant tree, the smile on his lips never faded. His face, somewhat resembling a younger version of Chen Liejiu, had two bright eyes that, combined with his smile, made instinctively feel goodwill towards him.
"H-Hello." Facing his brother-in-law for the first time, Xu Huaqian was inevitably a bit nervous. He extended his hand, wanting to shake hands.
Chen Jinhu, seeing the hand Xu Huaqian extended towards him, didn't quite understand what it meant. After a moment's thought, he smiled and bumped Xu Huaqian's palm with his fist, tilting his head as if asking, "Like this?"
Touching his inquiring gaze, Xu Huaqian belatedly withdrew his hand. Too nervous, he'd mixed up the customs. He hurriedly opened the courtyard gate and reached out to take the pack from Chen Jinhu's shoulder, asking eagerly: "Why didn't you send word ahead so we could pick you up? Are you tired? Wanwan—"
His return was too sudden, making Xu Huaqian momentarily flustered. It was better to quickly call out his family so they could have a reunion.
"Yes—" Wang Wanwan, who had been learning to make knots for a few days and was helping Xu Huaqian with his wedding knots inside, hurriedly put down her work upon hearing Xu Huaqian's call and came out.
As soon as she came out and saw the person standing close to Xu Huaqian in the courtyard, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She rubbed her eyes, confirmed she wasn't mistaken, and then her skirt couldn't contain her flying steps: "A-Hu!"
"Wanwan!" Seeing Wang Wanwan, Chen Jinhu was also delighted, his bright eyes shining even brighter.
"You're finally back!" Wang Wanwan was crying tears of joy. "It's been almost a year... others..." Others said you were about to die outside.
If Big Brother hadn't often g to the escort agency to ask about him, she would have thought he might not return.
"But I'm back now," Chen Jinhu wiped her tears, using his thumb to lift the corners of her mouth into a smile. "Don't cry. Be happy."
"Only you know how to smile," Wang Wanwan scolded him affectionately, but ultimately didn't say more. Seeing the pack still on his shoulder, she went to help him with it. "Are you tired from the journey? Are you hungry? I'll go make you something to eat..."
"It's heavy, no need," Chen Jinhu refused her offer to help with his luggage. "I'm not tired, and not hungry either. I ate at the escort agency before coming back."
"This time the agency made a good profit. The head treated us to a meal. I bought you..." Chen Jinhu started to lower his head to whisper to Wang Wanwan.
"Ah! Little Brother!" Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Chen Xiaomei, who had returned from tending the chicks in the backyard. She dashed over to Chen Jinhu like a little cannonball. "You're finally back!"
"Little Sister!" Chen Jinhu was also very happy to see Chen Xiaomei. He measured her height with his hand and smiled. "You've grown taller."
Chen Xiaomei pouted: "You've been g so long. If I hadn't grown taller, people would think I'd stopped growing!"
"Okay, it's Little Brother's fault for being away too long," Chen Jinhu smiled and pinched her little hair bun. "Come inside and see what Little Brother brought you."
As he said this, he didn't forget Xu Huaqian, who was following behind: "Second Brother, come too. There's something for you as well."
Seeing the family happily reunited, the smile never left Xu Huaqian's lips. Perhaps because his own family ties were shallow—having no parents in both lifetimes, and other siblings not being close—seeing such a warm family reunion scene felt very beautiful to him.
"There's something for me too?" Hearing he was included, Xu Huaqian was taken aback, but didn't forget some was still missing. "I'll go call A-Jiu back."
"I'll go, I'll go!" Chen Xiaomei, still immersed in the joy of Chen Jinhu's return, completely failed to notice that Xu Huaqian's eyes had recovered. The little person vanished in an instant.
And Wang Wanwan's heart was entirely focused on Chen Jinhu; how could she see anything else?
Chen Liejiu was repairing the road at the village entrance. With limited funds, he couldn't extend the road all the way to the county town, so he built it from their doorstep to the main road leading to the county, also connecting it to the charcoal kiln on the mountain.
Chen Jinhu had returned via a small path from the back mountain, so the two hadn't met.
Now, hearing that his brother, who had been away for almost a year, was home, Chen Liejiu, who had been shoveling sand at the worksite like every else, threw down his shovel, wiped his face with the towel around his neck, and followed Chen Xiaomei home.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Wang Wanwan and Xu Huaqian sitting around the Eight Immortals table in the main hall, inquiring solicitously after Chen Jinhu.
He paused for a moment, feeling like something about the house was different.
Just then, as if sensing something, Xu Huaqian turned his head and looked toward Chen Liejiu, who was slowly walking through the door, and blinked.
His beautiful phoenix eyes seemed to hold endless tender affection, and with that blink, it went straight to the heart.
Chen Liejiu's lips immediately curved into a smile. He knew what was different about the house.
Seeing Chen Liejiu, Chen Jinhu didn't dare sit like a lord anymore. He quickly stood up from the stool and called out respectfully: "Big Brother."
"Mm." Chen Liejiu shifted his gaze from Xu Huaqian's eyes to his younger brother, measuring his height just as he had with Chen Xiaomei. "You've been away so long; you've grown taller."
"Hehe." Chen Jinhu looked at his height, which was almost surpassing Chen Liejiu's, and smiled sheepishly. Before, Big Brother protected him; now he was capable of protecting Big Brother too.
"Why were you g so long?" Having been busy outside most of the day, Chen Liejiu wasn't as excited as the others. He poured himself a cup of water, gulped it down to quench his thirst, and asked the question on his mind.
Chen Jinhu explained hstly to Chen Liejiu: "The escort agency got two big orders. I went north with them once and south with them once, which took a lot of time."
Originally, he was supposed to return in April, but these urgent north-south jobs kept them moving with almost no stops.
"Oh." Having worked as an escort himself, Chen Liejiu knew how difficult the north-south routes were. He didn't scold him further, just said calmly: "You came back just in time; otherwise, you might have missed mine and your Second Brother's wedding banquet."
"Knowing about Big Brother and Second Brother's wedding banquet is exactly why I hurried back," Chen Jinhu was good at reading moods. As soon as Chen Liejiu gave him an out, he took it. He opened the pack he had brought back on the table, took out a smaller bundle, and handed it over. "Big Brother, see if what I bought for Second Brother fits."
Chen Liejiu shook out the bundle. It was an extremely beautiful silver-gray fox fur cloak, embroidered with scattered green bamboo leaves on the outside, making it look full of vitality.
This was something Chen Liejiu had asked the escort agency to have Chen Jinhu buy early on.
Worried that Xu Huaqian's body couldn't withstand the cold in winter, he had specifically asked Chen Jinhu to keep an eye out for a good cloak during his escort trips. Don't even think about finding in a small place like Mishan County; they weren't sold there.
Fortunately, this time, whether going south or north, Chen Jinhu passed through many places and actually managed to find this .
"How much silver?" Chen Liejiu liked the fox fur coat immediately. Judging by the craftsmanship, it shouldn't be too cheap, so he asked casually.
"One hundred taels," Chen Jinhu glanced at Xu Huaqian, who was still sitting on the stool in a daze. "Borrowed from the agency head."
When he got the message, he knew this Second Brother must be very well-liked by Big Brother; otherwise, he wouldn't be so concerned. He had put effort into finding the cloak. Although there were dog fur or rabbit fur cloaks available, he felt his new Second Brother wouldn't like those, so he searched many places before finding this fox fur cloak.
Originally, fox fur wouldn't be this cheap, but the agency head, hearing it was for his big brother, pulled some strings to buy the fur from a hunter and had it processed at a tailor's shop, resulting in the piece now in Chen Liejiu's hands.
Hearing the price, Chen Liejiu's hand trembled, but he kept his expression steady. He draped the cloak over Xu Huaqian's shoulders. Seeing his little husband's face, eyes newly recovered, framed by the white, fluffy fox fur—his already handsome, captivating face now looked even more like a heart-stealing fox spirit—Chen Liejiu's heart swayed, and he no longer stung over the my: "It looks good. Worth it!"
Suddenly having a cloak draped over him by Chen Liejiu, the furry fur, touching his already low body temperature, immediately locked in his warmth. In the room heated by charcoal, it actually made him feel a thread of warmth.
Xu Huaqian, who hadn't felt this way in a long time, was stunned for a moment and looked over at Chen Liejiu standing beside him. Chen Liejiu was also looking at him.
Their eyes met, and Chen Liejiu curved his eyes at him.