You need to raise your pet using a system [Era]

Chapter 368 Lu Yuanhuan's Side Story 5

After receiving Lu Yuanhuan's call, Lu Yuanqing drove to town to pick her up.

"Didn't you say you bought a ticket for the morning? Why did you change it at the last minute?" Lu Yuanqing asked with a smile.

Lu Yuanhuan was happy to return to her parents' home, and her whole demeanor showed a joyful mood, without revealing any of her emotions. Lu Yuanqing naturally had no idea what terrible things she had gone through.

“Pingping went home, so I changed the time I came back,” Lu Yuanhuan replied with a smile.

Lu Yuanqing casually turned the steering wheel and asked in confusion, "Bajin is back?"

Why didn't Lu Yuanhuan stay in the city? Why did he come all the way back to the village?

Lu Yuanqing frowned.

Lu Yuanhuan smiled and said, "Yes! You have a girlfriend now. Let us know when you get back. By the way, Third Brother, how is Uncle doing lately?"

Lu Yuanqing quickly turned his head to look at her, then replied, "It's still the same. I fell two years ago, and my health hasn't been very good for the past two years."

Especially recently.

Anyone with eyes can see the truth: Uncle Lu is pretty much in this state, and he doesn't have much time left to live.

Lu Yuanqing has been back in the village for more than half a month, and it seems he plans to stay there until there's no other way.

Lu Yuanhuan sighed softly, "Third Brother, do you think it must be exhausting to get to this point?"

Lu Yuanqing chuckled lightly, "What's there to be tired about? Everyone has to go through this stage sooner or later. Uncle is getting old. He's experienced hardship and also enjoyed the wealth of his children. He's seen things getting better and better now, so he's very open-minded."

If at the beginning, Lu Yuanqing felt somewhat upset and uneasy when he received the call from home, now, after being back in the village for more than half a month, and through his few moments of lucidity and comforting conversations with Lu Guobin, he is no longer so afraid of death.

In reality, no one can face death with equanimity.

Lu Yuanqing didn't know what others thought, but at his age, he was still afraid of death and wanted to live a good life.

Especially after he turns fifty, when even a minor cold can drag on for several days, he starts to overthink things, wondering what if he accidentally catches a cold.

He had lived in this world for decades and was long reluctant to leave.

I wonder if people of Lu Guobin's age, when they are occasionally lucid, are truly not afraid of death at all.

He could still so calmly comfort the younger generation like Lu Yuanqing.

Lu Yuanqing thought that he might only understand when he reached that stage!

"Don't feel too much pressure. Your uncle's condition is what it is, we just have to accept it." Lu Yuanqing noticed that she was a little upset and assumed she was worried about Lu Guobin.

Lu Yuanhuan twitched the corner of her mouth and said, "Even now, I can still remember that when we had nothing to eat at home and could only wait to die, it was my uncle who brought us food. Without him, we probably wouldn't have survived!"

Lu Guobin was truly kind and righteous to their family.

Of course, Lu Yuanqing also repaid Lu Guobin quite a bit.

Lu Yuanqing helped all three of his uncle's children who wanted to start their own businesses.

Lu Yuanqing treated his uncle and aunt even better.

He never skimped on gifts for holidays and festivals, and he also took them to Kyoto and other places for sightseeing.

When Lu Guobin and his colleagues were able to retire and leave, Lu Yuanqing showed them many different kinds of scenery.

When his aunt Zhang Panlan passed away, she told Lu Yuanqing that she was very satisfied, having been to so many places.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural course of life. Even if one has accepted these things, it is impossible to be completely unconcerned about them, no matter how one tries to comfort oneself.

"Let's not talk about that. Knowing you were coming back, Xiao Nan killed a chicken, and Xiao Ling had already stewed it, just waiting for you to come back!"

Lu Yuanhuan smiled and said, "Then I'm in for a treat."

"Drink more chicken soup. The chickens raised back home are much better than those bought outside," Lu Yuanqing said with a touch of emotion.

When we first arrived, my family was almost starving to death, so we didn't care about health issues. We just ate whatever was available!

Later, when I had money, I hadn't had a long time to enjoy the pleasure of food before it gradually became a product of technology and ruthless labor.

The Lu family has Lu Yuanqing, who has the foresight to set up a farm early on, producing and selling their own food. They can rest assured that everything they eat is grown by themselves.

But I still miss the taste of free-range chicken from the farm.

It only takes about ten minutes to drive from the town to the village.

The brother and sister chatted for a while and then went home.

Wang Wang Wang! ! !

As soon as the car stopped in front of a house, several barks came from inside.

The Lu family's current house in the village is the old house they lived in long ago; it's no longer habitable.

Lu Yuanqing and his group originally planned to rebuild it, but later Lu Mingnan got the land approved by the village and built a large villa with a central courtyard.

Perhaps it was because I went to Kyoto and stayed in a courtyard house that I gradually came to like houses with courtyards.

Therefore, Lu Mingnan also built a yard for his house in his hometown, with a large iron gate that allows him to drive his car directly into the yard.

Lu Mingnan built a large house in his hometown, big enough for his entire family to live in when they returned. That's why Lu Yuanqing and Lu Yuanbo didn't think about renovating the old house.

"Aunt..."

As soon as they drove the car into the yard and opened the car door, Lu Mingnan and Liu Ling, who had heard the noise, hurriedly came out.

"Xiao Nan, Xiao Ling." Lu Yuanhuan smiled as he looked at the two of them.

After starting their own families, they felt an extra joy every time they saw their loved ones.

As soon as Lu Yuanhuan got out of the car, Liu Ling invited him to sit inside. Lu Mingnan went straight to the kitchen and brought all the prepared dishes to the table.

"Auntie, come and eat! The chicken soup that's been simmering for ages is waiting for you!"

After placing the gifts Lu Yuanhuan brought back in the main room with practiced ease, Lu Yuanqing put her luggage back in her room.

When he went to pick her up, Liu Ling and Lu Mingnan were at home, having already prepared the room she was to stay in, with clean sheets and blankets on the bed.

Dinner was plentiful, and several dishes were clearly Lu Mingnan's cooking. Lu Yuanhuan ate very happily.

She rarely put her worries to the back of her mind.

After the meal, Lu Yuanqing took her to visit his uncle's house and greeted him.

Lu Mingnan went to the bamboo ware factory with Liu Ling.

Shihua Village has changed dramatically. Every time Lu Yuanhuan returns, he feels that a lot has changed.

"That's great! Now the roads in the village lead to every household, it's so convenient."

Walking on the village road, the streetlights on both sides were bright, which was incomparable to the city, but this was not the village that Lu Yuanhuan remembered where you couldn't see the road when it got dark.

Lu Yuanqing: "The bamboo ware factory has always been doing well. In addition, after Xiaoling became the factory manager, she proved to be a capable person, and her annual dividends have increased significantly compared to before."

Although money is not as valuable as it used to be, the bamboo weaving handicrafts from the bamboo ware factory are now selling for higher prices than before.

However, the bamboo ware factory has been able to operate so well largely thanks to Liu Ling.

“Xiaoling is a capable person. The first time I saw her, I felt that she was a person with her own opinions. Xiaonan is really lucky,” Lu Yuanhuan said with a smile.

“I think so too.” Lu Yuanqing agreed wholeheartedly.

He used to worry that Xiao Nan wouldn't be able to find a wife because he wasn't doing well in school, and that he would drift further and further away from his brothers and sisters.

Who would have thought this kid would be so lucky? Not only does he have bamboo weaving skills, but he also found a girl who likes him and is willing to go back to the village for him.

The saying "fools are often blessed" is absolutely true.

"Hehe!" Lu Yuanhuan laughed. "Has the bamboo ware factory expanded? Why are they so busy? Are they even working overtime late at night?"

Lu Yuanqing explained, "The bamboo ware factory recently received a big order, and time is a bit tight, so Xiaoling is a little busy."

As for Lu Mingnan, he was simply there to keep his wife company, and he couldn't offer much help in many aspects.

Lu Yuanhuan nodded knowingly, "Even when you're busy, you should remember to rest. Your health is the most important thing."

Before Lu Yuanqing left the village, due to the domestic environment, the bamboo ware factory's business was mainly selling to Hong Kong and overseas.

Later, after the reform and opening up, Liu Ling returned from studying in Kyoto. After becoming the factory director, she made sweeping reforms to the bamboo ware factory's previous sales strategy.

Today, bamboo handicrafts are not only targeting the international market, but also dominating the domestic market.

As a result, the bamboo ware factory's business naturally flourished, and they earned more money every year, resulting in substantial dividends.

"Tell me! What's wrong?" After the polite words, Lu Yuanqing directly asked the question that had been bothering him.

Don't say there's no problem.

The fact that his son, who was in the army, finally came home only to turn around and leave again made Lu Yuanqing feel that something was very wrong.

And there shouldn't be anything else that seems off.

Lu Yuanqing knows Lu Yuanhuan very well!

Lu Yuanhuan stopped, paused for a moment, then chuckled softly and continued walking.

"Third Brother, sometimes I'm quite envious of you."

Lu Yuanqing: "..." Who exactly gave the confession?!

"Why are you envious of me? Are you unhappy with your life? What did Gu Yushan do to make you unhappy?"

Lu Yuanhuan: "I'm single! Sometimes I envy you. You don't have a family, children, or the troubles that come with them."

“I never understood why you were so stubborn before. Couldn’t you just make do? You’re so lonely. What will you do when you get old? But as I get older, I’ve had this thought popping into my head from time to time: being free and unrestrained is pretty good too.”

Lu Yuanqing chuckled and said, "You've lived one kind of life, so you envy another."

"When it comes to the future direction of a person's life, especially when facing marriage, two paths will stand in front of you. One is the choice that most people tacitly agree on: to get married and have children, and have a lively family. The other is to choose not to get married and have children, and to live a carefree life alone."

"Everyone says that you'll regret it whether you get married or not, but there are two possible outcomes. If you get married, you'll inevitably face all sorts of troubles in the family. If you don't get married, you'll have to accept being alone and helpless when you get old."

"I think Gu Yushan has been very good to you all these years! You wouldn't start regretting marrying him over such a small thing, would you?"

"Pfft!" Lu Yuanhuan couldn't help but laugh. "What are you talking about! Even if I sometimes have a few bad thoughts, it's not like I regret getting married! He treats me very well."

Lu Yuanqing curled his lips and said, "It's already quite an achievement that he can make you say you don't regret getting married."

"But let me tell you, in a marriage, the other person's feedback is one thing, but your own feelings are another."

Yes, Gu Yushan was good to Lu Yuanhuan. In their decades of marriage, he never mistreated her and was very considerate towards her.

For most couples who have been married for decades, this is something to be thankful for and happy about!

However, it seems that relying solely on this is not enough.

Otherwise, Lu Yuanhuan wouldn't be so conflicted right now.

After all, dating only involves two people, but marriage involves two families.

Both sets of parents, siblings, and the next generation after marriage—all these factors contribute to whether a marriage is happy or not.

Of course, in just a few words, Lu Yuanqing also learned that Lu Yuanhuan's unhappiness this time was not because of Gu Yushan, but only because of her two children.

So, is it Gu Anping or Gu An'an?

"Third Brother, Anping has a fiancé, Zhang Xiaoya's daughter," Lu Yuanhuan said calmly.

Lu Yuanqing stopped abruptly, his voice cracking as he asked, "Who?"

It wasn't that he was too old to hear clearly, but rather that he subconsciously refused to believe what he had heard.