Chapter 76: Xinghua Village
Time flew by, and before he knew it, half of the winter vacation had already passed.
As the Spring Festival drew near, S City, which normally was not very crowded, gradually became lively. Every household was decorated with lanterns and festive ornaments, creating a cheerful holiday atmosphere.
Two days earlier, An Ran'er had already returned to her hometown in G City. However, Li Nuo did not want to go back so early, so he stayed in the apartment for two more days.
It was not until the 29th day of the lunar calendar that Li Nuo finally decided to return to his hometown.
After making sure that the water, electricity, and everything else in the apartment had been turned off, he packed Roubao and his laptop and started his journey home.
While waiting for the bus at the station, he looked at the lively streets and the crowds of people passing by. Some entire families were out shopping for New Year supplies.
Seeing those scenes made Li Nuo feel a little lonely.
Fortunately, the bus arrived soon.
This bus was different from the ones he usually took. It was one that traveled outside the city center of S City.
The trip from downtown to District C, where his hometown was located, took about two hours because the bus stopped frequently along the way.
There were not many passengers today.
Perhaps it was because the Spring Festival was so close and most people had already returned home.
After finding a window seat, Li Nuo put on his earphones and looked out at the scenery, hoping to empty his mind and fall asleep as quickly as possible.
For people who were not used to long bus rides, sleeping was the best choice because it made the trip feel shorter.
The bus slowly drove through the city. After circling around for quite a while and picking up many passengers, it finally left downtown and headed toward the other districts.
Throughout the trip, Li Nuo never managed to fall asleep.
The driver's skills were simply terrible. He often accelerated suddenly and then slammed on the brakes.
The constant feeling of being pushed forward and backward not only kept him awake but also made him feel a little sick.
Fortunately, he had brought a pack of mint candies before leaving.
After putting one into his mouth, the cool feeling helped reduce some of the dizziness caused by the sudden braking.
More than an hour later, the bus finally entered District C.
Once inside the district, the bus slowed down because people kept getting off at different stops.
After passing several stations, Li Nuo finally saw a bus stop sign labeled "Xinghua Road Intersection."
Only then did he realize he had arrived.
He quickly stood up and called for the driver to stop.
Xinghua Village was located at the foot of a mountain called Hulu Mountain, an ordinary village like many others.
The mountain got its name because two mountains, one large and one small, were connected together and looked like a giant gourd lying on its side.
As for Xinghua Village, Li Nuo had always wondered why it was called that.
There were no apricot blossoms anywhere in the village.
When he was young, he had even asked his grandfather about it.
But his grandfather could not really explain it either. He only said that long ago, there had once been apricot trees in the village.
Although it was called a village, there were quite a few self-built Western-style houses there.
Because the village had developed fairly well in recent years, it also had plenty of facilities.
For example, there were many illegal internet cafés.
When Li Nuo attended middle school here, he often went to those cafés alone to play games.
Back then, however, those places were also filled with gangsters and troublemakers.
It was not unusual to see groups of people fighting with knives and other weapons.
Following his memories and making several turns, Li Nuo finally arrived at his grandparents' home.
Their house was located on the eastern side of the village.
Most of the surrounding area consisted of farmland, with only a few scattered houses standing far apart from one another.
His grandparents lived in a small two-story house.
The walls were simply covered with cement and had no decorative tiles, making the building look rather plain.
Both of his grandparents were farmers.
They had spent their entire lives working the land for a living.
Even so, they had managed to raise someone as talented as his father, who had become a successful singer.
When Li Nuo was little and lived in the city with his parents, they would come back here for a few days every New Year.
At that time, he had actually liked village life and thought the people here were honest and kind.
But after his parents died, his grandparents became his guardians.
He moved to Xinghua Village and spent all of middle school here.
That period of his life eventually became a dark chapter that he could never completely forget.
Standing in front of the door, Li Nuo hesitated for a long time before finally knocking.
However, no one came to answer.
Looking at the time, he saw that it was only five in the afternoon. His grandparents were probably still selling vegetables at the market. So he decided to walk around for a while.
Just as he was about to leave, a voice called out to him.
"Is that Xiao Nuo?"
Li Nuo turned around.
The speaker was an elderly woman with gray hair and a kind face.
It was his grandmother.
She was carrying some freshly picked vegetables, apparently having just returned from the fields.
"Grandma, it's me," Li Nuo replied.
"It really is Xiao Nuo. Come, come inside."
As she spoke, she unlocked the gate and carried the vegetables she had just picked into the house, happily glancing back at her grandson from time to time.
After following her into the house, Li Nuo put down his belongings and opened Roubao's pet carrier.
The cat carefully looked around the unfamiliar environment.
After making sure there was no danger, Roubao jumped onto the sofa in the living room and elegantly began licking its paws.
"So you've raised a cat?" Grandma Li asked after coming out of the kitchen and noticing Roubao grooming itself.
"Yeah. I found him on the roadside. His name is Roubao."
"Oh."
She nodded and then asked,
"You've been living alone for more than half a year now. Have you gotten used to it?"
"It's been okay."
"That's good. By the way, have you told your eldest uncle's family that you've come back?"
"Not yet."
"Remember to let them know. They took care of you for a while too."
"I know."
"And don't forget your second uncle."
"I won't."
The Li family had four children in total, three sons and one daughter.
Li Nuo's father had been the third child.
Besides his two uncles, he also had a younger aunt who had married and moved far away.
After his parents died, his grandparents had initially taken care of him.
Later, his eldest and second uncles argued that the elderly couple was too old to raise a child and competed for custody of Li Nuo.
Seeing their sons so eager, the grandparents eventually handed custody over to them.
Now, however, Li Nuo understood the truth.
Back then, they had only wanted the compensation money from his parents' accidental deaths.
Still, he had no choice.
He ended up taking turns living with both families.
Yet throughout all those years, Li Nuo had always known one thing.
Among all those relatives, the only people who truly cared about him were his grandparents.