"Want to... Of course, I want to!"
Zhou Dewen said, scratching his head.
The two had exchanged contact information. Although their relationship wasn't official, they were already more than friends.
Meanwhile, for Wang Yue.
Qiao Zixuan felt both touched and heartbroken. She eventually called Wang Yue, first to thank him, then to scold him.
Wang Yue simply said that it was all worth it.
...
New Year's Eve passed just like that.
On the first day of the new year, Wang Yue received red envelopes from his parents.
The amount wasn't much, only two hundred yuan, but it was for good luck.
Walking down the street, the festive atmosphere was everywhere.
Today, Wang Yue was going to visit relatives with his parents.
They bought bags and bags of gifts.
Their first stop was his maternal grandmother, who lived in the countryside.
They first took a bus to a small town. Since the rural areas didn't have paved roads, they had to trek through small paths.
Walking along the country road, Wang Yue breathed in the fresh air, feeling refreshed and exhilarated.
He used to visit his grandmother's house frequently when he was a child. Back then, most relatives still lived in the countryside and hadn't moved away, making it a very lively atmosphere.
As time went by, most of the relatives moved away, leaving only his grandparents behind.
It wasn't that they hadn't considered moving them to the city, but the elderly couple didn't like the hustle and bustle of the city and preferred the peace and freedom of the countryside.
However, every year during Chinese New Year, everyone would still come back to visit them.
Wang Yue was now in good health, walking with a strong stride, carrying bags and packages, yet he didn't feel tired at all.
Wang Yue remembered that his grandmother passed away the year he got into university.
Even after she passed, she still worried about him, saying she wanted to give him all her savings to pay for his university tuition.
After walking for half an hour along the mountain path, they finally saw his grandmother's house.
"Grandma!"
From afar, Wang Yue saw the old woman working in the fields.
Even though her health was not good now, she still persisted. The perseverance of the older generation was truly something many young people couldn't match.
"Xiao Yue is here."
Seeing Wang Yue, the old woman's face immediately lit up with a smile.
"Mom, we're here to see you."
At this moment, Pan Huiying also walked over.
"You go inside first, I'll be there shortly."
The old woman called out.
"I'll wait for you."
Wang Yue said with a smile.
Grandma appeared to be in reasonably good health, but that was only an appearance.
Based on the timeline, his grandmother had less than a year left to live.
Therefore, Wang Yue intended to treat his grandmother this time.
As the old woman slowly approached, she smiled, "You didn't have to bring so many things."
"It's for you, Grandma."
Wang Yue said with a smile.
"Why did you buy such expensive things? You should save this money for Xiao Yue's university tuition."
The old woman frowned after seeing the items in Wang Yue's hands.
These were all expensive health supplements.
"Mom, these aren't from us, they're from Xiao Yue."
Wang Jianguo quickly said.
"Nonsense, how could Xiao Yue have so much money?"
The old woman said with wide eyes.
"Grandma, don't underestimate me. I'm earning 300,000 a month now."
Wang Yue said with a smile.
"How much?"
The old woman's eyes widened.
Thirty thousand yuan? The old woman had never seen so much money in her entire life.
This was absurd, wasn't it?
Wang Yue spent a lot of time explaining, and his parents chimed in, before the old woman finally accepted the fact.
She then said with relief that studying was indeed useful, and knowledge changed destiny.
"Why didn't Hu Wa come?"
At this moment, the old woman asked again.
"Mom, Xiao Yue recently opened an internet café for him, and he's busy being a boss."
Pan Huiying said.
"I haven't seen this child in a long time."
The old woman sighed.
In his previous life, if anyone had the closest relationship, it was Wang Hu and his grandmother.
Because when Wang Hu was in primary school, he studied in this village and stayed at his grandmother's house for everything.
But as he grew up, feeling he hadn't achieved much, and with his figure changing, Wang Hu rarely visited his grandmother's house anymore.
Wang Yue returned to his grandmother's house.
It had been renovated and looked much more modern than the old house.
However, it still retained the stove that Wang Yue loved the most.
The stoves in the countryside used various dried branches, and baking sweet potatoes in the ashes produced an incomparable aroma.
However, one downside was that the smoke would sting the eyes.
"Grandpa."
Another elderly man was burning firewood, and Wang Yue called out.
Wang Yue's maternal grandfather was named Pan Jiefang, a very distinctive name from that era.
His maternal grandmother was named Niu Huizhu, both very common names from the older generation.
Pan Jiefang had always been in good health. Even though he was 70 this year, he was still doing well more than ten years later, apart from his hearing not being as good.
"Xiao Yue is here, come over and warm yourself by the fire."
Pan Jiefang waved at Wang Yue.
Wang Yue walked over, and the warmth of the fire dispelled the cold.
"Grandpa, your firewood burning skills are excellent. There's hardly any smoke."
Wang Yue praised.
"I've been burning firewood my whole life, so I must have learned a few tricks."
Pan Jiefang said with a smile.
After chatting for a while, Wang Yue also joined in the task of burning firewood.
Time slowly passed like this.
In his hometown, Wang Yue felt that time slowed down.
Without the hustle and bustle of the city and breathing fresh air, his mind became clear and relaxed.
During this time, Wang Yue also found an opportunity to check his grandmother's pulse.
Niu Huizhu, of course, didn't believe Wang Yue had such skills and thought he was indulging in some doctor fantasy again.
However, Wang Yue did indeed identify Niu Huizhu's illness.
These were all chronic old ailments that had accumulated over time, severely affecting Niu Huizhu's sleep quality and causing intermittent pain.
Wang Yue could indeed treat this.
Although his medical skills couldn't make Niu Huizhu look young again, he could easily cure her illnesses and help her live a few more years.
However, this would require acupuncture and oral medication.
Oral medication was easy, but acupuncture would be difficult.
Niu Huizhu's body was already weak, and her family wouldn't allow her to be messed with.
Besides, how would he explain his medical skills?
Thinking of this, Wang Yue felt a headache coming on.
He decided not to dwell on it. After warming himself by the fire for a while, he headed towards the mountaintop.
On the mountaintop stood a primary school that had been abandoned. The school had already moved to town.
However, the small shop remained, and people would go there to buy necessities.
But Wang Yue wasn't going to buy anything. He just wanted to visit the primary school from his memories.
This primary school was Wang Hu's alma mater, and Wang Yue had played there when he visited as a child.
After walking for a full half hour, Wang Yue finally reached the mountaintop.
No one was around.
Even the small shop's door was tightly shut.
Not far in front of Wang Yue was an iron gate.
Outside the iron gate was a weathered signboard.
It read: "September Primary School."