The two elders had recognized Su Xiaotian as their god-granddaughter, and over the years, Su Xiaotian had been truly filial to them.
Even the children of the Su family respected the couple greatly.
Despite having no children of their own, thanks to the Su family, they had never suffered any grievances.
Yu Ruiyuan had already bought plenty of food, clothing, and other necessities for Su Xiaotian.
"It's still very cold in Nanling Village in the twelfth lunar month, so this cotton-padded jacket I bought for you is perfect for wearing when you go back."
"And these little leather boots are the latest style, very beautiful, and they match this cotton-padded jacket perfectly."
"This woolen skirt will be just right for your brother's wedding..."
Yu Ruiyuan showed Su Xiaotian the new clothes she had bought, one by one.
"God-grandma, why did you only think of buying clothes for me? You should buy more clothes for yourself and God-grandpa," Su Xiaotian said when Yu Ruiyuan finally stopped.
"Do your God-grandpa and I need to buy clothes for ourselves? The clothes you sent, and the ones your brothers sent, we can't even wear them all. Besides, the Taohuadi Garment Factory sent us several sets of their new elderly styles this year."
Yu Ruiyuan pointed to her own brand-new clothes as she spoke, indicating that they were not lacking in clothing.
Several families who were originally unrelated had crossed paths when they were in Hongxin Brigade. Unexpectedly, after all these years, they had become closer than family.
Su Xiaotian wasn't actually worried about the elders lacking clothes; she just felt that their money should be saved for their own use, not spent on her.
"It's a pity that your God-grandpa and I are not in good health, and we really don't dare to go to Nanling Village with you. Otherwise, we would really like to go back and see it."
Perhaps because their time in Nanling Village had been comfortable and without hardship, Yu Ruiyuan and Du Tonghe were very nostalgic for Nanling Village.
"The train will be crowded during the New Year, and the journey will be cold and harsh. If you two would like to visit Nanling Village, let's go when spring blossoms next year!"
Su Xiaotian smiled and reassured the elders. Compared to Chi Ge, Du Tonghe and Yu Ruiyuan's health was much better.
When spring arrived, it wouldn't be impossible to make a trip back.
"Let's talk about it after the New Year. We'll see how things are. If we can go back, we'll go. I heard that Nanling Village has rebuilt the farm and plans to build a food processing plant. From now on, life will be good."
Du Tonghe chimed in.
In the past, the reason the elderly couple didn't suffer in Nanling Village was, frankly, because the people of Nanling Village were kind-hearted.
If it were any other place, even with the Su family's care, they would have endured a lot of hardship.
"God-grandpa, I echo your good wishes. In the future, their lives will also get better and better."
The establishment of the food processing plant was just the first step. As long as they were willing to work hard, a good life was indeed ahead.
It was always the first pot of gold that was the hardest to earn. With the farm and the food processing plant, Nanling Village had its first pot of gold.
With the first pot of gold, would it be difficult afterward?
Perhaps because Su Xiaotian was about to go to Nanling Village, many of their conversations revolved around the future of Nanling Village.
As the three of them spoke, it was as if they could already see a beautiful future.
The Du family lived very close to the Su family, and Su Xiaotian returned home under the cover of night.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for the Su family to return to the village.
Grandma Su cleaned the house in Beijing until it was spotless.
Thinking about putting up Spring Festival couplets, she left the keys with Yu Ruiyuan and her husband to look after the house.
Su Taohua and Shen Zizhen bought train tickets together with the Su family.
Train tickets had fewer restrictions in the past two years. They used their connections to buy soft sleeper tickets.
Soft sleepers were much more comfortable than hard sleepers. Su Xiaotian thought that since her grandparents were older, it was best to avoid hardship on the journey.
After all, their family wasn't short of money.
Grandpa Su kept muttering in the soft sleeper carriage about how much the berths cost.
Although Grandpa Su kept complaining about the high cost, he also knew that it was because his grandchildren were successful.
In this era, it was not easy to even get a hard seat ticket when traveling.
He also saw many people lying under the seats, with every nook and cranny of the hard seat carriage filled with people.
After muttering a few times, the old man said no more.
It had been two years since they last returned to Nanling Village. Stepping onto the train back home again, both Grandpa and Grandma Su, as well as the younger generation, felt a sense of excitement.
Even Shen Zizhen was very excited.
"Teacher Shen, why are you more excited than I am?" Su Laosan asked Shen Zizhen, who was smiling broadly.
Shen Zizhen laughed heartily and said, "Hongxin Brigade, oh, now called Nanling Village, that is where I was reborn."
After saying this, Shen Zizhen glanced meaningfully at Su Taohua.
At that time, he had been betrayed by his wife and children and arrived in Nanling Village with a heart full of pain and wounds.
If it weren't for the warmth he received from these people, it was hard to say what his future would have been.
At that time, he had even contemplated ending his life.
But he never expected that things would turn around so completely, from bad to good.
Su Taohua saw the smile in her husband's eyes and felt a blush of shyness.
This time, they hadn't brought the children, and it was just the couple with the Su family. They spoke and acted with fewer reservations.
Grandpa Su, in particular, had a smile on his face the entire time, occasionally reminiscing about old times with Grandma Su.
Su Xiaotian saw the longing and fondness for their hometown on the faces of the elders.
She began to wonder if it was right or wrong to have the elders live with them in Beijing.
People often say that fallen leaves return to their roots, and perhaps every elder feels the same way.
No matter where they wandered in their youth.
In their old age, they would long to return to their old homes and sit under the big trees in front of their houses.
Su Xiaotian had also wondered if the elders had such thoughts.
But their entire family no longer lived in the village, and leaving the elders behind in the village was something they couldn't be at ease with.
Never mind. Since they couldn't fulfill the elders' wish to return home, they would help develop their hometown and ensure everyone lived a good life.
Su Xiaotian could feel that her grandparents deeply wished for Nanling Village to develop and for everyone in Nanling Village to earn money and live a good life.
She quietly discussed with Su Xiaosi, looking for ways to accelerate the development of Nanling Village.
In fact, many villages had already begun to develop rapidly in this era. She had some understanding of how those villages became prosperous.
However, because her understanding was not comprehensive, Su Xiaotian felt that she needed to research it thoroughly with her fourth brother, who was a skilled moneymaker.
It had to be said that Su Xiaosi's mind was full of money-making ideas. The brother and sister devised a plan on the train to promote the development of Nanling Village. Although it wasn't perfect, it was highly feasible.
As long as the people of Nanling Village cooperated, it would definitely take three to five years to make Nanling Village a well-known prosperous village.
After the siblings finalized their discussions, they shared them with the others.
As expected, Grandpa Su was very excited and praised Su Xiaotian and Su Xiaosi repeatedly.
"You are both good children. You have improved your own lives, but you haven't forgotten your fellow villagers. This means you haven't forgotten your roots!"
"If all the children who leave our village were like you, thinking of their hometown, would our village have to worry about not developing?"
Su Xiaotian smiled sweetly, realizing that her actions had truly touched her grandfather's heart.