Chapter 1693 - 1306:
Chapter 1693: Chapter 1306:
However, Xi Chenyu didn’t say a word.
When Xi Jingyu knocked on the study door, he followed his older brother in.
"Grandpa, in a couple of days I’m going to visit Aunt Kang’s hometown with her family for a while, you’re not going to say no, right?" Old Master Xi put down his newspaper when he heard this, looked up at Xi Jingyu, and asked, "Where are you going?"
Xi Jingyu replied, "The Great Northwest, Aunt Kang’s hometown."
Xi Chenyu said, "Grandpa, I want to go too."
Old Master Xi took off his reading glasses from the bridge of his nose and placed them on the desk. He leaned back in his chair and said unhurriedly, "Do you know how far the Northwest is? Are you sure you’re not just going along to be a bother?"
"I’m old enough now to take care of myself, and Luo Minghan already said it’s basically a road trip for them when Aunt Kang goes back to her hometown."
"Will one car fit everyone?"
"Not just one car. Luo Minghan said there’ll be three cars in total, two sedans and a mid-sized van." To stop Old Master Xi from doubting, Xi Jingyu added, "Luo Minghan said his great-grandpa is going too. Grandpa, Luo Minghan’s great-grandpa is Grandpa Jiang. Don’t worry, as the younger generation, I’ll definitely take good care of Grandpa Jiang."
"Your Grandpa Jiang’s coming too?"
Old Master Xi was a little surprised.
"Is that so strange? Grandpa Jiang is Aunt Kang’s grandfather. Not long after the New Year, Grandpa Jiang and Uncle Jiang even went back to her hometown with Aunt Kang. Now Grandpa Jiang and Uncle Jiang have even built a house in Aunt Kang’s hometown. I heard from Luo Minghan it’s a villa, and the plans were drawn by Aunt Kang!" Xi Jingyu rambled on, while Old Master Xi was already picking up the landline phone and dialing his old friend Jiang Hongfa.
When the other end picked up and he heard Jiang Hongfa’s voice, he immediately asked the question he’d heard from Xi Jingyu. After getting confirmation, he thought for a bit and said, "Old buddy, would you mind having one more person keep you company while you escape the summer heat over there?"
No one knows what Jiang Hongfa said on the phone, but Old Master Xi just laughed and said, "I’m more or less retired now, there’s nothing much I’m needed for these days... Staying home is boring anyway, so I might as well go with you for a change of pace. When the time comes, I’ll stay at your place—the villa—and the two of us can admire the mountains and rivers every day, sit and play chess and drink tea together. Just thinking about it gets me excited. What do you think, old buddy?"
He must have got Jiang Hongfa’s agreement, because Old Master Xi laughed heartily and said, "I’ll have the family help me pack in the next couple days. By the way, I’ll bring my wife along too. Over the years she hasn’t really been out much because of her health problems. You said that place has beautiful mountains and water—it’s perfect for recuperating—so I’ll bring her with me,
maybe it’ll do her good... Don’t worry, she can move around. Her illness just means she has to stay in bed in the winter, but at other times she can go out in her wheelchair for a bit of sun, no problem at all... All right, thanks, old buddy. Call me the day before we leave. Okay, I got it, I’ll talk to my boys about it. Mm, that’s it then, goodbye."
"Grandpa, you... you’re going to Aunt Kang’s hometown too?"
Xi Jingyu’s eyes were wide, his expression a bit shocked.
"What’s there to be so surprised about? Your Grandpa Jiang is going there to escape the summer heat, and since I’m his good friend, of course I’m invited too! Isn’t that perfectly normal?!" If there’s ever such a thing as lying with your eyes wide open, Xi Jingyu thought he’d witnessed it today. Clearly, it was his grandpa who got the idea from him and insisted on going together with Grandpa Jiang, yet now it turned into Grandpa Jiang doing the inviting.
Eye-opening, truly eye-opening!
But if Grandpa’s going, doesn’t that mean he can go too as a matter of course?
Thinking of this, Xi Jingyu broke into a huge grin.
"Grandpa, what about me?"
Xi Chenyu asked Old Master Xi.
"You can come, too."
With both the young and the old, the journey surely wouldn’t be too quick.
Old Master Xi stood up. "I’m going upstairs to check on your grandma."
"I’ll go with you, Grandpa."
Xi Chenyu followed Old Master Xi out of the study.
Xi Jingyu, meanwhile, went to the living room to call Ming Han back.
...
The next day.
Just after ten in the morning, Kang Li picked up a bulging travel bag and was about to head out. She said to Min Rui, Ming Han, and Ming Wei, "Check around the house to see if there’s anything else you want to bring to our hometown. I’ll be back no later than three or four this afternoon."
Min Rui nodded and said, "Mom, say hi to Dad for me."
Ming Han said, "Mom, don’t forget to tell Dad my final exam results. And say hi for me too—tell him I really miss him!"