Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 358 - 343: Call Me Uncle

Qin Xi’s project has been mostly publicized, and many villages are willing to give it a try. After all, farming is the peasants’ traditional occupation, and they would feel insecure about trying something else, but farming is a craft passed down by their ancestors, a skill every generation knows.

Meanwhile, Leng Qing’s factory is also under construction. Except for Leng Qing and Hu Zi, who run to the factory every day, everyone else carries on with their regular jobs.

Xu Wu left in August and visited once in September, staying for three days before leaving again.

This time he didn’t return until November. Due to its proximity to the mountains, Huai County had already seen its first snowfall.

Wood-burning stoves had been lit in every household, and Qin Xi, seeing that the house wasn’t warm enough, had someone build a fire wall, which immediately warmed up the place.

Winter was here, and one couldn’t drive too fast. Xu Wu arrived after six in the evening.

Coinciding with the weekend, Li Xianglu was making dumplings with Sister Su. Grandpa had covered up a patch of chives with a plastic canopy to grow them tenderly, and today they were just about the right size, one foot long, eagerly awaited by the elderly and children in the household.

Li Xianglu therefore cut a bunch, mixing it with pork to make dumplings.

Of course, there were radishes too; the radishes planted in July yielded two sacks, and there were dozens of cabbages.

Li Xianglu had just finished making dozens of dumplings when she heard a knock at the door. Thinking it was Hu Zi and Leng Qing who had returned—since the factory building was completed and the imported machines had just been delivered and were being tested, keeping them both late—she hurried out in her red cashmere sweater. Over the years, whenever idle, Grandpa and Su Yan would drag her out for brisk walks and boxing—her physical condition was excellent, rarely catching a cold, so the cold didn’t bother her.

But to her surprise, it was Xu Wu in leather attire and beside him, smiling, Da Li.

Li Xianglu joyfully exclaimed, "Oh, why didn’t you call home?"

Xu Wu, initially smiling, frowned upon seeing Li Xianglu’s thin sweater, "Sister, why didn’t you wear more?"

He said that while quickly ushering Li Xianglu inside and left Da Li behind who was standing near the already opened trunk, resignedly beginning to move things, accustomed to never expecting this guy to help carry.

Fortunately, Hu Zi and Leng Qing arrived soon after, and it took the three of them three trips to finally move everything inside. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Li Xianglu exchanged pleasantries with Xu Wu, asking about his health and giving him a thorough once-over before finally feeling relieved to go back to making dumplings. Yet, feeling the dumplings alone weren’t enough to satisfy the craving, she couldn’t help but cut a leg from the whole sheep Xu Wu brought and stew it.

Sitting at the table next to the living room, Xu Wu watched a chubby little pig playing blocks with the twins and paused before asking, "Who is that?"

Su Yan was reading nearby and was about to answer when Gu Niannian spoke up, "Big brother, I’m Gu Niannian. Ba Yi and Ba ’Er are my buddies."

Su Yan’s mouth twitched, only to hear Ba ’Er chirp in, "Buddies!"

Xu Wu’s brow furrowed, and he said coolly, "I am your uncle."

Gu Niannian, previously smiling at the twins, turned to him incredulously, examining him from head to toe, finally saying after hesitating while looking at Xu Wu’s refined handsome face, "You definitely look more like a brother!"

A barely held back chuckle escaped from Su Yan, just as Ba ’Er added, "Uncle!"

Gu Niannian turned his head and asked, "Ba Yi, is he your uncle?"

Ba Yi passed a block to his younger brother and then nodded as well, "Little uncle, and another uncle."

Originally, his words were quite ambiguous, but Gu Niannian probably often played with the twins, so after hearing them, he understood, "Oh, two uncles!"

Seeing that his little friend understood, Ba Yi nodded with a smile on his face.

Xu Wu was stunned for a moment and then turned to look at Su Yan.

Su Yan smiled and said, "Gu Niannian is the son of Qin Xi’s colleague, lives near our house and often comes to play. The three kids get along very well."

When Gu Niannian heard Su Yan introducing him, he paused his hand that was about to wipe his nose with his arm, grabbed a cut piece of tissue from the side, wiped his nose, threw it in the trash bin, and then said to Xu Wu, "Yeah, big brother, we are buddies."

Lately, Gu Niannian had learned a new word at kindergarten, which is ’buddies’. He often used it on weekends with Ba Yi and always said that they were buddies, not playing with the girls.

Xu Wu frowned again, a chilly aura especially strong around him, "I am your uncle!"

Gu Niannian was startled, his chubby face showing a puzzled and confused look—it seemed like this "big brother" was unhappy.

Before Gu Niannian could respond, Ba’er slammed a block onto the table with a slap, a look of anger on his face, saying, "Uncle!"

Then Ba Yi glanced at his angry brother, gently tapped him, and then said to Gu Niannian, "Uncle, not brother."

Su Yan couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing, attracting the curious gazes of Li Xianglu and Sister Su, who were wrapping dumplings at the coffee table.

Even when Xu Wu faced the fierce twins, his heart felt soft like water inside. Seeing his nephew getting angry, he gave in reluctantly and said, "Alright, Gu Niannian, you can call me uncle too, but you can’t say it outside, got it?" As he spoke, Xu Wu squinted at him.

Gu Niannian felt a chill, his back cold and eerie, as if he had encountered the ghost Xiongxiong had spoken about, it was terrifying. Many years later, Gu Niannian would recall his experience at the age of five, still feeling a bout of fear and relief, thinking about how bold he was at the time to talk back to the Great Demon King. If it weren’t for the adorable interruption by Ba’er, he couldn’t imagine how bad it would have been.

Gu Niannian obediently called out, "Little Uncle."

Xu Wu nodded slightly and took out three different boxes from a pile of stuff, handing one to each kid.

Ba’er shook his box noisily immediately after receiving it. Gu Niannian was stunned for a bit then began to stare at the designs on it, a metal box with colorful designs and many words he didn’t recognize, similar to the words in the books his great grandmother read, so he asked, puzzled, "English?"

Xu Wu raised an eyebrow.

Beside them, Su Yan explained, "He usually studies English with Ba Yi and Ba’er. This kid is smart, a teachable talent." Xu Wu then started sizing him up anew.

He was a smart man and almost immediately understood Su Yan’s phrase about a teachable talent, it was Su Yan’s conscious effort to nurture helpers for her nephews. Thus, he addressed the chubby Gu Niannian, "Come, let’s see your physique."

Saying this, he didn’t wait for Gu Niannian’s agreement and directly pulled him up by the collar to put him on the floor, and began inspecting him.

Gu Niannian didn’t dare move, and the twins sitting at the table watched curiously; Ba’er even climbed down from the table wanting his uncle to play with him as well.