Chapter 42 Part 2

"Why are you looking at me like that," Chen Chao said as he came in and changed his shoes, tossing his backpack aside. "Are you stunned?"

Chen Guangda finally snapped back to reality, walked over, and gave Chen Chao a big hug, disbelieving. "Son, how come you're back?"

"It's the holidays," Chen Chao smiled. "You never asked if I was coming back."

"How could I have expected you to come back? You always go out as soon as the holidays start." Chen Guangda finally broke into a genuine smile, his eyes crinkling into slits. "Dad was just thinking of you, about to video call you, and you actually walked through the door!"

Chen Chao went to wash his hands, asking him, "Have you eaten?"

"I have. I had a dinner meeting tonight. Have you eaten?" Chen Guangda squeezed his son's arms and shoulders and said, "You've gotten sturdier."

Chen Chao said, "I ate with Jiang Xun."

"Little Xun?" Chen Guangda asked. "I ran into his dad a couple of days ago, we chatted for a bit."

His dad was clearly ecstatic that Chen Chao was back. It was already midnight, but he wouldn't go to sleep himself, nor would he let Chen Chao sleep.

Chen Chao was so sleepy his eyes were about to close. "Aren't you tired, Dad?"

"I'm not tired, so you can't be tired either. Talk with Dad," Chen Guangda said, patting his son's leg.

"Can't we talk tomorrow?" Chen Chao didn't even want to open his mouth to speak. "Your son woke up at six this morning."

Chen Guangda wasn't falling for it. "Aren't you leaving tomorrow?"

Chen Chao said, "I'm going to my grandma's house. You can just come along."

"I'll see about tomorrow." Chen Guangda yawned, feeling a bit sleepy too. "If I can clear my schedule, I'll go back with you."

Chen Guangda couldn't clear his schedule. There were still things at the company, so he couldn't just up and leave.

Chen Chao had told his grandparents long in advance, and his grandma had been waiting for them for a long time.

Grandma Chen's house couldn't accommodate so many people. Xiao Kai and his team had brought a full set of equipment, including tents, and said they would just pitch them in the yard to sleep. Two carloads of young men got out with their large bags and packages, bringing their tents and filming equipment, filling up Grandma Chen's small yard.

Grandma Chen was overjoyed. Seeing her grandson, she couldn't get enough of him, holding his arm and looking at him endlessly.

Chen Chao put an arm around her and said, "You don't have to take too much care of them. Let them fend for themselves. It's good enough that we're providing them a place to film."

Xiao Kai, standing nearby, nodded quickly. "Yes, Grandma! We can fend for ourselves!"

Grandma Chen was amused by their words and laughed for a long time. "How could I do that! Grandma will make you delicious food every day. Just tell Grandma whatever you like to eat."

"We'll eat whatever you make!" Xiao Kai had a smiling face and looked very likable.

"So many things? Can you fit them all?" Grandma Miao came over to take a look. "If you can't fit them, just put them in our yard."

Chen Chao greeted her, "Grandma Miao."

Grandma Miao acknowledged him, looking at Chen Chao and saying, "Every time I see you, I feel like you've grown taller."

"I haven't grown in the last two years," Chen Chao said with a smile.

"Your grandma has been waiting for you every day, and she's finally got you back." Grandma Miao said to Chen Chao, "Tell all your little classmates and friends to go pick whatever they want to eat from my backyard. Miao'er isn't home, so we can't eat it all. The persimmons are all ripe. Go pick some for your classmates to try later."

Hearing this, Xiao Kai quickly shouted, "Thank you, Grandma!"

"What's there to thank me for," Grandma Miao said with a "sigh" and a wave of her hand. "It's nothing, just pick and eat as you please."

As they were talking, someone was already recording with a handheld camera. Xiao Kai said, "There's no audio pickup, the effect won't be good."

Chen Chao asked Grandma Miao if her blood pressure had been stable recently and how her health was.

"I'm fine," Grandma Miao said nonchalantly. "Miao'er bought me blood pressure medicine. I took it for a few days and it went down, and it hasn't gone up since. As long as I don't get angry or anxious, I'm fine."

After saying that, she remembered something and asked, "Does Miao'er know you're back?"

Chen Chao said, "He knows."

"Then why didn't he come back," Grandma Miao lamented. "When he was little, he was the closest with you."

"He's busy," Chen Chao said. "Let's not bother him."

When Xiao Kai saw the vast cotton fields here, he was incredibly excited.

The Miao Family didn't just grow cotton now; they also had a planting base of over two hundred mu, with large greenhouses where they grew fresh flowers.

"You guys grow flowers here too?" Xiao Kai asked, quite puzzled. "Aren't these kinds of fresh flowers usually grown in the south?"

"They can be grown here too," Chen Chao said.

"Are these all roses?" Zhang Kai took a few pictures, a camera hanging around his neck as he shot from different angles.

Chen Chao said, "Chinese roses."

Zhang Kai reached out and touched the small thorns on the stem. "Aren't there thorns? What's the difference? I feel like roses look just like this."

Chen Chao thought of the seas of different colored Chinese roses from their third year of high school and said, "They're two different things. The flower shape and thorns are different."

"How do you know?" Zhang Kai asked, squatting.

Chen Chao picked up a small stick and swept away a spiderweb on a greenhouse pole, saying, "I've seen them."

"Is it only Grandma Miao's family that grows flowers here? Does the family own a flower shop?" Xiao Kai asked.

Chen Chao hadn't told him about Miao Jiayan, only saying, "There are sales channels. Don't film this. You can film the flowers."

"Why? What kind of channels?" Xiao Kai asked casually.

"—Brother Chao?"

When the voice suddenly sounded from behind, Chen Chao hadn't yet answered Xiao Kai's question. He turned his head toward the sound.

Miao Jiayan was standing at the outermost entrance of the greenhouse, poking his head in to look. He had just arrived, and his voice was still unsteady, with a very slight pant. He was wearing loose long-sleeved clothes and pants, with a baseball cap on his head for sun protection. His hair slid down with his movement, looking very soft.

Chen Chao raised a hand and said, "Over here."

Miao Jiayan then stood up straight, walked in with his backpack, took off his hat, and smiled gently. "I looked in several greenhouses, but you weren't in any of them."

"This is?" Zhang Kai was already stunned looking at Miao Jiayan.

"Miao Jiayan," Chen Chao introduced.

"I'm Zhang Kai, you can call me Xiao Kai." Zhang Kai couldn't help but stare at Miao Jiayan, his gaze a bit impolite. The straight guy meant no harm; he was simply surprised, finding his style of dress "special," yet miraculously not at odds with his overall person.

Miao Jiayan smiled. "Welcome."

"You're Grandma Miao's..." Zhang Kai had wanted to say "grandson," but for some reason, the word got stuck in his throat.

Miao Jiayan nodded and said, "Yes, that's my grandma."

Xiao Kai came to his senses and asked him, "So you're the one who grows all these flowers?"

"My grandma helps me grow them." Miao Jiayan had been walking outside for a while, and his face was a little red from the heat. He reached behind him and pulled a half-empty bottle of water out of his backpack, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

Zhang Kai was about to ask more, but Chen Chao interrupted him, "Are you conducting a census?"

"This is part of my work..." Xiao Kai chuckled and didn't press further.

Chen Chao asked Miao Jiayan, "When did you get back?"

"Just got back. I might have to leave again tomorrow." Miao Jiayan gently fanned his face with his hat.

"Such a hassle," Chen Chao said. "Then why did you even come back."

Miao Jiayan looked up at him, a hint of a smile in his eyes as he said, "Brother Chao is back, so I had to come and see."