The old Master Ma stood up, and an intimidating aura swept over.

"My Yue Ya will come back."

Master Ma’s sister-in-law was so frightened by him that she took a step back and stammered, "You—you—"

She tried to speak but couldn’t say a complete sentence for a long time.

Master Ma’s piercing gaze focused on the four people.

"I carry the family name from my uncle, it has nothing to do with you. Don’t forget I was adopted out."

This one sentence made the four people’s faces flush with guilt.

But no matter the guilt, the immediate benefits in front of them were more substantial, and they tried to continue speaking.

"Master Ma—I have news about Yue Ya!"

Jiang Cheng pushed the door open and entered, pretending to be out of breath.

Master Ma had already seen Jiang Cheng arrive, thinking she had come to his rescue.

Even though he knew the news was false, Master Ma still held a glimmer of hope in his heart.

Fake news was still good.

"Really?"

Master Ma stood up.

Jiang Cheng affirmed, "Of course!"

The four people standing between them all felt that it might be too coincidental.

"Impossible!"

"It’s been missing for so long, alive or not—"

"Ahhhhh!"

Master Ma fiercely threw what was in his hand.

"Get out!"

"My Yue Ya is fine!"

Master Ma would rather accept not finding her than dare to think Yue Ya was gone.

"All of you, get out! This house is Yue Ya’s root, and I will never let you live here."

Master Ma’s determination made the four people exchange glances, deciding to come back another day.

They had said the wrong words just now; maybe they should change their strategy.

He cares so much about Yue Ya... it’s been over twenty years, he might not even remember what she looks like?

If they found someone to claim to be Yue Ya...

With this thought, Ma Cheng immediately spoke up:

"Uncle, it’s just that my mother is clumsy with words, she didn’t mean that! Yue Ya is definitely fine, let’s look together!"

As Ma Cheng glossed over the matter, calculating in his mind, he led the others away.

After seeing everyone leave, Master Ma returned to his usual expressionless self.

He slowly sat on a small stool.

Seeing this, Jiang Cheng stepped forward, took hold of Master Ma’s arm, and forcefully called him into the house.

"Sit here, it’s spacious, and if you fall, it might not hurt as much."

Master Ma’s wrinkled face was full of question marks.

"What? Are you going to hit me?"

"Why would I hit you? I barely have enough time to flatter you; you’re a skilled master hidden among common folks."

Jiang Cheng’s straightforward praise made Master Ma at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

This young woman’s ability to speak so candidly without being unlikeable was quite a skill.

After settling Master Ma down, Jiang Cheng began to tell him a story.

Sharing the experiences from her recent trip to the provincial city.

"Once I arrived at the night school examination site, I bumped into someone I knew."

"It was quite a coincidence, she also had the surname Ma."

Master Ma listened absentmindedly, his head lowered.

Jiang Cheng continued.

"When she lowered her head... I noticed a moon-shaped birthmark near her ear."

Master Ma’s rough, large hand suddenly tightened as overwhelming panic washed over him.

"Master Ma, I exchanged information with her; she remembers her name as Yue Ya, her father is a bonesetter with two small thatched houses..."

Master Ma’s breathing became tremulous.

His throat felt as heavy as lead, unable to speak, leaving only murky eyes looking at Jiang Cheng.

"She said as a child she loved hugging a wooden doll to sleep; she remembers the doll’s little toes were broken off."

"Thud!"

The wooden block Master Ma was clutching fell to the ground.

Excitedly, he stood up, sat down, and stood up again repeatedly.

His mouth opened and closed several times, but words eluded him.

"She—she—"

"She wants to come; she also wants to confirm if this place is indeed her home."

Jiang Cheng stood up, constantly watching Master Ma’s physical condition.

She didn’t need to be close to hear Master Ma’s rapid, heavy breathing.

"Don’t panic—you mustn’t panic—"

"She’s arriving tomorrow. We’ll know by then, won’t we?"

Jiang Cheng soothingly patted Master Ma’s back, ready to rush to the hospital at any moment.

Luckily, Master Ma calmed himself down.

Once composed, Master Ma remained silent, his lips trembling, eyes filled with fear.

"Has she—been doing well?"

Jiang Cheng could clearly sense Master Ma’s deep-seated fear.

He was truly afraid!

Afraid to hear that Ma Chunhua had not been doing well.

"Very well!"

Jiang Cheng hurriedly replied, unwilling to let the elderly father bear another moment of anguish.

At the words "very well," Master Ma burst into tears, his repressed sobs the last defiance of the man over the decades.

In the low, cramped house, long-contained sorrow permeated the air.

After waiting a while, Jiang Cheng gently spoke.

"Her adoptive parents had no children and treated her well; they supported her education. Now, she is a night school teacher, has a loving husband, and her own children."

"You have grandchildren now!"

Jiang Cheng’s words brought hope.

Master Ma broke into a smile amidst his tears, nodding repeatedly.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Finally, Master Ma gradually calmed down.

With his calmness came fluster.

"Jiang Cheng... should I tidy up the house?"

"I don’t even have a proper outfit; meeting someone without looking presentable isn’t good."

"What do children like to eat?"

"Does Yue Ya still love sweets?"

...

Master Ma shifted from extreme sadness to extreme worry.

Jiang Cheng chose to stay and help.

She took Master Ma to a department store and bought a new set of clothes and shoes. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

On the way back, Jiang Cheng returned to the commune and called for Sun Aiguo, Shen Xing, and Li Chunxiang.

Together, they went to help out.

After several hours of busy work, they finally cleaned the two old, dilapidated earthen houses until they were spotless.

Jiang Cheng worried about Master Ma getting too excited being alone, fearing an accident might happen overnight.

In the end, Sun Aiguo and Shen Xing volunteered to stay with Master Ma.

Jiang Cheng informed Master Ma that she would go to the station to pick her up in the morning; he just needed to wait at home, allowing Ma Chunhua a moment to adjust to the familiar yet distant place.

Nowadays, Master Ma was no longer the stubborn old man of the past.

He listened.

Listened to Jiang Cheng.

Whatever Jiang Cheng said went.

Jiang Cheng returned with Shen Yue and Li Chunxiang.

On the way back, she took the time to ask Li Chunxiang about her head lice problem.

"No more! The pesticide was really effective!"

Jiang Cheng: Why does it feel like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?

Upon returning to the commune, Jiang Cheng informed Grandma Shen about Shen Xing staying overnight.

"Master Ma seems to have fulfilled his wish as well."

Grandma Shen sighed, and Jiang Cheng nodded, "Yes, I’ll go notify the Sun Family that Sun Aiguo won’t be coming home."

"Go ahead!"

Jiang Cheng stepped over to the Sun Family; Granny Sun and Uncle Sun chimed in unison, "No wonder it’s so quiet here."

Jiang Cheng: You mean neither of you noticed Sun Aiguo wasn’t home??

The two once again proved that Sun Aiguo was indeed their biological son.

Early the next morning, Jiang Cheng went out for a while.

She bought some meat and vegetables, even finding a fish and a wild rabbit.

These were all placed in a basket and taken to Master Ma’s house.

Today, Grandma Shen helped with the cooking; Granny Sun came along too.

Jiang Cheng, meanwhile, was urged by Master Ma to go to the train station.

With a whistle, the train pulled into the station.