1
"Take a picture of me!" Mr. Kang handed his phone to Yue Qin.
It was important to have a sense of ceremony when recognizing family. Most importantly, no crying! Even more importantly, it couldn't be too obvious. He had to subtly let his second uncle know that his father hadn't sold him, that he was thought to be dead, and had a tombstone erected for him.
This was too difficult.
Yue Qin didn't understand and said, "Just show this to my dad and tell him what Assistant Li said."
It was such a simple matter, how come it became so complicated in this guy's hands?
"No, no, that would make me seem too eager. Relatives who are too eager feel cheap."
Yue Qin rubbed his temples. "Alright, cousin, do as you please!"
Cousin… Who would have thought that this guy would become his younger brother?
When Xia Sheng woke up, she saw that Mr. Kang's eyes were a little red, and he kept wandering over to Father Yue. Father Yue was busy making a reunion dinner today.
Xia Sheng was a little puzzled and walked over to her husband. "Do you think that Kangkang today…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Yue Qin leaned close to his wife's ear and whispered something.
Xia Sheng's eyes widened. "I wondered yesterday if it might be like this, but I didn't expect it to be true! No wonder we're so fated with him!"
Xia Ling climbed up, his wig askew, and immediately ran over when he heard this.
Xia Sheng helped him adjust his wig as she whispered about it.
He was surprised again. "So what we said randomly turned out to be true?"
At this time, on the other side, Mr. Kang had already reaped the rewards of his efforts. His second uncle, with red eyes, asked, "What's your father's name?"
"My father's name was Yue Guoqiang before he changed it."
In the end, Yue Qin took a picture of his father hugging Mr. Kang and crying.
Mr. Kang didn't dare to take out this photo of the family reunion ceremony.
However, there was lucky money pressed under his pillow that night!
2
Early the next morning, according to custom, every family had to go up the mountain to sweep the tombs. The tombs they were sweeping were naturally those of Yue Qin's maternal grandparents.
It was also an ancestral grave, with rows and rows of tombs, all to be worshipped one by one.
There was a rule in this ancestral grave that daughters could not return to sweep the tombs after they were married, and daughters could not be buried in the ancestral grave whether they were married or not.
Naturally, Mother Yue couldn't go, so she could only buy things and give them to her brothers.
So the whole family went sightseeing.
3
On the third day, Mr. Kang got up and Assistant Li sent over the biggest and best book, weighing more than ten kilograms, and a carbon pen. Mr. Kang called the young couple and Master Xia Ling over.
"Let's set some family rules."
Xia Sheng couldn't help but laugh. "You don't even have a girlfriend yet, and you're already thinking about how to discipline your children?"
"I'll have a girlfriend later, and I'll have children!" Mr. Kang took out the book. "Look! We'll use this as our family tree in the future, starting with my dad and second uncle, posting photos and writing down some family rules."
Mr. Kang said, "There should also be rules for the ancestral grave. Unlike the rules in my hometown, our daughters and sons-in-law should also be buried in the ancestral grave. Children who haven't grown up… pah pah pah, let me spit it out, they can also return to the ancestral grave."
Everyone listened and thought it was a good idea. "Yes, yes!"
Xia Ling raised his hand. "Can I be buried inside?"
"Of course, you have to be buried inside. As part of our big family, you should be next to your sister. You want to be buried outside, facing other lonely ghosts? Aren't you scared? Master will be buried inside too, as an honorary member."
The young Mr. Kang was full of loyalty and didn't care about rules and regulations.
Xia Ling was also happy. To be honest, the rules of the ancestral grave here made people… "From now on, you are my sworn brother. If anyone dares to bully you, you tell me!"
"No, who would be bored enough to bully me?"
Xia Ling said, "That's not the point. The point is, I'll protect you from now on!"
The two of them had already started bickering over there. The young couple took the family tree and felt that it was indeed very good.
Mr. Kang stopped arguing and leaned over, offering the book like a treasure. "In the future, we'll leave the family tree with the elders. Every day, one child from the family will come back and write their name in it. The children can only look at the family tree when they return to the old house. The children will definitely travel all over the world, but they will remember that there is a place that records their names, a group of people who were happy for their birth."
The words "a group of people who were happy for their birth" deeply touched Xia Sheng.
In the future, every descendant of their group would be born into anticipation.
4
Mr. Kang climbed to the top of the mountain, where there were still two graves.
Mr. Kang's original intention was that since his second uncle was still alive, there was no need to erect a tombstone, as it would be unlucky.
The second uncle looked at the tombstone and burst into tears. "Brother, you really did it."
When they were young, if a child died, they would just bury them casually, without even a grave. They would be dragged out by wild dogs.
The adults said that they would become lonely ghosts.
They were young at that time and didn't want to become lonely ghosts.
Mr. Kang thought to himself that crying often must be a family tradition.
After the man had cried enough, the tombstone remained. He would be buried here directly after he died.
Listening to his second uncle's words, Mr. Kang thought to himself, "He really is family! It's different!"
5
Mr. Kang came to visit the grave again the next month. Climbing the mountain once a month, Mr. Kang suddenly felt that his father probably wanted him to exercise.
If he had come to visit the grave every month since he was a child, he would definitely be a sports star now.
But at this moment, he sat in front of the tombstone and sighed. "Dad, I brought you some wine."
"I already know why you got divorced. It's because of the Kang family, right? They're facing a lawsuit now. Back then, your caregiver was bribed by them, that's why you got infected. I'll go ask Grandma if I can bring Mom back."
"There's just one problem. It's very likely that Grandma and Grandpa will be buried here too. You've wronged a beautiful young woman. It's only right that you face your parents-in-law every day."
"Dad, I don't know if you can hear me. If you can, bless me to find a girlfriend soon. Everyone around me is getting married and having children, even Assistant Li is married and has children!"
"If you were still alive, you'd probably tell me to scram and that you didn't find someone until you were thirty. What am I panicking for!"