Chapter 2060: A Whole Family Together (8)
"Naturally, Xiaoqun and I have been back often over the years to take care of things. Just look at the condition of the Xiu Family’s house next door," Ruan Wei pointed to the Xiu Family’s house with a hint of pride.
The Xiu Family and Ruan Family are neighbors. The Ruan Family’s mud-brick house is well-preserved and still suitable for habitation, whereas the Xiu Family’s house next door has completely fallen into ruin, with beams poking through the roof and holes everywhere in the walls, looking like a haunted house.
Back then, Xiu Jianlin and Liu Mei were both taken into custody. Xiu Jianlin is still not out, and Liu Mei had died in custody long ago. As for Xiu Cheng, it’s said he was sent to an orphanage at first, but what happened to him after that, nobody knows.
Ruan Jiaojiao didn’t want to know about their situation either. She just nodded her head when she heard them, and the group entered the courtyard.
In the courtyard, there was a large pile of firewood stacked around, messy but orderly. What impressed Ruan Jiaojiao the most about this place was the courtyard’s atrium. Back then, as soon as school let out, her brothers would line up and squat behind chairs to do their homework. After meals, they would sit in the atrium to chat and talk.
Just by looking, Ruan Jiaojiao could vividly recall the scenes from back then.
The group wandered from the atrium to the main hall, then from the main hall through various rooms, and eventually into the back courtyard when Ruan Jiaojiao noticed a wall that was noticeably different from the others and paused.
"I remember this spot! A wild boar ran into the house back then and crashed into the wall!" Ruan Wei said, pointing at the wall.
"Really?" Lu Zishu widened his eyes, somewhat skeptical.
"There’s a lot you don’t know," Ruan Lei turned and looked at the back mountain, feeling nostalgic.
Over the years, the Ruan Family continued to lease the back mountain for raising animals. But as the Ruan Family’s business grew, so did their demands, and it’s no longer purely wild as it was when they first started the restaurant. The animals are now domesticated and bred, but since they are raised in free-range conditions, the taste isn’t much different from before.
Upon entering the back mountain, looking at the familiar hills and trees, Ruan Lei couldn’t help but sigh, "Back then, this back mountain really was once my nightmare."