"Xiao Yue, just a few more minutes and we'll be there."
Chen Yue had been keeping up at first, but after more than half an hour of riding, she started to fall behind.
However, the girl was tough, biting her lip and following without a word, not letting Chen Yang and the others wait for her.
Since Chen Yue wasn't complaining, Chen Yang didn't indulge her. It was Chen Liming who would occasionally call out to her.
Finally, just as Chen Yue was about to collapse, they arrived at the Chen family's house.
"Brother, you're finally here. Come inside and rest. It's so cold, you must be freezing."
Qin Lifen quickly called out to Chen Liqi. Her husband's elder brother rarely came back, and since he was home, she naturally wouldn't neglect him.
"The weather in Jinling is much warmer than in the capital. I've endured blizzards below minus twenty degrees Celsius; this little wind is nothing."
"Xiao Yue, come quickly and greet your aunt. When you were little, you were mischievous and playful, and your aunt often made delicious food for you."
Chen Liqi quickly called Chen Yue over to greet Qin Lifen. As the eldest son of the Chen family, he always placed great importance on family atmosphere.
Unfortunately, his son was constantly on missions and couldn't visit home with him. There was nothing he could do; he was also a soldier with heavy responsibilities that he couldn't shirk.
He could only bring his daughter back. Although he knew his daughter was spoiled by her mother and had been a bit proud and pampered since childhood, there was nothing he could do since he only had these two children.
"Hello, Second Aunt."
Chen Yue stopped her bicycle, her legs already aching. She regretted not letting that scoundrel Chen Yang ride. She wished he had been exhausted!
Despite her unpleasant mood, she dared not disobey her father and could only obediently greet him.
"Chen Yue, you're getting more beautiful. How about it, have you found a boyfriend yet?"
Qin Lifen was a proper aunt, asking about boyfriends as soon as they met.
"Found a boyfriend? Their teeth were knocked out trying to arrange blind dates for her."
"No one dares to come to our house to arrange blind dates for her anymore. I think she's decided to live alone her whole life."
Qin Lifen's mention of it brought a surge of anger to Chen Liqi.
Chen Yue was not young anymore. It was normal for people to introduce potential partners, but this girl was too rebellious. Neither Chen Liqi nor his wife could do anything about her.
"Those who only rely on their elders' influence are not worthy of being my man. Their skills are inferior to mine, and they can't even outperform me in their careers. What right do they have to be my opponents?"
Chen Yue scoffed disdainfully, clearly unimpressed by the potential partners introduced to her.
"Just keep boasting. Let's see what you do in the future."
"I can't control you anymore. It's your own business; deal with it yourself. You can't be alone forever."
"Your mother and I will grow old one day. You'll need someone to rely on, someone to grow old with."
Chen Liqi sighed. Raising a daughter was like this. If she dated, he was afraid she'd be deceived and would meticulously scrutinize every potential partner, digging into their background.
He'd find every flaw in the scoundrel's character and give them a good dressing down, ensuring his daughter would have discerning eyes and never agree to any bad guy.
But if his daughter didn't date when she was older, he'd become anxious, wishing she'd find a man and get married immediately.
It was quite strange.
"Brother, Xiao Yue is still young. Look at Juan Juan; she only got married last year. Xiao Yue can wait another year or two."
"Choosing a husband is a lifelong decision, so she must choose someone she's satisfied with. Our Xiao Yue is so excellent; she definitely needs to find a young man whose abilities and strength surpass hers."
Chen Liming quickly smoothed things over. During the New Year, matters of marriage were the most troublesome. It wouldn't look good if they started arguing.
"I know my own daughter best. Finding someone who can keep her in check is really not easy."
Chen Liqi knew his daughter well. Finding a man who could control Chen Yue was not an easy task. If it were easy, he would have married off his daughter long ago.
"Yan Yan, Hao Hao, come and greet your great-uncle."
In just this short while, Chen Yang had brought the two little ones over to greet him.
"Great-uncle."
"Great-uncle."
The two little ones had very sweet mouths.
During the New Year, greeting people meant getting food or a small red envelope. Who wouldn't be happy to see such cute, sweet-mouthed little children?
The two little ones were very smart. They called out whatever their dad told them to.
And they shouted with all their might.
"Yang Yang, are these your children?"
Chen Liqi didn't know that Chen Yang had two children. He had heard that he got married while working in the countryside.
However, Chen Liming had never mentioned that he had children, and since he rarely came back, he was unaware.
"Elder Uncle, yes. Yan Yan is the elder sister, and Hao Hao is the younger brother. They are a pair of twins."
"Look, their mother is here."
"Xue'er, this is our Elder Uncle."
Chen Yang, holding one child in each arm, introduced the two little ones to Chen Liqi. Shen Xue also greeted him.
"Hello, Elder Uncle!"
"Good, very good."
"Second brother, you and third brother already have grandchildren. I, the eldest brother, am lagging behind our Chen family."
Chen Liqi gazed longingly at the two little ones in Chen Yang's arms, clapping his hands and opening his arms, wanting to hold the two adorable little ones.
Chen Yang's paternal uncle farmed at home and had children early. Although Chen Yang's father was older, his uncle's two elder cousins were born earlier than Chen Yang.
In the countryside, people married even earlier. His uncle's two elder cousins got married at eighteen and already had a child. Chen Yang wasn't even in the countryside when they had children.
Now, Chen Yang was also married with children, while the eldest cousin on Elder Uncle's side was still unmarried.
Elder Uncle now looked somewhat like Chen Yang's father before he met his two children, gazing at the chubby, adorable babies with great affection.
"Brother Hui is in the military, which is different from us. However, it's only a matter of time. Elder Uncle, don't worry."
The baby, with his arms open, nestled into Chen Liqi's embrace. The little one wasn't shy at all, reaching out to grab Chen Liqi's beard.
He was used to grabbing his maternal grandfather's beard when he was little. Seeing Chen Liqi's well-maintained beard, it would be a shame not to pluck it.
"Oh dear, oh dear, my little darling, you mustn't pull your great-uncle's beard."
"Come, Great-uncle will give you a horsey ride. This is fun."
Although the little one wasn't big, he had quite a bit of strength. His tug on the beard almost made Chen Liqi wince.
To stop the little one from pulling his beard, Chen Liqi had to resort to a trick for entertaining children he had learned from Old Man Wang next door.
He lifted the little one onto his head. The little one held onto his head, riding him like a horse, and burst into laughter. He stopped pulling the beard.