Father's Brother

"Oldest Brother, eating? Oh! Er Wa is back, why don't you come over to Uncle's place for a bit." The two uncles were quite familiar, finding stools to sit on themselves after coming in.

"That's right! Er Wa, your Aunt was just talking about you the other day, saying it's been years since she's seen you!" Chen Mo's Uncle also said with a smile, appearing very close.

"Is there something you need?" Father Chen Jianguo's face sank as he asked. He knew very well what kind of people his two brothers were. If there wasn't a reason, they absolutely wouldn't come over with a smile.

Chen Mo ignored the questions from his Uncle and Second Uncle. The main reason was that they weren't very filial. If it weren't for the need to treat his Grandparents' illness a few years ago, the family wouldn't have been in such financial difficulty. His and his Younger Brother's tuition fees were earned by his Sister and Parents through hard work, along with money borrowed from his two Uncles.

During the years his Grandparents were ill, Chen Mo was still in high school. He almost dropped out to treat the elders. Even so, his Uncle and Second Uncle only gave the family a few hundred yuan intermittently as a token gesture, completely neglecting the elders.

Father Chen Jianguo was the eldest of the Chen family. Below him was a sister, the second child, who was Father's sibling, Chen Mo's Aunt. However, she was married far away and it was not easy for her to visit. The two uncles, the eldest Uncle Chen Jianshe was the third child, and the Second Uncle Chen Jianmin was the fourth child. Both lived in the same village and were not far from home.

"Haha, Oldest Brother, we have something to discuss today," said the eldest Uncle Chen Jianshe.

"Speak!" Father Chen Jianguo didn't really welcome them.

"Isn't the village going to elect a village head? I'm running for election, and I came over today to tell you, Oldest Brother, so you can support your own brother when the general meeting votes," said the eldest Uncle Chen Jianshe.

"Yes, Oldest Brother, we're all brothers, you should support me," Second Uncle Chen Jianmin added.

Chen Mo just listened, not interjecting, but hearing his Uncle and Second Uncle say this, he couldn't help but inwardly complain. Now they were calling themselves brothers, but they didn't show up when his Grandparents were alive. It was truly laughable.

Chen Jianguo nodded and asked, "Are there many people in the village who support your election?"

"Very many, everyone says I have the best chance of being elected," Chen Jianshe said.

Chen Jianguo nodded and then said, "Alright, I'll go vote then."

"Haha, thank you, Oldest Brother," Chen Jianshe said with a smile as he stood up. Knowing that Chen Jianguo didn't really welcome them, he said, "Well, you guys eat. I'll leave with Third Brother. We still have a few families to visit."

Chen Jianguo nodded, watching Chen Jianshe and Chen Jianmin leave his home in silence.

"Her Husband, you just agreed like that? If Third Brother becomes the village head, who knows what trouble he'll cause!" Mother Fu Huili said somewhat angrily.

"Mm! I'll go, but I didn't promise to vote for him!" Father Chen Jianguo said.

When Chen Mo and his mother heard this, they remembered that their father had said he would go to vote, but hadn't said for whom. The mother and son looked at each other and smiled. They hadn't expected Chen Jianguo to have such a cunning side.

"Even though they are blood brothers, I know what kind of people they are. But it's better not to offend them. I'll just go vote. As for how I'll vote, we'll see then," Chen Jianguo also smiled.

"Dad, how does the voting work in the village?" Chen Mo asked. He had never experienced it before and was quite curious.

"Oh! If you're curious, why don't you go see tomorrow?" Father Chen Jianguo said.

"There's tomorrow's business tomorrow, where would I have time to join the fun? What's so interesting about electing a village head? I'm not going," Chen Mo said.

"If you don't want to go, then don't. But after you come back, you still need to visit your maternal grandfather's house. Also, you need to visit your Uncles' homes, don't let people say you're impolite." Father Chen Jianguo said.

"Okay!" Chen Mo replied and didn't say anything further. After returning, he had been busy with his own matters and hadn't really visited anyone.

After breakfast, Chen Ming brought seven workers to the house, followed by a hand-tractor pulling a cart of cement, sand, and tools.

His mother quickly offered tea and cigarettes, a village custom. If there was any work to be done at home, water and cigarettes had to be prepared. Of course, it wasn't mandatory, but if they weren't, the workers would say the host was stingy, and people would spit behind their backs. Moreover, with these provisions, the workers would be more diligent. They would save materials for the host, otherwise, a little waste here and there would add up, and the cost of tea and cigarettes would be insufficient.

The tea and cigarettes didn't need to be fancy, just ordinary ones would suffice. Yesterday, Chen Mo had gone to the village store and bought a lot of tea and several cartons of cigarettes. The tea was 20 yuan per jin, considered very common, and the cigarettes were 50 yuan a carton. Neither was expensive; the main purpose was to entertain the workers, so there wasn't much fuss.

Chen Ming smiled when he saw the water and cigarettes placed in the yard. He said to Chen Mo, "Er Wa, the tiles and paint will arrive this afternoon. And don't worry about the paint; we've ordered the best imported eco-friendly paint. It's excellent. In all my years of doing construction, I've never used such expensive paint."

Chen Mo smiled and replied, "When decorating Mom and Dad's house, it's better to use good materials to avoid future worries. Otherwise, I'll always feel uneasy."

"You're thoughtful, kid!" Chen Ming said with a smile.

Seeing them busy measuring and leveling, Chen Mo told his parents he was leaving and then rode his motorcycle to the supermarket in town.

He went straight to the tobacco and liquor supermarket in town, buying some good cigarettes and liquor. These were for gifts, to be used later when visiting his uncle's family and other relatives in the village. Also, during the home renovation, some cigarettes and liquor would be needed, but those could be ordinary ones. So, he bought some cigarettes around ten yuan a pack and some regular white liquor to be given to the workers.

He hadn't initially thought of this, but seeing his mother offer cigarettes to the workers in the morning reminded him. He also thought about visiting relatives and needing to get things done after his return, so he bought some extra cigarettes and liquor. The staff at the town's tobacco and liquor supermarket even mistook him for someone running a small shop in the village and tried to sell him some better brands.

Chen Mo didn't explain and just bought according to his needs. As a result, he not only spent all of his 20,000 yuan but also had to pull out a few thousand more.

Fortunately, he had the Universe Bead, so the quantity of goods was not an issue. He had them load everything onto a small three-wheeled truck and take it to a secluded spot, telling them to wait for someone to pick it up, and then sent the delivery people away. While no one was around, he stored all the items in the Universe Bead.

He also called his sister in town, greeted her, chatted for a bit, and told her he was returning to develop his career. This surprised his sister, but she didn't say much. His sister and brother-in-law ran a small restaurant in the county town and were very busy, so they didn't talk for long.

After returning home, he took out some of the cigarettes and liquor he bought for the workers and gave them to his mother. He then went to the village store and bought some paper money, incense, and candles.

He hadn't visited his Grandfather's grave to pay respects since starting university. He also needed to pay respects to his Master, Ye Shang. So, he prepared these items. Furthermore, Chen Mo planned to visit Gourd Valley tomorrow and explore the entire valley, as he had a big plan in mind.

Seeking votes. Seeing no Recommendation Tickets being cast makes me feel very disappointed. I hope readers will cast a vote.