After the two women went into the kitchen, Chen Hao lit a cigarette for Chen Yong. It had been a long time since father and son had last sat down for a chat.
Sitting in the familiar, shabby living room, Chen Hao asked, "Dad, did those things really have something to do with Second Uncle?"
Chen Yong took a deep drag. "That second uncle of yours is obsessed with money. He'll do anything to make a buck. Now he's even colluding with the village Party secretary to take all the village's land for himself. It's outrageous. He's lost his mind."
Chen Hao understood his father's anger. Chen Family Village had no specialty products, and almost everyone lived off their small plots of land. If all the farmland was reclaimed, how were the villagers supposed to survive?
"Almost all the young people have left the village. They only come home a few times a year, and with the authorities so far away, Fan Wei thinks he's a local emperor. He does whatever he pleases. Hmph, well, I, Chen Yong, won't stand for it."
"Good. I'm with you." Chen Hao couldn't help giving his father a thumbs-up.
As they chatted, Chen Yong suddenly told him, "After dinner, remember to go see your Third Uncle."
Chen Hao frowned. "Third Uncle? What happened to him?"
"He accidentally tumbled down the mountain a few days ago. It looks like he broke his leg."
"What?" Chen Hao shot to his feet. "How did that happen?"
"He slipped. We didn't ask much about the details," Chen Yong said.
After learning that his third uncle had been injured, Chen Hao couldn't enjoy his first dinner back home.
Ever since he was little, his third uncle had treated him especially well. Whenever there was something good to eat or