Damn it, I'm surrounded by childhood sweethearts
Chapter 795 533: Silent Strategy

The next day.

On Saturday morning, after packing some cigarettes, alcohol, and fruit, Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao got on the car headed back to the countryside.

Xia Xiaoxiao's village is a place called Xinlong, about forty to fifty kilometers from here, so the car ride doesn't take too long.

In the car, Xia Xiaoxiao's mood seemed quite low, like a wilted eggplant.

Xu Qingfan opened her palm and placed it on his thigh, then used his index finger to poke between her fingers.

He played for five minutes, and Xia Xiaoxiao watched for five minutes. When their eyes met, Xia Xiaoxiao had a "caring for a foolish child" expression.

Xu Qingfan put her hand in his pocket and held it, jokingly said: "We're carrying cigarettes and alcohol, people might think you're taking your fiancé home for a visit."

Xia Xiaoxiao tilted her head to stare at him without speaking, just staring at him.

But Xu Qingfan understood her meaning: if you dare admit, I dare agree!

"Haha...just kidding, Uncle Xia took care of me a lot when I was young, taking some good cigarettes and alcohol for a visit is the least I can do." He deflected.

Mentioning that man, Xia Xiaoxiao reluctantly looked away, leaning back on the seat.

Xu Qingfan didn't say more, gently patting the back of her hand in comfort, indicating that she still had him.

...

On the first day of the New Year holiday, the road was jam-packed, and the journey that was supposed to take just over forty minutes took an extra half an hour.

However, since they left early, they arrived in Xinlong not too late.

The last time Xu Qingfan hadn't been here, Xia Guofu had to stand at the village entrance to greet them.

This time he remembered the way and directed the driver to go straight to the door.

Before the car even reached, he saw from afar a child at the door using a firecracker to blow up the water channel, with the blackened sewage flying in all directions, soaking him like a drenched chicken.

"Pfft... mom's gonna hit." Xu Qingfan couldn't hold back, instinctively looking at Xia Xiaoxiao and noticed her lips were also slightly upturned.

But when he looked over, Xia Xiaoxiao immediately managed her expression, the fleeting smile made Xu Qingfan unsure if he had imagined it.

Hearing the child wailing like a ghost, a middle-aged woman immediately came out of the house. Seeing the situation, she picked up a cane at the door and walked toward the child with full momentum.

"Woo woo~ wow!" The child was so frightened he turned and ran, while the woman leisurely chased after him, occasionally giving his butt a light smack.

As the car approached, the woman stopped chasing and stared at the unfamiliar license plate of the car in front of her.

Over the years, the habitual thought is that if an unfamiliar license plate car enters the village, it's probably here to steal dogs, very bad!

Kidnaping wasn't as common; here in the south, clan concepts are strong, and people wouldn't raise children without their own bloodline, fearing they won't be able to bring them up right.

Even if it is a family with nothing to harvest, generally those with some economic conditions first think of adopting a child from siblings to raise.

The child, seeing his mom stopped chasing, dashed back home.

Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao got out of the car, their eyes meeting the woman's.

"Hello Auntie, we came by ourselves in a car." Knowing Xia Xiaoxiao didn't want to talk, Xu Qingfan spoke for her.

Liang Siyu was first surprised, then enthusiastically nodded and smiled: "Oh, I'll go call them out now!"

She turned around after two steps, shouted a few words in the local Hakka dialect, and soon, a houseful of people came out.

Xia Xiaoxiao's grandfather fell from a tree, with his old age and osteoporosis, now needing help to walk.

Her grandmother still held a clean piece of clothing, not having had the chance to put it on the brat.

Seeing the grown-up graceful Xia Xiaoxiao, both elders were exceptionally excited, holding her hands and saying, "Why haven't you come back to visit for so long?"

Xia Xiaoxiao felt like she was being roasted on a fire, unsure of how to respond, so she sneakily looked at Xu Qingfan for help.

"Let's talk inside, grandpa and grandma, let's go inside, it's cold outside." Xu Qingfan said loudly.

"Yes, yes, let's get inside, must be tired from sitting in the car for so long." Xia Guofu immediately echoed.

A group of relatives bustlingly surrounded Xia Xiaoxiao into the house, leaving Xu Qingfan and Xia Guofu at the back.

"You didn't call in advance, I could have driven to the village entrance to pick you up." Xia Guofu patted him on the shoulder, "Good kid, you've grown taller than me."

Xia Guofu was only 1.8 meters tall, Xu Qingfan maintained 1.85 meters for a long time, seemingly having exhausted his growth hormone potential.

But he was quite satisfied with his current height; being even taller would be uncomfortable.

Moreover, he had reason to suspect that it wasn't the potential of growth hormone that was exhausted, but that it had gone to where it was more needed.

"It's cold in the winter, I remembered the way so just had the car go directly to the door." Xu Qingfan said with a smile.

Seeing Xia Guofu seemingly wanting to say something to him, he also stopped.

After everyone went inside, Xia Guofu took out a pack of cigarettes, instinctively trying to offer him one, remembered Xu Qingfan doesn't smoke, and clipped the cigarette behind his ear instead.

"What's your dad busy with recently?" He asked with polite small talk.

"Heard he became the president of the Li City Fishing Association, just organizing fishing trips everywhere every day." Xu Qingfan shrugged.

He knew that what Xia Guofu wanted to ask wasn't this, and with their close private relations, it wasn't possible that he needed Xu Qingfan as an intermediary to understand his current situation.

"If it weren't for a big family, I'd want to retire like your dad, haha! You're really something, Qingfan, silently winning at gambling, drawing comics and silently making big money, could you be the reincarnation of the God of Wealth?"