Transmigration: I Have Storage Space in the Apocalypse
Chapter 529 - 525: Troublesome Matters When Returning to Hometown 60 [Mass Release 54]

Chapter 529: Chapter 525: Troublesome Matters When Returning to Hometown 60 [Mass Release 54]

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Xie Jinggang ran all the way back, parched and gasping. After catching a breath, he gulped down two cups of cool boiled water before finally setting the cup down.

"Look at you, all in a panic. What could possibly be happening at home..."

Chattering, Zhou Xiuhua stuffed Xiao Xian into the arms of Si’er and said to the children:

"Xiao Xian, be good. Let Uncle hold you. Grandma will go make some milk powder for you three brothers so you won’t be hungry."

Upon hearing this, the three brothers’ eyes lit up, and in unison, they said to her, "Thank you, Grandma, we love you the most!"

Xie Jinghong had already gone to the kitchen, so nobody stopped Zhou Xiuhua’s actions.

Seeing this, Xie Jinggang ’tsk tsk’ twice and whispered with a smile to Dad, "Dad, look at these three little ones, they’re real flatterers and destined for success!"

This was a compliment to the children’s cleverness, a sign they’d surely do well in the future!

Obviously Xie Tiesheng knew the Third Son’s Wife brought plenty back with her, and with her temperament, she wouldn’t fuss over such a small matter. Hearing Si’er’s voice tinged with jealousy, he said irritably:

"All right, go butter up your mom then, let her make you a cup too!"

"Dad, Dad, that’s not what I meant ~ now that Mom has grandchildren, she doesn’t even care about me, her son anymore~~ Hey, where’s my second sister-in-law? Where are the kids?"

When Xie Jinghong asked Yan Jinsu, Xie Jinggang was busy talking to Dad and didn’t hear the soft conversation between mother and daughter.

"She’s helping out at the village committee, and your big brother is there too. What, did you take the shortcut back?" Xie Tiesheng asked Si’er, frowning at the sight of his muddy appearance.

"Heh, Dad, when I was coming back, the sun was still high. I did take some shortcuts, but when it got dark, and knowing about the wolves in the village, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to keep taking the shortcuts!"

"From now on, don’t come back after dark; safety comes first." Xie Tiesheng knocked on his son’s forehead angrily.

"Dad~ I’m already a father of three, and you’re still smacking my forehead!" Saying this, Xie Jinggang felt a swell of emotion.

At this moment, he remembered the nickname that slipped from his mother’s mouth upon seeing him!

He is twenty-seven years old and still called by his nickname! He should be grateful his name is Xiong Dan and not like Fifth’s, called ’Mao Dan’, pfft!

"Even when you’re eighty, you’re still my son!" Xie Tiesheng glared at him irritably and, ignoring him, started to amuse Xiao Shi in his arms.

Seeing more people, the two lovely children forgot that they were just fussing for ’Mom’.

After dinner, Xie Jinggang, from his dad’s mouth, learned about Yan Jinsu’s ’glorious achievements’, which left him nearly slack-jawed; and after the older brother added the ’heroic’ story of Yan Jinsu fighting two wolves alone, he felt even more disoriented.

As for Xie Jinghong, she had been mentally prepared in advance, so she was much more accepting than Xie Jinggang. But those eyes, similar to Xie Jingzi’s, showed an admiration that matched Xie Jingzi’s as well!

That night, both children and adults went to bed late. The village organized several patrols, taking shifts, each team guarding for six hours.

Starting from dusk, near the edge of the mountain foot, there were bonfires every ten meters or so.

Because the village had patrol teams, and the police were present, the women and children of Qingfeng Village managed to go to bed at the usual time. Yet, lying in bed, their hearts still quivered with unease.

After nightfall, Xie Jingwei and Xie Jinggang went to join the village’s night patrol team, leaving only women and children at home. Fortunately, before the Xie brothers left, they had already moved two beds into the front courtyard’s main hall in their own house.

Lying across them, there was enough space for four adults to sleep. Additionally, there was the large bed in Xie Tiesheng’s room, an old bed made more than a decade ago, made larger on purpose. As grandchildren were born one after another, Zhou Xiuhua, for the sake of convenience in caring for them and for safety, had it made especially large, with particularly dense bed rails.

Just last night, while they were asleep, they were able to take all the children into their bed, showing just how big it was! Of course, it was also quite cramped.

Two beds were placed in the front room, one inside and one outside. The dining table and everything else were piled up by the window in one corner, which just managed to accommodate all the women and children.

Xie Tiesheng, being of an older age, no one dared to ask him to come out for voluntary labor. Plus, at home, a house full of women and children was really not feasible.

So, the allocation of beds at home was simply readjusted.

The women and children all went to sleep in the inside room, while the bed in the main hall was just right for Xie Tiesheng and his two sons. Since the patrol was done in shifts, even Fan Jiefang, when tired, could come lie down and rest for a while.

In special times, there was no way to avoid such arrangements.

Xiao Yi and the others, after having dinner, took the younger ones to bathe. After that, just as they were about to go to bed, Big Aunt and Second Aunt came back, so they had to sit with them for a while. Once the bed arrangements were set, they immediately took a crowd of children to grandma’s inside room.

The children, of course, liked to huddle together. Even the very young Xiaojiu and Xiao Shi, seeing all the older brothers and sisters sleeping together, also became restless and refused to be held by grandma and grandpa, squeezing in between Xiao Si and Xiaoqi, how lively it would be to sleep together!

Not to say, the older children were tired from training, and the younger ones had reached their bedtime. After only about ten minutes of noise, and a stern word from grandma, everyone lay down obediently and quietly, and before long, they were all asleep.

Zhou Xiuhua waited a while before coming in to check; seeing a row of children all sleeping side by side.

Among them, Xiao Shi’s sleeping position was the most amusing; she was sleeping with Xiaojiu’s little finger in her mouth.

Fortunately, as she was young and had not yet fully grown teeth, there was no sensation of pain, and Xiaojiu, after frowning slightly and recalling mom’s words to ’let your sister have her way,’ endured it and fell asleep.

Seeing her own bed lined with a row of well-behaved and adorable grandchildren, Zhou Xiuhua felt truly satisfied. With life as such, she had no regrets.

Time flies, and it doesn’t stop just because Qingfeng Village was troubled by a pack of wild wolves.

Yan Jinsu didn’t take these wild wolves seriously, roving along the village border all night, finding the flashes of green eyes rather empowering. In this way, didn’t it give the villagers an even greater sense of urgency?

She gazed at the quiet village and silently sighed.

Despite the impassioned and generous speeches made at the village committee meeting at noon, afterwards, counting the middle-aged men in Zhou family who could serve as martial masters, there were less than ten!

Ten years!

After ten years of decline and contraction, although Zhou and Xie families transmitted martial and literary legacies, they had ultimately fallen on hard times.

No matter how high the fighting spirit, without professional teachers to pass on the knowledge, it’s just vain and hollow.

The heroes who once emerged in abundance have been worn down by the years.

Those who practiced martial arts, if their bodies could not sustain the energy and flesh lost to blood and sweat, generally did not live long. Compared with the literary renowned Xie family, the Martial Arts King Zhou family had fewer clan elders, and the village elders were younger.

Ten years ago, individuals in the Zhou family who might have been just average, could now be addressed as teachers by others.

This was a sign of decline.

The Zhou family, that is its current state—