Chapter 246 - 244: Finally Home

Words : 1132 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

Following the police’s earlier guidance, Chen Xin drove the car onto the riverbank near the small town. "It seems this has become a pathway." Seeing fresh tire tracks on what should have been the river surface, Chen Xin couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps because he was getting closer to his parents, Chen Xin felt very happy. Zeng Liu and the others had already been dropped off at the town’s shelter by Chen Xin. Among the four, Sister Ning and Old Tang appeared quite pleased. Although they were still a bit anxious and uneasy about the unfamiliar environment, being able to settle in an officially operated shelter with a large population was a dream come true for Sister Ning and Old Tang. Little Yezi had no doubts about this and instead fell into the anxiety of having to return to school. Only Zeng Liu seemed a bit uncomfortable and was hesitant when getting out of the car. Chen Xin didn’t pay attention to this, or even if he noticed Zeng Liu’s uneasiness, he wouldn’t have said anything. After all, they were just four strangers he happened to save, and delivering them here was already more than enough. So after handing them over to the official staff at the town, Chen Xin hurriedly drove off. As he followed the tire tracks along the river’s surface, Chen Xin couldn’t help but recall the stories his mother told him. When she was a child, she lived in the mountains of their hometown, where there were no roads at the time. When it snowed, the mountains would be sealed off, making it difficult for the villagers to enter and exit. They could only walk on the frozen river surface. But that was during his mother’s childhood. In recent years, the river had rarely frozen over, and the village had long since been connected to roads; no one had walked across the river in winter for many years. But now, evidently, the river once again served its function as a transportation route. Following the river upstream, as the riverbanks became narrower, Chen Xin knew he was almost home. Although he had never lived there from a young age, home wasn’t defined by a certain place or a specific house, but by the presence of family. Home is where family resides; it’s the sanctuary of the heart. Finally, Chen Xin drove the car to the mountain village where his old home was located. Although it was covered in snow, Chen Xin could still recognize the general terrain. There was a small creek that ran through the village, now filled with snow, but from the radar scans and the drone footage, Chen Xin could vaguely identify the creek where he used to catch crabs as a child. The fields by the creek were often mentioned by his grandfather, who cultivated sesame there in his younger days, although that land had long since changed ownership. The small piece of flat land in the village used to be the rice drying ground, a place where villagers dried rice. However, fewer people had been drying rice there in recent years. Chen Xin parked the car at the entrance of the village; the roads in the village weren’t wide enough. In the past, cars could drive in, but with his larger vehicle, it was impossible to enter. After parking, Chen Xin put on the Protective Suit. Although it was inconvenient due to his fractured arm, he managed with both hands and mouth, quickly donning the suit and fastening the protective mask, ready to go. Opening the car door, Chen Xin held a snow staff in his left hand and put on specially prepared snow boots. With one hand on the snow staff, he trudged towards the village with some difficulty. In the village, a section of snow had been cleared by the riverbank for easier reception of supplies from the town. The snow here wasn’t as deep, making it less troublesome for Chen Xin to walk, though he occasionally needed the snow staff to steady himself. Even so, he soon reached the village. The village was far different from Chen Xin’s memories; all the houses were buried under snow. Even the ancestral hall, which was highly valued by the villagers and a relic from the Ming Dynasty, had collapsed under the snow, completely buried. Besides these changes, the most noticeable difference was the newly formed snow-covered mound beside the village, where there used to be terraced fields. The cleared snow path led directly to this spot, indicating to Chen Xin that this was the village’s shelter. Chen Xin could tell that this was not a typical underground shelter but rather a simple construction. They had excavated a portion for the shelter and then covered it with earth, a cost-effective method to build a thick enough layer of earth without the expense of truly excavating a hole in the mountain. In fact, these types of shelters played a significant role in Flame Country’s ability to house the majority of its population within three months, especially in the rural areas where many people were residing in shelters like this. Chen Xin walked along the path to the shelter’s entrance. There were tire marks and footprints on the ground, suggesting that someone had been coming and going. The snow on the ground wasn’t frozen or covered, indicating the marks were left recently. However, Chen Xin didn’t concern himself with this. Instead, he stood in front of the shelter’s entrance and, using the radio, communicated over the channel the town police had provided earlier. "Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?" Chen Xin called out in his hometown dialect over the radio. Although the cold wind howled around him, threatening to turn him into a snowman even with the Protective Suit, he felt a warm glow in his heart. He was about to see his parents, and how could that not be exciting! Soon, a voice came through the radio, the familiar accent causing Chen Xin such excitement that he almost couldn’t hold onto the radio: "Who is it? What’s the matter? Didn’t this week’s supplies just arrive this morning?" "Uncle, it’s me, Ah Xin! Open the door quickly!" Chen Xin shouted excitedly, recognizing his uncle’s voice unmistakably. "Ah Xin? How did you get back here, you little rascal?" His uncle was clearly startled by Chen Xin’s sudden appearance, and the radio transmitted sounds of stumbling and calling for people: "Wait a moment, I’ll get someone to open the door!" Chen Xin waited anxiously, his heart pounding. He took deep breaths to calm himself a little. His uncle didn’t keep Chen Xin waiting long. Soon the shelter’s door opened, revealing his long-awaited relatives, including his parents. "Dad! Mom! I’m back!" Chen Xin shouted, tears finally bursting forth.

Chapter 246 - 244: Finally Home

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