Chen Cheng only hugged Chen Min; among all his cousins at home, only Chen Min had much interaction with him.

The two from his uncle's family lived in the town and went to school in the city, so there was basically no communication.

As for Chen Liang, he was a full cycle older than Chen Cheng; by the time Chen Cheng was old enough to understand things, Chen Liang was already in university.

In the village, only Chen Min remained.

Chen Cheng had even eaten Chen Min's lard rice and soy sauce rice.

After Chen Chengs Father and Chen Chengs Mother went to Shanghai to work, Chen Cheng lived with his grandmother.

Sometimes when his grandmother went to his uncle's house in town, Chen Cheng would have to tag along with Chen Min for meals.

Chen Cheng didn't remember much from before elementary school, but eating the lard rice from Chen Min's bowl was one of those memories.

"Chen Cheng, you've gotten stronger," Chen Min said, hugging Chen Cheng as tears welled up in her eyes.

Chen Min was eight years older than Chen Cheng and was thirty-six this year; she was a very virtuous woman.

She had put on a little weight and wasn't tall, but she possessed the same capable aura as Zhu Zhe.

Chen Cheng chuckled, "Foreigners like working out, so I just followed along and trained a bit."

A smile appeared on Chen Min's face again as she patted Chen Cheng's thick arm, "It's good to be strong; if you're strong, you won't get bullied."

Chen Cheng smiled and nodded.

Withdrawing his thoughts, he saw the Little Girl standing in front of Chen Li who looked just like a porcelain doll.

He smiled and crouched down in front of her, "Who is this?"

Xiao Ye didn't seem shy at all, and in her milky voice, she replied, "Uncle, my name is Li Wanrou."

Chen Cheng's eyes lit up, and he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

It was rare to see such a confident child.

Chen Min's son, who was in the fifth grade of elementary school, had to be taught by Chen Min once before he knew how to greet people. The contrast was stark.

Chen Cheng turned his head to look at Zhu Zhe, who immediately reacted and turned to hand a stack of red envelopes from the car to Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng pulled one out and handed it to the Little Girl, "Here, take this and buy some candy."

The Little Girl's mouth immediately curled into a bright smile, and her eyes sparkled, "Thank you, Uncle."

Chen Cheng also greeted Chen Songtao and his wife.

He handed out a red envelope to each of the little ones, and they were overjoyed.

At this moment, hearing them call him 'Uncle' made Chen Cheng quite happy.

They had left in a hurry this morning, so red envelopes hadn't been prepared, but Zhu Zhe had asked if he had any cash.

That was why they had packed a bag of cash directly from the safe.

The red envelopes were packed on the road. Chen Cheng was in the front car, and the amounts were decided by Zhu Zhe, Li Na, and Xiao Ye, roughly following Chen Cheng's habits.

The ones Chen Cheng gave out earlier were relatively thin, with one thousand in each.

What he gave now didn't count as New Year's money; it was just pocket money for the little ones to play with in the afternoon.

The formal New Year's money would come in the evening.

Seeing that Chen Cheng had finished greeting everyone, his Aunt Liu Rong finally spoke up, "Chen Cheng, aren't you going to introduce them?"

As Liu Rong spoke, everyone present, including the children, looked curiously at the three women: Li Na, Xiao Ye, and Zhu Zhe.

It made the three women feel a bit unnerved.

Chen Cheng was thick-skinned; he laughed and introduced them one by one, "Oh, this is Li Na, this is Zhu Zhe, and this is Xiao Ye; they are all my friends."

"They didn't go home for the New Year, so they came back with me to look around."

After Chen Cheng's introduction, Chen Min, Chen Li, and Chen Songtao didn't have any specific ideas, but they felt something was off.

Only Chen Liang had a smile on his face as he teased Chen Cheng, "Chen Cheng, no girlfriend?"

Chen Zhong glared at Chen Liang, "Alright, let Chen Cheng go in first. It's about time; if we don't head up the mountain soon, we won't finish the walk."

Chen Liang didn't mind; he looked at Chen Cheng and then at the women, feeling envious.

"Hiss~" Suddenly, he gasped; Chen Cheng's sister-in-law, Zuo Pei, pulled back her hand and glared fiercely at Chen Liang.

Chen Cheng held back his laughter and nodded at his uncle.

The two Aunts also sensed something, so they invited the three women to enter the courtyard.

Bringing women home during the New Year—how could they just be friends?

Although this was Chen Cheng's house, Chen Cheng looked more like a guest.

Once they said to go into the courtyard, Chen Guosheng got out of the car with the Bodyguard and began moving the New Year's goods from the trunk.

Chen Zhong, Chen Liang, Chen Songtao, and the two brothers-in-law all went to help.

The womenfolk crowded around and ushered the three women into the courtyard.

Only then did Chen Cheng have time to attend to Fang Sijin, who was waiting on the side.

"What time is your flight?"

Fang Sijin raised her hand to check her watch, "Twelve o'clock; I'm leaving right away."

Chen Cheng nodded, "Alright, let Brother Sheng arrange for someone to take you."

He patted her shoulder, "Alright, go home and celebrate the New Year. You've worked hard lately."

Over the last few months, Fang Sijin had been here overseeing the reconstruction of Chen Cheng's old house.

From the design plan to the approvals, materials, construction, and renovation, Fang Sijin had been the one running around handling it all.

Regarding the approvals, Chen Zhong had helped by pulling some strings, but the rest was all handled through Fang Sijin's public relations efforts.

Otherwise, it would have been really difficult to get approval for reconstruction on such a large area.

The design plan for this self-built house adopted the "heaven is round, earth is square" design concept, creating a new Chinese style.

Rammed earth walls were used to enclose the entire courtyard into a circle, while the various functional blocks inside—the kitchen and dining room, living room, guest rooms, and sunroom—enclosed the courtyard into a siheyuan layout.

Along with some functional blocks that intersected with the curved walls, the overall design wasn't as rigid as a monotonous circle.

There were long window openings on the walls, allowing the entire courtyard to breathe.

In terms of design, the entire courtyard was set back from the road; the setback space was hardened to become the front yard, which could also be used for parking.

At the entrance, directly facing the road, was a stone-carved screen wall, and the courtyard gate was on the side.

Entering the courtyard gate, one would find a covered corridor connecting all the functional spaces.

In the southeast corner of the courtyard, just inside the gate, were the kitchen and dining room.

Following the covered corridor outside the dining room to the end led to the living room and lounge area.

Parallel to the living room, on the north side of the courtyard, was an independent room designed as an elderly bedroom, with a private bathroom and private entrance; it could be accessed along the covered corridor without passing through other rooms.

Behind the living room, there was a room turned into an activity room. This room partially extended out from the circular courtyard wall, suspended over the paddy fields. It had 270-degree glass sliding doors facing south and west, so in any season, one could open the sliding doors and lie on a recliner to enjoy the scenery.

The roof above the activity room was made into a terrace. One could come out directly from the master bedroom or come up from the stairs in the courtyard.

Behind the screen wall, in the center of the courtyard, was a fish pond, home to a pond full of koi, with a landscape tree in the middle.

Right next to the fish pond, on the east side of the elderly bedroom, was a sunroom used as a tea room and reception area.

Above the dining room and the living room were bedrooms.

The entire courtyard had only three formal bedrooms, but they were all very large and could accommodate extra beds.

Moreover, whether it was the sunroom or the activity room, beds could be set up there.

There was no need to worry about not having enough space to stay.

The space in the courtyard not occupied by buildings was interspersed with landscaping.

Some parts were paved with pebbles, others were covered with lawns and trees, and there were two light wells for the basement.

In the backyard, facing the paddy fields, a lotus pond was built extending out from the curved wall, with a few fish kept inside.

There was also a basement level, which included a lounge, study, KTV, private cinema, wine cellar, and a storage room.

Normally, self-built houses don't have basements, or at most half-basements, but because of the land constraints and his desire for these features without making the overall structure too tall, Chen Cheng had to go underground.

This courtyard cost Chen Cheng over ten million.

A large sum was spent just on the basement.

Surrounded by paddy fields, to prevent moisture and seepage, the structure was built with an interlayer, the cavity had humidity monitoring, and ventilation outlets and drainage wells were reserved.

The exterior was designed in a new Chinese style with white walls and black tiles.

The entire main structure cost two million.

The renovation standard wasn't particularly high; less than five million was spent to complete the renovation of over 1,100 square meters above and below ground, including a full set of furniture and appliances.

The remaining three million plus was spent entirely on the courtyard.

Landscape design, automatic irrigation, and an automated system for the fish pond. In the area outside the courtyard where the original forest belt was, there was also an underground biogas digester used for sewage treatment.

Building houses in rural areas is much better now than before; after the unified provision of water, electricity, gas, and internet, individuals only need to solve the sewage problem.

He also spent hundreds of thousands in places that couldn't be seen.

He might not necessarily come back to live in this courtyard.

However, this was his way of fulfilling his responsibility to Chen Chengs Father and Chen Chengs Mother.

Since he sold the house they left behind, he naturally had to return one.

Of course, the symbolic significance was greater than the utility value.