After finishing tidying up the surroundings, Chen Zhong looked at Chen Cheng, who was dressed in a black suit.

"Chen Cheng, you haven't been back for several years. This year, you come to light the candles, pour the tea, and pour the wine for your great-grandfather and great-grandmother."

Chen Cheng nodded; he understood these things, as he had seen them during grave visits in the past.

This kind of task should originally have been the exclusive duty of the eldest son and eldest grandson in the family.

Chen Zhong's remark about him "not having been back for several years" was actually to appease Chen Liang.

However, Chen Cheng wouldn't pay too much attention to Chen Liang's thoughts.

He would just do whatever his uncle said.

Chen Cheng first used the small ceramic cups he had brought to pour two cups of Yangxian green tea, and then poured some local Shanjuan yellow wine.

Afterwards, while lighting the red candles with a lighter, he muttered: "Bright and clear, the ancestors return to the hall."

Then, he used the candle flame to light the incense, held it high above his eyebrows, waved it three times, and inserted the three main incense sticks into the center of the incense burner, forming a 'pin' shape.

He shouted aloud: "Ancestors of the Chen clan, your descendant Chen Cheng invites you to come home for the New Year! Bless our household with prosperity, peace, and smooth sailing! (Yixing dialect)"

Afterwards, Chen Liang, Zuo Pei, Chen Songtao, Zhang Yao, Xiao Ye, and several children took turns lighting and offering incense sticks in order of age.

The order was messed up, so Chen Zhong didn't offer incense himself.

Next was burning paper and keeping watch over the incense.

This also had its rules; first, burn the 'Earth God packet' (in the surrounding open space to thank the guardian deity).

Then burn the 'Ancestor packet,' muttering while burning, "Ancestors, take this money to use."

When the main incense had burned to two-thirds, Chen Zhong performed the 'scattering of blessings' (sprinkling wine around the grave).

When collecting the offerings, a small amount of each dish was sprinkled on the grave mound, and the rest was put into a basket to be taken away and used for the next session.

After everything was finished, the offerings were brought home to be shared by the whole family that evening; this is called 'eating the remaining blessings.'

When things were mostly packed up, Chen Zhong waved to everyone.

"Chen Cheng, you set off the firecrackers too. Everyone else, walk out and don't look back."

After everyone had walked about ten steps, Chen Cheng lit the firecrackers scattered in the weeds.

Then, doing the same, he walked down the mountain without looking back.

Just like that, they later went to the graves of his grandfather, grandmother, and uncle.

Finally, they went to where Chen Cheng's parents were.

The graves of Chen Cheng's parents were in a public cemetery.

A few years ago, there was a rural funeral reform, and burials on the mountain were no longer allowed, so the government specifically planned a public cemetery.

Open flames were not allowed in the public cemetery, so Chen Cheng had someone go to town to buy flowers.

After paying his respects, Chen Cheng kept Xiao Ye behind and let his uncle take the others and leave first.

Seeing that everyone had walked far away, Chen Cheng sat down in front of the grave of Chen Chengs Father and Chen Chengs Mother.

This double-occupancy grave was personally chosen by Chen Cheng back then.

He was in a hurry, so he paid extra money.

Chen Cheng took the Maotai in his hand, poured two cups, and placed them in front of the tombstone.

Then he took a sip from the bottle himself and started talking incessantly.

"Dad, Mom, today is New Year's Eve, and your son has come to see you both."

"This is Xiao Ye, my girlfriend."

He laughed and said, "Old man, you used to tease me for being a quiet person who would never find a girlfriend."

"Well, look, I found one. I've brought her here for you two to see."

"Xiao Ye is a singer, and she sings very beautifully."

"..."

Listening to him ramble on, Xiao Ye was already sobbing uncontrollably.

She felt very heartbroken looking at Chen Cheng.

She didn't even know what she was heartbroken about, but she just felt heartbroken.

In fact, Chen Cheng could be sure that he had been reborn into a parallel world, not that his soul had transmigrated into someone else's body.

It was because of his background.

The three Chen brothers, Chen Cheng's uncles, Aunts, cousins, and older female cousins were exactly the same as in the original timeline.

There were also some slight differences; in the original timeline, the Chen family had five sisters, and he also had two Aunts.

But in this timeline, Chen Chengs Father had only one older brother and one younger brother.

Chen Cheng looked at Xiao Ye and laughed, feeling annoyed, "What are you crying for?"

Xiao Ye half-knelt and threw herself into Chen Cheng's arms, crying even harder.

Chen Cheng waited for her to cry for a minute or two before patting her, "Alright, stop crying. Who comes to cry at a grave on New Year's Eve?"

Xiao Ye looked embarrassed, and immediately stopped her tears.

She wiped them with her hand, stood up, took the Maotai from Chen Cheng's hand, and poured a line of liquid horizontally in front of the tombstone.

Then she tilted her head back and took a sip herself.

Then, with a thud, she knelt in front of the grave and kowtowed three times.

Chen Cheng's mouth twitched at the sight.

Although the procedure wasn't right, the intention was good.

In more traditional places, someone like Xiao Ye who hasn't officially married into the family shouldn't kneel or touch the offerings.

Standing still and bowing deeply would be enough.

However, just now at the great-grandfather's grave, Xiao Ye had helped arrange the offerings.

Clearly, some traditions were no longer that strict.

Chen Cheng smiled, climbed up as well, looked at the two tombstones on the left and right, and bowed.

"You don't need to worry about me down there; your son has many girlfriends, so he won't be lonely."

"In the future, there might also be children, perhaps many of them."

Chen Chengs Father and Chen Chengs Mother were not traditional people; they would only think their son was successful for having many girlfriends.

After chatting for a few moments and taking a few more sips of Maotai, he poured the rest of the unfinished liquor in front of the grave.

Afterwards, Chen Cheng took Xiao Ye and left the cemetery.

A man's growth can be summarized as: questioning the father, confronting the father, leaving the father, surpassing the father, becoming a father, and understanding the father.

In the traditional sense, Chen Cheng was already approaching the second-to-last step.

The vast majority of people will complete this path in their lifetime.

Basically, each generation is stronger than the last.

Of course, DINKs are the exception; they will not become fathers, and thus cannot truly understand a father.

By the time the group arrived home, the meal was already on the table.

There were many people in the house, and seeing Chen Cheng's Aunt and Aunt busy in the kitchen, how could Zhu Zhe and Li Na dare to continue sitting in the living room?

After all, Chen Cheng was the master of this house.

Although they had an ambiguous relationship with Chen Cheng, they couldn't really treat themselves as guests.

The kitchen was large, with high-heat burners and gas stoves, enough for several people to work.

In the end, Zhu Zhe and Li Na also made a few dishes.

Chen Cheng's Aunt and Aunt took one look and knew that the two women were used to working.

Especially Zhu Zhe, whose movements were clean and efficient, and she was very skilled at kitchen tasks.

The two Aunts were very satisfied with Zhu Zhe.

Previously, Liu Rong had thought Fang Sijin was quite good.

There were three tables: one for adults, one for children, and another for the four Bodyguards Chen Cheng had brought back, set up in the sunroom.

Everyone had doubts, but no one asked.

In the afternoon, Li Na was pulled by Chen Min and others to the activity room to play mahjong.

Li Na, Chen Min, Zuo Pei, and Chen Li, the four women, made up a table.

Xiao Ye got along well with the little kids and took a group of them to the small shop to buy firecrackers.

She had practically become the leader of the children.

Zhu Zhe was in the kitchen with Tang Ping and Liu Rong, busy with the New Year's Eve dinner.

Tang Ping was Chen Cheng's Aunt, which Chen Cheng had only learned just now while eating.

Chen Min, Chen Li, and Chen Cheng's two sisters-in-law all asked Zhu Zhe to play mahjong.

She said she didn't know how and insisted on helping in the kitchen.

In the end, they couldn't persuade her otherwise, so Zhu Zhe went to the kitchen with Zhang Yao.

"Chen Cheng, drink tea~"