At the door, there was a large truck parked in front of Yang Guang'an's house.

Standing beside the truck was his uncle, Yang Guangchun.

There were people surrounding them, trying to recognize him.

"Oh, Guangchun is back!"

"Yeah, it's been many years since he last came back, right?"

"Tsk tsk, he must be a high-ranking official now, driving a car back!"

...

A group of children were still playing around the truck, curiously looking at it, and some even climbed onto it.

"Go away, go play somewhere else. If you break it, we won't be able to afford to compensate you."

The village head shouted at the children while smoking dried tobacco.

At this moment, Yang Guangchun had just embraced his two brothers, Yang Guangzhi.

After letting go, Yang Guangchun greeted the village head, "Third Uncle, you're still in good health!"

"I'm getting old, can't do much. Come on in, it's been so many years since you last came back, everyone at home has been missing you. Come in!"

The village head waved his hand while smoking.

What does it mean to be missed!

In fact, they all thought he was dead.

Yang Guangchun nodded and smiled at the others, "Fellow villagers, I'll go home first. We can catch up later!"

After saying that, he walked towards Yang Guang'an's house.

At the door, he saw Yang Mancang, who was excitedly waiting, and his uncle also shouted with red eyes.

"Dad!"

"Ah, it's good that you're back, come home quickly! Come in."

After Yang Mancang finished speaking, he led the way into the house with red eyes.

At this time, Yang Guangping's family, along with Xiaolong, Xiaohu, and their daughter, also came in.

After the division of the family today, everyone was finally together.

Back in the house, the elderly couple naturally sat at the head of the table, while the Yang brothers sat around the round table.

The others had to stand.

Yang Guangchun looked around and smiled as he recognized everyone.

"This is Xiaolong, right?"

"Yes, Eldest Brother, I'm Xiaolong."

Yang Xiaolong smiled and responded.

"Well, you've grown so strong. And these must be Xiaohu and Xiaojuan."

Tian Cuihua smiled and nodded, "Yes, when you left, Xiaojuan was only 3 years old!"

Yang Guangchun nodded slightly and looked at the children of Yang Guang'an's family.

Sun Xiuhe knew that he didn't recognize any of them, so she smiled and said, "This is Lao Da Xiaoling, Lao Er Xiaokang, and Lao San Xiaohua."

One boy and two girls.

Then she shouted at the children, "Call your uncle!"

"Uncle! (Uncle)"

The children responded one after another.

Yang Guangchun nodded slightly and finally looked at his own younger brother.

Wang Qiuju naturally introduced them one by one.

Most of them had met before, except for Xiaoli.

When it came to Yang Xiaole, Yang Guangchun finally saw his face clearly and frowned slightly.

But now was not the time to ask.

Then he opened the cloth bag and took out a bag of candy from inside. "Here, kids, have some candy. Uncle brought it from the city for you. Go to the side and share it, don't fight over it!"

After saying that, he put the bag of candy on the table with a smile.

Inside were fruit hard candies, orange slices, and sorghum candy, all mixed together. Most of them were orange slices and sorghum candy that didn't require tickets.

There was quite a lot, about a little over a pound.

There were also two cans inside.

Zhao Jinhua took the bag of candy with a smile when she saw that the children wanted to take it. "Alright, each person gets two pieces. Save them for later. You can't finish them all at once! Even the landlord's family can't eat like this."

Then she divided two pieces for each person.

Xi Zi pouted beside her.

Would there be any left for them after it went into her hands?

He was small, but he wasn't ignorant.

Yang Xiaole didn't care about this bit of candy, but he felt a bit unhappy.

But he thought that it was his uncle's first day back today, so there was no need to be unhappy and cause trouble for everyone. So he didn't say anything.

But with so many children sharing, there was only half a pound of candy left.

The adults each had one piece.

Looking at everyone's playful eyes, Yang Guangchun finally looked at his own father, "Dad, I heard that the village has a canteen now. We finally have something to look forward to!"

Yang Mancang smoked dried tobacco and nodded with a smile, "Yes, we finally have something to look forward to. We had pork yesterday, and we slaughtered a pig today. We can have meat and steamed buns today. We couldn't even dream of this before, except during the New Year and festivals!"

After speaking, he glanced at his son, "Have you arranged your work?"

"Yes, I've arranged it. I'll be working at the textile factory. I came here today on a car with my comrade-in-arms who went to the mine. I can't stay here for too long."

"Ah, you won't eat here? You came all this way just to leave?"

Yang Mancang looked at him with some distress.Yang Guangchun smiled and said, "There's nothing I can do. I stayed there for a long time, and the changes here are too big. I need to familiarize myself with the situation. I'll come back to see you after I settle down."

After speaking, he took out a pack of cigarettes and gave one to several people who wanted to smoke.

Yang Mancang eagerly accepted it.

"Ouch, I want to try the taste of this foreign cigarette too."

Cigarettes can be bought, but no one in the countryside smokes them because they are too expensive.

After lighting it up and taking a puff, he said, "Hmm, it's more comfortable to smoke than dried tobacco, but it's not as strong."

The tobacco leaves we grow at home are stronger than this.

Fourth Brother Yang Guangan also smoked the cigarette and asked him, "Big Brother, tell us, what's the situation over there? I heard that many people didn't come back! It must be tough over there."

Yang Guangchun sighed and then talked about some of the situations there.

He didn't mention the worst conditions.

Just hearing about people wearing thin clothes, wearing sneakers, and eating less was heart-wrenching.

When he heard that his feet were frozen and he had cut off several toes, Yang Mancang felt a pang of pain.

"Let me see! Take off your socks and let me see."

Seeing this, Sun Xiuhe was shocked.

On one foot, only the big toe, the third toe, and the little toe were left, and the others were gone.

The black frostbite from before had not healed yet.

Yang Guangchun put his socks back on.

"I'm considered lucky. Many people lost their feet and hands, and even more people didn't come back."

He sighed at this point.

Grandfather Yang Mancang thought of what he had just seen and felt a pang of pain as well.

He sighed and could only comfort him, "As long as you're alive, it's good!"

"Yes, being alive is already a blessing."

Yang Guangchun sighed and then thought of something and said, "By the way, Dad, I'm planning to get married."

"Ah! Getting married? Who is it?"

Yang Mancang was delighted to hear that his eldest son was getting married.

He had been worried that his eldest son would be gone forever without leaving any descendants.

Now that he heard he was getting married, how could he not be happy!

Yang Guangchun felt a little embarrassed to talk about getting married, but he still honestly said, "Well, it's a comrade who came back with us. She is a nurse."

"Ah, she went with you? How old is she? Where is she from?"

According to the timeline, she should be quite young.

"She went with the army when she was 18. She went two years later than us, in 1952. She's 24 years old this year. We don't plan to have a big wedding, just get a marriage certificate in the city and have a meal with our old comrades."

Yang Mancang nodded lightly upon hearing this.

"Well, getting married is good. Have a grandson soon and leave a descendant for the Yang family."

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Sun Xiuhe, the daughter-in-law of the Fourth Brother's family, grinned and said, "Dad, you worry too much. After Big Brother gets a job in the city, do you think he won't be able to find a wife? Those unmarried girls are just waiting to be picked.

Besides, Big Brother has been fighting over there for so many years, and the subsidies must be substantial. Can he save any money! Big Brother, what's the subsidy they gave you? You've been there for many years!"

The last sentence was directed at Yang Guangchun.

Afraid of being misunderstood, she explained, "Um, Big Brother, I didn't mean anything else. If it's inconvenient for you to say, just pretend I didn't ask."

Yang Guangchun smiled.

He knew that he would definitely be asked about his salary, and there was no way to avoid it.

Then he said to Yang Mancang, "Dad, let me tell you something about money."

Yang Mancang nodded, "Well, it's okay. Keep the money for yourself. We eat at the canteen in the village now, so we don't have to worry about food and drink. You also have a fixed amount of things in the city, and there are many things that even if you have money, you can't spend it all."

Zhao Jinhua frowned upon hearing this.

Then she sighed, "Yes, Guangchun, let me tell you the truth. We feel a bit guilty for not preparing anything for your wedding. We'll discuss it with your dad later.

We should at least get something. We can't let people say that our Yang family has no one!

But our Yang family has always been poor. Guangping's family lost the pigs they were raising this year, and the 12 yuan deposit hasn't been settled yet! Otherwise, we could have prepared more for you."

After speaking, she sighed.

Yang Xiaole's mouth twitched upon hearing this.

You can just directly say that there's no money at home, and I'll give you some to prepare.

Yang Guangchun nodded lightly, pretending not to understand the meaning.

Then he looked at Yang Mancang and said, "Dad, I have to tell you something about money.""I did receive quite a bit of money. After 1953, I was always a deputy commander. When I returned, I was promoted one rank, but my salary was still based on the deputy commander's 89 yuan per month. They gave me six years of back pay, which amounted to 5340 yuan. Adding my previous salary, they gave me a total subsidy of a little over 7324 yuan."

(For those who are confused about the salary, you can look it up! It's the standard issued in 1956.)

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar among the people present.

7000 yuan, what a concept.

Even Zhao Jinhua was visibly moved.

At this moment, everyone had different thoughts in their minds.

Most people were thinking that with so much money, even if some slipped through the fingers, it would be enough for the Old Man to spend.

Isn't the Old Man's money essentially their own?

Yang Guangchun saw everyone's expressions, then turned to Yang Mancang and said, "Dad, apart from the money that Hongying and I are preparing for our wedding and buying furniture, the rest has been sent to the families of my comrades."

"What! You sent it all to others? Big brother, how could you be so muddled? Why didn't you keep some for yourself? Look at our family now, we're so poor that we're jingling, and you, you gave the money to others? That's a lot of money!"

Sun Xiuhe, the daughter-in-law of the Fourth Brother, complained with a disgruntled face upon hearing that all the money had been given to others.

Yang Guangchun glanced at her, didn't say much, but turned to Yang Mancang and said, "Dad, my life was exchanged for the lives of 167 people in our company. Without them, I would have been lying in an icy hole long ago."

The room fell silent for a moment after these words were spoken.