The longed-for village system

Chapter 420 Reunion and New Year's Eve
After attending the wedding, and with the New Year approaching, Zhao Xiaogu's parents and brother, knowing Chen Qing's situation and considering that Zhao Xiaogu was pregnant and it was inconvenient for her to travel back and forth, decided that the whole family would come to the Mushroom House to celebrate the New Year. Chen Qing also had a rare opportunity to have a family reunion.

It's not that Chen Qing dislikes lively gatherings; he also enjoys meals with his family and friends. He just doesn't like having to pretend to be friendly with a group of strangers.

With Zhao Xiaogu's parents coming over, Sister Chen felt relieved enough to take a holiday to spend the New Year with her family. Originally, she was a little worried about Chen Qing giving her a holiday, since neither Chen Qing nor Zhao Xiaogu knew how to cook, and if she left, they would probably have to eat instant noodles for the New Year.

"Hey Chen, let's go to the market together! We'll do a big shopping spree."

"Brother, it's not right for you to call me that! You're Xiao Gu's brother! I should call you brother-in-law, you should just call me Xiao Chen!"

Chen Qing doesn't mind when others call him Brother Chen. Even when Teacher He or Teacher Huang call him that occasionally, he will respond. But this person in front of him is Zhao Xiaogu's brother. It's not appropriate to call him that!

"What does it matter? I'm your fan too! That's what everyone calls you. It's our affectionate nickname for you."

“Brother is right. It has nothing to do with status or age. My department manager is almost 50 years old this year. You should still call him Brother Chen, it’s a term of endearment. You have to get used to it, Brother Chen. When we go back to our hometown, maybe your uncles, aunts, and maternal uncles will all call you Brother Chen.”

Chen Qing was speechless at what his brother-in-law and his sister-in-law said. Just thinking about a group of elders calling him Brother Chen all the time made Chen Qing feel like he couldn't even imagine it.

"Xiao Chen, don't be embarrassed. Everyone calls you that because they love you. I feel very proud to go out now. It's an honor for these two rascals to call you Brother Chen," Zhao's father said to Chen Qing with a smile.

When Mr. Zhao said this, he wasn't trying to flatter his son-in-law; he was simply stating the truth. Now, all the neighbors, relatives, and friends around him were looking at him with envy and jealousy.

Musician, poet, artist, and miracle doctor—any one of these identities would be something to be praised by others, but the son-in-law embodies them all. Now, even city leaders have to address him respectfully as Uncle Zhao.

Having lived most of their lives as farmers, the couple never imagined they would be treated so politely by officials. Even after their daughter became famous, they never expected to receive such treatment.

"Brother Chen is gone. The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll be back, otherwise we won't have any vegetables to buy."

The brother-in-law, being the closest in age to Chen Qing, felt the closest to Chen Qing as his brother-in-law, and simply put his arm around Chen Qing's and walked outside.

Zhao Xiaogu was delighted to see the interaction between her family and Brother Chen. It was the lively and cheerful atmosphere of a family that made it feel like home, and Brother Chen should be able to feel it too.

"Brother Chen, please bring back some fruit and dried fruit when you come back! There's not much left at home," Zhao Xiaogu instructed Chen Qing, who was getting into his car at the door.

"Ok."

The three men spent more than an hour shopping at the market before returning, and then everyone started working in the kitchen.

"Brother Chen, with such amazing knife skills, do you really not know how to cook?"

"Yes! His knife skills are even better than those of professional chefs, so his cooking skills should be pretty good too! How can he be a complete novice in the kitchen!" The sister-in-law and sister-in-law looked at Chen Qing, who was showing off his knife skills in the kitchen, with puzzled expressions. This didn't make sense!

"This Brother Chen really doesn't know how. He learned from Sister Chen for a few days, but then Sister Chen kicked him out of the kitchen. I also heard from a fellow villager that when he was a child, Brother Chen almost burned down their house while cooking. After that, no one asked Brother Chen to help in the kitchen again."

Zhao Xiaogu is very willing to share embarrassing stories about Chen Qing with others, and she also enjoys listening to villagers talk about Chen Qing's childhood, especially the embarrassing stories, which she finds endlessly entertaining.

Chen Qing, who was helping in the kitchen, felt somewhat helpless when Zhao Xiaogu started talking about his predecessor's embarrassing childhood stories again. He couldn't remember any of his childhood memories at all, so he couldn't even refute or explain them.

"Haha, Brother Chen, I never knew you were so mischievous when you were little! I'm more talented in that area than you! I could cook for myself when I was ten." The brother-in-law immediately became proud as if he had already won the whole world.

"You're only slightly better than your brother-in-law in this aspect; in everything else, your brother-in-law is a complete scumbag," Zhao's mother added bluntly to her younger son's words.

"."

The mother-in-law liked her son-in-law more and more the more she looked at him, especially since he was Brother Chen. She couldn't compare to him at all, so she should just shut up!
At 6:30 p.m., the family sat down together for dinner, and then set off firecrackers at the gate of the courtyard. As the firecrackers went off from one house to another, the whole Manyuan Village became even more lively than expected. The village children also had the rare opportunity to enter the Mushroom House to wish Chen Qing a Happy New Year.

Zhao Xiaogu also distributed the red envelopes she had prepared to the children. It wasn't until 9 o'clock that they went inside to watch Hunan TV's New Year's Eve Gala. The reason they watched Hunan TV was because they knew that Chen Qing would be video chatting with them later.

As in previous years, these important galas are led by Teacher He and Teacher Wang, with the younger hosts providing support and giving them some opportunities to hone their skills.

Chen Qing and Teacher He had previously agreed on the time; they would connect live at 10 o'clock, and he would send his blessings and a song via video. He and Zhao Xiaogu had already prepared all of this.

At 10 o'clock, He Jiong started a live video call with Chen Qing. Of course, He Jiong didn't tell everyone who the guest was, which was a surprise for everyone.

Chen Qing and Zhao Xiaogu saw Teacher He's video call, looked at each other, and found that there was no problem, so they connected the video call.

"Hello! Xiao Chen, Xiao Gu, can you hear me?" Teacher He waved to the two and asked.

"Hello Teacher He, Happy New Year! We can hear your voices." Chen Qing was also the first to send his blessings to Teacher He.

The large screen simultaneously displayed the two individuals' images, and the audience cheered as soon as they appeared, the cheers being louder than anyone else's appearance before.

They felt something was missing when they learned that Chen Qing wouldn't be appearing for the New Year's Eve celebration this year. Although they could understand that Chen Qing didn't want to leave the village and couldn't leave the village at will, they still felt it wasn't quite perfect. Appearing on stage in this form was a good choice.

The guests backstage, hearing the roar of the audience in front, felt both envious and helpless. They wished they could have Chen Qing's popularity someday. This person hadn't even been there in person; just a video call had caused such a huge reaction.

(End of this chapter)