[Marriage first, love later] She is happy after marrying a widower

In the early morning of Hongya Village, the biting cold wind was blowing, as if it wanted to sweep away the last bit of warmth.

The sky was still covered in a gloomy gray. Snow had fallen silently all night, blanketing the entire village in a thick blanket of silver. The old village chief was getting older and sleeping less and less. Even on such a bitterly cold winter day, he rose early without fail.

Wrapped in his old cotton-padded jacket, he slowly walked to the corner of the yard, picked up a polished broom, and began to sweep the snow.

The broom rubbed against the snow, making a rustling sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet morning.

It took a while for the old village chief to sweep the thick layer of snow in the yard into several small snowdrifts.

He exhaled a puff of white air, rubbed his red, frozen hands, slowly walked towards the gate, and reached out to pull open the bolt.

The door creaked open and a cold wind rushed in. At the same time, a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figure appeared in front of him.

The old village chief's eyes widened in shock. He raised his hands in disbelief and rubbed his blurry eyes vigorously, muttering, "Could it be that my old eyes are seeing things?"

"Grandpa Jiu, how have you been in good health these years?" Han Heming stood tall at the door, smiling, his eyes full of genuine concern and warmth. His voice was gentle and loud, breaking the silence of the early morning.

The old village chief was frightened by the sudden greeting and staggered. He instinctively took a step back, still holding the door bolt tightly in his hand.

Trembling, he asked, "You...are you a human or a ghost? Why are you suddenly here in such cold weather?"

He really couldn't help but be surprised. In his memory, Han Heming's family should have died in the tragic fire. Now, when he suddenly saw it, his heart almost jumped out of his throat.

"Grandpa Jiu, of course it's the real me, absolutely genuine! If you don't believe me, reach out and touch me. I feel warm and my heartbeat."

Han Heming smiled, strode forward, and extended his hand to the old village chief.

The old village chief hesitated, and stretched out his old hand tremblingly, but retracted it when it was about to touch Han Heming. He repeated this several times like a frightened child.

In the end, Han Heming gently held his hand. The warm temperature came from his palm. The old village chief's eyes instantly turned red, tears welled up in them, and his voice choked.

"Heming, it really is you! You're not dead! God bless you! This is so wonderful, so wonderful!"

"Grandpa Jiu, I'm not dead. Not only am I not dead, but everyone in my family is still alive and well."

Han Heming's smile deepened as he threw out this great news all at once.

The old village chief slapped his thigh with joy and nodded his head like pounding garlic: "It's good that you're not dead, it's good that you're alive! Quick, quick, don't stand in this draught, come inside and talk."

As he spoke, the old village chief excitedly grabbed Han Heming's hand, holding it tightly, and strode into the house, muttering all the way: "I'm so happy! I never thought I could see you again."

After entering the yard, he shouted towards the house at the top of his voice: "Old woman, come out quickly, look who's coming!" The shout was so loud that the icicles under the eaves were shaken.

After a while, the village chief's wife hurried out of the house wearing a thick coat. When she saw Han Heming, she was stunned at first, then her face was full of smiles and she greeted him warmly.

"Oh, isn't this Heming? I haven't seen him for so many years, and I miss him so much." The family members chatted with each other, surrounded Han Heming and went into the house, sitting around the warm charcoal brazier.

"Heming, tell Grandpa Jiu quickly, how did you escape back then? Why haven't you come to see him for all these years? Where have you been all these years?"

The old village chief moved closer to the charcoal fire, held Han Heming's hand tighter, and stared at him without blinking, his eyes full of anxiety and concern.

His gray-haired head shook slightly as he spoke, and his face, full of traces of time, was full of curiosity.

Han Heming looked at this elder who truly cared about him, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart, and his eyes became slightly moist.

He calmed down and said, "Grandpa Jiu, when I went into the mountains to hunt, I didn't expect that when I came down, I saw from a distance that both my house and my teacher's house were on fire. The fire was like crazy, rushing up.

I didn't have time to think about anything else, I just rushed in, and it took a lot of effort to rescue the people. Later... later I found out that the arsonist was actually my father..."

Speaking of this, Han Heming lowered his head, his expression lonely and sad. "I was heartbroken and full of despair. I took my family and my teacher's family and left the village to seek a living elsewhere."

He had concealed the matter of the cellar, which was the key secret to saving the whole family's lives. Now that he had returned to the village, he had to plan something that involved a wider range of people. People's hearts were unpredictable, so it was always a good idea to keep something in reserve.

He felt a little guilty for not being able to tell the truth to the old village chief.

"That's great, that's great."

The old village chief patted Han Heming's hand gently, his eyes full of satisfaction. After hearing about this past, he didn't think much about it, but was just happy and kept muttering to himself.

"By the way, Heming, where are your wife and children?" The village chief's wife asked casually while adding a few pieces of charcoal to the fire to make it burn more vigorously.

"Grandma Jiu, everyone is back. As you know, my house was burned down and we had no place to stay in the village, so Yanzhi and the children temporarily stayed in the town." Han Heming rubbed his hands to make the warmth even stronger and answered truthfully.

"Why are you living in town? Come back to the village!" The old village chief immediately raised his voice. "Come live at grandpa's house! Grandpa will approve the land for you to build a house. We, the whole village, will help you. How can we let you drift around outside? Our village is your home. We can overcome any difficulties."

The old village chief spoke in a decisive tone, his eyes revealing unquestionable certainty.

"Grandpa Jiu, I came to you this time to discuss the purchase of the foundation."

Han Heming bowed slightly, with a sincere look on his face and a hint of expectation in his eyes.

He knew that this time he brought back a large number of people, and it would be far from enough to just build houses on the existing space to settle them down. According to Song Yanzhi's plan, it would be best to buy a spacious piece of land in Hongya Village and build a proper military base so that they would have a solid stronghold for future operations.

When the old village chief heard this, he frowned and waved his hands repeatedly: "What are you buying? For us descendants of the Han family, there is no such thing as buying a foundation. We can all get a foundation approved.

Besides, the land where your old house is located hasn't been touched in all these years. Do you plan to build a new house right on top of the old one, or do you want Grandpa to grant you a new foundation? Just tell me."

The old village chief's tone was filled with unquestionable intimacy and generosity. In his heart, Han Heming was his own family member, and he would naturally help him if he could.