Chapter 1496 Vacant

Xia Zhe looked around and realized that there was no one else in the front yard apart from the four men. <nulli>Where had Qiao Mei and the others gone?

“Brother-in-law, you don’t have to look around. Sister Qiao isn’t at home. She hasn’t been back for a few days,” Da Zhuang said.

“She hasn’t been at home for a few days? Then where is she?” Xia Zhe asked in puzzlement.

“We’re not too sure either. We only know that Sister Qiao has gotten really rich recently and built a factory in the suburbs. She has even sent her children to her mother-in-law’s house. Oh right! To your mother’s place! We don’t know anything else,” Da Zhuang said honestly.

Xia Zhe shook his head helplessly. He did not expect so many things to have happened while he was away. Qiao Mei was still the same as before and could not stay idle for even a moment. Her favorite thing to do was to earn money.

It was inconvenient for him to go and look for Qiao Mei or the children at this hour. It was better for him to wait until tomorrow morning to go and look for Qiao Mei and give her a surprise!

“Everyone, you can go and rest now,” Xia Zhe said as he patted Da Zhuang’s shoulder.

Xia Zhe took a walk around the house and noted that there were not many changes. The only difference was that the children’s things had really piled up. It looked like it was someone in the family who had bought all these things for the children. He had originally wanted to take a look and see what the children lacked, but he did not expect them to already have everything they needed. There was nothing left for him to buy for them.

He was quite good with his hands. Therefore, he decided to make a small wooden toy each for the two children to play with. When he and his siblings were young, Xia Mao would make small wooden toys for them. It was now Xia Zhe’s turn to make toys for his children. Time had really flown by…

When he entered the study, he realized that there was now a bird inside the room. However, this bird looked really familiar…

“You… Don’t tell me that you’re Yao Nian’s bird…” Xia Zhe said after staring at the bird cage for a long time.

“Coo, coo…” The pigeon cooed as it stood pitifully at the edge of the cage.

“Hahahaha! You’re really pitiful to fall into Qiao Mei’s hands. However, looking at how chubby you are, your life here should be better than previously. Just stay here obediently,” Xia Zhe said teasingly.

It was a pigeon with ambitions! How could it be confused with those unambitious pigeons! It still yearned to soar freely in the sky! It definitely did not want to be a bird waiting to die in a cage.

However, the food provided by Qiao Mei was indeed very delicious. It had never eaten such good food in its life! It was so unlike in the past when it lived with Yao Nian and it had never been able to eat its full.

After Xia Zhe had enough of exploring the house, he returned to the bedroom to rest. There was not much of Qiao Mei’s smell left on the bed. It seemed that she really had not been home for a long time. He must discuss the situation with Qiao Mei tomorrow and see if he could help her with her work. He did not want her to work so hard.

Early the next morning, Xia Zhe went to the backyard part of the house. When Qiao Qiang saw Xia Zhe, he thought that he had seen a ghost. He kept rubbing his eyes to see if it was real.

“Xiao Zhe? Xiao Zhe, you’re back!” Qiao Qiang said happily.

“That’s right, Grandfather. I’m back. Do you miss me?” Xia Zhe said warmly.

“Yes! Of course I miss you! But when did you come back? You didn’t tell any of us in advance. Qiao Mei is still busy at the factory!” Qiao Qiang said.

“I came back last night. After the mission ended, I rushed back without stopping, so I didn’t have time to tell anyone. See, I’m now here to ask you for a free meal?” Xia Zhe said.

“Come, come, come. You’re in luck! I just made braised pork! Don’t you think it’s such a coincidence!” Qiao Qiang said as he pointed at the braised pork on the dining table.

“This proves that Grandfather and I are in sync with each other. It’s all because Grandfather misses me,” Xia Zhe said.

Ever since he married Qiao Mei, Xia Zhe spoke in a more personable way. In the past, he would never say such mushy things.

After the two of them finished their meal, they took a walk nearby. Many people were envious of Qiao Qiang’s good fortune. Even a biological grandson might not be as nice as this grandson-in-law of his. They also envied Qiao Mei for marrying such a responsible man.

“Old Man Zhou! Come out to see who’s back!” Qiao Qiang brought Xia Zhe to Zhou Sheng’s main door.

Zhou Sheng had not been in good health recently and it was the housekeeper who came to open the door. When she saw Old Master Qiao and Xia Zhe, she was overjoyed and quickly shouted towards the house, “Zhou Sheng! Look who’s here! Xiao Zhe is back!”