Ace of the Dragon Division

Chapter 380: In the Future, Call Him Big Brother 

Ye Xiu’s home was very quaint, it was a courtyard house, but not the usual type. There was a forest garden in the back as well.

Ye Xiu left the car with Xu Cheng and entered the courtyard. The Ye Family were also all dressed very ordinarily, and Ye Xiu’s mother was knitting a sweater as she watched the news. Ye Xiu’s dad was still tending to his plants at this hour at night. Those plants were all super rare and expensive and not ordinary, so being able to keep them alive was also a skilled job.

Under the big tree in the corner of the hall, an old man was sitting in a wheelchair listening to some old songs as he took a nap. It was already deep into the night yet he still didn’t want to go into his room yet. Judging by the look, he seemed to be close to a hundred now.

“Xiu, call your grandpa to go back to his room, that old man only listens to you.” Ye Xiu’s mom saw Ye Xiu come home and said to him, “I don’t know what’s gotten to your grandpa recently, he’s always exclaiming over things.”

“What do you know, just talk less,” Ye Xiu’s dad said to his wife.

Ye Xiu walked over to his grandpa who was listening to old songs under a tree and quietly said beside his ears, “Grandpa, it’s time to go in and rest.”

Xu Cheng followed Ye Xiu and walked to the old man, and the grandpa of the Ye Family suddenly opened his eyes and saw Xu Cheng, falling into a daze for a brief moment.

“Xiu, is this your friend?” the old man asked.

Ye Xiu nodded. “Yeah, his name is Xu Cheng.”

The old man checked Xu Cheng out and nodded. “Very good.”

Then, he said to Ye Xiu, “You go in first and get your friend’s bed set up, I will have a few words with your friend. Also, on your way out, bring me that precious liquor bottle of mine.”

Ye Xiu looked to Xu Cheng and said, “Don’t mind him, he’s just like this.”

Xu Cheng nodded. “It’s fine, I will stay for a bit with Grandpa.”

Ye Xiu nodded and walked away to prepare Xu Cheng a room.

Noticing that the old man kept on staring at him, Xu Cheng curiously asked, “Grandpa, you know me?”

That old man looked at Xu Cheng with his cloudy eyes and faintly said, “I heard of you. Brat, if I were younger, I would’ve killed you.”

Xu Cheng was surprised. Then, he smiled. “Why’s that?”

Grandpa Ye: “My last name is Ye. Strictly speaking, I’m one of your grandpas of another branch. Your mother’s Ye Family is the main branch of the family.”

Xu Cheng paused for a moment. Then, he came back to his senses and nodded. “I should’ve noticed it. But, Grandpa, even if I was given the chance again, I would probably do it again.”

The old man nodded, looked over at Xu Cheng, and asked. “Do you regret it?”

Xu Cheng squatted down, depressed, and he kept on nodding his head.

The old man bitterly smiled. “I understand how you feel. As a member of the Ye Family, if I were younger, I would’ve killed you for revenge. Despite my title and identity, I’m still a human, and I have feelings. But living to this day, I won’t do it anymore. Even though I was a member of the Ye Family, I still resolutely decided to leave the clan for the sake of this country. From the perspective of the grande righteousness, I appreciate you very much, do you know that? At least if I was your age, I wouldn’t be able to make such a bold decision. So, you are a pretty good guy.”

Xu Cheng sat down by the old man and shook his head. “Unfortunately, there’s no ‘if’. My mom will never come back again. If I didn’t have my father’s blood in my bones, maybe I would be more selfish and chosen family in the situation between family and nation.”

Grandpa Ye: “But you can’t. Just like me, I can’t as well. Even though I knew about the plan of Big Brother Zhang Chenfeng, on the side of the nation, many older generations in the military like me could only cooperate with him and place righteousness above family loyalty, because the older generations know how important it is for a country to be stable, and how difficult it is to maintain it. The reason there are no consequences of this behemoth-family-annihilation plan is that many people understand that it was the right thing to do. Despite how much many people wanted to fight back, for the sake of the nation’s stability as a whole, we all chose to endure it. It’s not just you that’s enduring the suffering, child.”

Xu Cheng nodded thoughtfully, and he finally began to realize what Bei Shan meant earlier when he said that he wasn’t alone, because everyone would protect him.

It was a trust that was placed in him!

To be honest, after the four behemoth families were destroyed, would there really not be any backlash from their affiliations in the nation? That would be impossible! However, the waters were so calm after the incident, and if it weren’t for everyone’s endurance and sacrifices, peace wouldn’t be possible. How much sacrifice was needed to maintain that peace after the event?

For the first time, Xu Cheng felt that the country gave him enough trust!

Ye Xiu came out and handed over the old Maotai that Grandpa Ye had treasured over the years.

“Dad said to not drink too much.”

His grandpa immediately glared at him. “Open it! Don’t think I don’t know that he’s been eyeing these good liquors of mine. That coward that can’t go to war and only knows how to play politics, don’t expect me to leave him any of this good stuff! Humph!”

Ye Xiu was speechless. His father was a highly influential official in the political world after all, yet in the eyes of his grandpa, those that can’t go to war aren’t real men. His grandpa was part of the older generation of commanders that survived the battlefield after killing many enemies, so he didn’t favor Ye Xiu’s dad who couldn’t take after his steps. It was a good thing that Ye Xiu joined the military, so Grandpa especially spoiled this grandson of his.

After opening the Maotai, his grandpa said to him, “Give it to me.”

Ye Xiu: “Grandpa, just lay down, I will pour for you.”

The old man just grabbed it by force, and then poured the alcohol for Xu Cheng himself. Xu Cheng was a bit shocked by the big gesture and reached for the bottle as well. “Grandpa Ye, I can pour it myself.”

His hands were held down by the old man, and then aftering pouring the drink for Xu Cheng, he poured himself a cup. Then, raising the cup, he cheered to Xu Cheng, “Here, this is to you!”

“What are you doing?!” Xu Cheng was getting nervous. He respected veterans from the bottom of his heart, because if it wasn’t for them, Huaxia wouldn’t be where it was today. It should be him toasting Grandpa Ye, not the other way around.

“Drink!” Grandpa Ye glared at Xu Cheng.

Xu Cheng bitterly laughed and downed the liquor.

It was quite spicy, but very refreshing, making his whole body feel warm on such a cold night.

Then, Grandpa Ye poured him another cup, and then one more for himself. “This, is to the sacrifices we had to make!”

Xu Cheng bitterly laughed. “Alright, to the sacrifices we had to make!”

Ye Xiu watched as the two drank cup after cup, and in the end, Ye Xiu helped Xu Cheng back to his room. When he came back to the courtyard, his grandpa was still not quite drunk yet. He said to Ye Xiu, “You are younger than Xu Cheng, call him Big Brother from now on.”

Ye Xiu was surprised. “We can’t be relatives, right?”

“His mother’s last name is Ye.” The old man looked at Ye Xiu with deep meaning. “The biggest Ye Family in Yanjing! In terms of the status in the family, not even your father could be compared to his mother.”

Ye Xiu was shocked.

“I want you to respect him not because of his mother, but because what he’s able to do is worthy of your respect,” after Grandpa Ye finished, he slowly went back to his own room.