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The Little Ones quickly smiled sweetly at Vasily, saying, "Thank you, Vasi!"
"Alright, alright, eat up!" Vasily exclaimed, his mouth wide open in delight. After finishing the watermelon, the Little Ones tossed the rinds into a red plastic basin by the water pool and ran off to continue their playful antics. Eva picked a watermelon that wasn't too big, sliced it in half, and shared it with Xiong Da and Xiong Er.
"Brother Three, why don't you and Sister Sophia come back to stay?"
Anna emerged carrying two large buckets of crushed ice. Eva drove up in a pickup truck, which had two large metal barrels in the bed filled with watermelons, freshly picked cucumbers, and tomatoes. Vasily helped his sister pour the crushed ice into the barrels and then added water to chill the fruits.
"Let's wait a few more years," Vasily thought as he looked at his two younger sisters. He suddenly realized that time seemed to have overlooked them; their faces still resembled those of young girls, although their figures had rounded out a bit. The happiness in their eyes was undeniable, suggesting that their husbands treated them very well. This made him reflect on Old Andrei's keen judgment back then.
He had two candidates for his sisters: one was a primary school teacher and the other a bank teller. Yet Old Andrei had immediately set his sights on Makarov, a slender young man from China, believing he was the right choice. Now it seemed that his choice had proven to be correct!
Taking a bite of the watermelon handed to him by Anna, he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Is the watermelon from our market really this good?"
"What are you thinking? This is from our greenhouse! It's a new variety that Misha bought from China last year. When you go back, take a few for your sister-in-law to try."
Eva changed into sandals inside the house and handed over her duty of watching the yard to Brother Three before she and Anna drove the pickup truck to the construction site north of the village to deliver the chilled watermelons to the villagers. On such a hot day, enjoying some chilled watermelon was truly a delight.
Since her brother-in-law rarely returned home, Xu Li didn't go to help that evening but instead prepared a table full of dishes for her brother-in-law. They sat in the yard slowly eating and drinking together. Vasily raised his glass and said with satisfaction, "Ahh, thank you Misha! Thank you for not letting this village disappear from the map."
"This place is not just your roots; it’s my home too!"
Xu Li lit a cigarette and took a slow drag. "How could I let my home fall into ruin?"
They exchanged smiles as Xu Li took a sip of wine. "Lekshev plans to retire and move to Moscow for retirement. Are you and Aunt Sophia planning to stay in Bratsk?"
"Let’s wait until Damiwa takes over the market."
Vasily wasn't sure either. "The market I built from scratch can't just be handed over cheaply to someone else. Damiwa is now in her second year of high school; after she graduates from university, we'll see if she wants to take over. If she does, I'll hand it over to her; if not, I'll have to keep running it until I can’t anymore. When that time comes, I'll sell the market and move back to the village for retirement."
Xu Li nodded without saying much more but picked up the wine bottle and clinked glasses with him.
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