Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

No matter how many great achievements the great-grandfather had in the past, his powerful demeanor remained undiminished. However, in the face of his excellent younger generation, he couldn’t help but reveal a sense of affection.

The great-grandfather said to Ruo Manni with deep and meaningful words: “Letting you wander outside since childhood is the negligence of the family’s elders.”

“Although you grew up outside, just like the children raised within the family, the family will always be a place where you can rest assured.”

Ruo Manni felt a surge of emotions in her heart. These two simple sentences conveyed countless messages, making her truly feel that this was home, a place where she could find comfort.

For ordinary families, home is a relatively pure place, but for a prominent family, achieving this is not easy.

The great-grandfather indeed grew stronger with age, directly hitting the core of Ruo Manni’s heart.

Ruo Manni sighed deeply within. Although the great-grandfather claimed to no longer be involved in family matters, with such an elder present, it was no wonder that the Hua De family had maintained its strength and unity for fifty or sixty years after the great-grandfather stepped down, even without any outstanding figures, ultimately waiting for Hua Deqi’s growth and Hua De’s rise.

Ruo Manni looked at the many elders and peers at the banquet. Although each had their own thoughts, they all sincerely welcomed her return. She smiled brightly; since the family truly welcomed her, she would accept it with peace of mind. After all, she was not enjoying this for free—she already had the ability to give back.

Seeing Ruo Manni’s expression, the great-grandfather and the chief steward exchanged knowing smiles, understanding each other’s thoughts. The Hua De family was indeed fortunate to have a few younger generation members to support each other.

The banquet in the interstellar era followed a similar process to that of the Earth era—everyone ate, drank, and strengthened their relationships before returning to their own homes.

After Ruo Manni and Hua Deli left their elders, they followed Lixi Amber toward their family’s residence. However, halfway there, Hua Deyu received a message and turned to his children, saying:

“Your uncle is looking for me. You all go back and rest for a while. Tonight, I’ll take you out to have some fun. Ruo Manni, you probably have never played in the capital city before, right?”

“I haven’t just never played in the capital city; I haven’t left the school grounds since I came to the Imperial Capital Star three years ago. I don’t even know what the streets of the capital city are like,” Ruo Manni replied honestly.

In the past few years, Ruo Manni had almost forgotten what freedom in life felt like. However, for her, freedom was indeed precious, but life was even more important. For the sake of her life, she could throw everything else away. Moreover, she was so engrossed in her cultivation that she didn’t even realize it.

“With your current level of cultivation, as long as you have bodyguards with you, you won’t be constrained like before,” Hua Deyu said with a smile.

His daughter was still as innocent as she had been a few years ago. Over the past two years, she had made such great contributions, yet her eyes remained pure. She was not only wise and insightful but also very innocent, which reminded him of the woman who had raised her.

As a father, he should protect his daughter’s nature and allow her to strive according to her own wishes.

Ruo Manni was unaware of the thoughts swirling in Hua Deyu’s mind. After he left, she happily walked arm in arm with Lixi Amber.

Hua Deli stood behind the mother and daughter, watching how affectionate his mother was with his sister, and the corners of his mouth slightly lifted.

It turned out that girls and boys were indeed very different. At least, he could never learn to act cute and charming towards his mother like that to make her happy.

It was truly wonderful to see his mother so happy.

Their family’s residence was located in the central front area of the estate, with three courtyards neatly arranged. The main courtyard in the middle naturally belonged to Hua Deyu and his wife, the right-side annex was for Ruo Manni, and the left-side annex was for Huade.

The three courtyards could operate independently but also had doors that opened to connect with each other, considering both independence and privacy.

When Ruo Manni arrived at the Hua De Estate that night, Lixi Amber was very pleased to take her directly to this little courtyard and told her that this was the residence the family had prepared for her.

It was a two-story small building of about two hundred square meters, simply and elegantly decorated, fitting perfectly with Ruo Manni’s taste.

The courtyard, approximately two hundred square meters in size, was planted with various beautiful flowers and trees. Although the courtyard was not large, it was very exquisite. Even though it was nighttime, under the bright lights, Ruo Manni could see that the flowers were definitely not ordinary.

The scenery of this courtyard felt somewhat familiar, reminiscent of the courtyard landscape of the first guild in the battle realm.

Ruo Manni was a bit suspicious that this was material provided by Hua Deli, as the courtyard scene of the first guild was designed by her, and only Hebrew Adam and Hua Deli knew about it.

To be honest, she felt pleasantly surprised that she could have a small courtyard to herself in the Hua De residence.

Ruo Manni noticed that the small door leading to her parents’ main courtyard was open, so she asked Lixi Amber, “Mother, how big is your and Father’s courtyard?”

“It’s about the same as yours.”

Excited, Ruo Manni walked over to take a look. Although Hua Deyu and his wife lived in the main courtyard, the layout and size were similar to her small courtyard.

“The Hua De family has a tradition: when a direct descendant of the Hua De family grows up and achieves merit for the family, they can earn the reward of having their own courtyard to live in. You received this reward last year, and it was a first-class one. I just received this reward this year, and it’s a second-class one,” Hua Deli said.

Ruo Manni raised an eyebrow and was about to ask him what the difference between the first class and second class was when Hua Deli asked, “Sister, do you want to see my courtyard? To be honest, I’ve only come back to stay for one night in this past year.”

The struggling military academy students not only lacked personal safety and freedom but also had pitifully few holidays.

“You can still occasionally take a day off, but I don’t even remember how to write the words for vacation anymore,” said a more unfortunate child, sharing his experience.

“In the future, once you join the military and are promoted to second lieutenant, you will have regular holidays,” Lixi Amber said while watching the two children looking around from the pavilion.

Ruo Manni walked through her parents’ courtyard and entered Hua Deli’s courtyard through the small door. After taking a look, she thought she understood the difference between first-class and second-class. Hua Deli’s small courtyard was only about one hundred square meters, but the area of the small building was the same.

“In our generation, how many of us can live in a small courtyard by ourselves?”

“Five. Cousin Qi, being the heir to the family head and already having his own family, has a courtyard better than yours. The other two cousins are serving in the military, and their small courtyards are of the same level as mine. The others are still living with their parents.”

Ruo Manni recalled that in Hua Deqi’s generation, there were thirteen direct descendants, and Hua Deli was the youngest. However, only five could give back to the family, which was indeed a low ratio.

“Manni, A Li, if you feel there’s anything inappropriate about the layout or decoration in your small courtyard, you can tell me and your father, and we will help you fix it,” Lixi Amber said to the siblings. “A lot of it was designed according to my own preferences.”

“No wonder everything looks so pleasing; it turns out it’s mother and daughter thinking alike,” Ruo Manni said sweetly.

Lixi Amber smiled broadly; today, she was radiant, no longer resembling her previously cold and distant self.