Baojian Town was a small town not far from the city center. However, the buildings on either side of the road had changed from the densely packed structures of the city to flat grasslands with scattered trees.
The driver, an older man, was quite talkative throughout the journey, particularly interested in discussing work and life in the United Kingdom. His own child had also gone to the UK after completing university studies.
Though historically the relationship between Britain and Ireland had been somewhat strained, due to economic factors and mutual language comprehension, many Irish people went to work in the UK.
Perhaps it wasn't rush hour, as traffic congestion wasn't severe. The taxi took only about half an hour to cover the distance of several kilometers, arriving at this small town not far from Dublin.
Liang En had noticed the dot indicating the city center of Dublin earlier. However, since this place was so close to home, he naturally decided to go home first rather than heading to the city center.
"Finally home," Liang En sighed softly as he gazed at the tranquil town. For him, one fortunate aspect was that while the world had changed, his loved ones remained unchanged.
The town had only one main road, with two or three-story buildings featuring white walls and gray roofs lining its sides. Since Liang En had grown up in this town, most of the people he saw along the way were familiar faces.
Offering greetings as he went, Liang En walked along the road towards the outskirts of the town. His home was not within the town itself, but rather on a farm situated a couple of hundred meters away from the town.
The reason for disembarking in the town was simple: the road leading to the farm was a one-way road, and it wasn't easy for a taxi to turn around once inside.
Yes, in this life, Liang En's family managed a farm spanning over three hundred acres.
It was this very farm that led Liang En's father, who had earned a master's degree and a secure job in his home country in the early 1990s, to give up everything and embark on a journey to this place with his pregnant wife.
"We're here, finally home." After dragging his suitcase to the front gate of the yard, Liang En first peered through the gap in the iron gate at the two-story building for quite a while. Then, he took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.
"Who is it?"
"Mom, I'm back," Liang En called out in Chinese, his voice resonating.
Soon enough, a middle-aged woman walked over from the side of the house. She was wiping her hands on her apron as she approached.
"I heard you on the phone saying you were coming back today. I was planning to make you a good meal. I just collected some eggs from the chicken coop."
Liang En's mother placed an egg into the pocket of her apron and said, "I've prepared your favorite dishes for tonight."
"Oh, by the way, where's Dad?" After entering the living room with his mother, Liang En put down his suitcase and asked.
"Your sense of timing is quite off, my child. Today is Wednesday, not the weekend. Your dad should be at the town's primary school teaching students about Chinese culture and Northeast Asian culture."
Liang En's mother mainly took care of the work on the farm, while his father worked as a mathematics teacher at the town's primary school.
Of course, Irish primary schools don't run classes until 6 in the evening. There's a considerable amount of time in the afternoon dedicated to extracurricular activities, and small rural public schools like this one often face a shortage of staff.
So, besides his regular math classes, Liang En's father also served as the instructor for extracurricular classes on Chinese culture and Northeast Asian culture.
In reality, people who live abroad often have two tendencies. One is to imitate the various ways of life of the locals, believing that this is the way to integrate into the surroundings.
The other tendency is to consciously retain the characteristics from their homeland. They might even try to embody their own ethnicity's distinctive features in their daily lives.
It's not easy to judge which approach is better, but Liang En's family adopts the latter approach.
Even when Liang En's father realized that they were the only Chinese family in the entire town and that it would be easy for their child to become an ABC (American-born Chinese), he specifically reported to the school principal and arranged an extracurricular class on Eastern culture.
This is why the other version of Liang En in his memories could speak fluent Mandarin and exhibited noticeable cultural traits, despite having a Western side to his daily habits.
"Oh, by the way, didn't you say you were working at an antique shop in London? How come you suddenly came back this time?" Just as Liang En reached for the freshly baked pastries on the dining table, his mother suddenly asked, "It's not that you got into some trouble, is it?"
"You must believe in your son." Liang En chuckled and then went to the corridor to bring in his suitcase. "This time I came back mainly to bring back something valuable and also to explore the island."
"Something valuable?" His mother, who was washing vegetables, turned off the tap and walked over. "With your luck, which hasn't even won the two-pound minimum prize in ten years of buying a weekly lottery ticket, you managed to get something good?"
"Believe it or not, Mom, your son really struck gold this time." As Liang En spoke, he opened his suitcase and took out the copper pot, then began to describe his general experiences of the past two months.
After more than ten minutes, his mother finally understood that her son had indeed succeeded and could establish himself in society.
"This is wonderful. Being able to find a suitable job for yourself is a great thing." His mother excitedly patted Liang En's hand.
Earlier, after his graduation from university, his family had hoped he would find a stable job, with getting into civil service being even better. However, the Liang En with the "golden finger" had put a lot of effort into convincing his parents and then ventured off to London alone.
Contrary to what some might imagine, not only in China but also in most countries worldwide, being a civil servant is a very respectable occupation.
Although the salary for this job might not be high, it's less demanding than private companies, and it offers job stability. Moreover, civil servants often enjoy various bonuses, allowances, insurances, and a series of benefits.
Therefore, in the eyes of Liang En's parents, having a respectable and stable job after university was the best option. As for the family farm, they could entrust its management to various agricultural companies.
This was precisely why, when he decided to venture out, he needed to spend a significant amount of time and effort convincing his parents.
But now, his parents could finally rest assured, as even in a high-income country like the UK, earning hundreds of thousands in just two months was definitely considered high income.
Around 6 in the evening, Liang En's father also arrived home. The family gathered around the dining table and started their dinner. After a few rounds of toasts and sampling various dishes, his parents began to inquire about Liang En's life alone in London.
Of course, the topic of marriage couldn't be avoided. At least in his parents' eyes, Liang En had already managed to establish himself in society, and it was time for him to settle down.
"Alright, alright, you can be at ease on this matter." Watching his parents discuss this topic with him, Liang En could only smile and go along with it.
It seemed that no matter which world he was in, he couldn't escape the fate of being urged to marry by his parents.