Chapter 101: Returning to Hometown

Grandpa Carter's house is located in a small town called Grapevine in Texas. Or rather, "small town" would be more appropriate, as Grapevine's population doesn't even reach forty thousand. It's only 33 kilometers away from Dallas, the third largest city in Texas, making its geographical location quite close to the eastern border of Mississippi within Texas.

Of course, this "closeness" is relative to most Texas cities. As the second largest state in the US, even crossing the border between Mississippi and Texas, it would take at least five to six hours by car to reach Grapevine, located north of Cedar Hill.

Carter believed that such a long time would be enough to adjust his mood. There was no need to remind himself so anxiously, but considering that Jenny and the others hadn't been back to their old home in Texas for over three years, they might be feeling a bit hesitant, leading to some excessive nervousness, which was understandable.

"Alright, I believe you can balance family and work well. By the way, Carter, shall we go to Dallas later to buy some winter clothes for Grandpa and Grandma? On the way, I thought about it. It's been several years since we visited them. It's probably a good idea to follow your suggestion and buy some gifts to show our appreciation."

"Clothes. Do you still remember what sizes Grandpa and Grandma wear?"

"How could I forget? They're not children, their sizes are fixed. Just buy what I told you, and you won't go wrong! But speaking of Lester, that little guy, who knows how tall he's gotten. Before..."

Chatting about family matters, time passed quickly. After buying gifts in Dallas, when Carter and his group arrived at Grandpa's house outside Grapevine, Carter saw a crowd of people pouring out of the small house, which looked very similar to the Ekstroms' house.

"Ha-ha-ha, Carter! All grown up!"

"Uncle Victor, Uncle Owen, long time no see!"

As soon as they got out of the car, Carter was blocked by two middle-aged men. "Bang, bang," two punches hit Carter's shoulders. The somewhat vulgar gestures expressed the warmest greetings of these Texas old-timers.

"It has been a long time indeed. Although you're far away now, you still need to come back often. We are family after all. Work is important, but family is also an indispensable part of our lives."

After hugging Carter and giving him a couple of pats on the back, Victor let go of Carter:

"Go see your grandpa and grandma, they miss you."

"My little Carter has grown up into a big Carter! Come, let Grandma have a look!"

In the face of such genuine family affection, Americans and Chinese are not so different. Seeing her grandson, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, the old lady's spirits lifted considerably. She walked over in three or two steps, grabbed Carter's hand, gently caressed it, and kept saying hello.

Grandpa, on the other hand, stood quietly on the side, watching the scene of the big family reunion in front of him, with a big smile on his face.

"You haven't had lunch yet, have you? Are you hungry now? Grandma bought cookies, dark chocolate, corn flakes, and twizzlers. I've seen many young people in town who are about your age liking these. I guess you'll like them too."

Dragging Carter into the house, the white-haired old lady, busy inside, gradually blurred in Carter's sight: So similar! The figure of the white-haired old lady in Carter's eyes gradually merged with that of his grandmother from his past life.

Every time he returned home in the past, his grandmother's first question was always whether he was hungry, and then she would bring out lots of snacks like treasures. There were dusty Eight Treasures Congee, fried rice rolls in a simple plastic bag, and some crispy, unknown material made into thin slices.

The old lady didn't understand the taste of young people, but she was always trying her best to satisfy them. This simple thoughtfulness is universal.

"Come, Anna, Melissa, you too. Oh, Anna, you've grown up, and Melissa, you've become beautiful! Good, very good. Carter, come and try this. Grandma is old now, your grandpa and I can't eat all of these. They're all for you guys."

With several boxes hugged in her arms, the old lady smiled with her eyes almost closed. Carter, who had just come to his senses, took the twizzlers handed to him by the old lady awkwardly, and put it in his mouth.

This snack called twizzlers has a very high appearance rate in American dramas. It looks like Chinese spicy strips, red in color, but it's actually a kind of candy. The early twizzlers were black licorice, but after removing the licorice, various fruit flavors were introduced, and the color changed from black to red.

It's not as bad as you might think. Tasting the faint strawberry flavor in his mouth, Carter couldn't lie. But to say it's delicious would be an exaggeration. It feels like chewing on a plastic stick, which only made Carter think of it as chewing gum in this world.

Before long, after distributing gifts to everyone, a funny scene appeared. Including Victor and Owen, several middle-aged people, the Blakes, and a dozen or so others sat around, almost everyone had a twizzler in their mouth as they talked. It was as if a group of elementary school students were discussing whether to play with building blocks or spinning tops in the evening, the scene was extremely absurd!

"Carter, last time I heard Jenny say on the phone that you could recommend Lavin to be a policeman in Douglas. Is that true?"

After some idle talk, Victor brought up the main topic. Upon hearing about a job that concerned his future, Lavin, who was playing with the youngest child in the Blake family, eight-year-old Lester, immediately perked up, looking at Carter eagerly.

In such an economically depressed environment, being a police officer is almost like having a golden rice bowl. Its ceiling may not be high, but its floor is! The income is not worse than that of the average middle class, it's even more stable, and there's no need for very professional skills. Even though there's some danger, do the cowboys in Texas fear danger?

If they really feared danger, they wouldn't be idly competing with wild bulls every day. Carter's second uncle, Owen Blake, now missing a front tooth, was constantly challenging the wind. Thanks to whom? That's not worth mentioning.

"Yes, I have two recommendation slots at the police station. One I plan to give to Bradley, he's Jenny's uncle, and the other one, I plan to give to Lavin. I just don't know if Lavin would be willing to go to Douglas?"

Carter smiled slightly and casually tossed the twizzler, which he had chewed for a while and whose taste had started to fade, into the trash can. He really couldn't get used to this stuff. Out of consideration for the old lady, he chewed it for a while and that was it.

"I'm just worried that moving away from home, Lavin might not adapt to life in Douglas."

"No no, Georgia isn't far from Texas, they're both in the South. I won't have any problems. Even if I find it hard to adjust, I can always come back during the holidays."

Before his dad could say anything, as soon as Carter expressed his concern, Lavin immediately patted his chest to show that he had no problem. At the same time, he rolled up his sleeves and showed Carter the muscle he had developed from wrestling with cattle.

"Look at me, I'm naturally cut out to be a cop! And my marksmanship is great too, I promise I won't let your recommendation down!"