It was a hot summer, and although Zhou Xiaozheng reminded Huang Guodong to find some ice to preserve the body, by the time Zhou Jiao arrived, Grandpa Jiang had already been buried.

As for the reason, Zhou Jiao was speechless.

Because Grandpa Jiang's household registration was still at his old workplace, the production team leader worried about having to bring him back to the city for cremation. It's said that when he was still alive, the old man had mentioned that he wanted to be buried like his wife.

With the old man's last words, what else could Zhou Jiao do? After hearing that the whole village had sent the old man up the mountain, she took her son and went door to door to express her gratitude.

Looking at the empty yard, the old man once looked at her kindly, and gave her advice with a smile... But now the yard is empty.

Gone... The world has lost another kind elder.

"My condolences!"

As the production team leader of my third cousin, I felt a little guilty. The child probably rushed back as soon as he received the telegram, but in the end he couldn't see him for the last time.

sorrow?

Zhou Jiao was a little sad, but the old man lived alone in the world, and maybe his passing was a relief. Maybe now their family has been reunited.

"Well... then, if you have time these two days, go to the city to handle some paperwork. Now that he's gone, it's time to remind his old unit. There's nothing much to do in the team, but when you return to the capital, I'll have someone come over and clean up the yard from time to time."

"Thank you, Third Uncle."

Zhou Jiao didn't refuse the other party's kindness. The old man had registered the yard in his own name when he was still alive, and since his family was a soldier, there had been no dramatic incidents of usurpation.

Originally, she had planned to entrust the house to the little beggar, but that boy has now become a company commander in the army and has a bright future, so there is no need to do so.

She even thought about adopting a distant relative named Jiang to the old man, but when she remembered some ideas the old man had mentioned to her before, she gave up the idea.

Everything can only wait and see, wait until this place starts to develop significantly in the future, then we can see the specific situation and do something practical for the two elders. Now, it's still too early.

After seeing off the production team leader and neighbors, Zhou Jiao sat tiredly on the rattan chair, looking at the deserted yard. She had no interest in looking for the box that the old man had left in the corner of the bedroom.

"Mom, take a break. I'll make dinner."

"You're tired too. Let me come later."

"It's okay. The old lady next door gave me some steamed buns. I picked some vegetables from the backyard and cooked them quickly."

Zhou Jiao looked at her grown-up son with satisfaction. Once upon a time, Ping An was a tiny ball that she had strapped to her chest with a sling, but now he was able to take care of himself.

Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed... She still remembers how ignorant she was when she first came to this era, but now it's all gone.

Ping'an didn't have so many thoughts. While picking vegetables, he was thinking about how to take advantage of this rare holiday to let his mother relax for a few days.

Grandpa Jiang is gone. If she stays in the old house any longer, given her mother's personality, she will inevitably have unrealistic thoughts. It would be better to take her to live in the city tomorrow morning on the pretext of doing some business.

He still remembered that before leaving, his father told him to just make his mother happy, and to come back as late as possible, and preferably take her to visit places in Hangzhou when he had time.

When he returned to the kitchen, Ping An looked at his toiling mother speechlessly, "Mom, can't you let me serve you for once?"

Zhou Jiao smiled and said, "Let's talk about it when I'm old."

"Then I'll light the fire and you cook."

Ping An knew that his mother was stubborn, but it was so hot that even in the evening, she would be sweaty and sticky after cooking a meal. Cooking was always easier than making a fire.

Zhou Jiao patted him approvingly, but did not refuse.

"Mom, when are you going to come home?"

Zhou Jiao washed the leaves and glanced at her son with amusement. "Why? Do you want to go somewhere?"

"I want to stay in Hai City for two days. After we finish our business, it would be best if we could go for a walk. Every day I'm either at home or in the barracks. I've forgotten what the outside world is like."

Zhou Jiao's heart ached when she heard this. She thought of her son's understanding and how she had somewhat neglected him after having a pair of little sons. There was no reason for her to refuse.

"Okay, I have time to take you back to the old place and taste the delicious food."

"Mom, don't forget to go to the scrap yard."

Zhou Jiao nodded repeatedly with a smile.

"Mom, do you think we should go to Aunt Zhao's this time?"

"I'd rather not go. It just so happens that they all know we're here for a funeral, so we can't visit outsiders for the next month. This way, we can have some free time."

The mother and daughter, one feeling indebted to her son, the other wanting to relax her mother, whispered to each other. Although their purposes were different, they had the same opinions, so the itinerary was finalized.

The next morning, Zhou Jiao packed up the belongings left to her by the old man, finished her affairs in the village, and then took her son and the certificate issued by the production team and headed north.

After a visit to the old man's former workplace, with the certificate and Zhou Jiao's ID, the matter went smoothly. After hearing some words of condolence and comfort, the mother and son left the factory.

The old man in the city had left a house for Zhou Jiao, and it was still intact after all these years. Zhou Jiao guessed that the old man had come here once in a while when he was still alive.

She had been away from home for many years and it was impossible for her to move in, so she asked Huang Guodong to do it directly so that his relatives could move in.

Housing has always been tight in Hai City, and even a small room can accommodate a family. To be honest, Huang Guodong has been helping to take care of the elderly, and Zhou Jiao really feels that she has no way to repay him.

If the old man hadn't always claimed that he was the heir, Huang Guodong would have been the most suitable candidate. Even if he was doing it out of consideration for her father, Zhou Xiaozheng, an old comrade, he had paid more.

After dealing with the trivial matters of this trip to Hai City, Zhou Jiao and her daughter were free of worries.

"Mom, I remember there's a little restaurant on this side street. Their shrimp wontons are the best."

"When you were little, you loved their black sesame dumplings the most... That was your first time here, and you held them in my arms. Your dad took a bite, and they were so delicious that you wrinkled your nose..."

"This place has the most authentic crab roe buns. When you were three years old, you ate a whole basket in one go and wanted more. Your dad was so scared that he picked you up and walked out. He went to the store across the street to buy you a mask."

"Haha, I remember it. That was Sun Wukong's mask. My dad even lied to me and said I ate too many dumplings and ran out of money, so he wanted me to stay as his son."

"Your dad loves to tease you. Wait a minute, I'll take you to the Heping Hotel to see the lights. When you were a kid, you loved the big lamp in the lobby the most. He even asked the waiter where he could buy one. Back then, we were still living in our hometown. Mom was so scared that she quickly pulled him away."

"Hahaha, my dad is really capable of doing this. Look at the lampshades in our three brothers' rooms. He personally searched for them in many places.

My dad said that if many things didn’t conform to national conditions, he would want to put all the good things in the world in our room..."

The Bund, Heping Hotel, City God Temple... these are the places Ping An had visited in his childhood. Zhou Jiao took her son on a tour with memories.

With her children by her side, she felt less sad. She had to accept the natural cycle of birth, old age, sickness and death, and one day, she would leave her children behind.

I just hope these memories can remain in the hearts of my children, so that they know that no matter how unpredictable this world is, they are still the treasures in their parents’ hearts.