"Grandpa, how long will it take for these persimmons to ripen? I really want to eat some."

"It's too early. We still have to wait for three or four months. There are still many persimmon trees in the back mountain. If you want to eat them, you can't eat them for free. Help grandpa pick persimmons and he will give you some. When he makes money from selling the persimmons, he will go to the market to buy you some candied haws. You loved that sweet thing the most when you were a kid."

"Okay, Grandpa, when the persimmons are ripe, I'll help you pick them."

Xu Fuqiang took a bag of vegetables down from the trunk. He had picked them for his father when he was picking vegetables. When he heard about the candied haws, he said, "Dad, don't give Qingzhi that stuff. It's sweet and hard. Children can't eat it."

"Dad, I'm not a kid anymore."

"That's right, our Qingzhi has grown into a big girl now."

Xu Fuqiang was suppressed by his father and daughter. "Okay, then buy me one too. Dad, I also craved this when I was a kid."

"You are such a grown-up, why are you still eating candied haws?" Xu Dongru looked at him with disdain, then looked at her granddaughter kindly: "I won't buy it for your father, I will only buy it for my good granddaughter."

"Thank you, Grandpa."

Xu Fuqiang smiled helplessly, carried the dishes into the house, turned right to the kitchen, and placed them on the table next to the stove.

The old houses in the village are basically of this structure. The shrine is directly in front of the door, and there are square wooden tables and benches underneath. On the right is the kitchen. Taoshui Village is one of the earliest villages to get rid of poverty and build roads. With the road, transportation and life are more convenient. Most families have switched from firewood to honeycomb coal.

On the left is the living area, which only has an old wooden bunk bed, a decent old wooden wardrobe and a table.

Xu Qingzhi saw a bucket almost half full of water on the ground.

Xu Fuqiang also saw it, "Dad, why didn't you tell me that the house was leaking? I'll go upstairs and fix it when I get back from work in a few days. It'll be sunny for a few days in a row."

"It's not a big deal, just take care of your own things first. The weather is really strange. It was dry and rainless before, but it suddenly rained heavily last night. Maybe the tiles are cracked. I can ask your brother to fix it when it's sunny in a few days."

"Brother can't do it alone. I'll make an agreement with you and we can do it together."

"Okay, you guys are the only ones who can do it. I'm too old to go up there."

Xu Dongru has a clear understanding of his own abilities, what he can do and what he cannot do.

He walked over, opened the closet, took out a box of biscuits, two boxes of canned food, and a bag of candy, and handed them to Xu Qingzhi: "Take it and eat it."

"Wow, these are my favorite canned yellow peaches and canned oranges." Xu Qingzhi continued happily, looking towards the closet, "Grandpa, do you have any food hidden? I want to eat them all."

"No more, no more, you bandit, get out now." The old man drove Xu Qingzhi out.

Xu Qingzhi also came out of the room. She knew her grandfather well and knew that there must be food for her brother hidden in the closet.

She had been in the world of immortal cultivation for more than 500 years and had tasted all kinds of delicious food, so how could she like this can of sweet water? But she just liked the can that her grandfather had specially reserved for her.

There were three wooden chairs at the door. Xu Qingzhi and Xu Fuqiang sat there for a while. Xu Dongru came out from the inner room with a plaster, sat on the wooden chair, and applied it to his knee skillfully.

Xu Dongru muttered, "It was windy and rainy yesterday, and my knees hurt again. I have to go to your second brother's house tomorrow to get some more plaster."

Xu Qingzhi's second uncle took over the job of the old Chinese medicine practitioner Xu Dongru and opened the only clinic in the village.

Xu Fuqiang said, "I'll get it for you. If your legs hurt, just walk less."

"It's just a few steps away, I can get it myself." Xu Dongru was stubborn again.

In the past, several brothers of the Xu family lived nearby, but later they all built new houses elsewhere, and no one lived here anymore.

Xu Qingzhi looked at the yard, and it was filled with memories of his childhood.

She dreamed many times about things that happened at home, but never in the new house, but always in this familiar brick courtyard.

Xu Dongru and his son Xu Fuqiang were chatting.

Xu Dongru suddenly remembered something, "Right, there's a guy who wants to rent the old house next door, Fuqiang, you decide whether to rent it or not? This guy said he'd pay 3,000 yuan a year, and if you're not satisfied with the price, you can negotiate for a higher price. Downstairs, Kaisheng's son's new house is rented to a hairdresser, and the rent is only 2,000 yuan a year."

"Who wants to rent it? Do you know what they are going to do with it?" Xu Fuqiang was a little tempted. After all, it was an old house and there was no point in leaving it there. It would be nice to make a few thousand yuan, but it also depended on whether it was someone familiar in the village. If they knew him well, then there would be no need to worry. But if it was a stranger, what if he rented the house to do something illegal? That would be unacceptable, no matter how much money he was offered.

"He was the son of a man who made dumplings in Sanli'ao. Do you remember that you used to chase after him and play with him every day?"

"Is it Brother Wang, the one who went to Kyoto and became very rich?"

"Yes, that's him."

"Why did he come back? Why does he live in this old house instead of his own?"

"His house collapsed a long time ago. He said he would not do business there and would not cause any damage. He said he wanted to live in the village for a while to adjust his mood."

"I had a good relationship with Brother Wang back then, so let's rent it to him. Two thousand yuan is enough. It's a waste to leave this old house alone."

"Okay, I'll talk to him later. He also said he wanted to sign a contract, but I don't understand. Qingzhi, you've been educated, so you can help your dad to check it out and sign it if there's no problem."

Xu Qingzhi responded: "Okay."

"Okay, you guys should hurry up and go, while it's still early. Go do what you need to do. I'm an old man and I have nothing to do at home anyway."

"Dad, Qingzhi and I will leave first. We will come to see you another day. The vegetables are on the table next to the stove. Remember to eat them. Don't keep them. They were planted by Qingzhi."

"Okay, go ahead."

Xu Qingzhi and Xu Fuqiang got in the car. Xu Qingzhi waved to him and said, "Grandpa, I'll come to play with you next time."

"Okay, next time you come, Grandpa will kill a chicken for you to eat."

"Okay."

The white car drove away and disappeared after turning a corner.

The thin old man was still standing at the gate, waving.

After returning to the house, the old man heated up the leftovers while it was still daylight and ate by himself. What he cooked could not be finished in one meal and could last for two or three days.

Sometimes you just soak some rice in water, then add some salt or sugar, and you have a meal.

When his eldest son brought him a few pieces of tofu, he would boil another piece of tofu and sprinkle some salt and chopped green onions on it.

He saw the fresh vegetables next to him, which were grown by his granddaughter. He didn't know when this little girl learned how to farm, so he took out a handful of cabbage, washed it, and picked it into leaves one by one.

When the water on the stove boils, throw the vegetable leaves in, add some salt, and it will be ready to eat in two or three minutes.

Xu Dongru picked up a piece of Chinese cabbage and tasted it, his eyes lit up. The Chinese cabbage grown by his granddaughter was quite delicious.

The old man hasn’t had such a happy meal for a long time since his wife died. He didn’t expect that the boiled cabbage could be so delicious.

He has to use rapeseed oil to cook it again tomorrow. With a little oil, it will definitely taste better.

(End of this chapter)