While everyone was still in shock, Chen Siyu's mother was already calling for help.
The door was locked from the inside; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open it.
Chen's mother pressed her face against the door and called out through the narrow crack, "Grandma! Open the door for me! It's your youngest granddaughter, Chen Yue!"
After calling for a long time without any response, Chen's mother became a little anxious, fearing that something had happened to her grandmother inside.
Mr. Chen came up to comfort Mrs. Chen, "Don't worry, maybe Grandma went to live in the city with Uncle and isn't here at all."
Chen Ma shook her head. "Grandma has lived in the Tulou all her life. She doesn't like the current house. Besides, the door is closed from the inside, so there must be someone inside."
Chen's mother firmly believed that her grandmother was inside, so she called out a couple more times, and Chen's father and Chen Siyu helped her along.
Finally, a response came from the other side of the door, "Coming, coming, stop shouting. It takes me a while to come down from the fourth floor, please don't rush me..."
When Chen Ma heard that old yet familiar voice, she was instantly at ease; it was her grandmother's voice.
After a while, the door was finally opened.
An elderly woman with gray hair was standing there. Chen Ma quickly went over and hugged her, exclaiming, "Grandma!"
Grandma patted Chen Ma's back with her wrinkled hands, "Oh my, it really is Yue'er, I thought I was hallucinating."
After saying a few simple words, Grandma noticed the large group of people at the door.
With so many people, it wasn't good for them to just stand at the door, so everyone quickly went inside.
Once inside, Grandma asked Chen's father to fix the latch behind the door. When everyone looked over, they saw that the latch was three palms wide and one palm thick. They finally understood why it had taken them so long to open the door.
After finally closing the door, Cheng Zhi and the others could finally see what was inside.
The round courtyard was paved with irregular bluestone slabs, and a four-story building surrounded it. The railings, doors and windows were made of wood and carved with patterns. Each floor had many rooms.
They followed their grandmother into the hall, where she asked everyone to sit down and rest for a while.
Cheng Zhi found a small stool and sat down, looking up at the plaques hanging on the wall that read "Flourishing Branches and Lush Leaves" and "A Family of Scholars." There was another plaque on which she couldn't recognize any of the characters.
Huang Yiyi, who was sitting next to her, quietly leaned over and said, "I don't know why, but I haven't dared to say anything since I came in."
Cheng Zhi nodded in agreement, "Me too, I always feel like I'll disturb this house if I say anything out of the ordinary."
Xiao Feiran found it amusing to see the two of them sitting in a row, not daring to move their eyes anywhere except their own.
She nudged Zheng Wan next to her, asking her to take a look too.
Zheng Wan found it amusing too, and she whispered in Xiao Feiran's ear, "These two rascals must have been intimidated by the imposing presence of this house."
After a while, Grandma returned with Chen's parents and Chen Siyu, carrying tea to serve them one by one.
Seeing the elderly woman busy with chores, Zheng Wan's father quickly helped her sit down. "Grandma, there's no reason for you to pour us tea. We can do these things ourselves."
Grandma waved her hand, "No matter what, you are guests. I would feel embarrassed if you came by yourselves."
Seeing that they were about to start arguing again, Chen Siyu quickly interrupted them, holding up the teapot and saying, "Come, come, have some tea."
She quickly poured tea for everyone in the group, finally allowing them to chat about other things.
Once they were seated, Aunt Chen asked, "Why are you living here alone? Where's your uncle? Didn't he come to pick you up?"
Grandma shook her head. "He has come to see me many times, asking me to move to the city with him, but I don't want to, so he doesn't force me anymore."
Looking at the huge earthen building, Chen Ma asked again as her gaze swept over a spot, "Where are Uncle Tong and his family? Don't they live here, farming and running a bed and breakfast? Why haven't I seen them?"
At this point, a trace of sadness appeared on Grandma's face. "Your Uncle Tong and his wife got sick and passed away. Aji couldn't bear the pain of losing his loved ones and followed them. Then I was the only one left in this courtyard."
At this point, everyone fell silent. They couldn't imagine how the old lady had managed to get through these days, and how strong her heart must have been to persevere all this time.
After all, they were childhood playmates, and Chen's mother burst into tears upon hearing about Uncle Tong's family's situation.
Looking at the empty building and her great-grandmother with her back already hunched over, Chen Siyu suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
She stepped forward, squatted down in front of her great-grandmother, and took her withered hand. "Great-grandmother, we're back now. I've brought many friends to keep you company. Our building will be lively from now on, and you won't be all alone anymore."
After a brief reminiscing, everyone went to rest.
Since Chen's mother and grandmother still had things to say, the task of assigning rooms was left to Chen's father and Chen Siyu.
The father and daughter looked at each other, not knowing much about the building. Heaven knows how to divide it.
In the end, it was their great-grandmother who leaned over the railing and gave them a hint, which helped them divide the rooms.
Cheng Zhi's family carefully went upstairs, afraid that if they used too much force, they would break the wooden stairs under their feet.
When they reached the third floor, Cheng's parents decided to stay there because Huang's parents lived next door, and the two families could chat together.
The three siblings continued upstairs, pushed open the door to the fourth floor, and saw a small coffee table and a solid wood sofa. Behind the screen was a six-poster canopy bed.
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