The house sits firmly on the ground, in a proper orientation, facing south, like a small castle on this land.
The courtyard gate opened to the west; it was a striking, bright red iron gate. As the gate was slowly pushed open, the first thing that came into view was a thick wall, which was known as the "hidden wall" in Wang Hu's hometown.
Beyond this wall, one can see the entire main building. It consists of five spacious and bright tile-roofed houses, with two small and exquisite huts on each of the east and west sides, which stand like loyal guards surrounding the magnificent central building.
At the main entrance of the house stands a heavy, thick wooden door, its wood grain clearly visible, as if telling the story of the vicissitudes of time. This wooden door is not only incredibly heavy, but also carries countless memories and stories of days and nights; every opening and closing is like an echo of history.
The latch behind the wooden door embodies the wisdom of the ancients. Although it looks simple, it is exceptionally sturdy and durable. Simply lift the thick wooden rod, let it run across the entire back of the door, and insert it accurately into the corresponding "nose" (latch). In an instant, the outside world is completely shut out.
Neither the hustle and bustle of the world nor potential dangers can penetrate this barrier. Every time night falls and all is quiet, the crisp sound of the door latch closing is like a tranquil requiem, bringing endless peace and warmth to the people inside, while silently protecting this cozy home.
Walking slowly along the east side of the courtyard, near the gate, you can see a huge shed built with asbestos tiles. This must be where the kitchen is located. Stepping inside, you can see that the stove still has embers of unburnt firewood, with wisps of smoke rising. Pots, pans, and dishes are neatly arranged on the shelves, and all kinds of cooking utensils are available, exuding a strong sense of daily life.
Wang Hu moved all the things from the car into the house. Meng Zhiyun led him to the easternmost room. The room on the west side was her parents' room. A wall was built in the middle of the large room to create a separate room, which was her younger brother's room.
Meng Zhiyun said to Wang Hu, "This is the house I used to live in. I lived here with my younger sister. Doesn't it look very dilapidated?"
The bed in the room was supported by two long benches and a bed board. She took out a box from under the bed, which contained all sorts of books, including high school textbooks.
Wang Hu took out a book, opened it, and was surprised to find that it contained Meng Zhiyun's name. Wang Hu exaggeratedly said, "I thought we were from the same class, but I didn't expect you to be a high school graduate."
His expression was incredibly exaggerated. Then he hugged Meng Ziyun, burying his face in her chest, and said, "You're so much better than me. Xiao Meng, you won't abandon me in the future." Then he shook his head, inhaling the fragrance inside.
Oh dear, this is quite an awkward situation. Meng Ziyun was caught off guard by the sudden hug. She gently patted the person who was hugging her. "Don't do this. My sister will be here soon. It wouldn't be good if she saw us like this," Meng Ziyun said gently.
Speak of the devil, and he appears. Meng Zhiyu's voice came from the doorway. She stood there and said, "Oh dear, it seems I've come at the wrong time. I've disturbed your sweet moment." Her expression was a mixture of surprise and embarrassment.
"You two are so loving, but remember to close the door next time," she said half-jokingly, trying to ease the tension with humor.
Hearing her sister's voice, Meng Ziyun blushed slightly. She gently pushed away the person who was hugging her and said to Meng Zhiyu, "We were just chatting."
Meng Zhiyu entered the room with a mischievous smile on her face: "Chatting? I think you're having a very deep conversation. Okay, I won't disturb you any longer, I'll go take care of my business now." With that, she turned and left the room, leaving Meng Ziyun and Wang Hu's men exchanging smiles, the atmosphere becoming relaxed again.
Then Wang Hu squatted down and continued to look through the box. Unexpectedly, there was a photo album inside. He then sat on the bed and started looking through it. Meng Zhiyun sat down next to him and looked at it together, introducing it to Wang Hu as they looked.
Suddenly, he saw a group photo, their school's graduation photo. Wang Hu recognized two familiar faces and pointed to one of them, asking, "Why does this one look so much like Li Hong?"
She said, "It's Li Hong! We were classmates in junior high school. This photo was taken together when we graduated from junior high."
"Then this is Zhang Qian!" Wang Hu said, pointing to Zhang Qian's profile picture.
“She just didn’t expect you to recognize her.” Meng Zhiyun said, looking at Wang Hu with surprise.
He was sweating bullets. He couldn't very well say that he was having an affair with her best friend, could he? He asked Meng Zhiyun, "Aren't they both married? How did the three of you end up living together?"
Meng Zhiyun said, "They both stopped studying after graduating from junior high school and got married young. Li Hong has one child now, and Zhang Qian has two daughters. As their children grow up, they need money, so they decided to go out and work, and that's how they came to me."
"They're all married now, do you still keep in touch?"
“They married into families not far away, just in the surrounding villages! And now they all have telephones, they can just make a call if they want to contact each other.” After saying this, Meng Zhiyun glanced at Wang Hu, “Why do you keep asking about those two?”
Wang Hu quickly waved his hand, "It's nothing, it's nothing. They're just close to you, aren't they? Your friends are my friends too. I was just asking."
Meng Zhiyun looked at Wang Hu suspiciously, then said to him, "Didn't you want to take a look around our village? Let's go."
"Okay." Then the two of them walked slowly through the village hand in hand. They often met people who came up to greet them, and Meng Zhiyun would introduce them to him, "This is Second Uncle, and this is Sixth Aunt."
Even more outrageous was a child whom Meng Zhiyun introduced as "Great-Grandpa."
Wang Hu was really exasperated. He couldn't even bring himself to call the oldest child by his name. He felt there was no way to get him to speak. So he took out 500 yuan from his pocket and handed it to the oldest child, saying, "Little brother, go and lead them to buy candy."
The older child replied, "No, you can't call me 'little brother,' you have to call me 'uncle.'"
Wang Hu was truly dumbfounded, then his face flushed red. "Uncle, alright! Do you want this money or not? If not, then I'll take it."
The elderly people watching this scene laughed. One middle-aged man said to Wang Hu, "You don't need to worry about the younger ones. Just call them by their names when you see them. Who does that anymore?"
Wang Huji should call this person Sixth Uncle; he's Meng Zhiyun's uncle, within the fifth degree of kinship. "Sixth Uncle, I understand, thank you."
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