Old Mrs. Liu smiled. The dim light from the street lamp shone in, making her face, which hadn't smiled in decades, look extremely scary.
"You'd better stop laughing. It's so scary in the middle of the night."
Old Lady Liu patted her lightly and said, "You silly girl."
The tangled threads of wool in my heart seemed to be untied, as if the thick ice had melted, or more like the huge package on my back had been taken off, and I felt extremely relieved.
"Okay, go to sleep! I'll find a chance to tell her the day after tomorrow."
"Really? You're the one who doesn't want to sleep, and you're the one who wants to sleep. My sleepiness has gone away."
"She's sharp-tongued." Old Mrs. Liu muttered and lay down to sleep.
Old Mrs. Liu stopped tossing and turning, and Zhou Xiang fell asleep quickly.
"A-choo!"
Zhou Xiang was woken up by his little cousin using the fur ball on her scarf.
"Lazy guy, get up."
"Little rascal, I'm going to catch you!"
"Hehehe, you can't catch me."
Long Xin giggled and ran out of the second bedroom.
Zhou Xiang slowly put on his clothes and went to the bathroom to wash up.
Breakfast is simple, white rice porridge and boiled eggs.
After dinner, we started preparing lunch. The sliding door of the balcony was already piled high.
Common vegetables, onions, ginger, garlic, as well as fish and meat in winter.
The outside can be said to be a natural refrigerator. Just cover the meat with a layer of plastic cloth to block out dust.
I cut the beef, mutton and pork, took the cabbage and radish, and two hairtail fish.
The aunt and nephew started to get busy.
Long Xin probably doesn't have many children to play with, so she always comes in to find Zhou Xiang.
Zhou Xiang teased her while helping her wash and cut vegetables.
At twelve o'clock, the food was served on the table on time. Although there was no earthen stove like those in the countryside, my aunt still placed some food next to the liquefied gas stove as a token of her appreciation.
Eight dishes filled the folding square table. Long Chao poured each person a glass of homemade drink made with orange powder.
The little cousin climbed onto the stool and raised her glass to clink with everyone. Zhou wanted to look at the smiling faces of the family of three and just hoped that they would be happy every year like this.
In the afternoon, when making dumplings, Zhou Xiang mentioned that he was going to Beijing the next day. His aunt and his uncle who was rolling the dumpling wrappers were both stunned.
"Think about it, it takes more than ten hours by train to Beijing. The weather is so cold. Next time you come, we will take you there." My aunt advised.
Zhou Xiang shook his head. "No, I can do it myself. I've never been here before, but I can take my grandma to find her. There's no problem in the capital."
Hearing her firm tone, the couple stopped trying to persuade her. Since she was not their daughter, they were afraid that she would be offensive if they said too much.
Long Chao went out for a moment and brought back a piece of paper. "Here are my eldest sister and eldest brother's phone numbers. If there's anything urgent, you can ask them for help. At the bottom is the school's reception desk number. If you need anything, you can ask the receptionist to notify us."
Zhou Xiang carefully put away the note and went into the space. Usually, his uncle-in-law himself was unwilling to trouble his elder brother and sister, but now he actually gave him his phone number.
In the evening, Zhou Xiang only packed a set of spare clothes and toiletries, which could be put into an ordinary-sized cloth bag.
The next morning, after washing up, I took an egg and left.
Long Chao even tried to persuade her, "I don't know what time the train leaves. I'll go buy it on my bike first. You don't have to go so early."
"It's okay. There are many trains to Beijing, both in the morning and afternoon. My uncle doesn't need to make such a trip. It's too cold."
Looking at the closed door, Long Chao winked at his lover. Jiang Weifang nodded. After Old Lady Liu finished her meal, he pulled her to sit on the bed in the second bedroom.
"Mom, why do I feel like Xiang Xiang has changed so much? Especially her temper. She used to be timid, but now she's strong."
Old Lady Liu stood up, locked the door, and sat back down beside the bed. She was silent for a long time, so long that Jiang Weifang began to feel uneasy. Then she spoke, "She's been like this for nearly a year. On the second day of the first lunar month, she threw a tantrum at my place and wanted to take the second girl and the third child away. She told me she had a dream..."
Old Lady Liu continued to talk about the changes around her, and then said, "I suspect it wasn't a dream. It was something she had experienced, so she became stronger and more ruthless after returning. When she brandished the dagger and slashed at Liu Shan, the rage was terrifying, until she asked to come to your place to celebrate the New Year."
Jiang Weifang hadn't expected so many things to happen to her family this year, such big changes. She'd always just heard folk tales, never imagined they'd happen right next to her.
Jiang Weifang, who had been listening intently, saw her mother stop talking and asked nervously, "Mom, please continue! What happened to her saying she came here to celebrate the New Year?"
"Do you think she could leave with peace of mind when her family has just sorted out such a mess? Why do you think she asked your eldest sister to write a letter early, not letting you go back for the New Year? Why do you think she told you not to go back during the winter right in front of you two?"
Jiang Weifang was covered in cold sweat and trembling. "Why?"
"When she asked me to come over for the New Year, she was so forceful, I started to doubt it. The night before, she said she was going to Beijing, so I asked, 'Where's your aunt?' She told me to be careful not to let Long Chao get sick, and if I had to use an IV drip, I had to be careful with the medicine in the bottle."
Is it Long Chao? Did Long Chao have an attack in my dream? There are many medications that Long Chao can't take, and every time he has an attack, it's frustrating.
"You told me just like that? If she really was, shouldn't she have carefully concealed it?"
"How can I hide it? Are you still being as timid as before? Are you still letting the second girl be molested by that beast right under my nose? Are you still letting the third boy be my venting bucket?"
Jiang Weifang looked at her tearful mother in surprise, "Mom!"
"I regret it! From the moment I learned about her dream, from the moment Liu Shan's true identity was revealed, from the moment she hired a nanny to take care of me, from the moment she decided to leave everything at home and come to you, I had so many opportunities to tell her I was sorry, but I couldn't open my mouth.
The night before, I was so worried I couldn't sleep, and she told me to tell you directly. I asked her, "Aren't you afraid?" She replied, "Am I not one of your family members?"
Weifang, I feel so sorry for this child! I owe your eldest sister's family so much, but in the end, it was still her who took care of me in my old age."
Old Lady Liu cried out all the sorrow she had accumulated for decades at once. Long Chao anxiously knocked on the door, "Weifang, what's wrong with Mom?"
Jiang Weifang patted her mother's shoulder, stood up, opened the door, and didn't let it open. She smiled at Long Chao with red eyes and said, "It's okay, just vent a little. Take good care of Xinxin."
"Are you really okay?"
Jiang Weifang nodded vigorously, "It's really okay!"
Only then did Long Chao leave with peace of mind, and Jiang Weifang locked the door again.
"Okay, Mom! Stop crying. This time, I won't say you owe her anything. I owe her too. For me, she took care of you in this cold weather even though you have limited mobility."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
