“Aunt Shen, are you home?”
Hearing the sound coming from the gate, Shen Anning took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her face, and tidied her clothes in front of the mirror. It was midsummer, but she had already put on thin long-sleeved trousers.
Ever since she was immersed in cold water in the winter when she was nineteen and did not take timely treatment, her hands and feet are still cold even in the hot summer and cannot be warmed up.
She called down from the window: "Sister Wang, Xiao Zhou, I'm coming, wait a moment, I'll get a basket."
Shen Anning went downstairs and picked up the vegetable basket from the kitchen. He went out to meet the two of them, locked the door, and the three of them prepared to go to the store selling dried goods on the small street to buy some tofu.
As they chatted and laughed along the way, Zhou Xiu saw the crowds of people on the small street from afar and said, "I don't know how the tofu in this dry goods store is made. There's no tofu better than theirs in this area."
Zhou Xiu is also Sister Wang's daughter-in-law. The Wang family is the indigenous people of a village under Babao Town. Two years ago, with the support of the government, they merged several pieces of residential land in their family to build a three-story building to accommodate tourists, and their business is very good.
"That's right. I heard that Mr. and Mrs. Huang have a craft that's passed down from their ancestors. They make tofu twice a day, ten rounds each morning and evening. Oh, we have to hurry. There are several villages nearby, and there are also people in the town. We might sell out sooner or later." Sister Wang looked at the crowd on the street and took bigger steps.
Shen Anning has lived here for more than ten years. When it gets cold in winter, she will return to the city to live with her nephews, because the kang and fire wall in the courtyard are warmer than here.
She has been living a secluded life these years and doesn't like to socialize. She is only familiar with a few families nearby and a few children who like to go to the mountains.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, most of the people in the small street were tourists coming down the mountain. They had a clear purpose and lined up in front of the shops where they wanted to buy things. The villagers who came to buy things gathered in groups of three or four and chatted.
By the time the three of them squeezed to the door of the dry goods store, there were already two lines.
"Fortunately, there are not too many people. Girls, you and my daughter-in-law will line up in one queue, and I'll line up in the other. Whoever is faster can buy first, and we'll divide it up later." Sister Wang looked at the dozen or so people in the two queues and made arrangements quickly.
"Okay, Sister Wang, I'll listen to you."
As soon as Shen Anning appeared, the eyes of the people around her were more or less focused on her. In fact, she had been suppressed by several nephews and nieces in recent years, and had taken a lot of skin care products. In addition, she had never given birth to a child. She was born with cold white skin, a height of 1.65 meters, delicate facial features and an extraordinary temperament. Even if she said she was 40 years old, some people would believe it. It really proved what it meant that time never defeats beauty.
The villagers nearby naturally knew Shen Anning. Although she had never revealed her life experience to them, they were not all fools.
She went up the mountain every now and then. There were several people with the surname Shen buried in the Martyrs' Cemetery. During the Qingming Festival, a group of people went up to sweep the tombs. In addition, the preferential treatment given to her by the government, the special approval for her to build a yard near the foot of the mountain was enough to surprise everyone.
After greeting a few familiar faces around, Shen Anning stopped talking. There were so many people around that the air seemed a little stuffy.
Fortunately, it was her turn soon. She ordered three pieces of tofu, two for Sister Wang and one for her. She walked away with the tofu under the stares of the tourists around her. They still had to go to the village to buy two fish from a fish farmer.
Walking on the country gravel road, the swaying trees on both sides brought the breeze, which made the whole person feel comfortable. Zhou Xiu looked at Shen Anning with half-closed eyes and sighed: "No wonder everyone can't take their eyes off Aunt Shen. Aunt Shen is really beautiful."
"Hahaha, you young people are good-looking and full of energy. Aunt Chen likes you more." She was also more envious.
Shen Anning has known them for many years, so she can naturally joke and make wisecracks.
In the past summers, the children of her nephews would come to spend their summer vacation with her, and Shen An Ning would help them with their homework. This year, because it was the Olympics, she knew what the children were thinking, so she called them early and repeatedly told them to stay in the city and not come over.
Eating dinner alone would naturally be simpler: yellow croaker stewed with tofu, a plate of small green vegetables, and half a steamed bun. This was Shen Anning's dinner.
Sitting on the sofa, turning on the TV, half an hour of news, plus an episode of a TV series, Shen Anning's dinner took more than an hour.
Maybe because she is old and afraid of loneliness, when she is alone at home, she always turns on the radio and TV.
After dinner, he walked slowly in the house for ten minutes to digest the food. Thinking of the box he saw in the study in the morning, Shen An Ning locked the courtyard door, the main door and the windows, turned off the lights, and went to the study on the second floor.
He pulled out the dusty box from the corner, wiped it clean carefully, and opened it.
The blue plaid fabric was very old and had become a little stiff due to age. Inside it was a wolf-tooth-shaped jade pendant and a letter.
Looking at these things, a memory from decades ago came to my mind. These were entrusted to my grandfather by Grandpa Cao, who was sent down with my grandfather, before he died. He said that he would pass them on to him when his grandson came to visit him in the future.
But after Grandpa Cao passed away, my aunt and uncle searched everywhere but couldn't find any descendants of the Cao family. It was as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth. In that era, there were many people who could not be found, so their things were also left here.
Looking at the things in the box, Shen Anning only hoped that if this descendant of the Cao family was still alive, he could have a peaceful life.
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