Chapter 79
The sun shone warmly into the courtyard, scorching the armrests of the rattan chairs and wilting the leaves of the potted flowers in the corner. The breeze blew across her body with a perfectly gentle touch. Yang Ye turned over in the rattan chair, and the eye mask slipped off her face. She raised her hand to remove it, and her hand touched the warmed fabric. She rubbed her sleepy eyes. The sunlight fell on her face, not glaring, but a feeling of comfort that enveloped her from head to toe, even dispelling some of the grogginess she had just woken up.
She stretched slowly, her back bones making a few slight creaks. Yang Ye sat in a chair, yawning twice in quick succession. She held the blanket she had just covered herself with in her arms, the soft fur still warm from the sun. After a moment's rest, she scooped up the blanket and walked to the living room. The French door opened, revealing a completely empty room, devoid of a soul.
Throwing the blanket over the armrest of the sofa, she called out Xiao Xiao and Zhou Yiheng's names a few times, but received no response. Yang Ye massaged her shoulders, and as she walked towards the kitchen, she suddenly remembered that Xiao Xiao had said that Xu Jingzhe was on the early shift today, and they had agreed to go out for dinner together that evening. Zhou Yiheng had a cold and had taken several days off, and was still in the hospital on an IV drip. She fished out a drink from the refrigerator, unscrewed the cap, and drank most of it. The cool liquid flowed down her throat, making her throat feel much better.
She'd eaten a bit too much at lunch, and wasn't hungry yet. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was just past four, so it was definitely too early to be thinking about dinner. She leaned against the kitchen doorframe, her brow furrowing slightly as she looked at the living room cluttered with things. There were several open cardboard boxes, some of which she'd moved from her room, and a few stacks of documents Liu Guoxing had delivered two days ago, which Xiao Xiao and Zhou Yiheng had helped organize. Yang Ye stared at the pile, took a deep breath, put down her drink, and rolled up her sleeves, preparing to tidy up the messy living room while waiting for her hunger to return.
She had just moved a few boxes into the room when she heard someone ringing the doorbell. She walked over, opened the door, and saw it was Grandma Chen. She was stunned for a moment, then a gentle smile appeared on her face. "Grandma, why are you here?"
"I brought you some apples," said Granny Chen, bending down to put the bag of apples on the low cabinet at the door. She looked into the house and saw a lot of things piled up in the living room. "I'm cleaning it up."
"Well, the room is full, so I plan to clean out some of the unused things first," Yang Ye answered as he tied up the cardboard boxes with tape.
Granny Chen walked into the living room, picked up a few light things that had fallen on the floor, and handed them to Yang Ye. "Do you want my help?"
"No, no, I'll be done packing soon." Yang Ye said without even raising his head.
Grandma Chen continued to walk around the living room, picking up an ornament here and straightening a decoration that was about to fall there. Yang Ye saw that Grandma Chen was hunched over and had difficulty even standing, yet she still wanted to help her. She felt bad and quickly said, "Grandma, let's sit on the sofa for a while."
"Okay," Grandma Chen responded.
After moving a few large boxes, the living room became much more spacious.
Yang Ye helped Grandma Chen sit down on the sofa, then she walked into the kitchen. After a while, she came over with two cups of freshly brewed hot tea, and the light fragrance of tea filled the air.
"Boss Yang, I came here to tell you some good news," said Granny Chen happily, "They took that thing to be appraised today, and they said it's genuine and worth 100,000 yuan."
There was a lightness in her voice, almost a leap of joy.
Yang Ye placed two cups of tea on the coffee table. She smiled and replied, "Really? That's great!"
"Yes, yes," Granny Chen smiled happily, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothing out. She chattered on and on, speaking a lot more frequently than usual. "They were so happy to be back. You didn't see it. The two brothers were talking and laughing. They haven't been like this for years. They even sat down and wrote me a note of guarantee, telling me to keep it."
The more she spoke, the happier she became, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she could see more clearly than before.
Rubbing her hands back and forth on her knees, Grandma Chen said, "A Ming also said he wanted to take me to live with them, saying that the city is lively and there are people to take care of me, but after thinking about it, I think it's quieter here. Boss Yang, I really don't know how to thank you."
Yang Ye held Grandma Chen's hand with his backhand, and seeing the long-lost smile on her face, his heart suddenly twitched. If his mother could live to be as old as Grandma Chen, she would probably smile like this too.
She patted Grandma Chen's hands twice and said, "Grandma Chen, please don't be polite with me. Now they know how to care for you. Your life will get better and better in the future."
"Yes, they said the things were worth one hundred thousand, something from the late Qing or post-Qing period, and they told me not to tell anyone about it," Grandma Chen repeated.
The smile on Yang Ye's face did not change, but his eyes flickered briefly.
It remembered clearly the thing given to Grandma Chen. According to the current market price, its value would be far more than 100,000 yuan. Could it be that the appraisal agency they hired lowered the price, or did they think that Grandma Chen's two sons did not understand, so they gave a random price?
She thought for a long time, hesitating between speaking and not speaking, but when she looked up, she saw the light in Grandma Chen's eyes, and the simplest and purest satisfaction on her wrinkled face. Yang Ye looked at Grandma Chen, and the words on her lips turned into a smile.
Being satisfied is worth more than a fortune.
Forget it, one hundred thousand is one hundred thousand. No matter what the valuation is, it seems that Grandma Chen's happiness is more important than those tens of thousands of dollars. Thinking of this, Yang Ye's smile became even gentler. She took over Grandma Chen's words, "One hundred thousand is also a considerable sum. The most important thing is that the brothers can reconcile and come back to see you often. You have suffered for most of your life. Now you can relax and enjoy the blessings of your children and grandchildren."
Grandma Chen nodded, and the smile on her face became brighter. She pulled Yang Ye aside and chatted for a long time. She had those things hidden in her heart that she couldn't tell others. If she told young people, they wouldn't understand. If she told people of the same age, she was afraid they would talk behind her back. But when it came to Yang Ye, Grandma Chen was willing to say a few more words.
"If you weren't so young, Boss Yang, I would have thought we were from the same generation," Grandma Chen said with a smile. She stood at the entrance of the alley and waved goodbye to Yang Ye, and her figure disappeared into the alley in the evening.
The smile on Yang Ye's face slowly faded as she returned to the grocery store to continue packing the boxes in the living room. As she moved one box, the plastic tape on it came loose as she was about to pick it up, revealing the porcelain she had placed inside. Yang Ye moved the box to the coffee table, found some tape in the drawer, and as she unrolled it, she saw the bluish-white flower bowl on the outside.
"They said it was from a folk kiln. If it weren't for its beautiful color, it probably wouldn't be worth a hundred thousand."
"Ah Ming said that the appraisal teacher is very good and can tell at a glance."
Yang Ye slowly stopped moving. The words that Grandma Chen had just said kept spinning in her head. She opened the cardboard box and touched the edge of the flower bowl, again and again.
The days always pass quietly, and by the time I realize it, half a month has passed.
The four seasons in Hangzhou are unusual. You may have to wear long sleeves and a cardigan the day before, but when you wake up at night, you have to change into short sleeves. Overnight, the air becomes sticky, the wind blowing through the alley makes people feel uncomfortable, the cicadas in the trees sing hysterically, the scorching sun is merciless, and even the asphalt road at the door is dazzling due to the sunlight.
The grocery store was sweltering from morning till night. The electric fan was turned up to full speed, its blades spinning furiously, but the wind still carried hot air. Yang Ye lay beneath the old camphor tree in the yard, clutching a palm-leaf fan, its edges nearly frayed. Her wrists limp, her body seemingly drained of strength, she fanned herself intermittently. The sun shone through the dense foliage, dappling light onto her arms and clothes. She squinted, her head tilted to one side, as if dozing, or perhaps lost in thought, listening to the cicadas chirping in the trees.
Xiao Xiao returned from outside. The walk from the village market to their grocery store was a little over two kilometers, almost three kilometers round trip. Normally, it would have been a walk, but today, her hair, which had been left loose, was damp with sweat and sticky around her neck. She put her things by the kitchen door and glanced at the desk not far away. She walked over, picked up the unopened bottle of Coke that had been lying on the table on Monday, unscrewed the cap, and drank most of it.
The cool liquid slid across her throat, and dense bubbles exploded in her mouth. The refreshing stimulation suppressed the heat in her body. She leaned against the table and said, "What's wrong with the weather? It was over 20 degrees yesterday, and it's 37 today."
Xiao Xiao recovered and glanced at the empty living room, "Where's the boss?"
Zhou Yiheng was playing games, his eyes fixed on the screen, his fingers never stopping, and he responded without even looking up: "In the yard, basking in the sun."
"It's so hot, and you're still out in the sun, aren't you afraid of getting a heat stroke?" Xiao Xiao didn't understand. She placed her half-empty drink on the table and turned to walk towards the courtyard. As she reached the door, she saw Yang Ye sitting with his legs crossed, his body swaying gently on the rattan chair beneath him. He was wearing a baggy white vest and black gym shorts, his hair casually tied into a ponytail. He looked relaxed and comfortable, even more relaxed than the old men playing chess at the village entrance.
"Why are you looking at me?" Yang Ye asked lazily, raising the palm-leaf fan in her hand to block out the glaring sun. She squinted at Xiao Xiao who was standing at the door.
"You look just like my second uncle who enjoys the cool air at the village entrance," Xiao Xiao joked.
"Second Uncle?" Yang Ye was pinched by this title. She raised an eyebrow and slowly sat up straight. "Second Uncle has to call me grandma when he sees me. It's because I'm older than him."
"Well, you are older and have lived a long life," Xiao Xiao said. She suddenly remembered something, "Oh, right, I saw Grandma Chen when I was buying groceries just now."
"She went alone?"
"No, there's her son too. They're picking things out at the vegetable stall, chatting and laughing."
Yang Ye found a more comfortable position to lie down, with the corners of her mouth curved, she took the palm-leaf fan and shook it occasionally, "Isn't that good?"
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