Chapter 145: Jade Past
"Oh~ It's still Xiao Xie's words that please grandma the most!" Grandma Wu smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into two crescents, and she patted Xie Qingyu's shoulder affectionately.
She turned and went into the small hut next to her. After a while, she brought out a pile of bamboo baskets and a few old sickles, and distributed them to the eager teenagers one by one.
Weiran took the faded bamboo basket and couldn't help but look back at the old people basking in the sun in the yard.
Grandma Hu was slowly weaving bamboo strips, while the other elderly people were either sewing shoe soles or twisting hemp ropes. Although their movements were slow, they revealed the calmness accumulated over the years.
"Grandma Wu, what about Grandma Hu and the others..." Wei Ran hesitated to speak, his eyes falling on the slightly staggering legs of the elderly people.
"Hey, them," Grandma Wu said in a relaxed tone, following her gaze. "These old brothers and sisters love to do some handicrafts in the yard."
He swung the sickle in his hand and said, "Besides, how can we dig out wild beehives and pick August bombs with them?"
Wei Ran nodded and hurriedly trotted to catch up with the team that had already reached the gate of the courtyard.
The sunlight shines through the branches of an old crape myrtle tree, casting mottled shadows on the bluestone slabs.
Xie Qingyu walked in front, her slender fingers gently pushing aside the hanging vines. When she turned around, there were still a few pink and purple crape myrtle petals on the ends of her hair.
When they arrived at the safe area designated by Grandma Wu, everyone was full and healthy again, so they started running around happily.
They were curious about everything in the mountains and fields. They would pick any wild grass or fruit they saw and excitedly bring them to Grandma Wu for identification. As soon as they heard the word "non-toxic", they would immediately put the fruit in their mouths.
This was very difficult for the cameramen, as their cameras simply couldn't keep up with this group of energetic teenagers.
In the end, I could only adopt a key follow-up strategy, mainly capturing the lively scenes with many people.
And behind Xie Qingyu, naturally, followed closely his exclusive PD.
Xie Qingyu always followed Grandma Wu closely.
Although the old lady was agile and spoke with great vigor, the mountain path was rugged and he always maintained a suitable guarding distance.
Grandma Wu noticed his thoughtfulness, but didn't say anything. She used a sickle to neatly chop away the branches blocking her way while chatting with Xie Qingyu about family matters.
"My little grandson is about the same age as you..." The old man's chatter was full of love, and the topic always revolved around his children and grandchildren.
Xie Qingyu listened attentively, responding gently from time to time.
Coming to a green meadow, Grandma Wu squatted down and began to pick wild vegetables, the small sickle in her hand flying flexibly.
"This is shepherd's purse, it's the most delicious when used to make dumplings... That's wild onion, it's good for scrambling eggs..." She explained it like a treasure trove, and Xie Qingyu squatted beside her, his eyes focused on following her movements, with a gentle smile in his eyes all the time.
Suddenly, Grandma Wu came closer mysteriously: "Xiao Xie, grandma has something to tell you in private..." She deliberately waved her hand at the PD who was following her, "It's a whisper, you can't listen!" Her childish look made Xie Qingyu laugh.
Xie Qingyu, who was pulled aside, turned around and shook his head gently at the PD, signaling him to stay calm.
But how could this dedicated cameraman give up so easily? Even if he was not allowed to follow, the camera still stubbornly focused on the two people's retreating backs.
Away from the camera lens, Grandma Wu slowly squatted down with the support of Xie Qingyu.
She carefully took out a piece of washed-out floral cloth from the basket, spread it on the grass beside her, and patted it to signal Xie Qingyu to sit down.
Xie Qingyu obediently sat down next to the old man.
This is a small sunny slope, and the breeze blows, bringing the fragrance of soil and grass.
Grandma Wu squinted her eyes and noticed that Xie Qingyu unconsciously stretched his shoulders after leaving the camera, and the whole person was like a small tree that could finally breathe freely.
"Are you happy?" Grandma Wu suddenly asked, with a sly smile hidden in the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
Xie Qingyu was slightly startled, then smiled and nodded: "Yeah!" After a pause, he asked curiously: "What do you want to tell me in private?"
Grandma Wu smiled and shook her head, then stretched out a calloused finger and gently tapped his chest: "It's you who wants to tell Grandma something."
She had noticed earlier that the child hesitated several times, clearly hiding something on his mind. "Your eyes can speak. They tell me you have something to say."
The old lady added playfully in Mandarin with a local accent, "It's not magic!" This word was taught to her by her little granddaughter, and she finally used it today.
Xie Qingyu was stunned, then lowered her head and chuckled, the loose hair on her forehead swaying gently in the wind.
"Yes," he said in a voice as soft as if he was telling a secret, "I have something to tell you in private."
The sunlight shines through the gaps between the leaves and spreads out.
The sounds of my companions playing came from afar, but it seemed as if they were a world away.
Grandma Wu showed an understanding expression of "as expected" and waited patiently.
But after waiting for a long time, I saw Xie Qingyu staring at the mountains in the distance in a daze, with an indescribable sadness between his brows.
The old man was about to say, "If you don't want to talk about it, then don't talk about it," but he heard the young man's clear voice:
"I also have a grandmother at home." Xie Qingyu's gaze seemed to penetrate the distant clouds. "She is about your age, but she always has a stern face and never speaks softly to me."
At this point, the corners of his mouth curled up, "But I know that she loves me... Although we are so different, I always think of her when I look at you."
Especially when Grandma Wu talked about her grandchildren, he couldn't help but wonder: Would Grandma also talk about him like this to her neighbors under the eaves of her hometown?
His voice became softer and softer, like a feather floating in the mountain breeze.
"Just call her if you miss her!" Grandma Wu said as she was about to take out the old phone wrapped in three layers of handkerchiefs, but Xie Qingyu gently held her hand.
"No need." He looked at the rapidly moving clouds in the sky, "She's been gone for a long time. And..."
And what separated them was more than just life and death. It was a world barrier that not even souls could cross.
Xie Qingyu suddenly realized that he had spoken out of turn and apologized hastily: "I'm sorry, it's really offensive to compare you with someone who has already left..."
"Silly child!" Grandma Wu frowned and slapped her thigh in pain.
Her little grandson is also of the same age, but he is heartless and acts like a spoiled brat all day long.
How many hardships must this child have gone through to be so cautious in expressing his longing for her?
"If you don't mind, you can tell grandma your story. Grandma's mouth is very tight!"
Grandma Wu patted her chest heavily, and gave a thumbs-up gesture with her wrinkled fingers. Her cloudy eyes were filled with kindness. "I'll keep all your little secrets locked up here. No one can steal them!"
The corners of Xie Qingyu's mouth rose slightly, and a genuine smile appeared in his eyes.
He rubbed his knees unconsciously, his slender fingers gently entangled in the fabric, as if trying to untie the tangled memories of the past.
It’s actually a long story, and it happened a long time ago.
He carefully considered his words and salvaged a few of the most vivid fragments from his increasingly blurred memories.
He was raised by his grandmother.
In that small village hidden in the valley, the grandfather and grandson depend on each other for survival.
When I was twelve years old, the family's financial resources were completely cut off.
The meager income that my grandmother earned from working from dawn to dusk to sew shoe soles and weave bamboo baskets was barely enough to feed the two of them.
One morning, he secretly followed Uncle Wang, a migrant worker from the village, and boarded a long-distance bus to the city. The young man had a burning dream in his heart and always felt that there were opportunities everywhere in the big city.
Once I'm on my feet, I can bring grandma over to enjoy life with me.
But reality gave him a heavy blow.
A thin country boy could hardly find a roof to shelter him from the rain in this city of steel and iron.
He washed piles of greasy dishes and distributed flyers under the scorching sun. Because he was young and willing to work hard, he could always find a job.
But most of the wages are always deducted, and the adults always say, "Children don't need so much money."
At the most embarrassing moment, he had all his savings taken away by a fake job recruiter and had to spend the night curled up on a park bench.
On that morning when the dew wet my bangs, my fate took a turn for the better.
A lady who claimed to be a scout from an agency pushed aside his thick bangs and suddenly her eyes lit up.
"Little brother, do you want to be a star?"
Having experienced deception before, he should have been wary, but his hungry body had already made the decision for him.
When he left with the sister, there were only two cold coins left in his pocket.
When cutting hair, loose hair fell down, and in the mirror, the eyebrows and eyes, which had not yet grown out but were already quite delicate, gradually appeared.
On the day of signing the contract, my grandmother rushed over from her hometown, exhausted.
The old man's rough hands held the pen, and as he wrote his name on the contract stroke by stroke, his hands trembled as if he couldn't hold the weight.
The setting sun stretched the shadow of the signing table very long. Before leaving, grandma just rubbed his head hard and stuffed a bulging blue cloth bundle into his hand.
When he returned to the dormitory and opened the box, he felt a hard lump among the layers of old clothes - it was a handkerchief package sewn into the interlayer, wrapped in a thick stack of change.
The largest denomination is twenty yuan, and some of the banknotes have frayed edges.
The old man hid all his life savings in the stitches without leaving any instructions.
The days that followed seemed to be fast-forwarded.
Endless vocal training, the always wet floor in the dance studio, and the critical eyes of the judges during the assessment.
The trainees of the same period came and went, but he was the only one who held on tightly, gritting his teeth like he was clinging to a lifeline.
The initial idea of just making a living has somehow turned into a desperate obsession.
The night before the debut, the agent handed over a new ID card.
"Xie Qingyu", these three words became his name from then on.
As for my real name, which had been blown by the mountain wind for twelve years, it had long since drifted away into the depths of my memory, just like the smoke from the cooking stoves in my hometown.
Xie Qingyu carefully considered his words, picking up the memories of the past one by one like picking pebbles by a stream.
He always felt that Grandma Wu's cloudy yet clear eyes seemed to see through something, but the old woman just listened quietly, like an old tree that had experienced wind and frost, gently sheltering the tired traveler.
"When I first received my performance fee..." the boy's fingertips unconsciously stroked the bamboo strips of the basket, "I ran to the bank counter to transfer the money, my hands were shaking."
He didn't keep a single cent of the first performance fee he received, but transferred it all to his grandmother's passbook.
Grandma Wu clapped her hands gently, and her skinny palms made a crisp sound.
When she heard the boy's regret that he didn't have enough money to let his grandmother live in an apartment in the city, her frown was like dried orange peel.
It was not until Xie Qingyu mentioned that she had installed a telephone and bought a color TV in her hometown that the wrinkles at the corners of the old man's eyes relaxed again, as if she had experienced all the joy and regrets herself.
"What happened next?" Grandma Wu leaned forward, listening intently. "My old sister, whom I've never met, finally got to enjoy the blessing of a grandson, right?"
Xie Qingyu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and the wind suddenly became very light. She looked at the shepherd's purse she had just picked in the basket, the tips of the green leaves were still covered with morning dew.
He suddenly felt as if his throat was choked by something, as if he had touched upon a fragment of memory he least wanted to touch, and it was difficult to express...
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