Chapter 28 Visiting the Elderly

After nearly twenty minutes, Lan Yuchu finally stopped and said, “We’re here.”

Lin Qiyue jumped off the bicycle and looked at the house in front of her. It had a strong historical feel—this place must be worth a fortune! In the future, a place like this would be considered a siheyuan (traditional courtyard house)!

“What are we doing here? Who are we meeting?” Lin Qiyue asked curiously after taking in the surroundings.

On their way over, they had bought a lot of gifts—food, daily necessities, and more.

From the looks of the area, most of the residents were probably factory workers living in assigned housing. But this house didn’t look like a worker dormitory.

At this point in time, people generally weren’t allowed to live in private houses like this—such properties usually had to be handed over to the state. Otherwise, the owner would be labeled a capitalist and sent to work on a pig farm.

After parking the bicycle, Lan Yuchu began to explain:

“This was my comrade’s home. He sacrificed his life. I’m here today to visit his grandmother—she should be home. She was the one who wrote our marriage certificate when we got married. Because she’s quite old and all three generations of her family have died in service, she rarely goes out anymore.”

“Oh, I see. Then we really should thank her properly,” Lin Qiyue said, remembering that the original Lin Qiyue had kept a handwritten marriage certificate from an elderly woman.

It was mentioned in the book too: the reason the Lan family was allowed to return had a lot to do with a respected elder who helped them. No one dared mess with her.

Yet even so, her daughter-in-law had been driven to death, and her son had died in a foreign land during the war. Her grandson had been four years old at the time, and now even the grandson had passed away.

It was all mentioned briefly in the backstory of the book.

Lan Yuchu walked to the door with the gifts in hand and reminded Lin Qiyue, “Just call her Granny Sun. She’s very kind.”

“Mm, got it,” Lin Qiyue nodded seriously.

The door was opened by a woman in her forties, wearing glasses and with a strong presence. She studied the two people at the door with a stern expression.

Lin Qiyue got a little nervous—this woman looked fierce, even scarier than Lan Yuchu when he was serious.

“Who are you looking for?” the woman asked directly, her tone not very friendly and her gaze sharp.

But when she noticed they were carrying gifts, her expression softened slightly.

“Hello Aunt Sun, we’re here to see Granny Sun. This is my wife, Lin Qiyue. Granny Sun wrote our marriage certificate when we got married, so we’ve come to visit her today,” Lan Yuchu said politely.

Hearing that they weren’t here to cause trouble, and taking a closer look, the woman seemed to recognize Lan Yuchu. She smiled and asked quickly, “Are you… the second son from the Lan family?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Oh! Come in, come in,” she said, opening the door wider and letting them in.

After closing the door, she explained, “There’ve been too many people coming around just to stir up trouble—don’t blame me for being a bit cold at first! It’s been years since we last met, I didn’t recognize you at first!”

Lan Yuchu and Lin Qiyue exchanged a glance, both understanding what she meant.

Lan Yuchu nodded. “We understand. Granny Sun actually told us not to come yesterday, but we still wanted to visit today. I hope we’re not disturbing her?”

Aunt Sun shook her head. “Granny’s doing alright. I happened to have the day off today, so I’m here to keep her company. She’s reading the newspaper right now. Come, have a seat—I’ll go get her from the yard.”

She invited them to sit in the living room, poured some tea, then turned and shouted toward the courtyard:

“Granny! The second boy from the Lan family is here!”

Hearing she had guests, Granny Sun immediately set down the newspaper and grabbed her cane, making her way toward the living room.

Aunt Sun quickly went to help her. “Take it slow, no rush.”

When they got to the living room and Granny Sun saw Lan Yuchu, she reached out excitedly to shake his hand.

“So it is you, second boy! Didn’t I tell you not to come? There are so many eyes watching outside. You really are something, huh?”

Though her words sounded like scolding, her tone was full of concern and helplessness.

Lan Yuchu quickly stood and held the old woman’s hand, his voice trembling with emotion and guilt.

“Granny Sun, I’m sorry. I couldn’t bring Brother Sun back…”

At that moment, looking at Granny Sun, tears welled up in his eyes.

It was the first time Lin Qiyue had seen him like this—so full of guilt that he bowed his head.

Granny Sun held his hand, eyes brimming with tears but smiling gently. She reached up to wipe away his tears and patted the back of his hand.

Then, looking at Lin Qiyue, she said warmly, “It was his honor. You did nothing wrong—don’t blame yourself.”

“Granny Sun…” Lan Yuchu couldn’t hide his sorrow.

If Brother Sun hadn’t died protecting him back then, he would have been the one to die.

“You’re a good boy. Don’t cry. Your brother saving you—that was the right thing to do. You’re different. You have a wife and a family. You can’t just throw your life away.”

Granny Sun understood her grandson’s decision.

Lan Yuchu had just gotten married and had returned to the army, only to face a sudden accident on a secret mission. No one wanted that to happen.

If he had died, what would have become of his newlywed wife?

“That’s in the past. No more talking about it. I’m old now—my heart can’t take it,” Granny Sun interrupted gently, seeing Lan Yuchu still wanted to speak.

Then, turning to Lin Qiyue and looking her over, she nodded in approval and smiled.

“So, you’re Qiyue, right?”

“Hello Granny, yes, I’m Qiyue,” Lin Qiyue stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

“Why so nervous? I’m just an old lady—I’m not going to eat you!” Granny Sun joked when she saw Lin Qiyue looking tense.

Lin Qiyue glanced a little uneasily at Lan Yuchu.

Out of her comfort zone, she was starting to feel nervous again.

Granny Sun looked kind, but her presence was even stronger than Aunt Sun’s.
How could she not be nervous?

“Granny, Qiyue’s just a little shy. It’s her first time meeting you, please don’t blame her,” Lan Yuchu quickly jumped in to ease the tension for his wife.

Old Madam Sun raised her hand and pointed at Lan Yuchu teasingly, “I heard you’re really protective of your wife. Your aunt works at the same place as your mom, and she’s been complaining that you’re always glued to your wife, like you’re afraid she’ll disappear!”

Lin Qiyue shyly lowered her head. “Grandma, that’s not true…”

Lan Yuchu didn’t mind the elder’s teasing. Instead, he glanced at his wife, and his face instantly turned red.

Sun Ru immediately chimed in, “Exactly! Your mom said as soon as you came back, you took your wife out to buy clothes and a watch, and you’ve been cooking for her every day. Meanwhile, she, your own mother, didn’t even get a single gift! She says you’ve completely forgotten her after getting married!”

Lin Qiyue didn’t take it as criticism, but she still felt a little embarrassed.

Lan Yuchu had never even thought about buying gifts for his mom—he was just a regular guy. “I didn’t buy any gifts for my wife either…” he explained awkwardly while scratching his head.

Old Madam Sun chuckled, noticing that Lin Qiyue seemed a little afraid of her. Her expression softened, becoming more kindly. She pulled Lin Qiyue’s hand and motioned for them to sit down, then said warmly, “Child, you must be tired from the journey, right?”

“Not at all,” Lin Qiyue replied. How could she be tired? She didn’t walk here—Lan Yuchu had driven her.

“You’re too thin! Xiao Chu, you need to take better care of your wife. Look at this beautiful girl—she’s so pale and skinny. That’ll make childbirth really tough!”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help glancing at Lin Qiyue’s backside. Seeing her slim frame, she started scolding Lan Yuchu again.

Sun Ru’s eyes flickered. She remembered what Qian Xiuying had said about the reason her daughter-in-law was so thin. Quickly, she jumped in to defuse the situation. “Auntie, you’re talking about babies already? The two of them haven’t been together long. Their relationship isn’t stable yet—they need to enjoy their time together before planning for children.”

Old Madam Sun understood what her daughter meant and quickly nodded in agreement. “That’s true!”

Then she turned and instructed Sun Ru, “Stay for dinner. Ru, go buy some groceries—buy more meat. This child needs some nourishment.”

“No need to go through all that trouble, Grandma. Yuchu takes very good care of me. I’ve been focusing on recovering my health lately,” Lin Qiyue quickly explained.