Chapter 010

In front of Grandpa were three woven sacks. The smallest one contained ropes, the medium-sized one had beads, and the largest one was filled with strung beads.

It seemed that the beads were for a bracelet. The elderly man’s movements were still quick, and upon seeing someone approaching, his dark, thin hands stopped moving.

“Grandpa, I brought my wife and child to see you. This is Xiangjuan, and this is our daughter Guagua, whose full name is Zhou Yipei. This is our youngest son Niuniu, whose full name is Zhou Yilan,” Zhou Chengning smiled brightly upon seeing his grandfather, quickly introducing his family.

“Hello, Grandpa. Guagua, greet Great-grandfather,” Xu Xiangjuan greeted the elderly man and reminded Guagua.

Before they left, she had told Guagua to call him Great-grandfather, fearing that Guagua might mistakenly call him Grandpa like she did with her and Ah Ning.

Guagua sweetly called out, “Great-grandfather.”

“You’re back, Xiao Chengning. It’s good that you came back. Guagua, right? Grandpa will get you some sugar-coated gourds,” the old man said, standing up and washing his hands before leaving.

Xu Xiangjuan couldn’t help but feel that there were tears in the elderly man’s eyes.

She didn’t know what the family had gone through, so Xu Xiangjuan held Niuniu silently.

Guagua, unwilling to be left out, asked, “Mom, what’s a sugar-coated gourd? Is it also candy?”

“Yes, Great-grandfather will give it to you, and you should just eat it without asking questions, understand?” Xu Xiangjuan replied.

“Understood.”

“Ah Ning, pour the fish soup into the enamel mugs. Don’t forget to bring the mugs home.” She had borrowed these enamel mugs from her mother’s house, and they were the perfect size. If she didn’t return them, her mother would scold her.

Zhou Chengning had stopped holding Guagua’s hand. His free hand wiped the corner of his eye, and he replied with a “Good” before going into the thatched hut to pour the fish soup.

“Mom, Dad cried.”

“Your Dad didn’t cry; it’s just that some sand got in his eyes.”

Guagua didn’t press further about whether her Dad cried or if it was just sand in his eyes. Instead, she asked her Mom what the sugar-coated gourd tasted like.

Of course, the sugar-coated gourd was sweet, Xu Xiangjuan answered.

After waiting for a while and seeing that Zhou Chengning hadn’t come out yet, Xu Xiangjuan went inside to check. “Just pour it into two bowls… Grandpa only has two bowls here?”

When Xu Xiangjuan had first seen the thatched hut, she had already felt it was incredibly simple, but upon entering, she found it even more difficult to believe the sight before her.

A simple wooden bed stood in the room, with a cotton quilt that wasn’t covered properly, revealing the darkened inner cotton stuffing. The elderly man had folded the quilt neatly, which indicated that it would be taken out to air. The quilt was decades old, with cotton stuffing.

The pillow was filled with buckwheat husks. The room was completely visible with no stove in sight. It seemed that meals were cooked using an old stove with a small iron pot placed beside the door.

There was no table in the room, but two large wooden boxes stood there. One of the boxes was used as a table, with bowls and chopsticks placed on top—two rough pottery bowls, one of which had a chip, a small basin filled with pickled vegetables, and a ladle. Next to the box, serving as a table, was a small stool. In the corner, two woven sacks, one large and one small, were placed. They appeared to contain clothes or cotton quilts.

“When I was little, my parents wouldn’t let me study. After finishing my chores, they wouldn’t allow me to read either. I liked coming to Grandpa’s house. My grandpa taught me how to read and write, and he was the one who encouraged me to go to high school. Later, when I wanted to go to college, Grandpa supported me and wrote a letter to my aunt. That’s when my parents finally allowed me to go. But after I graduated from college, my parents didn’t want me to… Anyway, I came back, but I didn’t go home. Grandpa’s heart was broken by my parents. They told me not to come back here, but I know Grandpa wanted me to come back and see him.”

Xu Xiangjuan listened to Zhou Chengning’s words without saying much. She only asked about Grandpa’s whereabouts, “Has Grandpa gone next door to get the sugar-coated gourds?”

Zhou Chengning replied, “Yes, Grandpa has nowhere else to go.”

She handed the now-awake Niuniu to Zhou Chengning. “Is he still not back because they’re stopping him? Here, hold Niuniu like this. I’ll go visit my in-laws or the younger siblings.”

Xu Xiangjuan left, and Guagua, with her short legs, saw her mom leave and immediately followed her.

As soon as Zhou Chengning held the soft, squirming Niuniu, he was at a loss. But since his wife had already gone, he could only brace himself and hold Niuniu in his arms while following her.

As Xu Xiangjuan entered the courtyard, she overheard Zhou Xiaomei’s sarcastic remarks about Grandpa. “Grandpa, Big Sister’s family is rich, and my brother eats and lives off her. They don’t need our sugar-coated gourds. Don’t embarrass yourself by bringing them over.”

Xu Xiangjuan was not one to let things slide. “Our family may be rich, but we’re not richer than yours, right? Look at this courtyard, oh wow, it’s so grand. What’s going on? You all live in a big courtyard, but Grandpa has to live in this small thatched hut?”

Grandpa was already holding two sugar-coated gourds, but Zhou Xiaomei’s little brother had stopped him at home.

Of course, Grandpa couldn’t just refuse to give the sugar-coated gourds, but they couldn’t be given away “for free.” Especially since Grandpa had said that the gourds were for his great-granddaughter.

Great-granddaughter? Little Brother Zhou had just gotten married, and Zhou Xiaomei was still unmarried. Where did a great-granddaughter come from? It was just from that cowardly big brother’s family.

Their family had all seen Xu Xiangjuan’s fierce side and knew that they couldn’t reason with her.

Little Brother Zhou’s wife, on the other hand, was more quiet and at peace. She was cooking pig feed, as their family also raised pigs. After she married, the household chores in the courtyard were left to her, and she did them all.

Little Brother Zhou said, “Grandpa has been living in the thatched hut for twenty or thirty years. Shouldn’t our family be allowed to live in a good courtyard?”

“Look at what my younger brother is saying. Of course, it’s fine for you to live in a good place. I never said you couldn’t. Look at me, just here talking with you all. Why can’t I go in with my daughter and visit? My daughter’s at an age where she loves to eat. She always says she’s hungry. Guagua, let’s go inside. Little Uncle’s and Little Aunt’s house has good food, and you don’t even have little cousins yet. Anything good at Grandpa and Grandma’s house is all yours.”

Guagua was still young, and despite her maturity, she was still limited by her age. When she heard about the delicious food, she naturally cooperated with her mom. “Is it all mine?”

“Yes, it’s all for our Guagua.”

“I want to eat something delicious, the fruit.” Guagua had already fixed her eyes on the Jujube Tree in the courtyard.

“Ah Ning, later when I hold Niuniu, you pick a bowl of jujubes for Guagua to take home, and also some sugar-coated gourds. Don’t just take one or two; if Mom and Dad come back, they’d be willing to let us take a whole bag, wouldn’t they, little brother and sister?”

“Guagua can have as many as she wants. I’ll get her as many as she wants.” Zhou Chengning, for once, spoke assertively in front of his younger siblings.

He wouldn’t scold anyone, and being pressured by filial piety, he had always yielded to his younger siblings. This time, however, he was finally able to speak his mind.

When two extreme personalities clashed, the result was that Xu Xiangjuan and her family were angrily kicked out by Little Brother Zhou and Zhou Xiaomei.

“Here, Guagua, sugar-coated gourd.”

Grandpa Zhou remained silent. He didn’t want to cause a scene, so he had let his grandchildren say their piece. But he hadn’t expected them to behave in such an unreasonable manner, and now he felt as though his grandchildren had completely disappointed him.

Back at home, sitting on the small stool, the sugar-coated gourd was laid out in the old man’s calloused palm.

Guagua stretched out her chubby little hand to grab two sugar-coated gourds. “Thank you, Great-grandfather.”

Guagua wasn’t particularly pale, as she had been sunbaked, but even with a tan, the contrast between her tiny hand and the elderly man’s hand was striking.

The little hand was plump and soft, while the old man’s hand was dark and thin. Xu Xiangjuan, who had already held Niuniu in her arms, turned her gaze away when she saw the scene.

She had experienced life-and-death separations, but when thinking about the elderly man… sigh, everyone would eventually die. Didn’t she die once herself?

Guagua still remembered what her dad had taught her about reciprocity. She took the last fruit candy from her pocket and handed it to Great-grandfather. “Great-grandfather, candy.”

“Guagua is so well-behaved,” Grandpa Zhou said with a kind smile, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepening.

Then, the conversation turned to Zhou Chengning chatting with his grandfather, while Xu Xiangjuan only occasionally interjected. Guagua licked the sugar-coated gourd.

Xu Xiangjuan noticed Guagua eyeing the bracelet and wanting to touch it. As she reached out to stop her, she asked, “Grandpa, where did you get these beads, and how much do you sell them for?”

“The work was found by little brother and sister’s parents. I’m old and can’t work the fields anymore, so I make fifty strings for one penny.”

“Grandpa, you don’t have to work too hard. You should rest every now and then.” Xu Xiangjuan wasn’t familiar with the work and didn’t know how much it was worth, but she could tell that fifty strings for one penny was too little.

However, that was all she could say. There was nothing more she could argue, as they, the younger generation, couldn’t say too much. Grandpa wasn’t senile; he still knew what was going on in his heart.