The next day.

Today, the 1st of October, was a National Day. There was a 10-day vacation from school. Jian Mei could finally go back to his grandfather’s house to play. His classmates in the class asked some people to go to the playground. Of course, some people politely asked him if he was going, but after experiencing some things, Jian Mei was still willing to go back to the village to stay in his grandpa’s small medicine shed.

The road in the village was a bit remote. When he arrived at the entrance of the village, many people had just returned from the fields and greeted him when they saw him.

“Meimei is back!”

“This child seems to be a lot taller.”

“The cucumbers that auntie just picked from the fields are very fresh. Take them and have a taste.”

“Bring some of this back, I remember that your grandfather likes this..”

The distance from the entrance of the village to their home wasn’t long. Jian Mei would walk then he would stop, it was a bit too much for him to hold, but he was actually used to it. His grandpa was kind and generous. He would often treat the lonely and widowed elderly in the village for free. Nowadays, most young people would go to work in the city. The ones who would stay were either women, children, or the elderly alone at home. There was a long distance to the hospital from the village. If someone had a minor or serious illness, they would go to Elder Jian to check.

When Jian Mei arrived at the door of their house, he happened to see the tabby cat Lihua sashaying gait of a catwalk not far away. He squatted down and said, “Xiaoli, where did you come from?”

The tabby cat just glanced at him coldly and entered the door.

Jian Mei held the fruits in his arms and followed Xiaoli’s pace. Once he entered the door, he shouted, “Grandpa!”

The old man who was sitting and taking a nap on a rocking chair was surprised. He looked up at him and smiled, “Oh, Meimei came back to see grandpa during vacation?”

Jian Mei asked, “Where do I put these fruits and vegetables? ”

“Just put it in the sink next to the well.” The old man said as fanned his palm-leaf fan, “Wash two cucumbers and eat them.”

“Oh, okay.”

Jian Mei put his small backpack on the table, then he ran over and squatted by the pool to wash the cucumbers. He asked, “Grandpa when I came back today, I saw Aunt Li. She was breathing a bit heavy and I saw her cough a few times. I think once it got colder in autumn, her asthma will worsen a lot.”

“Looking, hearing, asking, and cutting. Everything is indispensable.” The old man closed his eyes and said, “But she’s also suffering from an old problem. You can go to the backyard to get some medicine and show it to me later. Don’t make a mistake.”

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The doctors were busy working in their own department and operating table all year round, and Shen Meina would also rush across the country. Jian Mei had been raised in the countryside since childhood and had a very close relationship with his grandpa.

Jian Mei agreed, then he came over and handed him a cucumber. “Grandpa, try it.”

The cucumber was juicy and tender, and it was still a little sweet after being washed with the well water. The old man said emotionally, “This year’s season is good. The heavens blessed us with food, and the harvest is also bountiful. The herbs on the mountain also grew well. Even these fruits and vegetables are delicious.”

Jian Mei was sitting at the nearby small stool. He watched the chickens wandering around inside the fence not far away and mumbled to himself, “Grandpa, you don’t farm at all. Aren’t all these things sent by grandpas or aunts?”

The old man scoffed. “What does a mischievous child like you understand?”

“I understand ah!” Jian Mei took a bite of the cucumber. The breeze gently blew past the vines, Jian Mei’s eyes were bent crescent-like then he said softly, “Because grandpa doesn’t want to discourage the grandpas from visiting the doctor.”

Maybe only people in the village would have this kind of tacit understanding of each other.

Some elderly people in the village had lost their ability to work. Fortunately, their children were still alive, but some of their children died early and they had no source of income.

Whether they have a serious illness or minor illness, in order to support themselves, they wouldn’t dare to enter the clinic or find a doctor.

No one knew about the old man’s savings, but he definitely had no worries about food and clothing. However, he still accepted the fruits and vegetables from the neighbors in the village even nothing happened. In this way, people who were sick would come to see him without any hesitation.

The old man ate the cucumber slowly and said emotionally, “When your grandma was still here, she loved to grow these flowers and plants.”

Jian Mei became curious. “I haven’t heard this from you.”

His grandma passed away early. The couple was very affectionate toward each other. No one in the family dared to mention this sad thing. Since childhood, Jian Mei had only seen her photos on his grandfather’s bedside table.

The old man smiled. “You want to see it ah.”

Jian Mei nodded earnestly.

“Come here.”

The old man stood up and walked into the house while Jian Mei followed after him step by step. Inside the study room, there was a securely locked cabinet from where the old man took out a photo album. The photo album was a bit yellowish and should have been from many years ago. After opening the photo album, the old photos inside were still well preserved.

“This one..is a Queen of the Night planted by your grandmother. It’s the first time it has bloomed.”

Jian Mei sat on the sofa, snuggling up next to his grandpa, and then he pointed to the photo. “What about this one?”

“This is an Aster grown by your grandmother.” The old man’s smile was gentle and kind. “I told her that there are many of this in the mountains, but she didn’t listen. She said that it will be good to plant it at home.”

His words seemed to blame her but it was still full of doting.

Jian Mei’s eyes curled up as he looked at the photo. “Grandma is so beautiful.”

There was a ceaseless pride in the old man’s tone. “That’s right. She was the most beautiful among the nearby eight villages.

Jian Mei laughed and listened quietly to the old man talking about his and his wife’s old memories. In fact, he had gotten older over the years and couldn’t remember many things clearly, but when he saw the photos, he could tell every background and story behind it in detail. He held these memories over the years and had thought of every detail countless times in his mind. It was also these memories that would accompany him through the rest of his life.

“Ai,?it’s A-li.”

“It’s not A-li, it’s A-li’s mother.”

“So A-li’s mother was at home when she was young?”

“That’s right.” The old man looked at the kitten in the photo. “I went to the mountains to collect herbs that year. This tabby cat broke its leg and was picked up by your grandmother. It has been kept at home since then. It’s very sticky and always pestered your grandma wherever she goes.”

Jian Mei asked, “Then is it dead?”

The old man’s action of flipping through the photo album paused before he nodded slightly. “Your grandma was sick and got hospitalized and wasn’t at home. The cat didn’t eat or drink. After your grandma passed away, it started to eat again and disappeared for a few months. Then one day it came back and was pregnant, it gave birth to one kitten which is A-li, and left.”

Jian Mei couldn’t understand it at first. “Where did it go?”

The old man paused before reaching out his hand to touch Jian Mei’s head. He said with a gentle tone, “It went to your grandma.”

The curtain in the house gently fluttered in the wind. The tabby cat slowly walked in from the outside, it turned around and jumped on the sofa. Finally, it lay down slowly on the old man’s lap.

The old man touched A-li’s head and said softly, “A-li, thank you for staying with me for your mother for more than ten years.”

The tabby cat flicked its lazily.

The old man was getting older and tend to get sleepy often. He said he would look through the photo album, but soon he leaned on the sofa, his eyes squinted, and fell asleep. Jian Mei didn’t bother him. He brought a blanket from the study to cover him and lightened his steps along the way for fear of waking him up.

He went to the other side of the window, then he continued to look at the photo album.

The album was very thick. Afterward, as he turned the pages, he saw the photos of his parents, his own and his brother’s photos. His brother’s childhood photos came first, before his own photos. Jian Mei was looking at in a daze when he felt his phone vibrate slightly. He took it out and saw it was Lu Xingwang’s reply: [Pay attention to safety on the road.]

He sent out a message to Lu Xingwang in the morning, saying that he was going back to the countryside, but this person hadn’t replied to him until now.

Jian Mei paid no mind and still told him, “I’ve arrived. I’m now looking through the photo album at grandpa’s study room. They’re all photos of me when I was a child and it’s fun. Do you want to see it?”

Lu Xingwang was looking at the accessories of the new mecha in the mecha assembling room. After glancing at the message, he replied coldly: [Busy.]

Jian Mei sighed and typed to reply to him. “Then okay ba. When I was young, I don’t know why but my mother always liked to raise me as a girl. She would let me wear a skirt to take pictures. I wanted to show it to you, now forget it ba.”

....

There was a silence over there for a long time.

After that, Lu Xingwang sent him a message.

[I’m done.]