On the fifth day of the New Year, Mi Yang followed Cheng Qing back to Shanhai Town.
Mi Zehai did not go with them this time as he still had to work. Little girl Mi Xue had also signed up for an interest class and would be sent to the Children's Palace to study during this period. Only Cheng Qing and Mi Yang, mother and son, went back to visit the elderly.
Cheng Qing hadn't been back for a long time. When he arrived this time, he noticed that Shanhai Town had changed.
The town has started building tourist attractions in the past two years, and the house demolition has been basically completed. The original houses have been moved to collective buildings closer to the city. There are villas and foreign-style houses in the front and high-rise buildings in the back. The road has also been widened and repaired, making it much more convenient to go to the city.
Cheng Qing didn't expect it to be so well built. She was very surprised when she saw it along the way. Mi Yang joked with her, "Mom, grandma's family has also moved away. Can you guess where we live now?"
Cheng Qing smiled and said, "You can't stump me. Your grandma was afraid that I wouldn't be able to find the way, so she drew a map for me. Besides, the old elm tree in our yard is still there. It's so tall, you can tell where it is at a glance."
When Mrs. Cheng moved, she took the old tree with her. In the spring, when the elm seeds were in full bloom, they were green and very attractive. Sometimes the old lady had a poor appetite and liked to eat something fresh. She picked some and mixed them with flour, steamed them, and added some chopped mustard tuber, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame seeds. It tasted just right. Cheng Qing also had feelings for the old tree. As they walked, he said to Mi Yang, "The year I was born, there was a famine. I heard that people even ate tree bark in other places. It was not so bad in our family, especially because we had an elm tree at home, so we could have something to eat. This tree was also very good. It produced a lot of elm seeds that spring, which saved several families!"
Mi Yang asked her: "Did you also mix it with flour and steam it to eat it at that time?"
Cheng Qing laughed and said, "What are you thinking about? It's good enough if we can mix some cornmeal and sweet potato flour at home. And it doesn't have to be just elm seeds, we have to mix some leaves in there, as long as we don't starve to death. Haven't you noticed that your dad doesn't even want to eat sweet potatoes now? He was afraid of eating them when he was a kid, haha!"
Mi Yang also smiled. When he looked forward, he saw a tall and straight tree stretching out from the yard of a small villa in front. In winter, all the leaves had fallen off, leaving only bare branches. While he was still trying to identify it, Cheng Qing beside him had already confirmed: "We're here, this is the house!"
Mi Yang was a little surprised: "You can recognize it like this?"
Cheng Qing smiled and said, "It's my own home, why can't I recognize it? I have climbed that tree since I was a child, and I recognize it better than I recognize you!"
After walking a few steps forward, I found that it was indeed Mrs. Cheng's house.
The one who opened the door was the third sister, Cheng Ru, who married in Shanhai Town and visited the old lady the most. During the Chinese New Year, she came every two or three days to deliver New Year's goods. This morning, she received a call from Cheng Qing and came to wait for her eldest sister. The two sisters hadn't seen each other for a long time, and they were very affectionate when they met. Cheng Ru took the bag from her eldest sister, and even gave up her favorite nephew, and kept talking to her sister. It was as if she had returned to the days when she was a little girl, and she had endless things to say to her sister.
"I prepared the rooms for you two days ago. Our mom is very partial. She reserved rooms for you all, and Yangyang also has a separate room, but she didn't leave any for me! She made me angry, so she bought the house next door. I have to ask the old lady every day why she is so partial! We are all girls, why don't I have a place in town?" Cheng Ru was still complaining to her sister, but she couldn't hide her smile. "Sister, do you want to come to our house and buy one? This house is cheap. It's also worthwhile to leave one for Yangyang. An apartment is less than 30,000 yuan, and a villa is only 170,000 yuan."
Cheng Qing was surprised and asked, "So cheap?"
Cheng Ru was quick to speak. As they walked, he talked to his elder sister about the house: "Only you think it's cheap. It's still expensive here! Many families don't want it. Didn't the city distribute houses at the beginning of the year? Aren't there people waiting for their work units to distribute houses and want to live in the city?"
Mi Yang thought about the housing prices in the future. In fact, the prices in the suburbs were not low. He bought a house in the new city area at that time, and the price per square meter was 15,000 or 16,000 yuan. Now a house only costs about 100,000 yuan, which is a price that was only available more than ten years ago.
After Cheng Ru finished speaking, he laughed and said, "Look at my memory. I almost forgot that Yang Yang's grandfather also bought a house."
Cheng Qing didn't know about this, so when he heard it, he asked hurriedly, "Did my father-in-law buy it too?"
Cheng Ru said, "That's right. I also heard about it a few days ago. But it's strange that after buying it, they didn't live in it. They still live in the cabin over there with the forest ranger."
Cheng Qing sighed and said, "Yes, he has become more and more withdrawn in the past two years. During the last Mid-Autumn Festival, Mi Zehai went to spend the holiday with him, and he was kicked out when he asked to take him to live with him. It's not easy for the old man, and he feels miserable. Let him live his life as he wants."
Mi Hong bought a house but refused to live in it himself, obviously wanting to leave it to his children and grandchildren.
Just thinking about this, Mi Yang felt a little uncomfortable.
He thought of it, and Cheng Qing naturally thought of it too. After taking a short rest at home, he immediately went to visit him.
Mrs. Cheng seemed to have never seen enough of her eldest daughter since she came into the family. When Cheng Qing was about to leave, she subconsciously followed him. The third daughter, Cheng Ru, said angrily, "Mom, my sister is going back to her husband's house, why are you following her?"
Old Mrs. Cheng blushed: "Oh, I forgot, I just wanted to go and take a look, it's been a long time since I visited my in-laws..."
Cheng Ru held her hand and said with a smile, "You want to visit your in-laws so much? That's great. Go back to my in-laws' house. My mother-in-law was talking about letting you stay for two days a few days ago. I also made a set of eight-immortal table and chairs for you. Take a look and see if they are comfortable to use. If you like them, bring them back."
Old Mrs. Cheng was held back by her and had to stay at home. Cheng Ru winked at her sister, and Cheng Qing immediately smiled and took Mi Yang with her.
Mi Hong lived in a small wooden house in the camphor forest. It was a small house with only two and a half rooms in total. The half room was a pavilion where people could sit in the summer, and in the winter, coal and firewood were piled up and neatly stacked there.
Cheng Qing brought him a lot of things, some of which were brought from Shanghai, and some were vegetables and fruits from home. She knocked on the door and called several times before Mi Hong opened the door, but when he saw the things in their hands, he frowned and said, "I don't need these, so leave the basket of vegetables and take the rest back."
His voice was cold and hard, and he didn't become any friendlier just because Cheng Qing was his daughter-in-law.
Before Cheng Qing could say anything else, Mi Yang had already left the basket of vegetables behind and put the rest outside without bringing them in. He smiled and said, "Grandpa, I'm here to wish you a happy new year!"
Mi Hong's expression eased a little, and he nodded at him and said, "Come in, it's cold outside, it's warmer inside."
A stove was lit in the cabin, and an iron kettle of boiling water was placed on it, with bubbles bubbling away.
Mi Hong brought them cups, and Mi Yang went over to help make tea. He spent more time with Mi Hong and understood some of his habits, so he did these things very smoothly. Cheng Qing sat there and chatted with Mi Hong carefully, but it was good enough that Mi Hong answered one out of three questions she asked. The old man's personality was even colder than before, except when Mi Yang asked him about his craftsmanship in a low voice, he could say a few more words.
Cheng Qing wanted to say something, but she knew nothing about these crafts, so she just sat there and listened. Occasionally, she would get a word in, and then she would ask, "Dad, is there anything you need at home? Zehai asked me to bring you some..."
Mi Hong said: "No."
Cheng Qing bit the last word "money" and didn't dare to say it out loud.
Mi Hong looked up at her and said, "Yangyang, stay and talk to me. You should go back first. It's not easy to come all the way here. Go and stay with your mother."
Cheng Qing thought about it, nodded and said with a smile: "Hey! Then let Yangyang stay here for dinner. He has learned how to cook recently and his cooking is very good. You can try his cooking skills!"
Mi Hong nodded.
Cheng Qing didn't say anything polite and went back first. Most of the gifts he brought had to be taken away. Since the old man in the wooden house said he didn't want them, then he really wouldn't accept them.
Mi Yang stayed to accompany him and asked him all the questions he had accumulated before. Seeing that it was almost time, he rolled up his sleeves, packed up the dishes he had brought, and cooked two or three of his signature dishes on the small stove for the old man.
Mi Yang smiled and said, "Grandpa, wait a minute. This dish of mine is a secret of the Cheng family, passed down to girls but not boys. I learned it secretly! Please eat more when it's ready."
After a busy period, I made two dishes and a soup, one was eggplant with minced meat, one was yam with black fungus, and the other was winter melon and pork ribs soup.
They were all the light flavors that Mi Hong liked to eat on a daily basis. The dishes were ready and the rice in the rice cooker was just right. Mi Yang served the rice and sat down to eat with the old man.
Mi Hong took a bite and praised it as an exception: "You can cook now, that's good."
Mi Yang smiled and said, "Is it better than what my dad made? When Xiaoxue gave the score that day, I scored the highest in our family except for my mom."
Mi Hong's mouth moved and he nodded, "Well done, it will be easier to find a wife in the future."
Mi Yang sat opposite and laughed again.
The old man said these two sentences during the meal. He didn't eat much and looked thinner than before, but as a forest ranger who needed to go out frequently, he looked tougher, like a candle that had burned to its last bit, quiet and silent, but standing there steadily, fulfilling his promise.
After dinner, Mi Hong urged Mi Yang to go back as well, as his place was too small and there was no place for him to stay.
Mi Yang walked away two steps and then quietly went back to take a peek. He was worried about the old man being here alone. Although there was water and electricity, he still felt sorry for Mi Hong, an old man, being all alone.
Through the window, one could see Mi Hong hunching over and carefully wiping the table, then placing a palm-sized photo frame on the table and talking to the photo inside.
Mi Yang couldn't hear what he said through the window, but when the old man talked in a low voice, his expression was serious and his eyes were much softer.
Mi Hong never pursues pleasure, and the only thing he desires is probably the person who shares his joys and sorrows with him.
That person was gone, and he himself had nothing to want.
The old man handles his chores neatly every day. To him, he is actually looking forward to going to another world. He has no fear, only full of expectation, looking forward to reuniting with the person he has been guarding for many years in that other world.
He talked to the photo frame for a while, and a rare smile moved on his stern old face. He raised his hand and carefully wiped the photo frame. His fingers fell on the photo and he couldn't help stroking it, and called her name softly.
Mi Yang looked at it for a while, felt relieved, and left quietly.