After walking for ten minutes or so, they arrived at the entrance of another courtyard house. The main gate was tall and wide, flanked by two stone lions.
"Have you been here before?" Zhao Yinglan asked Xue Yue.
Xue Yue shook her head.
Zhao Yinglan said, "This is the Li Family estate. It’s where your mother grew up."
Xue Yue paused. She stared at the courtyard house before her, wondering just how much larger it was than the one they currently lived in. It must have several courtyards. ’Did Mom really grow up here?’
Since coming to Beijing City, they had never thought to visit the place where her mother used to live. They had assud the house was surely repossessed by the governnt, and besides, Uncle Zheng had never ntioned it.
An indescribable feeling welled up inside Xue Yue. It was as if she could see her mother, laughing and running out from the gate.
Just then, the main gate opened. Two people ca out, glanced at them, and walked away, leaving the gate wide open.
Zhao Yinglan said to Xue Yue, "Co on, let’s go inside and take a look."
Xue Yue was still thinking that this must be soone else’s ho now. ’Will we be chased out if we go in?’ she wondered. To her surprise, the sight that greeted them once they stepped through the main gate was stunning.
It wasn’t the quaint, traditional architecture with multiple courtyards she had imagined. Instead, miscellaneous junk was piled up everywhere. She could hear voices from within, and it seed like many different families were living there.
The two of them walked down the corridor until an old woman called out, "Eldest Miss?" The woman then approached, leaning on a cane. Her hair was streaked with gray, her face was covered in wrinkles, and her back was hunched. She looked at Xue Yue and said, "Eldest Miss, you’re finally back. Where have you been? The Master and Madam have been worried sick looking for you."
Xue Yue stared at her in surprise.
"Eldest Miss, don’t you recognize ? It’s this old servant."
Xue Yue was about to say the woman had the wrong person when Zhao Yinglan called out, "Sister-in-law Fang?"
The old woman turned to look at Zhao Yinglan. She wiped her eyes, staring in disbelief.
Zhao Yinglan said to her, "Sister-in-law Fang, it’s , Zhao Yinglan! I’m Li Wan Yi’s friend. I used to visit all the ti. I loved the mung bean cakes you made."
"Oh my, it really is Miss Yinglan! You’ve changed so much, I almost didn’t recognize you. Are you and the Eldest Miss back for a visit? This place isn’t what it used to be. The governnt repossessed it years ago and then divided it up among all these people. There are more than ten families living here now."
Zhao Yinglan nodded. "She’s not Li Wan Yi. She’s Li Wan Yi’s daughter."
Sister-in-law Fang stared at Xue Yue in astonishnt. "So the Eldest Miss’s daughter is already all grown up... Is your mother doing well? Why didn’t she co back?"
Xue Yue said slowly, "My mother has already passed away."
Hearing this, Sister-in-law Fang’s eyes instantly turned red. "That explains it. The Eldest Miss was the kindest person. I wondered why she wouldn’t co back for a visit... It’s because she’s gone."
"Sister-in-law Fang, are you living here now too?"
Sister-in-law Fang wiped away a tear and nodded. "Yes, they assigned us a place here too. Co, co to my ho for a drink of water. Stay for lunch."
Zhao Yinglan shook her head. "No, maybe next ti. We’re just passing through and have other things to do."
Sister-in-law Fang looked at them with a hint of regret. "Alright then. Your business is more important. You must co visit when you have ti."
"Okay."
After they left, Zhao Yinglan said to Xue Yue, "Sister-in-law Fang used to be a servant for the Li Family. I never expected to see her again."
Xue Yue nodded, turning back to look at the courtyard one more ti.
"You know of the Zheng family, right? Their ho isn’t far from here either."
Xue Yue nodded. "Yes, Uncle Zheng took us there once."
Zhao Yinglan sighed. "Ti flies. Coming back here, it feels like I can still see us as children. In the blink of an eye, we’re over fifty, and your mother is gone... By the way, I asked Zheng Guofeng about it, but he wasn’t very clear. Can you tell how your mother passed away? Co on, let’s find a place to sit and talk."
They found a teahouse nearby, and Xue Yue gave Zhao Yinglan an abridged version of the story as she knew it.
After Xue Yue finished, she saw Zhao Yinglan staring blankly at the teacup in her hands. She, too, remained silent.
"I never thought it would be like that. Fate is truly cruel. But it’s a good thing you ran into Zheng Guofeng. And you have a brother, too. When can I et him?"
"My brother works at the Public Security Bureau. We can arrange a ti whenever you’re free, and I’ll bring him to et you."
Zhao Yinglan nodded. "I haven’t been back in so long, and there are so many people I want to see. We should arrange a ti for everyone to get together."
"You should discuss it with Uncle Zheng. We’re free whenever."
"Mm."
「At noon,」 Zhao Yinglan took Xue Yue to an old restaurant.
"I can’t believe this place is still open. A few of us used to co here all the ti. Wen Yuanbo was the only one who didn’t like it, that old fuddy-duddy, but we’d always drag him along anyway."
At the ntion of Wen Yuanbo, Zhao Yinglan seed to space out for a mont.
Xue Yue could see that sothing seed to be on her mind.
The food service here was very slow.
Zhao Yinglan placed so food in Xue Yue’s bowl with her chopsticks. "Try this Sautéed Liver. It’s exceptionally good. No one else can make it with this flavor. It’s the taste I’ve missed all these years I’ve been abroad."
Xue Yue took a bite. It was indeed delicious.
「In the afternoon,」 the two of them visited several other places. Zhao Yinglan led the way, taking Xue Yue to nearly all the spots they used to frequent. From Zhao Yinglan’s stories, Xue Yue learned about a different side of her mother.
A lively, cheerful woman, so different from the gentle, quiet mother she rembered.
The more she learned about their past, the more Xue Yue began to understand the bond between Uncle Zheng and her mother. So people were truly worth rembering for a lifeti.
Eventually, they were too tired to walk anymore, and only then did Zhao Yinglan suggest heading back.
They went to the clothing store to pick up their things, along with everything else they had bought throughout the afternoon, and then returned to the hotel.
Xue Yue hadn’t planned on going up to the room, but Zhao Yinglan insisted, saying she had a gift for her, and pulled her along.
Zhao Yinglan gave Xue Yue a handbag. Xue Yue had heard of the brand before; she thought it was a foreign luxury label.
"Aunt Zhao, this is too expensive. I can’t accept it."
Zhao Yinglan pressed it on her. "What’s so expensive about it? I’m giving it to you, so just take it. There’s sothing else inside the bag, too. You can look at it when you get ho. I’ll have Luo Sen drive you."
Xue Yue waved her hands in refusal. "I can just take the bus."
Zhao Yinglan pursed her lips. "Aren’t you tired? I can barely move my feet. It’s just a quick drive. Don’t be so formal."
With that, she went to call for Luo Sen, telling him to take Xue Yue ho.
Xue Yue found it hard to refuse. In truth, she was exhausted too. Zhao Yinglan seed nothing like a woman in her fifties, neither in her appearance nor her energy level.
When she got ho, He Lang hadn’t returned yet, and Mrs. He wasn’t there either. At this ti of day, she had probably gone to pick up the kids from school.
Xue Yue changed her clothes and sat down. She rubbed her calves and noticed the bag from Zhao Yinglan on the table.
Xue Yue picked it up and felt the material. It seed to be so kind of leather. She opened it and, sure enough, there was sothing else inside.
She pulled out several boxes.
She opened one. To her astonishnt, it was a Rolex watch. Still surprised, she proceeded to open the other boxes. There was a silk scarf, a bottle of perfu, and a pearl necklace. Xue Yue stared at the items, silent for a long ti.
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