...
...
From 11 p.m. last night until 2 p.m. today, Jiang Fan stood on the wide provincial highway in his hometown, feeling wave after wave of peace of mind.
certainly,
Everything would be perfect if it weren't for this ongoing downpour.
Jiang Fan got off the bus at an intersection on a provincial highway. Looking north from the intersection, a neat road stretched into the distance like a long snake. On both sides of the not-so-wide rural road were orderly houses. Walking along this road for about two kilometers, you would arrive at the village where Jiang Fan grew up.
Normally, Jiang Fan wouldn't bother anyone with those two kilometers; he could just walk back while listening to music. But the situation is different now. With such heavy rain, if he walks back, by the time he gets home, he'll probably be preparing to go to the clinic for cold medicine the next day.
Jiang Fan called his parents, and they answered, but the content of the conversation left him feeling very sad.
"Fanfan's back! Your dad and I set up our stall today and are packing up now. Call your sister and ask her to drive over and pick you up... *whoosh whoosh whoosh*"
On the other end of the phone, I could hear my parents' voices, the sound of rain, and the voices of hurried passersby; it was very noisy.
Jiang Fan quickly said not to worry and hung up the phone.
Standing under the eaves, recalling the sound of rain from his parents' side, Jiang Fan remained silent for a long time. Then, he sighed, took out his phone, and called his sister.
Jiang Fan's older sister is not his biological sister, but they are closely related by blood. She is the daughter of Jiang Fan's aunt and is nine years older than him. Through Jiang Fan's mother's introduction, she married into her village. Her husband is a knowledgeable and capable man, and most importantly, he has a good temper and is a good person.
My sister arrived quickly in her car.
Because her brother-in-law is hardworking and his family is relatively well-off, the two bought a car after only three years of marriage. This is a good achievement for a rural family, especially for a woman and her brother-in-law who are both born in the 1980s.
Jiang Fan's older sister was very kind to him. When she saw that Jiang Fan was soaked by the rain, she said with concern, "Jiang Fan, it's raining so hard today, why are you dressed so lightly? I have some cold medicine at my house, you can come to my house and get some later."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan said helplessly, "The weather forecast said it would rain lightly, so I didn't think much of it. No need, sister, I have some at home too. I'll just drink some hot water and make myself a cup of cold medicine when I get back."
The older sister, being straightforward, stopped insisting upon hearing this and nodded, saying, "Alright then. By the way, I just passed by your house and saw that your door was closed. Did your parents go to the fair?"
Jiang Fan glanced at the heavy rain outside and said with concern, "Yes, I just called them, they're in a meeting."
The older sister frowned, her thoughts roughly the same as Jiang Fan's.
The journey took only three or four minutes, and they barely exchanged a few words before arriving at their doorstep. After saying a few words to his sister, Jiang Fan opened the car door and got out. It was too rainy to talk, so Jiang Fan waved and quickly ran to the eaves of his house. His sister drove off, and they soon disappeared down the street.
Jiang Fan's house is located at the southernmost part of the village.
In addition to the heavy rain,
So not many people saw Jiang Fan. The rain was still pouring down, but because Jiang Fan's house had a high door, the area in front of the door was clean. Jiang Fan squatted down and put his hand on the right side of the door, where there were some miscellaneous items, among which the house key was hidden.
only,
Jiang Fan fumbled around for several minutes but couldn't find the key.
Jiang Fan wanted to call his parents to ask, but then he thought that his parents, who ran a small business, were packing up their stall at the market in a hurry. Calling them would only disturb them. With that in mind, Jiang Fan put down his phone.
After a day and a night of use, the phone and power bank are almost out of power.
Looking at the battery level, which was less than ten percent, Jiang Fan glanced at the old house, which was only about a hundred meters away, and made a decision in his heart.
Holding his backpack over his head to shield himself from the rain, Jiang Fan quickly ran a few steps to the front of the old house. To his delight, the door was indeed unlocked. He pushed the door open and went inside. Carefully walking through the muddy courtyard, he arrived at the door of the main room and reached out to push it open.
"Creak—"
The old wooden door made a distinctive sound as the door to the main room was opened.
Three years ago, after the new house was built and people moved in, Jiang Fan's family did not leave the old house idle. They left behind the necessary beds, chairs and other daily necessities, and handed the keys to Jiang Fan's second grandfather so that the old man could live there. It was much easier for the old man to eat, as the new house was just a few steps away.
The elderly are not used to locking things.
It was precisely because of this that Jiang Fan, knowing that his second grandfather was not used to locking the door, had the idea of resting in the courtyard for a while.
The main room didn't smell very good; it had a faint damp smell and that musty smell that's typical of old people. But compared to the heavy rain outside, the main room of this old house, with its bed and chairs, was far more comfortable.
The main room was poorly lit, making it appear somewhat dim.
Jiang Fan touched the light cord, pulled it to turn on the light, then found the charging port and plugged in his phone to charge.
Jiang Fan, who had been using his phone to pass the time while bored on the way, was now exhausted and had no interest in playing on his phone anymore.
With his clothes wet, and worried about wetting his second grandfather's bedding, Jiang Fan didn't lie down to rest. Instead, he slowly walked around the main room of the old house, which he didn't visit often, looking for a suitable place to rest.
Thanks to the move,
Many old items were unearthed. In the corner, Jiang Fan saw a large, dark wooden box. Upon seeing the box, a spark of interest rose in Jiang Fan's weary heart. Speaking of the box, it was older than Jiang Fan's grandfather. It was the dowry box that belonged to Jiang Fan's great-grandfather when he got married.
My grandfather wasn't even born yet.
As a child, Jiang Fan was very curious about this all-black box with a brass lock. He thought about opening it to see what was inside, but because he wasn't brave enough as a child, he didn't dare to open the dark and somewhat eerie box.
However, having grown this big, Jiang Fan had already opened it before and knew what was inside.
There were only a few pieces of clothing that were so badly damaged that they were unrecognizable, and nothing else.
Open the wooden box,
Looking at the box big enough to fit him, Jiang Fan, who hadn't slept well all night, suddenly remembered a time when he was a child playing hide-and-seek with his friends at home and hiding in this box. As if possessed, exhausted Jiang Fan slowly sat down inside and then closed the box.
"Splash splash splash!"
The rain continued to fall outside, with occasional rumbles of thunder.