Fang Zi had been away from home for many years, but he was clearly very familiar with this emerging metropolis. He fiddled with his phone while showing Xiang Lan around, and the itinerary was very comfortable. During this time, Liu Zewen called several times to inquire about the meeting with the elders. After Xiang Lan gave him a brief explanation, she became even more worried.
"Why did you only meet at the hotel and not even have a meal together?"
"This is so strange. Fang Zi is so willful, don't his family members do anything about it?"
"Those bracelets are very nice, you must keep them safe and don't lose them."
Xiang Lan was being perfunctory with Liu Zewen. What was so strange about that? Everyone's family situation was different. Everyone was being polite to each other, and she felt extremely relaxed.
Along the way, she picked out some local specialties from Haicheng and bought them to bring back as souvenirs for everyone.
The next day, Fang Zidu took her to a small alley in the old town to see her grandfather.
At the entrance of the alley, there was a cake shop. Fangzi went in and picked out a few kinds to buy, saying, "This one is not sweet or greasy, Grandpa only eats this one."
The shop owner seemed to know him well, exchanging a few words with him and whispering something into the doorway. Xiang Lan didn't understand a word, but when she saw a head peeking out from inside, she immediately shrank back inside.
As soon as Xiang Lan entered the narrow alley, she sensed something was wrong. Heads kept peeking out from both sides of the narrow street, middle-aged and elderly people of all kinds, men and women, secretly pointing and whispering about Fang Zi. There were also teenagers, not quite ten years old, laughing and pushing each other, trying to strike up a conversation.
What puzzled Xiang Lan even more was that Fang Zi was not a slow-witted person, but he had the ability to ignore everything and leisurely walk from one end of the alley to the other.
At the end of the alley is a dead end, with a large tree that can be embraced by several people. Under the tree is a chessboard, and several old men are sitting around it playing chess.
Fangzi pointed out one of the men with a full head of white hair to her, saying, "That's Grandpa."
The old folks were clearly delighted to see him and tried to pull him down to sit and compose poems, but Grandpa refused.
Grandpa's face was full of wrinkles, and he didn't seem to talk much. When he heard Xiang Lan call him, he just squinted at her, nodded after a while, and then carried his small stool home.
"Grandpa, don't you like me?" Xiang Lan asked in a low voice, a little uneasy, while pulling Fangzi along.
"No, he's always been like this, he doesn't like to talk."
Going up the narrow stairs to the second floor, you'll find a small suite with three rooms. The furniture is very old, but it's very clean.
He rushed towards Lan, pointed to the sofa, meaning "sit," and sat down.
"Go wash the fruit," Grandpa said to Fang Zidu.
After Fangzi left, Xiang Lan and her grandfather faced each other. He looked at her and asked, "You two are married?"
"Yes, Grandpa."
"Thanks a lot."
She was surprised and murmured, "It's not hard work."
He slowly organized things on the wooden shelf in the main room. Xiang Lan didn't know whether to get up to help or just sit there. While she was hesitating, her grandfather handed her a small wooden box, saying, "This is for you, take it."
"Grandpa, no need." The two of them were empty-handed, carrying only a little bit of cake. Taking his things would make it seem like they had come specifically to ask for gifts, which was not appropriate.
"It's for you." The old woman placed the small box on the coffee table next to her.
I thanked Xiang Lan, but after thanking him, I didn't know what to say. I was hoping that the prescription would come out soon, but I wondered how he was washing the fruit, as it had been several minutes.
Seeing that she was bored, the old man took out an old photo album from the shelf. "This is from Zidu, look."
She immediately perked up and took it.
The photo album started with Fang Zidu's one-month birthday, one photo per year until he was five or six, when the intervals became closer, with many photos in a year. He was beautiful from a young age, looking like a little girl even in boys' clothes, and his expression was always different from the other children in group photos. Later, the photos became more of everyday life pictures, showing him happy, crying, and even annoyed, until one photo with the caption "Tenth Birthday Celebration" showed him finally becoming different.
"Where was this photo taken?" In the photo, his lips are pursed tightly, he looks tense, and his eyes show stubbornness and repression.
"Under the big tree at the entrance of the alley, his father came to take him home so he could study elsewhere."
"oh--"
"What about this one?" Xiang Lan pointed to the eleven-year-old photo.
“He came over to play when he was in the third year of junior high school.”
"What about this one?" The twelve-year-old lingered.
"I'm in high school now, but I don't want to study anymore, so I came to learn letter carving from you."
"Why don't you want to study anymore?" Xiang Lan didn't understand.
"He was the shortest and smallest in the class, but had the best grades, and didn't have many friends."
"Then what should we do?"
"He figured out a solution himself."
"How do we solve this?"
"Finish high school as soon as possible and go to university."
The interesting thing about looking at old photos is that you can not only see the passage of time in the pictures, but also see some past events, a person's life. She turned back to the first page, a chubby little baby, with dark eyes and a smiling mouth. The world in his eyes must be so beautiful.
She was somewhat tempted, if only there were a child like him—
"His mother is busy with work, and his father is unreliable. They've always treated him like an adult since he was little. Even at just three or four years old, if his toy was taken away, he'd figure out how to get it back himself. They call it some kind of education—"
"If you're ostracized at school, you don't go to the teacher to report it; you just try to solve it on your own."
“That’s how he got into this personality. He never tells his family anything and makes all the decisions himself. He did it the same way when he got married and when he had children—” The old man pulled out another box. “These are toys he carved when he was a child. They’re very cute.”
"Can I have it?"
"Take it, I have no use for it."
Xiang Lan immediately took the box over. Inside were all sorts of tiny wooden toys, about the size of a finger. They looked very childish, as they were made by children.
"Do you two get along well?"
"fine."
"He's a bit stubborn, don't push him, otherwise he'll drift further and further away and never come back. Right now, his dad can't do anything about him—"
Xiang Lan was a little alarmed when she thought about how he had taken the initiative to bring up the so-called DINK (Double Income No Kids) concept with his parents. Then, recalling what her mother-in-law had said when they first met, she said, "Zi Du is very proactive in doing things."
"He's smart and good at everything, so he's not used to accepting other people's opinions."
"Time for fruit." Fangzi finally brought out the fruit, which turned out to be apples and pears that had all been peeled and chopped.
"Grandpa showed me your photos and toys."
"Is that all?" He glanced at it. "Grandpa, did you lose the rest?"
"It was given away."
"Who is it for?"
"Those little kids in the alley," Grandpa said, moving his lips. "The books and notebooks were given away to the studious ones, quite a few girls came to ask for photos, and some who had just had babies came to ask for their toys."
Why?
"superstitious."
Xiang Lan laughed heartily and used a toothpick to cut a piece of apple for him, saying, "Grandpa, you can have this."
Grandpa took the apple and said, "They all want a little kid like Zidu."
Fang Zidu chatted with his grandfather for a while, played three games of chess, and then the old man went downstairs to eat, so he saw the two of them off.
Xiang Lan took his hand and slowly led him through the shikumen gate. "Why does the old man live here alone?"
"My old neighbors from decades ago are still here. Staying here is more meaningful than staying in a nursing home."
"Don't you live with your parents?"
“They’re quite busy, so living with them is not as good as living in a nursing home.”
"Then—" Xiang Lan asked, puzzled, "their children don't seem to be any good either."
"Yes, when people get old, their spouse and old friends are better at relieving loneliness; children are not important."
“But—” Xiang Lan said, somewhat confused, “If he looked like you, I would like him a lot too.”
Following Fang Haoping's instructions, the two went to a clothing store in the city center to look at wedding dresses. Since the bride was to prepare her own wedding dress, the store only made a few traditional Chinese-style dresses. They tried them on briefly, found the sizes were suitable, and didn't raise any other objections, which was considered acceptable.
Fang Zi had already bought return tickets. This time, she was lucky enough to get two seats on the other side of the train. After boarding, the two of them lay down and rested comfortably. Midway through the journey, Hu Li sent her a text message saying, "Xiang Lan, I'm pregnant. I'm going to the hospital to register for prenatal care. Do you want to come along?"
Xiang Lan read the text message, then turned her head to look at Fang Zidu's peaceful, sleeping face. He looked so obedient and well-behaved that you couldn't tell he had an independent soul inside him. She replied, "Okay, see you at the hospital entrance at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
When the two arrived at their apartment building, it was already late at night. Xiang Lan was so hungry that she couldn't wait to go home and cook, so she chose a clean little shop and went in to eat noodles.
Fang Zidu watched her eat heartily and suddenly asked, "Don't you want to throw up?"
Xiang Lan paused for a moment, then jumped up laughing, "Really? I haven't thrown up in the last few days!"
"You're all better now."
"I'm all better!" she cheered, feeling refreshed as the whole world seemed to awaken.
"Try a slice of meat." Fangzi picked out a thin slice of beef for her.
She swallowed it in one gulp, saying, "Delicious." Then, she reached into his bowl with her chopsticks and unceremoniously scooped all the slices of beef from under him into her own bowl.
"My sister-in-law is pregnant and is coming to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up and to register her pregnancy. She asked me to go with her."
"What do you mean by 'establishing a file'?"
"It's about getting the medical records for the pregnant woman and the baby at the hospital. The doctor will schedule the prenatal check-up times according to the due date. Last time Xiang Yuan took me there, the doctor said it was too early. This time, I've calculated the time, and it should be about right."
Do you want me to come with you?
"No need," Xiang Lan said playfully. "I'm with my sister-in-law. If you're not around, I can easily swipe her card and spend her money."
"Why should we spend her money?" Fang Zi asked, puzzled. "Aren't you broke? I have some here—"
"How much money do you have left? Children are expensive."
"I'll have a salary and funding soon."
"How many?"
Fang Zidu gave a rough estimate, and Xiang Lan paused for a moment before saying, "You mean, I don't need to use my sister-in-law's card anymore?"
"No need."
“Poverty-stricken couples face a hundred sorrows—” she sighed. “Money really can solve most problems, that’s wonderful.”
Seeing her feigned seriousness, he reached out and touched her hair. "What are you thinking about?"
Xiang Lan chuckled. How could she possibly admit that she was worried about his ability to make money?