When Liu Nanfeng's old house was demolished and rebuilt, a courtyard was enclosed.
However, instead of flowers, the courtyard was planted with vegetables by Yu Huilan.
Scallions, chives, chilies, and eggplants – everyday vegetables – could be picked fresh from the yard whenever they were wanted.
"Nanfeng, get me some scallions," Yu Huilan called from the kitchen.
"Oh, okay," Liu Nanfeng replied, getting up to pick them.
Beside him, Liu Zonghe was talking with Zhan Zhongxiao.
Liu Nanfeng’s appearance resembled Liu Zonghe, with subtle similarities in their features, though Liu Zonghe was thinner and less sturdy than Liu Nanfeng.
"You're still so fat, you should lose some weight. Being thinner would be better, and you'd be more handsome, more attractive to girls."
"Uncle, it's in our family's nature. You've seen my dad's physique, he can't get thin."
"That's true. How is your dad? Still that fat? Money can't buy leanness in old age. Being too fat leads to high blood pressure and high cholesterol."
"He's very well, eats several bowls a day."
"That's good. I haven't seen your dad in many years. If there's a chance, I'd still like to have a drink with him."
"There will be a chance."
...
Liu Nanfeng brought a bunch of scallions to the kitchen. Yu Huilan was busy inside, with Su Jinxiu helping out beside her.
"Take your wife out. She doesn't need to help here; she's just getting in the way," Yu Huilan said immediately upon seeing Liu Nanfeng enter.
"Mom, how can you say that? I want to chat with you too," Su Jinxiu said playfully.
"What else can I say? If I say it, you won't listen. In this heat, why are we all crowded in the kitchen?"
"It's fine, I don't mind the heat. I haven't seen you in a long time, I just want to talk to you."
"Okay... okay..."
Yu Huilan was overjoyed by her coaxing.
Liu Nanfeng, holding the scallions, was about to wash them when Su Jinxiu took them.
"Let me do it. You go out, don't be a hindrance here."
"You..."
Seeing Su Jinxiu being so considerate of her husband, Yu Huilan chided her for not being more assertive.
"Mom, should I chop them for the fish soup, or put them in whole?" Su Jinxiu asked, pretending not to hear.
"Chop them and put them in, it will taste better."
The fish had been caught by Liu Zonghe using a cage trap. They weren't large, but there were many of them, so Yu Huilan made a pot of crucian carp soup, and there were still plenty left over.
"Come, let's raise our glasses together to welcome Zhan Zhongxiao," Liu Zonghe said, raising his glass.
"Uncle, Aunt, I should be the one to toast you," Zhan Zhongxiao said, quickly raising his glass and standing up.
"Don't stand, sit down and talk."
"I'm the junior, so I should toast you two first. Uncle and Aunt took great care of me back then. You often made delicious food for me, especially Aunt's braised pork with potatoes, I loved it."
"Haha, that's true. You always fought with Nanfeng for it, but Nanfeng also ate a lot of things from your parents." Liu Zonghe laughed happily upon hearing this.
As people age, memories of the past become very cherished.
"Aunt specially made it for you today, eat more," Yu Huilan said with a smile.
"Alright, thank you, Aunt."
"You're welcome, eat quickly."
Hearing this, Liu Nanfeng picked a few pieces of egg from the scrambled eggs with tomatoes and put them into Su Jinxiu's bowl.
The eggs, soaked in the tomato juice, were infused with a savory and slightly sweet flavor, which Su Jinxiu particularly enjoyed.
"Jinxiu, you eat more too," Yu Huilan said to Su Jinxiu.
"If you like it, I'll make it for you again tonight."
"Okay, thank you, Mom."
"We're family, why be so formal?"
"By the way, when are you planning to have children? Your dad and I are still in good health. If you have children, we can help you out. Otherwise, when we're no longer in good health, you'll have to take care of the young and the old, which will be a burden..."
Su Jinxiu lowered her head, silent.
"Mom, I don't plan to have children. This is fine," Liu Nanfeng quickly interrupted her.
"Not having children? What do you want to do?" Yu Huilan asked, a little annoyed.
Liu Zonghe, however, sat calmly drinking his wine, showing no reaction.
Zhan Zhongxiao, meanwhile, was eavesdropping.
"For our own happiness, why have children? Our family doesn't have a throne to inherit. Life is short, only a few decades. It's enough to live our own lives well."
"You'll understand when you're old, you'll have a hard time without anyone to take care of you."
"Mom, what you're saying is wrong. Is having children only for taking care of the elderly? Besides, Granny Axi in Xicun has five sons, and what is she like now? Not one of them is willing to take care of her. Having sons is no better than not having sons."
"You little brat, I say one thing, and you retort ten. How could I have given birth to such a thing as you?"
"Alright, children have their own ideas. Let nature take its course, don't worry so much," Liu Zonghe said, putting down his wine glass.
It seemed his father was more open-minded.
Yu Huilan was about to say more when Liu Zonghe added, "Dundun is visiting us today, why are you saying these things?"
Yu Huilan immediately dropped the topic.
Sighing, she said to Su Jinxiu, "Don't take my words to heart. I was just speaking casually. You're both adults now, you make your own decisions, you don't need to mind us."
"Mom, thank you." Su Jinxiu said, touched.
In fact, Liu Zonghe and Yu Huilan were both unusually open-minded.
They believed that their children had their own lives and should not be interfered with too much, otherwise, they wouldn't have returned to the countryside to live.
Next, Liu Nanfeng's appetite shocked everyone.
"Are you sick?" Yu Huilan asked worriedly.
"It's nothing, I'm in great health, maybe I'm going through a second growth spurt." Liu Nanfeng said.
"Nonsense, how old are you? Second growth spurt? Who are you trying to fool?" Liu Zonghe grumbled.
"Dad, Mom, don't worry, Nanfeng is fine. It's just that he's been delivering food lately and exercising, so he's consuming a lot more, hence the increased appetite."
Su Jinxiu helped explain, and the couple seemed somewhat convinced.
However, upon hearing that Liu Nanfeng was delivering food, they began to worry again.
"Why are you delivering food?"
"Are you out of money?"
"Delivering food is so hard, why don't you find a job?"
"I told you, writing novels isn't a proper job, you need to find a steady job."
To the older generation, only having a job was considered a proper occupation; anything else was not.
"What are you guessing about..."
Liu Nanfeng explained the situation.
Liu Zonghe and Yu Huilan immediately changed their tune.
"It's good to get out and about more, to experience some hardship. What's the point of just sitting at home all day?"
"No wonder you look so much darker and sturdier since you came back this time. It seems delivering food is quite a workout."
"..."
The couple spoke back and forth, leaving Liu Nanfeng feeling rather awkward.
"I thought you were actually delivering food? What book are you writing? Tell me the title, I want to read it."
"Perhaps not." Liu Nanfeng felt it was a bit awkward to have acquaintances read his writing.
"Writing is meant to be read by people, there's no need to hide it, it's not something shameful," Liu Zonghe chimed in.
"The book is called 'The Ordinary Life of an Ordinary Person.' If it makes you cry, don't blame me. Oh, and give me some money to support it."
"Cry? What are you talking about? A man bleeds but doesn't cry. I've never cried since I was this tall," Zhan Dundun said defiantly.
"Nonsense, in elementary school, how many times did your mom cry when she beat you? You always hid at my house."
Zhan Zhongxiao: ...
"Hahaha..." Liu Zonghe and Yu Huilan both laughed, as Liu Nanfeng's words reminded them of their past times.
After the meal, Su Jinxiu helped clear the table.
"You don't need to help, I can do it slowly. I have nothing else to do this afternoon, you go rest."
"Mom, let us do it. It's a good post-meal exercise," Liu Nanfeng said, patting his stomach.
Hearing him say this, Yu Huilan hesitated for a moment and said, "Alright then, put all the dishes and bowls in the basin and wash them in the pond behind the house. Then rinse them with well water."
"Oh, has the pond behind the house been dug?" Liu Nanfeng asked in surprise.
The last time he visited, Liu Zonghe had mentioned digging a pond behind the house, not only for washing vegetables and clothes but also for raising fish.
He hadn't expected it to be finished so quickly.
"It cost a few hundred yuan to hire an excavator, and it was done in half a day. It was quite simple," Liu Zonghe said.
Liu Nanfeng gathered the dishes and bowls, carried the basin, and went to the back door with Su Jinxiu.
Zhan Dundun wanted to follow and help but was stopped by Liu Zonghe; as a guest, he shouldn't be washing dishes.
Zhan Dundun, who wanted to inquire about Shen Wenhua's situation, did not insist further.
"Wow, my mom has really tidied this place up nicely."
Upon arriving at the backyard, Liu Nanfeng noticed a stone path leading directly to the pond not far away.
Flowers and plants grew on both sides of the path, making it look very beautiful.
Su Jinxiu glanced at it and chuckled, then said, "Mom sprinkled some seeds, this is entirely dependent on nature."
It appeared that the flowers and plants were growing somewhat haphazardly, with various flowers intertwined, indicating that Yu Huilan hadn't paid much attention.
"Perhaps when we come back next year, it will turn back into a vegetable patch."
Liu Nanfeng knew Yu Huilan too well, just as Yu Huilan knew him.
The front yard had been beautifully renovated before, with plans for a grape trellis and some flowers, but it had eventually become a vegetable patch again. She felt that planting flowers was impractical and couldn't be eaten, so planting vegetables was more sensible.
Chatting as they walked, they arrived at the pond. The pond wasn't very large, but it was sufficient for washing clothes and vegetables daily. The water was clear, with small fish swimming in it.
Beside the pond was a rectangular stone slab, extending slightly into the pond, providing a place for people to stand.
"This stone slab..." Su Jinxiu looked at the slab with a puzzled expression.
"What about the stone slab?"
"It looks like an inscription stone," Su Jinxiu said.
"Inscription stone?"
Liu Nanfeng examined it closely and indeed saw some rough and simple carvings on both sides of the slab. The patterns were unclear, and because the front was facing down, he couldn't tell what was carved on the inscription stone.
"If it's an inscription stone, it's quite large," Liu Nanfeng said.
The inscription stone was clearly incomplete, only a part of the whole.
"Such an inscription stone is truly rare," Su Jinxiu nodded.
"It's possible it's the inscription stone of a wealthy person or a high official. Many people emerged from this area in ancient times. There's still a stone archway in Zhaojiaba," he continued.
"Indeed, many people came from your area."
"Oh, you know that too?" Liu Nanfeng was somewhat surprised.
"Of course, a person like you came from your area," Su Jinxiu said with a smile.
Liu Nanfeng also smiled and leaned in to kiss her on the corner of her mouth.
"In broad daylight, in public, you're being a hooligan," Su Jinxiu said playfully, lightly hitting him.
"I'm kissing my wife, it's only natural," Liu Nanfeng said, but he didn't make any further moves, carrying the basin and stepping onto the bluestone slab, which was very stable.
Su Jinxiu also crouched down to help wash.
She was wearing beige ice silk high-waisted wide-leg pants. When standing, they accentuated her slender figure, but when she crouched, her hips were taut, revealing her curves with a large derrière and a small waist.
Liu Nanfeng couldn't help but stare, his heart filled with heat. It was all because of that ginseng. Since eating it, he felt his vitality had greatly increased.
Su Jinxiu immediately noticed, her cheeks flushed, but she was quite pleased with her ability to attract Liu Nanfeng. She playfully raised her eyebrows, adding to her charm.
Liu Nanfeng quickly lowered his gaze to the water surface, unable to look any longer. It was daytime...
The leftover debris in the bowls attracted fish in the pond. Seeing these small fish scrambling for food, Liu Nanfeng thought of Feng Hongjin, so he took out the conch shell and poured some water into it.
"Big brother, big brother, are you there?"
"Oh dear, are you busy again, busy making money?"
"Have you made a lot of money?"
"Mom said that even though I'm a child, I should also work and earn money. She had me clean the yard and then gave me yellow stones."
"Mom said these are money, is she tricking little fish? These are different from Sister Su's money. I found many of these yellow stones at the bottom of the water before."
"Sister Yuchan said those yellow stones are called gold, and they can be exchanged for a lot of money. I'll give them all to you, so you don't have to work anymore."
"Alas, you're not here. I miss you a bit."
"I think you miss Brother Liu's snacks? So many, you ate them all at once." A strange woman's voice suddenly spoke, likely Little Koi's mother.
"Not at all, I really miss Big Brother. I miss him here, not here."
Although he couldn't see Little Koi, he could imagine the child pointing to her chest and then her stomach with cute gestures based on her voice.
However, the strange woman did not speak further, it was unclear whether she stopped or was muted.
Then came more of Little Koi's words.
This little one told almost everything.
She even meticulously told Liu Nanfeng how many bubbles she had blown and how many fish she had caught that day.
Liu Nanfeng poured out the water from the conch shell, then left a message for Feng Hongjin with Su Jinxiu.
Then, carrying the washed dishes and bowls, they returned home along the stone path.
"Washing dishes, why is it taking so long?"
Seeing Liu Nanfeng come in with the basin, Liu Zonghe habitually muttered.
Liu Nanfeng didn't pay it any mind and instead said, "The pond turned out quite nice, and you're even raising fish?"
"I caught them all with cage nets and by fishing. The big ones were eaten, and the small ones were put back in to grow."
"That's good. By next year, when the water is drained, there might be a good catch."
"Yes, your mother wanted to raise ducks, but I didn't let her. If we raised ducks, wouldn't they gobble up my fish?"
"By the way, Dad, where did you get that bluestone slab? That should be an inscription stone, right?"
Su Jinxiu took the basin from Liu Nanfeng and went to rinse the dishes and bowls with well water.
"It was under the threshold stone of the old house. I saw it was quite large, and it's suitable for placing by the pond as a footrest. But it's probably not an inscription stone, there are no words on it, just a pattern like this."
Liu Zonghe dipped some water and drew a "ten" on the table, but the vertical stroke was slightly slanted to the left.