In the afternoon, Lin Jin and his family took a bus to visit their grandparent’s house in the countryside.
Their grandparent’s house was on the edge of a small town, just half an hour's drive from the county. However, it had been seven or eight years since dad had last visited. Before Lin Jin went to college, he lived at home and would visit about once a month.
After all, dad had had a falling out with mom, and it felt somewhat like asking for trouble for him to visit. Nine years ago, dad was addicted to gambling and had racked up quite a bit of debt. His aunt and uncle had lent him some money and advised him to quit gambling, but dad had resolutely chosen gambling over mom, leading, of course, to their estrangement.
As for his paternal grandparents, dad seldom visited them either, averaging about one visit a year. Although Lin Jin’s uncles didn't think highly of his father due to his gambling habits, they were still his brothers.
Lin Jin's paternal grandfather had passed away when he was about one year old, leaving no memories. His paternal grandmother had died when he was four, and Lin Jin vaguely remembered the funeral. But since both grandparents had passed away, Lin Jin rarely visited his dad's hometown.
After all, his uncles had always teased him for being too cute when he was little.
Half an hour later, Lin Jin's family arrived in the small town. They bought some fruit and milk as gifts in town, then boarded one of the town's electric tricycles carts to go to grandparent’s house.
Their grandparent’s house consisted of two connected four story buildings. Though there were two buildings, only one was occupied by his grandparents, while the other was rented out. Only the first and second floors were simply furnished, the walls on the third and fourth floors were rough concrete.
There was no air conditioning in the house. Although the decor was simple, there were tiled floors, along with a huge TV on the first floor. Because of this and his childhood friends next door, Lin Jin used to love coming here to play. But he wasn't interested anymore, those friends were now in college, and even those who hadn't gone to college had left to work elsewhere. If they met now, they might not even recognize each other.
"Dad!" Arriving at the front door, mom opened the half-closed door and shouted into the empty house, "Mom!"
The small wooden door in the backyard opened, and Grandma walked into the house with a loving smile, albeit somewhat unsteadily. She saw Lin Jin and Lin Chen, who had followed Mom into the house, was stunned for a moment, and then turned to get two bottles of cold cola from the refrigerator in the back room. She then brought the cola to the front room.
"You're back?" Grandma handed the cola to both Lin Jin and Lin Chen, then took a seat across from mom in the front room. She asked mom hesitantly, "Which one is Lin Chen and which one is Lin Jin?"
Grandma spoke in the local dialect, and the names "Lin Chen" and "Lin Jin" were pronounced in the dialect as well, making them sound even more endearing.
"This tall and strong one is Lin Chen, he hasn't been back to see you for many years." Mom pulled Lin Chen, who was standing beside her, to the front and smiled at Grandma. "He's grown so much stronger than when he was little."
"Mm, he's more handsome than when he was young" Grandma said, beaming as she took Lin Chen's hand and examined it thoroughly.
"This one is Lin Jin. He should visit you more often, right?"
"Yes, the last time he came was during the summer vacation. He's become so handsome since going to college." Grandma adjusted her reading glasses and patted the seat next to her, Lin Jin obediently sat down.
Since Grandma was speaking in the local dialect, where "handsome" and "pretty" sounded the same, Lin Jin couldn't really tell whether Grandma was saying he'd become prettier or more handsome. Naturally, his mind translated the dialect into the term he found most pleasing: "handsome."
"Where's dad?" Mom asked Grandma.
"He's playing mahjong."
Grandma's health wasn't very good, she was only in her sixties but had been hospitalized and had surgery several times for various reasons. As a result, she didn't dare to travel far and could only tend to some flowers and plants in the backyard.
However, grandpa was in excellent health and seemed to be active all the time. He would often go to the fields to help his brother, ride his electric scooter to the small town to buy groceries in the morning, play mahjong in the afternoon, and visit relatives or continue playing mahjong in the evening. He would even occasionally go crabbing at the beach with some of his peers. His life in his later years could only be described as blissful.
Inside, grandma and mom were chatting happily. Lin Jin and Lin Chen were bored out of their minds listening to them, but what was worse was their Dad, who stood outside holding the gifts, not daring to enter.
Originally, due to the divorce, their dad had fallen out with both grandma and grandpa. Now he stood there, feeling uneasy, unsure whether or not he should go in.
Lin Jin noticed that dad hadn't come in yet. He glanced at the palm that grandma was holding tightly, then shot a look at Lin Chen, who was sitting next to mom. Lin Chen instantly understood what Lin Jin was thinking. He stood up, ran to the door, and pulled their hesitant Dad inside.
"Why did he come?" Grandma's expression, which had been incredibly warm just moments before, suddenly turned dark.
What the f*ck? Grandma, didn’t your mood darken a bit too quickly?
"He said he's quit gambling and came to apologize and make amends" Mom quickly said, glancing at dad.
Dad looked stunned, this wasn't what they had agreed upon before coming here, was it?
But after all, he was in his forties. Ge quickly put on a flattering smile, placed the gifts on the coffee table, and began apologizing profusely to Grandma. In essence, what he said could be summarized as: he was unworthy to be a person due to his past addiction to gambling, which led to the divorce.
Grandma's expression lightened a bit, but it was clear she still didn't think highly of their father. She snorted disdainfully and then ignored him, continuing to chat with her daughter whom she hadn't seen in years.
"Why don't we call your sister and brother over to liven things up?" Grandma cheerfully took out her old flip phone. "After all, it’s the Chinese New Years. Stay here for a couple of days, we have a family reunion dinner the day after tomorrow."
Though the local customs did include New Year visits, they weren't that significant. What mattered was the gathering of all the relatives for a meal on the second or third day of Chinese New Year. For the past few years, Lin Jin had been the one representing his mother at these gatherings.
But wait! How could mom stay here?
"Grandma, we haven't visited the relatives in the city for Chinese New Year yet. We have to make New Year visits tomorrow at noon. How about we come back the day after tomorrow?" Lin Jin hastily spoke in this not fluent dialect. "Also, mom just got back and hasn't visited her friends in the county yet."
Her mother gave Lin Jin a surprised look, but Lin Jin simply chose to ignore it and continued, "Or we can leave after dinner tonight, there's no rush."
"That's good too, that's good too" Grandma agreed, nodding happily. "I'll call your aunt over first. She lives nearby, so she can bring your cousin to keep you company."
"Mhm."
Lin Jin kept nodding. As for the cousin, who cares? The main point was not to let mom spend the night here.
In the afternoon, Lin Jin and his family took a bus to visit their grandparent’s house in the countryside.
Their grandparent’s house was on the edge of a small town, just half an hour's drive from the county. However, it had been seven or eight years since dad had last visited. Before Lin Jin went to college, he lived at home and would visit about once a month.
After all, dad had had a falling out with mom, and it felt somewhat like asking for trouble for him to visit. Nine years ago, dad was addicted to gambling and had racked up quite a bit of debt. His aunt and uncle had lent him some money and advised him to quit gambling, but dad had resolutely chosen gambling over mom, leading, of course, to their estrangement.
As for his paternal grandparents, dad seldom visited them either, averaging about one visit a year. Although Lin Jin’s uncles didn't think highly of his father due to his gambling habits, they were still his brothers.
Lin Jin's paternal grandfather had passed away when he was about one year old, leaving no memories. His paternal grandmother had died when he was four, and Lin Jin vaguely remembered the funeral. But since both grandparents had passed away, Lin Jin rarely visited his dad's hometown.
After all, his uncles had always teased him for being too cute when he was little.
Half an hour later, Lin Jin's family arrived in the small town. They bought some fruit and milk as gifts in town, then boarded one of the town's electric tricycles carts to go to grandparent’s house.
Their grandparent’s house consisted of two connected four story buildings. Though there were two buildings, only one was occupied by his grandparents, while the other was rented out. Only the first and second floors were simply furnished, the walls on the third and fourth floors were rough concrete.
There was no air conditioning in the house. Although the decor was simple, there were tiled floors, along with a huge TV on the first floor. Because of this and his childhood friends next door, Lin Jin used to love coming here to play. But he wasn't interested anymore, those friends were now in college, and even those who hadn't gone to college had left to work elsewhere. If they met now, they might not even recognize each other.
"Dad!" Arriving at the front door, mom opened the half-closed door and shouted into the empty house, "Mom!"
The small wooden door in the backyard opened, and Grandma walked into the house with a loving smile, albeit somewhat unsteadily. She saw Lin Jin and Lin Chen, who had followed Mom into the house, was stunned for a moment, and then turned to get two bottles of cold cola from the refrigerator in the back room. She then brought the cola to the front room.
"You're back?" Grandma handed the cola to both Lin Jin and Lin Chen, then took a seat across from mom in the front room. She asked mom hesitantly, "Which one is Lin Chen and which one is Lin Jin?"
Grandma spoke in the local dialect, and the names "Lin Chen" and "Lin Jin" were pronounced in the dialect as well, making them sound even more endearing.
"This tall and strong one is Lin Chen, he hasn't been back to see you for many years." Mom pulled Lin Chen, who was standing beside her, to the front and smiled at Grandma. "He's grown so much stronger than when he was little."
"Mm, he's more handsome than when he was young" Grandma said, beaming as she took Lin Chen's hand and examined it thoroughly.
"This one is Lin Jin. He should visit you more often, right?"
"Yes, the last time he came was during the summer vacation. He's become so handsome since going to college." Grandma adjusted her reading glasses and patted the seat next to her, Lin Jin obediently sat down.
Since Grandma was speaking in the local dialect, where "handsome" and "pretty" sounded the same, Lin Jin couldn't really tell whether Grandma was saying he'd become prettier or more handsome. Naturally, his mind translated the dialect into the term he found most pleasing: "handsome."
"Where's dad?" Mom asked Grandma.
"He's playing mahjong."
Grandma's health wasn't very good, she was only in her sixties but had been hospitalized and had surgery several times for various reasons. As a result, she didn't dare to travel far and could only tend to some flowers and plants in the backyard.
However, grandpa was in excellent health and seemed to be active all the time. He would often go to the fields to help his brother, ride his electric scooter to the small town to buy groceries in the morning, play mahjong in the afternoon, and visit relatives or continue playing mahjong in the evening. He would even occasionally go crabbing at the beach with some of his peers. His life in his later years could only be described as blissful.
Inside, grandma and mom were chatting happily. Lin Jin and Lin Chen were bored out of their minds listening to them, but what was worse was their Dad, who stood outside holding the gifts, not daring to enter.
Originally, due to the divorce, their dad had fallen out with both grandma and grandpa. Now he stood there, feeling uneasy, unsure whether or not he should go in.
Lin Jin noticed that dad hadn't come in yet. He glanced at the palm that grandma was holding tightly, then shot a look at Lin Chen, who was sitting next to mom. Lin Chen instantly understood what Lin Jin was thinking. He stood up, ran to the door, and pulled their hesitant Dad inside.
"Why did he come?" Grandma's expression, which had been incredibly warm just moments before, suddenly turned dark.
What the f*ck? Grandma, didn’t your mood darken a bit too quickly?
"He said he's quit gambling and came to apologize and make amends" Mom quickly said, glancing at dad.
Dad looked stunned, this wasn't what they had agreed upon before coming here, was it?
But after all, he was in his forties. Ge quickly put on a flattering smile, placed the gifts on the coffee table, and began apologizing profusely to Grandma. In essence, what he said could be summarized as: he was unworthy to be a person due to his past addiction to gambling, which led to the divorce.
Grandma's expression lightened a bit, but it was clear she still didn't think highly of their father. She snorted disdainfully and then ignored him, continuing to chat with her daughter whom she hadn't seen in years.
"Why don't we call your sister and brother over to liven things up?" Grandma cheerfully took out her old flip phone. "After all, it’s the Chinese New Years. Stay here for a couple of days, we have a family reunion dinner the day after tomorrow."
Though the local customs did include New Year visits, they weren't that significant. What mattered was the gathering of all the relatives for a meal on the second or third day of Chinese New Year. For the past few years, Lin Jin had been the one representing his mother at these gatherings.
But wait! How could mom stay here?
"Grandma, we haven't visited the relatives in the city for Chinese New Year yet. We have to make New Year visits tomorrow at noon. How about we come back the day after tomorrow?" Lin Jin hastily spoke in this not fluent dialect. "Also, mom just got back and hasn't visited her friends in the county yet."
Her mother gave Lin Jin a surprised look, but Lin Jin simply chose to ignore it and continued, "Or we can leave after dinner tonight, there's no rush."
"That's good too, that's good too" Grandma agreed, nodding happily. "I'll call your aunt over first. She lives nearby, so she can bring your cousin to keep you company."
"Mhm."
Lin Jin kept nodding. As for the cousin, who cares? The main point was not to let mom spend the night here.
