Chapter 91: Revisit
Meeting the old man’s sudden probe, Su Ning showed no panic, only her smile becoming even more harmless, “Grandma Qu, the truth of the matter can only be confirmed on the day Uncle Qu returns.”
“So no matter what, we have to wait for him to come back first, right?”
Just this one sentence left Huang Shufen speechless: yes, the two of them old folks struggling to stay alive wasn’t it all for their son and grandson.
If on the day their son returned, the home was gone and the people were gone too, how despairing and sad that would be.
These life-saving things were a huge favor; even if the two old ones had no life left, there were still the son, grandson, great-grandson, generation after generation to continue repaying it.
Huang Shufen quietly wiped away her tears, secretly making this decision in her heart.
She couldn’t just watch her husband and grandson disappear; she still had to guard this home for her son.
“Ning Ning…”
“Grandma Qu, where should I put these things?”
Considerately changing the subject to avoid stirring up more tears from the old woman, Su Ning somewhat laboriously picked up the back basket from the ground.
“Hey, Ning Ning, be careful, don’t strain your back!”
“Then you have to tell me quickly.”
“Alright, alright, you girl are well-behaved and your mouth is even more so; this old woman can’t outtalk you.”
A smile returned to her face as Huang Shufen teased and led her to the kitchen.
There was rice, pheasants, wild rabbits, wild duck eggs, and even some peanuts and soybeans as nutritional supplements, not to mention those bought from the supply and marketing cooperative.
Even after steeling herself mentally, taking over these things still made her hands tremble uncontrollably.
“Ning Ning, listen to Grandma; in the future, don’t spend money buying these things—save them well yourself. For a girl, when you marry, having these saved money and ration coupons will be your greatest confidence.”
“Rest assured, Grandma Qu; I have enough. Besides, these were all bought with Uncle Qu’s money and ration coupons, right?”
Playfully blinking at her, Su Ning knew that after her previous words, the two old folks must have realized something and become suspicious.
But just as she said, until Uncle Qu truly returned, what she said was from Uncle Qu was from Uncle Qu, and they had no way to verify it.
There were too many nameless heroes forging ahead with blood and heavy burdens in the unknown front lines ahead; perhaps their families in the rear, like the Qu family, were suffering hardships just like this.
She couldn’t save or help all of them, but for those she knew about, she wouldn’t stand by with folded arms.
This was the first lesson her maternal grandfather taught her as a child about how to conduct oneself: don’t be kind-hearted to everyone; once you’ve discerned clearly, there’s no need to be stingy.
As if understanding the implication in her words, she abruptly turned her back, unable to hold back the hot tears anymore; Huang Shufen thought that perhaps what she had once thought was wrong.
No matter where her son was or what he was doing, it was all for the people and the country; she shouldn’t blame him or harbor resentment in her heart…
Because seeing such a Ning Ning made her realize that everything her son had done was worth it.
Huang Shufen, suddenly feeling relieved in her heart, had tears in her eyes but a smile crept in, “Ning Ning, taste Grandma’s cooking in a bit!”
“Great, I’ve been sitting in the car for a whole morning and I’m really hungry.”
“A whole morning’s car ride—where did you go?”
“Luohu Township…”
With casual chit-chat, one old and one young were enveloped in an indescribable warmth.
After packing and putting away all the things properly, the two of them emerged from the kitchen hand in hand.
Grandpa Qu, whom she hadn’t had the chance to meet last time, had already, with his grandson’s help, difficultly gotten out of bed and shuffled step by step out of the main hall.
“Hello, Grandpa Qu.”
“Good, good, good; Ning Yatou, you’re good too, good!”
Having lain in the sickbed for years, Qu Feng’s face was sickly pale, and his body was extremely frail and emaciated.
Seeing him like this unexpectedly reminded her of her maternal grandfather after he fell seriously ill; her nose suddenly stung, and Su Ning instinctively stepped forward to steadily support him.
“Ning Ning?”
“It’s nothing; I just suddenly thought of my maternal grandfather.”
Seeing her with red eye rims and even her nose tip flushed, a soft warm light appeared in the depths of Qu Feng’s cloudy eyes, and he patted the back of her hand that was supporting him with particular affection.
“Then your maternal grandfather must be so proud to have such an outstanding granddaughter that others would envy!”
“Pfft~”
He would probably proudly lift his head, just like that undefeated fighting chicken in the courtyard.
Thinking of Grandpa Fu’s past joking remark, her sadness instantly dissipated, and she couldn’t help laughing out loud.
Seeing that she wasn’t afraid or disgusted by her husband’s ghastly appearance and even seemed to be chatting happily, Huang Shufen felt relieved, “Old Qu, you and Hui stay with Ning Ning and chat for a bit; I’ll go make lunch for you all.”
“Good, go ahead, old woman.”
“Ning Ning, sit down, quick, sit down—don’t follow me; you don’t need to help. These are all things Grandma does routinely and quickly, ah, listen!”
“Sister Ning, sit~”
The perceptive Little Qu Hui quickly brought over a bamboo chair and placed it behind her, then happily went to fetch another for his own grandfather.
Just like that, Su Ning accompanied the grandfather and grandson casually chatting in the courtyard.
When he heard her say she wanted to go to the scrap station or flea market to scavenge carving things in a bit.
Clearing his throat with a muffled cough, easing the stuffiness in his chest and the itch in his throat, Grandpa Qu raised his brows in surprise and asked, “Yatou, how did you get the idea to learn this old craft?”
“When I was little, I saw Mom carving small things and thought it was interesting, but back then I didn’t think to learn from her; now…”
Smiling as she tucked the stray hair from her face behind her ear, Su Ning thought of the pile of raw jadeite under the spring water in her space, “I’ve suddenly become interested and want to give it a try.”
“What a coincidence this is, cough cough~”
Grandpa Qu beckoned to his grandson, “Hui, go to Grandpa’s bedside and get the wooden box hidden at the very bottom of the cabinet.”
“Got it, Grandpa; I’ll go get it right now!”
Seeing the puzzlement in her eyes, Qu Feng smiled and explained, “In the past, our Qu family ancestors all made a living from this craft, but later when it came to my generation…”
With war raging and homes destroyed, lives at risk at any moment, where was there the mind to carefully learn from father.
The Qu family inheritance was broken in his hands; in old age, looking back, he stroked those tools passed down from ancestors over and over, feeling both regret and pity in his heart.
Now, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing… perhaps it really was the fate between the Qu family and Ning Yatou.
“Grandpa, is this it?”
Seeing Little Qu Hui struggling to carry the wooden box, Su Ning quickly stood up to help him take it.
Only upon taking it did she realize the wooden box was really quite heavy, “Here, Grandpa Qu.”
Coming back to his senses, Qu Feng smiled and nodded, taking it with both hands and placing it on his lap; he first cherishingly stroked the patterns on the surface of the wooden box before opening it.
Inside were two books rolled up in a leather bag, and underneath was a complete set of carving tools.
“Ning Yatou, this is for you.”
“Grandpa Qu, this is too precious; it’s still the Qu family’s heirloom—I can’t accept it!”
Seeing how the old man treasured it so much, even if it wasn’t a heirloom, she couldn’t take something he loved.
“In outsiders’ eyes, this is just a pile of scrap metal; what’s precious about it.”
Waving his hand, Qu Feng first handed her the two books in his hand, “These are just experiences passed down from ancestors, along with some patterns; Yatou, didn’t you want to learn?”
“Your Grandpa Qu here didn’t master the craft well enough to teach you personally, but looking at these should be no problem for getting you started.”
“This…”
“Compared to the lives of our three generations of grandfather and grandson, these are just dead objects; if you refuse them, then don’t send us things in the future either!”
“How are these the same, Grandpa Qu; this is a different matter entirely.”
“I say they’re the same, and they are! Cough cough~ cough cough~”
Amused and helpless, Su Ning met the old man’s stubborn gaze; afraid that his agitation would make the coughing worse and more uncomfortable later, she could only stand up, slightly bend over, and extend both hands to accept them.
“Then I’ll borrow them to study first; once I’ve gotten started, I’ll return them. What if Little Qu Hui grows up and becomes interested in carving too?”
Before she could finish speaking, she was rebutted; Qu Feng glanced at his grandson, who had wide eyes full of curiosity as he examined the tools in the wooden box.
Gently stroking his nape, he stepped back, “Then the books can be as you say; if Hui becomes interested later, you can pass them to him. But you can’t refuse this set of tools.”
She did indeed need a complete set of tools like this now; later, she could find another set or have someone make one, then return them intact to the Qu family.
Thinking this way, Su Ning didn’t want to upset the old man anymore and gladly nodded in agreement, “Thank you, Grandpa Qu.”
