Returning Home

Lu Yu put the lid back on the pot: "No need."

Song Bai was stunned and hadn't had time to ask why when he heard him continue: "The house has been empty for half a year, I don't know what state it's in; there probably isn't even a place to sleep. When I go back, I'll have to stay at a neighbor's house for a night. We can go back together when there's an opportunity."

Hearing this, Song Bai gave up the idea.

Jiang Nian stayed in the room for a long time, only coming out when it was completely dark. She carried the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen, thinking Lu Yu had already left, but to her surprise, as soon as she entered, she saw him sitting in front of the kitchen door, starting a fire. Her steps faltered, then she stubbornly walked in, placing the bowls and chopsticks on the table, intending to scoop water to wash them, when Lu Yu spoke: "Just leave them; I'll wash them later."

"It's okay." Jiang Nian mixed some warm water and quickly washed them clean.

By now, it was completely dark. Jiang Nian tried to forget the awkwardness from the morning: "What do you want for dinner? I'll make it."

Lu Yu replied: "Zhajiangmian."

It was better that he clearly stated what he wanted, rather than saying "whatever." So Jiang Nian began to knead the dough. Lu Yu got up and took out the rock-hard frozen pork, dicing it. Jiang Nian stood by the cutting board, kneading dough in an enamel basin. Lu Yu stood right beside her, slicing meat, and due to his movements, his arm inevitably brushed against her.

He lowered his eyes to look at Jiang Nian, who was bowing her head. A complex, probing look appeared in his deep black eyes. After half a year of living together, although his sister-in-law's personality had gradually changed, he still noticed some anomalies. For example, Xu Yan's family. In the previous life, Xu Yan's family was not like this. According to the correct trajectory, she and Liu Qiang should have divorced, but in this life, the two were inseparable, and their lives were much better than before. Another change was Zheng Hong; her current situation was also completely different from the previous life. Both of these people had interacted with his sister-in-law.

Lu Yu recalled the meat in the refrigerator when he returned home; he knew Xu Yan had given it, but the reason was unclear. Perhaps now he had the answer. His gaze remained fixed on Jiang Nian, his suspicion growing. If his sister-in-law hadn't had these instinctive reactions and changes today, he wouldn't have thought so deeply. In his impression, even though he had only met his sister-in-law twice, it was enough to see that whether in the previous life or this life, she was originally a taciturn, timid, weak, and introverted woman. Could a person truly change so dramatically in just half a year?

"Are you done slicing?" Jiang Nian finished kneading the dough. Seeing that Lu Yu hadn't finished slicing the meat, she was a little puzzled; at his speed, it shouldn't be this slow.

Lu Yu withdrew his gaze, hiding his thoughts: "Almost done."

Jiang Nian washed her hands clean. After he finished slicing the meat, she prepared more vegetables and then started the fire to stir-fry the sauce. A moment later, the savory bean paste sauce was fragrant. She boiled water and added the noodles. The zhajiangmian was quickly finished. Jiang Nian scooped the noodles into a bowl, poured the sauce over them, and served it to Lu Yu.

After dinner, Lu Yu cleared the bowls and chopsticks. Seeing Jiang Nian adding water to the pot, he asked: "Anything else?"

"I want to take a bath."

"You go back to your room first; I'll boil the water."

Lu Yu sat in front of the stove, adding a few more logs. After Jiang Nian went into her room, he went to the second room on the east side to get a large bathtub, washed it clean, and brought it into her room. When the water boiled, he carried buckets of water in. The sound of running water echoed. Jiang Nian sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Lu Yu's blurred figure through the steam.

"It's done." Lu Yu stood up and went out, not forgetting to close her room door.

After his footsteps faded, Jiang Nian took off her clothes. The charcoal basin in the room burned warmly, but the water still felt a little cold when she touched it. She quickly bathed with soapberry soap, rinsed with clean water, dried herself, and burrowed into the quilt. She shivered for a while before calling out: "I'm done bathing."

Lu Yu pushed the door open and entered, seeing Jiang Nian sitting on the bed, wrapped tightly in a quilt, only her face flushed from the hot steam visible. Wet strands of hair clung to her temples, her eyelashes still held tiny droplets of water, and her eyes sparkled. Under the dim light, she looked fragile, making one want to protect her.

Smelling the faint scent of soapberry in the room, looking at the woman wrapped in a quilt on the bed, Lu Yu's ears suddenly turned red. He awkwardly lowered his head, carried the bathwater, and poured it into the drain outside. After pouring the water, he turned back to close the door, his hand resting on the doorframe, his gaze involuntarily turning towards Jiang Nian, his Adam's apple subtly moving.

"Sister-in-law."

Jiang Nian looked up: "Yes?"

Looking at her fair and beautiful face, Lu Yu suddenly averted his gaze, his voice a little hoarse: "Go to bed early; we'll leave early tomorrow."

Jiang Nian nodded: "Okay."

The third day of the New Year was a beautiful sunny day. Jiang Nian woke up early, and by the time she came out, Lu Yu had already prepared breakfast. After eating, she went into the kitchen to put the batch of walnut cakes and brown sugar sponge cakes made on New Year's Eve into a small cloth bag, and also took some candies from the cabinet. These things would be very useful when they went back to the village.

Lu Yu saw her preparing gifts and didn't ask anything. After tidying up, the two headed towards the county town. It took four hours by bus to get to the city. Lu Yu said the train back to the village was at four in the afternoon, so if they left now, they would arrive around one in the afternoon.

On the third day, the bus was crowded with people visiting relatives. Fortunately, there were still two empty seats when they boarded. Jiang Nian sat by the window, staring blankly at the dry trees and the road receding behind them. The bus arrived in the city at one in the afternoon. Lu Yu carried the large luggage bag and led Jiang Nian to the train station to buy two lower bunk sleeper tickets.

They had lunch at a state-owned restaurant. Just as Lu Yu finished paying and was about to leave, he met Ge Mei with a couple. The man's face looked quite similar to Ge Mei's, probably her son, and the woman beside him was his daughter-in-law. Ge Mei hadn't expected to see Jiang Nian here again; she smiled radiantly: "Why are you two here?"

Jiang Nian smiled and replied: "We're going back to the village for a visit; the train is at four in the afternoon."

Ge Mei looked at her watch: "Oh dear, it's almost three o'clock, not early anymore. By the way, when are you two coming back?"

Jiang Nian looked at Lu Yu, who replied: "We'll be back on the seventh."

Ge Mei smiled: "That's not too late. I was planning to come find you on the fourth. The embroidery you did made the Hong Kong boss very satisfied. After I delivered the goods, he came to the state-owned embroidery shop the next day and placed a large order. But this time, the size is quite large, requiring a specialized embroidery frame, and the deadline is two months. You'll have to work at the embroidery shop, and I'll arrange for you to stay in the dormitory. How does that sound?"

Jiang Nian was delighted: "Yes, no problem at all."

She was very happy in her heart, because this was the first job she had done with her own abilities in this era. If she could build a career, she could be independent in the future and not have to rely on Lu Yu forever. Ge Mei gave some brief instructions, promising to tell her more details when she returned on the seventh.

Watching Jiang Nian and Lu Yu leave, Ge Zhi Sheng, Ge Mei's son, withdrew his gaze and asked his mother: "Mother, is that the skilled embroiderer you often talk about?"

"Yes, she looks very young, doesn't she?"

Ge Zhi Sheng smiled: "She looks about Xiao Ai's age."

His daughter-in-law, Zhou Ai, asked: "Mother, is the man with her her husband? Is it okay for you to separate a couple for two months?" She and her husband had a very good relationship; she would feel very empty if they had to be apart for two months.

Ge Mei took a sip of water: "That's just her brother-in-law; her husband passed away. But don't mention this in front of others; it's not good."

...

The train departed at four in the afternoon. Perhaps because many people had already returned home before the New Year, the train wasn't too crowded. It arrived at its destination at six the next morning. The hard bunks on the train made Jiang Nian sleep poorly, and her body ached all over.

Lu Yu carried all the luggage; she only carried a small cloth bag. Leaving the train station, they walked to the bus stop and took a bus to the county town. While Jiang Nian was still drowsy, the bus arrived. They had lunch at a state-owned restaurant, then found a donkey cart to take them to the village, paying two mao for the ride.

As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the village, everyone who saw Lu Yu greeted him: "Lu Lao Er is back!"

Lu Yu smiled and replied: "Yes, I'm back to visit home for a bit."

The old aunties looked at Jiang Nian, whose clothes and appearance were completely different from before, and for a moment, they didn't recognize her. Only Madam Zhao, sitting in front of her door basking in the sun, recognized her immediately and exclaimed in surprise: "Is that the Xu family's daughter-in-law? Is that the Xu family's daughter-in-law?"

Jiang Nian smiled and greeted: "Madam Zhao, Happy New Year!"

Madam Zhao was stunned. She hadn't expected Jiang Nian to change so much after half a year away. She was dressed better, and her complexion was fuller and rosier, a stark contrast to her previous thin and sickly appearance. It seemed Lu Lao Er was taking very good care of his sister-in-law. The villagers passing by also couldn't believe this was the Xu family's woman who rarely left the house for four years.

Not only Madam Zhao, but the neighbors also noticed her great change. Before, she would bow her head and avoid everyone she met; now, she smiled and greeted everyone freely.

Jiang Nian's purpose for returning this time was to reclaim the money her birth family had stolen from the original owner over the past four years. She needed the neighbors to testify about how her mother had come here to plunder money and food. Without witnesses, it would be difficult to reclaim it based solely on her words. That's why she brought pastries and candies, intending to give each person a little later to "sweeten their mouths" after cleaning up.

The house had been empty for half a year, so it was incredibly cold. Lu Yu opened the door to the courtyard, seeing thick snow everywhere. He went to check the rooms. The roof of Uncle Xu's room had collapsed under the snow, and snow had fallen all over the earthen bed, making it impossible to sleep there. Xu Cheng's room was no better; the roof leaked, and melting snow ran down, soaking the bedding.

Jiang Nian entered Lu Yu's room and saw that only a small corner of the roof leaked, with water running down the wall. The bedding at the head of the bed was wet, but the two folded quilts on the other side were still dry. She put down her cloth bag, quickly folded the wet part of the bedding, and said to Lu Yu: "This side is still okay."

Lu Yu looked up at the roof: "I'll go up and fix it a bit; it should be fine for two nights."

The roof was covered in snow, so Jiang Nian worriedly instructed: "Be careful..." Before she could finish, Lu Yu agilely jumped onto the wall and climbed onto the roof. He cleared the snow around the leak and found a wooden board to cover it. He thought to himself that he must come back in the summer to repair the house. Even if no one lived there, it was a memory of him and Xu Cheng, the only property the Xu family had left.

Jiang Nian cleaned the rooms thoroughly. There was no firewood in the house, and she was worrying about how to warm it when she saw Lu Yu carrying a pile of firewood. She asked in surprise: "Where did you get the firewood?"

"When I left in the summer, I stored it in the kitchen. It's enough for two days."

The charcoal basin was lit. Lu Yu told her to sit and warm herself while he went to sweep the snow in the courtyard. Jiang Nian's hands were freezing, and she told him to come in and warm himself too, but he refused.

Madam Zhao's voice echoed from outside the courtyard: "Lu Lao Er, are you sweeping snow?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Where's your sister-in-law?"

"She's in the room, Madam."

Jiang Nian heard this and came out to open the door, inviting Madam Zhao in. Madam Zhao sat by the charcoal basin, asking her about her life in the military for the past six months. Seeing her good complexion, she was happy for her. Jiang Nian smiled in return.

Madam Zhao said: "Since you two left, your mother and brother came here twice. They saw the door locked and left angrily. They even cursed you for leaving without telling them." She snorted and continued: "They didn't say that when they came to steal things before. You know what, neighbor Li told your mother about you being injured, and she even said you were a lost cause of a daughter, and it wouldn't matter if you died."

Jiang Nian wasn't surprised, as she knew her mother's personality from the original owner's memories. Madam Zhao saw that Jiang Nian no longer cried as before when hearing her mother's curses, which surprised her, and she clearly felt her change.

Jiang Nian took out walnut cakes, sponge cakes, and candies and gave them to Madam Zhao: "Madam Zhao, these are for you. Thank you for taking care of me all this time. I also want to ask you to take some to give to the other aunties in the neighborhood for me."

She divided them into two portions, Madam Zhao's portion being a little larger. Madam Zhao shyly accepted the gifts, praising her endlessly. She said her son had gotten married and his wife was pregnant, and their family was very happy. Madam Zhao took the gifts home to share with the neighbors, and everyone praised Jiang Nian for being different now, more understanding and generous than before.

Lu Yu finished sweeping the snow and entered the room. He and Jiang Nian warmed the bedding over the charcoal basin to dry it, then spread it on the bed. As dusk fell, he went to buy vegetables to cook dinner. Since there was no electricity in the village, they had to use an oil lamp.

Lu Yu went to the company to buy vegetables and also spoke with the Company Commander. Since he was now a Deputy Regiment Commander, everyone respected him greatly. He mentioned that he would go to the Jiang family tomorrow to settle old scores and asked the Company Commander to testify. The Company Commander readily agreed, out of respect for his position and also for the good of the village in the future.

Lu Yu left the company when it was completely dark. He walked under the moonlight, passing by the intellectual youth area, and suddenly remembered Jiang Nian's words about the professor in the cowshed who taught her how to make cakes. He changed direction, walking towards the cowshed not far away.