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“Is my dad in the garden...?” Xu Yuan said hesitantly.
“Xiao Yong, you go with Sister Yuan,” Aunt A Shan instructed.
The middle school student named Xiao Yong nodded and stepped forward to lead the way.
“In the garden...?” Xu Yuan murmured again.
Of course, Xu Yuan knew how to get to her home’s garden and didn’t need the boy to guide her, but Xiao Yong had already taken the lead. Xu Yuan lingered for a moment until Yang Jingsheng quietly asked her, and then she linked arms with Yang Jingsheng and followed Xiao Yong along the muddy path. As they rounded a small bend, Xu Yuan pointed out to Yang Jingsheng that their house was just ahead, that low old building.
After turning the corner, they arrived at Xu Yuan’s garden. Xu Yuan stood there in a daze, gazing at the farm shed in the center of the garden. The sun blazed overhead, and the sound of insects filled the air. Suddenly, Xu Yuan felt as if her feet were weighed down by a thousand pounds. Xiao Yong turned to another direction and waved, saying, “This way, over here…”
This side was overgrown with weeds, and the biting cats clung to Yang Jingsheng's pants and Xu Yuan's stockings. Xiao Yong stopped ahead, and they followed him. Where he pointed, they saw a patch of yellow earth covered with uneven patches of thick grass, and a thin stone tablet stood before them. Xu Yuan's face turned pale as she looked bitterly at the name inscribed on the tablet; the small engraved letters recorded a date indicating it had been three or four months ago. Yang Jingsheng felt sad; he thought Xu Yuan was about to cry, but she just stood there motionless.
At some point, Xiao Yong had left. Yang Jingsheng set down his luggage and wrapped his arms around Xu Yuan's waist from behind. Xu Yuan stared at the small mound of earth for a long time before finally sighing softly and saying, “Let’s go!”
The two walked back along the same path toward Xu Yuan’s home, their hearts heavy. Suddenly, the sun slipped behind a cloud, making the surroundings feel much cooler. Yang Jingsheng noticed Xiao Yong and two other boys watching them from a distance, whispering to each other.
Xu Yuan’s home was very quiet; it seemed no one was there at that moment. As soon as she entered the hall, she saw her father’s spirit tablet. She silently lit three incense sticks and bowed before it, then placed them in the incense burner before pulling Yang Jingsheng into another room. She opened the small room at the back; dust filled the air with its familiar scent. Xu Yuan looked at the familiar bed and furniture; even though she hadn’t been there for days, nothing in the small room had changed. She asked Yang Jingsheng to place their luggage on the bed while they tidied up the room a bit as the sun began to set in the west.
Xu Yuan rummaged through the refrigerator for some vegetables and meat to prepare dinner while Yang Jingsheng returned to the living room to watch television. After a while, footsteps sounded outside, and a fair-skinned middle-aged woman entered.
Yang Jingsheng was somewhat surprised; most women here were dark-skinned and rough-looking, but this woman had delicate skin and clear features—her straight nose was high, her lips full and round, her hair partially dyed purple-red. She appeared to be in her forties with a slightly plump figure, dressed neatly in a long-sleeved white silk shirt and denim shorts, her fleshy thighs exposed beneath her clothing while wearing sandals with thin straps painted bright red on her toenails—she bore no trace of a country woman yet exuded an air of vulgarity.
Seeing an unfamiliar man suddenly appear in her home startled her for a moment; standing by the door, she was about to ask something when Xu Yuan emerged carrying a plate of food. The woman was even more surprised and stammered, “Xiao... Xiao Yuan, you... you’re back.”
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