Once Young

Chapter 1: Rui Chu

Section 12

Normally, we kids who are on good terms with Grandpa General would naturally ignore Miss Wu, so I don't believe that Xiaochuan Ge would be there.

Arguing along the way, Qin Chuan and I walked around to Miss Wu's courtyard. The dark red door was ajar, and a corner of the square drum stone in front of the the door has been smashed off. It had been in the shadow for many years and had grown bluish-gray mold spots. I was unconsciously a little afraid of this small courtyard. It had been there for so long, and I didn't know what kind of bizarre things were there inside. Qin Chuan was a boy, so he was braver than me and walked first. I followed him and hid behind the screen wall, peeking inside.

There was a grape trellis in the yard, but it was not the season, so there was no bright fruits. Under the trellis when the erhu* sounded, she began to hum:

Looking in the mirror, I was shocked at how thin I had become.

A thousand sorrows and worries on the brows;

the alliance vowed to defend against the change in the sea.

The unfortunate beauty can only blame the heavens;

I waited for news like a broken thread,

Sitting alone in my room, the days feel like years!

Miss Wu had a beautiful figure and spoke in a clear and melodious voice. I found her interesting and leaned forward half a step, but was caught by her eyes. She shouted outside, "Who's there?"

Qin Chuan and I were so scared that we turned around to run away, but were called back by a familiar voice.

"Qiao Qiao? Chuanzi? Why are you two here?"

Xiaochuan Ge came out with a broom and was also surprised to see us.

"She insisted on coming to see you!"

Qin Chuan blamed everything on me, and I quickly pointed at him and complained: "Brother Xiaochuan, he followed you here!"

"I didn't follow you! We just met by chance!" Qin Chuan hurriedly explained, "If you don't want to come, I won't want to enter this courtyard!"

"Then get out!" Miss Wu said after turning off the radio.

We all calmed down and no one dared to quarrel.

"Grandma Wu, they are all children from our courtyard, and they are here to see me." said Xiaochuan Ge.

Miss Wu snorted lightly, packed up her things and went back to the house. She hung a bamboo curtain in front of the door, which closed with a "click" sound, separating us from the outside.

"How dare you come to her place!" Qin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Xiaochuan Ge to ask.

"Our class organized to take care of the lonely elderly people on the street. If you don't want to come to this hospital, I will come here."

"Oh! I was scared to death just now," I patted my chest, "Brother Xiaochuan, don't let the general know that you are here, otherwise he will definitely not let you water the flowers or lend you a ladder."

Xiao Xiao smiled and shook his head. I pulled him aside to talk to him, but Miss Wu called Xiao Xiao's name in the room.

"Xiao Zhou, come in and have some snacks!"

When we heard that there were snacks, Qin Chuan and I both felt greedy. Xiaochuan asked us to go together. Our greed overcame our awe, and we followed him into the house tremblingly.

Miss Wu's home is not much different from ours. The furniture is either yellow lacquer or black wood, and they are not a set. There is a pot of Clivia on the desk, and under the glass plate are several black and white photos, including a small portrait of herself and a kind- looking old lady. On the drawer cabinet stands a peacock blue vase, which is the most now," I patted my chest, "Brother Xiaochuan, don't let the general know that you are here, otherwise he will definitely not let you water the flowers or lend you a ladder."

Xiao Xiao smiled and shook his head. I pulled him aside to talk to him, but Miss Wu called Xiao Xiao's name in the room.

"Xiao Zhou, come in and have some snacks!"

When we heard that there were snacks, Qin Chuan and I both felt greedy. Xiaochuan asked us to go together. Our greed overcame our awe, and we followed him into the house tremblingly.

Miss Wu's home is not much different from ours. The furniture is either yellow lacquer or black wood, and they are not a set. There is a pot of Clivia* on the desk, and under the glass plate are several black and white photos, including a small portrait of herself and a kind- looking old lady. On the drawer cabinet stands a peacock blue vase, which is the most beautiful object in the room, with a feather duster in it. Next to it is a 14-inch black and white TV, which is smaller than the one in my home.

There was a small wooden table next to the bed, on which was a plate of snacks, including tongue biscuits, mung bean cakes, honey three-knife, and my favorite sachima. There were also three porcelain cups with plum blossoms painted on them, which looked like a set, and they were filled with fragrant malted milk.

It can be seen that although Miss Wu only invited Xiao Xiao ge, she prepared three servings of snacks. I suddenly felt happy, knowing that she didn't actually hate Qin Chuan and me.

We went home after having snacks that day, and every time Xiaochuan Ge came to clean the yard, Qin Chuan and I would clamor to come along. This could not be hidden from Qin Qian, and soon she also came to the door.

With us here, Miss Wu's courtyard suddenly became lively. I wonder if General Grandpa knows; in this matter, he still asked us to water the flowers and pick persimmons and jujubes from his house. We were on good terms with Grandpa General and Miss Wu, although they still didn't want to be on good terms.

*Clivia: also called bush lily is a flowering plant

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