Granny Tai smacked him on the head with a gourd ladle: "Even if you had other ideas, I wouldn't allow it."
Seeing his mother so protective, Liu Dalang leaned against the wall, growing more curious about her.
He had only seen her back.
She was small and thin, but her hair was incredibly soft, spread over his bed, faintly glowing, with a subtle fragrance in the air.
Liu Dalang asked, "Is she pretty?"
Granny Tai ignored him. When the porridge was ready, she set out several small dishes of pickled vegetables and left him a boiled egg.
The mother and son sat around the table. Liu Dalang ate quickly, wolfing it all down in no time, making Granny Tai's heart ache.
"Don't they feed you enough in the army?"
Afraid his mother would worry, Liu Dalang said, "I haven't had home-cooked food in a long time. I missed it."
A rare smile appeared on Granny Tai's face.
She put the remaining egg and porridge in the cupboard to keep off dust, then took out some money and told Liu Dalang to go buy some meat and vegetables.
The sun gradually rose. When it was fully light,
Some noise came from the eastern wing.
He Ping'an had bathed last night, and the bedding was sun-dried; she had been too comfortable and overslept.
She hurriedly got up, afraid of Granny Tai's scolding.
But when she pushed open the door, Granny Tai's cold face greeted her, scaring her.
"Granny, I'll go cook right away."
"No need!"
Granny Tai's eyes were like boning knives, scanning her from head to toe, then back again.
"Tidy yourself up. Your hair's a mess. Do you even look human?"
He Ping'an clutched her head, nodded repeatedly, and turned back into the room to find a comb.
While she was combing her hair, Granny Tai sat on a stool in the room, seeming to have something to say.
Looking at Granny Tai's cloudy eyes and aged face, He Ping'an thought of yesterday's bowl of steamed pork.
Over the past few months, the clinic had barely made ends meet. Now, she was probably going to be kicked out.
He Ping'an licked her dry lips, about to speak and save the old woman the trouble, when Granny Tai beckoned to her.
She helped He Ping'an tie a knot with the red string in her hair, then sighed softly.
"Your older brother is back."
The words had barely left her mouth when, almost simultaneously, a strange man appeared in the window behind Granny Tai.
Granny Tai had long heard her son's footsteps, soft as they were, but they were mother and son; even without turning around, she sensed him.
"Why are you hiding? Come in."
Dust motes drifted in the air, glittering golden.
The man was carrying a sack of rice. He entered and gave her a very friendly smile.
Granny Tai always said she looked like her son. But now that the real one stood before her, He Ping'an instinctively stepped back.
She hid in the shadows, biting her lip hard, utterly unable to comprehend... How could such a person exist?
Author's note: Thanks for reading.