Age: My Small World

"time to eat."

With her mother's reminder, she then carried a plate of willow leaf cakes into the house.

Little Fish snapped out of his curiosity and quickly got up to help.

Besides the flatbread, there was something else for dinner, but it was just two pickled vegetables: pickled radishes made by my mother and pickled garlic given to me by my aunt.

"Xiaoshan, just have a simple meal today, Mom will make dumplings for you tomorrow."

Li Xiaohua said happily.

Her salary recently increased slightly, and her mood improved considerably.

“Mom, if the work is too hard, then we don’t need to do it anymore. Anyway, we have enough to eat and wear at home.”

With his and Xiaoyuer's salaries on the surface, it's enough to support the family, so naturally his mother doesn't need to go out to work.

However, Li Xiaohua was far from idle and simply shook her head upon hearing this.

"alright."

Yang Jun knew that haste makes waste, and that he needed a child at home for his mother to take care of.

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but glance at Xiaoyuer, which made the little girl look at him inexplicably.

"By the way, Xiaoshan, there's something I should tell you."

The old woman seemed to have just remembered something, and looked at Yang Jun as if she was hesitating whether to tell him or not.

Yang Jun was surprised; it was the first time he had ever seen his mother so hesitant.

He winked at Xiaoyuer, but was met with a puzzled look in return; clearly, the little girl had no idea what was going on.

After thinking for a moment, the old woman put down her chopsticks and said with a hint of seriousness, "There's news about your eldest uncle."

"Hmm? Uncle?"

Yang Jun naturally knew that he had an uncle. His father had only four siblings, and his second uncle died at the age of eight, so to be precise, there were three people in total.

Apart from their father Yang Sanxi and aunt Yang Qingping, only their uncle Yang Kaizhu remained.

Then my mother let out a deep sigh.

"Your uncle went north a few years ago and stayed there, so no news came home. Later, he died in the west."

Yang Jun's eyes narrowed involuntarily.

The west side?
He probably knew.

"Then why is it only now that we're getting news? Did Uncle send letters back when he was up north?"

After all these years, there should have been at least one letter home.

"This is also because of your grandfather, which is why your uncle never wanted to come home. Later, he simply disappeared without a trace. If someone hadn't told me this time, I wouldn't have known about your uncle's experiences over the years."

Li Xiaohua sighed deeply.

As for what exactly his grandfather did to make his uncle so angry that he didn't want to go home, Yang Jun didn't intend to delve into it; that was all ancient history.

Besides, my uncle is no longer here.

"Actually, the one who sent the letter back this time was your aunt."

"Auntie?"

"Well, it's a pity your aunt said that she was in poor health and couldn't leave your uncle with any children."

So the couple did not have any offspring.

"What does Auntie want from this letter?"

Yang Jun was even more surprised. His uncle had passed away, so shouldn't his aunt have completely lost contact with the Yang family?

Li Xiaohua seemed even more hesitant at this moment.

However, she continued, "It was your uncle's father-in-law, your aunt's father, who asked her to write this letter. His purpose is to meet you."

"Why?" Yang Jun was even more puzzled. "Her father and mother only have your aunt as their daughter."

When his mother got to this point, Yang Jun could roughly guess what was going on.

He also knew that perhaps his aunt's parents held some kind of official position.

Yang Jun thought for a moment and said, "Mom, then let's take some time to visit Aunt. After all, she's a relative. Even though Uncle is gone, I think it's okay to help her if she has any difficulties. As for other things, we can talk about them later."

Li Xiaohua thought so too, but at first she was afraid that Yang Jun would be resistant.

After all, it was an uncle I had never met since childhood, and when I suddenly received news that he had already passed away, there was basically no family affection between us.

Li Xiaohua, however, still remembered that uncle. Moreover, the aunt's words revealed a gentle nature, which made her feel more favorably toward her.

"By the way, where does your aunt live?"

"Her home is in the North District, not far away."

Yang Jun couldn't help but smile: "So you're in the capital too? That makes things simpler."

He immediately made an appointment with his mother to visit his aunt in a few days.

evening.

After Xiaoyuer washed Yang Jun's feet, the two of them went up to the kang (a heated brick bed).

Just as the little girl was looking forward to something, Yang Jun grabbed her shoulders and said, "Little Fish, let's have a baby."

Cheng Xiaoyu was taken aback at first, then nodded with her cheeks flushed: "Brother Xiaoshan, I'm also thinking of having a few children as soon as possible. My mother said it's not easy to get pregnant when you're older."

Yang Jun's lips twitched. How could his mother actually say something like that?

To be precise, the best age for women to get pregnant is around 24 or 25. After 30, it becomes a bit risky, and after 35, women are considered advanced maternal age, making it difficult to conceive and generally not recommended to get pregnant.

As for Cheng Xiaoyu, she's only in her early twenties, she has a long way to go.

However, that was Yang Jun's original intention, so it can only be said that his mother omitted some unnecessary words for him.

The two of them then began to work hard.

For several days in a row, Yang Jun gradually returned to his normal life, mainly wandering around his home and Huyang Village.

He felt that if he hadn't been strengthened by the spiritual water, his body wouldn't have been able to withstand such constant back-and-forth movement.

Indeed, it was right not to provoke others anymore.

He can barely handle just a few people right now.

After getting off work that day, he quickly went home.

At home, besides her mother and Xiaoyuer, her second sister also came over, and everyone changed into new clothes.

Today we decided to go to my aunt's house, so my mother specially invited my second sister over as well.

If my eldest sister weren't so far away in Shandong Province, I would have invited her along as well.

"Let's go, while it's still early."

It's only a little past five o'clock, and maybe six o'clock by then, so it's still early.

All four of them rode their bikes there, not to show off that they had bikes, but because it was more convenient.

It's so late, the bus will be running soon. If I take the bus and have to walk back tonight, then riding a bike is better.

After riding for a full hour, the four of them finally arrived at an alley.

"Xiaoshan, is this the place?"

“Mother, if there are no other Wujing Hutongs around, then this is probably the place.”

Wujing Hutong truly lives up to its name; he actually discovered five wells in this hutong, each corresponding to one of the five courtyards.

These five courtyards housed five families. (End of Chapter)