My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 51 Doubts
(Please vote with monthly tickets and add to your favorites!)
Inside the house, Fang Manxia, ​​who was bending down to pick up books, paused slightly. She clearly heard Zhou Jiye blurt out the word "Grandma."

Fang Manxia sighed softly, continued what she was doing, bent down to pick up the book that had fallen to the ground, straightened up, and looked at Zhou Jiye, who was standing blankly at the door.

"Come, young man, have a seat."

Fang Manxia casually placed the book on the coffee table, smiled at Zhou Jiye, and pointed to another chair to her left.

It took Zhou Jiye a few seconds to come to his senses. He still looked at Fang Manxia with disbelief before walking over and sitting down.

Zhou Jiye is now 100% certain that Fang Manxia is the old woman, because he has heard that "young man" countless times, and when Fang Manxia said that just now, her tone of voice was a little different from usual, but exactly the same as the old woman in his memory.

Zhou Jiye's mind was in turmoil. He stared blankly at Fang Manxia, ​​unable to understand how she could be that old woman. The key question was that Fang Manxia, ​​who lived here, seemed to be doing well, so how could she dress like that and go to the market to pick up vegetable leaves?

Fang Manxia looked at Zhou Jiye quietly and sighed softly when she saw his appearance.

"I didn't originally plan to let you know, and even if I were to tell you, it wouldn't be now." Fang Manxia smiled, but was also somewhat surprised: "Who would have thought that things would turn out differently? You actually recognized me by accident. That's quite unexpected."

"Grandma...old lady..."

"Let's call her Grandma, it sounds more affectionate," Fang Manxia said to Zhou Jiye with a gentle gaze.

"Grandma..."

Zhou Jiye called out again tentatively, and seeing that Fang Manxia was still smiling, he was relieved.

Full of questions, Zhou Jiye didn't know how to ask Fang Manxia, ​​nor did he understand what was going on. Just a few hours earlier, he had been worried about not seeing the old woman for days. To find out her name and address, Zhou Jiye had been asking around the market and even planned to go to the police station after lunch.

But Zhou Jiye never expected that the disabled and pitiful old woman he thought was so far away was actually Fang Manxia.

Why would Fang Manxia do this? Zhou Jiye couldn't understand it at all, and his wild imagination even led him to think of the word "spy".

Besides "The Gunshots of the Secret Service," which he and Lin Ying had recently watched, the most popular movie in the past two years has been "Black Triangle."

The old lady selling popsicles in "The Black Triangle" became a childhood nightmare for many. Could it be that Fang Manxia...?
“I know you have questions, but you don’t need to ask. You’ll find out naturally in the future. Just know that I’m not a bad person.” Fang Manxia seemed to be able to see through people’s hearts and guessed what Zhou Jiye was thinking at once.

Zhou Jiye opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a word.

Seeing his reaction, Fang Manxia smiled and said, "It was actually my idea for you two to move in. I've asked around, and you're both good kids. There aren't many people like you these days. Xiaomei has been with me for over thirty years. I can't keep her by my side forever, and besides, she has her own family and her own life. Do you understand?"

"Is the Xiaomei you're talking about Aunt Tang?" Zhou Jiye asked.

Seeing Fang Manxia nod slightly, Zhou Jiye realized that it was Fang Manxia's arrangement that allowed him and Lin Ying to move in. If it weren't for Fang Manxia, ​​how could they have moved here? They certainly wouldn't have had this opportunity.

Zhou Jiye had always thought it was luck, but who would have thought it wasn't like that at all.

“Alright, since that’s the case, let’s keep things as usual. Just pretend you never met the old lady before. Also, you can tell Xiaolin about this privately, but don’t tell anyone else, okay?” Fang Manxia instructed, her tone gentle but firm. Zhou Jiye hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

Zhou Jiye didn't even know how he got downstairs; he only came to his senses when he reached the bottom.

He was full of questions, but he couldn't ask them. He glanced back at the second floor with a complicated expression.

In the afternoon, when he went to relieve Lin Ying, he was still preoccupied, but Lin Ying was busy rushing back to cook dinner and didn't notice his unusual behavior. It wasn't until he went to pick Lin Ying up again in the evening that he was unusually silent, seemingly absent-minded, which Lin Ying found strange.

"What's wrong with you today? Why do you look so worried? Did something happen?" Lin Ying couldn't help but ask.

"Let's talk about it when we get back," Zhou Jiye said after thinking for a moment. Seeing his reaction, Lin Ying didn't ask any more questions. The two of them went to their lodgings, tidied up their things, and then boiled tea eggs for tomorrow in the kitchen. After finishing, they put the pot on to simmer and returned to their room. After closing the door, Zhou Jiye lit a cigarette, took a few deep drags, and began to tell Lin Ying about Fang Manxia and the old woman.

Lin Ying listened quietly, her expression initially normal, but as she heard more, a look of surprise appeared on her face. After Zhou Jiye finished explaining the situation, Lin Ying seemed to be deep in thought.

"So that's how it is. No wonder I've always found it strange that the old lady could rent such a nice house so easily." Lin Ying laughed as she said this, and teased Zhou Jiye, "Well done, little Ling. Good deeds are rewarded. I didn't expect to benefit from your kindness."

"Putting aside whether it's real or not, you can help me analyze this. I'm really worried. Is there something wrong with this old lady? Why does she have to disguise herself like that? If I hadn't accidentally stumbled upon her today, I wouldn't have known she was that old lady."

"Problem? What problem?" Lin Ying asked back.

"Don't play dumb. You're smart enough not to figure it out, aren't you?" Zhou Jiye rolled his eyes at her. "Of course it's because of the old lady's identity! How could an ordinary person do that? Is she some kind of spy?"

Lin Ying chuckled: "Your imagination is too vivid, isn't it? Where do so many spies come from these days? Besides, if the old lady really were a spy, do you think she would be stupid enough to deliberately arrange for us to stay here under the same roof as her? Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?"

"this……."

Zhou Jiye was so concerned that he made a mistake, but Lin Ying's words surprised him.

That's right! If Fang Manxia really had a problem with her identity, she would never have arranged things this way. Although Fang Manxia only gave a brief explanation at noon, Zhou Jiye could tell from her words that Fang Manxia had specially arranged for him and Lin Ying to move in, and that it was also inseparable from his kindness to the old woman. Because of this, when Zhou Jiye was frantically looking for a house, someone happened to give him this address, and easily paid the rent to them on their first meeting.

Recalling what had happened before, Zhou Jiye had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, but he still couldn't explain Fang Manxia's strange behavior.

"I can guess some of it." Lin Ying said at this moment, which surprised Zhou Jiye. He subconsciously looked at Lin Ying.

“The old lady was no ordinary person. Although I didn’t have much contact with her, I talked to Aunt Tang. Aunt Tang told me that the old lady suffered a lot in the past few years and only moved back a few months ago.”

"Perhaps that's why. The old lady's thinking is a bit different from most people's. She lives a secluded life and tries not to go out if she can. Even if she does go out, she probably has other concerns. Disguising herself as that kind of old lady would help her avoid being noticed. As for what you said, that's impossible. If that were the case, how could they not have found out about it all those years ago?"

"There's no need to do that!" Zhou Jiye said, puzzled.

Lin Ying shook her head: "You haven't experienced these things, but people who have have different perspectives. Besides, everyone has their own secrets. As long as the secret doesn't affect others or cause harm to society, why insist on pursuing it?"

"Besides, the fact that the old lady was so open to letting us move in shows that she's not a bad person, so we don't need to worry."

Although Lin Ying's words didn't completely convince Zhou Jiye, they did put him at ease. Just as Lin Ying said, Fang Manxia might have her own difficulties, and as long as she wasn't a bad person, that was fine. As for the rest, it was just personal privacy, and since Fang Manxia wasn't going to talk about it, there was no need to pry. Perhaps he would gradually understand in the future.

With his mind at ease, Zhou Jiye's expression relaxed considerably. He continued discussing Fang Manxia with Lin Ying for a while, and gradually the conversation turned to the dinner he had discussed with Lao Wen for National Day.

After listening, Lin Ying said it was no problem, and she also thought the arrangement was very good. In addition, Zhou Jiye really didn't need to set up a stall at the vegetable market during the National Day holiday, and her business of selling tea eggs at the movie theater didn't need to last as long as usual. They could close up early and go to Xu Guoqing's place to help out, and take this opportunity to thank them properly over the meal.

The next two days passed quickly. On the second day, Zhou Jiye went to the market to set up his stall again. He bought extra old hens that day, keeping two at home without selling them. The rest were quickly sold out as soon as he arrived at the market.

Besides the old hen, Zhou Jiye also specially bought two soft-shelled turtles from the countryside. These are rare finds in the market these days, and they'll be perfect for the National Day gathering. Stewed old hen with soft-shelled turtles is a classic dish, and just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

I'll bring a chicken and a turtle, and keep the rest for Lin Ying and the old lady at home to nourish their bodies.

Since discovering Fang Manxia's true identity, Fang Manxia's attitude has become noticeably more friendly these past two days. She's been going downstairs more often and talking to Zhou Jiye and the others more frequently. She's no longer the polite yet somewhat distant woman she used to be.

　Let me just say a few words.

　　First of all, the new book will be updated twice a day, not once! There will be one update at 10 am and one at 5 pm. Don't say that I'm updating too little. 6,000 to 7000 words a day is not a small amount. Please support me.

　　Secondly, Fang Manxia in the book is based on a real person, an elderly woman the author knew. She was indeed like that back then. Readers in Shanghai who are older or whose family members lived on Yongjia Road would certainly have seen her around 79.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)