The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Shu had been back in this small northern county for over a week.

Grandma was finally discharged from the hospital safely and brought home to recuperate.

My heart, which had been hanging in suspense for so long, finally settled down. The exhaustion from days of running around and taking care of my grandmother also subsided along with the peaceful breathing of her as she slept.

Last night was the deepest sleep he had had since he came back.

He woke up in his familiar little bedroom early in the morning. The room was small, just as it had been before he went to university.

The desk was covered with posters of basketball stars who had long since retired from playing. The bookshelf was crammed with high school textbooks and some completed or unfinished practice problems. The basketball in the corner was somewhat deflated and covered with a thin layer of dust.

After he left, the house seemed to freeze in that moment. Even the phone charger he left at home was carefully rolled up by his father and placed on the table.

He stretched on the hard earthen bed, and his neck cracked with a crisp sound.

"Hiss... Indeed, it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality..."

He muttered under his breath, sitting up from the covers, his body aching all over.

I remember when I was in high school, I would play ball with my classmates for an afternoon, then come back and sleep on this kang (heated brick bed) overnight, and I would be perfectly fine the next day.

He even once thought that his little kang (heated brick bed) might be a treasure left behind by some old immortal who had attained enlightenment, and that sleeping on it would grant him immortality and immunity to all poisons.

Looking at it now, what a joke! It's like I've been poked in the back by a brick wall.

Having grown accustomed to the overly comfortable bed at Yunduanyuan, returning to this solid earthen kang (heated brick bed) immediately triggered a protest from the body's memory.

It's not being pretentious, it's the muscles and bones honestly responding... okay, it is being pretentious.

He turned around and got off the kang (a heated brick bed). As soon as he moved, he felt a sharp pain on one side of his neck and half of his shoulder.

"I have a stiff neck..."

He grimaced and tilted his head, rubbing the stiff muscle with one hand. He shuffled out of the bedroom in his slippers.

Dad has already gotten up and is sitting on the old sofa in the living room, smoking and watching the morning news.

The TV volume was turned down so low that it was almost background noise.

"woke up."

Dad didn't turn around; his gaze remained fixed on the television, a lit cigarette dangling from his mouth, the smoke making his eyes squint slightly.

"Um."

Ye Shu responded and walked to the five-drawer chest against the wall.

The cabinet is quite old, with much of the paint chipped off, and a black photo frame sits neatly on top.

In the frame, a black and white photograph shows a middle-aged woman with gentle eyes and a smile on her lips, gazing quietly ahead, her gaze seemingly able to travel through time and land on her son before her.

Ye Shu stopped and stood there, quietly looking at her mother in the photo.

The morning light slanted in through the window, reflecting a soft halo on the glass of the photo frame, making the mother's smile even clearer.

He didn't speak, but silently recited a sentence in his heart:

Mom, I'm home. Grandma's alright. I'm doing fine out there... don't worry about me.

Then, he let out a soft breath, turned around, and went into the bathroom next door.

Although his family lived in a small courtyard house, and the house itself was a single-story building, the first thing they changed when renovating the old house was the toilet. After all, it was a dry toilet... those who know, know. Putting aside everything else, going to the toilet in winter was just freezing cold.

He looked in the mirror at his face, which bore a resemblance to his father's; stubble had appeared, and there were faint shadows under his eyes.

He twitched the corners of his mouth and smiled at himself.

After washing up, he walked to the sofa and sat down a seat next to his father, about a body's width away. The sofa was a bit dented, and it creaked slightly when he sat down; a piece of the fabric covering the backrest was also pulled down a little.

Neither father nor son spoke, and they watched the news on TV, which seemed to have nothing to do with their current lives.

A tranquil atmosphere permeated the air, but it didn't make people uncomfortable; instead, it gave them a sense of peace.

This is the rhythm of their relationship that has developed over the years. It doesn't need many words; silence itself is a form of communication, confirming each other's presence.

Ye Shu reached out and picked up an orange, peeling it. His father had long since finished his cigarette.

Sunlight slowly crept into the room, casting bright spots of light on the floor tiles, while dust particles danced slowly in the beams of light.

After an unknown amount of time, during a break between news broadcasts, Dad's eyes remained fixed on the television screen, his lips moved slightly, and he asked:

"Do you have enough money to spend while you're out there?"

Ye Shu's hands didn't stop peeling the oranges, and she spoke in the same ordinary way:

"That's enough. Didn't I tell you? I found a job at a shop, which is enough to support myself, and the rent is cheap."

"Um."

The old man responded with a low groan, paused for two seconds, as if processing the information, or perhaps considering his next words:

"If you need more, just say so, we have some at home."

"enough."

The conversation seemed to have reached its end, and the father and son fell silent again, with only the news on television continuing to play.

But the air seemed to have subtly changed; the silence was no longer stagnant, but rather flowed with a silent warmth.

The old man picked up the enamel mug on the table, blew away the foam, and took a sip of strong tea.

Ye Shu also relaxed her body and leaned back on the sofa. Although her neck still hurt, she felt unusually at ease.

The silence between father and son in the living room did not last long before it was broken by the sound of footsteps approaching and the door opening.

My aunt and uncle have arrived.

Grandma has been in the hospital for the past few days, and my aunt and uncle have been busy taking care of her, and they've suffered quite a bit themselves.

Ye Shu's grandmother had only two children: her aunt was the eldest, and Ye Shu's father was the younger brother.

Since Ye Shu's mother passed away, his aunt has taken great care of her orphaned nephew. Every few days, she would either stew pork ribs and bring them over, or buy fruit and milk. Sometimes, when she saw clothes suitable for young men at the mall, she would also pick one up for Ye Shu. She truly treated Ye Shu like her own child.

Ye Shu's cousin is the child of her aunt and uncle; she seems to be studying at a university in another city. Her family didn't tell her about her grandmother's illness, so she couldn't come back.

In Ye Shu's memory, that little girl loved to follow him around like a little tail since she was a child. Wherever he went, she went. He wondered what she looked like now.

"You're here so early."

Old Man Ye Shu stood up from the sofa and greeted him.

"Oh, I just went to the morning market and saw that the meat looked pretty fresh, so I bought some. My mother just got out of the hospital, so she needs to eat something good to nourish herself."

My aunt had a loud, clear voice and the efficient manner of the head of the family. She was carrying a heavy plastic bag. My uncle followed behind, also carrying things, and nodded and smiled at Ye Shu and his son.

"Aunt, Uncle."

Ye Shu quickly went to greet her and took the heaviest bag from her aunt's hands. There were no formalities, as family members don't need to be.

Uncle and Ye Shu's father sat back on the sofa. The two men didn't talk much. Uncle handed Ye Shu's father a cigarette, and Ye Shu's father lit it for him with a lighter. Then they chatted about everyday things.

Ye Shu carried the groceries into the kitchen, and her aunt followed her in, rolling up her sleeves and starting to prepare the meal.

"Your dad's cooking skills are only good enough to fool himself; for a proper meal, you have to rely on me."

In the kitchen, the sounds of running water, the rhythmic thud of a cleaver hitting the cutting board, and my aunt's habitual nagging could be heard.

"These eggplants are quite tender... The green beans are good too, I'll stew some green beans for you guys later... Xiao Shu, you're all alone out there, don't always eat takeout, it's unhealthy, learn to cook something simple for yourself..."

Ye Shu hummed in response as she helped her aunt.

However, he didn't actually eat takeout every day, after all, there was one person, or rather... four people, at home waiting to cook for him.

The aunt, who was standing nearby, suddenly changed the subject and asked:

"Xiao Shu, haven't you found someone or anything while you're out there?"