After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

Grandma Lin placed the palm-leaf fan on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and slowly sat up straight.

Her back was bad, and she frowned as she sat up. Wang Hehua quickly went over to help her. The old lady didn't appreciate her help; she propped herself up on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and sat steadily, her eyes fixed on a certain spot on the opposite wall, as if there were an invisible map pasted there.

"You little slut."

She spoke, her voice not loud, but each word was pronounced clearly.

"Even if we find something valuable, it will belong to the Lin family. Give it away? Even if we do, it's still something the Lin family raised, ate the Lin family's rice, and drank the Lin family's water. You think you can keep everything for yourself? There's no such logic in this world."

She got off the kang (a heated brick bed), straightened her clothes with both hands, and then bent down to reach for her shoes under the kang.

Wang Hehua was quick-witted and handed the shoe to her.

"Mom, I'll go with you," she said, her tone carrying just the right amount of eagerness, neither too much nor too little, just like a dutiful daughter-in-law should be.

"I'm going too!" Lin Xiaohua jumped up from the chair, sunflower seed shells falling down her skirt.

Since Grandma Lin didn't say no, that meant she agreed.

The three people went out of the main room.

Grandma Lin walked at the front, her steps slow but firm, as if she were stepping not on mud, but on some kind of credential that she held the power. Wang Hehua followed slightly behind, her back bent, ready to lend a hand at any moment. Lin Xiaohua walked at the very back, the fastest, her skirt sweeping the dirt from the ground. She glanced ahead and then at both sides of the road, her expression revealing a wide grin, as if she were rushing to something good.

The sun was already setting in the west, and the light shone from the side, casting long, flat shadows of the three people onto the village road, like three streaks of gray-black water, stretching all the way towards the Lin family's old house.

On the way, we met a few villagers who took a second look at the scene.

"Hey, old lady, where are you going?" someone asked.

Grandma Lin didn't respond, not even lifting her eyelids.

Wang Hehua smiled, but the smile only reached the corners of her mouth, not her eyes: "Let's go for a walk."

The word "走走" is used cleverly.

She didn't say where she was going or who she was looking for, but everyone in the village recognized the direction she was heading—towards the Lin family's old house.

A few people stood by the roadside, watching the three figures walk further and further away, and exchanged glances.

"The Lin family is up to their old tricks again," someone whispered.

No one responded.

But no one left.

Everyone just stood there, watching from a distance, like watching a play that hadn't even started yet.

The wind blew in from the other side of the mountain, carrying a dampness and a hint of indescribable coolness.

It's going to change.

When Old Mrs. Lin came to the door, there was no one at the Lin family's old house.

The gate to the courtyard was closed, but it was only held in place by a wire, and could be easily opened with a gentle push. Wang Hehua walked in front, reached out and pushed aside the wire, and opened the crooked gate. The courtyard was empty; there wasn't even a chicken in sight.

The stove was cold. A thin layer of moss had grown around the water vat, indicating it hadn't been used for several days.

The door was locked.

A small, rusty lock hung on the door latch, but it was locked tightly. Wang Hehua peeked through the crack in the door—it was pitch black, she couldn't see anything, but she could smell a damp, musty odor seeping out.

"Mother, there's no one here." She turned around, her expression shifting from expectant to suspicious. "Are they hiding from us?"

Grandma Lin stood in the middle of the courtyard, her hands tucked into her sleeves, squinting as she looked around.

The courtyard wasn't large. On the east side, there was a small pile of firewood, neatly stacked, clearly the work of Lin Qianqian. On the west side, against the wall, were a few wilted scallions, looking like they hadn't been watered in a long time. Directly opposite the courtyard gate were two mud-brick houses, one for living and the other for storing miscellaneous items. The windows were covered with several layers of paper, letting in no light at all.

"Hmph! They might run away on the first day of the month, but they can't hide on the fifteenth." Lin Xiaohua squeezed up from behind, chin held high, her voice sharp and crisp, "They think they won't come back to sleep? I don't believe it."