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墨書 Inktalez
“Bang~~”
As soon as Jiang Yizhou and his uncle entered the door, they heard a loud thud coming from the landlord's room.
Jiang Maode paid no mind to it, disdainfully raising his hand to stop Jiang Yizhou. “What are you doing? It's their family matter; why are you getting involved? Don't you know that a clear official finds it hard to settle family disputes? If you have this much free time, you should think about what to eat for dinner!”
Jiang Yizhou had a complex expression. At least living in a shared courtyard was different from being enclosed in steel and concrete cages like in later times, where others couldn't interfere and vice versa. He still cared about the people he temporarily lived with in this courtyard, especially since the landlord seemed to have some mental issues.
After confirming that there were no more intense sounds following the initial noise, Jiang Yizhou comforted himself and followed Uncle back to their residence. After preparing a bit, he went to the simple kitchen under the long eaves outside to help cook.
“Sizzle sizzle sizzle...”
Pouring oil into the heated pan while ignoring the faint sounds of argument still audible, Jiang Yizhou washed the necessary ingredients. At this time, the most suitable vegetable was nothing but Chinese cabbage.
Perhaps people lose their passion through gradual retreat, compromise, and cowardice. The original Jiang Yizhou was just a simple country boy, but now he was someone who only knew how to shrink back and give up, working hard merely to survive, a pitiful person unaware of what the future held.
So he felt conflicted, wanting to use memories from thirty years beyond this moment to free himself from being troubled by this weak and helpless “past” that only sought to live on.
In truth, if Jiang Yizhou had any sense of responsibility and courage, any righteous thoughts, he wouldn't have lived as painfully as he did in his memories.
Fortune and misfortune have no doors; they come from one's own actions.
Jiang Yizhou never thought that even in the stable era following the grand times he lived through, life could be so difficult. Everything was merely self-inflicted; he couldn't blame others. He clearly understood himself yet remained wide-eyed, witnessing his own descent into hardship little by little.
Therefore, influenced by his original simple eighteen-year-old self—strong-bodied and steadfast—Jiang Yizhou decided to make a change.
Gurgle~~
Of course, for now, he should focus on preparing dinner!
“Bang~~”
With his back to the courtyard, Jiang Yizhou heard the sound of a door slamming shut. At the same time, the argument inside the landlord's house ceased. Feeling somewhat relieved, he continued picking up food with his chopsticks from the plate and quietly ate.
Early in the morning on the twenty-first, Jiang Yizhou got up early. When he rose, there wasn't even a hint of dawn in sight.
He quickly washed up and changed into a fresh set of autumn clothes, but kept the same outerwear. He moved a stool and sat under the Chinese toon tree in the yard.
The winter chill seeped into his bones. The tall tree had long lost its leaves to the autumn winds, leaving only bare branches. However, some weeds still grew beneath it, both green and withered, all glistening with frost at this moment. A cold breeze occasionally swept through...
Sitting in the yard, Jiang Yizhou gazed over the not-so-high courtyard wall towards the east, where the sun was rising. Aside from shivering from the cold wind and tightening his collar to cover the gap around his neck, he remained silent and motionless, his eyes either dazed or stubbornly fixed on the rising sun.
He felt somewhat lost. What could he do in this era? Or what did he want to do?
Creak~~
Jiang Maode, simply wrapped in a military coat that wasn't very tightly secured, seemed to have come out to use the restroom. Seeing his nephew sitting in the yard startled him; at first, he thought there was a thief. But upon closer inspection, he recognized him.
"Why are you sitting here, nephew? Look at you, you're freezing!" Jiang Maode asked several questions in succession as he looked at Jiang Yizhou sitting on the stool. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he said, "Quickly go inside! What if you freeze to death?"
Then he left the yard and headed to the public restroom not far outside. Although there was a chamber pot inside, it was rather inconvenient for a number two...
Jiang Yizhou was also reflecting on whether someone like him—doing a job that was somewhat unnecessary and lacked technical skill—was still so pathetic even after being reborn.
He clenched his fists and felt his muscles; unlike in his previous life when he had gained weight from sitting in an office, this body was a benefit.
As he watched the sun rise higher and higher, Jiang Yizhou finally dismissed his thoughts and returned indoors.
This was akin to a method of self-reflection before losing passion and desire in his previous life—being drenched in heavy rain or enduring wind and snow outdoors during winter until chilled to the bone, then returning to a warm home. At that moment, it was probably the happiest and most unrestrained time, free from negative and pessimistic influences.
Shivering, Jiang Maode hurried back inside, opened the coal stove, and found that three pieces of coal had nearly burned out. He quickly replaced one piece and opened the vent to let air circulate so that the fire would blaze up again.
In Beijing's cold winter, they relied entirely on the coal stove to warm their home. Jiang Yizhou shed his outer clothes and wrapped himself in a blanket, draping his heavy coat and cotton pants over it for extra warmth.
Jiang Maode tended to the coal stove until the bottom piece was almost burned out and the two pieces above began to catch fire slowly. The temperature in the room gradually started to rise again.
"What's wrong with you? You look frozen; you've probably been outside for two or three hours, right? Do you want to freeze to death?" Jiang Maode felt that this kid had changed too quickly. Last year, when he returned home for the New Year, he was still a diligent and honest child. How did he become like this? Could it be that something is wrong with his brain too?
"Uncle, I'm fine. I just wanted to calm down a bit; I'm much better now." Jiang Yizhou, propped up against the headboard with a large pillow, didn't say much more.
Jiang Maode's face turned angry as he glared at him, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something but couldn't get it out. He could tell.
In his nephew's eyes, there was no hint of willingness to listen to him as an elder. It seemed like he was saying, "Do whatever you want; you're the elder, I'll listen, but how I choose to act is my own business, and you don't need to worry about it."
The uncle and nephew made do with last night's leftovers and cooked a pot of porridge with the remaining rice.
Jiang Yizhou gathered his belongings, which included his ID and some money, along with a few other odds and ends, and prepared to leave.
"Uncle, I'm going out."
He pushed open half the door and turned back to casually say something to the room.
"Remember to come back for dinner." Jiang Maode sat by the coal stove after finishing breakfast, warming himself by the fire. He didn't even glance over; he just said it lightly, almost in a huff.
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