Simon settled into the wooden reclining chair on the east wall of the living room. The kitchen was to the north, where his mother was fiddling with the dishwasher, but the machine had long been out of order and was extremely difficult to operate. Sun Hui smacked the machine a few times, and it completely gave up. Left with no choice, she had to wash by hand.
Adults live by experience, and washing dishes with detergent and a sink was clearly beyond Comrade Sun Hui's scope of knowledge, so she became very clumsy. Her usual capable and concise demeanor was gone. Simon turned to look at her back, finding it particularly amusing.
Lu Xuefeng went out for about ten minutes. The concrete yard, called a drying ground here, would have been covered with golden-yellow rice grains two months ago. Now, there were still a few bamboo baskets drying various goods: dried bamboo shoots, fish slices, and daylilies. A basket of thoroughly dried soybeans hung from the balcony ceiling.
The old man walked around the yard, looked up at the sky, then checked the dried vegetables. He peered into the living room from the yard but ultimately decided not to go back inside. So, he went to the storage room in the southeast corner of the yard, retrieved a nylon basket, grabbed a pair of scissors, and left through the main gate.
Sun Hui finished washing the rice bowls, packed the leftovers into fresh-keeping bags, and put them in the refrigerator.
She returned to the living room and saw her son idly scrolling on his phone again. The winter sunlight was dazzling, passing through the narrow door and spreading out on the marble tiles. Simon hid in a spot where the reflection couldn't reach, with half of his shoulder illuminated, his legs crossed on the chair, and his body tilted, looking like a cat.
"Son, I need to tell you something."
Simon's heart sank. When did his parents ever speak in such a consulting tone? Of course, it was when they were about to trick him.
"I'm not listening, not listening..."
Sun Hui was furious and reached out with her hands, still greasy from the dinner plates, to pinch Simon's little face. "You have to listen, even if you don't want to!"
"Ow--!!" Simon let out a pig-like shriek.
Sun Hui, feeling pained, released her grip and quickly rubbed her son's face. "No pain, no pain, my good Kang Kang."
Simon was shattered by his mother's gaze into a puddle of deflated tire rubber, melting onto the chair, completely still.
"Your father and I are going to be busy recently, so it's a good time for you to spend a few days with your Great-Grandfather. You'll stay here for two weeks, alright?"
Simon twitched the corners of his mouth. Being entrusted to relatives was one of the great sorrows of "childhood."
"Okay. I really like Great-Grandfather..."
Sun Hui's smile was strained. She hugged her son, then turned and sat in the reclining chair. Her eyes were suddenly dazzled by the reflection on the marble tiles, and she couldn't help but lean back, her posture not much different from Simon's earlier.
Simon felt his mother's chest, an adult woman's chest. He knew he had once nursed in his mother's arms. With reverence, he felt a slight itch in his navel, where there had once been an umbilical cord connecting to his mother's placenta.
His mother's blood and milk surged in the child's body cavity like a warm waterbed. Simon now knew clearly that he had an inseparable relationship with this female human named Sun Hui. Although the umbilical cord was severed, the string of this kite, him, would always be in his mother's hand.
The fear hidden deep in his memory slowly receded. Simon felt as if he was rising from underwater to the surface, finally able to breathe deeply.
"Mom, when are you leaving?" he asked stickily.
"I'll stay with you for a little while longer." Sun Hui wrapped her arm around her son's back and covered her eyes. She had originally been very proud of this plan, but now she felt very uncertain, especially after seeing Lu Xuefeng. Would such a rough old man, with social credit level 1, really not have a negative impact on the child? But a child's filial piety must be cultivated from a young age. Should she take him to his uncle's house instead? That was too far.
The reason Simon had never heard of Lu Xuefeng was, firstly, his own reclusiveness, and secondly, he was not allowed to use the internet. His rights in the virtual world were extremely limited; besides operating agricultural mechs, online payment was his only frequent usage. What specific restrictions he had were part of a very complex algorithm that he himself didn't fully understand.
Social credit level 1, in fact, meant being on the fringes of society. He couldn't even own his private mechs. Considering this, Sun Hui had not brought her younger brother along this time.
Sun Hui had only met Lu Xuefeng a few times. According to his eldest brother Lu Tingchu and her husband Lu Jiande, he was a man who dared to love and hate, straightforward and genuine. Aside from his overly sweet talk, he was almost without flaws. Yet, such a person failed to pass the social credit level 2 qualification exam.
Like many of the older generation, Lu Xuefeng was an outcast, abandoned by the times.
Sun Hui leaned into Simon's ear, gently giving him some life advice, telling him to be polite and not to disrespect his Great-Grandfather with his actions. But if he felt wronged, he should send an email immediately. Then she went through all the chores he could do, like folding quilts and washing dishes.
A thick cloud on the horizon obscured the sun. Lu Xuefeng returned with his basket, like a background effect for a demon king's entrance. When he stood at the living room door, the room darkened.
Sun Hui quickly put her son down, stood up, and walked to the old man's side, offering to help him unload his back basket.
Lu Xuefeng waved his hand, twisted slightly, and the back basket slid down. Just as it seemed about to hit the ground, he hooked it with a finger, slowed its descent, and it landed steadily on the floor.
Simon walked to the edge of the basket and peered inside; it was a basket of mushrooms—enoki, king oyster, shiitake, winter mushrooms, button mushrooms, and so on. He assumed they were picked from a cultivation greenhouse.
Modern mechanized rural areas have the technology to simulate natural environments. Out-of-season vegetables are already commonplace, and the term, once a public fear, has slowly faded. Modern people's vegetable baskets are full all year round; there's never any talk of vegetables or fruits being out of stock.
The old man smiled, very unnaturally, even quite frighteningly. "Tonight, this little rascal will have mushroom hotpot."
Simon's intuition told him that Lu Xuefeng didn't particularly like them, mother and son. Perhaps it was due to some sense of estrangement? They say there's a special bond between grandparents and grandchildren, but this old man was like an ice block, only showing a minimal amount of politeness.
"Grandpa, I'll leave this boy to your care. I'll be going now."
Lu Xuefeng nodded. "Alright, you go."
Sun Hui squatted down one last time, hugged her son, and whispered in his ear, "Mom's leaving. You be good here, don't miss home."
Simon obediently said okay.
Sun Hui left. In the pickup truck, she received an email from her husband, "Is our son settled?"
For a moment, she was overwhelmed with sorrow and grief. She pulled the car over to the side of the road, called Lu Jiande to scold him thoroughly, and then burst into uncontrollable sobs.
Meanwhile, Lu Xuefeng cleared his throat and said to Simon, "Come, I'll show you your bedroom."
Simon squinted, "Okay, okay."
The sky was still gloomy. Was it going to snow tonight?
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