Grandpa Zhang Hong’s home is in a village not far from Song County at the foot of Songshan Mountain.
Departing from the capital, we took a plane to Luocheng, then drove for nearly two hours to Song County. After bypassing the Shaolin Temple, we drove for more than half an hour and finally arrived at the village.
The roads have been repaired long ago, and the water and electricity in the village were connected twenty years ago.
Even the houses are three-story buildings with yards.
To be honest, apart from the business district, hospitals, education and other supporting facilities, as well as the inconvenience of transportation such as takeout and express delivery, Zhang Hongzhen feels that living here is much better than living in the city.
Silent all the way, the Porsche Panamera that Lin Muqing drove deliberately to keep a low profile stopped in front of a yard.
But after turning off the engine, she still held the steering wheel and remained motionless.
Zhang Hong, the co-pilot, was shocked: "I bet you would be nervous too?"
"I'm not nervous." Lin Muqing looked forward, still holding the steering wheel, "Why should I be nervous about something that has nothing to do with me."
"Then you won't get out of the car?"
"No, I'll wait for you in the car."
"..."
Zhang Hong said helplessly: "Miss, maybe we will stay here today. Do you plan to spend the night in the car?"
Lin Muqing had no expression on his face, unbuckled his seat belt, got out of the car, and closed the door, all in one go.
Then she walked to the passenger side and looked down at Zhang Hong.
Zhang Hong grinned, got out of the car, closed the door, and walked into the yard.
Lin Muqing said nothing and followed Zhang Hong silently.
When he walks, she walks, and when he stops, she stops.
Only when she stepped into the courtyard gate, she hesitated a little.
Entering the courtyard, Zhang Hong stopped and looked around.
Then he felt a pain on the back of his head, and stars began to appear before his eyes.
He covered the back of his head and turned around, only to see Lin Muqing covering his forehead with both hands, staring at him with tears in the corners of his eyes, "You did it on purpose."
"That's true." Zhang Hong rubbed the back of his head and grinned, "Your forehead is really hard."
It hit him so hard that the back of his head was bruised.
Tsk, isn't it usually the case that the head hits the back?
Then here comes the problem.
Is this black one too tall, or is my picture too low?
This matter cannot be scrutinized.
But...this long straight black one is more popular.
Tsk.
Zhang Hong turned around, leaving the back of his head to her, and continued to look at the yard.
It seems that even in a parallel world, some things will not change.
The furnishings here are very similar to those of his grandfather's house in his previous life.
Thinking back when he was dreaming, he also asked his grandfather whether the tables and chairs at home were made of mahogany, huanghuali, or golden nanmu.
Then grandpa would rub his dog's head and tell him with a smile that those were just ordinary wood, just painted.
Just as I was thinking about it, an old man wearing plastic gloves and holding a hair dye came out.
This is Zhang Hong’s grandmother Cui Xiulian.
"Ouch! Zhang Hong is back? Why didn't you say hello in advance?" Grandma smiled and said, "Sit down first, and I'll finish dyeing my hair first."
In fact, it means dyeing white hair black.
Zhang Hong smiled and was about to speak, but grandma suddenly asked: "Come on, come on, girl, you sit down first. Zhang Hong, go to the refrigerator and get a bottle of orange juice for me."
As he said this, the old man stopped dyeing his hair and put the hair dye aside. Then he took off his gloves and took out a plastic cap from his pocket and put it on his head to wait for the hair dye to dry.
After that, she pulled Lin Muqing, who was at a loss, and walked into the house.
As he walked, he shouted: "Come out and see your granddaughter-in-law!"
Zhang Hong smiled and walked in.
He grew up here until he was six years old and then returned to Los Angeles with his parents. After that, he would come back every winter and summer vacation.
After I went to college, I rarely came back even during holidays.
Entering the living room, Zhang Hong's grandfather just came out of the bedroom.
The old man is in good health and has a good temperament. He looks like a retired professor.
But in fact, he was just an ordinary retired freight driver who went back to his hometown to build a house and live out his life.
But now the old man has completely broken his aura: "Where is she? Where is my grandson-in-law?"
As he said this, he saw Lin Muqing, who was sitting on the sofa holding hands with Grandma Zhang Hong and looking embarrassed.
Seeing Grandpa Zhang Hong come out, Lin Muqing quickly stood up and said, "Hello, Grandpa."
"Okay, what's your name? How old are you? Where do you work? How did you meet Zhang Hong? When do you plan to get married?" Mr. Zhang asked a bunch of questions in one breath, and then looked at Zhang Hong sideways, "This kid knows everything.
I don’t want to say it, but I thought he was going to live with his bullshit art for the rest of his life.”
Lin Muqing was very restrained: "My name is Lin Muqing, grandpa, Zhang Hong and I... are not boyfriend and girlfriend, we are colleagues."
"They are just ordinary childhood sweethearts, probably." Zhang Hong made a stab at the side.
Lin Muqing quietly glared at him with disgust.
The old couple of the Zhang family understood immediately.
It’s more than friends but not lovers.
Then there is no need to embarrass the girl.
Grandma Zhang Hong was left chatting with Lin Muqing in the living room (gathering information). Grandpa Zhang Hong glanced at him and walked into the study.
Zhang Hong followed in.
After closing the door, the two of them sat at the table.
Grandpa Zhang Hong picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea before asking: "Tell me, I haven't been back for several years, what's the matter with your sudden return this time?"
Zhang Hong smiled playfully: "I'm not busy. Why, I can't come see you two if I have nothing to do now?"
"Don't do this." Mr. Zhang curled his lips, and then looked Zhang Hong up and down, "Why, have you been beaten up by society? You kid used to be quite arrogant. But this is fine, being ordinary is the real thing.
Well."
The old man took a sip of tea happily, as if he had completely forgotten that it was he who personally ruined Zhang Hong's father's ordinary life.
Anyway, he is enjoying his ordinary little life now.
"I still can't hide it from your discernment." Zhang Hong continued to laugh playfully, "Master, I just want to ask about my great-grandfather."
Mr. Zhang's face collapsed when he heard this: "Why did you ask him?"
Zhang Hong explained with a smile: "That's it. Before, I knew the story of a family member who sacrificed his life in that war. His name was Wei Laisheng. But people who knew him felt that I looked very similar to him, so I asked him specifically
My dad asked me if my great-grandfather was called Laisheng, and my dad said my great-grandfather was called Zhang Laisheng."
He shrugged: "But there are two completely unrelated people in this world who look alike. One of them is named Zhang and the other is Wei. Maybe it's just a coincidence."
"It's not a coincidence." After a moment of silence, the old man spoke up, "His surname is Wei, but because he was married into the family, your great-grandmother was afraid that others would look down on him, so she changed his surname when applying for identity."
"You wait first."
After the old man finished giving instructions, he walked out of the study.
A few minutes later, he came back with a few things.
A bound book and a picture frame.
Inside the frame is a black and white photo.
There were two young people inside, a man and a woman.
The man looked very similar to Zhang Hong. He was wearing an old-style long windbreaker and was as gentle as jade.
That temperament and look in his eyes were something Zhang Hong couldn't fake.
Next to her is a very beautiful woman wearing a moonlight skirt and a crested hairpin on her head. She has a gentle temperament.
In the photo, she tilted her head slightly and looked at the man's profile, her eyes full of tenderness.
These should be Zhang Hong’s great-grandfather and great-grandmother.
He opened the bound book again.
This should be something like an ethnography.
It also contains stories about my great-grandfather and great-aunt.
The Zhang family has been passed down alone for several generations, but when it came to my great-grandmother, she was the only one.
So I had no choice but to recruit a son-in-law.
However, my great-grandmother’s parents also advocated free love, so my great-grandmother found her former classmate, her great-grandfather, who was also in love with her.
Grandpa loved her very much and didn't care whether she married her or not.
But my great-grandmother cares about him and doesn't want him to get married, but wants to get married normally.
Grandpa simply changed his surname from Wei Laisheng to Zhang Laisheng.
In this way, it doesn't matter whether or not you marry someone else.
My great-grandfather originally came from a scholarly family, but his family fell into decline. After graduating from school, he became a storyteller, and also worked as an editor and contributor to a newspaper.
After I got married, I found a job as a teacher.
A few years after my grandfather was born, a classmate invited him to become a teacher in the East.
Because the wages there were high, my great-grandfather decided to go there first, and after things stabilized, he would pick up Grandma Zhang Hong and his grandfather.
As a result, there was no news after he left.
I won’t write about what happened next.
But Zhang Hong already knew it.
Seeing him close the book, Mr. Zhang snorted coldly: "Now you know who he is. He looks like a dog, but he turns out to be a beast in clothes. He is capable of such things as abandoning his wife and children!"
Zhang Hong sighed, raised his head and said, "Sir, what if I said...the reason why great-grandpa didn't come back was because he died on the battlefield."
The old man was silent.
In fact, after Zhang Hong said what he said just now, he felt that maybe it really was him.
But he watched his mother work hard to raise him since he was a child, and he never remarried.
And that beautiful and gentle mother at the time also wanted him to age quickly due to the devastation of life and died suddenly at the age of less than fifty. Until her death, she told him not to blame his father. He must have had his own reasons.
...
Looking at such a mother, how could he not resent that person?
He didn't want to hear that person's story, and he wasn't even allowed to mention that person at home.
But it was Sun Tzu who brought it up now.
And the person he was talking about...
Looking at his grandson with a sincere expression, Mr. Zhang narrowed his eyes and said, "Tell me, how did he become a martyr."