Mr. Su's Love Investigation Report
Chapter 186 Grandma

Chapter 186: Chapter 186 Grandma

She found the address and asked a passerby for directions, who pointed towards a small building at the end of the village.

It was a typical rural house, somewhat old, with weather-beaten terracotta and white ceramic tiles on the exterior walls. It was autumn, and the sun-drying yard was filled with corn cobs, cowpeas, and chili peppers; under the eaves were piled sweet potatoes, potatoes, and plenty of fresh vegetables, with some grain scattered around, and a few chickens pecking back and forth.

This house exuded a fully pastoral and tranquil air, completely different from the bleakness she had imagined for a lonely, elderly person.

Standing there, unsure of what to do, an elderly woman came out of the house, thin and stooped, with a head of white hair.

If she wasn’t mistaken, this was her Grandma, who must be in her eighties by now. Although bent like an old tree and shuffling her steps, she was carrying a shoulder pole, stuffing sweet potatoes, potatoes, and vegetables into the carrying baskets, filling two baskets to the brim, about to lift the pole and walk off.

She hurriedly took a few steps forward, wanting to call out but her lips and teeth felt clumsy.

The old woman saw her, looked her over with cloudy eyes, but said nothing and continued walking out with the pole.

"Gran... Grandma..." she blurted out anxiously, reasoning that even under normal circumstances, one would call an elderly woman Grandma, let alone when this might actually be her own Grandma.

The old woman heard her, and looked up at her again.

"Grandma..." she felt uncomfortable, this self-introduction was hard to make, but since she had come, she had no choice, "I... my surname is Tu... I am... Tu Chenggong’s daughter..."

Her voice was very soft, managing to say "I am Tu Chenggong’s daughter" was already quite difficult.

Grandma pointed to her own ears, "My ears are poor, I can’t hear!" Her voice was hoarse, thick with a regional accent.

Tu Hengsha stood in the yard, immensely embarrassed, wondering how she should loudly proclaim her origins.

Seeing that she remained silent, Grandma pointed at the house, "The door isn’t locked, there’s water to drink inside, and there’s breakfast too."

"..." She was mistaken for a passerby looking for a drink of water. Looking around and seeing no one else passing by, she grabbed Grandma’s carrying pole and shouted into Grandma’s ear, "My name is Tu Hengsha! I’m Tu Chenggong’s daughter!"

Inside the hall, faintly, there was an echo...

"I am Tu Chenggong’s daughter... daughter..."

Yes, she was Tu Chenggong’s daughter, no matter how awkward she felt inside, this was an unchangeable fact!

Having shouted it out, she felt relieved.

All sorts of emotions welled up inside her, and she found herself on the verge of tears.

She was Tu Chenggong’s daughter, indeed!

Grandma paused, then set down the carrying pole, and turned to walk into the house.

Was she being left outside?

She didn’t know what else to do.

But then Grandma reached the doorstep, turned back, and seeing that she hadn’t followed, waved at her.

She hurriedly caught up and followed Grandma into the house.

In the middle of the hall, on the table, there were several large steamed buns and a stack of pickles.

"Eat," Grandma said, her back to her as she pointed at the table, then went to pour her a glass of water.

When the water was placed in front of her, she noticed that Grandma’s eyes were also red.

Tu Hengsha held the cup, feeling awkward about where to start the conversation. Grandma, sitting opposite her, was motionless, deep in thought. Her stooped posture and the murky tears that flowed from the corners of her eyes might have made someone mistake her for a withered wax statue.

She surveyed the room where a black-and-white photo hung in the center, flanked by plastic scenic paintings and a God of Wealth statue. The man in the photo, around thirty, resembled the one she had seen in prison—her father. So, was this her uncle? Had he passed away?

In the silence, Grandma’s raspy voice broke through, "Eighteen years, it’s been eighteen years..."

That raspiness was so evocative that Tu Hengsha’s eyes welled up with tears, realizing that all her father’s money ultimately hadn’t saved her uncle’s life...

Eighteen years past, time had frozen in their youth...

"Is your dad... still alive?" Grandma’s raspy voice rose once again.

Tu Hengsha was slightly surprised; Grandma didn’t know about Dad’s situation?

She nodded, but seeing that Grandma was still staring, perhaps not clearly seeing, she nodded vigorously again, saying loudly, "Alive!"

Grandma’s tears rolled down once more as she lifted the corner of her clothing to wipe them, pointing at her own eyes, "I cried too much back then, ruined my eyes, everything looks blurred..." Shaking her head as tears flowed again, she murmured, "Killed... avenged... what’s the use? Ended up in jail... whether dead or alive in there, I don’t know... don’t dare to find out... not knowing means he’s alive... I’m afraid... even the dead are feared..."

Dead feared the dead? So, had many suffered from silicosis back then? She calculated that she had been five years old that year, twenty years ago. How many had survived twenty years with that disease?

"They’re all dead..." Grandma muttered toothlessly, white foam spilling from the corners of her mouth, "Two years, three years, five years, ten years, fifteen years... the longest anyone lasted was fifteen years, then they died..."

From the adjoining room, an old cough echoed. Grandma said, "Your grandpa... has been paralyzed for over a dozen years, can’t move..."

Tu Hengsha put down her water glass to check, but Grandma stopped her, "He does everything in bed! Dirty! Stinky! I can’t see well, can’t clean well!"

Tu Hengsha went anyway.

The room was not as Grandma had described; it was surprisingly clean and free from any foul smell, just bore the distinct scent of old age. A stool by the bed held some food and water. Grandpa was asleep, skinny as a dry branch, his beard and hair all white, breathing with his mouth open, like bellows.

Grandma pulled her away, "Nothing worth seeing here..."

Tu Hengsha felt helpless as she looked around the house. There were few decent pieces of furniture, only the most basic tables, chairs, cabinets, and beds, all rudimentary and worn.

Having rushed here abruptly, she hadn’t brought anything with her. She immediately rummaged through her bag, leaving only enough for her return fare, and handed all her cash to the elderly couple.

However, Grandma refused to accept it, "I have money! Money is sent every month, is it from you? The village also gives money! I can still make money by selling vegetables!"

"Selling vegetables?" Tu Hengsha looked at the vegetables outside. So, Grandma was the one taking these vegetables to sell? At her age, with her sight not so good, how could she sell vegetables?

As Grandma mentioned selling vegetables, she started to leave, "Stay home, walk around the village. I’ll be back once I sell these. If I don’t sell them today, they’ll spoil by tomorrow, a waste!"

"..." Unable to argue with that reason and unable to keep Grandma from selling the vegetables, understanding the frugal lifestyle of a lifetime farmer who abhorred waste, she simply said, "Then I’ll go with you."

Grandma didn’t hear clearly, so she repeated it, gesturing all the while, then ran to help Grandma with the load.

Her job involved lugging a camera all around, small but strong. However, she had never carried a load like this, struggling to find the balance.

Her face flushed with embarrassment, and finally, Grandma, stooping, hoisted it onto her shoulder herself, "I’ll do it, I’ll do it, it’s not your kind of work!"