News from Taiwan

Chapter 50 Unexpected
After getting out of the car, Jiang Guier found the key under the hydrangea by the door, opened the door, and went straight upstairs.

The old lady's room still exudes the charm of time, simple and elegant.

She searched the house like a little mouse, looking everywhere she could see, but to no avail.

Her gaze fell on the wardrobe in the room. When she pushed it open, it made a muffled creaking sound, and the rich aroma of camphor wood mixed with the faint musty smell of old cotton and linen wafted into her nostrils.

It smells so bad!
She frowned. Her great-grandmother's things were always kept clean, so why would they smell?

I guess it hasn't been opened in a long time. I've decided that when I go back to the hospital, I should tell Aunt Chen that I need to come back and help my great-grandmother air out these clothes that have been stored away to get rid of the musty smell.

Jiang Guier squatted down in front of the small camphor wood box inside the wardrobe, her fingertips pinching the clasp of the gilded bronze lock. The lock body was covered with patina. When she gently opened it, her fingertips brushed against the lock cylinder with a rough feel, like touching the dust of a bygone era.

Grandma was a clean person. Inside the box, there was a faded indigo coarse cloth and several dark-patterned silk shirts folded over it.

She unfolded each piece, her fingertips tracing the rough edges of the fabric, examining even the stitches at the corners, but found no trace of her great-grandfather. After finishing, she couldn't help but tap her head. What an idiot! What era is this? How could anyone hide something in the stitches of clothing? She must have watched too many spy movies…

She sat on the stool in front of the dressing table and sighed, looking at the box her grandmother had placed on the table. She played with the lock that was about to fall off, her fingers tracing the faint water ripples engraved on the surface of the box, the edges of which were smoothed by the passage of time.

Jiang Guier supported herself on the edge of the box with her forearm, and gently lifted the lid with her fingertips. Inside were some small items that she had treasured for half her life.

Bored, she looked at each item one by one. There was an ivory comb with a warm, smooth patina, and a few strands of gray hair were still tangled between the teeth. It was clearly a treasured item, and she wondered if it was a gift from her great-grandfather.

The pillowcase embroidered with twin lotus flowers was already somewhat brittle. I dared not touch it, I could not touch it. If, like the letter, something went wrong, it would be irreparable.

She picked up a silver coin from the bottom of the box. She had played with this when she was a child and hadn't seen it since. It turned out that her grandmother had kept it. She repeatedly rubbed the cool metal surface with her fingertips, played with it in her hand for a while, and then put it back.

These objects are all imbued with the warmth of time, yet none of them are directly related to my great-grandfather.

There are no letters, no photos, not even a single word that can prove the identity of the great-grandfather.

"Sigh." She sighed softly. The light outside the window gradually dimmed. Xi Jiang Gui'er suddenly felt her eyes sting. Even the only clue had been cut off. Was her idea of ​​going to Taiwan also going to come to nothing?

No!

I cannot give up. Even if I have nothing, I must go to Taiwan. I cannot sit idly by and wait to die.

Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the stairs, the sound of shoes scraping against the wooden steps was particularly clear, like striking a taut string.

someone!

Jiang Guier suddenly sat up straight, and the silver coin in her hand fell back with a "clang".

She hurriedly closed the lid, but her fingertips trembled with nervousness. She even had to fasten the clasp twice before she could do it. The rickety padlock almost broke because of her.

Her back tensed instantly. She turned to look at the door, her heart pounding. At this hour, no one should be coming to the old house.

unless……

A figure suddenly appeared at the door. Jiang Guier gripped the emergency call button on her phone, ready to call the police immediately if anything went wrong.

What are you looking at?

Jiang Wumei's voice came from the doorway, sharp and shrill, like an icicle piercing the air.

She stood by the doorway, wearing a light gray diagonal-front blouse with a pearl brooch at the collar. The pearl's luster was somewhat dull. Her deeply wrinkled face was taut, and her eyes, like sharpened knives, pierced straight at Jiang Guier. Even the white hair at her temples seemed to exude a chilling sharpness. Grandma?

Why did you come?

Is he still angry about what happened last time, and came back specifically to scold me?
Grandma, what brings you here?

Jiang Guier's fingertips curled up, gripping the fabric of her clothes. Her fingertips brushed against the texture of the clothes before she managed to steady her voice: "I... I want to look for my great-grandfather's things, to see if there are any clues that can prove his identity."

"What do you need that thing for?" Jiang Wumei took two steps forward.

She walked up to Jiang Guier, her tone sharp and disappointed, "What's the use of such a piece of junk? What can you do with it even if you find it? You should use that energy to think more about your own situation."

Jiang Guier's eyes were still wet with tears, but she forced out a stubborn look. She looked at her grandmother's tense face, her Adam's apple bobbed, and her voice was firm, "I've made up my mind. I'm going to Taiwan to find my great-grandfather. Then Mom won't be able to force me anymore."

When she said this, her eyes shone like fire, burning away all her previous confusion.

Jiang Wumei's movements suddenly stopped, and her fingertips, which were poking at the lid of the box, froze.

She stared into Jiang Guier's eyes for a long time, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the fabric of her sleeve. Her voice softened, tinged with a hoarse melancholy: "Taiwan...you're actually going to Taiwan to find him...never mind..."

Jiang Guier's heart clenched. Would her grandmother forbid her from going?

Just as she was about to speak, Jiang Wumei walked over, opened the drawer of her grandmother's dressing table, and reached her fingers inside to feel around in the compartments. Her fingertips brushed against the dusty wooden board, her movements light and slow, as if she were touching fragile memories.

A moment later, the inner panel was pried open, revealing what was hidden inside.

It turns out, Grandma hid it!

"Since you insist on going, then take it. It's better if you give up."

Jiang Wumei unfolded the kraft paper in her hand, revealing a yellowed black-and-white photograph. A man in a Zhongshan suit stood under an old banyan tree, his posture upright. The woman standing beside him wore a cheongsam, gentle and graceful, and her features bore a resemblance to Jiang Guier.

"This is……"

"The man in the photo is your great-grandfather, and the woman next to him is your great-grandmother."

Jiang Wumei gently touched the figure in the photo with her fingertips, her eyes filled with complex emotions. "The back shows his name and date of birth."

She looked up at Jiang Guier, a hint of fierceness in her eyes, "It's good to go and see her, it's better than being bullied by your mother here."

Jiang Guier's heart skipped a beat. Did her grandmother know about what happened between her and her mother?

She wanted to ask, but also didn't want to.

Jiang Guier took the photo and gently ran her fingertips along the creases on its edge. The cool touch seemed to carry the warmth of a generation.

Looking at the faded handwriting on the back of the photo, her eyes instantly welled up with tears. All the helplessness and confusion she had felt before vanished in that moment.

She looked up at her grandmother and suddenly realized that beneath her grandmother's sharp exterior lay unspoken worries.

Grandma also cared about that person.

(End of this chapter)