My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 55 Old Kele

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The National Day dinner was a great success; everyone came with high spirits and left thoroughly satisfied.

This meal not only thanked Xu Guoqing for his help, but also brought everyone closer together. In addition, Wen Ge (Qiang Ge), A Qing, Xiao Ling, and Lin Meimei became familiar with each other. Although they hadn't reached the point of burning yellow paper and cutting chicken heads to become sworn brothers, the four of them had already formed a small group of friends and became much closer to each other.

After the National Day holiday, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying went to the village where they had settled down. Once there, they found their "uncle" according to the address and name given by Xu Guoqing.

Old Zhou from the village seemed to have known they were coming, and greeted them with a smile. He even took them on a tour of the village, introducing them to everyone he met as his nephew and niece-in-law.

Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying knew perfectly well why this was happening, and they helped Old Man Zhou put on a good show in the village. They even changed their clothes when they came, putting on the old clothes they had worn when they first arrived in Shanghai, so they looked no different from ordinary villagers.

After the performance, they returned to Old Zhou's house and handed over the private plots allocated to them to him. The land remained in their names, and all the produce from their daily farming went to Old Zhou. Overjoyed with this benefit, Old Zhou grinned from ear to ear, his missing front tooth lolling from side to side.

Before leaving, Lin Ying left Old Zhou 150 yuan, asking him to help repair the dilapidated house on his land and look after it occasionally. She also gave him their address in the city so he could contact her if anything happened in the village.

Old Zhou patted his chest and assured them that he would personally see the two off. After watching Zhou Jiye ride away on his bicycle with Lin Ying on the back, Old Zhou touched the pack of Daqianmen cigarettes that Zhou Jiye had given him in his pocket, hummed a little tune, and happily walked back home.

After dealing with the village affairs, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying felt much more at ease. However, they would still come back every now and then to show their faces in the village from time to time, to make their presence known, and also to keep an eye on Old Man Zhou's condition.

One should not harbor malicious intent, but one must be wary of others. Lin Ying would not trust Old Man Zhou too much, and taking some precautions was necessary, a point Zhou Jiye agreed with.

After October, the weather in Shanghai gradually turned cold. By late November, the temperature dropped sharply as a cold front from Siberia began to arrive in Shanghai, marking the beginning of the city's most difficult winter.

Thankfully, they no longer lived in Aunt Wang's cramped pigeon coop. Since moving into Fang Manxia's villa, the conditions here have been much better, and the winter nights aren't as unbearable as they had imagined.

As time went by, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying grew closer to Fang Manxia. They treated the elderly Fang Manxia with great respect and kept their promise to Aunt Tang, taking good care of her.

Fang Manxia was much more approachable than before, often chatting with Zhou Jiye or Lin Ying about everyday things. Especially with the former, since Zhou Jiye only worked half a day at his stall and spent most of his afternoons at home, Fang Manxia would invite him upstairs for afternoon tea.

The more Zhou Jiye got to know Fang Manxia, ​​the more he sensed the extraordinary nature of this old lady. Although he still didn't understand Fang Manxia's past, the breadth of knowledge she displayed, from her conversation, demeanor, and even the snippets of conversation during afternoon tea, was truly astonishing.

She could not only recount many past events and secrets of Shanghai in great detail, but also knew many stories unknown to outsiders. In addition, Zhou Jiye discovered that Fang Manxia not only spoke English, but also fluent French, which was definitely not something an ordinary old lady could possess.

That day, instead of accompanying Fang Manxia for afternoon tea as usual, Zhou Jiye rode his bicycle to a certain place on Rue Molière.

This is a narrow road only 328 meters long, located in the best area of ​​downtown Shanghai. The road is lined with century-old villas and lush plane trees, giving it a unique ambiance.

There are many former residences of famous people here, including Mr. [Name]'s former residence. Not far from the former residence, there is an alleyway filled with Shikumen houses, a typical feature of Shanghai.

After searching for a while by house number, Zhou Jiye arrived at one of the buildings and rang the doorbell.

The doorbell rang for a while, footsteps came from inside, and the door opened quickly.

"Who are you looking for?"

The man who opened the door was in his fifties, but he was dressed very smartly. He wore a shirt with a cream-colored cashmere jacket over it, dress pants with perfectly pressed creases, and shoes that were polished so bright they reflected your image.

Her hair was neatly combed, parted in a 3/7 ratio, and slicked back with hair oil. It was so shiny and smooth that even a fly couldn't stand on it. I don't know if she used a hair oil, but in Shanghai parlance, she looked like a refined old gentleman.

"Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Xie Xiangrong."

"Looking for me?"

Xie Xiangrong looked at Zhou Jiye in front of him with suspicion, but couldn't remember knowing him.

"You must be Mr. Xie?"

Zhou Jiye asked politely, then explained, "Ms. Fang Manxia asked me to come; this is something she asked me to bring you." As he spoke, Zhou Jiye held up a package in his hand, and Xie Xiangrong glanced at it and immediately laughed.

"So it was my sister who asked you to come in... Please come in..."

As he spoke, Xie Xiangrong warmly invited Zhou Jiye inside. Once inside, Zhou Jiye subconsciously looked around the small building.

This shikumen house is slightly smaller than Fang Manxia's home; the entrance hall is not large, but the layout is quite nice.

The building also has doors on both the north and south sides. The south side is not a garden but a small courtyard. Xie Xiangrong lives in the living room on the first floor, and there is also a small room of seven or eight square meters next to it.

"It's been a while since I've seen my elder sister. How is she doing?" Xie Xiangrong asked as he led Zhou Jiye into the living room.

"The old lady is in good health and has a lot of energy."

"It's good that she's healthy." Xie Xiangrong nodded, and said with a touch of emotion, "My sister suffered a lot in the past few years, but... it's all in the past now. I heard she's moved back to her old house? And Xiaomei is still with her?"

"Aunt Tang went to another city, and now my husband and I live in the old lady's house. We take care of her."

"When did this happen? How come I didn't know?" Xie Xiangrong stopped and looked at Zhou Jiye in confusion.

Zhou Jiye then briefly told Xie Xiangrong about the situation back then, and told him not to worry, Fang Manxia was taking good care of him, and that he could go there to sit when he had time. Fang Manxia still had the habit of drinking afternoon tea every afternoon, and he would accompany Fang Manxia when he had free time.

After hearing Zhou Jiye's explanation, Xie Xiangrong's expression relaxed slightly. Only then did he remember to ask Zhou Jiye's name. Zhou Jiye told Xie Xiangrong his name, and Xie Xiangrong nodded and asked with a smile if it was okay to just call him Xiao Zhou. Zhou Jiye also laughed and said it was fine, that's what the old lady called him too.

Upon entering the living room, Xie Xiangrong invited Zhou Jiye to sit down. After sitting down, Zhou Jiye looked around. Although the living room was not large, it was tastefully decorated. Compared to Fang Manxia's home, it had more unique trinkets. In addition, the bookshelf against the wall was filled with books and some ornaments, as well as a violin. There was a bouquet of flowers on the coffee table in front of the sofa. It was clear that Xie Xiangrong was a person with a great appreciation for life.

Xie Xiangrong placed the paper package he had brought on the table, picked it up, smelled it under his nose, and then smiled.

"Kaisiling's chestnut cake, perhaps?"

"Mr. Xie is an expert!" Zhou Jiye said admiringly. There was no Kaisiling mark on the outside of the paper package, and the package was wrapped tightly, so you could not see what was inside at all. He could tell what was inside and which company it came from just by smelling it. This Xie Xiangrong is really not simple!

"It's so kind of you to remember that I like this, and to ask you to bring it over. I really didn't expect that, thank you so much."

Xie Xiangrong unwrapped the paper package, inside which was a small box. Opening it revealed a chestnut cake inside.

Zhou Jiye specially went to buy this cake; he queued for a long time before he could finally get his hands on it. Moreover, due to limited resources in recent years, the production of this type of cake is now very limited, and it sells out very quickly every day as soon as it's made. If you go too late, you won't be able to buy any.

Ever since Fang Manxia invited him to afternoon tea, Zhou Jiye had been frequently buying pastries and cookies from Kaisiling to enjoy with his tea after the National Day holiday. However, he hadn't been able to find chestnut cakes until today, when he finally managed to buy some. Fang Manxia was delighted to see the chestnut cakes Zhou Jiye brought back, but she specifically asked him to make a trip to deliver some of them, explaining that Xie Xiangrong was an old friend she hadn't seen in a while and wanted him to visit him on her behalf.

Holding the cake, Xie Xiangrong exclaimed with some delight, then said, "Good things should be shared. Xiao Zhou, if you're free, how about we finish it together?"

“This…this is an old lady…”

“Now that the item is in my hands, it’s mine, and I get to decide,” Xie Xiangrong said magnanimously. He then added, “It’s afternoon tea time now. Since this is your first time here, why don’t you try my cooking? You want coffee, right? How about I make you a cup?”

After saying that, without waiting for Zhou Jiye to speak, he cheerfully told him to sit down first, and then got up and took out a whole set of things from the cabinet next to him.

A hand-grind coffee machine, a moka pot, an alcohol lamp, a balance scale, as well as special spoons, tools, and a tin biscuit tin...

These things look quite old, especially the moka pot, which is slightly larger than the ones Zhou Jiye has seen in later generations. The color of the outer shell is not as bright as it used to be, and even the shape is slightly different.

(End of this chapter)