Meng Yan's Transformation

When Zhang Xincheng heard his aunt calling his name, he hurriedly followed everyone to move the tiles.

"This student is quite clever, and has a lively look in his eyes! Well, there is strength in numbers! But don't you have to go to class today? It's not worth it to delay your studies!"

As Zhu Yiyong spoke, he looked at Zhang Xincheng who was moving tiles.

"I've taken a day off. After I finish repairing the house, I still have to give my sister Mengyan extra lessons. I can catch up with my lessons if I miss one day."

As Zhang Xincheng spoke, he moved the tiles faster.

"Okay! Then let's speed up and do our part!"

Zhu Yiyong then assigned tasks to everyone:

Some people went up to the roof, laid tarpaulin, and replaced tiles; some people replaced broken glass windows with embossed glass; some people reinforced and corrected the tilted door frames; some people worked with mud to plug the cracks in the wall...

When the setting sun dyed the windows of the west wing red, Zhan Mengyan and Liu Yulan replaced the shabby door curtains of "Grandma's" old house with the new door curtains that Aunt Wang had just made...

When the smoke from cooking started to rise, the pretty Ah Zi from the tavern squeezed into the kitchen of her "aunt's" old house with a large iron pot. The aroma of pork stewed with vermicelli mixed with the smell of glue drifted out of the window frame covered with newspapers...

"Grandma" heated up the kang in the old house, and the house became warm again.

Zhan Mengyan moved to the old house with her aunt.

"Auntie" kept wiping her old-fashioned large wooden cabinet:

"Aunt" hunched over and repeatedly stroked the cabinet surface with a soft cloth soaked in chicken fat, her fingertips avoiding the fish-shaped carvings hanging from the copper lock, as if she was afraid of disturbing the sleeping years.

After each wipe, "Aunt" would always step back half a step, squinting to see if the oblique shadow of the window frame was reflected on the cabinet surface - that was the best way to test the brightness.

After being wiped by "Aunt", the paddle board of the large cabinet has an amber luster, the texture of the century-old red pine can be seen from under the paint layer, and the old dust hidden in the carvings on the cabinet legs is also brushed away by "Aunt" with a brush, revealing the old craftsmanship of orchid branches.

"My old friend, you must stay with me. Next year I will move you to a new house and let you live a good life!"

When her fingers touched the repaired paint mark on the cabinet cover, the "aunt" suddenly remembered the one her daughter had damaged, and her tears fell on the cabinet she had just wiped...

Then she wiped it slowly again.

Zhan Mengyan and Zhang Xincheng were doing their homework. They looked up and saw "Aunt" wiping the large cabinet in a depressed mood. They looked at each other and walked to the large cabinet with understanding.

"Aunt, take a rest. Let us help you clean it!"

Zhan Mengyan and Zhang Xincheng said in unison.

"You guys study, I have nothing to do so I can do it myself!"

As "Aunt" spoke, she forced a bitter smile at the two of them.

"We are tired of studying too. Let's change our minds and do some work before we study. Aunt, your big cabinet is so big and beautiful! Who bought it for you?"

While Zhan Mengyan was talking, she also picked up a piece of soft cloth and followed her "aunt" to wipe.

When "Aunt" heard Zhan Mengyan praising her big cabinet, she instantly became interested.

"This big cabinet was made for me as a dowry by my father before I got married. No one in the surrounding villages had ever seen such a good cabinet at that time! Look at the board: thick and deep, with a lacquer on the surface, shiny and glossy, you can see the reflection of the light. Now the cabinet surface is a little caulking, and it will be shiny when I wipe it. The texture of this cabinet is like a gem, and even the hard wood inside is very thick, with a mortise and tenon structure, and there is not a single nail on the cabinet. It is completely made with the craftsmanship of ancient furniture. The big cabinet is divided into two parts, with a thick partition in the middle, and the two covers can be opened and closed freely. There is a keyhole in the front of the cabinet, which can be opened with a key. When the cabinet is opened, there is a bowl box inside, which is used to store some important items..."

"Aunt" explained while demonstrating her large wooden cabinet.