Rebirth 78, the beginning of the marriage was broken off by the female educated youth

The June sun shines brightly across the blue brick and gray tile courtyards of Nanluoguxiang.

The sweet aroma of rice dumplings in the air mixed with the bitter taste of mugwort and calamus is so strong that it cannot be dissolved.

June 1980, 6, Dragon Boat Festival is here!

Li Xiangnan pushed open the door and just as he entered the courtyard, he heard his mother Zhu Qiuju's smiling voice coming from the kitchen: "Xiangnan! Come and help! The rice dumplings are out of the pot!"

The kitchen was steaming hot. A mountain of rice dumplings was piled up in a big pot on the stove. Zhu Qiuju, wearing a blue apron, was scooping them out with long chopsticks. Beads of sweat were on her forehead, but her face was smiling.

"Mom, go slowly, be careful of the heat!"

Li Xiangnan hurried over to help and took a hot triangular rice dumpling wrapped in dark green bamboo leaves, the hot steam hitting his face.

He quickly peeled it open, revealing the glistening glutinous rice and the bright red candied date. He took a bite, and it was sticky and sweet, with the unique fragrance of bamboo leaves. "Wow! The ones you made are still authentic! Ruobai has been missing this candied date rice dumpling of yours! It tastes like when I was a kid!"

"That's right! Last year, after Ruobai ate the rice dumplings I made, she recognized my cooking skills and has been thinking about it ever since. Another year has passed while she was waiting!" Zhu Qiuju smiled proudly, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, revealing the satisfaction of a mistress of the house.

As she spoke, her hands kept moving. "Today is the holiday, you two are going to your father-in-law's house. Mom has prepared everything for you! Here, these skewers, with candied dates, red bean paste, and bacon, are all ready! Let your in-laws have a taste of our family's love!"

She deftly tied a string of evenly sized, tightly bound dumplings with a red string and stuffed it into Li Xiangnan's hands.

"Okay! Mom, you're so thoughtful!"

Li Xiangnan took it happily. It was heavy and full of the taste of home.

He glanced at the wall clock and saw it was almost nine o'clock.

There were a lot of things to bring to Qin's house today, so his wife Qin Ruobai went out to borrow a car. She agreed to pick him up at 10 o'clock to go to his father-in-law's house to celebrate the festival. Her sense of time was like that of a police officer, so she dared not delay.

He tied the jar of pickles prepared by his parents with a hemp rope, carried it in his hands, and carried the rice dumplings, preparing to clear out some of them and wait at the gate of the yard.

But as soon as he walked out of the house, his attention was attracted by the Yu family.

Uncle Yu and Aunt Yu were sitting on a small bench at the door of their house.

Uncle Yu was hunched over, wearing a gray Zhongshan suit that was washed white and had frayed edges at the collar. He held an old pipe in his hand, but he didn't light it. He was just stroking it unconsciously.

Aunt Yu had gray hair that was combed meticulously. She wore a clean dark blue cloth shirt and had a small handful of mugwort on her knees, slowly picking the dead leaves.

The old couple didn't talk much, just sat there quietly, watching the lively scene of Zhu Qiuju and her son in the middle courtyard, and the emerald green mugwort and calamus hanging on the doors and windows of every household.

That quietness seems particularly lonely in this noisy festival, like a faded old painting.

Li Xiangnan and Zhu Qiuju looked at each other and saw the tacit heartache in each other's eyes.

Uncle Yu and Aunt Yu have no children and have lived in this courtyard for most of their lives. It's okay normally, but during the holidays, the loneliness is particularly heartbreaking.

"Xiangnan," Zhu Qiuju gently nudged him, tilted her chin towards the Yu family, and whispered, "Send some of this hot food to Uncle Yu and Aunt Yu. It smells the best when it's fresh out of the pot!"

As she spoke, she picked out the two largest candied date dumplings from the basin and stuffed them into her son's pockets.

"Hey!" Li Xiangnan responded and walked towards the central courtyard carrying two hot rice dumplings.

"Uncle Yu! Aunt Yu! Happy holidays!" Li Xiangnan's face was full of smiles, and his voice was deliberately raised a little, with a festive atmosphere. "My mother's freshly baked rice dumplings are still hot! Come and try them!"

Uncle Yu raised his head and saw Li Xiangnan and the steaming rice dumplings in his hand with his cloudy eyes. He was stunned for a moment, and the wooden expression on his face seemed to relax a little.

Aunt Yu also stopped picking mugwort, raised her head, and looked at Li Xiangnan. She tried hard to curl the corners of her mouth, but it seemed a bit difficult: "Hey... Hey... Xiangnan... Happy holidays... Your mother... is too polite..."

"Hey! Don't be so polite! It's a festival, so we have to eat rice dumplings to suit the occasion!" Li Xiangnan put the rice dumplings firmly into Aunt Yu's hands without hesitation, "Eat them while they're hot! Mom said there's more in the house if it's not enough!"

Just then, a clear car horn sounded from the other end of the alley.

Less than two minutes later, Qin Ruobai walked into the yard. Although her belly was bulging, the well-fitting summer police uniform still made her look heroic. She was holding a net bag with two bottles of good wine and a few bags of snacks in it. Behind her followed Xu Qiluo, who was also carrying a lot of things with her big belly.

Seeing this, Li Xiangnan hurried over and said, "Wife, Xiao Xu, you two are so heavy, please don't carry all the bags..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

Before he could finish his words, Xu Qiluo smacked his lips. "What did I say, Captain Qin? Your family will definitely criticize us. Am I right?"

"You're the only one who knows!" Qin Ruobai laughed, supported her with one hand, and reminded her: "Pay attention to the steps!"

"I know~" Xu Qiluo smiled, stroking her belly and walked into the yard with Qin Ruobai.

"Ruobai is here!" Zhu Qiuju greeted with a smile at the kitchen door.

"Mom!" Qin Ruobai walked quickly into the yard and greeted her mother-in-law first. Her eyes swept across the yard and naturally fell on Uncle Yu and Aunt Yu, who were holding rice dumplings in the middle yard and looked a little embarrassed.

Her heroic eyebrows moved slightly, and she walked straight over without saying anything.

"Uncle Yu, Aunt Yu, happy holidays." Qin Ruobai's voice was gentler than usual. She squatted down, her eyes level with the old man's, and took out two small paper bags from her shoulder bag. "These were given to me by my father's old comrades. One bag contains the best jasmine tea. You two should try it. The other bag contains tiger bone ointment. Uncle Yu, please apply it to your waist and legs. It will help you feel better."

She placed the thing gently next to the pile of mugwort on Aunt Yu's knees.

Aunt Yu looked at the female police officer in front of her who was usually decisive but now careful and gentle, then looked at the hot rice dumplings in her hands, and then looked at Li Xiangnan who was smiling beside her and Zhu Qiuju who was standing at the kitchen door with a concerned look on her face, and her eyes instantly turned red.

Her lips trembled, and after a long while she uttered a voice with a strong nasal tone: "Good...good child...thank you...thank you Ruobai, thank you Xiangnan...thank you niece Qiuju...happy holidays...happy holidays..."

Uncle Yu also nodded vigorously, his shriveled hands tightly gripping the pipe on his knees, his knuckles turning white.

Qin Ruobai stood up and took the rest of the things into the house. She winked at Li Xiangnan and said, "Mom, please share these things with the neighbors in the yard when you have time. It's almost time, so Xiangnan and I will leave first."

"Hey! Mom, Uncle Yu and Aunt Yu, we're leaving first! Happy holidays!" Li Xiangnan said goodbye quickly.

Zhu Qiuju chased him to the door: "Slow down on your way! Say hello to our in-laws for us!"

The jeep drove out of the alley.

In the car, Li Xiangnan was driving.

"Uncle Yu's waist... looks even more bent." Qin Ruobai suddenly spoke, his tone calm but full of concern.

She is impartial when handling cases, but she has a soft heart towards the elderly in the nursing home.

"Yeah, it's an old problem. Aunt Yu is in good health, but...sigh." Li Xiangnan sighed, "My mom takes care of her a lot, bringing her meals and vegetables."

"Yeah." Qin Ruobai responded and said nothing more.

After sending Xu Qiluo home, the car drove into the quiet courtyard where the Qin family lived.

As soon as he entered the door, Qin Zongheng's loud voice rang out: "Stinky boy! Come on time for dinner! We're waiting for you to start the meal!"

The old man was wearing casual clothes and looked energetic. When he saw his granddaughter and grandson-in-law, he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"Grandpa!" Qin Ruobai shouted.

"Grandpa, happy holidays!" Li Xiangnan greeted with a smile, and quickly handed over the string of rice dumplings that Zhu Qiuju had made. "My mom made them specially for me, please try some."

"Oh? Made by Qiuju?" Qin Zongheng's eyes lit up as he took it and weighed it. "Hmm, really good! I have to try it right away. I haven't had zongzi made in Lijia Village in years. This old-fashioned flavor is still so authentic!"

He called out, "Hurry up and wash your hands, and let's eat!"

The atmosphere at the table was harmonious.

Father-in-law Qin Kunlun asked Li Xiangnan about the recent progress of his work and focused on summarizing the Shen Yujing poisoning case, affirming that "it was handled cleanly and neatly, without leaving any tails."

Qin Ruobai didn't say much and ate quietly.

After dinner, Qin Ruobai helped her grandmother clean up, and Qin Kunlun called Li Xiangnan into the study.

The study is simple and solemn.

Qin Kunlun took out a thin manila file bag from the drawer and handed it to Li Xiangnan: "Here. It's not confidential, but don't make it public. These are some scattered files that the Shen family has been able to collect, which may be of some reference value. Remember, dispose of them after reading them."

His tone was serious and contained instructions.

Li Xiangnan took it solemnly: "I understand, Dad."

After leaving the Qin family, the setting sun dyed the sky orange.

When the couple was almost at the entrance of the alley, Qin Ruobai said, "Keep the things Dad gave you. If you need support, just come to me or Captain Guo."

She paused, then glanced sideways at Li Xiangnan, a rare softness in her eyes, and her voice softened. "It's the holidays, the mugwort is hanging... it's time to keep away evil spirits. You should also... be careful."

These words are like a warm current and also like a wake-up call.

Li Xiangnan felt warm in his heart and nodded: "Don't worry, you too."

When I returned to the courtyard, it was already dusk.

Warm lights shine through the windows of each house, and the aroma of food wafts in the air.

The lights in Uncle Yu and Aunt Yu's room in the middle courtyard were also on, and the faint sound of opera could be heard coming from the radio.

Li Xiangnan stood at the door of his house, looking at the bunch of green mugwort that his mother had hung on the lintel, swaying gently in the evening breeze, exuding a bitter and reassuring atmosphere.

He touched the heavy file bag in his arms, and thought of the gray shadows of Shichahai, the crisis at the pharmaceutical factory, Qin Kunlun's advice, the lonely figures of the old Yu couple, and Qin Ruobai's advice full of concern and metaphor.

The warmth of the Dragon Boat Festival, like the mugwort, wraps up the sweetness of home and the warmth of neighbors, but it is also like a layer of gauze that cannot cover the undercurrents surging underneath and the fog that needs to be cleared.

"It's the festival... the mugwort is hung up..." He murmured to himself, as if responding to Qin Ruobai, or as if chewing on Aunt Yu's choked words of thanks that afternoon, "It's time to keep the evil spirits away..."

He pushed open the door, the light lengthened his figure and illuminated the file on the desk about the old Shen family that was about to be opened.

The lingering fragrance of the rice dumplings still lingers on our lips and teeth, but a new exploration has quietly begun under the lights.

The next step in this game of chess may lie between these yellowed pages.