Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

Lin Xi opened her eyes.

The first thing I felt was the rough yet warm soft touch on my cheek, carrying a warm fragrance from the sun, which entered my nasal cavity with each breath.

Then came a vibrant, warm orange-red light that I could perceive through my eyelids, and a wave of heat that washed over me, making my cheeks burn.

She moved her heavy eyelids, her long eyelashes brushing against the soft touch against her cheek, and slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing that caught Lin Xi's eye was a leaping ball of fire. She blinked and squinted to adjust to the intense light for a while before she could clearly see the object emitting the light.

It was a cast iron charcoal stove burning brightly, with glowing red charcoal blocks lying at the bottom, crackling and popping out tiny sparks.

A triangular iron stand supported the charcoal stove, on which sat a small, dark iron pot, bubbling and steaming. Wisps of bitter herbal aroma drifted with the steam, lingering around her nose.

A scene that is both strange and familiar.

Lin Xi had not yet recovered from the dizziness and weightlessness transmitted by the system. She stared blankly at the leaping flames for a long time before finally recalling her last conversation with the system.

So, she has successfully returned to her original world?

Realizing this, Lin Xi's previously confused mind was suddenly clenched as if by lightning, and she finally became completely clear-headed.

Her eyes lit up, and she subconsciously looked up, her gaze passing over the charcoal stove as she began to survey her surroundings.

Beyond the glow of the fire, as far as the eye could see, was a patchy, uneven, but very clean, muddy ground.

In the center against the wall, there was a peeling octagonal table with a thermos and some miscellaneous items on it, as well as a small dish of peanuts and melon seeds, and a few candies wrapped in red paper.

On the wall above the table, there was a prominent portrait of a great man, as well as several certificates of merit of varying ages. At the beginning of each certificate, the name "Lin Xi" was written in small characters in pen.

Lin Xi narrowed her eyes, her gaze falling on the latest certificate, which clearly stated: "In recognition of Lin Xi's achievement of second place in the entire township in the second semester final exams of the second year..."

"Second semester of second grade..." she murmured, repeating the date on the certificate, then lowered her head, her gaze falling on herself.

She was wearing a slightly worn but clean red floral-patterned cotton-padded jacket, and her hands, tucked into the sleeves, were thin and small, making her look like an eight or nine-year-old child.

She tried to move her body, but found that her hands and feet were sore and weak, and she couldn't muster any strength. It was like the symptoms of recovering from a serious illness, which made her, who was used to being healthy and strong in the small world, feel quite uncomfortable for a while.

However, she quickly came to terms with it. She had thought that, given the system's nature, it would really send her back to an age when she was terminally ill. But to her surprise, this time it had a conscience and allowed her to be reborn as a child, giving her many more years to live. More importantly... she could also see the person she had been longing for day and night.

Thinking of this, Lin Xi felt a pang of sadness and struggled to support herself on the armrests of the chair, trying to stand up.

However, before she could make a move, several deliberately hushed voices of arguing came through the somewhat old door.

"Xixi had a high fever yesterday and it just broke! It's only the second day of the Lunar New Year! And you, her parents, are already leaving?!" The old man said in a low voice, his tone full of sorrow.

A young male voice impatiently interrupted her, "Mom! The boss in the city is pressuring us! What can I do?"

"What job is so important that you can't even spend two more days with your own daughter?!" The old man raised his voice as soon as the man finished speaking, but then immediately lowered it as if he was worried about something.

“We want to be with her too, but the boss sets the time. What can we do? If we go back to work after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, we’ll lose half our wages! Xixi’s illness is a bottomless pit. If we don’t earn more, how will we afford to pay for her treatment?” The man’s voice grew increasingly impatient.

"Bullshit!" The old man's voice trembled, tinged with anger. "What do you mean by half the wages? Do you think I'm easy to fool?! Do you think I didn't hear what you two said last night? What do you mean by bad luck? What do you mean by having another child if you can't afford to raise one? Are these things that parents should say?"

“You all just think she’s a burden! She’s a girl! She’s sickly, and you’ve never liked her since she was little! If I hadn’t risked my life to stop you, were you really planning to…”

"Mom! What nonsense are you talking about!" A shrill female voice interrupted, clearly annoyed and embarrassed. "How do we dislike her? Would she have grown up if we didn't like her? We're going there to earn money to save her life! Can't you just stop making things worse?"

"That's right, Mom, keep your voice down, don't let Xixi hear you. That child is scheming, and she's never been close to us. She didn't even smile when she saw us come back," the man's voice echoed.

"You two haven't come back for hundreds of years, and you don't even make a phone call. What child would be close to you?" The old man's voice was full of suppressed anger.

A shrill female voice impatiently interrupted the old woman, "Alright, if you delay any longer you'll miss the bus. Here's two hundred yuan, you and Xixi should use it sparingly, it's not easy for us to earn money outside..."

After a brief silence, rustling footsteps sounded, moving away from the courtyard and disappearing into the distance.

There was a moment of silence outside the door, then a heavy sigh was heard, accompanied by a muffled sob that was being suppressed.

"They're all heartless...they don't deserve to be parents..."

After the sigh, a series of unsteady footsteps approached the main room.

"Squeak-"

The wooden door was pushed open, letting in a blast of biting cold air. An old woman with gray hair, wearing a dark blue cotton-padded jacket and a hunched back, wiped her face with the back of her hand as she stepped over the threshold and came in. She immediately spotted the small figure huddled by the charcoal stove.

The flickering firelight illuminated the girl's pale, thin face and her dark, clear eyes that gazed at her silently.

The old man paused for a moment, then quickly wiped the sorrow from his face and put on an unnatural smile. He walked quickly to the stove, squatted down, reached out and touched the girl's forehead, speaking softly.

"Xixi's awake? Why are you sitting here? Are you cold? Are you still dizzy? Your parents... have something urgent to attend to and have gone back to the city to work. They're going to make a lot of money for Xixi, to buy her new clothes, candy, and to take her to the doctor..."

As she rambled on, she lovingly stroked the girl's cheek with her old, rough, yet exceptionally warm hands, trying her best to weave a white lie.

But her red-rimmed eyes, her trembling voice despite her best efforts to control it, and the unconcealed heartache in her eyes betrayed everything.

She had expected to see her granddaughter timidly lower her head, secretly shedding tears, or asking questions in a daze, just like always.

But no.

The little girl just stared at her silently, her bright, clear eyes slowly welling up with tears, which gradually accumulated in the depths of her eyes.

Then, she opened her mouth as if to say something, but after holding it in for a long time, only a faint, kitten-like sound came out of her throat.

Seeing her like this, the old woman felt a pang of sadness and was about to hug her to comfort her when the little girl suddenly slid off the chair, stumbled, and then stretched out her thin arms and threw herself into her arms without a care.

"grandmother……"

The old man's cotton-padded coat still carried the frost from outside, but Lin Xi felt as if she were embracing the whole sun. She hugged the old man's neck tightly, and the tears she had held back for so long finally burst forth, streaming down her face and soaking the old man's clothes.

"I miss you so much."

"I really miss you... I miss you so much."

The old woman was slightly taken aback, wondering why her granddaughter had become so clingy after just one night. But as she held her trembling body and listened to the sobs that she couldn't hide in her voice, a huge wave of sorrow instantly filled her chest.

She couldn't help but hug her precious granddaughter tightly, pressing her face against her granddaughter's soft hair, and responding repeatedly.

"Sigh...Grandma's here, and Grandma wants to cherish her too..."

"Grandma's here, Xixi, don't cry. Grandma's with you..."

She repeated herself incoherently, tightening her grip on her hands as if afraid that if she loosened her grip, the child in her arms would vanish like the thin frost after sunrise.

Lin Xi closed her eyes tightly, feeling the warmth of her grandmother's embrace. She felt that the desolate place in her heart, which she had felt even after gaining enviable wealth and power, was finally being filled and soothed little by little by a real warmth.

That is the reason why she would return even if it meant abandoning everything and crossing thousands of miles.

It's Grandma.

Outside, the sky was gradually brightening, and the sound of sporadic firecrackers could be heard in the distance; the cold wind was still biting.

Inside, the crackling charcoal fire cast a warm, orange glow over the grandmother and grandson, who were embracing and weeping.

On the mottled earthen wall, the firelight flickered, casting long, long shadows of the grandfather and grandson embracing each other...

Many years later, on a sunny autumn afternoon.

When the young girl, now a graceful and radiant woman with rosy cheeks, showing no trace of her former sickly appearance, stood in the center of the classroom and slowly read the line, "Without my grandmother, I would not be where I am today; without me, my grandmother would not be able to live out her remaining years...", no one knew why her eyes suddenly reddened and tears streamed down her face.

Only she knows.

The Liu family member in the text, who was "at the end of her life and on her deathbed," represents a distant and sorrowful figure in everyone's heart, someone who has long since passed away.

But her sprightly old lady would appear punctually under the old locust tree at the school gate when the school bell rang, rain or shine, to wave to her and lead her home.

Oh, and she might also have a warm roasted sweet potato wrapped in a handkerchief in her pocket.

That place holds the warmest and sweetest memories of a young girl.