Chapter Thirty-One: My Hometown

  "Did you grow up here?" After getting off the train and taking a two-and-a-half-hour bus ride, Lamp Grass and I set foot on this land where I was born and raised. Lamp Grass looked at the narrow road in front of him, as well as the countless bicycles, and rubbed his bald head, asking me.

  "Yes! The place is small, but nothing is lacking. And there's another advantage, you can't get lost even with your eyes closed. Because the entire city area is only 4 square kilometers. The urban and rural population combined is only around 10 million.

  Traffic lights are just decorations, at least in my hometown, that's how it is. After waiting for about 10 minutes, I finally waited for the traffic to weaken a bit, and I took advantage of the gap to cross that small two-lane road."

  "Don't be nervous, it's just like this in small places when crossing the road. You have to stand at the zebra crossing and wait for cars to stop, probably till evening you won't be able to cross." I saw that Leng Cao was terrified by my way of crossing the road, so I quickly explained to him. I wanted to follow the rules, but unfortunately, there are more people breaking the rules. Many times, those who follow the rules become the minority. This makes me feel speechless, yet I have no choice but to go with the flow.

  Moreover, crossing the road according to traffic lights is even more dangerous. Because you never know if there will be a car that ignores the red light and crushes you.

  "Otherwise, let's go to your home. By the way, I still need to go to the supermarket and buy some gifts for your uncle and aunt." Lamp grass is a very polite monk, who still remembers to buy gifts for my parents.

  "There are no supermarkets, but there are a few shopping malls. No need to take a taxi, it's only about 10 minutes' walk. I'm telling the truth, the starting price of taxis here is 3.5 yuan, and for every kilometer over 2.5 kilometers, it's 1.1 yuan. In this small place, even if you take a taxi around the city, it won't cost more than 30 yuan! If you don't take any detours and just stick to the main roads, maybe it won't even be 20 yuan."

  The place is small, but it's also convenient. Take my home for example, going out to buy vegetables doesn't count as strolling through the market, haggling over prices takes time. Walking back and forth, the trip doesn't exceed 15 minutes. Going to the mall, walking back and forth also doesn't exceed 15 minutes. Going to the long-distance bus station, similarly walking back and forth doesn't exceed 15 minutes, going to the hospital is the same! In a location like my home, in a big city, I estimate that housing prices won't be cheap. Of course, that's now, in the mid-to-late 90s, housing reform had just begun. At that time, the housing price in my hometown was 468 RMB per square meter!

  With the money, in a 5-story shopping mall in the city center, I bought two packs of cigarettes and a watch for my dad. Also, I bought a set of skincare products and some health supplements for my mom. After spending several thousand yuan, I was finally satisfied to take him away from those familiar salespeople and head home. And I personally picked out a gold ring for my mom, I knew she had wanted one for a long time.

  We don't lack money now! The expenses we have now are still from the activity funds that Li Dongcheng gave us before. As for how much money is in the card, neither I nor Dengcao had time to go to the bank to check the account.

  "Mom, haha!" I took out the key and opened the door, and saw my mom cooking in the kitchen. I rushed over to hug her and smiled intimately.

  "Oh my, you scared me to death. You kid, come back home without even giving a call ahead of time." We've installed a phone at home, from the telecommunications company. The initial installation fee is 2200, and the monthly fee for standby plus caller ID is 23. Although I think it's really ripping us off, everyone else has one, so not having one wouldn't be right. Actually, we don't get many calls at home, installing this thing is mainly just to save face for mom. Mom is a proud woman, and I deeply understand that.

  "Come, try it on! The gift your son bought for you, see if you like it?" I pulled the lamp grass into the house, had him sit down, and took out the gold ring in the jewelry box to put it on my mother.

  "This child, this must have cost a lot of money?" The old mother lovingly sized up the gold ring, while pretending to scold.

  "It's not very expensive, only 89 yuan per gram. This is less than 1,000 yuan, Mom, you can just wear it for fun." I handed the jewelry box to my mom and said casually. A man cannot be without money for a single day; looking at my mom's delighted expression, I finally understood the meaning of this phrase.

  "This kid, just 1000 yuan? Your father and I together make only 540 yuan a month. Don't waste money like this in the future, save it yourself, you'll need it when you get married." Mom was too busy admiring the ring on her hand to notice the lamp on the sofa. This wouldn't have happened in the past, but that gold ring had clearly made mom's heart bloom with joy.

  "Mom, let me introduce you, this is my junior fellow apprentice, just call him Deng Cao!" I saw Mom was slow to react to Deng Cao, so I quickly took the initiative to make introductions.

  "Ah, we have guests at home! Why didn't you introduce them earlier, you're so slow! Let me go get some tea for you!" Upon hearing this, the old mother finally saw the lamp grass on the sofa and hurriedly rubbed her hands together in embarrassment, frantically searching for the tea leaves hidden by the old father.

  "Auntie, don't bother, I'm fine with just water." Dengcao said while checking out my humble home, and spoke to my busy mom.

  "Has a guest arrived at home?" Just then, Dad came back from work. As soon as he entered the door, he saw the bright head of the lamp and Mom rummaging through the cabinets at home!

  "What are you looking for?" Dad asked Mom after changing into his slippers.

  "Where did you hide the tea leaves? Honestly, just a bit of broken tea leaves, what's there to hide? We have guests at home, I want to make some tea, but no matter how hard I look, I couldn't find any!" As soon as Mom saw Dad, she was so angry that she started scolding him right away.

  "This isn't in the fridge?!" Dad walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, and pulled out a tea canister from inside to show Mom!

  "If you want to keep the tea leaves fresh and fragrant, you have to store them in the refrigerator. You won't understand even if I tell you, this old lady's temper is getting worse and worse." Dad opened the tea canister again, took out a clean glass cup that Mom had wiped spotless, and brewed a cup of clear tea while saying so.

  "Alright, Dad, you too. Just put the tea leaves in the fridge and tell Mom about it, okay? Here, take this gift from Lang Huai. I pulled out the two packs of cigarettes that Lang Huai bought for me from my bag and tossed them to Dad, then handed him a domestically-made mechanical watch with exquisite packaging."

  "This watch isn't cheap. Last time I went to the mall with your mom, we saw it and thought it was a bit pricey!" Dad is actually a connoisseur, he took one look at the logo on the watch and immediately knew its value. However, his comment about being expensive made Lantern Grass feel uncomfortable.

  Dinner was eaten at home, cooked by my mother. After dinner, my father strongly invited Deng Cao to stay at our house, but I stopped him. The conditions at home are like this, if we let someone stay overnight, should we make them sleep on the floor? On the way back home, I had already thought of a solution - to book a room for Deng Cao at the Holiday Inn across the street from my house. Letting him stay there would be better than having him stay at our house, and he would also feel more comfortable.

  "Why don't you sleep here tonight, and tomorrow I'll take you out for a stroll! Rest for a few days, then we can go to Wudang Mountain." It's not easy to come home once, so I decided to stay a few more days. Anyway, Master didn't set a deadline for completing my training.

  "Alright, alright, hurry back and keep your uncle and aunt company." Denglao considerately pushed me out of the door, he knew it wasn't easy for me to come home this time.

  "Also, if you don't want to be woken up, I suggest you pick up the phone, otherwise you won't be able to sleep tonight." I walked a few steps and then came back to knock on the door of the lamp grass house and instructed him.

  As for whether Denglcao answered the phone that night or broke his vow by taking the call, I didn't ask afterwards. But I believe this monk is a monk who can control himself.

  "Who would have thought that this place was once the capital of Sun Quan!" Lian Cao sighed as she climbed to the top of Xishan Mountain, gazing at the leaves that were gradually withering and turning yellow. It was almost deep autumn now, and the leaves would soon fall off, only to sprout again in the spring. Just like human life, one generation after another, thriving on and on.

  "Yes! Su Dongpo even wrote a poem here." I took a deep breath, looking at the Yangtze River winding around the mountain and smiled at the lamp grass.

  With the lantern grass, I strolled through all the famous scenic spots in the small town and spent just one day. To be honest, there aren't many places for people to play in this small town. It's called a city, but in my heart, it's more like a large dock. Every day, cargo ships come and go from here, some choose to sail downstream, while others choose to anchor and rest. Unlike the people living in the small town, those living by the river are always busy.

  "Mom, we're going to Wudang Mountain tomorrow!" After resting at home for a few days and buying train tickets, I finally decided to bid farewell to my mom.

  "Going to Wudang Mountain? Bringing Lantern Grass for tourism?" My old mom thought I was bringing Lantern Grass for tourism this time. I'm too lazy to explain anything to her, so let her continue to misunderstand. Otherwise, she'll know that I'm going to suffer some kind of training and will worry excessively.

  "Exactly! I'd like to go to Wudang Mountain and see what's different about the Taoist priests there compared to me!" I picked up a piece of fried small river fish with my chopsticks and tossed it into my mouth, joking around with Mom.

  "This kid, always spouting nonsense. When you reach the age of marriage, you'll still have to come back and get married. Do you really think you're a monk? Let me tell you, if you meet a good girl outside, be sure to seize the opportunity." My mother reached out and gently stroked my head, speaking lovingly to me.

  "There's something else, I might not be able to come back for Chinese New Year this year." I hesitated and said to my mom. After going to Wudang Mountain to find that white tiger, Lamp Grass and I will have to take a detour to the Northeast to find the last Guardian successor, Zhu Que! Even if everything goes smoothly, it's likely we'll spend the new year in the Northeast."

  "Is something wrong? If you're really busy, just don't come back. You can always come back after you've finished!" My mom didn't ask too much about my business. As she said, "I gave birth to my son, I know what kind of person he is." My mom trusts me a lot, she knows I won't do anything reckless outside. The phrase 'knowing one's child best' probably means this!

  Because I had to leave home the next day, I accompanied my mother for a long time that night. Every time I return home, I am very happy. And every farewell makes me feel guilty and reluctant in my heart. I really hope that one day I can stop saying goodbye. Just quietly accompany my mother, peel melon seeds for her, and watch TV with her!