Chapter 5

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By the time they returned from the hospital, evening had already fallen. At home, Grandma Lin busied herself with preparing dinner, while Grandpa Lin helped nearby. When Lin Yilan stepped out of her bedroom and saw the scene, she touched the payment receipt in her pocket.

“Grandma, I’m heading out for a bit. I’ll be right back.”

Grandma Lin poked her head out from the kitchen. “Where are you going? Dinner will be ready soon. Why not eat first and then go?”

Lin Yilan shook her hand dismissively. “I’m going to see Grandma Liu to give her the payment receipt.”

With that, she closed the door and quickly left. Grandma Lin, still preparing dinner, was caught off guard as she watched Lin Yilan disappear from sight.

Grandpa Lin shook water off his hands. “A-yun, did Little Lan go out?”

Grandma Lin found Lin Yilan’s actions puzzling. “Yes, she said she was going to deliver the payment receipt to Big Sister Liu.”

“Old Lin, do you know what this payment receipt is for?”

Grandpa Lin placed the freshly picked vegetables into a basin of water. “How would I know? That girl is always rushing around; I have no idea what she’s up to.”

Grandma Lin nodded in agreement, setting the washed vegetables on the chopping board and picking up the cleaver.

“Wait! Old Lin, that girl isn’t going to deliver that medical check-up payment receipt to Big Sister Liu, is she?”

“Well… probably. But why is she so concerned about Big Sister Liu?” Grandpa Lin said uncertainly.

Grandma Lin put down the cleaver and patted her thigh. “You know, I think she really would do something like this.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into her lately—always in such a hurry. Usually, she’s not so concerned about the people in the compound.”

“No, Old Lin, you finish cooking dinner. I’m going to find that girl. I just don’t want her running over to the Shengli family.”

Saying this, Grandma Lin took off her apron, handed it to Grandpa Lin, and hurried out the door.

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Knock, knock, knock—

“Uncle Shengli, Grandma Liu, this is Lin Yilan, the youngest daughter of Lin Jiangang’s family.”

Lin Yilan’s long legs moved swiftly as she ran from the west side of the compound to Uncle Zhao Shengli’s house on the east side. Soon, she heard footsteps approaching, swallowed nervously, and put on a smile, ready to greet whoever opened the door.

“Here I come.”

Zhao Shengli opened the door and was greeted by Lin Yilan’s bright smile. He was momentarily stunned, then stepped aside. “Little Lan, why did you come all of a sudden?”

“Have you eaten?” Zhao Shengli asked with concern after Lin Yilan stepped inside. “If not, I’ll ask my wife to make you a bowl of noodles.”

Lin Yilan dared not eat noodles at someone else’s house. Although they were no longer as poor as before, noodles were still a scarce commodity, a precious staple.

“No, no, I came to see you, oh no, Grandma Liu… no, that’s not right…” She shook her head vigorously. Lin Yilan couldn’t come up with a good excuse.

At that moment, Aunt Zhao brought over a glass of water and placed it on the table beside Lin Yilan. “Little Lan, have some water.”

“By the way, do you want some malted milk drink?” Zhao Shengli also mysteriously produced a handful of White Rabbit candies and placed them before Lin Yilan. “Little Lan, have some candy, no rush.”

Lin Yilan looked at the couple. Although she wasn’t close to them and had little interaction, their warm welcome when she came over—and knowing that Uncle Zhao Shengli was her uncle’s comrade—gave her courage.

She mustered her resolve and took the payment receipt out of her pocket, placing it on the table.

“Uncle Zhao, Auntie, I often hear from my grandma that Grandma Liu was her old leader who took good care of her, and since Grandma Liu is a veteran, I care about her. Recently, I noticed Grandma Liu didn’t look well, and these veterans don’t seem to get regular check-ups like my grandpa and you, who used to get annual physicals in the army. So, I signed her up for a medical check-up at Hospital 893. Since I accompanied grandma for her check-up today, I thought I’d help sign up Grandma Liu too.”

Lin Yilan’s voice grew softer and softer, almost inaudible at the end. Normally, she was not timid—when chatting with Aunt Zhang and others, she never lost in their banter. But this action felt strange to her, and she feared others would think she was odd.

Adding to her unease was lying; facing her uncle’s old comrade and the usually stern uncle in the compound, her guilt multiplied.

But thinking of the fate of Grandma Liu and her own grandma in the original story, Lin Yilan was determined to act, even if others thought she was eccentric.

Zhao Shengli was surprised when he saw the payment receipt and even more so after hearing Lin Yilan’s explanation. Although he was a comrade of Lin Yilan’s uncle, they now worked in different military districts and didn’t have much contact with Lin Jiangang, let alone Lin Yilan. He hadn’t expected this from her.

Lin Yilan glanced at Uncle Shengli across from her, then at Aunt Zhao’s expression. Before either could react, she pretended to look at her watch. “Uncle Zhao, my grandma and grandpa are waiting for me at home for dinner. I’ll go now.”

Aunt Zhao quickly called out, “Little Lan, why don’t you stay for dinner tonight? When Grandma Liu comes back, you can talk to her about the check-up.”

“Don’t worry about your grandpa and grandma. I’ll call them later.”

Lin Yilan waved her hand, declining. “Auntie, my grandma has started cooking. I don’t want to disturb you.”

Seeing Aunt Zhao about to say more, Lin Yilan hurriedly added, “I won’t keep you and Uncle Zhao any longer. I should get going. My grandma probably finished cooking by now.”

She quickly walked to the door, opened it, and just as she was leaving, turned back. “Uncle Zhao, Auntie, if you don’t have time tomorrow, call me. I’ll accompany Grandma Liu for the check-up.”

“Oh, and please remind Grandma Liu not to eat or drink anything tomorrow morning.”

With that, Lin Yilan closed the door and dashed off.

Before Aunt Zhao could react, she heard the door slam. Picking up the payment receipt from the table, she looked at Zhao Shengli with some confusion. “Shengli, what should we do? Should we take a day off tomorrow to accompany Mom for the check-up? You’ve been worried about her health. This might be a good opportunity. But we should still give the check-up money to Little Lin.”

Zhao Shengli nodded. “I probably can’t take leave tomorrow; there’s a meeting. Do you have time? If not, we can ask Xiaoxiao to accompany her grandma to the hospital.”

Their plan aligned well with Aunt Zhao’s thoughts, and they decided to leave it at that for now.

Zhao Shengli took the payment receipt and sat on the living room sofa. “What do you think Lin Jiangang’s youngest daughter is up to? No one said she was especially caring. Why would she suddenly sign Grandma Liu up for a check-up?”

He shook the paper, which rustled. “By the way, did you notice if Mom looked unwell?”

Before Aunt Zhao could answer, there was a knock at the door.

“Here she comes.”

She went to the door and opened it to find Grandma Lin. “Aunt Lin, you’re here. Oh, are you looking for Little Lan? She just left.”

Hearing it was Grandma Lin, Zhao Shengli immediately went to the door. “Aunt Lin, come in.”

Grandma Lin waved her hand. “Shengli, A-Hong, I won’t stay. Dinner’s still on the stove.”

“I just came over because I saw Little Lan in a hurry to deliver the receipt to Big Sister Liu and wanted to let you know.”

She told Zhao Shengli and his wife about today’s check-up and added a few words in support of Lin Yilan before taking the check-up money Zhao Shengli gave her and returning home.

When Grandma Lin returned, she found dinner already prepared and handed the money to Lin Yilan.

“Lan, I just went to Uncle Zhao’s house. He gave you the money for Grandma Liu’s check-up.”

Lin Yilan scratched the back of her head and quietly observed Grandma Lin’s expression. Seeing no difference from usual, she slowly put the money into her pocket. “Got it, Grandma.”

Seeing Lin Yilan’s guilty look, Grandma Lin couldn’t help but tap her forehead. “Alright, next time don’t act so impulsively. I know you care about Grandma Liu because of me, but you don’t need to rush so much. If it weren’t for the good relationship between our family and Uncle Zhao’s, and since he’s understanding and patient, if you had barged into someone’s home like that to talk about a medical check-up, they might have kicked you out.”

Grandpa Lin chimed in, “Yes, Little Lan, when you want to achieve something, don’t be so impatient.”

His words sounded somewhat meaningful to Lin Yilan. She glanced at Grandpa’s face but saw nothing more.

Anyway, she had been too anxious this time.

When anxious, her old flaw from her past life surfaced.

She used to be quick-tempered and impatient when doing things.

Remembering this, Lin Yilan reminded herself once more.

“I understand, Grandpa, Grandma. I will be more careful.”

Seeing the mood grow a bit serious, Grandma Lin served Lin Yilan some vegetables. “By the way, Uncle Zhao asked me to pass on his thanks to you. He wanted Grandma Liu to get a check-up earlier, but she never agreed, and he didn’t want to force her. Now that you stepped in, your good intentions as a younger generation, Grandma Liu surely won’t refuse.”

“Here, have some more meat. Soon you’ll start school. If you don’t eat well there, you can always come home to eat.”

Lin Yilan showed her two big front teeth and smiled brightly at Grandma Lin. “Okay, thank you, Grandma.”

As night fell, the tungsten lamp cast a warm yellow glow over the Lin family dining room, and amid their laughter, the day came to a close.

Not far from the Lin home, a great cypress swayed in the breeze, dropping a few leaves now and then.