HBWnovel Chapter 616 Aunt has disappeared
Chapter 616 Aunt has disappeared
One night, Zhan Mengyan dreamt that her great-aunt was ill, and an indescribable anxiety enveloped her. The scene in the dream was unclear—a dimly lit room, her great-aunt lying motionless on the kang (a heated brick bed), her face pale. She wanted to speak but couldn't make a sound, only able to watch her great-aunt breathe slowly, but the feeling of being tormented was unusually real, lingering long after she woke up. This concern made Zhan Mengyan restless for the next week, sometimes absent-minded in class, constantly recalling her great-aunt's kind smile and increasingly frail figure.
Zhan Mengyan suddenly realized that she hadn't visited her great-aunt in a long time. She remembered that once when she visited her, her great-aunt was sitting in a chair and insisted on peeling walnuts for her, saying that studying was hard on the brain. These walnuts were a gift from someone else, and her great-aunt had kept them for a long time...
After that, studies and various other matters came rushing in like a tide, and the plan to visit her great-aunt was postponed time and time again, from "next week" to "next month," and finally sank into the vague promise of "after I'm done with this busy period." It wasn't until this dream that Zhan Mengyan was awakened from this neglected family affection, along with the belated regret.
Finally, the weekend arrived, and Zhan Mengyan decided to visit her great-aunt. However, she heard from relatives that the old, dilapidated house where her great-aunt used to live was now uninhabited, and it seemed that she had moved away, but no one said where she had gone.
A sense of bewilderment and worry welled up in Zhan Mengyan's heart. After a moment's thought, she approached her great-aunt's old house again. That old house held many memories of the past; perhaps she could find some clues there, or perhaps she could meet an old neighbor who knew about her current situation. This trip was uncertain; it was more like following an inner conviction, along with taking a chance.
My great-aunt's old house was located deep in an old alley. The scenery along the way was different from what I remembered. When I arrived at the old house, the doors and windows were tightly closed, making it seem even more desolate. I asked a few elderly people who still lived nearby, and they confirmed that my great-aunt had moved away some time ago for safety and convenience. As for where she was, some said she had moved to the west side of the street, while others said she had gone to live with relatives. There was no definite information.
Zhan Mengyan then found Zhu Yiyong and Liu Yulan. They said that her great-aunt had originally moved to live in the village office, but later returned to the old house. The village chief was worried about the safety of the old house, so he persuaded her to leave again. In the end, no one knew where her great-aunt went.
Although Zhan Mengyan did not find her great-aunt directly during her search, she was relieved to confirm that she had left the unsuitable old house. Next, she planned to contact the village chief, believing that someone could point her in the right direction to find her great-aunt.
Another week passed, and Zhan Mengyan went to the village office of Jindong Village early in the morning and saw the village chief Liu Zhenghua.
"You are...you are Zhan Mengyan, right?"
Village chief Liu Zhenghua recognized Zhan Mengyan.
"Hello Uncle Liu! I'm Zhan Mengyan."
When Zhan Mengyan spoke, she bowed to Liu Zhenghua.
"Oh my, girls really do change a lot as they grow up. You've grown taller and prettier, but your bright, big eyes haven't changed at all. I recognized you at a glance. Are your parents doing well? And is your sister Zhan Yingying doing well too? Sigh... It's all because of my good-for-nothing son, who ruined this good match... Let's not talk about the past, let's not talk about it... Xiao Mengyan, please sit down, have a seat and some water. You... you came to the village to see me today, right?"
As village chief Liu Zhenghua spoke, he poured Zhan Mengyan a cup of hot water.
“Uncle Liu, please don’t bother. I came to the village today just to find my great-aunt. She is a recipient of the Five Guarantees in your Jindong Village. I used to stay at her house. A few days ago, I went to visit her and heard that she had moved. I don’t know where she is, so I came to the village office to inquire. I didn’t expect to run into Uncle Liu.”