My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 50 Back View
(Please vote for my new book and add it to your favorites. Thank you everyone!)

Seeing that Lao Wen remained silent, Zhou Jiye, who was already somewhat worried, felt even worse.

This old woman lives all alone. What if something really happens to her? Although he and this old woman are not related, they have met often these days. In addition, Zhou Jiye felt sorry for this old woman and would bring back some vegetables from the countryside from time to time. When the old woman insisted on giving them to him, they had developed some feelings for each other.

Suddenly, the old woman disappeared, which made Zhou Jiye extremely worried.

The elderly woman's condition was uncertain, and her health was already poor. How could I be at ease if the worst-case scenario I had anticipated occurred?

"No! I have to go and ask!" Zhou Jiye became more and more worried. He had to find out about the old woman's situation, otherwise he wouldn't be able to put his mind at ease.

With that, Zhou Jiye turned and walked away, heading straight to several nearby stalls to ask if anyone knew anything about the old woman. But after asking around, no one knew. Although everyone often saw the old woman at the market, no one knew her name, surname, or where she lived.

Even Zhou Jiye went to inquire at the management office, but Cao Ping at the management office also shook his head and said he didn't know. However, he suggested that Zhou Jiye go to the nearby police station to inquire, because maybe the police station would know about the old woman's situation.

These words reminded Zhou Jiye, and after returning, he decided to go to the police station that afternoon to talk to the police officers about the matter and ask them to investigate the old woman's situation. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't figure it out.

Back at his stall, it was already eleven o'clock. Only then did Zhou Jiye realize that he needed to hurry back to prepare lunch.

In the past, it wouldn't have mattered if I was delayed a little, but now that I'm staying at the old lady's house, I have to help her make lunch. It wouldn't be good if I got back late.

After saying goodbye to Lao Wen, Zhou Jiye rode his bike back to his residence. Once home, he pushed the bike into the yard, took down the chicken cage and placed it in the corner of the yard, then quickly headed towards the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, I washed my hands and started preparing the food.

Lin Ying prepared the lunch in advance in the morning. As October approached and the weather gradually cooled down, the food could be stored for a while. Zhou Jiye just needed to reheat it at noon.

After busying himself for a while and preparing the meal, Zhou Jiye divided some of the food into bowls and carried them upstairs.

Upon reaching the second floor and arriving at the old lady's master bedroom, Zhou Jiye gently knocked on the door and then said from outside, "Grandma! The food is ready, I'm coming in."

“Come in…”

Fang Manxia's voice came from inside the house, and Zhou Jiye then reached out and opened the door.

The old lady had a good temperament and was usually very kind, but she also had many rules. In addition to the daily meals and house cleaning, she insisted that Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying knock on the door before bringing her food upstairs.

Although she never locks the door, the old lady gets angry if you just push it open without knocking. Aunt Tang had told Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying this beforehand, and Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying naturally kept it in mind.

Upon entering, Zhou Jiye immediately saw the old lady sitting upright in a chair by the bed. To her left, a small tea table covered with a lace towel held tea sets, and an open book lay face down on her lap. The sunlight outside slanted through the large glass windows, making Fang Manxia, ​​who already possessed an elegant demeanor, appear even more refined.

To be honest, Zhou Jiye didn't see the old lady when he first came here. It was Lin Ying who went upstairs to talk to the old lady about renting the place that day.

On their way back that day, Zhou Jiye and the others asked Lin Ying what she thought of the old lady. Lin Ying told Zhou Jiye that she was a very elegant old lady, and even added that she must have been a great beauty back then.

When Zhou Jiye first heard Lin Ying's comments, he was somewhat dismissive. In his opinion, no matter how elegant or beautiful a woman who was nearly sixty years old was, what difference did it make?
But when he actually moved in and saw Fang Manxia for the first time, he realized he was wrong. Lin Ying was not exaggerating at all. She was indeed a woman with a temperament that Zhou Jiye had never seen before. Moreover, although Fang Manxia was older, one could still feel her stunning beauty at first glance. Although time had left its mark on her face, these marks did not erode but rather deepened, giving people a beauty that could not be described in words.

Fang Manxia has a very regular life. Every morning she gets up, tidies herself up, has breakfast, takes a walk in the garden downstairs, then goes back upstairs, brews herself a pot of tea, and sits quietly reading a book in her current spot.

After lunch, Fang Manxia would take a two-hour nap, waking up promptly around 3 PM, and then take a walk in the garden downstairs. She would then repeat her morning routine, reading the evening paper when the postman delivered it in the late afternoon. After dinner, Fang Manxia would remain in her room, perhaps reading, or perhaps doing other things—Zhou Jiye wasn't sure, as he and Lin Ying mostly stayed on the first floor except for bringing food upstairs and sometimes helping with tidying and cleaning.

After a week, the two gradually became familiar with each other. Fang Manxia would sometimes chat with Lin Ying when she went upstairs, asking about everyday matters. As for Zhou Jiye, they talked very little. After all, Zhou Jiye was a man. Although Fang Manxia was kind to Zhou Jiye, apart from a simple greeting and saying thank you when Zhou Jiye brought her food, they basically didn't talk about anything else.

Today was no different; Zhou Jiye had grown accustomed to this kind of interaction with the old lady. In his opinion, this kind of interaction was quite nice; the simple, slightly distant relationship made both of them feel relaxed.

"Lunch will be simple today: stir-fried loofah with eggs, stewed tofu, braised ribbonfish, and a winter melon and bamboo shoot soup. I added some dried shrimp to the soup for extra flavor. Lin Ying will make braised pork for dinner, and you can try it then." Zhou Jiye carried the food into the room and placed it on a small round table not far from Fang Manxia, ​​saying with a smile as he set it out.

Since we came here, the quality of their food has improved considerably.

After all, when they lived with Aunt Wang before, cooking with a coal stove was very troublesome due to limited conditions. In addition, both of them were busy with their business from dawn till dusk, so they often just made do with whatever they could find.

But things can't be like this now that we're here. Since we promised to take care of the old lady, we have to take good care of her. Besides, the old lady didn't charge us rent when we moved in. Now the two rooms on the first floor belong to us. Just these two rooms, plus the conditions here, would cost at least 20 yuan in rent. And it's practically impossible to rent a place like this in Shanghai.

Twenty yuan was not a small amount in those days; it was more than half a month's salary for an ordinary person. With that money, they could eat quite well for a month, and the old lady never made things difficult for them, as long as the food suited their tastes. Besides, the old lady herself didn't eat much over three meals a day, so most of it ended up in the couple's stomachs. In a way, they were the ones who benefited from the old lady's kindness.

Fang Manxia smiled and nodded, then thanked Zhou Jiye.

Zhou Jiye quickly set out the food and then said to Fang Manxia, ​​"Please enjoy your meal. I'll go downstairs now and come back up to clean up for you later."

"Thank you, Xiao Zhou. Be careful going downstairs."

"Don't worry, Grandma, I can go downstairs easily," Zhou Jiye replied with a smile, then turned and walked towards the door.

After leaving the house and closing the door behind him, Zhou Jiye stepped downstairs. He had only taken a few steps and was about to go to the kitchen for lunch when he heard a muffled thud from upstairs. It sounded like something had fallen to the ground.

"Grandma! Grandma! Are you alright?" Zhou Jiye suddenly turned around and shouted upstairs, but he didn't hear Fang Manxia's reply. Zhou Jiye became a little anxious. He was afraid that the old lady had accidentally fallen, so he quickly took three steps at a time and rushed up to the second floor.

Once upstairs, Zhou Jiye pushed open Fang Manxia's bedroom door without hesitation and rushed inside like a gust of wind.

But when he entered the house and saw the situation inside, Zhou Jiye was suddenly stunned, because Fang Manxia had not fallen at all; rather, the thick book that she had placed on her lap had fallen to the ground, and she was bending down to pick it up.

"Grandma..." Zhou Jiye called out, then stopped abruptly, his expression awkward, because he suddenly remembered Fang Manxia's rule that one must knock before entering her room.

But now he had barged in without even knocking, which was really embarrassing. Zhou Jiye hurriedly apologized: "I'm so sorry, ma'am. I heard a noise downstairs and thought something had happened. I called you from outside, but you didn't answer. I got anxious and... I'll go out now... I'll leave now..."

As he spoke, Zhou Jiye quickly stepped back and turned to leave, but when his hand touched the doorknob, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and abruptly turned his head to look at Fang Manxia, ​​who was still bent over and had not yet stood up, his eyes filled with surprise, astonishment, doubt and disbelief.

"Grandma?"

Zhou Jiye blurted out. He stared blankly at Fang Manxia. Although the Fang Manxia in front of him was completely different from the old woman he remembered picking up vegetable leaves at the market, and their clothes were not the same at all, the problem was that Zhou Jiye had a particularly deep memory of the old woman's bent-over posture.

He had seen this scene countless times over the past few months, and it was deeply imprinted in his mind. Although Fang Manxia showed no trace of that old woman, the way she was bending over was exactly the same as that old woman's. The two figures overlapped in his mind.

Zhou Jiye was completely dumbfounded. He simply couldn't believe his eyes. How could Fang Manxia, ​​with such a good temperament and always dressed neatly, possibly be the old woman picking up vegetable leaves? But the scene before him made him connect Fang Manxia with that old woman, and he was completely stunned.

(End of this chapter)