Chapter 223: Moonlit Village Return

The alley was narrow, so the car couldn’t get in and had to stop on the empty ground outside.

He turned off the engine, killed the lights, and got out.

His eyes adjusted to the dim night light, and suddenly, he could see everything clearly.

Xu Chen looked up and understood the meaning of those four words: ‘Bright Pure Moon’.

The light of the white moon.

In the village at nearly midnight, with almost no lamps or lights, he could still make out the roads, ditches, and house walls.

Xu Chen thought back; it had been years since he’d seen such a peaceful countryside night.

The bright lights and noise of modern cities—did they ruin the moonlight, or just dull our eyes?

Xie Bingran led the way but hesitated for a moment:

“The house… it’s in pretty bad shape.”

Xu Chen smiled. “I’m from the village too, you know.”

Xie Bingran said “Oh,” and they headed toward the Old Xie Family Residence.

At the black gate, Xie Bingran stepped back and looked up.

Red flowers and red cloth hung above the gate—it was clearly the Village Committee’s doing.

She squatted down, removed a blue brick from the corner, and pulled out a key from inside.

Xu Chen looked on, a bit speechless, as Xie Bingran inserted the key into the lock, turned it, and pulled back the bolt.

With a creak, she pushed the door open and went in; Xu Chen followed.

The courtyard was neat and open, clear even under the moonlight.

Xie Bingran turned back, shut the door, and secured the wooden latch.

They went to the main room, where she easily found a pull-string switch and flicked it on with a click, lighting a dim yellow incandescent bulb in the yard.

Xu Chen glanced up; the main room looked like it had been renovated.

Last time he came for his grandmother’s funeral, the roof was still damaged.

Xie Bingran came over and looked up too.

“The village fixed it up—they called and told me.”

Xu Chen asked, “They could get into your yard?”

Xie Bingran replied, “Grandma gave them a key…”

“Our family’s the poorest in the village; even if we left the door wide open, nothing would get stolen.”

“…”

Xie Bingran walked to the corner of the yard, where there was a water tank and a hand pump.

She picked up a ladle made from half a gourd, scooped some water into the pump, and pumped it several times until cool water gushed out.

“Grab the big basin for me!” she said, pumping while pointing toward the kitchen.

Xu Chen agreed and went to the kitchen wall, dragging over the large wooden basin.

In no time, the clear well water filled the big basin.

Along with it, the moon from the sky seemed to be drawn right into the yard through the water.

Xie Bingran said:

“It’s just a cold water bath, I’m afraid.”

Xu Chen smiled. “Sounds great! I loved doing this as a kid!”

Xie Bingran turned and went into the main room, setting out a chair for Xu Chen to sit and rest.

She then headed to the inner room…

Xu Chen sat quietly for a while, spotted the iron kettle and thermos on the table, and went to the pump to get some clear well water to boil.

But once he brought the kettle back, he hit a snag.

In the corner of the main room, there was a small stove with a long chimney going to the roof, but when he lifted the lid, there was no firewood or coal in sight.

“Want to boil water?” Xie Bingran came out.

“Yeah, I want to heat up some well water to drink… I remember it always tasted so sweet from back then.”

Xie Bingran grabbed a small iron basket and headed into the yard.

Xu Chen followed and saw her scoop up some black coal chunks from the kitchen corner, along with some dry firewood.

She pulled out a box of matches from somewhere— in these old villages, elders still called them ‘foreign fire’.

The matches lit the dry wood, and once the flames caught, she added a few small coal pieces.

The edges of the coal glowed red, and then she covered it over.

Finally, she set the large kettle, full of water, on top…

Xu Chen watched Xie Bingran squat there, handling it all with ease, and felt a mix of emotions.

She must have learned these life skills—maybe even survival ones—back when she was just a kid or a teen.

Xie Bingran dusted off her hands covered in coal ash:

“It’ll boil soon.”

She stood up, rinsed her hands in the basin nearby, and said:

“No air conditioning here; I worry you might get too hot sleeping.”

Xu Chen smiled. “It’s fine.”

Xie Bingran paused for a moment, then said:

“I shouldn’t have brought you here. The house is rundown, the bed’s uncomfortable—you won’t sleep well…”

“I didn’t mean for you to suffer with me…”

Under the dim yellow light, her face was hard to make out.

Xu Chen stepped forward and gently took her still-damp hand, but didn’t say a word.

Xie Bingran glanced outside and added:

“Or, we could sleep on the roof—it’s cooler up there.”

Xu Chen: “The roof?”

In the local northern rural homes, the south house roofs were flat, perfect for drying grain.

Xie Bingran said:

“Yeah, on the roof. We can lay out a mat and use bamboo poles to hang a mosquito net.”

She hesitated. “But it’ll be hard; you still might not sleep well…”

Xu Chen thought about it, then lit up with excitement:

“That means we can fall asleep under the moon!”

Xie Bingran: “When I was little and couldn’t sleep from the heat, Grandma would take me up there…”

Xu Chen: “Sounds perfect! So relaxing!”

Xie Bingran finally smiled: “Alright, come help me then!”

…

Xu Chen followed Xie Bingran to a back inner room.

It looked like a storage area, with a few old cabinets neatly stacked with odds and ends.

Xie Bingran opened one tall cabinet and pulled out a rolled mat; Xu Chen quickly reached to take it.

In that moment of handing it over, Xie Bingran hesitated.

Xu Chen: “What is it?”

Xie Bingran looked embarrassed: “We only have one mat at home.”

Xu Chen thought it through and realized the awkward implication.

But he just smiled and joked:

“Afraid I’ll take advantage?”

Xie Bingran shot him a stern look: “As long as you’re not suicidal!”

With that, she let go of the mat and dug out a large mosquito net from the cabinet bottom.

…

…

They climbed the narrow stone steps to the flat roof of the south house.

The roof had no lights, but the moonlight was still bright and clear.

Xu Chen looked around and could even see the river in the distance.

A night breeze swept in, carrying fresh water mist along with the calls of frogs and insects…

Xie Bingran: “Hand me the bamboo poles!”

Xu Chen went back down the steps with her.

Xie Bingran searched the yard, found a few long bamboo poles by the south house wall, and passed them to Xu Chen to hold.

She grabbed a broom from the kitchen—probably to sweep the roof first.

From the drawer in the main room, she pulled out a few small iron clips.

She turned to Xu Chen with an innocently excited smile:

“Got everything!”

…