This rain continued for several days. From drizzling intermittently to eventually becoming relentless and earth-shattering.

The clinic had never been in such chaos before.

The three of them—grandfather and grandsons—had wasted their effort moving medicinal herbs from the basement to the car. The vehicle was submerged more than halfway, soaked for two full days and unable to start.

Even if it could start, they had no time to deal with it.

First, Uncle had arranged for a doctor to perform surgery on Second Sister-in-law. A group of people went through various means to get there, waiting and waiting. Just as her turn was coming up… the power went out. The whole group came rushing back.

When the rain stopped, the adults were busy with the aftermath. After finishing, the children ran off and disappeared. Just as everyone was searching everywhere, Sun Jiaxing came running back shouting that Yuyan had been swept away by the water! Eldest Sister-in-law nearly fainted.

And the culprit—that Sun Jiarui—was too scared to go home and hid outside crying in secret. It started because the children had been cooped up for days. Seeing the rain stop, they secretly ran out to play. Never having witnessed such a spectacle before, their excitement far outweighed their fear. Moreover, several children of similar age were playing there with a large bathtub, and seeing Sun Yuyan was the smallest, they wanted him to sit in the tub while they pushed it around for fun.

This sitting down didn’t matter—they had only been playing happily for a minute when a torrent of floodwater came rushing down and swept him away, tub and all.

The whole family waded through the rainwater searching for him, calling out, asking other people. Whether encountering firefighters and rescue teams… or civilian search and rescue teams, they calmly described the color of the bathtub the child was sitting in, the clothes he was wearing, and his age.

Their entire neighborhood, front and back several streets, echoed with voices calling for the child. Meanwhile, the person in question, Sun Yuyan, had long been crying loudly in fear, his two little hands tightly gripping the tub’s edge, calling for Daddy… calling for Mommy.

Ordinary people who saw him didn’t dare rescue him easily. They could only shout toward the rescue kayak in the distance: “There’s a child! There’s a child!” Because the water current was so strong, one person’s strength was limited. If they failed to stop the tub and it overturned, the child inside would be in even greater danger.

Two kayaks over there quickly joined together. The rescue team and other men in the floodwater helped, about ten people forming a stable wall, successfully rescuing the child.

In just half an hour, Sun Yuyan was found. Words of gratitude needn’t be mentioned—the rescue team waved their hands and turned to rescue others.

The family returned home and first took headcount. Seeing Sun Jiarui wasn’t there, they started getting nervous again. That’s when Sun Jiaxing said he was upstairs doing his summer homework.

…

The family couldn’t worry about why he’d suddenly reformed. Never mind him—they began settling scores after harvest, asking why, after being told a thousand times and warned ten thousand times not to go out, not to go out, did they still sneak out?

Sun Jiaxing first cleared himself, saying he didn’t take them out, and refused to say anything more. Over there, Sun Yuyan came out after bathing, clearly terrified. He said nothing, only tightly hugged Eldest Sister-in-law’s neck crying for Daddy.

The adults fell silent, then stopped mentioning it and continued with their respective tasks.

Because the wedding house and new district had lost power, Sun Jingcheng and Sun Jingfei came to the clinic for meals during the day. The wedding house losing power was tolerable—after all, it was low-rise. But the new district was twenty or thirty floors. Losing power there was a matter of life and death. Just climbing the stairs alone could exhaust someone to death.

Sun Jingcheng was taking a shower when Mother Sun knocked on his door, saying she’d left a bottle of intimate wash at the door and wanted him to wash thoroughly.

…

At this moment, Zhou Yu was at the family compound, holding a garlic mortar pounding henna flowers. After pounding them, she sat in the inner room wrapping them around Grandmother’s fingers one by one, instructing as she wrapped, “Don’t scratch with your hands.”

Grandmother seemed to understand and made an affirmative sound.

Zhou Yu found it amusing. “Why are you so vain?” Every summer she had to wrap her nails, wrapping them three times in a row, insisting on turning her nail color deep red.

While wrapping, someone knocked on the door. Zhou Yu went to open it—the person was gone, but at the doorway was a large supermarket bag filled with essential daily necessities. She heard the sound of a door opening upstairs and understood who had sent it.

Feng Yiqun, who’d been napping, heard the commotion and came out. Zhou Yu brought the bag in, saying the aunt upstairs had helped buy things. Feng Yiqun went to wash her face while Zhou Yu returned to the inner room to continue wrapping Grandmother’s nails.

After finishing, she wiped Grandmother’s face, applied snowflake cream, combed her hair, making her clean and presentable.

Coming out to wash her hands in the bathroom, Feng Yiqun was combing her hair, calmly arranging Grandmother’s funeral affairs. If the worst happened, they’d return to their hometown and bury her together with Grandfather and Father. She had always been thinking about her son and husband.

“Alright,” Zhou Yu nodded.

Feng Yiqun also discussed her own funeral arrangements in the same tone one would use to discuss dinner, saying just cremate her, and like Grandmother’s ashes, scatter them in the sea or on a mountain—either was fine. One person could be free and unencumbered.

Zhou Yu nodded, not wanting to continue this topic. She asked her, “What should we eat tonight?”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Oil-splashed noodles?”

“Good.”

Feng Yiqun went to knead and roll out noodles while Zhou Yu assisted on the side. After the dough was kneaded, they let it rest. Feng Yiqun changed clothes, took a jar of pickled crispy cucumbers, and went to the upstairs neighbor’s home.

At the clinic, Mother Sun was praising Feng Yiqun and her daughter while kneading steamed buns, saying nowadays it was rare for young people willing to personally care for elderly people. She didn’t know how to express that they cared for her well, so she said her grandmother was different from other bedridden elderly people—she had human dignity.

The phrase “human dignity” made Sun Jingfei laugh for quite a while, laughing that Mother Sun actually understood dignity.

This angered Mother Sun. First she ignored her, then responded, “I’m an uncultured crude woman, unworthy of understanding dignity!”

…

“You’re overthinking again. I meant it’s refreshing to hear those words from your mouth.”

“I finally understand why after so many years in the workplace, you have no friends.” Sun Jingcheng said as he passed through the kitchen.

“Don’t laugh at me when you’re just as bad,” Sun Jingfei said to him. “Hurry up and get to work.”

Sun Jingcheng found a pair of cotton gloves to put on, went downstairs, got a shovel, and helped clear the sludge left behind after the rainstorm receded. Seeing him leave, Sun Jingfei dared to gossip, saying about Feng Yiqun and her daughter, especially Feng Yiqun… it was hard to say, but they were just too rare! Their care for Grandmother was like atonement. She said people of great goodness must have great evil—the mother and daughter definitely had big secrets.

As soon as she finished speaking, she got slapped by Mother Sun, who asked if she’d die if she didn’t gossip. The mother and daughter had upbringing and education—they were different from ordinary people.

Sun Jingfei gave in. This had nothing to do with upbringing or education. This kind of great goodness violated human nature. Having gotten this far in the conversation, she couldn’t help but ask: “Mom, did Zhou Yu’s dad have an affair?”

Mother Sun glanced at the living room, closed the kitchen door, and tapped her forehead directly. “Stop talking nonsense. If Fourth hears this, he won’t want you!”

“Look how scared you are.” Sun Jingfei rolled out dumpling wrappers, continuing, “I saw it myself. I’m certain that was her dad.”

“When did you see it?”

“So this really happened?” Sun Jingfei asked back.

…

Mother Sun lowered her voice, still asking the same thing: “When did you see it?”

“Was I in second or third year of middle school? I saw them in the park.”

Mother Sun calculated the time and instructed her, “Don’t gossip about this outside.”

“So it really happened?”

“There was some gossip going around, saying at her dad’s funeral a strange woman came, and your Aunt Feng blocked her right at the door. Afterward, it seems someone called the police, and your Aunt Feng even went to the police station.”

“And then?”

“No ‘and then.'” Mother Sun placed buns on the steamer. “That woman only appeared for a few seconds. Your Aunt Feng didn’t explain, and some people speculated whether it was a mistress, but later that theory disappeared.”

“If you hadn’t brought this up, I would’ve forgotten. Say less of these things that ruin people’s reputations, even if you saw it, don’t mention it. No matter what anyone says, I think your Aunt Feng has truly excellent character, working hard without complaint serving her in-laws for twenty years…”

“Mom, did her dad really die from a sudden illness…” Before she finished, Mother Sun grabbed the rolling pin ready to hit her. Why was this child so lacking in moral speech?

Sun Jingfei nimbly ran out, running so fast she even tripped over a chair leg. “I was just curious and asking.”

“Yes! Her dad had a sudden illness at home, the medicine was right beside him but he couldn’t reach it.”

Sun Jingfei didn’t believe it. Preparing to ask more, seeing Mother Sun was really going to hit her, she turned and ran downstairs.

“Lacking family discipline!” Mother Sun cursed at her.

After all the buns were on the steamer, she cleaned up the counter and came out to the bathroom. Eldest Sister-in-law was washing Yuyan’s clothes on the edge of the bathtub with her back turned. Coming out, she sighed, turned off the donkey-hide gelatin blood-nourishing soup simmering on the stove, and called to her, “Weihua?”

“Yeah?”

“The soup is ready. I’ve ladled some out for you there.”

“Alright.”

“The buns need fifteen more minutes. Remember to lift the lid in a bit.”

“Alright.”

Mother Sun went downstairs. Eldest Sister-in-law washed her face, reapplied skincare, gently patting her red, swollen eyes. Then she came out, drank a cup of tea, and called toward the tightly closed bedroom door, “Yanyan?”

After a while, Sun Yuyan opened the door, revealing his little head. “Mommy, you called me?”

Eldest Sister-in-law felt reassured. “Nothing, go play.”

Sun Yuyan locked the door again, pattered over to climb onto the bed, then crawled to lie on the desk, comforting Sun Jiarui, “Brother, don’t cry anymore.”

“Exactly, crying and whimpering like a girl.” Sun Jiaxing said to him. “I didn’t tell Mom and Dad anyway.”

Sun Jiarui cried even harder. Sun Yuyan pulled out a tissue, his little hand wiping his tears. “It’s okay, brother. I won’t tell the adults.” Then he stretched out his arms trying hard to hug him. As if all this wasn’t enough to express his true forgiveness, he climbed down from the bed to find his mother, returning with several snacks the adults had hidden, spreading them all on the bed, pushing them toward Sun Jiarui. “Brother, these are all for you to eat.”

…

Sun Jiarui said sincerely while eating, “Little brother, from now on, big brother will cherish you.”

The two brothers sat on the edge of the bed swinging their legs, eating, looking at each other and smiling. They smiled so hard that snot bubbles came out of their noses. Sun Jiaxing was, after all, a few years older. Finding their brotherly affection mushy and childish, out of sight out of mind, he went out to play video games.

Sun Jiarui ate and ate until he was tired. The sorrow in his heart hadn’t dissipated. He chatted with Sun Yuyan, “Little brother, I almost killed you this morning.” Worried he wouldn’t understand death, he held up a flyswatter for a long time, aimed at a fly and swatted it down. Blood splattered out. He pinched the fly’s wing and showed it to Sun Yuyan. “This fly is dead. It will never appear again.”

“But there are still so many flies—in the living room, in the kitchen, outside on the street too.” Sun Yuyan said while eating seaweed rolls.

“But those flies are no longer this one.” Sun Jiarui tried hard to explain. “This one is itself.”

“But flies are all the same. Every one looks exactly the same. Kill one and there’ll be more.”

“They’re not the same.” Sun Jiarui was getting a bit anxious. “This one is itself. Those many other flies are not it. Each one has life…”

Life—only now did Sun Jiarui vaguely realize that this one fly also had life, and he had just swatted it to death. He wanted to think deeper and more, but the word “life” was like a colossal thing, stirring his brain into chaos. But he seemed to somewhat understand how to explain so his brother could understand the difference between this one fly and other flies.

He could say: There are so many adults on the street, they’re all other people’s moms and dads. Your dad died… no, your dad is only your dad. Your dad died, but you can’t call my dad ‘dad’…

No good, he’d confused himself. He needed to eat a piece of chocolate and rest before continuing. Eating and eating, he no longer wanted to explain. He said in an old-fashioned way: “You’re only just five years old. You’re too young. When you’re as old as me, you’ll understand.”

“But you’re only just eight years old too?” Sun Yuyan was good at math. “Eight minus five equals three. You’re only three years older than me.”

Sun Jiarui pinched the sesame seed from the corner of his mouth and put it in his own, realizing he and his brother were no longer the same age group. He stared at the fly he’d swatted to death, pulled out a tissue to wrap it, dug a hole in Grandmother’s rose pot, and solemnly buried it.

Eldest Sister-in-law asked what he was doing.

Sun Yuyan answered for him, “Mommy, we’re holding a funeral for the fly.”

…

Sun Jiarui got up, shuffled toward Eldest Sister-in-law in the kitchen, looked up and called out, “Auntie.” (formal term for uncle’s wife)

“What’s wrong?” Eldest Sister-in-law looked at him.

Sun Jiarui twisted his fingers, not daring to look at her either, saying in a small voice: “It was me who made little brother sit in the bathtub to play. I didn’t think he’d be swept away by the floodwater…” As he spoke, he began crying again with remorse.

Eldest Sister-in-law paused, crouched down to hug him. “It’s alright. Auntie forgives you.”