The two brothers couldn't remember anything else. That was the only memory they had of their maternal grandparents.
Song Xian's sobs grew weaker. She was still standing, but leaning all her weight against the iron railing. Exhausted from crying, she fell silent. After a while, she nodded gently a few times.
Liu Zhiguo let out a relieved breath. He called to Song Xian, ready to head back.
Song Xian was still reluctant to leave, but at least she had calmed down enough to discuss things.
Liu Zhiguo had only taken a few steps when he stopped.
In the end, it was Guo Yujie who went over and helped Song Xian walk back. Song Xian looked awful. Guo Yujie took out a tissue and wiped away her tears.
Our group returned to the car. Liu Zhijun was still driving. The car turned around and left the factory grounds.
Song Xian kept twisting around to look behind us.
I noticed that her gaze was moving. It moved slowly, as if someone were running along the road and Song Xian were looking right at them.
When the car reached the intersection, the boundary of the factory grounds, her gaze stopped at the iron railing. Tears streamed down her face again. Only after a long while did she turn back and take the tissue Guo Yujie offered her, wiping away her tears herself.
We drove past the industrial district and reached the residential area of the village and town, where we finally saw people.
I sent a text, partly asking Wu Ling to look into the situation here and partly to tell her the whole story, exactly as it had happened.
Wu Ling was a little surprised. Her reply included several questions.
I glanced at Song Xian's expression and tentatively asked, "Grandma Song, you're