Eight Days at Home 2

An old house owned by a local family. The lights inside the house are on 24/7 .

Almost-empty street with old abandoned buildings. Many hungry stray cats inhabit here. Most of the original inhabitants of the area have moved out and now living in new apartments compensated by government. These empty houses have had their doors and windows blocked with concrete, waiting to be demolished.

Early in the morning, a member of the village committee came to No.39 house and distributed a notice about the house demolition project in the village in the  future. He took the notice, looking at the word "demolition" on the paper. He didn't know how to react at the moment. He put his hand into his pant's pocket, looking for cigarettes. It was the fifth month since he moved into the renovated house, and he was still enjoying his own family life after retirement. He had been working away from home for a long time, rarely having the chance to reunite with his family. Two years ago, he returned to the village and started renovating his old house with his own savings from work. Returning to his roots is the old man's  wish after decades of wandering for work, and a new house is proof that his wish has been realized.

He kept reading the notice, finding a tentative timeline for old houses demolition and resident relocation - It‘s about six to seven years from now. He had occasionally read in the newspaper about the renovation of old buildings in the city, and similar things were finally coming to where he lived. It took him and his family a year or two to complete the renovation of the old house, when it was a difficult time for the whole family. However now he was told that in a few years the house would be demolished and the land would be taken by the country. He drops a fourth extinguished cigarette into the ashtray, sighing at his own old age and powerlessness, his mediocrity and his inability to keep up with the drastic changes of the times despite being hard-working.

清晨，一名居委会成员上门向他派发了一份关于拆迁村子民房的通知书。他看着纸面上“拆迁”两个大字，一时间不知作何反应。沉默地收下了通知书后，他下意识摸出了口袋里的烟。这是他搬进翻新房子后的第5个月，正享受退休后家庭生活的清闲。因为长期在外工作，鲜少有机会和家人团聚。两年前他从外省回到村子，拿着攒起的积蓄开始了自家旧房子的翻新。落叶归根是他在外漂泊数十年后的心愿，而房子便是他愿望实现的证明。

他把目光下移，通告书写着拆除和搬迁的暂定时间——大概在6到7年以后。他在报纸上偶有读到城市内进行的旧楼改造，而这场城市变革最终要来到自己居住的地方。几经周折才完成了旧房子的翻修，如今却被告知几年后房子会被拆除，土地也将被国家征收。他往烟灰缸里丢下第四根熄灭的烟头，暗叹自己的苍老和无力，庸庸碌碌却远远跟不上时代剧烈的变化。

On weekends, she would return home from the school she attended.
Her parents were often concerned that she is too quiet and asocial, and always wanted her to spend more time with the children of her age in the village. However, she preferred to spend her weekends with the dog at home than anyone else. The sunlight brightened and penetrated through the clouds. She sat in the doorway, excitedly sharing the snacks in her hand with the dog beside her. Sometimes she would peek inside through the window next to the  door, secretly staring at the back of her grandfather sitting on the couch. More precisely, the back of his head. His short gray hair grew and formed a spiral from the right side of his head. She couldn't remember when the quiet old man had shown up at home, and had barely spoken to him. Even when Grandpa gave her red packets for New Year as a gift, there was not much for her Grandpa to say. Most of the time, he just sat on the sofa, smoking cigarettes while intently watching TV. The war was always on TV, and she saw many times the People's Liberation Army weaving in and out of the rain of bullets, fighting the Japanese army.

She was going to go back to her room and do her homework. The dog beside her didn't get enough of the snacks and lifted its front feet to pick at her pants. The longing of food emanated from his watery eyes. She offered the last sausage in her hand to the dog, and he swallowed it even without chewing. Her grandma, who was sitting on the other side of the couch, murmured with displeasure, complaining that she wasted too much food on the dog. She ignored it, "My food is also his". She thought.  The choking smell of the smock was all around the living room. She glanced at the demolition notice on the table as she walked into the house, holding her breath and quickly ran through the living room and up to the second floor. The living room was obviously Grandpa's territory, and now she wanted to get back to hers.

每逢周末，她会从就读的寄宿中学回到家。
父母常常担心她的沉闷和不合群，总希望她和村子里的同龄孩子多相处。然而比起其他人，她更喜欢和家里的狗一起度过周末。云隙间的阳光让天色亮了起来，她坐在门口，兴致勃勃地和身旁贴过来的狗分着手里的零食。有时她会从大门旁边的窗户偷偷瞄向里面，盯着坐在沙发上的爷爷的背影。准确地说是后脑勺——他灰白的头发在脑勺右侧形成了一个螺旋。她记不起这个沉默寡言的老人是何时出现在家的，也几乎没有和他说过几句话。即便是爷爷过年发红包的时候，也没见他张嘴吐过几个词。大多数时候，他只是坐在沙发上一边抽着烟，一边专注地看电视。电视里总是上演着战争，她看到好多次人民解放军或在枪林弹雨中穿梭，与日本军斗智斗勇。

她打算回房间写作业了。身旁的狗没吃够，抬起了前脚扒拉她的裤子。它的眼珠子里传出了渴望的声音。她把手里最后的香肠送进了狗的嘴里，大狗没有咀嚼就把食物咽下了肚。在沙发另一旁坐着的奶奶不满地喃喃，怪她总是把食物浪费在了狗身上。她没有理会，因为她的零食就是它的。客厅里充满了呛鼻的烟味，她走进客厅时扫了一眼桌子上的通告书，憋着气快速地穿过客厅跑上二楼。客厅是爷爷的地盘，而如今她想要返还自己的领地。

"I wish I could die". She lay on the couch and thought about that  bitterly. Earlier in the years, her left kidney was removed because of cancer. Her right kidney was not working well either, therefore she had to go to the hospital often for weekly-dialysis. Aside from the kidney problem, she got sick very easily. In the past few years she was still able to pick her granddaughter up from school, but now she can't help much to the family because of the bad health. Getting bored, she got up and leaned on the sofa, scratching the age spots on her hands. There were still a few hours to get to the noon, and she needed to wait for her son to come home at noon to take her to the hospital. The old man sitting on another couch was watching the TV intently and kept smoking cigarette one by one. A small resentment rose in her heart, and she cursed him for being too addicted to TV and cigarettes. The old man gave her a dull look and said nothing, then turned back to the TV.

还不如快点死了算了，她躺在沙发上恶狠狠地想。早些年里因为得了肾癌，她的左肾被切除。而后右肾状况也不容乐观，每周都要去医院做透析洗肾。她的身体一直不是很好，因此总是因为生病辗转好几家医院。几年前她还能送孙女上学，随着身体出现大大小小的毛病后，自己能做的事情越来越少。她倚在沙发上，抓挠自己手上的老年斑。因为无事可做，她只好一直等待儿子中午回家把她接送到医院。坐在另一旁的老头目不转睛地盯着电视，不停地抽着烟。心中升起一股无名的怨气，她咒骂他对电视和烟着了瘾，后者看了她一眼，无动于衷。

"I. Scope and area of demolition and relocation of this project
The scope of demolition and relocation of this project involves residential houses, factories and appurtenances in the village (the details are subject to the "red line" of demolition and relocation), and the total size of houses to be demolished and relocated is estimated 40,000 square meters. "

"II. Duration/Timeline of house demolition for this project
Tentatively scheduled from August 10, 2014 to December 30, 2013. "

" III. Duration/Timeline of house relocation for this project
Tentatively scheduled from January 10, 2013 to June 30, 2014. "

"IV. The house demolition and relocation affairs of this project will be undertaken by the village committee. "

" V. Disputes over the property rights and utilization rights of houses within the scope of house demolition and relocation of this project shall be properly resolved within the term of house demolition and relocation. If they are not resolved after the deadline, the demolition will not be suspended. "

" This is hereby announced by Village Committee,
October 26, 2007 "

Just as usual, the mother-in-law had been picked up by her husband from the hospital and returned home. She started preparing lunch for the older woman. The older woman was picky in tastes and textures of the meals, so the whole family often shared dishes that cater to her preferences. The younger woman didn't like the dishes made for the older woman,  and she got rid of sitting with her at the same table sometimes when it was time for a meal. Most of the time, she preferred to cook in two separately and kept one for herself. Once it was time to eat, she sat alone on the side.

Getting the lunch prepared and stepping out of the kitchen, she cleaned the cooking table and pulled down the window shutter inside the kitchen. Leaving the windows exposed for too long made her anxious and insecure. She was concerned that people passing by would look into the house through the window. She often reminded other family members to be aware of strangers passing by and they could be ill-intentioned. The old man and his husband were not convinced by her, and thought she was overly nervous. However, not long ago, a burglary happened in the house. The thief targeted the back of the house, sawed through the rails outside one of the windows and sneaked into the house. While all the people in the room were asleep, the thief took a couple of purses away. It was not a very serious loss, but it just made her even more wary of the surroundings.

一如平常，家婆在丈夫的接送下刚从医院回来，于是她开始准备给老人的午饭。老人对饭菜的口味和口感刁钻，因此全家人的饭菜常常会迎合老人的偏好下厨。她自然不喜欢家婆的口味，常常不与老人坐在同一张饭桌。大多数时候，她喜欢把烹饪分开两份煮，一份留给自己。一到吃饭时间，她便独自一人坐在一边。

备好午饭走出厨房前，她把灶台擦得干干净净，并习惯性地拉下了厨房内的百叶窗。长期让窗户暴露使她感到不安，她担心经过的人往房屋里张望，图谋不轨。她常常提醒家里其他人，经过的陌生人往往不怀好意，要保持警惕心。老人和丈夫不以为然，认为她紧张过度。而在不久前，家里确实发生了一次入室盗窃。小偷以房子后方为目标，锯开了一扇窗户外的防护栏并潜入屋子。趁房间里的人熟睡，小偷顺走了几个钱包。虽然损失不十分严重，但这让她更发对外界提防了起来。

It was very late at night when she returned to the village from the university, as she didn't catch the train on time. She was exhausted after the hours-long transportation, and her cell phone had run out of battery during the trip. She unlocked the door, gingerly walking into the house. An anti-burglar alarm was installed in the dining room of the house three years ago. The alarm glowed with a tiny red light in the dark room. She carefully get rid of the area where the alarm might detect and buzz, and filled a glass of water for herself. She sipped the water slowly, the only sound that could be heard in the quiet dining room was the gurgling sound that came from her throat. Suddenly, a subtle sound came from the upper floor and that caught her attention. She had contacted her father on her cell phone before coming back home, and he said no one else was home tonight.

The light footsteps were coming closer to the top of the stairs, breaking the silence in the house. She saw the shadow appearing and recognized the person holding a long stick in their hand. A chill quickly crept up her back, and her body shivered uncontrollably. She gripped the kitchen knife in her hand tightly and stood still to observe the stranger's behavior. If they made a move, she would attack the knife. But would she be able to self-defense successfully? Soon, the stranger showed up in front of her. She immediately recognized them by the outline of their body.

It was her mother. With the moon light coming into the house, she saw her mother's twisted face with true aggression. The tautness of her body loosened for an instant, but quickly drained her body up at the same time. As she expected, her mother's fury and curses came immediately after the drama ended. She placed the kitchen knife back in the kitchen, then walked quickly back to her room and impatiently responded to her mother's questions. The drama caused by the overly-panic of the two of them made her have some unusually strange feelings.

因为延误了一趟高铁，她从大学回到村子时已经是深夜。几个小时的车程让她十分疲惫，手机也早在路途中耗尽了电。她打开门锁，轻手轻脚地走进屋子。三年前房屋里装上了防盗报警器，在黑漆漆的屋子里闪着红色的幽光。她小心地绕过报警器可能会侦测报警的区域，给自己装了一杯水。她慢悠悠地喝着水，安静的饭厅里只能听到自己喉咙里发出的咕咚声。突然一丝细微的声响从楼顶传来，引起了她的注意。回家前她在手机里和父亲联系，他说今晚没有其他人在家。

她感到十分紧张，头皮发麻。又是小偷吗？她慌慌张张地移步到厨房，拿起一把菜刀。在外省上学时，她独自一人住在大学附近的出租房，这让她保持了对周围十足的警惕感。如她的母亲一样，她习惯了在大多数时候拉上窗帘，以防有外人偷窥、暴露任何一丝隐私。因为出租屋之间离得较近，她从不敢在阳台上出现超过五分钟，并在那挂上了几条男士内裤。

楼顶传来了轻微的脚步声，在寂静的房屋里却已然是逐显趋近的警报。她看见了在楼梯下逐步出现的黑影，对方手里拿着一把长棍。寒意迅速爬上了她的背脊，身体不受控制地打起了哆嗦。她努力握紧手里的菜刀，站在原地死死盯着对方。如果对方有所动作，她就挥刀。可是她打得过对方吗？很快，对方的身影完整地出现在了楼梯上。不过一瞬间，她便立马认出了黑影的轮廓。

那是她的母亲。在细碎的月光下，她看见了母亲狰狞的神色。对方也快速地认出了她。
紧绷的神经一瞬间松开，也迅速抽走了她身上的力气。而迎接她的是母亲的暴怒和咒骂。她把菜刀放回厨房，不耐烦地回应着跟在身后的母亲和她刻薄的责怪和关心。她速速走回自己的房间，这场因两人过度紧张而引起的闹剧，让她被某种异常怪异的感觉侵占。

An hour ago, her husband sent his sick parents to the hospital. He hadn't returned yet, only she and the dog were at home during the afternoon. She returned to her bedroom after doing a load of housework, and a headache stuck on her.  During the recent years, the demolition project has been progressing one step by another, and the time has finally come for them, as local villagers, to sign a contract with the real estate developer. They would receive compensation from the real estate developer for taking down their old houses, and they could live in new apartments built by the real estate company. All the other villagers have signed the  agreement of demolition and were ready to move out of the town. She watched her neighbors move into the new homes and start a new life, urging her husband to sign the agreement. However, her husband scolded her and refused to sign on the grounds that the amount of compensation from the real estate company was unreasonable.

She was enraged by her husband's decision and they had an argument. She wondered desperately if they were the only family who would have to stay in the empty, dilapidated town and become "nail households" in a hopeless struggle for their rights. She sat huddled in front of her dressing table, leaning against it and pressing her temples. She loathed her husband's family and regretted her decision to marry. After the marriage, she got lost and unable to find her own place. She felt that she was always an outsider in this family, without a space, and that no rooms in the house ever belonged to her. The curtains in the room were slightly drawn, and only a small ray of sunlight diffused around the corner of the dressing table. She took a few pain relievers to ease her headache. Her exhaustion from the chores of the day hit her and made her want to take a long nap. 

The dog came to the door of her room and she didn't know. The dog pushed the door open with his front paws. He wagged his tail and came over, sitting quietly beside her. He lolled his tongue out and the hot breath coming out of his mouth covered her hand. She stroked  the dog's head, with tears flowing down from her face.

一个小时前，丈夫接送两位生病的老人去往医院。他还没有回来，因此下午只有她和狗在家。刚做完家务的她回到卧室，头脑传来一阵阵刺痛。这几年来，拆迁项目逐步推进，作为当地村民的他们终于到了要和房产商签署合约的时刻。按照规定，他们会获得来自房产商的补偿，其中就包括了新的安置房。村子里的邻居纷纷签下了合约，准备搬离村落迁入新居。她看着邻居纷纷搬进新型小区开启新生活，不由感到羡慕。她催促丈夫赶紧签下合约，这样一来就能住进新的房子。然而她的丈夫臭骂了她一顿，并以房产商赔偿数额不合理为由，拒绝了签约。

她被丈夫的决定激怒，为此两人发生了争执。她愤愤地想，难道唯独他们一家要留在空荡荡又破旧的村子里，为希望渺茫的权益争取而当起“钉子户”吗？她蜷缩着坐在梳妆镜前，倚靠着桌子按压着太阳穴。她讨厌夫家人，也后悔自己入嫁的决定。结婚过后，她越来越找不到自己位置。她感到自己始终是这个家庭中的外人，没有一席之地，这里的一厅一房也从来不属于自己。她讨厌夫家人，也后悔自己入嫁的决定。房间里的窗帘微拉，只有一小缕阳光弥散在梳妆台桌角。她吃下几颗止痛药以缓解头痛。一天的家务活让她的疲惫袭来，让她想要睡个觉。

家里的狗不知何时来到了她的房门口，用前爪推开了门。狗晃着尾巴来到她的身边坐下。他吐露着舌头，嘴里呼出来的热气包裹了她的手。她摸了摸狗的头顶，经不住眼泪流了下来。

It has been six months since his father passed away. Two days before his father's death, his father was lying in the hospital bed, muttering that he wanted to go home. His daughter came with him to visit her grandfather,  standing nearby the bed and gently holding her grandfather's hand. He caught the moment when his father and his daughter looked at each other - the calm and silent old man suddenly burst into tears. The way his father cried reminded him of a crying baby at birth. In that moment, he felt like seeing death and new life at the same time.

His father was gone, and his mother's health was deteriorating day by day. Every time he thought of this, he was fearful about his future life without his parents - he had taken the responsibility of taking caring of them for more than a decade, and he knew the health conditions of the two. After his father's death, his mother was influenced by the grief. His daughter was often away, rarely coming home. He was often jealous of big families with a lot of children, and the lively family atmosphere was what he had always longed for. Soon, he and his wife would be the only two left in the house, and he found it hard to accept such a lonely life.

At this time, the country issued the second-child policy, which made him ecstatic: the early family planning policy prevented him from having more children when he was young, and now he could finally made up for the regret. As if on a sign from destiny, he decided to take action as quickly as possible, discussing with his wife and daughter to have another child.


距父亲离世已经半年了。在父亲死去的两天前，他的父亲躺在医院的病床上，嘟囔着想要回家。女儿也随同来探望，在一旁轻轻地握住了父亲的手。他望向父亲和女儿——两人对视的一瞬，鲜有表情的老人五官忽然拧成一团，哭了出来。父亲哭泣的样子，让他想到了刚出生时哭闹的婴儿。在那一刻，他仿佛同时看见了死亡和新生。

父亲已然离去，母亲的身体状况也每日愈下。一想到这，他对未来没有父母的生活感到十分不安——十多年来他肩负着照顾父母的重任，对两位老人的身体状况心知肚明。在父亲去世后，母亲的时日也不远了。女儿也常常在外，很少回家。他常常羡慕儿孙满堂的家庭，热闹的家庭氛围是他一直所向往的。很快，屋子里便只剩下他和妻子两人，这样孤独的生活让他难以接受。

国家在这个时候开放了第二胎政策，这让他欣喜若狂——年轻时，计划生育让他没能多得子嗣的遗憾终于可以得到弥补了。仿佛是来自上天的暗示，他决定付诸行动，和妻子、女儿商量，再生一个孩子。

Her husband tried to convince her to give birth to a second child, with reasons that a new child could help the daughter to take care of themselves. She wasn't sure about that having a child at her age, it was not an easy thing after all. What's more, she would need to do more housework for the family - she didn't not expect her husband to share much for her. At her husband's urging, she finally went to the gynecology department for a checkup and got good news from the doctor - she still had a chance to have a baby because of her good health. With the doctor's help, the birth control ring she had been wearing inside her body was removed. She saw many middle-aged women of her age who also wanted children after the second-child policy was opened up. In the early years, it was the national family planning policy that hurt them so badly, as she could not afford to pay the fines for exceeding the birth limit, so she was unable to give birth to her second child. Now, many people have the same regret like her. She believed that it was the new trend of having a second child in middle age, and the thought has given her a peace of mind.

她的丈夫试图说服她生下第二个孩子，理由是新的孩子可以帮助女儿照顾自己。她不确定在她这个年纪生孩子，毕竟这不是一件容易的事。更何况，她还需要为这个家做更多的家务--她并不指望丈夫能为她分担多少。在丈夫的劝说下，她终于去妇科做了检查，并从医生那里得到了一个好消息--由于身体健康，她还有机会生孩子。在医生的帮助下，她取下了一直戴在体内的节育环。二胎政策开放后，她看到很多和她年龄相仿的中年妇女也想要孩子。早年，正是国家的计划生育政策让她们深受其害，因为交不起超生罚款，她没能生下第二个孩子。现在，很多人都有和她一样的遗憾。她认为，人到中年生二胎是一种新趋势，这种想法让她感到安心。

He led an arm to support his frail mother and helped her from the wheelchair to the couch. Every scream and curse from her while in the hospital room had hit him hard like a whip, and he couldn't imagine the pain his mother was enduring, and there was nothing he could do about it. Heartache and guilt overwhelmed him, and he cried out almost uncontrollably. For a long time he had been going to many hospitals in the city, doing his best to look for effective treatment for his mother. As long as there was still hope of keeping his mother alive, he thought he should just keep trying. Some nurses and doctors knew him, and always respect him for perseverance for his mother. He was very proud of this - he felt that he fulfilled his responsibility as a son.

After many communications with the doctors, he realized that his mother's days were numbered. The day of parting with his mother was getting closer and closer. The loss of his father had brought him to grief of sending off a loved one for the first time, and the impending loss of his mother terrified him like never before.

他扶着孱弱的母亲，把她从轮椅上缓慢地搀扶到了沙发上。在医院病房时，她发出每一声惨叫和咒骂都像鞭子一样狠狠地打在他的心上，他难以想象母亲正承受着如何剧烈的疼痛，而他却对此无能为力。心疼和愧疚压垮了他，他几乎无法控制地哭了出来。长期以来他辗转于市里的多家医院，尽能力让自己的母亲得到有效的治疗。只要还有让母亲活下去的希望，他认为就应该继续坚持下去。医院里科系的护士和医生大多都认识他，惊讶和赞叹于他对母亲多年的坚守。他为此感到十分骄傲——他认为自己尽到了应有的责任。

在多次和医生的沟通下，他明白母亲的时日已不多。和母亲离别的那一天越来越近了。失去父亲让他接受了送别亲人的伤痛，而即将失去母亲，让他感到前所未有的害怕。

She was emaciated, and her wide clothing could not cover her withered body. Because of arteriosclerosis in her lower limbs, the skin of her toes rotted and her legs had become necrotic from the toes. Long wandering through diseases and surgeries had numbed her, making her want to die immediately, only to end up surviving near-death over and over again. When she was hospitalized, it was often as short as two weeks or as long as two months. She often looked forward to going home, which is the only place where she could feel alive. The powerlessness of the moment and the broken past came over to her whenever she spent time alone in the silence of the hospital room. People are born to suffer, she thought. She recalled the moments in her life, bemoaning why her own fate was so unfortunate. Abandoned by her parents during the war and left homeless, she had been adopted as a servant by a woman and married to her son. Later, when her husband went out to work, she stayed at home to raise several children. She soon got diseases and was frequently hospitalized. 

The old woman looked up at her youngest son, who was folding up her wheelchair. She sighed that raising him was not a waste of time, and that he was one of the few blessings in her life.

她面容憔悴，宽大的衣物也遮盖不了枯瘦的身体。因为下肢动脉硬化，她脚趾的皮肤逐渐腐烂，腿部已经从脚趾开始坏死。长期在疾病和手术中徘徊的她已经感到麻木，让她想要在某一天归西，最后却一次次地在濒临死亡中挺了下来。在医院住院时，往往短则两星期，长则两个月。她常常盼望着能回家，家是她唯一让她能感受到活着的地方。每当独自一人在寂静的病房里度过时，当下的无能为力和破碎的过去笼罩着她。人生下来就是要受苦的，她想。她回忆起人生种种身不由己的时刻，哀怨为何自身的命运不幸至此。战争时期被父母抛弃，无家可归的她再被老妇人收养为家仆，而后嫁给了妇人的儿子。后来丈夫打工外出、她独自一人留在家中生养数个孩子，很快又染上了疾病，频繁地被送进了医院里。她抬眼看向将轮椅折叠起来的小儿子，感叹着孩子没有白养，他是她生命里少有的福报。

She stood quietly on the side and looking at her husband and mother-in-law, with nothing that she could do. She has always been in complicated feelings for the two, harboring resentment while convincing herself in multiple moments to let go of the past. She pitied the man in front of her, who had taken on all the responsibility of taking care of the elderly and had dedicated over a decade of his life to his own mother. She also bemoaned from the bottom of her heart the patheticness of the man, deeply tied to his mother's life, not even able to truly grow up. He could not stay away from his own mother, and his mother had long been like a piece of cloth with plenty of holes in it, stitched up by him again and agin until the end of her life, she thought. She knew deep down that the man had never chosen her to start a family with, but his own mother.


她默默地站在一边看着丈夫和家婆，眼前没有什么她能做的。她对这对母子的感受是复杂的，一边心怀怨恨，又在多个瞬间说服自己放下过去。她怜悯眼前的男人，主动承担了照顾老人的责任，为自己的母亲奉献了自己十多年的人生。她也发自内心地哀叹男人的可悲，与母亲的生命深深地捆绑在了一起，长成了无法自理的巨婴。他离不开自己的母亲，而他的母亲也早已像一块千疮百孔的布，被他如此缝缝补补，直到生命最后的尽头。她深知男人选择了和自己的母亲组建家庭，而非作为妻子的自己。

After graduating from college, she returned home for a short transitional period of three months. After getting the job, now she was going to start over. Her mother, always sensitive to her movements, came out of her bedroom to see her daughter off.

During the first month, she was told by her parents to prepare for the birth of their second child and to make prior preparations for her future retirement. With both of them explaining with her, a certain strangeness came back to her mind, making her question everything she was used to around her. She had heard about the opening of the second child and the national policy of encouraging childbirth on the Internet, but marriage and parenthood were still very far away for her. She thought of all the negative news about young women spending their lives taking over the birth of their parents' children, and as her mother spoke to her about her plans to prepare for pregnancy, it was as if she saw her mother's body about to give birth to a child for herself. What happens in their lives after the child is born? What kind of future did this child hold? She remembered the moment when her mother had borrowed her father's reasoning to justify childbirth, and became frightened of what might happen in the future. After that, she searched for a job moment by moment, hoping to run away again when she was offered a position. The bonds between her family were so sticky and tight, and she dreaded the day when she would be on the wrong side of her family for a future that was yet to come.

From the outside of her bedroom window, she saw that the houses across the street had had their entrances cemented shut. The town was much quieter than it used to be, deserted. Before she left, she looked at the childhood graffiti that remained on the walls of her bedroom, there were forests she had drawn during her childhood when she had nowhere else to go in the house. Maybe she already planned on leaving here when she was still small, she thought.

从大学毕业之后，为了省下房租，她回到家中短暂地居住了三个月。在得到工作后，如今的她要重新出发了。母亲一向对她的动静很敏感，她从卧室里走了出来，为女儿送别。

第一个月里，她被父母告知要准备生第二个孩子，为未来的养老事先作出准备。在两人循循善诱的说理下，某种怪异感再次涌上了心头，让她怀疑起自己周遭所习惯的一切。二胎开放和鼓励生育的国家政策她在网络上有所耳闻，婚育对她来说仍然十分遥远。她想起种种年轻女性用一生接管父母生下的孩子负面新闻，而在她的母亲对她说起备孕的计划时，她仿佛看到了母亲用身体即将为自己生下一个孩子。孩子生下来后，她们的生活会发生什么？这个孩子拥有着怎么样的未来？她想起母亲借用父亲的理由为生育辩护的时刻，对未来可能发生的事情感到害怕了。在那之后，她一刻不停地找着工作，希望在得到岗位后再次出走。家人间的羁绊是如此黏连和紧密，而她恐惧着，害怕有一天会因还未到来的以后站在家人的对立面。

从卧室窗户的外面，她看见对面的房屋早已被水泥封堵了入口。小镇比起以前安静了许多，四处都散发着荒废的的气息。她在临走前看向卧室内墙面留存的儿时的涂鸦，那是她在童年时期时在家无处可去时而画下的森林。也许在很小的时候，她就想要离开了，她想。

As he waited day after day, he began to realize that his advocacy for his right of the house would eventually come to nothing. The man finally signed the agreement of demolition and relocation, moving into the resettlement apartment building with his wife. He often came to the old No.39 house to kill his own time before it was completely demolished. For him, the house was a heritage left by his ancestor, a place where he grew up and started his own family, a place where he belonged, a symbol of family ties, and roots that could not be forgotten or abandoned. As no one lives in the house for a while, the walls of the house have begun to peel off, and even began to leak. Every time he came back to the old house, he was sad that it would eventually disappear. He would sit in the living room for hours at a time, trying to catch up with the place full of memories with his eyes. 


He learnt from his mother to light incense in front of the alter, to continue the traditional ritual of his ancestors during the Spring Festival every year.He set the round table in front of the alter, putting the offerings prepared by his wife on the round table, and pours wine into the cups. Holding up three lit incense sticks, he bowed deeply in front of the alter with plaques of the ancestors and prayed for fortune of life in a new year. The plan of having a second-child two years ago had failed, and his dog had died after accidentally ingesting poison not long before he moved into the new apartment. He learnt to accept these losses that were out of his control, and other than that, life just went on as usual. In the day-to-day idleness of his retirement, he often thought of his daughter who was working outside of the town. He hoped to re-unit with her, and she could stay with him, so that he would pass on to her the traditions and customs from the ancestors. After thinking about it, he dialed the daughter's cell phone number, intending to ask when she would be coming home.

在日复一日的等待下，他开始明白自己为房屋的拆除赔偿维权终将无果。他签下了拆迁协议，和妻子一起迁入了安置房。在老房子彻底拆除前，他常常过来打发时间。这座房子是他的祖辈留下的遗产，是他从小长大、成家的地方，是他的归宿、家族纽带的象征、是不能遗忘和抛弃的根。因为无人居住，房子的墙面已经开始发旧和脱落，甚至开始漏水。每次回来老房子，他都为房子终将消失而感伤。每次上门拜访，他都会在客厅里一坐好几个小时，想要在有限的时间把充满回忆的地方尽收眼底。他从母亲那里学会了在老家的神台前点香祭拜，在每年的春节时延续祖辈的香火。

春节时，他将圆桌摆在神台面前，将妻子准备好的祭品摆上圆桌，为杯子倒上酒。他举着三根点燃的香，对着带有祖辈牌匾的神台深深地鞠了一躬，为新的一年生活祈愿。两年前的备孕计划失败了，而家里的狗也在搬迁不久前误食毒药而死去。他慢慢接受了这些无法掌控的失去，除此之外，一切生活照常。在退休后日复一日清闲的日子里，他常常想起在外地工作的女儿，希望能与她团聚，希望她能留在身边，而自己会把祖辈留下的传统习俗传给她。想罢，他拨下对方的手机号码，打算问问何她何时回家。