r18novel Chapter 63 Silent Decay
Chapter 63 Silent Decay
The panic, complaints, and restlessness fueled by hunger that had permeated the air in recent days seemed to have been blown away by a gentle breeze, fading considerably. The smoke rising from the chimneys of every household at regular intervals now seemed to carry a more confident weight, less of the previous anxiety.
The most noticeable changes were seen in the Jia family of the Central Court. The fierce argument that had ripped off their roof over grain rations seemed like a thing of the last century. Although there was still little oil on the table and cornbread was still the staple food, at least they could fill their stomachs.
Although Madam Jia still didn't give her a pleasant look and occasionally muttered veiled insults, her shrill voice had softened, and she was no longer like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. After all, with food in her bowl, she felt less anxious. Consequently, she also picked fights with her daughter-in-law, Qin Huairu, much less often. Qin Huairu's distressed expression eased slightly, and when serving her mother-in-law and caring for the children, she seemed to be able to straighten her back a little more.
However, the quietest place in the courtyard is the backyard. However, the quietest, and also the most enigmatic, place in the courtyard is the lonely east wing in the backyard.
The deaf old woman still sat in the worn-out old bamboo chair by the door all day long, her eyes half-closed, as if asleep, or as if she saw everything. While the courtyard was in turmoil over food a while back, she remained silent. Now, although everyone had somehow managed to barely manage to get their own food rations, and the atmosphere had eased, she remained quiet.
But if someone looked closely, they might notice a faint glimmer of understanding that occasionally flashed deep within her cloudy old eyes. She was hard of hearing; the clamor and noise of the world became blurred background noise to her, but the warmth and coldness of human relationships in this courtyard, and the hidden thoughts within them, could be directly reflected in her heart.
Normally, although the old lady preferred quiet, there were always some voices around. Yi Zhonghai's wife, Tan Jinhua, though not entirely willing, would come over every few days to check on things, lend a hand, sweep the floor, and at least make it look presentable. There was also Lou Xiao'e, a kind-hearted and wealthy woman who used to be a frequent visitor to the backyard. She would often bring homemade delicacies, smile, and chat with the old lady for a while, bringing a touch of liveliness to the house.
But now, for several days in a row, Tan Jinhua has not been seen at all. Ever since the families in the courtyard somehow had enough food, Tan Jinhua seems to have suddenly become "busy," always finding various excuses to avoid the backyard. As for Lou Xiao'e, perhaps because of the subtle atmosphere in the courtyard, or perhaps because she herself has something she can't say, she hasn't been seen coming over for a long time either.
With the people gone and the house empty, the old house quickly fell into disrepair.
The house used to be simple, but at least it was clean and tidy. Now, a thin layer of ash covers the stove, and several used bowls and chopsticks are piled haphazardly in a broken wooden basin, the remaining food scraps inside already hardened and blackened. A rat dropping or two can even be seen in the corner. The toilet, used for urination and defecation, is long overdue, emitting a foul stench that mixes with the old, dusty smell and musty odor of the house, weaving an invisible, nauseating net that envelops the entire house.
The old woman was leaning against the hard bed in the inner room, covered with an old, damp, and dull-colored quilt. Her hair was disheveled, and dry white hair clung to her sweaty forehead. Her eyes, which used to seem cloudy but held a sharp glint, were now sunken, filled only with weariness and a desolate despair.
She was thirsty; the water in the kettle had long since run dry, and her throat ached with dryness. She was hungry; the stove was icy cold, and there was nothing in the house she could eat immediately. The bedding beneath her, damp and sticky from lack of help in drying, clung uncomfortably to her skin. The pervasive stench was an inescapable reminder of her wretched and wretched state.
Despair, like a cold tide, slowly engulfed her.
She had been through so much in her life, and thought her heart was already as hard as withered wood, that nothing could truly break her. But now, in this neglected, decaying corner, feeling the humiliation of not being able to satisfy even her most basic bodily needs, she feared she would silently rot away on this bed until the stench filled the room and no one would find her.
No... we can't just let it go like this.
She gasped for breath, her chapped lips moving. She had to find someone, she had to fight again. Perhaps there was still something she could do… even if it was just to get a clean bowl of thin porridge every day, or someone to empty that damned toilet for her…
For several days in a row, the deaf old woman forced herself to stay awake, sitting for longer than usual on the bamboo chair by the door. Her cloudy old eyes were half-closed, but her ears were perked up, trying to catch every footstep leading to the front and middle yards. She hoped that familiar figure would appear at the backyard door, even if reluctantly, to bring her a bowl of hot water or sweep the dust off the ground, just like before.
However, Tan Jinhua never appeared.
At first, the old woman could comfort her increasingly anxious heart by saying things like "she's probably busy" or "there are things to do at home." But as the days went by, the deathly silence made her remaining hope, like the embers in a stove, slowly grow colder. An ominous premonition, like a cold spider web, gradually wrapped around her increasingly icy heart.
That afternoon, as the sun was setting, she was dozing off when she was startled awake by an unusual noise coming from the front yard—it wasn't the neighbors' usual footsteps and chatter, but the dull thud of furniture being moved and the voices of several strangers speaking in a businesslike manner.
Her heart clenched, and an instinct drove her to hobble along with her cane, step by step, with great difficulty, to the moon gate that connected the middle courtyard and the front courtyard, where she peered out from the shadows.
Upon seeing this, her parched lips involuntarily parted, and she held her breath.
Several street office workers wearing blue work jackets and red armbands were seen going in and out of Yi Zhonghai's—no, now it should be said that it was Tan Jinhua's room. The door was wide open, and two people were carrying out several familiar pieces of old furniture one by one, counting them, and piling them in the middle of the courtyard. Director Wang was also standing to the side, holding a notebook, occasionally glancing down and taking notes.
This scene was like a cold awl, piercing the eyes and heart of the deaf old woman!
She disregarded all notions of decorum and age, practically crawling and stumbling as she dashed out, her withered hand grabbing the arm of the nearest young officer:
"Comrade! Comrade! What...what's going on here? Where's Tan Jinhua from this family? Where did she go? What have you done to her?!"
The young clerk was startled by the suddenly appearing, seemingly deranged old woman. After recognizing her, his face hardened with a cold, businesslike demeanor: "A deaf old lady? Nothing serious. Comrade Tan Jinhua sold this house to the neighborhood committee. We're here to receive and inventory the property. Where is she? We don't know; the organization doesn't concern itself with that."
Sold the house...don't know...won't ask...
These words, like a series of cold iron pellets, pounded on the deaf old woman's head, making her vision go black and her ears ring, almost causing her to collapse on the spot.
Tan Jinhua... she's gone! Gone so completely, so decisively! She even sold the house! This cut off all her own escape routes, and also completely extinguished the last bit of hope for the deaf old lady! She didn't even say goodbye, just disappeared silently from the courtyard house where she had struggled for most of her life.
She stopped looking at the busy workers and the empty house, and just murmured absently, "Sold...gone...really gone..."
She turned around, her hunched back seeming to sag even more, and leaning on her cane, she moved unsteadily with each step, like a truly frail old woman, blankly and staggeringly making her way back to the backyard.
She returned to that cold, rotten, and deathly silent room, too weak to even walk to the bed. Instead, she slid slowly and helplessly to the floor along the door.
In the courtyard, the people from the neighborhood committee finished their inventory, affixed seals, and the sounds of footsteps and voices gradually faded away.
Tan Jinhua's resolute departure not only extinguished the last bit of warmth in the deaf old woman's heart, but also truly robbed her of her means of survival. Her bound feet, ravaged by the old era, now became her greatest prison, making even moving to the doorway to bask in the sun a luxury, let alone lighting a fire to cook or fetching water for washing.
For the first few days, she was able to barely survive on the few remaining, hardened bits of dry food and half a pot of cold water in the house, and she still held onto a faint hope that someone would remember her.
But as the days went by, that door was never knocked on again. The little edible food left in the house was quickly consumed, and the cold stove never lit another flame. The stench of excrement, the sour smell of rotting food scraps, and the damp, musty odor of the old house itself mingled into a suffocating odor that grew increasingly heavy and permeated the small space.
Within ten days or so, she was completely unable to get out of bed. Her consciousness fluctuated between clarity and blurring, fueled by hunger, thirst, and unbearable aches and pains throughout her body.
That evening, Aunt Er from the backyard returned from the public toilet. As she passed the deaf old woman's tightly closed door, she suddenly sniffed. An unusually strong, indescribable stench made her frown. She stopped and thought carefully, then realized with horror that she hadn't seen the old woman move out of the door for several days; even the bamboo chair by the door was covered in dust.
An ominous premonition gripped Aunt Er. Mustering her courage, she peered through the crack in the door, and the stench, a mixture of feces and some kind of putrid smell, assaulted her senses. Her heart skipped a beat; she dared not delay any longer and ran to the neighborhood office.
"Director Wang! Something terrible has happened! There's something wrong at the deaf old lady's place in the backyard... It stinks horribly, and I haven't seen anyone there in ages!"
Upon hearing this, Director Wang's heart sank. He immediately took two staff members and rushed back to the courtyard house. When they arrived at the door, the smell confirmed Aunt Er's suspicions. Director Wang didn't care about anything else; he had someone fetch tools and forcefully pried open the old lock that was bolted from the inside.
The moment the door opened, an even more intense stench nearly knocked one over. Inside the dimly lit room, the scene was horrifying. The deaf old woman lay sprawled on the cold, muddy floor, her body a mess of filth, clearly having been incontinent for some time. She was nothing but skin and bones, her eyes tightly shut, her lips cracked and peeling, only the faint rise and fall of her chest a testament to her life. Hearing the noise, she struggled to open her eyes a crack, uttering extremely weak, indistinct "hoarse...hoarse..." sounds. Her cloudy old eyes held only death and blankness, and half her face seemed distorted.
Director Wang cursed inwardly, "What a disaster!" and quickly went to check. He already understood what was going on. It seemed the patient had suffered a stroke and was paralyzed, and had been so for some time!
"Quick! Hurry up! Give us a hand and get her to the hospital!" Despite his heartache and discomfort, Director Wang directed his staff to use a door panel as a stretcher to carry the frail and filthy old lady out of the house, which resembled a prison and a tomb, and to the district hospital.
After a series of emergency treatments and examinations, the doctor's words confirmed Director Wang's suspicions. "The elderly woman suffered a stroke, and the optimal time for treatment was missed. Her life has been saved temporarily, but half of her body is paralyzed, and she will need constant care for eating, drinking, and toileting. The most important thing for this kind of illness is meticulous care, frequent turning and cleaning, otherwise bedsores can easily develop, leading to infection, and then..." The doctor shook his head, "Given her age and physical condition, a full recovery is impossible. Maintaining her current state and minimizing her suffering is the best outcome."
Finally, she sighed deeply, picked up the phone, and contacted the district's nursing home. This was the only, and final, place for her. After completing all the formalities, watching the nursing home staff take the deaf old woman away, Director Wang stood at the entrance of the street office, his heart filled with mixed emotions. This "old matriarch," who had once stirred up trouble and schemed for half her life in the courtyard, had left that courtyard in a way that completely stripped her of dignity, heading towards the end of her life.