After walking for ten minutes or so, they arrived at the entrance of another courtyard house. The main gate was tall and wide, flanked by two stone lions.
"Have you been here before?" Zhao Yinglan asked Xue Yue.
Xue Yue shook her head.
Zhao Yinglan said, "This is the Li Family estate. It's where your mother grew up."
Xue Yue paused. She stared at the courtyard house before her, wondering just how much larger it was than the one they currently lived in. It must have several courtyards. 'Did Mom really grow up here?'
Since coming to Beijing City, they had never thought to visit the place where her mother used to live. They had assumed the house was surely repossessed by the government, and besides, Uncle Zheng had never mentioned it.
An indescribable feeling welled up inside Xue Yue. It was as if she could see her mother, laughing and running out from the gate.
Just then, the main gate opened. Two people came out, glanced at them, and walked away, leaving the gate wide open.
