The nights in late July on the lunar calendar are still stuffy enough to make you want to swim in Beijing, but in Zhang Family Village, this remote place, the weather has already started to cool.
Walking on the country path, without the scorching heat of the sun during the day, a gentle breeze blows, making people comfortably ignore the harassment of mosquitoes and bugs.
Under the big banyan tree at the bridgehead at the village entrance, a group of men, young and old, are gathered smoking dry tobacco in long pipes, chatting away. Occasionally, they hit a funny point, bursting out in hearty laughter, causing a few hunting dogs to bark wildly.
Zhang Guoqing saw from afar the Old Captain among them, and of course, his father was there too. Such a lively atmosphere wasn't found in the county, no wonder his father often wanted to return home.
