Fangzheng came to the side of the motorcycle and sat cross-legged as he waited silently.
Before long, Yuan Hai returned. This time, he appeared especially excited! He nearly ran out of the water and ran in front of the motorcycle. He was instantly stunned. He never expected that the monk he had met yesterday would be here again. He looked puzzledly at Fangzheng who pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. Patron, we meet again. You seem to be in a good mood today. Did you get anything? "
As Fangzheng spoke, he glanced at Yuan Hai's swarthy hands. They were clenched tightly as though he was holding onto something extremely important.
Fangzheng was puzzled. "Is Yuan Hai diving here daily to seek treasures? Did I guess wrong? "
However, Yuan Hai had no intention of sharing it with Fangzheng. Instead, he nodded politely, put on his clothes, and left on the motorcycle.
Fangzheng looked at Yuan Hai's back and shook his head slightly. He did not chase up to him and instead returned to the monastery.
When Yuan Hai returned home, he parked his motorcycle before briskly running into the house. He had been holding something in his palm all this while. Finally, he carefully placed it on the table. It was a tiny golden object that was slightly reflective under the sunlight. When Yuan Hai looked at the tiny object, his face seemed to instantly emit an infinite glow. He smiled, and he smiled in a very happy manner! He had even forgotten the last time he smiled in such a manner. However, he was truly very happy today!
However, Yuan Hai's smile dissipated the next moment. He carefully observed the badge before picking it up and running to the wall of photos. He compared it to one of the photos. In it, his daughter was standing at the school's entrance, smiling radiantly, just like him just a moment ago. There was a badge pinned to her chest. It had a golden background with Tiananmen Square and a red flag on it. It was very beautiful. However, the one in Yuan Hai's hand was only golden. Although there was a red flag on it, there was no Tiananmen Square!
Yuan Hai instantly slumped onto the stove bed, allowing the badge in his hand to slide to the ground. He slumped against the wall and closed his eyes. He let out a lonely whimper that only he could understand. It was unknown what he was saying. He rubbed his face with his coarse hands, as though all the pain would disappear if he continued rubbing it.
He sat there for a long time. He didn't know when it was, but when someone asked him to work, he took his tools and went out.
On the third day, when Fangzheng went out again, Ouyang Fenghua and Red Boy followed him. Fangzheng did not stop them. The three of them came to the riverside and looked at the ruins. Ouyang Fenghua suddenly lamented, "It's been more than 20 years. I didn't expect these ruins to still be here."
Fangzheng was taken aback as he asked in passing, "Patron Ouyang, do you know this place?"
Ouyang Fenghua said matter-of-factly, "I know. My father used to specially come here and even wrote a poem about how heartless rivers are, but sentimental people are."
Fangzheng even had the thought of slapping himself. He had been searching everywhere for clues, but he never expected that he would suddenly vanish when the clue was right in front of him! What a bitter life! Looking around and seeing that Yuan Hai had not arrived, Fangzheng found a rock and everyone sat down. He asked, "Can you tell me about the situation here?"
When Ouyang Fenghua saw Fangzheng's serious expression, she knew that it was serious business. After carefully recalling for a moment, she said, "I've never been here before. I only heard about it. I have a photo album at home. There are many photos taken by my father in the past. One of them is a photo of the Dong River's flood twenty years ago. I heard from my father that there was a week of torrential rain twenty years ago. The torrential rain caused the Dong River's water level to rise. The government immediately organized manpower to monitor the nearby rivers, especially the Dong River, day and night.
The Dong River's water level rose very quickly. The military and the local police all went to work. All sorts of sandbags were piled up, but they were not as fast as the Dong River's water level. After fighting for three days and three nights, they had no choice but to give up. Therefore, a large number of villagers were organized to collectively move away.
Later, the flood came, drowning many villages and farmlands. I heard from my father that many farmers cried tragically. They lost their homes and land. There was almost no hope for them within a year. Sigh. "
"The government should have given some subsidies, right?" asked Fangzheng.
"Yes, but it's useless no matter how much they give. The concept of home is deeply ingrained. There's nothing worse than losing one's home," said Ouyang Fenghua with a sigh.
Red Boy thought nothing of it. "If one's home is gone, they can just build another. What's there to be sad about?"
Ouyang Fenghua said with a bitter smile, "The people of that era had a longing for home. It's not something people today can imagine. I remember my father seeing people secretly run back to retrieve their belongings after they were relocated when they saw that the flood didn't come. But when the flood came, everything was washed away. "
Red Boy was completely unable to understand why these people did so. Was there anything more important than their lives? When he thought of this, he could not help but recall the people on the war-torn battlefield.
"Amitabha." Fangzheng pressed his palms together and gave a Buddhist proclamation. It was a way of sending off the people of that era who had perished in the flood.
"Patron, do you know anything else?" asked Fangzheng.
Ouyang Fenghua shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not too interested in such things, so I didn't ask further. However, it's useless even if I asked. It was too chaotic back then. I doubt my father knew much. "
Just as Fangzheng was about to speak, he heard the sound of a motorcycle. He knew that Yuan Hai had arrived.
Fangzheng got up and looked back. Indeed, Yuan Hai had arrived by the ruins on his motorcycle. He no longer had the excitement he had the day before. Instead, there was a baffling stubbornness.
"Master, what is he persevering for? Why does he come here to dive every day? "Red Boy was truly puzzled.
Fangzheng shook his head. He did not know what Yuan Hai was doing either, but Fangzheng still walked over.
Yuan Hai did not dodge when he saw Fangzheng. Perhaps he had seen him many times and knew that the monk had no ill intentions. But why did he come here every day to read the readers? He was also very curious.
Fangzheng came in front of Yuan Hai and pressed his palms together. He gave a Buddhist proclamation, "Amitabha. Patron, This Penniless Monk has met you thrice in a row. It's fate. This Penniless Monk can point you in a direction. Perhaps, you can find the person or item you are looking for. "
Yuan Hai looked warily at Fangzheng, but he did not reject him.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
