Finally, before dark, Lu Yiwei came to the house built on the hillside. He was so tired that his legs were weak, but the girl rushed into the house as if nothing had happened.
With the yellow light, Lu Yiwei looked around, and everything in front of him shocked him. The house was built with wood, and the wood on one side of the wall had rotted, and was simply covered with plastic sheets. There was a big hole in the corner of the roof, and it was covered with straw. If it was raining, it would be completely useless. In addition to a bed and some pots and pans scattered on the ground, there were no other electrical appliances, not even a light bulb. It was not an exaggeration to say that the four walls of the house were bare. And the girl's brother was probably tired, lying in the corner of the door with a completely unrecognizable toy in his hand.
The girl put down her bag and picked up her brother. The boy rubbed his eyes, and the first thing he said was: "Sister, I'm hungry."
The girl touched the boy's head and comforted him: "You play for a while, sister will cook for you."
The boy stared at Lu Yiwei, and was scared to drill into the girl's arms.
Everything in front of him was beyond Lu Yiwei's imagination. Nanyang County was a national poor county, but compared to the local people, they were many times better off.
There was no electricity at home, and the girl was reluctant to light candles. She took her brother to the yard, and lit firewood in a place surrounded by stones. She set up a black iron pot and scooped two ladles of water, and grabbed two handfuls of rice with her small hands. This was their dinner.
"Is this what you eat tonight?" Lu Yiwei said distressed.
The girl nodded and said: "Yes, my mother said that our family is poor, so we have to save a little." There was no complaint about the society in her words.
Lu Yiwei looked a little sad. But he did not expect it to be so miserable before he came. If he knew it, he would have bought more things. He quickly took out all the food in the bag, and the brother and sister wolfed it down. They smiled innocently and said: "Delicious, really delicious."
After further understanding, the girl was 12 years old, and her name was Chen Xiaomei, and she was in the sixth grade. She got up at 4: 30 every morning and walked three hours to the primary school in town. Then, she walked back in the afternoon. In other words, she had to walk more than six hours a day. Lu Yiwei didn't even dare to think about it.
Children from poor families matured early. Chen Xiaomei's eyes were clear, and her face was red under the reflection of the firewood. She was a positive and optimistic child, full of hope for the future. She said she wanted to be a star when she grew up.
"Why?" Lu Yiwei asked curiously.
Xiao Mei's answer surprised him. She said that celebrities could wear beautiful clothes.
Only now did Lu Yiwei notice Xiao Mei's attire. She was wearing an ill-fitting short-sleeved shirt from the last century. It should have been worn by her mother. He was wearing loose black pants and a pair of floral patterned shoes on his feet. His big toes were already showing. When Xiao Mei saw that the other party was looking at her, she quickly retracted her leg.
The loss of their father at such a young age was a very painful thing. They didn't even know what had happened. Fate was too unfair to them.
Xiao Mei said she wouldn't go to school after primary school. Her mother said girls should go to primary school. She needed to save money for her brother's education. After a while, her mother will come back and take us away. We will go to work together.
Lu Yiwei didn't feel good and said: "Do you want to study?"
"Of course I want to." Xiao Mei's eyes lit up when she mentioned studying. She excitedly told Lu Yiwei: "I am the first in my grade."
Lu Yiwei made up his mind. He wanted to pay for the two children's education. He said: "Xiao Mei, I will pay for your and your brother's education expenses. You have to study hard."
"Really?" Xiao Mei said excitedly. But after a while, her eyes dimmed and said: "I don't know you. Why should I believe you? Besides, my father won't let me. "
Lu Yiwei lied: "I am your father's friend. He asked me to come back to see you."
Xiao Mei believed him, and hope was ignited in her heart.
After a while, the meal was ready. Xiao Mei opened the pot. Lu Yiwei took a look and saw a pot of porridge. Xiao Mei went home and took out a bowl and chopsticks. She used a spoon to scoop up the porridge, but there was not much rice in the pot. She took a bowl and gave it to Lu Yiwei and said: "Uncle, you eat first."
Lu Yiwei quickly declined and took the rice to the girl's brother: "Uncle is not hungry. Let your brother eat first."
The boy was so hungry that his stomach rumbled. He picked up the bowl, ignoring the soup, and gulped it down.
Xiao Mei took out a stall and used chopsticks to pick up two pieces of dried radish and put it in her brother's bowl. Then she took out a lunch box from her bag. She grabbed two handfuls of rice and covered it with a piece of dried radish. Lu Yiwei asked curiously: "What are you doing?"
Xiao Mei said that this was her lunch tomorrow.
Lu Yiwei was shocked speechless.
At night, Xiao Mei and her brother made room for Lu Yiwei to sleep on the bed. She hugged her brother and slept on the floor. How could Lu Yiwei agree? He insisted on carrying the child to bed. Lying on the bed, Lu Yiwei told the siblings a lot about the outside world. They listened with wide eyes and asked questions. They were full of curiosity.
Unknowingly, the two children fell asleep, but Lu Yiwei was not sleepy at all. He sat alone at the door and smoked, thinking about many things.
The next morning, Xiao Mei got up early and covered her brother with a blanket. She carried her bag and prepared to go to school. Lu Yiwei didn't sleep the whole night. He planned to go to town to buy some food for the children and set off with Xiao Mei.
Before leaving, Lu Yiwei handed the bank card with the money to Xiaomei and said, "Xiaomei, this is the money your father sent to you. Give it to your mother when she comes back. Remember, don't lose it, and don't show it to others. Do you understand?"
Xiao Mei nodded her head in confusion.
Lu Yiwei was still worried. He took out a pen and paper and wrote down his phone number. He gave it to Xiao Mei and said: "This is uncle's number. If you encounter any difficulties, call uncle, okay?"
Xiao Mei carefully folded the note and stuffed it under a wooden box with the bank card.
Lu Yiwei took out all the cash he had and gave it to Xiao Mei. Xiao Mei said she didn't want it.
"Just take it. This is the living expenses your father entrusted me to give you," Lu Yiwei said solemnly.
Looking at the stack of money, Xiao Mei said: "Uncle, isn't this too much?"
"Not much. I will send you money and things often when I go back." Lu Yiwei said emotionally: "Remember, you must study hard. Don't drop out. I will support you until you go to university. Do you understand?"
Xiao Mei was moved to tears.
The two of them prepared to go down the mountain. Before they left, Lu Yiwei kissed the boy's face and left with complicated feelings.
It was almost noon when they arrived in town. Lu Yiwei was so hungry that he found a restaurant to eat. Only then did he realize that he didn't have a single cent on him. He had no choice but to look for a bank. However, there was only one savings bank in town, and he couldn't withdraw money from another bank. His plan to buy things for Xiao Mei was ruined. Helpless, he could only take a bus back to the county.
When the driver of the van heard that he didn't have money, he didn't listen to any explanation and pushed him out. The town was more than 40 kilometers away from the county. If he walked back, it would probably be dark again. Fortunately, the local people were simple and honest. Lu Yiwei took a hand-guided tractor and arrived at the county. The first thing he did was to go to the bank to withdraw money. Finally, he managed to get the money before he got off work.
After he found a restaurant and sat down, the phone in his bag started to ring. He took it out and saw that it was from Zhang Zhiyuan. He quickly found a secluded corner and answered the call.
Before he could say anything, Zhang Zhiyuan scolded him, "What have you been doing all day? Your phone couldn't get through. Don't you have any sense of time?"
Zhang Zhiyuan rarely got angry. Lu Yiwei could tell that he was really anxious this time. However, there was no signal in the mountains. There was only a little bit in the county. He quickly admitted his mistake and said, "Secretary Zhang, I'm really sorry. I'm in Sichuan. There's no signal …"
"What did you do in Sichuan?"
"I went to see a friend."
"I don't care where you went or what you did. You must come back by tonight!" Zhang Zhiyuan said angrily.
Lu Yiwei didn't dare to ask what was going on. He nodded repeatedly.
After a quick meal, Lu Yiwei took the last bus back to Xichang. It was already night when he arrived. There was no bus to Chengdu. He couldn't care less. He took a taxi to the airport at a high price. Once again, he was dumbfounded. The earliest flight to Jiangdong would arrive at 10 am the next day. He estimated that he would be back in the afternoon.
He stared at the electronic screen nervously and saw that there was a flight to the capital. The capital was more than 800 kilometers away from Jiangdong. Forget it, he immediately bought a ticket to the capital.
At 10 pm in the capital, Lu Yiwei was in a dilemma. If he took the train, it would take him around 11 am the next day. If he took a taxi, he should be back around 8 am. But the price … Forget it. He made up his mind and decided to go back first. After asking seven or eight taxis in a row, Lu Yiwei became anxious. Helplessly, he found a black one and made a deal with it for 1,000 yuan.
While he was in a daze, his phone rang. Lu Yiwei opened his eyes and found that he was already in Xijiang Province. Seeing that it was Zhang Zhiyuan, he immediately picked it up.
"Are you back?" Zhang Zhiyuan said in a tough tone.
Lu Yiwei saw that there was still 8 kilometers left on the highway. He said, "I'll be there soon."
"Okay. Come directly to the Provincial Party Committee's compound. I'll pick you up downstairs."
Half an hour later, Lu Yiwei finally arrived. He looked at his watch. It was 10 minutes to 8 am. He was relieved. This "trip" had been a lot of trouble on the way and cost him a lot.
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