Every time the sun shone brightly in the afternoon, a sentence would appear in Li He's mind:
Hoeing the fields at noon …
This was inertia.
Alright, he also felt that he was sick, and it wasn't a light one.
After lunch, Li He saw his mother lying on the table, looking ill, and said, "I'll get Third Brother to drive you home. Take a bath and sleep. You don't have to stay here."
Wang Yulan had been watching over the mourning hall for three days and hadn't slept a wink. Li He's heart ached a little.
Wang Yulan shook her head. "Sigh, what should we do with your grandpa? How can he live alone? It's all a worry."
"I think Grandpa is fine. He's probably lying down and sleeping now." Li He didn't notice anything unusual with his grandpa. "Don't worry about him. I'll go take a look later. Take care of yourself first."
Wang Yulan sighed. "Live on. I didn't think much about it. I was just angry with her. I suddenly lost my mother, and my heart feels empty. What's the matter?"
Her throat was blocked. She wanted to cry but couldn't.
"Third Brother." Li He waved at Li Long. He could feel that Grandma's death was a huge blow to his mother. When Third Brother came over, he said, "Send Mother and Grandpa back."
"Let's go. The children are at home. Li Ke came looking for you yesterday." Li Long helped his mother into the car and turned to look for his wife, asking if she wanted to go back with him.
"You go back. I'll be back later." Duan Mei helped wash the dishes and clean up the leftovers.
Seeing Li Long's car drive away, Li He turned and went to his grandpa's three-room tile-roofed house.
The house was next to Xi's house. He had paid for it, and Xi was in charge of building it. The old couple had just moved in for a month.
The door was closed, but it wasn't locked from the inside. He pushed the door open and went straight in. The old man was sitting at the big table, smoking. When he saw him come in, he called out, "Erhe, eat."
His face seemed swollen, yellow and loose.
"Yes." Li He turned on the ceiling fan. "It's so hot. Don't turn on the fan."
"Yes, it's alright." Grandpa pulled a chair for Li He. "Sit there. If you're afraid of the heat, sit under the fan."
"Grandpa, do you want to go to bed and sleep for a while?" He originally thought that his grandpa should be fine, but at this moment, his grandpa's behavior was too normal, and he was worried.
Grandpa waved his hand and said, "No, I'm not sleepy. Sorry for delaying your business this time. Do what you need to do. Don't worry about this. "
Li He said, "Let's wait for the seventh day. Since we're already back, one or two days won't make a difference."
As a grandson, he could only leave after the seventh day.
"I'm not that particular." The old man took out a cigarette and lit it before continuing, "She's already dead. Whatever you do is fake. She won't be able to see it. It's all for the living to see. You've done your best, and we can see it."
"Grandpa, live well on your own from now on. Don't think too much. We'll come back to see you often." Li He suddenly didn't know what to say.
The person who had lived with him all his life, who had given birth to his children, who had carried the burden of life with him was gone. Even the most heartless person wouldn't feel good.
All consolation was fake and useless. He could only slowly forget it with time.
"Alone?" Suddenly hearing this, the old man repeated and lowered his head. He was left alone. He felt that the house was very big, and the emptiness was a little scary. He said to Li He, "Open the door for me."
"It's good to open the door. It'll be brighter." Li He did as he was told.
"It's stuffy today." The scorching sun shone in. The old man still felt empty, as if he had lost something.
He closed his eyes and felt a little better.
"Okay." Li He got up and found a cup to pour tea for him.
The old man said, "There are tea leaves in the drawer. You gave them to me during the New Year. Grab some yourself."
"I found them." Li He opened the drawer and found the tea leaves. He made two cups and handed one to the old man. "You have some too."
Then, he placed a cup in front of him.
"Okay." Grandpa took the tea and just sat there without saying anything else.
Li He sat there too, not knowing what to say.
The two of them just sat there without saying a word.
After a while, the old man finally said, "Erhe, why don't you go and do what you need to do? You've just come back. You should walk around the house if you need to. Don't waste your time here."
"Grandpa, I'm really fine. I'll keep you company for a while."
Seeing that his grandpa was going to take a cigarette, he passed one of his to him.
"No, it's not good to smoke." Grandpa didn't take it.
Li He said, "Then you smoke some too."
"When you were young, your grandmother said that you had a bright future," Grandpa said suddenly.
"You and Second Uncle helped me a lot too," Li He said with a smile. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to survive."
The short had money to stand on their feet, the ugly had money to fix them. Only being poor was a lifetime of trouble.
The old man said, "You haven't even seen how people starve to death or how they die from eating tree bark. You're the ones who are living well. You're talking about enduring at such a young age.
Your grandmother is pitiful. When she was young, she didn't have parents. When she was eight, she was sold by her uncle to become a child bride. Being beaten and scolded was a light punishment. In the dead of winter, she had to chop wood, wash clothes, and couldn't eat well.
When she was in her early twenties, she gave birth to a girl. She thought that people would treat her better and that she would be able to make a name for herself. In the end, people treated her even more harshly. Why? She gave birth to a girl who was a money-losing product. Then, her husband died and she naturally became a jinx.
To make matters worse, the child died of an illness. She almost went crazy. "
Li He's jaw dropped when he heard this.
Her grandmother was actually married for the second time!
This was something he had never known!
"What happened to the two of you after that?"
The old man continued, "When there was a famine in Holland, no one had anything to eat. She followed the crowd and came here. At that time, my family was poor and I didn't have a wife in my thirties. My mother saw that she was silly, pretty, and arrogant. She thought that she would be able to do some work, so she brought her home.
At that time, the idea was to keep her and chase her away if she couldn't do it.
Just like that, the two of us got married. In the first year, she gave birth to your uncle. She wasn't in the right state of mind and would cry or throw a tantrum every two or three days. It was normal sometimes, but not often. Furthermore, she couldn't do any work and had to be taken care of. She was afraid that she would get lost or drown in the river.
At that time, it was already difficult to make a living. How could we keep an idle person?
My mother and my father discussed it and made up their mind to just chase her away and let her perish on her own. If she died, it would be her misfortune. If she had to blame someone, it would be the heavens. It was a bad year and there were wars everywhere. They deliberately didn't let people live. If she could live, it would be her fortune.
At that time, I agreed. After all, she was just a crazy woman. What was there to be worried about?
My mother led her for about ten miles, then she secretly ran back and left her on the way. For some strange reason, I actually followed her for another two li. She said Cheng Gen, Cheng Gen. Later on, it became shouting.
As soon as I heard her calling my name, my tears began to drip down.
She couldn't find my mother, so she squatted by the side of the road in a daze. I couldn't bear to see her like that.
Until the sky turned dark, she was still squatting there, muttering something. I couldn't hear her clearly, so I leaned over to listen.
When she saw me, she hugged me and cried.
She asked why you didn't want me anymore.
At that time, I made up my mind that I would never be separated from her in this life. It was impossible for me to not want her anymore. "
"Then how did your grandmother recover from her illness?" Li He didn't expect his grandmother to have such a history.
No one had ever told him about this, so he had no way of knowing!
"In the third year, your second uncle was released. It was the time of liberation. Your grandmother's condition was a little more stable. She could wash clothes and cook. Her condition was slightly better, so she went to the district hospital. After a checkup, the doctor said that it wasn't a mental illness, but epilepsy. She had to be quiet and not be agitated.
That's why I've never dared to let your grandma suffer in this lifetime. What's there to be angry about? I've always kept it to myself. "The old man sighed. He was probably thirsty, so he finished the tea that was gradually cooling down.
"I'll pour you another cup." Li He picked up the thermos from the corner.
The old man said, "If you want to say it, your mother and her siblings have let your mother down.
It's not that your grandmother didn't love your mother. When she had good food, she would secretly give it to her.
It's probably because she was influenced by her past. She was afraid that I would dislike girls, so she did it for us. It wasn't that she purely wanted to have a daughter. She hit and scolded your mother to let people know that she thought the same as everyone else. She didn't like girls either.
As for us, we knew that she was sick, so we couldn't go against her. We had to go along with her.
So, in the end, the one who suffered was your mother. "
"It's all in the past. Why are you talking about this?" Li He complained on behalf of his mother.
He accompanied the old man and chatted until four o 'clock in the evening. Seeing that the old man's eyes were already closed, he helped him to bed and then closed the door and left.
Before going home, he found Xi. "Go and take a look at your grandfather. When he wakes up, bring him some food."
"I've made you suffer these few days." Wang Xi felt a little embarrassed.
"Your grandmother is not my grandmother, and your grandfather is not my grandfather?" Li He asked.
"Hehe." Xi giggled.
Li He patted him on the shoulder and walked home.
Halfway along the river slope, his shirt was already soaked, so he took it off and went bare-chested.
When he came to the river slope next to the village, he saw Hunchback Wu's fishing boat parked on the river, so he jumped on it. While there was no one around, he took off all his clothes and went into the river naked.
His heart was cold.
One word, cool!
Two words, cool!
Three words, especially cool!
He swam back and forth on the surface of the Huai River and found two nets. He didn't know who set them up, but he caught a snakehead and a catfish.
He dug out a puddle in the mud and put the two fishes in it. He would take them when he went back.
After cooling off in the river for a while, he was about to go up when he suddenly saw a flock of big white geese flapping their wings from the opposite slope. He knew that someone must be following them.
He hurriedly shrank back into the water!
If it was a man, it would be fine. If it was a woman, he would be so embarrassed!
His image would be ruined by being bare-chested!
People have faces and trees have skin!
"Erhe!" A girl ran down from the river slope with a long bamboo pole and shouted at him, "You're alone?"
"Xiuhong, herding the geese." Li He recognized her. She was He Zhaodi's ex-sister-in-law and He Manjun's ex-wife, Chu Xiuhong.
"Yeah, there are sand pits in the river. Pay attention." Chu Xiuhong reminded him seriously.
"Yeah, don't worry. It's all Fatty and Li Hui's doing. I know the place, so I'm hiding." Li He just hoped that this woman would quickly leave after a few words so that he could go ashore, get dressed, and leave.
However, the more he thought about it, the more Chu Xiuhong didn't want to leave. After sending the big white geese into the river, she squatted on Hunchback Wu's boat and chatted with Li He.
Li He wanted to swim to another place to hide, but his clothes were still there!
He had nowhere to hide!
He really wanted to cry but no tears came out!
He really hoped that Chu Xiuhong would be smart enough to see through him and not say it out loud. I have red underwear in my natal year, can't you see it?!
Girl!
Let's not be so enthusiastic!
"Erhe, how many rounds can you swim?"
"I used to have two, but now I can only have one. I'm getting old," Li He said honestly.
Chu Xiuhong laughed, "Forget it. You're only a few years older than me."
Li He stepped on the water, "I'm five or six years older than you, and the same age as your brother. I used to wear long johns because Mom thought I was cold, but now I'm wearing them because I'm really cold …"
Time waited for no man.
"You're funny." Chu Xiuhong was amused by Li He, and then said seriously, "That's not too old."
After getting tired of stepping on the water, Li He didn't want to talk to her anymore. He swam far away and soaked in the shallow water, waiting for Chu Xiuhong to leave.
Unfortunately, no matter where he swam, this girl followed!
He really wanted to shout, "Big girl, I didn't offend you!"
Later, the people who were herding geese, cows, and fishing nets all came. There were even more people, and they all greeted him excitedly!
If killing wasn't against the law, he wanted to chop people up!
He shouldn't have done it!
He spent the whole afternoon regretting that one second of impulse!
When the sky turned dark and everyone left, he only dared to carefully put on his clothes on the boat!
Wang Yulan didn't have much energy for three days in a row, and on the seventh day, she cried her heart out.
In the next few days, her appetite went down, and she lost a lot of weight.
Li He hurriedly dragged her to the town's hospital, and after checking that she was fine, he was relieved.
Li Fucheng decided to go to Kaifeng, and said to Li He, "Your wife is ninety-five, and she's going to celebrate her birthday."
Li He naturally accompanied her.
This time, Li Long also followed. He was driving, and of course, Da Zhuang, Li Hui, and the rest were also there.
When they entered Kaifeng, Zhao Zunian came to fetch them. Li Long was shocked. He didn't expect his brother to have such a big business here. Four Seas Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in Kaifeng!
Chen Bao Guo, Sun Jianshe, and Sun Jianfen's attitude this time was completely different from the last time. Li Fucheng and the rest received a warm welcome.
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