When Li He reached the counter to pay the bill, he searched his pockets and found that there was not a single cent in them.
Li Long didn't wait for Li He to say anything before he took out his wallet and paid.
The location of the teacher's college wasn't bad, but the road wasn't. It was full of rubble, and the motorcycle wasn't stable. He Zhaodi's house wasn't outstanding among the other houses, but it was similar to Li Long and Liu Four's houses in that it was large.
A girl was lighting a stove at the door. The seal of the stove was facing the wind, and the flames on the stove were sizzling.
She hurriedly picked up a pair of tongs and put the coal into the stove. Smoke immediately rose.
When she heard the motorcycle's horn, she quickly looked up and greeted enthusiastically, "Li Long, come in and sit."
"Is this Little Brother Lai?" Li He got off the motorcycle. Seeing that the girl looked similar to He Zhaodi, he could guess who she was. He spent most of his time outside, and he could only say that he was familiar with those who were four or five years older than him, but he might not be able to call out their names.
"Second Brother, you're back." Li He was usually the "other family's child" that everyone talked about. He was always the role model that parents compared to their own children. Little Brother Lai naturally knew him. "Come in and sit."
Li Long asked, "Is Liu Four here?"
Little Brother Lai said, "He's here. He's helping me chop wood in the yard."
Li He asked, "It's cold. Why did you put out the stove?"
Little Brother Lai said, "I bought a fake briquet. Normally, it would have been sealed until morning, but it went out in the morning."
Li He smiled and followed Li Long into the house.
Not only was Liu Four there, but Hunchback Wu and Old Madam Sang were also there with Wu You.
Li He smiled and said, "You're all here?"
Old Madam Sang said, "You can't be careless during confinement. A woman's whole life. Little Brother Lai is still a girl, so there are some things you don't understand. I'll bring Hunchback over to help you. "
"It's been hard on you." Li He was naturally grateful.
Hunchback Wu poked Wu You. "Why don't you call for help now?"
Wu You grinned and called out, "Second Uncle."
"Oh, little girl, you're growing so fast." Li He used his hand to measure her height. "You're already up to my waist."
Hunchback Wu said with a smile, "He'll be six years old next year, so I'm going to send him to school to pass the time."
Li He said, "Six years old is fine. Studying is not a problem."
He looked into the room from time to time, hoping to see Zhao Di, but the door was closed. He wanted to find an excuse to go in and take a look.
However, Hunchback Wu refused to let him go. When he saw Wu You follow Old Madam Sang into the kitchen, he said in a low voice, "Dalong's wife often stops her. Do you think after this …"
"In their dreams. If the Ma family dares to come and make trouble in the future, I'll beat them back for you with a shoulder pole." Lai Di entered the room with the stove and answered.
Li He frowned and asked, "Are you sure it's the Ma family?"
Liu Four said, "There's no mistaking it. You haven't seen Dalong's wife. When she stands with Wu You, people will know without thinking that they're a mother and a daughter."
"Even so, I can't give it to her. Who told her to throw it away?" Hunchback Wu was unhappy that Liu Four mentioned the word "mother and a daughter."
Li He asked, "Did the Ma family say that they want it back?"
Hunchback Wu said, "They didn't say anything like that. But why does Dalong's wife keep coming here? Today she gives Wu You an apple, tomorrow she gives him a fried dough twist. I threw it all away. "
He was worried about this. The child was five or six years old, the age where he loved to play. He couldn't tie the child to him every day and not let the child go out to play, right? But whenever the child went out to play, the Ma family's woman would think of a way to talk to Wu You while he was away.
Liu Four said, "Hunchback, listen to me. You're overthinking it. The Ma family already has three children. Even if you send them back, would the Ma family dare to accept them? A few days ago, I saw a big girl from their family. She was wearing a pair of broken shoes on such a cold day. She was selling eggs and goose intestines at the commune. Her face was purple from the cold. In my opinion, they just want to see the child and have something to think about. "
Li He patted Hunchback Wu's shoulder. "Instead of worrying about it, it's better to spread it out and see what the Ma family is thinking."
Hunchback Wu shook his head. "I'm not afraid of the Ma family. They can't take my daughter back. I'm just afraid of what will happen to the child when she grows up. You guys know that she's brought up with a lot of shit and piss. "
He was on the verge of crying when he said this.
Li He said, "You're raising Wu You so that she can take care of you when you're old?"
Hunchback Wu said, "Of course not. How much can I eat? I don't need her to take care of me. If I'm really sick, I can just go home and put on my own clothes. That's it. I'll just close my eyes, and I'll have to trouble you guys to bury me. That's it. "
Li He smiled. "That's it. We have a clear conscience. The child will grow up eventually. When she grows up, she can choose for herself. Even if she chooses to find her biological parents, it's her own choice. We can understand. Who can easily give up on their biological parents? "
"You make it sound so easy." Hunchback Wu didn't believe what Li He said.
Suddenly, the child's loud cries came from inside the house.
Li He was worried. He pretended to smile and said, "You guys talk first. I haven't entered the house yet."
Li He took a deep breath and finally pushed open the door.
Zhao Di was sitting on the bed, holding the child with a smile.
"Erhe, close the door. Don't let the wind in." Hunchback Wu reminded Li He, who was standing at the door in a daze.
"Yes." Li He closed the door. Looking at the mother and son in front of him, he didn't know what to say.
When He Zhaodi saw Li He, she was stunned at first. Then she laughed and said, "What are you standing there for? Come and sit. I won't stand up. There's a chair over there. Come and sit. "
Li He didn't find a chair. He sat on the side of the bed, next to the mother and son.
"He's alright." It took him a while to find this sentence.
He Zhaodi coaxed the child as she said, "He's quite well-behaved. He doesn't make a fuss. He only whines a little when changing diapers."
She even kissed the child's pink little face as she spoke.
The child's skin had completely spread out. It was white and tender.
Li He lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry."
He Zhaodi was puzzled. "What are you sorry for? Don't take responsibility for yourself. It has nothing to do with you. The child is mine. "
"But I'm responsible." Li He couldn't be mistaken. This was his biological son.
He Zhaodi said, "Li Erhe, get this straight. His surname is He."
"I know."
He Zhaodi suddenly said, "How about He Dali? It takes strength to sail a boat. "
Li He said, "He wants to study."
He Zhaodi said, "Not everyone can go to university. If he can't, can I still beat him to death? Sailing a boat is easy as long as he can endure hardship. My son can definitely endure hardship. "
"Why don't we change his name?" Li He tried hard to get the naming rights. He was too embarrassed to say that He Dali was his son. "What about He Zhou? 'Zhou' means a boat. "
"Thank you. Then we'll call him He Zhou. His nickname will be Dali."
Li He said happily, "That's great."
She suddenly said, "Erhe, go out. I want to sleep for a while."
Li He looked at the blinking child and said, "I want to hug him. Is that okay?"
"Then carry him gently." She moved up a little and handed the child to Li He.
Li He took it carefully and hugged it as if it was the most precious thing in the world. He looked at it quietly and raised his hand to gently stroke the child's head. Even though the child couldn't call him daddy, his heart was melted.
Li He gently swayed the child and hummed a few words from time to time.
She said, "I think he's going to sleep. Put him down."
Li He reluctantly put the child down and gritted his teeth. "Don't worry. I'll take care of the child in the future."
Since it was his son, he could cut off a slice of his flesh and give it to the child for the rest of his life.
She smiled and shook her head. "He's a man. A man has to earn his own family business. He has to be more successful than you. My son definitely won't be interested in you. "
Then she said to the child, "Right, son?"
It was as if the child could understand.
"Yes, he'll definitely be more successful than me." Li He smiled happily. Every father hoped that his son would surpass him and be more successful than him. And fathers usually placed their hopes on their children.
She said, "If you have something to do, go do it. I can take care of the child." “
Before Li He could say anything, the door had already been pushed open.
Lai Di poked his head out and said, "Second Brother, let's eat."
Zhao Di said, "Erhe, you go ahead and eat. I'll be sleeping for a while."
Lai Di said, "Sis, you don't know. Second Brother brought a lot of things for the child."
"It's my duty." Li He smiled and left the house, closing the door.
Zhao Di's face was pressed against the child's. Tears rolled down her eyes as she swallowed.
Li He absent-mindedly had a meal here and didn't leave until the next night.
He couldn't visit Zhao Di every day, so he only brought Liu Four to visit Zhao Di every two days.
However, Zhao Di was sleeping every time.
After a few times, Li He didn't have the chance to talk to her alone.
He knew that she was avoiding him on purpose, but he couldn't understand why.
The night before he left, he went to the He family's door again. He had to say a few words to her before he left.
However, he saw Zhao Chunfang sitting at the door from afar, eating melon seeds. Her youngest son was holding a sweet potato and nibbling on it, his face full of tears.
Li He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he didn't go in and left in disappointment.
When he returned to Hong Kong, it was only a few days before the Spring Festival. The whole family was busy celebrating the new year.
He Fang saw that Li He had been depressed ever since he returned from his hometown, so she asked, "What happened? Tell me about it? "
"It's nothing." Li He smiled as he dealt with it.
He Fang said, "Four will be back in the afternoon. Are you going to pick her up?"
"Okay." Li He nodded in agreement.
"Four got the application to Oxford. Do you think we should celebrate and give her a gift?"
Li He said, "Isn't she only going to Harvard?"
He Fang smiled and said, "Anyway, it's confirmed that she's going to Oxford. You can ask her the details when you come back, but don't say too much. She sounded a little unhappy on the phone."
Four dragged two suitcases and came back dejectedly. When she saw Li He, she almost cried.
"Good for nothing." Li He scratched her head. "It's not a big deal. If you really want to go to Harvard, look for your brother. Not just Harvard, even the Weeping Buddha won't be a problem."
He didn't ask anymore, but what he said was true. As long as she was willing to donate money, there was no school she couldn't get into.
Four didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She slapped his hand away and said, "Stop it! I'm not a child anymore! "
"Alright, let's go home." This was the first time Li He had seen Four so angry.
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