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There are many indescribable and wonderful moments in a person’s life. This kind of moment is destined to happen on a certain day, a certain hour, a certain second, but its decisive impact transcends time.
Hong Yanwu took a deep breath and finally opened the door with trembling hands.
“Creak——”, the door shaft made a sound. As a stronger medicinal gas hit his face, the home he had dreamed of appeared before his eyes.
The same elm wood octagonal table greeted the door. On the corner of the table was a steaming medicine jar, as if the medicine had just been decanted.
The table top still has so many burn marks and scratches, and the mother-of-pearl inlays on the table body that only have numerous scars left were all cut off and wasted by him with a knife when he was a child. In his impression, his father often sat at this table, drank his constant jasmine double smoke, and would squint his eyes and hum a few lines of “Xiaoyaojin” from time to time.
On the desk behind the desk is a statue-like white porcelain bust of the leader. It was placed here after the revolutionary young general smashed the original pastel hat stand. The gilt Western clock on the desk seems to have been my mother’s dowry. It is old and can still run, but the little foreigner inside can no longer rotate, and every hour goes faster by two or three minutes.
On the wall behind the bill is a photo of the great leader, framed in a glass frame, and hung majestically in the middle of the hall. However, a painting of Western mountains and rivers by my grandfather and a couplet written by my father, “Danxia shines brightly on the moon, gentle breeze moves the streams,” were originally hung here. However, during the “exercise”, my mother closed the door and burned them secretly. At that time, my father couldn’t bear to see it and hid in another room without coming out. At the same time, many other calligraphy and paintings, as well as photos and letters were turned into ashes.
In short, the entire hall looked dilapidated and old, and the color was gray, but everything was neat and spotless. The most decent thing in the house is the pot of jade-skin narcissus on the flower table by the window. In the rectangular narcissus flower pot, various crystal colored stones can be seen in the water. The emerald green seedlings growing on the flower bulbs are either Jiuqi or Shiyiqi. Every time they bloom, almost all of them bloom. When exposed to the sun, it displays colors and freshness that are very different from the environment.
“Who?” A clear question came from the back room on the west side.
“Me.” Hong Yanwu quickly stepped into the house.
When he closed the door and turned around, a girl with a medicine bowl in her hand had walked out of the back room, staring at him with surprise in her eyes.
“Brother?”
“Xiaoru.”
Hong Yanwu had a smile on his face, but his voice was choked with sobs.
Sister Hong Yanru is three years younger than him and looks exactly like his mother. She was wearing light blue plain clothes with many patches, and she stood so gracefully in front of him.
At this time, looking at the good sister he had lost in his memory, Hong Yanwu felt so kind and warm.
My sister is still young, has not yet started a family, and has not given birth to children. The important thing is that she is really alive!
For a moment, his eyes blurred.
Hong Yanru could not understand Hong Yanwu’s inner turmoil at all, and her reaction was only surprise. She couldn’t wait to put down the medicine bowl, hugged Hong Yanwu’s arm, and pulled him affectionately toward the west back room.
“Third brother, come on, come in…” Hong Yanru shouted excitedly while reporting to the back room. “Dad, my third brother is home!”
In this way, Hong Yanwu was dragged into the back room on the west side.
On a small bed converted from an Arhat bed, he saw at a glance another relative he had lost – his father Hong Lucheng.
When father and son met, each other was undoubtedly excited.
Hong Lucheng’s eyes brightened obviously, and he even tried to sit up with his hands on his hands. But after being stunned for a moment, he gave up again. Then his face actually froze while his body was trembling, and he forced himself to look indifferent.
In his previous life, Hong Yanwu had never seen his father on the sickbed, so his father’s current sick appearance gave him a strong shock. His father was much thinner than his last impression, almost to the point of being skin and bones. The broad forehead, deep-set eye sockets, and gray hair all showed the haggardness of a terminal illness.
Thinking again of the conflicts between father and son in their previous life, and the regret of never seeing each other again. At this moment, he could not help but have extremely complicated feelings. There is fear, luck, regret, and even some illusions and unreality.
Spurred by a burst of inexplicable sourness and melancholy, he walked to his father’s bed and called out affectionately. “Dad!”
Hearing this address, Hong Lucheng’s eyes were obviously red, but he still had a stern face, pretending not to recognize him, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
One sentence made Hong Yanwu extremely embarrassed but speechless. He couldn’t help but look at Hong Yanru.
But the younger sister had no choice. Her big eyes were full of helplessness, and she could only bite her lip gently.
Hong Yanwu pondered for a moment, then lowered his head to show his goodwill. “Dad, I am your son. Are you okay?”
Hong Lucheng frowned and snorted coldly. “You don’t need to worry about whether I’m okay or not. Didn’t you say you don’t have me as your father?”
These words are tantamount to a slap in the face.
“Dad, I miss you. This is my home. Yes, I said something **** back then. I was an unfilial son and I’m sorry for you. That’s why I have to ask for your forgiveness.” Hong Yanwu’s head crossed. Say lower.
“Forgive? Tell you, it’s too late!”
It can be seen that Hong Lucheng is very angry. He snapped while hammering the edge of the bed. “You are not only sorry for us, but who can you deserve for what you have done? You are so mean and dirty, you have wiped out all the virtues of the Hong family.”
Hong Yanwu’s heart was sinking. He knew that what he had done was like a knife that had pierced into his father’s heart. And he couldn’t blame his father for criticizing him at all.
“Dad, look, the government has forgiven me. They released me and gave me a chance to start a new life. I beg you to give me another chance…”
Hong Yanwu’s plea made Hong Lucheng look painful, but his attitude was still firm.
“If you can change, is there still today? No need to waste any more words. From now on, you are you and I am me. You’d better go.”
“Dad…just…forgive Third Brother this time. Dad, please.”
Seeing that her father seemed to have given up and really wanted to drive away his brother, Hong Yanru finally couldn’t help but interject and beg for mercy.
Hong Lucheng was very unhappy because of his daughter’s involvement. “Xiaoru, you’re so troublesome! Don’t you know how he left this home?”
Although Hong Yanru said she didn’t want her father to be angry, she still refused to give up on Hong Yanwu’s fate. “It doesn’t matter why Third Brother was sorry to you before, and it doesn’t matter how you were angry with Third Brother before. After all…he is your biological son after all, can’t you forgive him?”
Having said this, she turned back to comfort Hong Yanwu. “Brother, actually… Dad and Mom miss you very much…”
But Hong Lucheng snorted and denied it directly. “Shut up. I don’t have this son. He severed ties with this family two years ago. Let him go!”
Hong Yanru was so anxious that she actually talked back to her father for the first time. “Dad, you can’t be so impulsive. Who can avoid making mistakes? You will regret it if you drive away your child!”
“Regret? If it were an outsider, I might forgive him and tolerate him, but when I think that he is my son, I feel cold from the inside out… The thing I regret most in my life is He shouldn’t have been born, he shouldn’t have a son like him!”
These words were like being cut into pieces by a thousand cuts, making Hong Yanwu feel like his body and mind were bleeding. In an instant, the pain and debt of the past were as clear as a knife. His face was pale, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground and burrow into it.
Hong Yanru didn’t expect her father to say such serious words, so she let out a cry of grief. “Dad!”
“Xiaoru, if you continue to speak for him, I…I won’t recognize you either.”
Hong Lucheng was so angry that he scolded his daughter for the first time. After that, he closed his eyes and said nothing, no longer looking at the two children in front of him.
Hong Yanru couldn’t help but take a step forward and wanted to say more.
But Hong Yanwu didn’t want his sister to be angered by his father, so he frowned and pulled her and shook his head.
However, Hong Yanwu did not lose heart. When his father calmed down a little, he begged again in a gentle voice. “Dad, blood ties are always blood ties. No matter how we oppose each other, you are still my dad wherever you go. Can we have a good talk?”
Hong Lucheng was very resistant and kept his eyes closed. “If you can’t change your nature, there’s nothing to talk about. In your original words, ‘I don’t want to stay in this family anymore’ and ‘I’m always targeting your enemy.’ In this case, let’s just end it. So that we both don’t get awkward.”
Hong Yanwu seemed to have been slapped again and was too embarrassed to speak. After a long time, he regained his courage and said, “Dad, I know you are angry and you don’t want to believe me anymore. But can you listen to what’s on my mind?”
Hong Lucheng still looked indifferent, even humming lazily.
At this moment, Hong Yanwu suddenly felt that there would be many unexpected things in life. In the past, he never thought about the pain that his willful behavior would bring to his relatives, or that his father would reject him so much. And this result has now pushed him into a situation where he is embarrassed and on the verge of tears. This is probably the so-called causal loop.
A burst of deep regret struck him, and he hung his head deeply, tears falling uncontrollably.
Hong Lucheng seemed to feel something, and he unconsciously raised his eyes to glance at Hong Yanwu.
But Hong Yanwu was immersed in his own emotions and didn’t notice at all. He just whimpered and continued.
“Leaving home made me think a lot, good or bad. I am afraid only I know how heavy the price I paid for my mistakes. You used to say that you got blisters on your feet by yourself. Yes, I am more and more aware of the meaning of this sentence. No matter what you think, this home will always be my dad. I leave home, leave you, leave my mother, and leave my relatives. This is the only thing I did wrong.”
Every word of these words is filled with true feelings. Spoken slowly with choking and hoarseness, it is impossible not to feel excited.
Therefore, when Hong Yanwu finished speaking, no one in the room spoke for a long time.
In this eerie silence, even the tinkling bell in the main room could no longer be heard, only the rustling wind outside.
This also made everyone in the room quietly feel the heaviness of the atmosphere, and the entanglement, chill and pain in their hearts.
For a long time, Hong Lucheng finally raised his head and stared at his son seriously.
Hong Yanwu also unexpectedly discovered at this time that there were tears in his father’s eyes, and his hostile attitude seemed to have relaxed a lot. He couldn’t help but have some hope.
At this critical moment, Hong Yanru said a decisive word.
“Dad…you don’t recognize me, what will mom do…”
Hong Lucheng was stunned for a moment, and then he immediately started coughing violently and fell down on the bed. That uncontrollable eagerness was really rare for his two children.
When Hong Yanwu’s brother and sister all stepped forward to help them, they also discovered that two lines of cold old tears had fallen down on their father’s weathered face…
My father allowed my brother to stay. The happiest person about this matter was Hong Yanru.
After coming out of her father’s room, she was like a little bird. She kept chirping and asking what it was like in Chadian, whether she was tired from labor, and whether she was afraid of earthquakes. Hong Yanwu answered all of them. On the contrary, Hong Yanwu also asked his sister about the situation at home.
Under the bright sunshine, brothers and sisters gathered together. Although the words were light, they were filled with the love of brotherhood. They talked about everything and a lot of irrelevant things. But when Hong Yanru asked about the food situation at Chadian Farm, Hong Yanwu suddenly thought of hunger.
There were only some leftovers at home, and Hong Yanru found it difficult to speak. However, Hong Yanwu didn’t mind it, and rushed into the small kitchen as soon as he heard that there was food. Later, he stopped his sister who wanted hot food and gave her a rough meal.
After he drank all the remaining porridge in the pot in a daze, made two semi-cold steamed buns, and then picked out the soybeans in the pickles and ate them until not a single one was left. He burped and straightened up contentedly.
Hong Yanru, on the other hand, looked on dumbfounded, thinking that the third brother was not getting enough to eat in the labor camp, and her eyes became red again.
Hong Yanwu couldn’t help but persuade and cajole, claiming that he only played the role of Zhu Bajie for his sister after he had not had any teeth for a day. This finally made Hong Yanru burst into laughter again.
Hong Yanru knew that the third brother could not live without money. Before Hong Yanwu could say anything, she went back to the house and took her own two yuan and asked Hong Yanwu to take a bath in the bathhouse first. Because it was all the change she had saved from paper boxes, she was a little embarrassed to say that the money was a little short.
But Hong Yanwu’s reaction made Hong Yanru unexpected. Instead of accepting it happily as before, he became uncharacteristically silent. And then, what was even more unexpected was that Hong Yanwu actually took out ten yuan and stuffed it into her hand!
Hong Yanru was shocked. The money was too much and she didn’t dare to ask for it.
But Hong Yanwu forced her to return the money and held her tightly in his arms.
Then, Hong Yanru heard Hong Yanwu say something in her ear, “Buy something for yourself. Third brother I was sorry for you before, and I will never let you suffer any more injustice in the future.”
This made Hong Yanru feel warm in her heart, but she had never been hugged like this before. Even her brother couldn’t adapt to it. She couldn’t help but blush, and hurriedly tried to break away.
When she finally broke free, she was about to complain that Hong Yanwu’s actions were too reckless, but she found that his eyes were full of tears and he was almost crying. This immediately confused her again.
What’s wrong with third brother today? There’s something strange about everything. Why is he so sentimental when he comes back? It’s like he’s a different person.
The same thing I said to my father just now…is this still the same brother who was not serious at all?
Seeing Hong Yanru was stunned. Hong Yanwu realized that he was losing control of his emotions. He quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, touched his sister’s head affectionately, and only left the words “I’m going to take a shower and will be back soon” before walking out the door.
When Hong Yanru waited for a moment to catch up and chased him out, Hong Yanwu had already disappeared. She looked at the money in her hand and felt troubled again.
This is ten yuan, which is enough for the whole family to pay for food for a month.
If it’s a cardboard box, a small building block box costs two cents a cent, a big one costs five cents or eight cents, a shoe box costs one and two cents, and the biggest one is a cake box that costs one and a half cents. Based on this calculation, how many people do you need to make money?
Yeah! This money… where did third brother come from?
Thinking of this, Hong Yanru’s eyes suddenly opened wide, but then she immediately shook her head.
No, it won’t. Third brother just came home today, how could he do that! Maybe it was given by someone else? But just in case…
Hong Yanru felt more and more confused, and finally sighed helplessly. In short, she decided to put the money away and wait until the third brother came back later to ask questions.
After a while, she remembered something very important that she had to do quickly. So, after entering the house and greeting her father, she turned and left the house.
Actually, the place she wanted to go was very close. She just wanted to use the public phone at Qiu Zi’s house in the west courtyard across the street to tell her mother who was working that her third brother was home.
She knows her mother’s heart very well. Ever since Hong Yanwu was sent to the labor camp, her mother has been counting the days day by day, tearing up the calendar one by one, hoping that her son would come home soon.
My mother will be very happy to receive her call.