Chapter 462 My Mother is a Fool (16)

Liu Zhanyan, who was rated as one of the best Chinese doctors of literature in the 20th century, stood on the brightly lit stage of China's top university and looked up at the originally empty venue, which was now full. The packed seats were filled with students and friends from all walks of life, all looking at him.

He cleared his throat and wanted to speak according to the script prepared by his assistant, but his eyes fell on the gray-haired old man sitting in a wheelchair in the audience, and he suddenly changed his mind.

He closed the prepared script, cleared his throat again, and said clearly: "Everyone here should be used to listening to speech scripts, why don't I talk about something else today."

Before the people sitting in the audience could react, the students led the crowd to applaud. They had long been tired of listening to the fixed scripts of lectures, and new content was naturally welcome.

Liu Zhanyan did not expect the students to be so enthusiastic, so he started to speak.

"My family is from the countryside, and everyone knows this. When I was a child, my father always loved to beat my mother. Why? Because my mother was a fool and often did some ridiculous things, such as pouring white vinegar into the rice jar and adding water to the lard she bought. I hated her at that time, and hated her for being a fool who made me be laughed at by all the children in the village."

"Rural children are all tough. There is nothing fun in the countryside, and it is common to give people nicknames and make up songs. But the person involved doesn't think so. What songs did they make up for me at that time? I'll tell you all about it."

"Liu Zhanyan, Liu Zhanyan, you are so pitiful at such a young age. Your father in the house is old and blind, and your mother is so stupid that she can't see."

"Liu Zhanyan, Liu Zhanyan, your father hopes that you will go to carry salt early, exchange the salt for money to buy vegetables, and buy some brown sugar for your mother by the way."

"Liu Zhanyan, Liu Zhanyan, you are so sinful at such a young age that it is unbearable to look at. But your mother loves you the most and waits for you at the village entrance every day."

"Liu Zhanyan, Liu Zhanyan, you are so stingy that you can't even tell the truth. Everyone says your mother is a fool, but you don't believe it."

"Liu Zhanyan, Liu Zhanyan, tell me if you are pitiful or not. Your blind father is pitiful for earning money, and you are responsible for the eating, drinking, and defecation of your foolish mother at home. Although we look forward to seeing you home every day, we don't want our foolish son to play with us."

He didn't know that in front of a crowd of spotlights, he, with his gray hair, could still vaguely see his childhood appearance when he talked about these past events. Although he had already let go of these past events, he still couldn't help but be dazed for a moment. Everyone sitting in the audience had already immersed themselves in his story, so they didn't notice his abnormality at all.

"At that time, I hated my mother very much. I hated her for being a fool and for making me be laughed at by other people. So I didn't talk to her at all and ignored her. It was as if she and I were strangers. Now that I think about it, I really deserved to die at that time."

His eyes stayed on the old man in the wheelchair who was looking at him lovingly. His endless apologies never diminished, but only increased with the passage of time.

"Actually, I know that my mother was bought by my father. In my memory, my father always beat my mother very hard, and every time there was a lot of noise. Many people in the village came to watch, which indirectly made me a joke. What makes me even more embarrassed is that although the silly woman is silly, she is tall, has a good figure, and has fair skin. Even if she is crazy and silly, there are still many people who want to take advantage of her."

"Maybe everyone living in today's happiness can't imagine such a place? The place where I lived when I was a child was really like this, stupid, ignorant, violent, arrogant, and full of vulgarity. If I had lived there all the time, maybe I would be like that."

"But my mother, my silly mother, she suddenly stopped being stupid one day. She would come with her fists to help me fight, would secretly pull sedge for me to eat, would cover me with all the straw quilts after I fell asleep, would risk her life to pull me away when my father was holding a knife to chop me... would appear to help me in all my difficult moments. She is like a god."

"No, to me, she is my God. She guides my path, the direction I should go, and where I should go. It was she who insisted on letting me study, and it was she who told me that the meaning of reading is reading itself. It was her encouragement that enabled me to create something in literature."

"But such a God collapsed on the bed in her early 30s." He couldn't help choking up. "If life really has a script, I don't think she can even be considered a supporting role. Her life, no matter how you look at it, is not favored. Sometimes I think that she must have given me all the good luck in her life."

"My uncle-in-law once drove a motorcycle to take her and me out of the secluded village overnight, so that we could be reborn. My aunt took care of my grandparents at all costs during the days when my mother disappeared. And my mother also used her legs to protect her sister, my aunt, and my cousin. When the truck rushed over, she pushed them away almost without thinking, and I was stunned at the edge. Because at that time I also intuitively felt the feeling of death coming."

"I once asked her, if you sacrificed your legs, did you repay the kindness of your aunt's family? She looked me in the eyes and answered me, I must remember the kindness of my aunt's family for the rest of my life, we can never repay it in our lifetime. From then on, I knew how much she valued love. And my aunt and uncle-in-law became my second mother and father. My cousin became closer to me."

The old man with gray hair in the audience was wiping his tears. The speech on the stage was still going on.

The old man turned to the aunt next to him and tightened her scarf. It was hot in the conference hall, and she would feel more comfortable if he loosened it for a while. The aunt just looked at him stupidly, without any movement or words, but her eyes were as gentle and loving as water.

He couldn't help crying again. His aunt has been so hard these years. She has used every opportunity to make money to support him and his brother, making one of them a famous doctor of literature in China and the other the most famous entrepreneur in the south. But she has never lived for herself in her life, from the age of 20 to now.

"I once asked my mother if she regretted giving birth to me. She replied that I was the pride of her life. I think, standing on the stage today, I can finally admit this."

The applause was thunderous. Many people began to wipe the tears from their eyes.

Liu Zhanyan on the stage and his mother in the audience looked at each other quietly and smiled at each other.

Even if you are just a supporting role in life, as long as you work hard, you can turn things around. As long as you believe, as long as you do it.

[Task completed, gain [responsibility]]

(End of this chapter)