Chapter 985 My Brother's Admonition

"Second Master! Don't you recognize me?"

In the crowded bedroom, Lu Yidong bent over and waved his hand in front of Lu Xingzhou.

The old man looked up as if he had noticed something, but only smiled faintly at Lu Yidong, said nothing, and continued to stare blankly in one direction.

"Second Master," Lu Douqing called out sadly.

Second Master ignored her, but Lu Douqing waved her hand in return. Only then did Second Master look at her, still with a faint smile on his face, but he didn't say anything.

My third uncle is here today. My second uncle used to say that he was the most unfilial son and was always absent, but today that my third uncle came, the old man no longer recognized him.

Lu Tian leaned against the wall and sighed, "My second uncle has always been impulsive, but this is the first time I've seen him smile so gently at us younger generation."

Grandma was sitting next to Second Uncle. When she heard Fourth Uncle's words, she turned her head to look to the side, patted Lu Xingzhou's hand on his lap, and sighed repeatedly: "He has been doing business all his life, how come he has become senile before me?"

Bai Qingxia stood beside her aunts, quietly watching this scene. In fact, she had experienced this feeling of the Lu family when she was a child, and she understood what kind of feeling it was.

There are many things I regret not saying beforehand, while the other person was still sober.

"The box... my box," the second master muttered again.

After Lu Yuanqiu brought him back, he sat on the edge of the bed muttering this sentence.

Lu Yuanqiu just ran to find the box that Second Uncle mentioned. Grandma said she remembered it; it was a blue iron box that Second Uncle usually treasured and wouldn't let anyone see. Uncle had also seen it and joked that it contained the old man's savings, which he left to his chosen heir.

A cell phone rang in the crowd; it was playing the song "Maple". Bai Qingxia looked down and saw it was her phone. She had set her phone's ringtone to "Maple" these past few days to practice singing.

This call came from Lu Yuanqiu.

Lu Yuanqiu: "The box has been found! It's locked! Check if Second Master has a key, it should be one of those small keys!"

The hands-free was on, and everyone heard it. Upon hearing this, Third Uncle immediately squatted down to look at Second Uncle's waist. Sure enough, the old man had a large bunch of metal keys hanging on his belt, heavy and of various sizes.

Uncle San stood up and looked him over, and Bai Qingxia handed him the phone.

Third Uncle: "We found a whole bunch here. Xiao Qiu, come back first and bring the boxes over."

About twenty minutes later, Lu Yuanqiu finally came running back, panting, with a blue metal box in his hand. He placed the metal box by the bedside and picked up the metal keys he had just used, trying to unlock the lock one by one. Finally, one of the small keys opened the lock.

When the lid was lifted, there was very little inside: a few gray photographs and an orange envelope.

The envelope was addressed to my brother.

Lu Yuanqiu took out the envelope and handed it to his grandmother. The grandmother looked at the words on it and immediately understood who had written it. She hesitated for a moment, then handed it to her eldest son without looking at it.

The uncle took it.

Lu Yuanqiu took out the gray photos from the tin box. There were three photos in total. They were very old. The photos all showed a young female student wearing a traditional school uniform similar to that of the Republic of China era. She was carrying a black bag, had her hair in braids, and had a youthful smile.

Grandma glanced at it, took the paper, and squinted to examine it.

"Who is this?" Lu Yidong asked curiously.

The uncles and aunts all crowded around, and Bai Qingxia followed. They gathered together to examine the other two photos.

Su Xiaoya: "Who is it?"

Second Aunt: "He looks familiar."

After looking at the photos, the third uncle looked up at his mother, who was quietly staring at the photos by the bedside, and his second uncle, who was smiling blankly at the air next to her. He then handed the two photos back to Lu Yuanqiu and asked Lu Yuanqiu to put them back in the box.

Lu Yuanqiu did as instructed.

Suddenly, everyone fell silent. The female student in the photo had a youthful and energetic smile, and her features looked familiar at first glance. If you still couldn't guess who she was…

Grandma put the photo she was holding back into the tin box.

She took a deep breath, grabbed Lu Xingzhou's withered hand, placed it in her own withered palm, and gently patted it.

Lu Cheng handed over the letter and envelope together. Grandma took them but didn't look at them. She then gave the two items to Lu Yuanqiu, who was a little flustered and didn't know whether Grandma wanted him to look at them or put them back.

He only glanced at it briefly, seeing the first few lines of the letter. His grandfather looked like him, but his handwriting was much prettier.

【Xingzhou, I fear my days are numbered. It seems I must entrust this large family to you. If you insist on not marrying, the four Cheng brothers will be your own sons from now on…】

Lu Yuanqiu put the letter back into the envelope with the photos. He closed the tin box, took it with both hands, walked to Second Master, and gently squatted down. After thinking for a moment, Lu Yuanqiu bent one knee and looked up at the old man: "Second Master? The box is here. Here."

Lu Xingzhou raised his cloudy eyes, stretched out his trembling hands, took the iron box and hugged it tightly to his chest. His face still had a faint, gentle smile. He had been impulsive all his life, but he had given all the little tenderness he had left to this "iron box" in his arms.

Lu Yuanqiu also remembered that letter. It was found when the old house was being cleaned last time. Although the Second Master had kept it for a long time, and Lu Yuanqiu didn't know what was written on it, the Second Master had already done the part of educating the four brothers as his own sons without even reading the letter.

...

Courtyard No. 1.

Lu Yanhe excitedly ran in from outside the door.

"Dad, have you found it yet?! The elevator is coming up!"

Lu Yuanqiu opened a cabinet in the dressing room and saw a cardboard box at the bottom. It looked very familiar. He opened the box and found the long dress, as red as late maple leaves, inside.

"Found it! Found it!"

Suddenly, Lu Yanhe's exclamation rang out from outside: "Mom, there was a stray cat in the hallway trying to seduce Bai Jinjin! Bai Jinjin is so old, and it's still trying to seduce her! It has such a heavy taste!"

What kind of excuse is that...? Lu Yuanqiu knew his son was covering for him.

He quickly put the cardboard box back and arranged the clothes next to it. These weren't things Bai Qingxia had hidden; Lu Yuanqiu just didn't want her to know that the dress had been taken.

That wretched brat, coming up with some terrible idea on the spur of the moment. But whatever, he just wanted to make his mother happy, and that's the thought that counts.

After closing the cabinet and throwing the dress into Lu Yanhe's room, Lu Yuanqiu went out and saw the mother and son entering the entrance hall.

Bai Jinjin, who was sunbathing on the balcony, glanced up, too lazy to refute the rumor, and continued to sunbathe.

"There are no stray cats."

"They ran away."

Bai Qingxia changed her shoes, looked at Lu Yuanqiu, and put her bag aside: "Should we practice singing first or eat first?"

“Let’s practice singing, we’re not hungry yet.” Lu Yuanqiu and his son stood ramrod straight.

"good."

After getting ready, the three of them came to the living room. The mother and son sat upright on the sofa, smiled at each other, and then looked at the conductor, Lu Yuanqiu.

The accompaniment began.

Lu Yuanqiu raised his hand: "Three, two, one, begin!"

He sang the beginning, and the mother and son swayed slightly as they sang, and then the singing quickly followed.

"The slowly falling maple leaves are like longing~"

(End of this chapter)