Aunt Lin likes little Mu Qingzhuo very much. Aunt Lin's grandson Han Gexin is only five or six years old, and is already a primary school student in the Yuhong class. It is vacation time now, so he is at home. When he saw the little brother coming, he liked him very much and walked up to Mu Qingzhuo and looked at him.
"You are the younger brother, I am the older brother, I will protect you."
Mu Qingzhuo didn't know what Han Gexin meant, but it didn't stop him from liking this little brother who was older than him. He smiled and stretched out his little hand to hold Han Gexin's hand and shouted.
"elder brother."
Sun Yuqi was also watching the interaction between the two children with a smile on her face. She knew her son quite well. He liked playing with boys older than him, but he didn't like playing with those younger than him or girls.
Seeing that the two children were having fun, Aunt Lin asked Han Gexin to take Mu Qingzhuo to the room to play by themselves, and then she talked to Sun Yuqi about the house.
"Yuqi, the person renting your house now is a relative of a former neighborhood cadre. They're paying me three yuan a month, which is thirty-six yuan a year. They gave me a year's rent directly. You said before that you didn't care about the amount, as long as I could live in the house and not let it fall into disrepair. So I..."
Sun Yuqi said with a smile.
"Auntie Lin, there's no need to explain. I know everything. I told you before that this rent is to give you some pocket money. I don't mind this little bit of money, but you didn't want it at the time. I later understood your concerns. Now that my brother and sister-in-law are not around, I still say the same thing: just keep this money for pocket money."
Aunt Lin still waved her hand.
"Yuqi, your kindness is enough for your aunt to know. We have been neighbors for decades. Besides, your mother and I were good friends back then. Now that she is gone, it is my responsibility to take care of you. Besides, I didn't take care of you at all. You went to the countryside to work in the fields at a young age and suffered."
In the end, Sun Yuqi was unable to persuade Aunt Lin to accept the rent. Finally, she winked and asked Mu Jingran to buy some things worth dozens of dollars and give them to Aunt Lin. Only then was the matter resolved.
At noon, Aunt Lin's husband, son Han Jianguo and daughter-in-law Liu Qingmei also came back. The two families sat together for a meal. In the afternoon, Sun Yuqi and Mu Jingran took the children and left the Han family and returned to the guesthouse.
Because it was still early, Sun Yuqi and Mu Jingran did not walk fast, and walked slowly with Mu Qingzhuo on the tree-lined avenue.
"Auntie Lin is really nice."
Sun Yuqi nodded.
"Well, back then, Mom wasn't in good health and retired early from her job. Whenever I encountered any problems, I would go to Aunt Lin for help. So, in the end, it was Aunt Lin and the people from the neighborhood office who handled Mom's funeral. I was only sixteen at the time, and my mom spoiled me so much that I didn't know much about the world."
Mu Jingran looked around. Due to the cold weather, there were not many people on the street. He then took Sun Yuqi's hand and said, "I am much better off than you. Although I have never seen my so-called father since I was a child and I don't have any impression of my mother, fortunately, I still have my grandparents and uncle who loved me growing up. It is much better than you."
Sun Yuqi smiled and said, "Okay, even though I was small back then, I am very happy now, right? If my mother could see me from heaven, she would be happy for me too."
Because it was close to the Chinese New Year, the next day Sun Yuqi took Mu Jingran to An County to buy some local specialties before preparing to return to Beijing.
On the night of the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, Sun Yuqi and Mu Jingran boarded the train back to Beijing with Han Jianguo's farewell. On the morning of the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the train arrived at Beijing Railway Station, and it was Xiao Huang who came to pick up the three of them.
The Chinese New Year is coming soon. Gu Xueyuan got off the train with his package and looked at the Yushi Railway Station, which he had not been to for a year. There have been quite a few changes. The cities in the south have developed very fast in the past two years. For example, the small fishing village in the past. Looking at it now, who would have thought that it was just a small fishing village. It is no less than Beijing.
After walking out of the train station, he hailed a tricycle and headed towards the city government. Half an hour later, looking at the small courtyard in front of him, Gu Xueyuan did not shout for help, but pushed open the gate and walked in. After entering the house, he found that there was no one there. It seemed that his old father had not yet gotten off work. Gu Xueyuan dropped his luggage and went to his grandfather's room. There was no light in the room, so he turned on the switch by the door.
He saw Grandpa Gu Zhengshan lying on the bed with his back to the waist. A foul smell came from the room. Gu Xueyuan frowned. Grandpa was sleeping at the moment and seemed not to smell the stench. Gu Xueyuan hurriedly walked out of the room and took a few deep breaths. Then he frowned, held his breath and walked into the room. He lifted up Grandpa's bed. When he saw this, he almost vomited the overnight meal.
Gu Xueyuan glanced at his grandfather who was still sleeping. He felt a little sorry for him, but he was more gloating in his heart. When he was young, he looked down on his father. His eyes were full of his uncle's family and his third uncle's family. He didn't even see his own father and himself, his grandson. This made him doubt that his father was not his son. But facts speak louder than words. His father looked about 40% similar to his grandfather.
He had no share of any delicious food or fun things, and he and his grandmother would often make things difficult for his mother. Gu Xueyuan remembered all this very clearly, so when he knew where they were being sent down during those years, he just didn't go to see them. In the end, if his father hadn't asked him to go and see, Gu Xueyuan felt that he would never take the initiative to think of visiting them.
People's feelings are mutual. Taking care of grandpa is what my father must do, but there is no requirement for me to respect them as well, so he basically won't come back. I didn't expect that when I came back today, I could see grandpa in such a miserable state.
Gu Zhengshan also woke up at this time. Looking at his grandson standing in front of him, he felt complicated. This grandson born to the son he disliked back then is now the most promising one in the third generation of the Gu family, but he pushed this grandson away and was unwilling to get close to him.
Thinking of this, Gu Zhengshan smiled.
"Xueyuan is back. When did you get off the train? Get out of here quickly! Grandpa's room stinks. I don't want the fumes to get to you."
Gu Xueyuan glanced at Gu Zhengshan and said.
"Grandpa, do you regret what you did over the years?"
Gu Xueyuan's words made Gu Zhengshan stunned. After a long while, he smiled bitterly.
"Whether you regret it or not is actually not important anymore, right? I know that you and your father have been wronged over the years. It was Grandpa's fault, and now you are repaying me, aren't you?"
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