Watching her three sons depart by train at the station, Liu Ting returned to her eldest son's courtyard in a daze. Her heart felt empty; she couldn't understand why all the sons she had raised were like this.
Shouldn't she have given birth to them? Or did she owe them something in her past life, and they're here to collect their debt in this one?
The young girl suggested she go to Northeast China, and she was tempted. Leaving was fine; she could go find her old man, which was her only wish to keep living. She wanted to see if her husband was really still alive, if he was really alright.
He left so suddenly, without any belongings. How is he supposed to survive over there? Living in a cowshed? What kind of life is that? I can only imagine.
She had nothing in the house. Liu Ting's clothes were tattered and torn. She went inside and found two sets of clothes belonging to her eldest daughter-in-law, but they were too loose to wear.
Liu Ting folded up her tattered clothes and prepared to take them to Northeast China. Life there was hard; she could find some scraps to mend them and make it last another two years.
While folding clothes, Liu Ting touched a thick, hard lump. She reached inside and pulled out a stack of ten-yuan notes. Tears streamed down Liu Ting's face.
This must have been given by that child... that child... Liu Ting sighed. She was still just a child. She hoped they would have a chance to meet again. If she lived to see the light of day, she would definitely repay her.
The train was quiet; no one paid any attention to the elderly woman, who was thin, bony, and had a sallow complexion, and wore ill-fitting clothes. After changing trains, Liu Ting arrived at her destination safely.
Carrying a small bundle, Liu Ting looked at the snow-covered landscape with a blank expression after exiting the station. Where should she go to find the old man?
After receiving Tang Yue's call, Tang Jianye began preparations, secretly admiring her abilities. He thought to himself, "This little Yueyue is amazing! She managed to find Old Ke's wife and even brought her to Northeast China." He was quite impressed.
He stood outside the train station for a long time. Everyone who had gotten off the train had left, but he still hadn't seen the old woman. Tang Jianye started to panic. Had something happened to her?
Seeing that the train attendant had already started tidying up and the doors would be closing soon, he immediately went over and asked, "Hello comrade, has everyone disembarked?"
The train conductor looked at him and said, "They've all left long ago. The train has already been checked; there's no one left."
"How is that possible?"
The train conductor gave him a disapproving look. If it weren't for his military uniform, the conductor would have definitely given him a good talking-to. "Hurry up and go look for him, he must have already gone out."
Tang Jianye didn't delay any longer and quickly ran outside. As soon as he exited the train station, he saw an elderly woman standing in the cold wind, wearing ill-fitting clothes. Tang Jianye ran over, "Hello, are you Grandma Liu Ting?"
Liu Ting recognized the young man in the green military uniform before her, and her eyes gradually regained their light. "Hello, I am. And you are?"
Tang Jianye smiled, revealing a set of bright white teeth. "Hello, Grandma Liu, I'm Tang Jianye. Xiao Yueyue asked me to come and pick you up."
"Oh, right, Yueyue mentioned you to me. Thank you for your help, young man."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all, Grandma, don't be so polite. The car's parked up ahead, shall I help you with your things?"
Liu Ting shook her head, "No need, it's just this little bag, I can manage by myself."
"Alright! Let's go then."
Once in the car, she said, "Grandma Liu, you can rest for a while. It will take two hours to get there."
Liu Ting was delighted. She tentatively asked, "Young man, have you met my old man before?"
Tang Jianye nodded as he drove, "Of course I've seen him before."
"Then, how is he?" Liu Ting asked anxiously, gripping the back of the seat and staring intently at Tang Jianye's back. Tang Jianye looked straight ahead and replied, "Grandma Liu, don't worry, Old Ke is doing well."
But this is all thanks to Xiao Yueyue.
Tang Jianye knew that the old lady wanted to know about Old Ke's situation, but he still had to remind them of what Tang Yue had done for them.
"I still remember the first time I went to the cowshed. At that time, Old Ke had broken his leg and couldn't get off the wooden bed covered with two layers of tattered cloth. Old Xu, who lived with Old Ke, had twisted his waist and couldn't move either."
In the dead of winter, with the Lunar New Year fast approaching, the two elderly people lived in a drafty cowshed, where the temperature inside was almost the same as outside. If it weren't for me and Xiaoyueyue going there that night, Old Ke and Old Xu would have been waiting to die.
Liu Ting couldn't hold back her tears any longer and covered her mouth with one hand. She knew the old man must be having a hard time, but she never imagined it would be this difficult.
After calming herself down, Liu Ting continued, "And then what? What happened next?"
Tang Jianye smiled, "The parents of Xiaoyueyue's friend live next door. You'll meet them when we get there. Their name is Lai Xiang. Lai Xiang came here to take care of her parents."
Xiaoyueyue was in Northeast China on business and happened to know that Lai Xiang was here, so she asked me to take her to see her. And that's how she met everyone!
"Little Yueyue took a lot of things over there, covered both houses with thick oilcloth, and also collected a lot of firewood. There's plenty of rice, flour, and cooking oil to eat. Now, Old Ke and Old Xu, haha, they've both gained quite a bit of weight."
Don't worry, Yueyue even asked the brigade leader to look after them, and they're doing quite well now. They're hibernating right now, not having to do anything, and the two old men are living a very comfortable life."
Liu Ting's eyes and brows were full of smiles, and the corners of her mouth were constantly turned up. She didn't stop until she arrived at her destination.
When Tang Jianye came here again, the villagers were no longer unfamiliar with him. Even in the dead of winter, no children came out chasing after the car. Liu Ting arrived silently.
It was already late when they arrived; it gets dark early in Northeast China, and it was pitch black outside. Lai Xiang had just finished cooking dumplings and was about to take them to the cowshed when a car stopped in front of her house.
She hurried outside and saw Tang Jianye getting out of the car. "Tang Jianye, why are you here so late?"
Lai Xiang was surprised to see an elderly woman get out of the back seat. She walked over to her. Tang Jianye closed the car door and helped Liu Ting up. "It's too cold outside, let's go inside and talk."
"Oh!" Lai Xiang hurried ahead to open the door. As soon as she entered, a wave of warmth washed over her, and Liu Ting felt completely relaxed. This room was so warm!
Lai Xiang looked at Liu Ting with her big, watery eyes, and Liu Ting smiled. "You must be Lai Xiang? I've heard Xiao Yueyue mention you."
Lai Xiang was delighted. "Oh, you know Xiao Yueyue? That's great. Come on in and sit down."
Liu Ting calmly surveyed the house. It was quite large, with three rooms in total. The middle room had a doorway and a stove, typical of a house in Northeast China. She sat on the kang (heated brick bed), which was very warm. There was a mattress at the head of the kang. "Come on, warm yourself up on the kang. I'll bring you some dumplings."
As Lai Xiang spoke, she turned and came out, and Tang Jianye immediately followed.
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