Chapter 390 The poor can only bow their heads in the face of reality
The courtyard of the old and dilapidated house had half-collapsed walls and the bamboo and wooden kitchen had been washed away by the flood.
Although there wasn't much water in the yard, it was full of potholes and mud, making it impossible to step.
The old man sitting under the eaves of the main hall was wearing a patched gray shorts. His face was old and his hair was white. His wrinkles were full of sadness and vicissitudes of life, and he looked withered.
He sat there barefoot, staring blankly at this side, at the stranger who broke in, unable to calm down.
The young man who rushed in from outside was tall and handsome. His azure robe was wet and stuck to his body. His hair was a little messy because he walked too fast. However, even this disheveled look did not detract from his handsome temperament.
This is a temperament that can only be cultivated by a family that has no worries about food and clothing and lives in harmony with its family.
Two little girls followed closely behind the young man. One had a slender figure, a cold and beautiful appearance, while the other, with a calm gaze, could give off a strong sense of oppression, something only a wealthy family could have. The other was pretty, delicate, with clear eyes, and a naturally friendly aura. She was also a very good child.
There was also a young man in white shirt, so handsome that he could be included in a painting, and he looked very noble. When he walked in, the dilapidated courtyard seemed to be accused of being a disgrace to the distinguished guest.
The old man who walked in last complemented the messy courtyard perfectly...
The old man's cloudy eyes moved, and he stood up tremblingly. He subconsciously rubbed his hands on his trouser legs and opened his mouth to say something, but his throat had been suppressed by pain for too long and he could not make a sound. He could only squeeze out a hoarse sound.
After the old man cried out, he stared at the young man in front of him, and his eyes turned red.
There was a noise in the main room at the same time, and a white-haired old woman stumbled out, her dry and deformed hands clinging to the door frame to support herself. Tears welled up before she could say a word, "Child... what did you just shout?"
"Grandpa, grandma." Su An stared at the old couple, walked towards them with light steps, the corners of his eyes were red, and he choked up, "I am Xiao An, Su An. My mother is Liu Yuelan, and my father is Su Jiang. The Su family of Dahuai Village was exiled sixteen years ago... Do you still remember?"
The old woman's eyes gradually widened, the corners of her mouth twitched repeatedly, tears welled up in her eyes and fell down, she could no longer control herself and sobbed loudly, "Xiao An...you are Xiao An?! You are Da Jiang and Yue Lan's child...you are my grandson, my grandson Xiao An?"
Old man Liu's breathing became rapid and his eyes became redder. He stared at the young man who walked towards him. He raised his hand to touch his face, but his hand was frozen in mid-air and then he withdrew it.
His hands looked ugly from years of hard work, and he couldn't even remove the black marks from between his nails.
Don't embarrass the children.
Old man Liu forced a smile, tears streaming down his face, covering the wrinkles on his face. He nodded desperately, his voice dry and hoarse, "Xiao An, Xiao An, ah... Xiao An, is it really you? Good, me, grandpa, good!"
Su An bent down and hugged the old man who was a head shorter than him.
The old man was very thin, his clothes were thin, and the protruding shoulder blades on his back hurt his hands.
The sob that Old Man Liu had been suppressing in his throat could no longer be suppressed because of this hug and burst out of his mouth.
The dirty and muddy courtyard was filled with crying, releasing the grief and worry, concern and longing that had been buried deep in their hearts for many years.
Even if we haven't seen each other for many years, the bond has never been broken. Once we meet, the emotions are still strong and surging and flow naturally. This is kinship.
Tianbao stood at the back and watched the scene quietly, without moving forward. His thin back was straight, a little stiff, and there was an imperceptible sense of helplessness.
She knew these were her relatives too.
It’s just that her temperament can’t be as extroverted as her brother’s, and her inner fluctuations are not as strong as her brother’s.
Standing here, knowing that the other person was also her relative, she should have said something or done something, but she couldn't do it.
For a moment, she actually felt a little disgusted with herself.
During her brief moment of confusion, she felt a warmth on her shoulder and saw the young man in white shirt standing beside her.
He tilted his head and lowered his eyes, looking at her quietly without saying a word, but his eyes were soft, revealing tolerance and care.
He was silently telling her, "You are fine."
Tianbao raised his head slightly and looked into those eyes. The bitterness and self-loathing in his heart seemed to be washed away by the warm spring water, and his stiff back gradually relaxed.
A thin figure passed by, ran to the front and gave Su An a pot sticker, cursing, "You little bastard, you are crying here alone, and there is Tianbao! Why don't you bring her over to cry with you! What a brain!"
The sad atmosphere of the family reunion lingered and inexplicably changed.
The corners of Su An's mouth twitched twice, and then he covered his head with a pot sticker and immediately pulled his sister over. "Grandpa and grandma, this is Tianbao, my sister! Her name is Su Jiuni, you haven't met her yet. Tianbao, call someone."
Tian Bao opened his lips and said in a clear and soft voice, "Grandpa, Grandma."
When my family was exiled, the only relatives from outside the family who came to see us off were my eldest and second uncles. My grandparents did not come because of poor health.
Today was the first time she met the two old people, but she could find the shadow of her mother in them, so she felt close to them even though it was the first time she met them.
The two old men's eyes immediately focused on her face.
Then another round of crying began.
…
It was a moment later when I sat down in the main room.
The main room was not much cleaner than the outside. The floor had been soaked in water and every step left a mud mark.
When the old couple of the Liu family invited their children and guests to sit down, they looked embarrassed, reserved and uneasy, afraid of being disliked.
The stools they had available for people to sit on were all fished out of the water. After being soaked in water and dried in the shade, there was still dry mud stuck in the cracks of the stools that had not been brushed off.
They don't think it's a big deal to sit on it themselves, but they feel it's dirty when they give it to their grandchildren to sit on.
Fortunately, the three guests who came with them were also very carefree. They pulled stools from the wall and sat down without any disgust.
Old Lady Liu ran around the house, trying to get some food and drinks for the children and the guests, but she finally found that the only thing she could get was a pot of cold water.
"Grandma, don't be in a hurry. Sit down and let's talk. Tianbao and I heard about the flood in Yuzhou and were worried about you. We rushed all the way here. Fortunately, we found you are safe." Su An pulled the old woman to sit next to him and looked around. "Why don't I see my uncles? Are they... okay too?"
Old Man Liu nodded quickly. He was relieved that the child remembered his maternal family. "They are all fine. No one at home is unharmed. Your eldest and second uncles have gone to the town to collect relief food. They won't be back until the afternoon."
After a pause, the old man's eyes welled up again. "Ever since you went to exile, we have always been thinking about you. Three years ago, the emperor issued a general amnesty. At that time, our family was very excited. We waited and hoped that you would come back, but in the end, we waited for half a year and there was no news...
Later, unable to bear it any longer, worried that something might have happened to you over there, your eldest and second uncles took the money they had saved from their odd jobs, added some grain from selling our family, and together with their younger brother Daxiang, the three of them rushed to the border town of Yongzhou to look for you."
Hearing this, Su An and Tian Bao were both surprised, "He went to the border town to find us?"
They have no idea at all.
Old Lady Su smiled bitterly. "We went there, arrived at the border town, and never expected we couldn't even get into the place where you were exiled. The guards at the city gate said the exile area was under martial law, and no strangers were allowed to enter or leave at will. You three uncles spent two days there, but in the end, with no solution, we had to give up and return home."
The old woman didn't say that poor families didn't save much money over the years. In order to save money, the eldest and second uncles of the Liu family and the youngest brother-in-law of the He family, three grown men, lived frugally along the way and walked to the border town on foot. Their worn-out straw sandals could fill a backpack.
When they arrived at the border town, they had very little money left. They didn't tell their families how they got back or how much hardship they endured on the way. It took them nearly half a year to go back and forth, and when they saw each other for the first time, they were all so thin that they were unrecognizable.
My family almost didn't recognize me.
That was the only time that their two families' relatives went to Yongzhou, and they never went there again.
I can't afford to go.
When faced with reality, the poor can only bow their heads.
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