It has nothing to do with her
The old man raised his eyes and stared at him woodenly. Many dusty memories came back to life bit by bit. Tears filled his eyes and fell with a trembling voice, "My Huaiyue!"
"Dad." Zhou Huaiyue knelt on the ground, moved his knees in front of his father, and kowtowed three times in a row.
The father and son hugged each other and cried bitterly. In six years, his hair had turned white, and in six years, he had grown up. So much unspeakable longing, so much helpless worry, all turned into tears and wet his clothes.
The eyes of several children who were writing nearby also became red as they cried in grief. The son that the old man always talked about was a real, living person.
When the old man first came to the village, he ignored people and was always talking to himself. Everyone said that he had gone crazy because of the criticism and had a problem with his brain. So no one believed that he really had a son. They all thought he had made it up.
The older girl inside was sensible and quietly took the other children away. They must have had a lot to talk about after meeting again after such a long separation.
"Dad, why is your hair all white?" Zhou Huaiyue wiped away his tears and looked at his father. He was clearly less than fifty years old, but because of his hair, he looked like he was in his sixties.
"I was worried during the first year of being sent down to the countryside." To be more precise, he was scared.
Because the person who was sent down with him committed suicide and was hanged on the crooked tree at the entrance of the village. But the night before, the man was still encouraging him, asking him to hold on, saying that there would be a day when he would be vindicated.
But the next day, the man who encouraged him gave up and ended his own life. When Zhou Chuzhuo saw the corpse, he felt that he had lost hope and would never see his wife and children again. The man's words were all lies, lies that he himself did not believe.
Zhou Chuzhuo's rough hands combed his white hair, then held his son's hand tightly, his eyes full of concern, "Zhenhua, is she okay? Back then..."
"I later found out everything that happened. My mother is fine and is still doing research. She has not remarried in all these years and is still waiting for you to come home."
Zhou Chuzhuo's tears fell on the back of his hand, and flowed through the gaps between his fingers to the palm of Zhou Huaiyue's hand, burning his skin and tearing a long hole in his memories.
His parents were once the golden couple of a famous university. His mother, Chen Zhenhua, was from a family of famous doctors and studied genetic biology; his father, Zhou Chuzhuo, was from a family of calligraphers and painters and was one of the first painters hired by the Yunjian School.
The two fell in love and got married. They lived in harmony after marriage and had a child, named Huaiyue, which was taken from the poem "Looking at the Moon and Thinking of the Distance" by Zhang Jiuling of the Tang Dynasty: The bright moon rises over the sea, and we share this moment across the world.
The family was happy and everyone envied them. But when Huaiyue was sixteen, Zhou Chuzhuo was labeled a villain because of a painting of ballet shoes. He was paraded through the streets and criticized and tried every day. Fearing that his wife and children would be implicated, Zhou Chuzhuo unilaterally announced his divorce in the newspaper. The following year, he was sent to Tianshui for reform, and was released again and again until there was no news of him at all.
The bad guys sowed discord, saying that Zhou Chuzhuo's divorce announcement was forced by his mother, which created a rift between mother and son.
The painting was originally a birthday gift from his father to his mother, because Chen Zhenhua, who had studied abroad, liked to watch ballet. In order not to implicate his wife, Zhou Chuzhuo beat Huaiyue for the first time, fearing that his young and hot-tempered son would tell the truth to save him.
Zhou Chuzhuo, who was demoted, did not know that his son, in order to save his father, knelt down in front of the city government and made a complaint, and was also labeled a villain and sentenced to five years in prison. After being imprisoned for two years, his mother found ways to rescue him and he followed the educated youth to the countryside.
After being released from prison, Zhou Huaiyue changed his name because his cellmate who liked to smoke said that the second line of the ancient poem that gave him his name, "Lovers complain about the long nights, and yearn for their lover all night long," had a bad meaning, implying the separation of loved ones.
From then on, he was no longer Zhou Huaiyue, but Zhou Huaiyue.
"Dad, how did you get here?" After being released from prison, he asked many people to inquire about his father's whereabouts, but unfortunately there was no result.
"It was my friends who saved me, otherwise I would have died long ago." Zhou Chuzhuo, who was sent down to Tianshui, rolled down a mountain during a labor movement. He did not die but suffered a spinal fracture. The supervisors at the time refused to allow him to return to the city for medical treatment, resulting in Zhou Chuzhuo being unable to stand up straight for a long time.
It was at that time that Lu Qinglan appeared and risked his life to save him from danger. He first sent the sick Zhou Chuzhuo to Lindu for treatment, and after he recovered, he was sent to Nanshan Village to live and changed his name to Xiao Ke.
In the following four years, Zhou Chuzhuo lived under the name of Xiao Ke. The people here were simple and honest, far away from the city, and it was a good place to take refuge.
"This is my paradise. Although life is poor, my heart is peaceful. How did Qinglan find you?" Zhou Chuzhuo raised his hand and stroked his son's hair, feeling satisfied and at ease. He never thought that he could really wait for this day.
"Because of a painting, there was a seal you gave me on its signature. Uncle Lu recognized it as your private seal. So he found me and told me your news." After knowing his father's whereabouts, Zhou Huaiyue set off immediately.
"Uncle Lu said that the work of redressing unjust, false and wrong cases has been fully launched. Your redress materials have been submitted, and the results will be out in January at the latest. Once the results come out, we can return to the capital, reunite with our mother and celebrate the New Year together."
Zhou Chuzhuo's eyes welled up with tears again when he heard the words "reunion" and "Chinese New Year". He had been worried until he was old, but finally the reunion came. The Chinese New Year with his family was really coming.
"Is Qinglan okay?" Lu Qinglan has no wife or children and is alone. With his fearlessness, he made great military achievements and embarked on a career in politics.
"Uncle Lu is very good. This letter is from him to you." Zhou Huaiyue took out the letter from his backpack and took out the photo at the same time.
photo?
Five days ago, in the mayor's office of Xiaonanchuan City.
When Zhou Huaiyue was brought in by Secretary Wu, there was no one inside. On the wall behind the desk was a large portrait of the leader, below which was a half-high filing cabinet, on top of which was an unfolded freehand painting.
What is that painting?
The painting that Shen Roujiao wants to take away?
There is a title on the painting, , signed by Huaiyue?
Who is it? Impersonating his name.
"Did you draw this picture? Huaiyue?" Someone pushed the door open from behind.
Zhou Huaiyue turned around and saw the soldier's resolute face. His strong square features seemed to have been carved by the years. His eyes were firm and deep, his brows were slightly furrowed, and he looked at him with doubt.
"Hello, Mayor!" Secretary Wu stood at attention and saluted. Only after seeing Lu Qinglan nod did he walk out of the office.
"Mayor? How did you get this painting?" Zhou Huaiyue didn't expect to be sent here after leaving the County Public Security Bureau.
Why?
Is it because of this painting?
Is this another trumped-up charge?
Is history going to repeat itself?
Lu Qinglan did not answer. He walked to the low cabinet between the two windows, took out a teacup from a row, opened the lid and filled it with water, then placed it on the two tea tables covered with blue fabric sofas opposite him. After sitting down on one of the sofas, he motioned Zhou Huaiyue to sit next to him.
Seeing that he was standing still, Lu Qinglan said slowly, "It's good that it wasn't drawn by you. It was drawn by a female student from the county high school."
Zhou Huaiyue's heart suddenly tightened, and worry and fear immediately hit him like an avalanche. The fear continued to grow, and his heartbeat accelerated, as if it was about to break through the restraints in his chest.
All the information pointed to Shen Roujiao. Looking at it again, the words were very similar to "How to use my life". So, she asked him to write the title, but was rejected. Did Shen Roujiao write it herself? The signature was Huai Yue.
She had no idea that Zhou Huaiyue's signature was "Huai Yue".
"I drew it. It has nothing to do with anyone else." He couldn't implicate Shen Roujiao. Whether she wrote it or not, it had nothing to do with her.
When he was questioned about his father Zhou Chuzhuo at the county public security bureau, he knew it had nothing to do with digging for medicinal herbs. Now that he saw this painting, he was even more certain that it was because of himself.
"Really? What about that female student who said that you drew the picture and she wrote the words?" Lu Qinglan picked up the cup and took a sip of water, his eyes sweeping across Zhou Huaiyue's increasingly pale face.
"I painted the picture and wrote the words. She is talking nonsense. I will never let anyone write on my painting." He looked at the mayor with an unusually firm look, trying to convince him that what he said was true.
Unexpectedly, Lu Qinglan burst into laughter the next second, "Why do I remember that your father often complained about your terrible handwriting? He wanted to beat you but couldn't bear to do it."
?
The sudden mention of his father, the sudden talk about childhood, and the sudden change in attitude completely stunned Zhou Huaiyue.
What does it mean?
What is going on?
"Please sit down. I am your father's friend. I have a general idea of what happened to your father, but I never thought that his son would be in our county." Lu Qinglan slowly put away the smile on his face and returned to his previous stern and majestic expression.
"You, are you really my father's friend?" Zhou Huaiyue didn't believe it, because he had never seen this person, nor had he heard of such a friend from his father.
"I know you won't believe it." Lu Qinglan stood up, walked to the desk, opened the drawer on the far right, took out a stack of documents, and then took out a 5-inch black-and-white photo from the materials at the bottom.
Lu Qinglan walked up to Zhou Huaiyue and handed it to him, "Here, take a look!"
The photo was a group photo of Lu Qinglan and his father Zhou Chuzhuo. At first glance, Zhou Huaiyue couldn't believe that it was really his father. He had white hair and looked much older, but the talent between his eyebrows was still there, and the arrogance of a scholar was still there.
He couldn't control his tears, they fell one by one onto the photo, frightening him so much that he hurriedly wiped them away with his sleeve. There was his father, who had disappeared for six years, and whose life or death was unknown.
Great, he's still alive.
Just be alive.
Both of them are wearing Zhongshan suits, the background is a hospital, and there is a date in the lower left corner: May 3, 1974.
Five years ago!
"Uncle, have you seen my dad? Where is he? Is he okay?" Zhou Huaiyue held back his tears and suddenly grabbed Lu Qinglan's hand.
"He's fine! He's finally getting through it. Huaiyue, do you want to go find your father?" Lu Qinglan saw a light suddenly appear in his eyes, burning like a flame.
Zhou Huaiyue knelt down at Lu Qinglan's feet with a thud, his voice trembling uncontrollably, "Uncle, I want you, even in my dreams!"
Then there was suppressed crying. He tried his best to restrain his emotions that were about to get out of control. The crying turned into intermittent sobs in his throat, which was heartbreaking to hear.