Zhou Chaoyang was also unable to sleep. He had hardly had a good sleep in the past few days. After the funeral, he couldn't sleep at all while lying in bed, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes.
His eyes were swollen, his lips were cracked from not drinking enough water, and he had lost a lot of weight.
Mu Xiaowan felt distressed when she saw this. She was also very sad about Zhong Wenqing's death, but after experiencing her mother's tragic death in front of her and her father's tragic death in prison, her heart had become much harder, because no matter how sad she was, she had to try her best to live.
Lying quietly with Zhou Chaoyang: "Chaoyang, I don't know how to comfort you. When my mother passed away, I was too young. I didn't know what it meant to never see her again. I knew how to cry when I was sad, but the sadness didn't last long because I had to think about having enough to eat and how to avoid being beaten."
"There would be no time to be sad, so I envy you. Auntie has been with you for so many years and has been so good to you."
Zhou Chaoyang sniffed. "I used to think my mom was so strict. She didn't allow me to play crazy things with boys, and she didn't allow me to go out after 8pm. If I went swimming in the river, she would chase me for a long distance with a branch. It's hard for you to imagine someone as gentle as my mom chasing me with a branch, right?"
"I was naughty and often came back with injuries. My mother would apply medicine to me with red eyes and nag me. Afterwards, she would secretly cook an egg for me to make up for it. If the canteen improved the food and made sugar-coated buns, she would bring the sugar-coated buns back for me and my sister to eat."
"My dad was often not at home, so people bullied my mom for taking care of four kids. Those naughty kids who were older than us would stop us on the way and ask us for food and food coupons."
"Zhou Luming would cowardly ask us to give the food coupons to the other party, but my sister would just cry out of fear. My second brother and I were the only ones left. We would never give them up, and we fought hard with the other party. Since they had more people, we would definitely suffer. My second brother and I were beaten black and blue. When my mother found out, she took us to talk to the families one by one."
"At first, the other parent had a rude attitude, thinking it was just a fight between children and there was no need to take it so seriously. My mother disagreed and told them sternly, 'If you don't care and my child is bullied again, I will definitely use my own method to resolve the matter.'"
"Maybe it was because my mom was so firm at the time that the other parents softened their words and said they would go back and educate their children. After my mom came back, she used the only meat coupons in the family to exchange for meat and made meat dumplings for us. She gave the largest portion to my second brother and me. She also said that if anyone bullied us in the future, the older brother would be responsible for protecting the younger sister. She also said that if anyone bullied my sister and me, we should beat the person to death, and she would be responsible if someone died."
Zhou Chaoyang's voice choked up as he spoke: "My mother is really, really good."
Mu Xiaowan reached out and hugged Zhou Chaoyang, silently accompanying her with red eyes.
No matter how difficult it is, life must go on.
The next day, the sun will still rise as usual, and everyone will continue to be busy with what they should be doing.
It's just that the breakfast atmosphere is exceptionally quiet. It's not like usual, where Zhong Wenqing would smile and yell at the children to be careful not to get burned, yell at Sheng An Ning to wash her face and eat quickly, and remind her to be careful on the road before leaving.
Zhou Nanguang drank half a bowl of porridge, but couldn't swallow it anymore, so he got up and left the house, walking aimlessly.
Sheng Anning asked Zhou Shixun to go to work. She still had a few days of bereavement leave left, so he could stay at home to look after the children.
She also urged Mu Xiaowan to go to school, so she and Zhou Chaoyang could just stay at home.
After breakfast, when Zhou Shixun and Mu Xiaowan left, Sheng Anning watched the three children eat, washed their faces and coaxed them to play with building blocks in the house. She, Zhou Hongyun and Zhou Chaoyang packed up Zhong Wenqing's belongings together.
The things in the bedroom must have been packed up by Zhou Nanguang, and there are still some in the study and storeroom.
The clothes need to be packed up and burned at a certain time. Some of Zhong Wenqing's favorite books will also be burned together at that time.
Sheng An Ning collected all the books that Zhong Wenqing liked during his lifetime and put them in a cardboard box, then went to tidy up the top shelf of the bookcase, where there was a small mahogany box that looked quite old and was locked with an exquisite little lock.
Sheng Anning carefully took the box down and looked at Zhou Hongyun: "What's in this?"
Zhou Hongyun looked at it and exclaimed: "This is the dowry your mother intended to leave for Bei Qing. However, Bei Qing did a lot of things later, so this box was not given to her."
Sheng An Ning thought about it and decided that since it was left for Zhou Beiqing, she might as well give it to Zhou Nanguang later.
After packing up the things in the warehouse, Zhou Nanguang had not come back yet. Sheng Anning and Zhou Chaoyang had nothing to do, so they tidied up the yard and re-pasted the white couplets on the wall.
The main reason is that I don’t want to be idle, because if I’m idle it’s easy to be reminded of the past.
Zhou Shixun came back in the evening, but Zhou Nanguang had not returned yet.
Zhou Hongyun was a little puzzled: "Why did you go out for so long? I can't visit other people's homes now, so where can I go?"
Zhou Chaoyang was very worried: "Is something wrong with my dad? I'll go out and look for him."
Zhou Shixun naturally wouldn't let Zhou Chaoyang go out: "I'll go find him, you guys stay at home."
Zhou Chaoyang was worried: "I'll go with you, or we can separate and look for it faster."
Zhou Shixun shook his head: "I roughly know where it is. You guys stay at home. Dad and I will be back soon."
Zhou Chaoyang watched Zhou Shixun leave, then turned around and suddenly said to Sheng Anning: "I will never forgive Zhou Beiqing in my life!"
And there is Lin Tianyue!
After Zhou Shixun went out, he rode his bike directly to Futian Cemetery. Although it was June, the wind was still a little chilly at night. The cemetery was even more chilly because of the towering ancient trees.
There were no street lights and it was pitch black.
Zhou Shixun did not alarm the gatekeeper and simply climbed over the wall and walked towards Zhong Wenqing's tomb.
Just as he thought, Zhou Nanguang sat in front of Zhong Wenqing's tomb, like a stone statue, motionless.
There was a faint smell of alcohol in the air.
Next to Zhou Nanguang was an empty wine bottle and countless cigarette butts.
Zhou Shixun didn't say anything. He went over and sat down next to Zhou Nanguang. Neither of them spoke a word. They looked at the starry sky in the distance in the quiet night.
The sky is full of stars, some of which are extremely bright, twinkling.
He remembered Sheng Anning saying that in the later world, it would be difficult to see such bright stars, let alone a starry sky like the Milky Way.
I also remember Sheng An Ning saying that if a person dies, he will turn into stars to protect his family.
He knew that these were all lies, but at this moment he wanted to use such childish words to comfort Zhou Nanguang, but before he could open his mouth, Zhou Nanguang spoke first: "I won't be depressed. Your mother still has many wishes that have not been fulfilled. Her biggest wish is to watch the three children grow up. She told me more than once that she felt guilty and regretful for missing your growth. I can only hope to accompany the three children to grow up well."
"Also, I think I know who asked Lin Tianyue to come to our house to make trouble."
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