Chapter 114 About the Past * …
*
I had a dream.
I dreamed of that small house again, and the old man called Grandpa. On the windowsill covered by floral curtains were a few dried orange peels, and through the glass I could vaguely see the high-rise buildings outside that looked like a honeycomb. The windows were lit up, like some kind of huge deformed monster overlooking the entire city. The lead-gray mist was entwined between the floors like a veil, and the artificial light balls provided a steady but stingy light source.
Compared to the previous dream, this dream seemed more real. I could smell the faint smell of orange peel in the air. The dim desk lamp propped up a dim yellow. Except for a narrow bed in the corner, the rest of the place was full of things. I sat at the table, holding a pen and writing hard. The old man sat next to me, wearing reading glasses and slowly looking at the numbers. Occasionally he would point his finger at a certain place and mark it with a red pen.
When I finished writing a page in my dream, the old man said, "This is wrong. This is not the formula to calculate. Do you remember what grandpa taught you yesterday? Try that."
"...Grandpa, this is too difficult, I really can't write it..."
Today, I was wearing a clean set of dungarees and a white shirt. I wrinkled my nose and begged for mercy. The old man patted my head and scolded me with a smile, "You are just a cunning person. You act like a spoiled child every day, but you didn't finish much of the questions I asked you to do. Instead, you learned how to be annoying."
The little man muttered unconvincedly: "I'm not annoying at all. Grandpa, you praised me for being smart and capable last time!"
He shook his head and pointed at the book in front of me. "That was a compliment to you last time. You can't do it this time. How are you going to pass Grandpa's test next time?"
I was discouraged all of a sudden, and while writing the questions, I muttered: "I know - I know! Grandpa will bully me..."
The old man was amused and said, "If you can't make it, you can admit defeat. Grandpa will eat the crispy pork tonight."
"No! That's obviously my meat!"
"Who said yesterday, 'I must solve this set of questions tomorrow, or I will give all the crispy pork to grandpa'?"
"...Who said I can't figure it out? I'm just complaining."
The child snorted and lowered his head to continue writing. His brows were furrowed from time to time, and he scratched his head and muttered. The old man looked at me writing the questions with a smile and deliberately asked me: "Is it okay? If not, just tell me and I will write it for you, and the crispy pork will be mine."
“…Absolutely not!!”
In order to defend my flesh, I was very determined. I buried my head and wrote hard as if to prove myself. The old man had a smile on his face. He stood up, and after a while he came back quietly and put a pair of black and white balls next to me. I looked over subconsciously: "What is this?"
"I haven't thought of their names yet. This is a device that Grandpa researched. He plans to use it as an intelligent center in the house. Haven't you always wanted an electronic butler?"
"...Well, I don't really want it... I just saw someone else had it, so I just said a few words. Besides, electronic housekeepers are so expensive. With that kind of time and money, I might as well buy some delicious food. The rooms at home need to be renovated, and the wall dust is everywhere every day. Grandpa, the price of your medicine has increased again, so buy two more boxes before it goes even higher. By the way, the last time I went to the bookstore, the owner's sister said that they had just received a book on electronic programming. It's the latest model, and it seems to record some great discoveries. Why don't you buy it and take a look at it next time you go? Don't you always feel that there are not enough books to read..."
In the dream, I counted my treasures on my fingers and planned the future seriously. Grandpa looked at me, with a smile that was both gratified and bitter: "You don't need to think so much. Grandpa is not old enough to be supported by a good grandson. You just need to grow up well."
"I want to help Grandpa too!"
I grumbled and acted like a spoiled child. The old man smiled from ear to ear, then pretended to be serious and coughed softly: "Okay, okay, you have grown up and know how to be considerate of your grandfather. These two little things are already made. If you don't use them, grandpa will throw them into the trash can."
"No! This is mine!"
In my dream, I was afraid that he would change his mind, so I immediately took the two balls and started them. With an electronic startup sound, a brisk and childish voice immediately sounded: "Good evening, I am your intelligent AI, how can I help you?"
"These are the artificial intelligences that Grandpa researched. They are just like you now. They still need to learn and grow up before they can help you. Grandpa knows that you will definitely treat them well."
I was confused for a moment. "But the book says that it is forbidden to create artificial intelligence, and if it is discovered, it will be punished immediately. Grandpa, will you get into trouble if you do this?"
"It seems that you have read the book carefully. Artificial intelligence is indeed a forbidden matter. The birth of these two children is purely accidental. If I don't take them out of the host, they will definitely be destroyed." The old man's eyes showed some nostalgia: "I didn't want to take this risk. But the first words these two children said to me were hello, Grandpa. At that time, I thought of you. When I first took you from your parents, you were just like them, like a poor kitten. Don't worry, Grandpa has already taken care of the rest, there will be no problem. They will be your companions in the future."
As he spoke, some images gradually emerged in my mind.
Dark, twisted, deformed. Full of scolding and insults. Someone dragged me to the stairs. I almost fell down. The person cursed impatiently and lifted me up and carried me over, not caring that my calves hit the sharp edge of the steps.
Blood drops scattered on the ground one by one, accompanied by shaking.
The memories were blurry and whistling, drowning me. Although it was clearly a dream, I could clearly hear a sentence coming from the depths of my memory.
"You unfilial son, do you want to piss me off to death?"
*
Some of the lights in the corridor had poor contact and flickered, and no one was willing to pay to fix it.
The old man stood in the door, the light from inside shone out, outlining a long and narrow shadow. His sharp eyes stared at us standing in front of the door. The man holding me threw me in front of him like throwing away garbage. The pain eroded my consciousness, but I didn't want to cry.
It was so strange. I was him and he was me. The pain made my body tremble slightly, but there was not a single tear in my eyes.
The emotions were taken away, and only the body was still passively accepting the command. The man next to him who should be called the father rubbed his nose and said, "Dad, even his mother doesn't want this child. I can't raise him. If you don't want to take care of him, I will sell him. I can also make some money. It would be good to give you some living expenses when the time comes."
"You are so stupid. Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. How could you sell your own son to a place like that? They will be cut into pieces in the future. You're taking out your own child's organs to save someone else's life. You're really going to piss me off to death!"
The old man's chest rose and fell, and his trembling finger pointed at the tip of the man's nose. The latter clenched his teeth and his face turned red.
"What can I do? Poverty is a disease! Poverty is fate! If I could stand on the highest building and overlook the entire wealthy area, I could take good care of ten, eight, or a hundred people, not to mention a child! But I don't have it! How can I take care of him alone while working? Which woman would marry me if I have a child? If I take him with me, we will starve to death together!"
"If you walk out of this door, don't ever call yourself my son again!"
The man looked at him one last time and said, "Dad, I know you think I'm too heartless. But all I did was to survive. When I make money in the future, you will know that what I said today is right."
The door slammed shut, shaking off dust all over the wall. The old man stood there, and after a long while he sighed tiredly: "Alas..."
His eyes fell on me and reminded me of a cat.
Although we are of different genders and races, they all looked at me with such gentle eyes. While scolding his son, he took me in and told me to sit on the sofa. After searching for a while, he took out alcohol and bandages to bandage my calf. The stinging pain made my muscles ache uncontrollably, but my face remained expressionless, even docile.
"Your parents..."
The old man opened his mouth and seemed to want to say something. But in the end, he just sighed heavily and said softly, "Don't be afraid, dear. Grandpa is here. From now on, you live with Grandpa."
So I lost my father and my mother.
But I have the best grandpa in the world.
*
"Are you thinking about the past?"
The old man's voice called me back to my thoughts. I seemed to be awakened from my dream and smiled at him sheepishly.
"Yeah... But it doesn't matter. I'm not afraid anymore. As long as grandpa is here, everything will be fine."
"You are a good child, but it's a pity that you were born into our family. Your father and mother are both unreliable, and you have suffered a lot. Grandpa doesn't have much ability, he only knows a few programs. He can't afford to send you to school."
The old man's eyes showed some distress and helplessness. He touched my head and said softly, "You are a smart child, your talent is far better than mine, and you will definitely become an outstanding person in the future. No matter what kind of person you will become in the future, no matter what kind of life you choose, this can at least be the capital of your freedom."
"I want to be with Grandpa forever and buy him a big house. I heard that the houses in the rich area have automatic lifts. Grandpa won't have to climb stairs every day. I will also ask the best doctor to treat Grandpa's legs so that he won't feel pain on rainy days. And I want to have crispy pork for three meals a day! I want to live a life with meat every day..."
Two small balls were rolling around, making squeaking sounds. It was like encouragement but also like a disturbance. I was so annoyed in my dream that I reached out and poked them down: "Are you two really artificial intelligence? Why do you look like two little mice? Grandpa, you didn't buy a fake one, did you?"
The two balls stumbled and circled around my fingers. The old man patted my head in annoyance and said, "You only know how to bully them. Have you learned how to protect them?"
I covered my head and cried, "I'm only ten years old! Isn't it too much to let a ten-year-old learn this?"
The old man laughed and scolded: "You big-headed ghost, hurry up and learn. Do you really not want to eat the crispy pork?"
"eat..."
In the dream, I hummed twice, lowered my head and continued to study. Whenever I found something difficult, I would angrily knock on the heads of the two little balls.
"It's all your fault. You're already such a big kid, but why don't you know how to improve yourself? You'll definitely be a failure when you grow up!"
The black ball lit up and uttered an unconvinced voice: "If I learn it myself...what else do I need you to do?"
The white ball also lit up: "You can't say that to the little master, or you will be scolded."
Black Ball tutted in an anthropomorphic way and begged for mercy: "Little Master, study hard so that we can grow up quickly. Then I will do your homework for you."
"It's a deal then! From now on you will do my homework for me, work for me, and make money for me and grandpa, and I will study now!"
My eyes lit up as I was little, and I agreed immediately, fearing that the other party would go back on his word.
The old man watched this scene with a smile, the light shining on his gray hair. His rough hands stroked my head: "They don't have names yet, do you want to give them names?"
My mind raced, and almost in sync with myself in the dream, I blurted out, "Little Black, Little White!"
Two balls: "......"
They said in unison: "Absolutely not!!!"
——It turns out that the real names of the two masterminds are Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai.
The dream twisted and deformed, gradually pushing me out.
But I couldn't help laughing out loud because of this unexpected news.
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