Lin Yang felt a bitter taste in his mouth and couldn't speak. The topic of life and death spoken by a child made him feel extremely complicated.
He hugged Kang Le and said, "I promise you, if I'm going to die, I will tell you."
Kang Le's eyes lit up. "Really? But why didn't Grandpa tell me? Is it because I was sleeping too soundly and he couldn't wake me up, so I didn't know?"
Lin Yang felt that hearing such innocent words from a young child would always make an adult lose control of their tears.
Lin Yang didn't answer him, but instead extended his little finger, "I'll pinky swear with you. If I'm going to die, I'll wake you up and tell you."
Kang Le made a pinky promise with satisfaction, and added one last thing, "Grandpa must be too old to wake me up. Brother, you're so strong, you can definitely wake me up."
Lin Yang's tear ducts burst open in an instant, and his chest began to heave uncontrollably.
Now it was Kang Le who was at a loss. "Brother, why are you crying?"
Lin Yang tried to control his emotions, but perhaps due to the weakness after his illness, or perhaps due to the long-suppressed emotions that he had not been able to release, he hugged Kang Le and cried loudly for a long time.
Kang Le was also obediently held, and tried her best to reach Lin Yang's back with her short arms to pat him carefully.
After Lin Yang finished crying, he felt as if his body had suddenly become lighter, as if all the pent-up bad emotions had been washed away.
Lin Yang and Kang Le recounted their childhood memories. "My grandparents passed away. They were both very thin old men who only knew how to farm. My parents went to work in another city when I was as young as I can remember, and I lived with them. Back then, my grandparents were busy with housework, while I played with other children from the village. Every day, as dusk approached, we would run home, and from afar we could see smoke rising from the chimney and smell the aroma of food. We didn't eat meat often then; the pigs we raised wouldn't be ready until the end of the year. We only had sweet potatoes and vegetables from the fields, but even roasted sweet potatoes seemed tastier than the more expensive ones we have now. Later, my grandmother passed away first. She was hit by a motorcycle while going to the market, and by the time my grandfather found her, she was gone. Not long after, my grandfather also fell ill. Then, my parents took her to the city where they worked. I haven't been back to my village for a long time..."
"Brother, if you want to go back, you can go back and visit."
Lin Yang felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Yes, even a child understands this principle, how could he not understand it? If he wants to go back, he can go back. But where exactly does he want to go back to?
Lin Yang changed the subject, "Tell me about yourself."
Kang Le sat up straight and counted on her fingers, "My grandpa has a big belly and likes fishing and eating ice cream. Sometimes when I don't want to do my homework, I sneak off to go fishing with grandpa. He buys me kids' meals, fried chicken and fries. I love going fishing with grandpa the most. It's just that there are a lot of mosquitoes, and they keep biting me..."
Lin Yang discovered that while adults imagine children to be unable to accept life and death, in reality, children seem to be able to accept these things better than adults. They may cry and make a fuss, but they know that the dead cannot come back, just as he can never go back to his home in the countryside.
The two chatted on and on until dawn before finally going to sleep.
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