Chapter 339 The Orphanage's Lies: The Handsome Flower Boy 39
The old man was thin and frail, with graying hair and a deeply lined face. He looked like an old farmer, and quite dignified.
He was like a piece of dried-out cured meat that had been stored away for years.
Who is it? Who's here?
Surrounded by the children, Shen Dashan walked to the door. His somewhat cloudy eyes looked over, and at first he didn't think much of it.
When his gaze fell on Shen Ci's face, he suddenly froze.
His eyes were fixed on Shen Ci, and his heart inexplicably began to panic, beating very fast. As people get older, their hearts can't withstand such beatings.
His lips began to tremble uncontrollably, and his weathered eyes were filled with disbelief and excitement.
He took bigger steps and walked out of the courtyard in just a few steps. He walked too fast and his foot slipped. He staggered out of the courtyard and ran close to Shen Ci.
My hands trembled as I slowly reached forward, wanting to touch but not daring to.
Even if you haven't seen someone for half your life, a single glance can evoke all your memories.
That name, that title, had been hidden in my heart for over a decade, only occasionally uttered unintentionally in my dreams.
Shen Dashan spoke with a strong local accent, and his voice was choked with emotion.
"You, you're Aci?! Are you our Xiaoni?!"
The voice was familiar and trembled, and Shen Ci's heart felt like it had been struck. All the emotions that the original owner had left behind were transferred to her.
At that moment, her eyes welled up with tears, and Shen Ci nodded vigorously, feeling an indescribable sadness and grievance in her heart.
"Dad! It's me! It's Aci! I'm back!"
"Aci! It really is my Aci!"
Old man Shen Dashan could no longer hold back his tears. He grabbed his daughter's hand and held it tightly as if he were afraid she would disappear again.
His hands were very rough, with marks piled up as deep as a city wall.
"It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back! Oh dear!"
"Quick, come inside and see your mother! Your mother...she misses you terribly!"
Shen Dashan was so excited that he couldn't speak clearly, and kept talking incoherently, not noticing Lu Jinnian standing to the side.
Shen Ci helped Shen Dashan into the house, and Lu Jinnian followed silently behind. The further he walked into the courtyard, the more he could find those vague fragments of his memory.
This is the home he used to live in.
The room was dimly lit, and the furnishings were very simple, but it was very clean.
Upon entering the room, a portrait of a great man was pasted on the wall directly opposite the door, its four corners already faded.
Below is an eight-immortal table, its original color no longer discernible, and next to it are several bamboo chairs, worn smooth.
The farm tools were piled up in the corner, and everything looked very old. It seemed that the Shen family lived a very poor and simple life and were not wealthy. There was nothing of value in their home.
After entering the room, there was a person lying on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Upon seeing that figure, Shen Ci felt a pang in her heart; it was the original owner's mother.
Mother Shen looked much older than she remembered. Her hair was all white, her cheeks were sunken, and her eyes were vacant. She just stared blankly at the roof beam.
He was covered with a thin blanket, and the weather was already quite cold. The thin blanket was also covered with patches.
Stepping into the room, the smell of medicine became even stronger.
"Old woman! Old woman, look! Who's back! It's our little girl! Our little girl is back!"
Shen Dashan rushed to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), his voice trembling as he spoke. Though he was trying to express his joy, he didn't know why he felt like crying as soon as he said it.
When Shen's mother heard this, she didn't react much. Slowly, mechanically, she turned her head away, not believing it to be true.
Her gaze was unfocused, slowly settling on the stranger by the kang (a heated brick bed), her face blank.
But after a moment of confusion, as she looked at it, she felt it became more and more familiar, searching for familiar traces on that young face.
Finally, she remembered!
The child she longed for day and night, the little girl she dreamed of! Although she looked very different from the one standing in front of her, she knew this was it!
A new light shone in her parched eyes, and tears welled up before they could even fully escape.
Her vision was blurred by tears, and Chen's mother hurriedly rubbed her eyes with her hands to make sure she could see clearly.
"Ah, Aci? Is it my Aci?"
She struggled to sit up, but she was too weak and could only use her arms to support herself on the kang (a heated brick bed) to get closer.
"Mom! It's me! Your unfilial daughter, Aci, is back!"
Shen Ci rushed to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), tightly grasped her mother's withered and thin hand, and tears streamed down her face.
She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't control her emotions at all, just like the original owner of this body really wanted to kneel down to her parents.
The mother and daughter embraced and wept bitterly. Several children of all ages stood at the door, peeking timidly into the house but not daring to come in.
Shen Dashan wiped away his tears as he explained in a choked voice.
“You left and disappeared without a trace. Your mother cried and talked about it every day. She couldn’t believe that you were so heartless as to abandon this family.”
Despite her illness, she walked step by step to the county town to find you. She asked around and once, when the road was slippery due to rain, she fell and her walking became even more difficult afterward.
I've been on medication all these years, but this mental illness is so hard to cure!
She's been thinking about you so much, she's lost all her energy!
Shen's mother became like this because she wanted to find her daughter who had never returned home, and she was tormented by longing and illness to the point of being unrecognizable.
Shen Ci felt both guilty and heartbroken, and she hugged her mother.
"Mom, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm back, but I'm too late."
Shen's mother and father looked like two honest, simple farmers, but the expressions and emotions on their faces were so heartbreaking to see.
Mother Shen was speechless, she just hugged Shen Ci tightly, holding her daughter whom she had lost and found again. She should have found her daughter ten years ago.
More than a decade of worry, longing, grievances, and despair has left her an empty shell.
Bamboo can survive even when it's hollow, but how can a person survive if they're hollow?
Rough hands rubbed his eyes incessantly, turning them red.
No one paid any attention to Lu Jinnian; he was left standing aside, but he was equally moved.
He thought he could probably understand why his grandparents saw his mother, just like he had seen her before, and even more like when his mother found him.
A mother thinks of her child; a mother thinks of her child.
They have been searching for their children for decades, and the mother has found both her child and her maternal grandmother's child.
If family affection has a temperature, it must be burning hot. Lu Jinnian felt a surge of warmth flowing into his heart, which had been cold for many years.
It turns out that the beginning of his life was also full of warmth and happiness; it was a real home.
That's what makes a family.
When her daughter, who had been away from home for more than ten years, suddenly returned, immense joy surged through Shen's mother like a surge of energy.
Her withered body and soul were revived.
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