"What do you want to do with Yang Shuqin?"
By this time, Grandpa already knew about the relationship between Grandma and Teacher Yu, and that Grandpa had passed away many years ago, so she said calmly, "My elders asked me to come over to see her."
Tian Xuefeng was even more confused after hearing this. His family had no relatives outside the city. "Yang Shuqin is my mother. Who are your elders?"
"An elder in my family used to be a neighbor of Comrade Yang. She took a lot of care of him back then. Even after he moved away, he still remembered Comrade Yang's kindness, so that's why I came to see her."
Tian Xuefeng looked at her suspiciously. How could he not know that his mother had some neighbors who had moved away? Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly remembered the gossip in the village and changed his words, "What's the name of your elder?"
Tian Cai guessed it from seeing him like that, so he simply said, "My elder's surname is Yu."
Tian Xuefeng frowned and said nothing.
His feelings towards this person were quite complicated. When he was a child, his parents had a good relationship, especially his father. Although he was not extremely caring towards his mother, at least he was considerate of her. He didn't know when his father changed. He became taciturn and his attitude towards mother and son became increasingly cold.
He was still young at that time and didn't understand why, so he ran to ask his mother, but his mother just hugged him and cried. After a few times, he stopped asking.
He remembered that when he was a child, the villagers who were chatting under the big banyan tree at the village entrance often pointed at his mother and whispered to each other. Every time this happened, his mother wanted to take him on a detour home.
As he grew older, he finally figured out what was going on from the gossip in the village. At that time, his father had been indifferent for many years and was secretly having an affair with a widow in the village. One time, he saw his father go out in the middle of the night, and for some reason he followed him. After knowing this, he pretended not to know, for fear that his mother would find out and be even more sad.
Sometimes, lying in bed at night, Tian Xuefeng couldn't help but wonder: if his father hadn't married his mother, would he have been born? Where would he have been reborn? If his mother was still his mother, who would his biological father be? Could it be the man who was said to have joined the People's Liberation Army?
If that PLA soldier became his father, would he ignore him?
When he was fifteen, his father died unexpectedly, leaving only his mother and him at home. He officially took on the responsibility of supporting the family and had less time to think about other things.
Tian Xuefeng bent down, tied the last bundle of firewood with a rope, lifted it up with all his strength and put it on his back, then walked home with his head down.
Seeing that he ignored him, Tian Cai followed him with a shameless face, thinking that since you can't chase me away anyway, I will just follow you.
When they were about to enter the village, Tian Xuefeng stopped, looked back at Tian Cai without saying a word.
Tian Cai smiled ingratiatingly.
Tian Xuefeng turned around with a cold face and continued walking. After a while, he heard a voice saying "Follow me".
Tian Cai hurriedly followed happily.
My great-grandmother's house is just a little further inside the village. I still remember the approximate location of Tian Cai. Now when I see the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village, it feels very familiar.
A clear thought flashed through my mind: there should be three long benches under the big banyan tree, and there should be two worm-eaten holes on the surface of the bench in the middle, side by side like two eyes.
She walked around and took a closer look, and found that it was really there!
She couldn't explain why she could still remember things from more than 20 years ago. She could only attribute it to the dew transforming her body and making her memory better.
Could it be that these stools were still there after more than 20 years? Tian Cai was very skeptical, seeing how worn they were now. Otherwise, how would she know?
Tian Xuefeng glanced back and saw that the girl had run to hang out under the big banyan tree. He was speechless. When he saw that she was about to look up, he quickly turned back and continued walking home as if nothing had happened.
After entering the village, Tian Cai was able to find the location of her home. She couldn't help but look around, and the memories that had been buried deep in her memory and had become blurred became clear again.
Seeing that Grandpa Tian was about to turn, she hurriedly jogged a few steps to catch up with him and walked into the Tian family's house.
"Mom, I'm back." Tian Xuefeng shouted into the house and went straight to the backyard to put firewood.
Tian Cai stood in the yard and looked around. She found that the current Tian family was completely different from what she remembered. The yard was as big as before, but the house was completely different. It was made of yellow mud mixed with straw. It was low and cramped, with small windows. Like Tian Cai's own house, it had no glass and was covered with rough paper.
There are three main rooms. The left and right sides look like bedrooms, and the middle one is the living room. Judging from the direction where Grandpa Tian stores firewood, the kitchen should be built at the back.
This yard, like most of the others in the village, has no walls. Instead, it is served as a fence. Thin, long branches stand in a row, with two wooden bars sandwiched in the middle. It is supported in such a simple way that one can clearly see what is happening in anyone's yard.
Tian Cai was watching intently when he heard two quick coughs coming from the room. He couldn't help but quickly stepped forward and lifted the curtain.
In the dim room, a thin old woman with gray hair was leaning on the kang. She was wearing a gray dress with patches on the elbows and the front.
The old lady had just spat into the spittoon when she heard the sound of the door curtain being lifted. She thought it was her son, but when she looked up, she saw a white-skinned girl she didn't know standing at the door. She tried to stop coughing and asked as clearly as possible, her voice still slightly hoarse, "Girl, who are you looking for?"
Tian Cai felt inexplicably sad when he saw his great-grandmother who only lived in his grandfather's mouth. She was obviously less than fifty years old, but why did she look so old? He didn't know if it was because she was too thin, but not only was her face full of wrinkles, but most of her hair was already white.
Tian Cai's eyes were red and he was choking and unable to speak.
The old lady waited for a long time but the girl didn't speak. In the dim room, she couldn't see the expression on Tian Cai's face as she stood at the door. She just smiled and said kindly, "Are you an educated youth from the village? Are you here to exchange something? My son is out. You can go to him if you need to exchange anything."
Before Tian Cai could say anything, Grandpa Tian came in. She was pushed aside and met the gaze of her great-grandmother.
Tian Xuefeng glanced at Tian Cai quickly and said, "Mom, she was just passing by and came to our house to ask for a bowl of water."
"Oh, so that's the case. Then go and get her some water. Remember to use the bowl outside!" The old lady instructed her son to pour water for the girl. She couldn't help but look at the girl several times. She felt that she looked inexplicably familiar.
What Tian Cai was about to say was glared back at by Grandpa Tian, so he had no choice but to follow his meaning and said, "Thank you, Auntie!"
While Grandpa Tian was pouring water and not paying attention to her, she naturally came over and said with a smile, "Auntie, you are coughing. What's wrong? Have you seen a doctor?"
Tian Cai didn't expect that when the grandmother saw her coming, she quickly stepped back, covering her mouth with her hands, and said in a vague voice, "Miss, please stay away from me. I have an infectious disease. Go to the door quickly."
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