When winter comes, Lao Tong becomes even more powerless and spends almost all his time lying on the bed. When Tong Tong comes, he feeds his adoptive father and wipes his body. People in the same ward envy Lao Tong. This son is so filial and has not been raised in vain.

Lao Tong could only smile hard without giving any explanation. After returning from the hotel that day, Tong Tong bought a can of beer and drank it at the entrance of the hospital before entering the ward. Lao Tong was in a bad mood and asked him why he was drinking. Tong Tong wiped his face and said lightly: "I'm a little tired, drink and relax."

"If you want to drink alcohol to relieve fatigue, it must be in the evening of the summer. Go to the beach to eat a food stall. The best dish is tin plate squid. Chewing the squid beard and just a bottle of Hong Kongcheng wine, which makes you feel like drinking."

As he spoke, Lao Tong swallowed and mocked himself: "Don't laugh at me, I haven't eaten good things for too long."

Tong Tong held his hand lightly and said, "Dad, every time I eat with Chengcai and the others, they all said that it would be great if you could eat together. Everyone knows the suffering you suffered, and they hope you can get better."

Lao Tong's eyes were wet and his voice was choked: "I'm not going to be well! I always dream about your grandma, I'm afraid she's here to pick me up."

"No." Tong Tong's voice was very low, but very powerful: "It's up to man, and the doctor didn't say anything to death. Let's continue to treat it until you are cured."

That being said, Tong Tong didn't dare to check the bill. Every time he received a call from the hospital, he was frightened because those calls were either to inform Lao Tong about the situation or to urge medical expenses. His life was so difficult that he often regretted that the timing of starting a business was really not very good.

But if he continues to work as a civil servant, he will earn even less, and Lao Tong's medical expenses will definitely not be enough. Although he has to pay a lot of money now, his income and expenditure can barely be balanced, and he can't save a penny. His latest clothes are still a down jacket he bought when he returned to his hometown last winter. Because he has been in the south for many years, if he didn't have thick winter clothes, it would be difficult to resist the bitter cold wind of the harbor city.

Two days ago, he went to Sun's house for free and said, "I've been very tired recently." Sun Chengcai transferred 10,000 yuan to him on WeChat. Tong Tong had no confidence in refusing. In front of the sender, he did not hide his downfall. He just reminded him worriedly: "You are a family and a family. It's best to discuss economic issues with your sister."

"No, I can do this little thing."

Sun Chengcai was able to make money and was very confident. Tong Tong accepted his transfer and said, "I will repay you when I have enough money."

"Don't worry, I'm not in a hurry. If it's not enough, tell me."

Not to mention Sun Chengcai, he would definitely borrow even from Chen Zeping. However, he was busy becoming an immortal, not doing his job properly, and had to eat his parents' old age. For that "salted fish", it was enough to be grateful for Tong Tong's hospital for taking care of Tong Tong's old age for every few days.

Although they are all their good friends, Tong Tong is still anxious - he has been the one who has been helped since his school days.

He devoted himself to his work all day long. He had a little free time, either reading books or calculating the accounts. He was not like the boss of the previous printing shop. He just played fights when he had nothing to do. Qian Qian asked him curiously, "Don't you play games?" Tong Tong replied simply and neatly: "Give up."

“…”

His way of settled the score made Miss Qian's eyes sore. She hesitated and said, "Why, I'll borrow some money from my mother? Do you use it first?"

Tong Tong raised her eyes and immediately closed her mouth. Tong Tong did not let her go and joked: "How great is it to ask your mother to buy this store!"

Qian Qian pouted, not daring to speak out, and did not dare to touch the boss's self-esteem anymore.

Seeing this, Tong Tong said again: "I mean don't worry about me. I still have money to save my life. When I end up, I will not be left on the street."

"Oh..." Qian Qianqian agreed, thinking, after so many days, it's time to get to know him. Boss Tong is a very reliable person.

But no matter how reliable it is, it still cannot hide the embarrassment of losing money. Tong Tong did not forget the ambitions he set back then. When he thought of Zhang Yaoyao, he was still full of dissatisfaction. In addition, he also had a wish that he must fulfill it.

Teacher Meng told him that when her father was alive, he wanted to renovate all his ancestral houses, but the wish was not fulfilled and she died unexpectedly. She took the limited inheritance and returned to her hometown to repair it as soon as she had time, but it still failed and she left.

Tong Tong went through many troubles to find out her ancestral home. During the winter vacation of her senior year, he quietly visited. It was a large village and a large village where "Meng Family" gathered. Teacher Meng's ancestral home is easy to inquire about, just on the north bank of the river.

No one lives there all year round, and Tong Tong thought that there had been a long time ago overgrown weeds. But unexpectedly, the place was very clean and the door was cleaned, without even a piece of gravel.

He opened the door and a typical northern courtyard appeared before his eyes. As Teacher Meng said, it was converted into a bright courtyard, with several houses in the east, west, south and north. Half of the yard was covered with cement, and the other half was made into a vegetable garden. However, in the cold winter, there were no plants, and the yard was bare and full of sunshine.

Tong Tong walked slowly and walked out of the wing room on the east side. The old man looked at him with his eyes squinted and asked, "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"

Tong Tong didn't want to cause trouble, so he lied: "I am a student of Professor Meng Chunjing. I have been here for so many years, and I want to pay tribute to him."

"Oh, that's it."

After saying that, Tong Tong regretted it. He was very young and obviously could not be a student of Professor Meng. However, the old man did not feel suspicious at all. Instead, he spoke in a strong dialect and said, "There are many people who came to see him in the first two years, but there have been no more in the past few years. Where did you come from?"

"Shanghai." Tong Tong made up a random place again. The old man was also not suspicious. He continued, "Old man, I heard that Professor Meng has built a library here. Can I take a look?"

"I'll take you there. Those books are placed in the north room. He was asked to put them in books in the house where people should live. This person loves books as much as his life and regards books as more important than people. He can't speak to his wife, and his wife and his eldest son basically don't come back. Every holiday, he and his twins come."

Although the old man did not mention her name, Tong Tong still felt nervous.

Professor Meng's collection of books was placed in the room on the west side of the main hall. As the old man said, it was originally a bedroom, but he changed it to a study. Tong Tong looked at the rows of bookshelves and thought to himself that there might still be her breath on it.

He was about to touch the books, but the old man reminded: "Be careful, these books are treasures."

Tong Tong then withdrew his hand and smiled, "Indeed, we should be in awe of these books."

The old man smiled approvingly, and introduced himself, saying that he was Professor Meng's second uncle and Teacher Meng's second grandfather. After his father passed away, Teacher Meng asked him to take care of the yard. The old man should be a very principled and trustworthy person. Although there was basically no one here, he still lived in the guest room and protected the house. No outsiders were allowed to disturb him, nor was he allowed to covet this yard to occupy the magpie's nest.

As smart as Teacher Meng, the person she found must be very reliable. After coming out of the study, the old man sighed to the sky: "I don't know how long I can live. If I die and the bad guy takes over this yard, what should I do?"

"I can take care of the people here." Tong Tong blurted out: "Old man, you have feelings and righteousness, and you will live a hundred years old. When I have the ability, I will definitely finish the work here and preserve all these books."

The old man nodded again with praise and said sadly: "Oh, I don't know if I encountered earthly qi when I was building this house, but there were only one after another in the family. I never expected Xinghe's death. Such a good girl said she wanted to support me, why did she leave suddenly?"

Tong Tong's heart was filled with a lot of grief, and he barely maintained his calmness: "Old man, have his family never come back after Meng Xinghe left?"

"Ha, come back? I won't come back when I'm alive. Will they change if she dies?"

"I heard - I just heard that after Meng Xinghe died, her family hurriedly buried her without holding a funeral." Every word said, it was like a knife stabbing in his heart, but Tong Tong still insisted: "I don't know if her mother and sister have seen her, but have they not come back to pay tribute to Professor Meng?"

"Memorial?" the old man sneered: "The most ruthless one is the mother and daughter. Chunjing once drank too much and told me that asking for this wife was the last thing he regretted in his life, but she gave birth to twins. He was very grateful to her and just spend the rest of his life! Just give her enough money. As a result, he died early and her property was probably taken away by her. Xinghe asked for some of the money and basically broke off contact with them."

After crossing the river and climbing to the hillside, Meng Chunjing's tomb appeared in front of her. Tong Tong bowed to the tombstone and his eyes turned red. Teacher Meng must have wanted to be buried beside her father, but she did not do what she wanted. It took a lot of trouble, but Tong Tong never found her tomb and didn't know where to pay tribute to her.

Looking down from the hillside, the ancestral home was very conspicuous. She said that she came back every year during the Chinese New Year to accompany her father and read books. The quiet and uncontested life seemed beautiful, but she lived alone in an empty house. I wonder if she was lonely?

Tong Tong narrowed his eyes and didn't want to think about it anymore.

There were fifty books left by Teacher Meng. Tong Tong couldn't bear to read them, nor did he dare to read them. He was afraid that he could not control his longing. But after all, those books were what she wanted him to read, and he only read a few books a year.

In the winter of 2015, he bid farewell to the old man and quietly embarked on the way back to school. On the high-speed rail back, he looked through "Kill a Mockingbird". He looked at it intently, and when he saw the back, he suddenly realized that the cover was hard. When he opened it, he saw that the cover was actually stuck. He carefully tore it open and found that there was a bank card inside.

There is also a line of words written there: "There is a golden house in the book. Congratulations on finding all Xiao Meng's belongings! I hope that those who like to read will have such good luck. Password: 880707."

There were 20,000 yuan there, which was originally the college tuition she left for him. But Tong Tong opened the book too late, and he had already graduated from college.

No wonder she repeatedly urged him to take the box of books back then. But he was too playful and didn't remember the box of books until she passed away. Unfortunately, this became her relics and she left him the last memorial.

Regret always comes too late. Holding the bank card, he cried into tears on the high-speed rail.

How delicate is her mind to do so much for him?

He felt extremely at ease with this bank card. Even if he didn't need it, it was his last retreat. He had a clear idea and didn't panic when he encountered anything.

She used to say that she would pay back the money when she was able to do so. Tong Tong didn't like the word "wait" the most, so she insisted on mentioning it again and again. Now, he will never pay back the money he owed her in his life.

———
Chapter completed!