The early spring in the Northeast is still relatively cold. There are still traces of snow and ice on the ground that have not yet melted away. The cold wind blows on the face like a knife, causing bone-piercing pain.
Xiang Que hugged his shoulders to keep warm. The cold in the Northeast is very different from the cold in Zhongnan Mountain. In the winter in Zhongnan Mountain, when the snow is falling, there are still hermits sitting in the snow wearing only thin clothes and meditating. These hermits In addition to practicing hard, I also feel that it is not too cold, but if you sit on the ground in the Northeast, you will get cold cramps in a short time.
After getting off the train at Shenyang North Railway Station, Xiang Que walked out of the station with a canvas bag on his back. He found a nearby long-distance bus station and waited for nearly an hour before boarding a bus to a remote mountain village more than 200 kilometers away from Shenyang. Bus.
It was already past one o'clock in the afternoon, and it would take more than three hours to get home.
After getting on the bus, Xiang Que, who had been working hard for most of the day, huddled in the back and took a nap. He had been a little tired of the work these days.
Xiang Que's home is a village surrounded by mountains. The village is not big, with more than a hundred households. Most of them have the surname Xiang, and they are basically related to each other. Their ancestors have lived here for more than a hundred years. Xiang Que's family His parents are still alive, and his grandparents also live in the village. He also has two sisters, one four and one two years older than him. They both got married in the past few years.
The eldest sister is married to a small business owner who runs an auto parts repair business in Shenyang, and the second sister is married to a small civil servant in a nearby prefecture-level city. Generally speaking, the Xiang family is living a pretty good life. They are not rich, but they are certainly not rich in food and drink. worry.
Of course, except for one thing, the whole family has not seen Xiang Que, who left home since childhood, in twelve years.
The two married girls are very filial. Although they are both married, they are not far from home, a two- to three-hour drive. Therefore, during the holidays, the eldest sister and the second sister and their children will come back to visit every time they go home. Xiang Que's parents were very happy, but even though they were happy, there was a gloomy look in their eyes, and they didn't know how their son, whom they hadn't seen for more than ten years, was doing.
At about five o'clock in the evening, it was completely dark, and the bus stopped. The conductor loudly told the people in the car that they had reached the end. After Xiang Que got off the bus, he stood there with his eyes wide open and looked at it for a long time. He suddenly felt a little confused.
The scene around him now was completely different from when he left home. In the dark, he didn't know where to go. The fields were covered with heavy snow on all sides, and there was no light at all.
Where the hell are you going? If you go out, you're going to lose yourself.
Xiang Que quickly grabbed a man next to him and asked, "Brother, I want to know the way out. How to get to Xiangjiatun?"
The man looked at him for a few times and asked in surprise: "Going to Xiangjiatun? What are you doing?"
"Go home, I live in Jiatun"
The man frowned and came to Xiang Que's face. After looking at it for a long time, he said: "Go home? Why don't I know you? I'm from Xiangjiatun. I know everyone in the village. Which family are you from? "
"Hey, I'm going to be a relative." Xiang Que suddenly became excited. He took the man's hand and said, "Brother, I am the third son of Xiang Laoshi's family in the east of the village. I also have two sisters. The eldest sister's name is Xiang Yu. Lian, the second sister’s name is Xiang Yuping.”
"Ah? What did you say?" The man was a little confused. After thinking for a long time, he asked a little uncertainly: "Xiang Laoshi's third son? Don't tell me, there was indeed a boy in his family more than ten years ago, but Later, for some reason, that boy left the village and never came back. Is that you?"
Xiang Laoshi is the nickname of Xiang Que's father. Because he is so conscientious, careless and down-to-earth in his work, people in the village call him Xiang Laoshi.
Xiang Que nodded hurriedly and said, "Well, big brother, I am Xiang Laangdao's son. I went out to work before coming back."
"Little brat, you are so inferior to me. You call me uncle." The man slapped Xiang Que on the head and said, "Your father and I are cousins in terms of seniority. We are from the same grandfather, so you call me
What do you mean, big brother, you have to call me uncle?"
"Hey, I understand, I understand, uncle." Although his head, which was numb from the cold, was slapped, Xiang Que felt that his heart was getting warmer.
The two of them walked "crunching, crunching" in the snow for four or five miles, and climbed over a hill. Light began to appear in front of them, and the outline of a village was looming. This was Xiangjiatun.
After entering the village, the man pointed ahead and said: "I haven't been home for a long time. Let's go home first and then go to your house tomorrow. If you walk along the path and see three brick houses, that's yours."
We’re home, your parents should be home at this point.”
"Well, thank you, uncle. I'll come over for a drink tomorrow when I have time."
Xiang Que said hello and trotted towards the east end of the village. After twelve years away from home, he felt like returning home.
After running for three or two minutes, Xiang Que stopped. There was a three-room brick house on the left side of the road in front of him.
The dog barked.
Xiang Que slowed down and walked to the gate and looked at it carefully. The place was still the same. When he left home, it was still a thatched house. Unexpectedly, it turned into a brick house after not coming back for more than ten years. Look.
Lai's parents had lived quite well these past few years, and Xiang Que suddenly felt less uncomfortable.
"That bad old man didn't deceive me. He said that after taking me away, the family would get better and better. Life will definitely get better day by day. I guess he was right. If he lied to me, I must fix him properly when I go back."
Xiang Que stretched his neck and looked for a long time but found no doorbell, so he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Open the door, is there someone inside?"
After shouting a few times, the door opened, and a man in a coat walked out slowly and asked: "Who is it?"
"Dad, it's me, I'm Xiang Que," Xiang Que said in a louder voice.
"Ah?" The man who came out in a coat froze on the spot and didn't move. He didn't seem to realize what Xiang Que had just called. Update | Update as soon as possible! Cool*}Jiangwang0
Xiang Que shouted again: "Dad, I'm back, I'm Xiang Que."
"Ah, ah, ah" the man said several times in succession, then threw off his coat and ran over, pressing his whole face against the cold and bitter iron door, staring at the door with wide eyes.
young people.
Xiang Que came closer so that his father could see him more carefully, and then said softly: "Dad, Dad, how come you can't even recognize me?"
Xiang Que's father looked at him for a full minute before tears welled up in his eyes. He nodded repeatedly and said, "It's my son. It's my son who's back. Come on, come on, come on. It's cold outside. Come in quickly."
Xiang's father hurriedly took out the key and opened the door. After opening the door, he grabbed Xiang Que's hand and pulled him into his arms. He hugged him and couldn't say a word.
Xiang Que was held in the arms for a long time before he said, "Dad, where is my mother? Let's go back to the house first."
"Hey, okay, go back to the house, go back to the house, your mother is watching TV inside." Pulling Xiang Que, Xiang's father hurriedly walked into the house.
The home is very warm. The rural areas in the Northeast are all equipped with heaters and fire walls. As soon as you enter, you feel like it is a world of ice and fire, which is very comfortable.
"Lao Xiang, who called the door?" A woman's greeting came from the back room.
Before Xiang's father could speak, Xiang Que pushed open the door, looked at the middle-aged woman who was leaning on the kang and watching TV and shouted: "Mom, it's me."
The woman who was leaning on the kang suddenly sat up and looked straight at Xiang Que. She cried loudly and almost crawled off the kang. Then she suddenly sat on the ground in a pile and hugged Xiang Que.
His thigh shouted: "It's my eldest son. My eldest son is back. I wasn't dreaming. You are back."
Xiang Que knelt down, patted his mother and said, "Mom, you're already hugging me. Do you think you're dreaming? It's really me, I'm back."
Xiang's father quickly helped his wife up: "Get up, get up, my son is back. Why are you sitting on the ground? Get up quickly and sit on the kang. It's very cold. It must have been freezing outside when Xiang Que came back."
A family of three sat on the hot stove. Xiang Que's mother rubbed his face and said, "Son, you are still the same as when you were a child. You haven't changed at all. Mom recognized you at a glance."
Xiang Que was happy and said: "Well, when I came back just now, my dad was looking at me outside for a long time, and he didn't even dare to recognize me."
Xiangfu said naa-naa: "I don't believe it, and so does your kid. Who knew you would come back suddenly? I feel it's a bit unreal."
Xiang Que said: "I didn't know our phone number. After I got off the mountain, I got on the car back to the village. I didn't know where to go after I got off. Fortunately, I met an old man in the village who brought me back."
"Look, look, I didn't even mention leaving my contact information when I took you on that old road. It's so dangerous and it's so wrong," Xiang's mother complained.
Xiang Que said: "It's okay. I didn't forget things when I left. I'm already in my teens. I remember where my home is. I can find it."
Seeing the smiles on his parents' faces like they couldn't stop a car, Xiang Que suddenly felt more comfortable and breathed a long sigh of relief. His parents had been thinking about him for twelve years, so how could he not miss his family.
"Huh? Where are my eldest sister and my second sister?" Xiang Que tilted his head and saw that the lights in the two rooms were dark, and no one asked where the two sisters were.
Xiang's father smiled and said: "They are both married and have married out of the village...I will call them right now and ask them to come back quickly."
As soon as Xiang's father stood up, Xiang Que grabbed him and said, "Dad, look how dark it is outside and the road is slippery. It's too dangerous to come back at this time. You can call my sister and ask them to come back tomorrow morning. I
I’m not leaving tonight”
"Well, yes, yes, I'll try again tomorrow."
Xiang's mother then asked: "eldest son, have you just come back and haven't you eaten yet?"
“After riding in the car for a day, I just had a bowl of instant noodles.”
"Sit down and I'll cook for you. There's still a lot of meat left from the pig that was killed during the Chinese New Year. I'll get you some sauerkraut to stew."
Xiang Que suddenly lost his composure. He swallowed his saliva and said, "If there are blood sausages and big bones, they will be stewed. I was thinking about eating sauerkraut and bones stewed on the mountain. I almost forgot the taste."
"Yes, yes, yes, I've stewed them all for you, you can eat them to your heart's content."