At around 1 o'clock in the morning, Sun Quan walked out of the train station in County P, City C.
City C and City M, where his university is located, both belong to Ontario and are four or five hours away by train.
He got on the train at around 9:00 p.m., so it was already past 1 a.m. when he arrived at P County, City C.
Carrying the luggage bag and walking out of the station, Sun Quan felt that the air seemed to be a lot warmer. This was the feeling of his hometown. Although the city of P County under the night was far less prosperous than City M, walking on the land of his hometown
, he just felt a lot more at peace.
As a small county town, there are no taxis, motorcycles or hotel ladies outside the station. It is very quiet outside the station, with only three or two convenience stores and small restaurants still open.
Sun Quan stood at the entrance of the station for a while, smoked half a cigarette, and then walked to a small hotel not far away. It was already inconvenient to go home so late, so he decided to wake up early tomorrow morning and go back.
A night of silence.
At 8 o'clock in the morning the next day, he woke up to the sound of his cell phone alarm, got up, washed, packed his luggage, went downstairs to have breakfast, and took a taxi home.
"Master! Come to Fuxu Sunjia'ao! Thank you!"
Sunjia'ao in Fuwei is the address of his home, a quiet mountain village.
The taxi left the county town and sped along the recently constructed concrete road. Apart from the rolling hills, there were patches of farmland. However, in this season, there was no green color at all, and what you could see was mostly withered yellow.
Sun Quan leaned on the back seat and looked at the scenery outside the window quietly. The house was burned down. He didn't know where his parents lived now. Do they have enough food and warm clothes?
The phone at home didn't work, so he hadn't contacted his parents yet, but he could imagine that the house was burned down, and his parents must be in a very depressed mood. After all, the family was not well-off to begin with, and now it was even worse, right?
…
More than an hour later, the taxi stopped at the entrance of a small mountain village. The taxi driver turned around and said to Sun Quan: "Handsome guy! Sunjia'ao has arrived! Can we get off here?"
Sun Quan hummed, paid the fare, opened the door and got off.
The weather was not bad today, the sun was shining, and the warm sunshine shone on Sun's body. Standing at the entrance of the village with his luggage bag in hand, he squinted and looked in the direction of his home.
He couldn't see anything. His home was at the end of the village, and this was the entrance to the village.
Pursing his lips, Sun Quan walked into the village.
After entering the village, people naturally saw him, including old people, young girls and wives, and aunts and children.
Some people greeted him; some just glanced at him; some asked other people around him - which family does this young man belong to?
Sunjia'ao is neither big nor small. Logically speaking, everyone in the village should know each other, but Sun Quan has been away from home for some years. He has lived on campus since he was in high school. After going to college, he only comes back every year during the winter and summer vacations.
Moreover, since entering high school, he rarely goes out even if he is at home during the winter and summer vacations, and his behavior of visiting the village has almost disappeared.
In addition, his appearance has changed a lot from his youth to the present, so some old people, newly married women, and children in the village may not recognize him.
For those who took the initiative to say hello, Sun Quan squeezed out a smile and responded with a few words. Others... he ignored them. His personality was not good at dealing with people.
Finally, he came to his house.
Only a few black walls were left after being burned. A few local dogs were scratching in the ruins looking for food, and a few chickens were also scratching everywhere...
The main house, kitchen, toilet... only the solitary toilet is still standing intact in the distance, the others were all burned.
The courtyard door of my uncle's house next door opened, and my rich aunt stood at the door and said, "Ah Quan? You're back so soon? Your house has been burned down, what else are you looking at? Do you want to come to my house?
Sit down for a moment? Have a drink of water?”
Sun Quan turned around and smiled, "Aunt! Where are my parents? Do you know where they live now?"
Before he finished speaking, the cousin-in-law who had called Sun Quan last night also came out of the courtyard door, followed by a little boy, who was her son and Sun Quan's cousin.
The cousin-in-law said with a smile: "The village chief arranged for your parents to live in the ancestral hall at the end of the village! Do you know about the ancestral hall?"
The cousin's aunt agreed: "Yes! Your father and mother live in the ancestral hall now!"
After receiving this answer, Sun Quan frowned, but didn't say anything. He just squeezed out a smile and nodded, "Oh, I know! Then I'll go to the ancestral hall now!"
The ancestral hall in the village has a history of many years. It should be traced back to before the founding of the People's Republic of China. It has long been in dilapidated condition. On sunny days, the sun shines into the house from the roof, but on rainy days, rainwater leaks in. Children usually go to defecate and urinate in it. In the past, it occasionally
There are also beggars living there.
"Ah Quan! Why don't you come to my house for a drink of water before you go?"
While the aunt was still saying polite words, Sun Quan had already turned around and walked towards the end of the village, "No! Thank you, aunt!"
There were very few people at the end of the village, and Sun Quan didn't meet many people along the way.
The ancestral hall is on the hill at the end of the village.
Because few people usually come here, it seems quite desolate.
Sun Quan frowned and climbed up the hill to the open space in front of the ancestral hall. At a glance, he saw his father sitting on the threshold of the ancestral hall and smoking with a sad face.
My mother was cooking something not far away in a small clay stove. This small clay stove was obviously just made. The bottom of the stove was a broken enamel basin picked up from somewhere, and the body of the stove was made of broken straw mixed with
Made of mud.
Sun Quan recognized the small iron pot on the clay stove, it was an old pot from his family.
Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew by, causing the smoke from the clay stove to float towards his mother's face. Then Sun Quan saw his mother coughing repeatedly and rubbing her eyes.
While coughing, my mother accidentally looked up and saw Sun Quan carrying a luggage bag.
She was stunned for a moment, "Ah, Ah Quan?"
"What Ah Quan?"
The father, who was sitting on the threshold and smoking a cigarette, followed his wife's gaze and looked over. When he saw Sun Quan, he was also stunned. He subconsciously stood up and said, "Ah Quan? You, why are you back?"
Sun Quan pursed his lips, walked over, opened the lid of the pot, and saw some cabbage leaves cooking white rice porridge inside.
He raised his eyes and asked his mother, "Where did the rice come from?"
My mother smiled bitterly, "The rice in the vat that's not completely burned can probably still be eaten for two meals!"
Sun Quan turned to look at the half-cut cigarette in his father's hand, "Why are there still cigarettes? Did you bring out the family's money?"
Dad Sun Zhicai also smiled bitterly, "When I first discovered the fire, I was in a hurry to put out the fire. Where did I think of getting the money? These half packs of cigarettes were left on me."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Sun Quan asked again: "In other words, everything in the house was burned down?"
Sun Zhicai nodded.
My mother Xu Mei said: "After the fire burned out, I went in to find the pair of earrings I used to give as a bride..."
Sun Quan knew that the silver earrings were worthless.
He casually placed the luggage bag on the doorstep, opened the zipper, and took out two pieces of bread bought before getting on the train last night, two bags of dried tea, and a bottle of mineral water from the bag.
"You're not hungry for rice porridge, you can eat these first!"
"Ah Quan! It's better for you to eat! You are young and hungry more easily than us!" Xu Mei subconsciously refused.
Sun Zhicai also nodded, "Yeah! You better eat it!"
Sun Quan did not answer their words. He stood up and took out his wallet from his arms. He took out the Agricultural Bank of China card where he saved his manuscript fees and handed it to his mother, "Mom! Take this card first! There are ninety thousand yuan in it! Dad! You
I'll go find someone in the afternoon to build a new house! Build it bigger! Build it better! You can build a second or third floor if you want! If the money is not enough, I will get it for you later!"