Zhou Shi knocked on the door several times but got no response.
He took a few steps back and observed the house.
This is a very common bungalow with a small courtyard in the countryside, but the exterior wall has obvious signs of repair, so it looks new.
"The scholar's income is higher than I thought. This place is much better than the place he rents."
"Hey, you! What are you doing?"
A country man ran toward Zhou Shi aggressively, holding a hoe in his hand.
Zhou Shi quickly stepped back, waved his hand and said, "I'm Wang Jin's friend, and I'm here to visit my aunt!"
"Wang Jin's friend?" The man's face softened a little when he heard the scholar's name, "Then tell me, what does Wang Jin do?"
"In Jiangdu City, I copy books for others."
After confirming that Zhou Zhen was not an empty thief, the man put down his hoe and said, "It seems that he is really Jinzi's friend. I just couldn't help myself."
"It's okay, it's okay..."
"My surname is Liu, I am the second child in my family, everyone calls me Liu Laoer, and I live at the entrance of the village." The man said, "His mother lives alone and her eyesight is not good, so he asked us neighbors to help him keep an eye on her.
I was in the fields just now and saw you, a stranger, walking towards the village looking around, so I followed you all the way here. What do you want from Mrs. Liu?"
It turns out that I was targeted as soon as I entered the village...
"Brother Liu, do you have a good relationship with Wang Jin?" he asked tentatively.
"Of course, he is a scholar in our Liujia Village." Liu Laoer puffed up his chest and looked very proud of this young man. "Although he is a scholar, he is also polite to us farmers. Every New Year
During the holidays, he would also ask people to bring things to us from Jiangdu. He is such a good guy."
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Oh, that's been a long time... He was making a living in Jiangdu. During the Chinese New Year, he would come back at night, stay for one night and then leave without even saying hello to us. But I heard from his mother that he would come back every year.
Several times."
"So... isn't my aunt's eyesight bad? Can you still touch her?"
"What? No, because Jinzi asked us to help take care of his mother, so whenever I have time, I will come and sit for a while, talk to her or something. Do you want to go in?"
"Ah, yes. But I have a few things to explain in advance..."
He paused and said:
"Unfortunately, Wang Jin has passed away."
"Ah? Dead? How could it be?"
"He contracted an illness in the city and unfortunately passed away three days ago. Before he died, he asked me to come and visit his mother, but I must not let her know."
In order to prove the authenticity of these words, Zhou Shi took out some folded pieces of paper and said, "This is the last letter Wang Jin wrote to his mother. He asked me to deliver it."
This letter was one of the letters found from the scholar's residence. He brought it here to prove his identity.
"I'm illiterate, so it's useless to read it." Liu Laoer calmed down and said, "Indeed, if she knew that Jinzi was gone, the old lady would definitely not be able to bear it... Oh, such a good young man, it will be gone if you say so...
…”
He beat his chest, with uncontrollable sadness on his face.
"Brother Liu, my condolences, the most important thing now is to take good care of the old lady."
"Yes. I turned around and told the neighbors not to let the old lady know about Jinzi. They sometimes come to help take care of her, so it's best to say hello to them. Fortunately, the old lady now understands and is confused at times.
It shouldn’t be difficult to get there.”
Zhou Shi nodded. He was worried just now that Wang Jin would be able to hide it from the old lady if he could not show up again. Now it seems that this is not a problem at all.
"Didn't you bring a message? Come in with me. Knocking on the door won't work, and she can't hear it anyway."
The two opened the door one after another and walked into the yard.
The yard is not big, only about ten steps long on a side, but it is very neat and tidy. It seems that the villagers often help clean it up. In the center of the yard is an almond tree, with its branches spread out, occupying half of the yard.<
/p>
Liu Laoer walked to the door of the back room and shouted: "Old lady! Your son's friend is here!"
"Who——"
An old man's voice came from the room, and Liu Laoer motioned for Zhou Shi to follow him and walked into the back room together.
"Old lady, have you just woken up?"
An old man sat on the bed and looked blankly at the corner of the room.
"Who?"
"Old lady, I, Liu Er!"
Old Mrs. Liu couldn't see, so she could only stretch out her hands and scratch them in front of her face. Liu Laoer walked over, put the old man's hand on her face, and asked her to confirm her identity.
"Oh, Zhao San'er, you came quite early today."
Liu Laoer smiled helplessly at Zhou Shi and said, "Zhao San'er is also from our village. She is so old and confused that she can't remember people at all. Last time she said I was Jinzi's wife."
It’s not that I can’t remember people, it’s that I’m hallucinating...
"Jin? Jinzi?" Upon hearing his son's name, the old man suddenly raised his head, "Jinzi is back?"
"Uh, no... I am Wang Jin's friend, my name is..."
"The apricots should be ripe this year, why hasn't Jinzi come back..."
Seeing that the old man was still talking about "Jinzi", Liu Laoer interrupted Zhou Shi and said, "It's no use, her ears don't work. She needs to speak louder."
Zhou Shi raised his voice and said: "Old lady, I am Wang Jin's friend! He asked me to come back and see you!"
The old lady stopped and said, "Jin Zi won't be back for a while!"
"Yes! So he asked me to come back to see you!"
A blank look appeared on the old man's face again.
"Who are you?"
"I am Wang Jin's friend!"
"Oh, you are Xiao Sun."
"Xiao Sun?" Zhou Shi turned to Liu Laoer.
"She often mentions this person. He seems to be a friend she met when Jinzi was in school. He used to come to her house often... That must have been more than ten years ago."
"Oh...Old lady, I'm not Xiaosun - forget it, I am Xiaosun. Wang Jin asked me to come back and see you!"
"Oh! Is Jinzi okay?"
"It's okay!"
"He said he would come back when the apricots were ripe, why..."
The fruiting period of apricots is in summer, and it’s already past the autumnal equinox...
"He will come back sooner or later!"
Liu Laoer looked at the sky and said, "I have to go back to the fields first, otherwise I won't be able to finish today's work. Please stay with the old lady for a while and help her cook dinner. The rice and firewood are all ready.
, the pot is in the courtyard."
This was exactly what Zhou Shi wanted. He agreed and watched Liu Laoer walk out of the courtyard before taking out a small cloth bag from his waist.
"Old lady, this is the money Wang Jin sent you, please keep it."
He put the old man's hand on the silver to let her know what it was. However, as soon as the old lady touched the silver, she immediately withdrew her hand.
"Put the money... under the bed."
Zhou Shi complied, and the old lady sighed and said, "Oh, Jinzi won't be back in the next two days..."
This old lady is also pitiful...
He also had another task during this trip, which was to investigate the scholar's social connections. But Wang Jin was away from home all year round, and the old lady was old and confused. It was impossible to get clues by asking.
He took out the yellow beam pillow from the iron abacus and gently placed it on the old man's face.
In an instant, the old man fell asleep. Zhou Shi quickly supported her, let her lie down slowly on the bed, and then immediately started preparing to cook.
"It takes about half an hour to cook the rice until it becomes fragrant, which is enough."
He threw the yellow beam pillow on the ground, pillowed it on himself, and quickly fell asleep.
In the dream of nothingness, a door floats in front of you.
He opened the door, walked into Old Mrs. Liu's dream, and found that he was back in the small courtyard again.
Mrs. Liu, who looked younger, was cleaning the yard when she suddenly heard a call from the door: "Mother!"
She dropped the broom and ran towards the door.
"Mom! I'm back!"
"My son——"
The mother and daughter hugged each other, and Mrs. Liu burst into tears and touched her son's face vigorously.
"Let me see if you have lost weight - maybe you can stay a little longer when you come back this time?"
"Mom, when I come back this time, I will never leave again. I will farm at home and stay with you all the time..."
Under the setting sun, the son supported his mother and walked under the fruitful apricot trees, talking and laughing. It really looked like a peasant picture.
Zhou Shi looked at this happy scene of family members and broke into a cold sweat.
Who is that person?
The man whom Mrs. Liu called "son" was not the scholar he knew at all!