On the first day when the mourning hall was set up, the official departments related to the Ye family immediately sent their condolences. On the second day, relatives and friends from other places came one after another after receiving the news.
Xu Changshu arrived at the Ye family in the capital early the next morning. Accompanying him were his two daughters. Ye Changyuan was Xu Chunliang's godfather. For such matters, etiquette required all the children of the Xu family to come.
What surprised Xu Chunliang was that his mother Feng Mingjun also came over. Originally, Xu Chunliang wanted to use her to inform his father Xu Jiaxuan, who had been missing recently, to see if he could take the time to come over. Unexpectedly, his mother came in person
Come.
Xu Chunliang just took his grandfather to meet Mr. Ye. When he came out, he saw his mother Feng Mingjun. She was talking to Ye Changquan. Judging from the demeanor of the conversation between the two, they should have known each other in the past.
Xu Chunliang recalled what his mother had said about her past work at the United Nations. Ye Changquan is now engaged in foreign affairs and is mainly responsible for the neon business. There should be some overlap in their work, so it is not surprising that they know each other.
Xu Chunliang walked over, and Ye Changquan waved to him and said: "Chunliang, let me introduce you."
A faint smile appeared on the corners of Feng Mingjun's lips, and Ye Changquan said: "This is my eldest brother's adopted son Xu Chunliang, this..."
Before he finished speaking, he heard a surprised voice: "Mingjun, when did you come back?"
The person who spoke was Lin Sijin. Feng Mingjun quickly rushed forward and grabbed Lin Sijin's hands. Lin Sijin, who had always been strong, actually shed tears in front of Feng Mingjun.
Xu Chunliang was a little confused. He knew that his mother was definitely not an ordinary person, but he didn't expect that his mother had already entered this class. She knew people like Lin Sijin and Ye Changquan, and seemed to have a pretty good relationship with her.
Feng Mingjun comforted him softly.
Xu Chunliang said to Ye Changquan: "She is..."
Ye Changquan said: "From your godmother's side, you should call me aunt."
"What?" Xu Chunliang's head was buzzing. Could it be that Feng Mingjun and Lin Sijin were biological sisters? Then wouldn't he and Ye Qingya become close relatives, so it wouldn't be so embarrassing?
Xu Chunliang soon realized that the two of them had different surnames, and Lin Sijin had already waved to him.
Xu Chunliang is now in a state of confusion, praying to God not to play such a big joke on him.
Arriving in front of Lin Sijin, Lin Sijin grabbed his arm and dragged him over, saying to Feng Mingjun: "Mingjun, this is what I told you, my godson Xu Chunliang."
Feng Mingjun looked at Xu Chunliang with a smile. Xu Chunliang had a look of despair on his face. His mother must have known about this relationship for a long time. She just didn't say it. She had to admit that she was very scheming.
Lin Sijin said to Xu Chunliang: "This is my sister. You should call her aunt. Hurry up and call someone."
Xu Chunliang's helplessness has turned into despair. Now he just wants to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
Feng Mingjun said: "Sister, don't force him, just call him whatever he wants."
Xu Chunliang said: "Are you sisters?"
Lin Sijin said: "It's closer than a real kiss. Why don't you call me a kid?"
When Feng Mingjun saw his son's appearance, he was secretly amused. He didn't want him to continue to be in trouble, so he said softly: "I was adopted by the Lin family since I was a child, so although we are not related by blood, we are no different from biological sisters emotionally."
Xu Chunliang thought about it for a while and realized that the temperaments and personalities of the two people were somewhat similar.
Lin Sijin thought to herself what was going on today. His godson was usually very clever, but today he couldn't even call anyone. He urged, "Why don't you call me aunt?"
Xu Chunliang looked at Feng Mingjun and said, "Mom!"
Lin Sijin thought he had lost his mind and spat: "Why are you shouting? She is your aunt."
Xu Chunliang called mom again.
Only then did Lin Sijin feel that something was wrong. Looking at Feng Mingjun's expression, she responded happily: "Hey!"
Now it was Lin Sijin's turn to be confused: "You... you two..."
Feng Mingjun held her arm and said, "Sister, this is a long story, I'll tell you slowly."
Lin Sijin pointed at Xu Chunliang's nose: "You little bastard, it's so hard for you to hide this from me."
Xu Chunliang looked innocent. He really didn't know. The culprit should be his mother Feng Mingjun. She had known it for a long time, but she deliberately didn't reveal it.
Even though Ye Qingya is Lin Sijin's daughter, she is not familiar with Feng Mingjun. The main reason is that Feng Mingjun left the Lin family when he was young and went to work outside. At that time, Lin Sijin and Ye Changyuan were not married yet.
After Ye Qingya heard about this relationship, she felt closer to Xu Chunliang.
In the afternoon of that day, Mr. Qiao came to Ye's house accompanied by Qiao Rulong.
Xu Chunliang hadn't seen Mr. Qiao for a while, and he obviously felt that Mr. Qiao's complexion was not as good as before. After offering incense to Ye Changyuan, Mr. Qiao comforted Ye Changquan, Lin Sijin and Ye Qingya one by one, and finally came to Xu Chunliang's side and held Xu Chunliang's hand.
, said with emotion: "Xiao Xu, I've heard all about Juzhou, thank you for your hard work."
Xu Chunliang said: "What I should do."
Mr. Qiao let go of Xu Chunliang's hand: "Come and sit at home when you have time."
Ye Changquan accompanied Mr. Qiao to leave the mourning hall. Mr. Qiao asked: "How has your father been these past two days?"
Ye Changquan said: "I must feel sad when encountering such a thing. I didn't rest well. I slept intermittently for some time last night. Today, Uncle Xu came over and gave him acupuncture and massage. His condition is a little better."
Mr. Qiao was startled when he heard the name Uncle Xu, and then thought that the Uncle Xu in Ye Changquan's mouth was Xu Changshan. It seemed that the relationship between the Xu family and the Ye family was really good.
Mr. Qiao said: "I want to go see if it's convenient for him." Although he knew that the other party would definitely not refuse, Mr. Qiao still asked for his opinion tactfully.
Ye Changquan said: "Okay, come with me." He glanced at Qiao Rulong.
Qiao Rulong understood: "Grandpa, Uncle Ye, I won't go in. I'm helping outside."
When Mr. Qiao came to the small building, Xu Changshan was helping Mr. Ye with acupuncture. Seeing Mr. Qiao coming in, Xu Changshan greeted: "Mr. Qiao is here."
Mr. Qiao smiled and said: "You continue your work, I will wait for you."
Xu Changshan said: "It's just over." He pulled out the silver needle on Mr. Ye's head, put it away and said: "You guys chat, I'm going to have a cup of tea and have a rest."
Ye Changquan led the way for Xu Changshan.
Mr. Ye opened his eyes and looked at Mr. Qiao, without any emotion on his face: "Here he comes!"
Mr. Qiao nodded and said: "Here we come!" He noticed that Mr. Ye was wearing a military uniform and his gray eyebrows moved. He said softly: "I wanted to come here yesterday, but the doctor wouldn't let me."
Ye Laodao: "If your body doesn't allow it, don't force it. If something happens to you, how will I explain it to your Qiao family?"
Mr. Qiao sighed and said: "In this life, I would rather force myself than force others."
Ye Changquan came over to deliver tea, and Mr. Qiao took it.
Ye Laodao: "When Lao Wang came over yesterday, he said that all three of us suffered the same fate. First it was Lao Wang, then you, and now it's my turn."
Mr. Qiao said: "I remember you don't believe in fate."
Ye Laodao said: "I didn't believe it in the past, but now that I'm old, I actually believe it."
Mr. Qiao looked at Mr. Ye and said, "You haven't worn this military uniform for a long time, haven't you?"
Mr. Ye nodded: "Loyal bones are buried everywhere in the mountains, why return them wrapped in horse leather?"
Mr. Qiao was shocked. This was the elegiac couplet he sent when Wang Zhengyi died.
Ye Laodao: "Justice was sacrificed in the Battle of Yinshan, Changyuan died in the Juzhou earthquake, and I still don't know where the people in the distant mountains are."
Mr. Qiao fell into silence. His son Qiao Yuanshan has disappeared from the world, whether dead or alive. Compared with the other two, Qiao Yuanshan is not glorious. Mr. Ye obviously did not mention it accidentally, he was hinting to himself.
After a long time, Mr. Qiao finally said: "Old Ye, some of the rumors from the outside world are not true. You and I are close friends and are old friends who share weal and woe."
Mr. Ye did not look at Mr. Qiao and said softly: "In the past two days, I have been unable to sleep again and again. I always think about the past, when the three of us were neighbors. At that time, although we did not have the status we have today, we
It’s the happiest.”
Mr. Qiao didn't speak. Mr. Ye glanced at him and said, "I should be said to be the happiest. I don't have as lofty ideals and ambitions as you."
Mr. Qiao said: "Lao Wang often says that you are the most pragmatic among us."
Mr. Ye shook his head and said: "My brain is not good, so I can only do what I can."
Mr. Qiao said: "We are not as good as you in leading troops to fight."
"Just a martial artist. In peacetime, people like me are no longer of much use. The real pillars of the country are people like you and Lao Wang."
Mr. Qiao sighed: "I'm old."
Ye Laodao: "You never obey old age."
The eyes of the two met for the first time. Mr. Qiao felt an unprecedented indifference from Mr. Ye's eyes. His heart was touched by this indifference. He realized that since Ye Changyuan's death, the relationship between their two families would never be the same again.
Once upon a time.
Mr. Qiao said: "It's okay not to accept old age. I just talked with Chang Quan and he still has a lot of room for improvement in his work."
Mr. Ye said calmly: "The higher the position, the greater the responsibility, and the greater the risk. This is what you often say."
Mr. Qiao nodded. He knew that Mr. Ye would refuse, but he still had to show his sincerity and express his attitude. Even if Mr. Ye no longer regarded him as a friend, he did not want to become an enemy.
Mr. Qiao finally said what he said to prove his innocence: "I did recommend Xie Mingsheng from the National Development and Reform Commission, but that happened after Changyuan went to the Disaster Reduction Commission..."
Mr. Ye interrupted him: "I'm tired. We are all old. Let's take care of ourselves in the future."
When Mr. Qiao looked at Mr. Ye again, he had already closed his eyes. Mr. Qiao pursed his lips and walked out of the small building with an extremely depressed mood. Mr. Ye's last words meant that he had completely drawn a clear line with him.
It's hard to say whether they will stay safe in the future or whether they will draw swords and meet each other.
Qiao Rulong had been waiting outside for his grandfather. When he saw his grandfather's gloomy face, he knew that the meeting just now was not pleasant. Qiao Rulong greeted his grandfather and took his arm, but found that his grandfather's hands were extremely cold.
Mr. Qiao stopped his questioning with a very stern look, and left quickly with his help.
