Silent, the middle-aged man turned around and looked at the photo in the frame, a little distracted,

“...... It's thirteen years old this year. ”

After a long time, the middle-aged man turned his gaze, lowered his head, rubbed the corn cob with his hand, and said loudly,

"At this age, it's time to go to junior high school, right?"

Lian Ge held the water bowl, looked at the man again, and said loudly.

When the words fell, the middle-aged man paused again, and the courtyard suddenly became quiet,

“...... No, there is no ......."

The man put down the corn in his hand, picked up the tobacco rolled beside him, and after saying a word, fell silent again,

Holding the cigarette roll, I wanted to put it in my mouth, but I got it halfway through and put it down again.

"Dude, you can smoke if you want, I don't mind. Lian Ge held the water bowl and looked at the middle-aged man and said.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man shook his head and put the cigarette roll aside,

"He doesn't like me to smoke and thinks it's ...... choking"

As he spoke, the middle-aged man fell silent again.

Lian Ge turned his gaze and looked at the little boy next to him,

The little boy who stood in a daze, his nose twitched a little, and his eyes showed grievances again.

......

“...... It's gone, and last year there were no people at this time. The middle-aged man didn't peel the corn anymore, just looked into the distance, stunned, and said,

Lian Ge listened to the middle-aged man's words, but didn't answer, just took the water bowl and sat down on the steps.

“...... At this time last year, on this day, he was in this yard, peeling buds with me, and the child's mother called me in the house, saying that the child's teacher had called......"

The middle-aged man didn't look back, just looked into the distance, and said words that he didn't know how long he had been holding in his heart, as if he had fallen into a memory,

Lian Ge also sat on the steps, drinking the water in the water bowl, looking into the distance, listening quietly,

“...... I told him to continue peeling the buds in the yard, and he deserved it, just sitting on that little stool...... It was cold in the mountains, and I was afraid that he would catch a cold, so I specially dressed him in thick clothes......

So I went into the house and went to answer the phone.

As soon as I picked up the phone, I heard his homeroom teacher tell me angrily, saying that the child had taken someone else's things...... When I asked him more closely, his teacher told me that he had taken the watch from a classmate at the table in front of him, and another classmate had seen that he had taken it.

Now a parent with his child comes to the school, and he wants the child to take someone else's watch and return it to someone else, otherwise he will lose money...... The watch costs more than two thousand, which is the harvest of several months in the field......"

“...... Our family is poor, but no matter how poor we are, we can't be poor in ambition, and no matter how poor we are, we can't take other people's things, do things like stealing chickens and dogs, and betray our conscience. ”

The middle-aged man looked into the distance and said.

“...... I didn't, I didn't! I didn't......"

Listening to his father's words, the little boy who was standing by in a daze cried, aggrieved, cried and shouted,

But this voice can only be heard by Lian Ge.

“...... I hung up the phone, angry, and went out into the yard and lifted him up from the stool. ”

Speaking of this, the middle-aged man closed his eyes, and his eyes turned red,

“...... I asked him if he had taken someone else's things or someone else's watch, and he said no...... I told him that your classmates all said that when they saw you get it, your teachers called home, and no matter how poor our family is, we can't steal other people's things......

I asked him to take his things out and asked him where he had hidden them......

He still said no, didn't take it...... I saw that he had reached such a time, and he still didn't admit it, so I was very angry, so I slapped him hard. ”

As he spoke, the middle-aged man closed his eyes, and tears flowed out of his sockets.

Lian Ge sat aside, took a sip of the water in the bowl, and looked at the slap marks on the face of the little boy who was crying again.

“...... Then he cried, broke away from my hand, and cried and shouted at me, saying that he didn't take it, that he didn't take it...... I hit him...... His mother was crying and pulling me...... Let me stop hitting the kids. ”

“...... I held the bamboo stick and looked at the child who was crying breathlessly and still didn't admit it, and the child who was pulling me next to me...... I gave myself two hard blows, and I felt useless...... It's useless!"

The middle-aged man closed his eyes, tears kept flowing,

“...... I threw away the bamboo sticks and went into the hall...... And then, and then...... And the boy ran away from the house. ”

“...... The child ran into the hall and pulled me and told me to chase the child, but I didn't move...... The kid chased after him...... After a while, I chased after him. ”

"By the time I caught up with him, he was already on the road in the mountains, and he was crying and walking all the way forward, and I shouted at him to come back...... The child's mother also cried and ran towards him to ask him to come back......

He turned around and cried at me, saying that he didn't take anything from anyone else, that we didn't trust him, and that he would never come back......

With that, he ran forward...... That's when a car came down the road...... I just watched him, I just watched him get knocked off a cliff...... By the time he was found, he was gone. ”

As he spoke, the middle-aged man closed his eyes and tilted his head, tears welled up from his eyes again,

“...... When I was done with him, I took the money from the driver's loss and went to find the man who had lost his watch...... He told me that he later found out that his child's watch was not lost, it was in his own bag......"

"I'm useless...... I'm a piece of shit! I'm useless...... I don't believe him, I don't believe him......"

As the middle-aged man spoke, his rough hands clenched, and he smashed his fist on the steps, and the back of his hand was rubbed against the skin.

......

Listening to the middle-aged man's words, Lian Ge took the water bowl in his hand, turned his gaze again, and looked at the little boy standing beside him,

The little boy cried aggrievedly, wiping his tears with his hands, excited, still crying in his mouth, repeating the previous words.

......

“...... So brother, why didn't you trust your own children before, but believed in outsiders?"

Turning his gaze and taking a sip of water, Lian Ge looked into the distance and asked in a calm tone.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man fell silent and looked into the distance,

After a long time, tears welled up from my eyes,

“...... Our family is poor, others look down on us, we think we stole something, and we ourselves look down on ourselves......"

With tears streaming down his face, the man clenched his fists and said,

“...... I'm useless, it's all my fault, it's all my fault...... I don't even believe in my own children, I don't even believe in my own children...... He told me everything, said he didn't take it, and I still beat him......"

......

Turning his gaze, Lian Ge glanced at the middle-aged man beside him and stood up again,

Holding the water bowl, Lian Ge moved his steps and walked away from the middle-aged man and the little boy again.

"Imperial Decree ......"

Driven by mana, Lian Singer waved,

“...... I didn't take anybody else's stuff, I didn't take somebody else's watch...... Why did you beat me, why did you wronged me...... Why don't you believe me, you don't believe me!"

The voice with a crying voice sounded in the courtyard,

This time, it's no longer just Lian Ge who can hear it,

The middle-aged man heard the voice in the depths of his memory, and suddenly turned his head and looked to his side,

The familiar figure instantly came into view, and tears instantly welled up in the eyes of the middle-aged man.

“...... I was wrong, Daddy was wrong, Daddy was wrong......"