If there is an afterlife (novella) Zhang Baotong

Seeing that the old man was pitiful, the village chief and the villagers often came to her when they passed by on the path in front of her house, and said a few words of persuasion and comfort to her. However, over time, people's voices changed. That time, Caiyun walked past her door, and saw that she was still sitting on a small stool in front of the door basking in the sun, so he walked up to her and asked, "Has my son been back?" Caiyun said, "Auntie, your son won't come back, he knows that he is not your own, so he doesn't want to come to recognize you." Li Xiuying didn't want others to talk about her son, although she was very angry with her son, she still didn't want others to think too badly of her son. However, she could not find a reason to defend her son. At this time, Caiyun said again, "Auntie, let me tell you, you raised a white-eyed wolf, you raised him with a handful of and urine, and provided him with college, and now that he is out, he doesn't want to recognize you as a mother anymore, and he will send you these hundreds of yuan in January, and he won't come back to see you for two or three years, he doesn't want to recognize you as a mother, and you also want to open some, so just treat this son as a free child." ”

A few days later, Chang Sheng walked on the path in front of her house again, and when he saw that her eyes were still confused into the distance, he walked up to her and said to her, "Auntie, are you still thinking about your son?" She didn't know how to answer other people's questions, but sighed very disappointed and pessimistic. At this time, Chang Sheng said to her, "Auntie, if you want to open some, don't say that you are not your own, or you are your own, my bastard son has been working outside for two or three years, not to mention coming back to see us, but he has never even sent a cent of money." So, if you want to drive some, don't worry about it all day long. ”

Li Xiuying has never doubted her son's filial piety, but when people say this today and tomorrow, they can't help but mess up her mind, because the cold facts are in front of her, and she feels that what people say is not unreasonable. So, over time, she began to believe in other people's words, and felt that her son really didn't want to recognize her as a mother, after all, he had grown up and no longer needed her support, and she was already old and had become a burden to him. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel sad, so she went into the house and sat on the edge of the bed and wept.

She felt that there was darkness in front of her, there was no light or hope, and she even thought that it was better to jump into the river at that time, and if she died, she would not suffer so much, suffer so much, and have so much sadness and distress. When I think about it like this, I feel that people are really boring and boring living in the world.

Because of her anger and annoyance, she really didn't want to live, she didn't want to hear people say such things to her anymore, and these words were comforting, but they made her sound like they were making fun of her and laughing at her. She has lived a miserable life in her life, and now this kind of thing has happened, which makes her feel even more embarrassed and embarrassed.

Her body has long been dead, and she has been supported by a belief, but this belief has also collapsed, so that she can no longer support it. She collapsed on the bed, feeling dizzy all day, unable to breathe, weak, and did not get up for two or three months, and the whole person seemed to have only one breath left. The people of the village found out about this and wanted to take her to the hospital in the town, but she waved her hand and did not let anyone touch her. For she knew that no one could save her except her son.

Just after the New Year in 2017, when the sound of firecrackers on the other side of the village was still ringing sporadically, the village chief came to obey the relatives from other villages and came back, passing by the door of Li Xiuying's house, and saw that it was noon, and her door was still closed, so he came to knock on the door, but there was no response, he wondered if something was wrong with the old man, and pushed the door open vigorously, and as soon as he entered the house, he smelled a strong musty smell. He walked to the side of the bed and saw the old man lying on the bed in a coma, and hurriedly touched the old man's forehead and snort with his hand, feeling that the old man was still alive. So, he woke up the old man and wanted to take him to the county hospital.

However, Li Xiuying half-squinted her eyes and said to him weakly, "I don't go to the hospital, I can't do it, I just want to see my son." As he spoke, he handed over a slip of paper with a phone number on it. This is the number that my son left when he left home, and he said that if anything happens, he will call him. Lai Shun listened to this, took out his mobile phone, and dialed the number on the note, but the phone prompted that the number was down.

Lai Shun looked at the old man like this, and couldn't help but shed tears, and he said to the old man, "Auntie, don't worry, I'll go to Xi'an and find a way to get your son back." The old man nodded vigorously and said, "Call my son back quickly, and say that I can't do it anymore and want to see him." ”

After Lai Shun left, Li Xiuying felt that she would soon be able to see her son, and a life force was inspiring her, making the fire in her heart that was about to be extinguished brighter again. So, she mustered all her strength and waited and waited. One day, two days, until the afternoon of the third day, Laishun returned, but instead of bringing back her son, Laishun brought a young man as old as his son. The young man's name is Zhang Binghua, Li Xiaole's classmate and friend in college, and now he is a manager in a company in Xi'an.

Li Xiuying was very disappointed when she saw that Lai Shun did not bring her son back, and she didn't say a word, and tears suddenly welled up from her eyes. Zhang Binghua saw that the old man was so miserable and pitiful, so he called Auntie, and said to the old man with tears in his eyes, "Auntie, I'm really sorry, Xiaole is not unwilling to come back to see you, he is no longer alive." ”

Then, Zhang Binghua said, "Xiaole started working after graduating from university, but one day he fainted at work, and the unit sent him to the hospital, and the doctor found that he had leukemia, saying that if he was not treated in a timely and effective manner, he could only live for two years at most." However, to cure this disease, it will cost hundreds of thousands, to say the least, and I don't know if it can be cured. Listening to the doctor's words, Li Xiaole said to the doctor that I was not cured of this disease, so he left the hospital and returned to the unit to continue working. We all advised him not to go to work and to recuperate so that he could live a few more days, but he said that his mother was now old and in poor health, and if he didn't go to work, he couldn't send money to his mother. In order to earn more money for his mother, he even used his nights' rest and usual holidays to tutor students. We all advised him not to work so hard, it would exacerbate the deterioration of his condition, but he said that his mother is over 70 years old, and it is not easy to raise him in this life, but he will not live long, and he can no longer do his filial piety for his mother, so he can only earn more money now as his mother's living expenses in the future. He lasted for a year and two months, and one day, he passed out again and was taken to the emergency room, and when we rushed to the hospital, the doctor said he was no longer good. Before he died, he called me to him, held my hand and said, Binghua, I can't do it, but I want to ask you for one thing, you help me send four hundred yuan to my mother every month, but don't tell my mother the news of my departure, I'm afraid my mother will not be able to bear it. As he spoke, he gave me a passbook with 23,000 yuan and the address of his home. He also said to me that if I saw my mother one day, I would tell her that he was sad that he could not do his filial piety for his mother, but he missed his mother very much, and said that if there was an afterlife, he would still be your son. After that, he fell unconscious again. He died two days later. ”

Mother listened to the young man's words, two lines of tears rolled from the corners of her eyes, and then, with a long sigh, she passed away. Seeing this scene, Lai Shun and the young man immediately cried bitterly.

2017.11.22 First draft

2017.11.23 Second draft