Qiao Nan was going to a strange place to participate in training, and before leaving, he called home. His parents were a little unenergetic, and after he asked him again and again, he learned that it was Lao Dong who had passed away.

Lao Dong has been sick for a long time, and the neighbors on Jixiang Road are mentally prepared. But Qiao Nan was too far away from home and didn't know much about the situation in his hometown, so when he heard the news, he was stunned for a while and muttered, "How come?"

"I'm old, I've been sick for a long time, and it's a relief to be gone. Old Joe replied sullenly.

Qiao Nan sighed for a while on the other end of the phone, and he re-examined his plan - if he returned to his hometown at the age of forty, his parents would be sixty-five years old, and how many years could he accompany them? Lao Qiao comforted instead: "Don't worry, your mother and I are very strong and won't hold you back." ”

That being said, there are people around him, who are still his good friends, and Qiao Jianjun's heart is still empty. He took care of Lao Dong for more than half a year and saw with his own eyes how many sins he suffered. The night before he left, he was in good spirits, but after dinner, he suddenly said to his old friend: "Old Qiao, Da Ming is waiting for me." ”

Qiao Jianjun "chuckled" in his heart, and then he knew that it was not good.

That night, one of Lao Dong's nephews kept vigil, and the next morning, the nephew called Lao Qiao and said that he was gone in his sleep and walked peacefully.

Lao Dong has always believed that when he arrives in that world, he will be able to see his wife and children, so he can walk so peacefully! He has no nostalgia in this world, and he does not have much inheritance to distribute. He had already made a plan, and a set of old and dilapidated children near No. 2 Middle School was left to his nephew who had been taking care of him, and the only remaining little savings were donated to the "Dongmei Fund" of No. 2 Middle School, and the small shop of about ten square meters was left to Lao Qiao.

Lao Dong told an old friend that the barber shop didn't have much traffic, and when he left, let Lao Qiao break through the wall, turn the barber shop into a wonton restaurant, and cook for more children in the future.

The process of inheritance distribution is extremely harmonious, and several relatives of Lao Dong also accepted this result calmly, they know that Lao Dong can live to this day, and Lao Qiao has a lot of credit. They don't live near Jixiang Road, and they don't expect this shop to collect much rent, if it is distributed to Lao Qiao, it can still play a little role.

After the funeral, Lao Dong's nephew still held Qiao Jianjun's hand and said sincerely: "Uncle, you are a good person, thank you very much." ”

In this way, Lao Dong walked without worry, and his relatives were also quite reasonable, and everything seemed to be quite satisfactory, but Lao Qiao still didn't feel good in his heart. He took the bony ingots home and asked Jobertty to keep him company. Then, he sorted out Lao Dong's relics, turned over the family portrait of their family of three, and also turned to the photo of Daming and Qiao Nan. At that time, they were all children, and they looked very solid, and they grinned at the corners of their ears when they smiled.

How good it was then! Old Qiao stroked the photo, tears rippled - if time could go back to that moment, he would tell Da Ming, don't go to the army, obediently go to a technical school, learn a skill to support themselves, so that their family will be happy for a long time.

Old Joe seemed to have exhausted his strength, and sat on the sofa and cried bitterly. He hated that time could not be turned back, and he could only send away his good friends, and then reluctantly stepped into old age.

"Anyway, this is a person's life. ”

In those days, Lao Qiao often said a sentence on his lips, but it always attracted his wife's evaluation of "too pessimistic". In a few months, Li Lanzhi will retire. is about to leave the school where she has struggled all her life, and she is also too reluctant, often filled with the helplessness of "time does not forgive".

However, she is more open than her husband, and she often says that after retirement, she will go out with her older sisters, or go thousands of miles away to see her grandson, or go to Beijing to visit her daughter. Lao Qiao smiled a little and said, "You just don't want to be my boss lady!"

"I'm a school leader anyway! How much money do you have to please move me?"

Lao Qiao said with a smiling face: "You are still the leader of our family, and all our family's money is yours." ”

Lao Qiao's words are true, as soon as the Spring Festival is over, he will start to decorate the family's new house. There is a big aesthetic gap between him and his wife, and they quarrel whenever it comes to decoration. Old Joe simply didn't care about anything, just paid for it, and his wife pretended to be whatever she wanted.

Maybe when designing your own home, women always think that they are the best designers. It's a pity that Lao Qiao is over half a hundred years old, so he understands this truth, and he has quarreled so many times in vain.

Before renovating the house, Qiao Lu and Qiao Nan both said that they wanted to give the family a sum of money, but Lao Qiao refused: "I saved all the money with your mother, and before your aunt left, I deliberately left 20,000 yuan." Our requirements for decoration are not so high, just put it there after installation, don't wait to live, and dry it as long as you want. ”

During the time of Lao Dong's death, the new home was also renovated. Old Joe likes to go to his new home for a walk, and sometimes when he looks at the spacious and bright third bedroom, he will forget the sadness of his friend's death.

Fate is most worthy of the word "impermanence", he and Lao Dong are the same era, and Lao Dong is a few years older than him. In the mid-to-late nineties, both of them were laid off from state-owned enterprises and started small businesses to make ends meet. In the years when the children were studying, the Qiao family was much more difficult than the old Dong family, and Lao Qiao often went to the old friend's house to borrow money. More than ten years have passed, and the children of the Qiao family have grown up, and they no longer need to borrow money from outsiders, and they are about to live in a big house. Such a good day was unimaginable before.

Lao Qiao thought to himself, if Da Ming lived well, Lao Dong's family should have the same trajectory as Qiao's family!

When he was in a low mood, Xiao Tong made a lot of efforts. He also often goes to Lao Dong's barbershop, in addition to helping the boss clean up his things, he also packs up all the things he can use.

Although it was nothing more than a hair dryer, a razor, an ear picker and other small things, Old Qiao still felt that this was not good, and he said to the little boy solemnly: "How much are these things worth? ”

Xiao Tong smirked: "A few dollars is also money, as long as you can use it." ”

This guy in the store is very diligent, but he is used to living a poor life and likes to take advantage of small advantages. Old Joe didn't say much about him, just reminded him occasionally. The child is looking forward to the auspicious wonton restaurant to become bigger and bigger, and one day it can become a big hotel on this street. When he asked the boss when he would open this wall, Lao Qiao said in a sullen voice: "Wait, wait until you have money." ”

In fact, Lao Qiao cares more about other things than funds. After all, this little shop belonged to an old friend, he had just passed away, and Old Joe didn't want to tear down the place where he once lived so quickly. This barbershop is kept, and it can still be a thought.

Xiao Tong obviously didn't understand the boss's thoughts, and he said with a smile: "If you don't have any money, then rent it out first, and you can make a lot of money!"

"You can't say this kind of thing!" Old Joe rarely straightened his face and reprimanded: "People live, they have to talk about some friendship!"

Xiao Tong didn't seem to understand, so he stopped talking, anyway, he listened to the boss very much.

Probably from the Qingming Festival in 2015, Lao Qiao found that things in the store were often stolen. It's not a valuable thing, it's just that some of the ingredients he stored in the refrigerator often disappear. At first, it was the dumplings and fried chicken tenders he wrapped, and later the meatballs given by his brother-in-law (brother-in-law), which were all exported to Japan and South Korea, and they were not easy to buy on the market, but they tasted quite delicious. Not all of those things are gone, but a little bit is lost each time.

This doesn't need to call the police, and the one who can freely go into the back kitchen and open the refrigerator is a child. He has been working in the store for several years, and Qiao Jianjun still knows him well. Although he has a weak brain and is not very good at settling accounts, his hands and feet are very clean, and he has no habit of petty theft. Even the things he took away, he didn't realize that they were "stolen", that is, they took them with confidence.

In the face of the boss's questioning, Xiao Tong did not hide it, he said: "I didn't eat what you made for me, but I took the raw one, and I thought I ate it." ”

This idea is really fresh and refined, Qiao Jianjun didn't know how to refute him. He asked helplessly, "Then who did you give birth to?

The little boy blushed and whispered, "Secret." ”

Lao Qiao was amused by him, how could he hide it from Lao Qiao with his careful thoughts? There is no doubt that Xiao Tong is in love, and the girl he is talking about is a lame girl introduced to him by Lao Dong.

That girl should be about the same age as Qiao Lu, but her marriage was delayed by her physical disability. Old Joe hadn't been in contact with her, and he didn't know if Xiao Tong would be deceived, but he had to correct Xiao Tong's thinking. He said, "If you want to give the girl anything in the future, you can tell me in advance." You can't take it from the fridge in private, you know, you know it, you don't have to?"

The boy nodded again and again, and since then, he has never taken anything from the store without permission. Every time he wanted to see the girl, Old Joe would give him some fruit snacks and let him bring them. Xiao Tong is indeed not a bad child, as long as he is taught well, he can listen to everything.

On the night of his son's call, Old Joe dreamed of an old friend. Lao Dong looked at him from a distance, did not approach, but smiled calmly. And standing beside him is the long-lost Da Ming. He didn't grow up, he was still seventeen years old, he didn't know the sorrow of the world, and the corners of his mouth grinned to the root of his ears when he smiled.

Lao Qiao shouted "Da Ming" in his dream, but neither father nor son spoke, just looked at Lao Qiao like that. After a while, Da Ming put his arms around his father's neck and smiled, and the two disappeared without a trace.

After waking up from the dream, Old Joe was already in tears. Lao Dong has said countless times that since he buried his son, he has buried his heart. He had no heart, and had lived with an empty shell for seventeen years, and he didn't know what it meant to continue living.

And now, he probably saw his son, and they were living happily in that world.

Old Joe wiped a handful of tears and wanted to scold his son again - he shouldn't leave, he shouldn't let the family worry about him. But he typed for a long time, and the message he sent out was - son, take care, your parents are waiting for you at home.