Xiong Baizhou felt that his head was suddenly empty, as if he had stepped into a cliff and suddenly woke up from the bed.

It turned out to be a dream, Xiong Baizhou wiped the sweat from his forehead and exhaled softly.

Xiong Baizhou habitually stretched out his hand to pick up the mobile phone to see if there was any information or phone, and when his hand was halfway out, Xiong Baizhou suddenly found that something was wrong, his bedside table was obviously red oak, why there was only a wooden stool with a missing corner next to the bed.

Also, where did the phone go?

The most frightening thing is why my hands have become smaller.

Xiong Baizhou panicked, where is this? What happened to me?

The natural fear of unfamiliar surroundings haunts people's minds.

Xiong Baizhou hurriedly lifted the mosquito net, put on a pair of torn sandals and hurried out of the room.

As he put on his shoes, Xiong Baizhou surveyed his surroundings — patched mosquito nets, painted wardrobes, potholed floors, and the smell of oil smoke mixed with.

This is not his home, but Xiong Baizhou feels that the scene here is familiar.

There was a premonition in Xiong Baizhou's heart, but he was not sure yet, but his heart was already beating "thump".

When he walked to the door, a ray of sunlight shone on Xiong Baizhou's face, and he couldn't open his eyes.

After he gradually got used to it, Xiong Baizhou saw a lively scene.

A middle-aged woman squatted by the low stove to cook rice, and she saw Xiong Baizhou come out and glanced at it without squeaking.

There was also a young girl, about 18 years old, wearing a depreciated flower skirt, who was laboriously fetching water from the well to wash clothes, and also saw Xiong Baizhou, and shouted: "What time do you get up, hurry up and come over to help." ”

There were also two younger children, a boy and a girl, both of whom were a few years old, who were lying on the only broken square table in the courtyard eating breakfast, and they all grinned when they saw Xiong Baizhou.

In the yard, a group of free-range chickens paced casually, lowering their heads from time to time to peck.

The yellow dog in the house chases the chickens from time to time.

In the distance, there are mud houses with smoke curling.

Although the air smells bad, it is unusually pleasant to inhale into the lungs.

Xiong Baizhou suddenly understood something, his nose was sore, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

Originally, the girl was waiting for Xiong Baizhou to help fetch water, and after waiting for a long time, she found that Xiong Baizhou had not come over, and was about to call angrily, when she suddenly found Xiong Baizhou who was crying by herself, the girl swallowed what she wanted to say, and she laboriously fetched water and washed her clothes.

Xiong Baizhou saw it and walked up quickly to help, because he was uncertain, he stepped on a lot of along the way.

When the girl saw it, she shouted loudly: "Can the second child grow his eyes when he walks, so that the yard is full of." ”

Xiong Baizhou listened, and didn't speak, but just grabbed the bucket of water.

The girl saw it, but she shook her wet hands, helped Xiong Baizhou wipe her tears, and said, "Isn't it just that I'm going to work tomorrow, I cried all night last night, and I'm still crying in the morning, it's really useless." ”

He said reproachful words on his lips, but he was reluctant to exert his hand movements.

Xiong Baizhou nodded and said, "Got it, sister, you get out of the way, I'll fetch water." ”

After making water, Xiong Baizhou walked back to the room without speaking, and the middle-aged woman who was cooking looked at Xiong Baizhou, her eyes were full of complexity and reluctance.

In the room, Xiong Baizhou took a deep breath and suddenly picked up the gray mirror, and the appearance of a teenager was imprinted in the mirror.

At this point, Xiong Baizhou finally determined that he was reborn and returned to this small mountain village that often haunted him when he was middle-aged.

Here, the parents are not yet old, the eldest sister is not married, and the younger brothers and sisters are still studying.

Even, history has not taken a fork in the road, and Xiong Baizhou at this time is facing the fate of dropping out of school to work in the south.

This year, in 1994, Xiong Baizhou was only 16 years old and dropped out of school in the second year of junior high school.

This choice is not his own choice, because this family cannot afford three children to study.

The eldest sister has dropped out of school early to help at home, and now it is Xiong Baizhou's turn.

This is the choice of the times, and it is also the forbearance within the family.

Everyone knows that the future of reading is better, whether it is Xiong Baizhou or his sister, they are unwilling to give up the opportunity to study, but for the sake of their younger brothers and sisters, they choose to sacrifice themselves.

In those days, there were many such wordless choices, which also led to different destinies.

Xiong Baizhou in the previous life went to the south to work early, because he could endure hardships and catch up with the good times, he really made a lot of money, but this was obtained by overdrawing his young body, and in the end, even though Xiong Baizhou had a lot of money, he was alone because he was busy making money.

Therefore, Xiong Baizhou had three great regrets in his last life: first, he did not go to high school and college, second, he did not get married and have children, and third, he did not handle the relationship with his parents well.

There was a rhythmic sound of footsteps in the yard, and Xiong Baizhou understood that it was his father who had gone to farm in the morning and had returned.

Summers are hot, and the best time for farmers to be busy with their fields is in the morning and evening.

In the courtyard, a tall middle-aged man carried a hoe and walked into the yard with neat steps, this is Xiong Baizhou's father, Xiong Zhengjun.

Xiong Zhengjun used to be a soldier, but when he came out of his mission to fight with hooligans, he violated military discipline and was forced to change jobs, and he had no job assignment.

However, Xiong Zhengjun brought some of the army's habits back home, which greatly affected Xiong Baizhou and them.

For example, Xiong Baizhou's waist is straight at all times, and he will never drag his work into the mud.

Xiong Zhengjun came back sweating profusely, and saw Xiong Baizhou with red eyes, and he had the heart to reprimand a few words, but he thought that Xiong Baizhou was about to give up studying and go out to work.

Xiong Zhengjun sighed and said, "The second child didn't eat breakfast, so he came over to eat if he didn't eat." ”

In fact, Xiong Baizhou was very excited when he saw Xiong Zhengjun coming back.

In the previous life, Xiong Baizhou had a general relationship with Xiong Zhengjun, and after Xiong Zhengjun died, Xiong Baizhou really regretted it.

At that moment, Xiong Baizhou, who was already middle-aged, suddenly found that he had no parents in this world, and he could no longer find someone who could be called "Dad and Mom".

At that moment, Xiong Baizhou really understood how painful it was for "the son to be filial and not to be there".

At this time, the middle-aged woman who was burning the fire in the kitchen brought two large bowls of stick noodle porridge over, put them on the table, and said in a thick northern Jiangsu accent: "The second child eats first, sleeps more at home after eating, and will go to the south tomorrow, don't go to work with your father today." ”

This is Xiong Baizhou's mother Li Juan, a cautious woman who will only listen to her husband all her life.

Xiong Baizhou ate stick noodle porridge and missed it very much.

What a person's stomach likes is actually qualitative when he was a child, and even if he eats all the delicacies of the mountains and seas when he grows up, he thinks that the best thing in his heart is still the bowl of rice when he was a child.

Because, the bowl is filled with hometown.