The next day, I got up before the third watch, crept to my grandfather's bedside to take a look, and when I made sure that he was sleeping soundly, I quietly went out.

It stands to reason that elderly people sleep very lightly, wake up easily, and often have insomnia, but considering my grandfather's current physical condition, he can't sleep well, which will only aggravate his condition, so the old doctor specially prescribed a calming prescription for my grandfather, as long as he drinks a bowl before going to bed at night, he can basically sleep until dawn.

The purpose of this is to allow my grandfather to get enough sleep, which is conducive to delaying the deterioration of the body, and secondly, so that I don't have to deliberately keep vigil to take care of my grandfather for a night, and I can rest well, so that I can have enough energy to set off the next day and enter Beijing to catch the exam.

And this night was the last night I spent in the village, because after meeting the villagers yesterday afternoon to discuss, my grandfather still insisted that I stay with him for one last night despite my objections, and then set off early the next morning to rush to Beijing to take the exam.

After all, there are less than four months left before the exam, and if I don't set off again, there will be a slight accident on the road, and if I delay a bit, I will lose my qualification for the exam because I can't get to the capital on time.

So, for me, the ten years of hard work in the cold window are in vain.

However, I also knew that if I really listened to my grandfather's arrangement and set off for Beijing the next morning to take the exam, it would mean that I would never see my grandfather again.

I know that his physical condition will last for about another month at most, and all the villagers, including my grandfather, also know this.

Since it was the last night, I deliberately declined the kindness of Aunt Wang next door, and personally cooked, made noodles, washed vegetables, chopped stuffing, and wrapped a plate of dumplings filled with leeks and eggs very carefully, and divided it into three portions.

One part is put into a cage drawer to make steamed dumplings, the other part is boiled and added with chicken broth and hot and sour seasonings to make sour soup dumplings, and the last part is blanched in boiling water and then fried in an oil pan until golden brown.

This way of eating is the most memorable and favorite way to eat in grandpa's life, because this is the dinner on the wedding night when grandpa married grandma, although it is not sumptuous, and there is no blessing from relatives and friends, it is the first meal that grandma made for grandpa, and it is also the best dinner in grandpa's life.

Since then, every festive season, my grandmother will make a meal of dumplings for my grandfather to enjoy, so as to look back on the hardest but happiest time of the year.

And my grandmother also taught me all this in the foresight, saying that she had a premonition that she would leave earlier than my grandfather, hoping that even if she was gone one day in the future, she would still be able to let my grandfather eat this very commemorative dumpling.

At that time, I was puzzled and asked her why she didn't let my father or my mother learn to make these three flavors of dumplings, but my grandmother told me that they couldn't count on it, and said that I was the only one who could stay by my grandfather's side in the end.

At that time, I was still young, so naturally I couldn't understand the deep meaning of my grandmother's words, and it wasn't until after my parents disappeared that I gradually understood how amazing my grandmother's foresight was.

And in the end, as she expected, she left her grandfather early and went to another world, the reason is that after my parents went out, she inexplicably never came back, and she couldn't accept the pain of losing her son for a while, and died of depression.

From then on, my grandfather and I were the only ones left in the house.

Whenever I see that my grandfather is in a bad mood or misses my grandmother very much, I will quietly cook and cook a dinner like this for my grandfather, which not only surprises him, but also makes him understand that grandma has been by his side in another special way.

And every time at this time, my grandfather always ate all the dumplings with tears, and then hugged me and cried until I fell asleep, and when I woke up the next day, my mood returned to normal, and I became an optimistic and open-minded village chief in the eyes of the villagers again.

Grandpa's subtle emotional changes also made me understand that people sometimes live in feelings, and a proper catharsis is good for the body, which is better than stuffing in the heart and then stuffing it, it is still a hundred times stronger.

When I came to the bedside with three flavors of dumplings and had dinner with my grandfather who was leaning on the head of the bed, my grandfather's eyes were a little red, and he toasted me with a glass of wine for the first time, and took my hand and said a lot of words, obviously he knew that what he said was his last words for me.

A month later, when it was time for him to say his last words, I was on my way to Beijing to catch the exam. By the time I returned home, as he had hoped, he was a pile of dry bones underground.

So he also cherished the last night he could spend with me, and was reluctant to drink the calming herbs that the old doctor carefully boiled for him, just to see me more at the end, even if it was a quarter of an hour longer, he cherished it very much.

But I knew that my grandfather's body couldn't withstand such a strong support, so when he was very attentive to tell me about the precautions for entering Beijing to catch the exam, I used a small spoon to mix the tranquilizer little by little in boiled water and fed it to his mouth.

When Grandpa felt sleepy, he realized that I had secretly fed him tranquilizers, and at that moment, it was too late for him to refuse, he was extremely unwilling, and fell asleep reluctantly.

After helping my grandfather lie down and covering the quilt, I went back to my room and briefly cleaned up, wrote two more letters, and pressed them against the table with candlesticks.

One letter was addressed to Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang next door, while the other was addressed to Grandpa.

After that, I didn't take off my clothes, and I tossed and turned on the bed for an hour, and I got up about three watches.

After coming to his grandfather's bed, he gently helped him cover the quilt tightly, knelt at the head of his bed and kowtowed three times, then turned around and went out without hesitation, and soon disappeared into the night.

The reason why I didn't wait for dawn and wait for the uncle and aunt Wang in the village to take over and take care of my grandfather before leaving, was because I didn't set off to Beijing to take the exam, but took advantage of the best time when the villagers were asleep on the third watch day and the night was hazy, and walked to the cemetery halfway up the mountain.

My plan is to venture to the top of the Heavenly Tomb Mountain to try to see if I can find the legendary petals of the Flower on the Other Side, and strive to not only find the petals of the Flower on the Other Bank within a month, but also find a way to return to the village alive.

This very risky plan, if successful, would be a win-win for me.

As soon as there are petals on the other side of the flower that cures all diseases, it is possible for grandpa to survive this crisis, live a healthy life again, and even live a long life.

Second, if I come back alive, it will definitely be equivalent to opening up a shortcut that can successfully cross the Heavenly Tomb Mountain, then I can greatly shorten the time to go to the capital, and I can wait for my grandfather to recover in the village with peace of mind, and then it will be too late to set off to Beijing to catch the exam.

I believe that as long as my plan succeeds, my grandfather and the villagers will not blame me for my decision to venture up the mountain to find the petals of the flower on the other side.

But if my plan fails, although I reached the top of the snow-capped mountain and got the petals of the other side, I fell into the evil due to unpredictable factors on the way down, or unfortunately died on the snowy mountain.

Then I also made an advance arrangement, that is, according to the final accident of the villagers who went up the mountain in the past, either they will return to the village after becoming a person with dementia within a month, and then live in a trance for a week and then die with a whimper.

Either that, three months later, will be transformed into a corpse in a new grave.

But in either case, I knew that the villagers down the hill would be able to see me again, so I thought it would be as long as I wrapped a sufficient number of petals in a special tarpaulin and tied them to my body.

So even if I lose my memory, or if I go insane, or even if I become a corpse, as long as the villagers see me, even if I am dug up from the cemetery, they can get the petals of the other side flower wrapped in a tarpaulin from me.

Then, maybe my grandfather will be rescued and live in good health from now on.

If my adventure, even death, can get the legendary petals of the other side of the flower, and can exchange it for the chance of grandpa's life, it will not be in vain for me to gamble.

Although I not only lost the opportunity to gain fame, but even risked my life, I have no regrets.

Because of this, I have a clear conscience, and I am worthy of my relatives under Jiuquan. If I disregard the life and death of my grandfather for the sake of my so-called high-ranking officials, then even if I am the top student in high school, so what?

Such an indifferent and selfish mind, living alone and rich in this world, is also a sick life, and there is no happiness at all.

will only live forever in guilt and remorse, and never come out.

Of course, I also prepared for the worst, that is, there were no petals on the mountain at all, and I didn't make it back alive. It can be regarded as an empty ending of the bamboo basket.

Then, I don't regret it, after all, I have done my best, and when I see my grandparents and parents under Jiuquan, they shouldn't blame me too much.

On the contrary, when the time comes, our family will be reunited, and it may not be a happy ending.

In order to let my plan be implemented as I expected, I deliberately wrote this plan in detail in a letter to Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang next door.

The letter to the grandfather did not mention a word, completely concealing this plan, just a regular exhortation and farewell letter.

The purpose is not to let my grandfather when he is dying worry about me, so he thinks that I will obediently listen to him and go to the capital to catch the exam.

If I come back alive and bring back the petals of the other side flower that can cure all diseases, and when I completely cure my grandfather, I can confess everything to my grandfather, I think he will also understand my approach.

But if I only succeeded in bringing back the petals of the other side of the flower, but I didn't survive, then I also left a message in Uncle Wang's letter, which is to help me tell my grandfather that although my grandson saved him, he can't fulfill his filial piety, but I still hope that he can live well.

And if there is an ending where I neither brought back the petals of the flowers on the other side, nor did I come back, I also asked Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang in the letter not to say anything, so that my grandfather would think that I had gone to the capital and leave this world peacefully with the original good thoughts.

As for the other villagers, I also entrusted Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang to convey my thoughts and apologies on my behalf, and told them that if there is a future life, I will make up for the unfulfilled promises in this life......