Thursday, August 20th, 200x, 3:16 p.m.

A middle-aged man over forty years old with faint signs of baldness came to Dongzhuang.

He wears a plain white short-sleeved shirt and a pair of gray suit pants. His right hand was □□ in his trouser pocket, and the pocket was bulging, as if he was holding something in his hand hidden in the bag.

Because of the hot weather, the smooth head was covered with fine and dense sweat. There was an incredible light in his eyes, and until now he was stepping on the art department of Haida thousands of miles away, and the whole person still felt unreal.

Just three days ago, the famous old man in their town, his grandmother, who was already one hundred and seven years old, wept bitterly after seeing the black-and-white photo that her son had inadvertently pointed out, and there was a brief lucidity, and she intermittently told a sad past.

How is this possible?

The man in the photo is actually his grandfather, who has long since died, which is incredible.

But it wasn't until his grandmother trembled and handed him a red lacquered wooden box wrapped in a gray cloth handkerchief that was too old to read its original color, that he believed it to be true.

It was my grandmother's most beloved thing, and over the years, because of the improvement of living conditions, they had to move several times, and each time they had to remove a lot of bulky old antiques, only this dilapidated red lacquered wooden box, which had been taken by his grandmother's incomparably precious side, and never discarded.

This wooden box holds my grandmother's most precious memories.

A hairpin that has faded its paint, a beaded flower, a small bundle of hair, and a few black-and-white photographs with a graying color.

In the photo is a picture of a young couple.

At that time, both the photographic equipment and the method of taking pictures were very rough, even if it was a couple photo, it seemed that the expressions of the two were very strict, but the eyebrows and eyes were unexpectedly clear.

This is a photo taken by my grandmother and my grandfather when she was young, and the man in the photo is seven or eight points similar to his impression of his young father, with a Chinese face, loyal eyebrows and eyes, single eyelids, and even ears.

Although Song Guoqiang said that he didn't believe it, when he saw the photo, he suddenly had a strange feeling in his heart, this man, the man in the photo, is likely to be his legendary grandfather who left his young grandmother and disappeared without a trace.

After the disappearance of my grandfather, my grandmother inquired everywhere about his whereabouts and inquired from door to door, but I was disappointed every year, time passed, hope became despair, concern became resentment, resentment of the man who left his wife and children at home and widowed mother, never looked back, wishful thinking guessed that the man might not be able to stand the hardships at home, threw away the burden, went to the field, met a younger, gentler and more beautiful woman, reorganized the family, maybe the wife and children were perfect, and completely forgot about the wife and children who were still eating chaff in their hometown and waiting for him to come back.

Until today, the truth is revealed.

The man is not an abandon, he just boarded the wrong ship at the wrong time, and-

There is no more, and since then heaven and man have been separated forever, because of the man's concern for his relatives in his hometown, even if he has been dead for decades, the soul still refuses to disperse, sleeping at the bottom of the sea, using all possible methods to intercept passing ships, hoping that the passing traveler can bring his news to his relatives in his hometown, and tell them that he has not abandoned them, but can no longer take care of them.

Song Guoqiang was originally engaged in software engineering, and he is naturally more familiar with the Internet than ordinary people, and he has consulted a lot of news materials on the Internet in the past two days, and understands the ins and outs of the missing person notices that suddenly appeared in just a few days, including Fang Jing's wreck that salvaged countless skulls.

It was a modern transport ship, and the people on board originally wanted to cross the Pacific Ocean and start a new life on the other side of the ocean, but the truth was so ruthless that it made people feel cold all over the world.

More than 700 lives disappeared silently at the bottom of the icy Pacific Ocean.

This is just one of the shipwrecks, and under the vast Pacific Ocean, how many souls like his grandfather are still buried?

Uncle Gen's brother Bao, just came back from the town, his daughter-in-law's due date is these days, this morning, the daughter-in-law had a little stomach ache and uncomfortable, scared him and the old lady hurriedly sent the daughter-in-law to the hospital in the town, the doctor saw nothing wrong, just a false alarm, but Brother Bao still decided to let the daughter-in-law live in the hospital now, so there is a doctor in the hospital.

Aunt Gen was not worried about the child in her daughter-in-law's womb, so she stayed in the hospital to take care of her daughter-in-law, and Brother Bao borrowed a bicycle from the owner of the small supermarket next door and went home to get a change of clothes for his wife and wife.

When I entered the village, I saw a strange middle-aged man standing on the side of the road, sweating all over the hot day, the whole person was dumbfounded, I couldn't help but stop the bicycle, kicked on the ground, and asked: "Brother, are you looking for someone or entering the village?" ”

Song Guoqiang came back to his senses at this time, wiped the hot sweat on his head, glanced at the young man in front of him, and said, "Are you from this village?" May I ask, is there a young man named Fang Jing in your village? It was the one who fished out a bunch of skeletons and put them on TV. ”

Because he is about to become a father, Brother Bao is in a happy mood, even a hot day can't stop his good mood, and people are also extremely enthusiastic, and everything is beautiful. As soon as he heard that Song Guoqiang was looking for Fang Jing, he immediately smiled: "You are looking for Xiao Jing, go straight into the village, the most beautifully decorated five-story small western-style building is their house, oh, by the way, it's called Jiufang Inn, if you are not there, you go out and turn left, they must be in the old house." ”

Brother Bao said, hehe smiled: "Brother, my daughter-in-law is going to give birth, I have to quickly pack some things for her to go to the hospital, I won't accompany you, see you later!" ”

Saying that, with a long leg, the two-wheeled bicycle was forced by him to kick out the speed of four wheels, and the "boom" disappeared in a flash.

Song Guoqiang: "......"

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, walked forward as Brother Bao said, and after a while, he saw a small five-story house with a big yard, and a quaint sign was hung outside the yard, like an ancient inn, with Jiufang Inn written on it.

Looks like that's where the lad said.

The courtyard door was ajar, he pushed the door in, and a half-old boy wearing a straw hat hoeed the flowers in the yard, and when he saw him come in, he raised his hand to wipe the sweat on his forehead, and took the initiative to ask, "Are you dining or staying in a hotel?" ”

Song Guoqiang: "No, no, no, I'm looking for someone." ”

"Oh." Fang Xiaole asked curiously, "Uncle, who are you looking for?" ”

"May I ask if this is Mr. Fang Jing's home?"

The young man did not answer yes or no, but stretched out his hand to the left hand side and pointed: "Go out and turn left, keep walking forward, pass by an old locust tree, turn right, and see the old yard where a car is parked outside."

Song Guoqiang smiled: "Thank you, little classmate." ”

As he spoke, he raised his feet and walked out.

After he left, Fang Xiaole immediately took out his mobile phone and dialed his brother: "Brother, a middle-aged uncle has come to look for you." ”

Since the news of Fang Jing's fishing boat spread, strangers often come to the village, sometimes for interviews, sometimes for buying some things or something, Fang Xiaole has seen a lot, it is not strange at all, but there are more people coming and going, it is inevitable that there will be two more hearts, and it is a trivial matter to hand over a message to his brother in advance.

As long as Brother Jiu is there, he is not worried about his brother's personal safety at all.

Fang Jing received a call from his younger brother, and when he went out, he saw a middle-aged uncle in a short-sleeved white shirt standing at the door of the courtyard of the Fang family's old mansion and wiping his sweat. The expression on the man's face was strange, both excited and apprehensive, with an inexplicable uneasiness.

His eyes narrowed, and he asked vigilantly, "Who are you looking for?" ”

Song Guoqiang glanced at the young man who came out, and when he knew that he was the young man in the news, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is it Mr. Fang Jing?"

"I am, is there anything wrong with you?" Fang Jing's heart was slightly relaxed.

It's an honorific language.,At least it looks polite.,I shouldn't be here to find a ballast.。

"Ah, my surname is Song, my name is Song Guoqiang, and I am from Sioux City." Song Guoqiang introduced himself first.

Fang Jing was slightly stunned, then reacted, and asked tentatively: "Did you look for me after reading the missing person notice on the Internet?" ”

"Yes, yes, yes!" The middle-aged man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the expression on his face was much more relaxed.

Fang Jing's attitude suddenly became much more enthusiastic, and he immediately said: "Hello, hello, it's hot outside, let's talk first." ”

Song Guoqiang followed Fang Jing into the house nervously, and his heart was much more settled.

It would have been a fantasy for anyone to conclude that an unknown skeleton was his unseen grandfather, who had been missing for nearly a century, based on a photo on the Internet and the words of his grandmother, who was already too old and delirious.

Fang Jing's attitude at least showed that this incident was real, not a prank by someone.

"Well, I saw photos on the Internet, and one of them is most likely my grandfather, I wonder if I can take a look?" Song Guoqiang swallowed his saliva, this middle-aged otaku who has only dealt with numbers all his life is actually quite frightened by skeletons and dead people, but after all, this is the wish and request of the old grandmother, no matter what, he has to find a way to confirm it.

For the first person who came to the door to ask for the bones of the elders, Fang Jing still welcomed it, this is not like a treasure, usually no one will take it off, and this person seems to be honest, not like a person who likes to talk about it.

However, people should not be disguised, in order to avoid any disputes in the future, Fang Jing still has to ask someone to confirm.

He called the research room, and after confirming that Professor Liao had been in the research room today, he said, "The skulls have been sent to the research room, if you want to see them, you have to go to Haicheng, and I also wrote the contact information on the missing person notice." ”

Fang Jing felt quite strange, why did this middle-aged man still find a fishing village?

"Huh?" Song Guoqiang's face was disappointed, and he was a little happy in the disappointment.

To be honest, he is not mentally prepared enough to deal with this qiē right now, so it's better to slow it down.

"It's not early today, or you can rest here for the night tonight, and I'll drive you to Haicheng tomorrow." Fang Jingti said.

Anyway, he was the first to come to get the bones, and it made sense to give some preferential treatment, and besides, he made an appointment with the owner of a fruit forest seedling in Haicheng to discuss business, and it didn't take much to bring him over by the way.

It's really too hot, and it's late to go to Haicheng at this point, so it's estimated that your lab is off work.

Song Guoqiang thought for a moment and agreed: "It's okay, it's troublesome Mr. Fang Jing." ”

Fang Jing nodded, thought of something, and asked again: "Has Mr. Song booked a hotel?" ”

"Nope." He had just arrived, unfamiliar with anything, and thought he would be able to bring his grandfather's skeleton home.

"If you don't dislike it, stay at my house for one night, and go directly to Haicheng tomorrow morning while the weather is cool."

"That's okay, thank you, Mr. Fang Jing."

Fang Jing took him to the farmhouse and asked Ye Chi to open a standard room and keep his account.

Ye Chi didn't say anything, took the key and took Song Guoqiang upstairs.

Fang Xiaole was mopping the floor in the hall with a mop, since this child came to work in the farmhouse, the floor in the hall has always been clean and spotless, and it can be used as a mirror.

"Brother, this person is the pile of skeletons you fished up...... Is that a descendant of one of them? Fang Xiaole said cautiously.

The deceased are the greatest, and in any case, it is better to be polite to those who have passed away.

"Hmm." Fang Jing touched his head and said, "I'll go to Haicheng early tomorrow, do you have anything you want to buy?" I'll bring it back to you. ”

Fang Xiaole thought for a moment and shook his head: "I don't really want anything." ”

The current situation of the family is compared to before, it is like a heaven and an earth, there is everything, as long as he wants, his brother has bought it for him, and it is the best, he really doesn't feel that there is anything special needed.

"Okay, then I'll just look at it and buy it." Fang Jing was very busy, said hello to Ye Chi who came downstairs, and turned back to busy himself.

The next day, Fang Jing got up early in the morning, took his boyfriend and personal bodyguard Cen Jiu, and prepared to go out to Haicheng to drag saplings.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I opened the door, I found that a figure was already standing outside the door.

Song Guoqiang changed into a plaid short-sleeved shirt, carried a small travel bag in his hand, and didn't know how long he stood outside the door.

"So early? Why didn't you call me when you came? Have you had breakfast? If you don't have any food, you can eat it at home. Fang Jing said as he poked Cen Jiu beside him with a knife.

He didn't believe it, Song Guoqiang stood at the gate of his house for a long time, Cen Jiuhui didn't know, this person didn't remind himself at all, and let people wait at the door, it was really embarrassing.

Cen Jiu put his hands in his trouser pockets, his face indifferent.

If it weren't for this person, he and Fang Jing would be the only two people to go to Haicheng today - driving their newly bought car.

He had only bought a car for less than a month, and he didn't sit a few times, so he had to take it to outsiders, and he was unhappy.

Knowing which tendon his boyfriend was probably wrong, Fang Jing raised his foot and kicked Cen Jiu's calf.

In order to be cool, he wore a white T-shirt with a beautiful woman twisting her ass printed on her chest - this was bought for fifteen yuan a piece at a stall when Fang Xiaole and Ye Chi went to visit Fang Xiaojiao in the city a few days ago, a pair of colorful beach pants with flower heads, and a pair of plastic sandals on his feet, that image looked really miserable.

Fang Jing felt that he was quite cool, and he wore Cen Jiu like this, and the two stood side by side, like two stupid forks.

Song Guoqiang was a little dazed, and it took a long time to come back to his senses and say, "I just came over, and I have already had breakfast at the inn." ”

Fang's mother and Aunt Gen felt that Fang Jing had set the price of the room in the farmhouse so high, and the two simple women felt uneasy about their conscience, so they discussed it, got up early, and provided free breakfast for the guests, boiled millet porridge, and soybean milk that they grinded, not much delicate things, but they were all made by themselves, so clean.

Fang Jing has always cared about this kind of trivial matter, just let Fang's mother toss them, as long as they keep an account every day and enter it at the end of the month.

It seems that Song Guoqiang is quite serious about taking his ancestors home, and Fang Jing's perception of him has risen, and his attitude has improved a lot.

"Otherwise, let's leave now, the sun will be too hot in a while."

Song Guoqiang still has to go to work, so he only takes leave until tomorrow, and he also hopes to take his grandfather's skull home as soon as possible, so he nodded and said, "Then I'm embarrassed to take advantage of Mr. Fang Jing." ”

Men in science and engineering are more realistic, they don't have so many hearts, and they are also wooden, but Fang Jing feels more comfortable dealing with such people, if it is a person like the eldest brother of the Zhu family, he will not even feel comfortable staying with people for a while.

Thinking about it like this, Fang Jing remembered that the eldest brother of the Zhu family was coming to the fishing village this weekend, and his head suddenly became bigger.

is different from Zhu Zhi's shrewd personality on the surface and stupid on the inside, but the eldest brother of the Zhu family is as shrewd on the outside as he is on the outside, and he is very difficult to deal with.

When a big man like him suddenly mentioned that he wanted to come to the fishing village, Fang Jing always suspected that there must be an ulterior conspiracy in this.

Forget it, it's useless to think too much, the soldiers are coming, the water is flooding, he should take care of the front first.

They left the city early, and when they arrived at Jingcheng, it was only ten o'clock in the morning.

Professor Liao received a call from Fang Jing the day before, and he was waiting for them in the laboratory in the morning, and the first thing he said when he saw them was: "Does anyone in your family have multiple toyes?" ”

Fang Jing: "?!! ”

Cen Jiu: "......"

The middle-aged man's face changed slightly: "How do you know?" ”

When his son was born, he had one more toe than others, at that time, the medical conditions were already very developed, he was afraid that his son would be ridiculed for this reason, which would adversely affect his growth, so when the child was only a few years old and did not remember, he let him have surgery, and now his son's left foot is as usual, and there is only a shallow scar in the place where the operation was done, and it cannot be seen at all if you don't look carefully.

"That's right, when I examined one of the skeletons, I found that this skeleton had a different skeleton and suffered from polydactyly, and this chromosomal disease is usually related to genetics, so I asked more."

Fang Jing: "?!! ”

Good...... Greasy!

I know so much from a single bone.

At this moment, Fang Jing really gave birth to a kind of regret and emotion for not reading much, sure enough, knowledge is wealth, I knew it was like this, I should have studied back then.

Professor Liao led them to the workbench, on which were five skeletons, each with a stack of materials nailed to the background wall, clay statues restored according to skeletal characteristics, speculation about the appearance of their descendants, and a thick pile similar to Professor Liao's prediction that Song Guoqiang's family would have polydactyly.

Approaching the workbench, Song Guoqiang's gaze fell on a skeleton in the middle.

It was strange to say, he had never seen it before, and even the old grandmother rarely mentioned it, but he could confirm at a glance that the skeleton in front of him had the kind of blood connection between him.

This is a very wonderful feeling, obviously he is usually not particularly bold, sometimes his wife wants to watch horror movies, and he will try his best to push him back, but now standing in front of this gloomy skeleton, he doesn't feel scared at all, and there is only an indescribable sadness spreading in his heart.

This is his grandfather, the grandfather who everyone thought that in the most dangerous time, he abandoned his family, his wife and children, and left his hometown without any news.

He didn't abandon his family, he just showed up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and then was bumped into by the wrong people and forcibly imprisoned on the wrong boat.

A qiē creation makes people.

The middle-aged man's eyes moistened, and he shivered and took out an old photo from his pocket, and in the dim light, the man in a short shirt and the woman leaned together, allowing the photographer to take this warm moment, and then this moment became eternal.

He placed the photo in front of the skeleton, and the man over forty couldn't help but redden.

"Grandpa, I'm here to take you home, grandma has been waiting for you."