Wang Hongju didn't close his eyes almost all night, and he got up just after dawn. It rained in the middle of the night, and the morning sky was crystal clear, the air was exceptionally fresh, and the rising sun reflected the tops of a jackfruit tree in the courtyard in golden.

Wisps of cooking smoke came out of the kitchen, and Ah Xia got up earlier than Wang Hong, she was already preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Wang Hongju raised her legs and walked into the kitchen, Ah Xia knew that it was Wang Hongju who walked in, she didn't say hello to Wang Hongju, just lowered her head and played with the firewood in the stove.

"Axia, good morning!" Wang Hongju greeted Ah Xia, and Ah Xia glanced up at Wang Hongju. The careful Wang Hongju found that Ah Xia's eyes were dark and his face was tired, and he speculated that Ah Xia had not slept well at night.

"Ah Xia, are you mad at me?" Wang Hongju asked with concern.

Ah Xia spoke, and she asked rhetorically: "Brother Wang, I'm not angry, why should I be angry with you?" ”

"It's good if you're not angry." Wang Hongju smiled and said, "Ah Xia, I'll help you light the fire!" ”

Ah Xia said, "Will you?" I'll start my own fire. ”

"Absolutely! I've lived alone for many years, and I can not only make fires, but I can also cook, or I would have starved to death. Wang Hongju said very exaggeratedly.

"It's lonely to live alone, why can't you find a wife to take care of you? Even if you don't like me, you can find a better woman than me! ”

Wang Hongju heard that Ah Xia's words were thorny, and knew that she was dissatisfied with her for not accepting her yesterday, so he explained: "Ah Xia, you are a kind and virtuous woman, how can I look down on you?" It's just that I'm not ready to find a wife yet. ”

Ah Xia said, "What are you going to prepare?" Wouldn't two people get married when they go to the township to open a marriage certificate, and then set up a few banquets? ”

"Ah Xia, marriage is a major event in life, how can it be as simple and hasty as you said?"

"Alas! I know I'm not worthy of you! Ah Xia still felt that Wang Hongju couldn't look down on herself, and she sighed and shed tears of grievance.

"Ah Xia, are you crying?"

Ah Xia hurriedly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "No." It's smoky. ”

"Ah Xia, it's not that you are not worthy of me, it is that I am not worthy of you! I'm not a good person, and I'm a substitute teacher, so I don't know when I can't get a job. And I don't know anything but teaching, and I don't know anything about farming, I'm afraid I can't support this family! So I want you to find a man who is better than me and stronger than me! ”

"Brother Wang, I don't need you to farm, I do everything at home, you just need to teach the books well! In the future, if you can't teach, I'll support you! ”

Wang Hongju was infected by Ah Xia's true feelings. He said to Ah Xia: "Ah Xia, a real man wants to live like a man, and after he gets married, he will be the pillar of the family, and he will be laughed at when he eats soft rice!" ”

At this time, Ah Hua had already gotten up, and he came to the kitchen to ask his mother what she had for breakfast. Ah Xia and Wang Hongju felt that it was inconvenient to speak in front of the child, so they temporarily stopped the topic.

After breakfast, Wang Hongju was about to go back to school, and before leaving, Ah Xia took out a pair of cloth shoes and handed them to Wang Hongju and said, "The last time you came, I saw that your shoes were so torn that your toes were exposed. It's expensive to buy a pair of shoes, so I'll make you a new pair of shoes, I don't know if it's suitable, you can take it back and wear it. ”

Wang Hongju was embarrassed to ask for these shoes. When he saw a trace of resentment in Ah Xia's eyes, he was afraid of making Ah Xia angry again, so he said thank you and took the shoes.

Wang Hongju left Ah Xia's house, I don't know why, when he left Ah Xia's house this time, he always felt that his heart was heavy. After returning to school, he was still thinking about what happened in Ah Xia's house, he always felt that Ah Xia's eyes full of resentment were looking at him all the time, and he felt guilty for hurting Ah Xia's heart.

Wang Hongju did not accept Ah Xia. There are indeed those reasons he listed for Ah Xia, but there are still some ideas that he can't say to Ah Xia.

Wang Hongju has experienced two unforgettable love experiences, more than ten years have passed, and there are still shadows of Huang Tingting and Lin Meijiao in his emotional world, these two women have a very high status in his heart, and no woman can surpass them! Of course, if he retreats to the second, he can't marry Ah Xia, he likes Ah Xia's kindness, simplicity, hard-working and good qualities, and Ah Xia's healthy and energetic body is very tempting to him. But strictly speaking: liking a woman and loving a woman are not the same concept, even if Wang Hongju is a down-and-out person now, he still has high standards for the quality of married life in the future. In the past few days, he has always been thinking: Is his love for Ah Xia born of feelings or is it purely male hormones at work? Is there a solid emotional foundation between himself and Ah Xia? Wang Hongju will never rashly open his heart of love to Ah Xia before clarifying these clues.

On this day, Ah Xia took Ah Hua to the school early in the morning to see Wang Hongju, which Wang Hongju did not expect. Ah Xia told Wang Hongju that the child missed Teacher Wang and wanted to live with Teacher Wang for a few days, so she sent Ah Hua over, and she also brought Wang Hongju two homemade salted fish this time.

Ah Xia didn't talk much when she came to school this time, she cleaned Wang Hongju's messy dormitory inside and out, and left Ah Hua away after mending a few of Wang Hongju's torn clothes, and didn't even eat lunch.

After Ah Xia left, Wang Hongju took Ah Xia's sewn clothes and looked at them again, and he knew that every stitch and thread of Ah Xia was full of deep affection for himself. Wang Hongju couldn't accept Ah Xia for the time being, and he couldn't bear to cause mental harm to the woman who was kind to him, so he struggled painfully in the whirlpool of feelings.

Because Wang Hongju has a sense of guilt for Ah Xia, he cares for Ah Xia's son even more! During the five or six days that Ah Hua spent here with Wang Hongju, Wang Hongju took Ah Hua to climb, swim, fish, run, and teach him boxing, and the teachers and students had a lot of fun. Later, when Ah Xia took Ah Hua home, Ah Hua still wanted to stay on it, but in the end, Ah Xia dragged him back.

After the end of the summer vacation, the new school year began, and the students in Wang Hongju's class all returned to school on time, which made Wang Hongju feel strange that Ah Hua did not appear in the school, he couldn't hold his breath, and hurried to Ah Xia's house on a bicycle when there was no class on Sunday.

Wang Hongju walked into the courtyard of Ah Xia's house, and he found that the usually neat yard had become a little messy, as if it had not been cleaned for several days. He stood in the courtyard and whispered Ah Xia's name, but without hearing Ah Xia's answer, Ah Hua ran out of the house.

"Hello Mr. Wang! What are you doing here? Ah Hua stepped forward and grabbed Wang Hong's hand.

Wang Hongju asked Aihua: "Is your mother at home?" I'm going to ask her why she doesn't let you go to school? ”

Ah Hua looked sad, he pointed to the house and said, "My grandma is sick and has been lying in bed for many days, and I am taking care of her. ”

"Huh? What's wrong with your mother? I'll have to see! Wang Hongju hurriedly walked towards the house.

When Wang Hongju entered the room, he saw Ah Xia's hair scattered and her face haggard lying on the bed, covered with a sheet sewn with several patches. Ah Xia was about to struggle to sit up when she saw Wang Hongju coming, Wang Hongju stepped forward and gently pressed Ah Xia and said, "Don't move, lie down." ”

Ah Xia asked energetically, "Brother Wang, why are you here?" ”

Wang Hongju said: "Ah Xia, it's been a few days since school started, and Ah Hua didn't go to school to report, I'm worried that something happened to your family, so I came over to take a look." Sure enough, you're sick. ”

Ah Xia smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Wang, no one cares about our orphans and widows, only you care about us!" ”

Wang Hongju asked distressedly: "Ah Xia, what kind of disease do you have?" ”

"When I was cold, I felt that my bones were cold, and when I was hot, my whole body was like being burned by fire, and when I was sweating, my whole body was like being washed with water, and my head was also drowsy. As soon as I lay down, I couldn't get up, and I didn't have any energy on my body. The meals these days are all made by Ah Hua himself. Ah Xia was out of breath as she spoke. Fine beads of sweat appeared on the door of his head.

Wang Hongju asked again, "What kind of disease do you have?" ”

"My Abba treated such a patient when he was alive, and he did it when he was sick."

As soon as Ah Xia said this, Wang Hongju knew what kind of disease she had. When they were digging the canal, several of their companions had contracted the disease. This disease, commonly known as pendulum and malaria in medicine, is an infectious disease caused by mosquito bites.

Wang Hongju told Ah Xia: "You have malaria, if you don't get treatment quickly, it will be very troublesome, you have to hurry up the treatment." ”

Ah Xia said softly: "The barefoot doctor in the village gave me a fever-reducing injection and made me take a few pills. But after several days, it didn't get better. ”

Wang Hongju became anxious, he took Ah Xia's hand and said, "I analyze that he may treat your illness as a cold, and your illness cannot be delayed any longer." Today I have time. Walk! I'll take you to the township hospital right away! ”

Ah Xia was embarrassed and said, "Don't bother you, maybe my body will recover after lying down for two more days." ”

"No! Lie down for a few more days and your illness will get worse. I have to be responsible for your body, let's go, I'll carry you to the hospital on a bicycle. ”

"Brother Wang, it's too expensive to go to the hospital to see a doctor, I just asked Ah Hua to go outside the village to pick some Chinese herbs, and I will slowly get better by boiling the medicine myself!"

"Ah Xia, the township hospital has needles and medicines for the treatment of malaria, which are very effective. You don't have to worry about running out of money for treatment, I'll pay for the medical expenses for you, you have to listen to me today! ”

Wang Hongju found a towel to wipe the sweat off Ah Xia's face, and used his hands to tidy up her hair, then picked Ah Xia up and walked out. Ah Xia was so sick that she didn't have any strength in her body, she didn't want to go, so she had to let Wang Hongju's arrangement. (To be continued......)