Nan Zhiyi followed, and saw Ling Li staring blankly at the plant in front of him, his face was full of smugness, and he showed off without reserve: "Haven't you seen it?" This is not the common arrow lotus, but an epiphany. Such a large plant has a flowering age of at least 20 years. ”

Ling Li didn't look back at him, but just said in a daze: "How did this flower come from?" ”

Nan Zhiyi touched his chin as if recalling: "Probably which family relocated from it, because it was blocked on the main road, it was almost cut down by the contractor, but fortunately, I found it and transplanted it in time." At that time, the leaves were rotten and unsightly, and after raising them for so long, they finally became decent. ”

She hummed, remembering the beautiful and elegant epiphany, and couldn't help but ask him, "How many flowers can bloom every year now?" ”

Nan Zhiyi silently calculated: "It seems that there were four rounds last summer, and there were more than 200 flowers in total." ”

Ling Li stopped talking, reaching out to touch the thick fat leaves of the dark green of the epiphany, and her fingertips began to tremble.

The branches are six or seven meters high, spread more than ten meters wide, and the trees are more than 20 years old, and everything is right. This giant epiphany is the one in Ling Li's house at the beginning.

The last time she saw it was seven years ago, when she was cornered by life and had no choice but to sell her house.

And because she had nowhere to raise and couldn't take it away, she ruthlessly abandoned the verdant that she had grown up with. For the next seven years, she was so guilty that she didn't have the courage to come back to take a look.

Seeing the green cage that appeared in her dream from time to time again, Ling Li smiled slightly, and her mood, which was still a little low before, suddenly improved a lot.

Although he was used as his coolie by Nan Zhiyi, it was a big surprise to be able to inadvertently set foot in this place where she had never had the courage to come back, and to see this epiphany that watched her grow like an old friend.

Even if it is abandoned by her, it can survive by chance, and it has been waiting here silently for her return.

God doesn't seem to be too bad to her.

Thinking of this, Ling Li's voice trembled a little, and her tone became serious: "Teacher Nan, can you give me a leaf from this epiphany, can I take it home to take it home to take it to cuttings and breeding?" ”

Her solemnity made Nan Zhiyi confused, and then looked at the incomprehensible look in her eyes, the alarm bell sounded in her head, and her voice was a little nervous: "What do you want to do?" Now is the time to recharge your batteries, and you are not allowed to move. ”

Then he stressed to her like a strict guard: "Even if you plant it this year, at least it will not bloom until next year, I can give you a few small pots to try to raise, and no one is allowed to move this baby." ”

Ling Li looked at his calf-like expression, and her heart warmed slightly: "Thank you, Teacher Nan." ”

Seeing that Ling Li didn't seem to want to touch his baby, Nan Zhiyi put his mind at ease and said, "I have not only this giant epiphany here, but also all kinds of exotic flowers and plants, as well as winter strawberries in season, I will take you to see it tomorrow, and I will make sure you have an eye-opener." ”

Ling Li pursed her lips and said yes, and her mood was a little excited.

On the way to Nanxi, Nanzhiyi told her that she would live in the ecological park for the past ten days, be responsible for walking the dog every day, tidy up the room for him, and cook for him after everyone left, and the reward was free food and lodging, as well as a car whenever she liked.

In addition to the fact that this place is a little deserted and it is not so convenient to go to the city, such conditions are very generous.

Ling Li is not a person who likes to be lively, and this can be regarded as a return to his hometown, although the previous town was relocated collectively because of the high-speed rail plan, and it is neither a person, but after all, the familiar scenery is still there, and there is also the company of Mi Li Guli, and you can also go to see the epiphany, although there are few people, but the heart is not cold.

After settling in the building, Ling Li was very satisfied with the conditions of the accommodation. The room is very simple to furnish, just like a single room in a business hotel, a single bed of one meter two, a bedside table desk and a simple cabinet, a separate bathroom, the amount of bath water and temperature are ideal, although there is no floor heating, but it is also equipped with air conditioning.

At night, Aunt Xun, who was in charge of cooking in the yard, was afraid that she would be cold, so she brought a hand warmer and said that she should nest in the quilt to go to Chaoyi.

She thanked her again and again, but her aunt hurriedly waved her hand to say that she was not polite, and before going out, she turned her head and smiled mysteriously at Ling Li, and said slowly: "Teacher Nan brought a girl here for the first time, so naturally I have to take good care of you." ”

The ambiguous smile on the corner of his mouth, and the meaningful look in his eyes, made Ling Li a little funny. Thinking about the student named Lu Peng who I saw in a hurry when I came to help them carry their luggage in the afternoon, I also looked at her secretly and didn't dare to look at her, I'm afraid it was also a misunderstanding.

However, she is just a black laborer, and the purpose of being coaxed by Nan Zhiyi is to walk the dog, the second is to clean, and the third is to feed, in short, a temporary life assistant, to help him block all mundane things, so that he can devote himself to cultivating immortals.

In the next few days, Nan Zhiyi seemed to have forgotten the promise he made to Ling Li on the first day, and disappeared completely, taking Lu Peng and another student with him every day.

Without the Nanda God to serve, Ling Li was very at ease, followed Aunt Xun to pick vegetables and cook, and went to the city one afternoon to reapply for an ID card, and then took rice grains and Guli to the river and the forest for a walk every day.

Even if she can't open her eyes because of the wind blowing in the forest and by the river, she is still willing to sit by the river, and she is reluctant to leave after watching the river in a daze.

Sometimes I thought about going around other places in the park, but I was stopped by Aunt Xun, and repeatedly told her not to go to the places she shouldn't go, especially the greenhouse, which is a place of right and wrong.

She said very carefully: "Teacher Nan is usually very easy-going, but as long as anyone runs into his vegetable field and orchard without his permission, it will be fierce, I have seen a man in his thirties scolded by him and cried and covered his face and ran away and never came back, let's not go to the suspicion." ”

She had a serious look on her face, but she said that Ling Li was afraid in her heart.

Not to mention, Nan Zhiyi is really fierce as long as he doesn't laugh, his tone is full of stubble, and he deliberately pretends to be fierce to play a South China Sea crocodile god or something, which is not a problem at all.

So, she didn't think about it anymore and lived in peace.

Everything was calm and fine, and the work was very easy, but when she woke up in the middle of the night, she touched the tear-soaked pillow, and she couldn't remember what she dreamed about and why she cried, but she felt a little empty in her heart.

Woke up at six o'clock in the morning again, Ling Li once again realized that she seemed to have woken up crying, the corners of her eyes were wet, and she was stunned.

What exactly did she dream about?

In a trance, she remembered that there seemed to be a pool of water, suddenly remembered that there was a whirlpool swirling above her head, and suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a pair of hands that wanted to pull her out of the water......

I sat on the bed with my knees for more than an hour, and when I heard the sound of Aunt Xun getting up and starting to be busy, she also dressed up, pushed open the door and told Aunt Xun that she would come back in the afternoon, drive Nanzhiyi's car, and go in the direction of Nanxi city center.

Her family, who was buried far away from Lingjiapo, had crossed the Nanxi urban area and went to the more remote northeast.

For no other reason, the cemetery had just been developed at that time, and the price was relatively low, and she didn't have much money left in her hand back then, so she could only afford it.

Although it is remote, but the environment is really good, the green mountains and green waters, but also far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the past seven or eight years, more and more people choose to be buried there.

When passing through the city, Ling Li parked the car and found a flower shop to buy flowers. However, where could she find the chrysanthemums she wanted in ordinary flower shops, she had no choice but to buy carnations, lilies, and stars, tie them into a big bunch, and wrap them in pale yellow wrapping paper, which is pleasing to the eye.

As she passed the supermarket, she thought about it, stepped inside, bought a few packs of cigarettes, a bottle of wine, some jelly, pudding, and finally a toy car.

This time it cost hundreds of yuan, but Ling Li didn't have the usual careful budgeting appearance at all, and only kept thinking about what else to buy.

After shopping, Ling Li sat in the small garden in the middle of the street, listening to the familiar hometown dialect in the mouth of the passers-by in her ears, until her hands and feet were a little stiff, she got up again, went to the nearby parking lot to pick up the car, and drove alone in the direction of the cemetery.

When I arrived at the cemetery, it was already noon, and there were a few cars in the parking lot under the cemetery, which was not deserted or lively.

After buying some fragrant wax paper money in the business department of the cemetery, and borrowing a small bucket and rag, Ling Li carried a large bag of things and walked slowly up the mountain.

The air was filled with the smell of firecrackers and burning wax, and the smoke was burning and choking to the eyes. The worshippers had dispersed and were heading toward the bottom of the mountain.

People who come to visit the graves in the spring usually come early in the morning, with a noisy burst of firecrackers, burning a pile of paper money, and then carefully scrubbing and painting the tombstones, and then praying in front of the tombstones of their relatives for the coming year, and finally packing up their things and happily going home for the New Year.

Ling Li deliberately came late, just because she didn't want to catch up with the scene of someone else's family huddling around the tombstone, so as not to appear to be out of place.

The pines and cypresses on the side of the road are already taller than last year, and the tombstones have also increased in patches, becoming more and more luxurious, almost all dark black granite tablets, compared with her family's white marble tombstones, much more upscale.

Turning one corner after another, Ling Li finally came to the place where they were sleeping. It's just that before I got closer, I found that the scene in front of me was a little different from previous years.

The expected dilapidated and barren scene did not appear, and the two tablets with the names of her family were still a little weathered, but the surface of the stele was clean and seemed to have just been scrubbed.

On one side is the "Tomb of Loving Father Ling Jiashu and Loving Mother Zhang Shouyu", and on the other side is "The Tomb of Loving Brother Ling Min", which is simply a few rows of words, and the word "Ling Li" at the end is extremely lonely compared with the dense series of signatures of the person who erected the monument on the tombstone next to it.

However, the words on the stele are not cold at all, as if they have just been painted, and the golden ones are very conspicuous.

Ling Li was stunned.

It was clear that someone had been there, and the traces of burning on the ground in front of the tombstone were still fresh, as if they had been in the last few days.

Standing there and thinking about it, she really had no clue, and she couldn't think of anyone else who would pay attention to her family besides her.

After thinking about it to no avail, she simply put down the bag in her hand and laid out the prepared things in front of the grave.

Alcohol and cigarettes are for Dad; A large bouquet of flowers, which belongs to my mother; Snacks and cars, naturally, are Xiaomin's.

After everything was placed, Ling Li knelt in front of the tomb and silently lit the incense wax paper money, she wanted to say something, but the inconclusive case was blocked in her heart, and she still couldn't say anything as usual.

After the incense and candles were burned, and the pile of paper money on the ground turned into a pile of dark ashes, Ling Li stood up, wiped away the tears smoked by the smoke, beat his legs that were a little numb, and prepared to go down the mountain.

I wanted to go back the way she came, but she went back and forth several times at the fork in the mountain, but she still didn't go down.

Ling Li sighed, finally turned around and walked in the other direction.

That is, the direction in which Ling Ling was buried.