The streets are deserted and deserted, perhaps this is the most normal state in this small mountain village in winter.

But in Cheng Hao's eyes, there is a sense of loneliness and sadness at this moment.

It is often said that seeing the scenery gives birth to affection, and placing affection on the scenery. This is exactly this kind of depressed scene, which makes Cheng Hao feel the same way, and he can't help but walk on the street.

This small mountain village is located halfway up the mountain, down the hill and down the mountain. On some of the mountain walls, there are abandoned caves filled with corn stalks, apparently as a kind of ignition for winter fires.

Most of the houses here are made of adobe bricks made of mud and wheat stalks, and only some places, such as corners, are made of green brick pillars. However, for the current reinforced concrete high-rise buildings, such dilapidated houses are almost rare.

Walking on the concrete road with potholes and almost mixed with dirt, except for the choking carbon monoxide and wisps of green smoke, only the barking of dogs one after another can bring a little bit of vitality to this small mountain village.

Vaguely, Cheng Hao swept the heads of what seemed to be a few people, and looked out from the window of his house, perhaps because this small mountain village had been silent for too long.

Cheng Hao sighed lightly, and continued to walk slowly along the streets of the small mountain village.

The small mountain village is indeed not big, and Cheng Hao felt that he had not walked a few steps before he came to a hillside down the head of the village.

Standing here and looking down, it seems that the only road in front of you is the passage in and out of this small mountain village.

Cheng Hao was about to step along this road to leave here, when suddenly the corner of his eye swept over a large stone not far below. I saw a man with a leaning body, wearing a cotton hat that could cover two ears, holding a cane in both hands, sitting alone on a big rock.

Similarly, Cheng Hao was no exception, and couldn't help but walk to this person's side, only to find out that this was an old man.

The wrinkles on his face were like the bark of a dry tree, his gray beard was as disordered as a weed, and he clung to the crutch as if it were his only pillar, and would have fallen to the ground without its presence.

But what surprised Cheng Hao the most was the gaze in the old man's eyes!

It's so bright, it's so powerful, or... Full of anticipation!

Seeing such a gaze, Cheng Hao's heart skipped a fierce beat, he had never seen an old man, or even a young man, have such a spiritual head and... Wish!

It was out of this curiosity and surprise that Cheng Hao squatted down and smiled at the uncle: "Uncle, what are you doing sitting here on such a cold day?" ”

The old man didn't seem to be surprised by Cheng Hao's arrival at all, or rather, he didn't find that Cheng Hao was not from this small mountain village. On his wrinkled face, a flower-like smile suddenly bloomed, revealing the few remaining big yellow teeth, and said with a smile: "When my son comes back, he said that he will come back for the New Year this year." ”

Cheng Hao said: "Uncle, it's almost the first month of the New Year, and the New Year is about to end, maybe your son is too busy with work and can't come back." ”

The smile on the old man's face suddenly turned into thin anger, and said: "What do you know about your little doll, my boy, that is the most filial doll, how can you not come back to accompany me for the New Year?" If you say something like that, I'll whip you with a stick!" ”

Saying that, the old man waved the crutch in his hand a few times as if he was out of breath, Cheng Hao couldn't help but be startled when he saw this, good guy, don't look at it, you are about to grow into a crooked neck

The tree is up, these few actions are still vigorous, and the spirit is tight!

Cheng Hao, who was originally worried about the old man's body, was also a little relieved at the moment, and then took out his mobile phone and said: "I'm sorry, uncle, by the way, do you know your son's mobile phone number, use my mobile phone to call your son, so that I can also give you a quasi-letter, can you say okay?" ”

The old man frowned tightly, stared at the mobile phone in Cheng Hao's hand, and was stunned for a long time, before he read out a series of numbers.

Cheng Hao hurriedly dialed the number the old man said, and couldn't help but think that the old man was old, and his ears must be a little behind the ears, so he turned on the hands-free on the phone.

Suddenly! The beautiful voice of the customer service came out of the mobile phone: "I'm sorry, the number you dialed is empty!" ”

Cheng Hao was stunned for a moment, and saw that the old man's brows were also furrowed, and a look of uncertainty flashed in his eyes. Cheng Hao said: "Uncle, you... Could it be that I misremembered the number, this is an empty number, oh, that is, a non-existent mobile phone number, think about it carefully. ”

The old man lowered his head, his brows furrowed, and he was muttering a series of numbers in his mouth, as if he wanted to read out the most familiar string of mobile phone numbers in the depths of his memory.

After a while, the old man looked up suddenly, like a primary school student being asked by a teacher and suddenly remembering the answer, and said, "Ah, I remember, it's ......."

Cheng Hao was about to press the number again, but at this time, the old man was already like a machine gun, and quickly read out the mobile phone number. Cheng Hao's fingers also paused at a millimeter away from the buttons on the phone screen, and then looked at the old man.

Because, the mobile phone number that the old man said now, and the number he got before... Exactly!

Cheng Hao's eyebrows were raised sharply, and he faintly felt that something was wrong in his heart, for no other reason, it was because of the old man's shining eyes!

Just imagine, an old father who is at home all the year round is most worried about his only reincarnated relative! Obviously, the old man's most important relative is his son.

And the only mobile phone number that can contact his son, just like his son's birthday, is deeply engraved in his mind, and it is basically impossible to remember!

In that case, something is wrong... There must be demons!

Pressing the suspicion in his heart, Cheng Hao said to the old man: "Uncle, the weather is a little cold today, or I will send you back first, wait for you to go back and find the phone book, and see if you remember wrong." ”

The old man's eyes widened, as if he had thought of something, and his two dry hands suddenly grabbed Cheng Hao's arms tightly, struggling to stand up, and for a while, he didn't even notice that his crutches had fallen to the ground.

Cheng Hao hurriedly helped the old man up, and as soon as the old man stood up, he immediately walked towards the small village. Cheng Hao hurriedly helped, but his other hand secretly stretched out to his back, and with a hook of his fingers, he sucked the crutches that fell to the ground into his hand.

Perhaps it was the strength of missing his son that made the old man walk like the wind for a while. Even Cheng Hao felt that he was dragged all the way by this old man to the gate made of a wooden fence at the entrance of the village.

The old man pulled open the button of the outermost cotton coat on his chest, and took out the key from the pocket of his clothes, perhaps because he was in a hurry, and did not insert the key into the lock hole several times.

Cheng Hao hurriedly said: "Uncle, I'll come, I'll help you." ”

As he spoke, he took the key from the old man, then opened the door smoothly, then pushed the fence door inside, and then helped the anxious old man

Walk into the courtyard.

"Yo, old Liu, why did you come back so early today. Forehead... There are guests in your house, who is this, I haven't seen it before. ”

Suddenly, a surprised voice of a mother-in-law came from the left.

Cheng Hao turned his head to see that it was an elderly mother-in-law who was also wrapped in strictness, but from the degree of wrinkles on her face, this mother-in-law was younger than this old man.

The old man said: "I can't remember my boy's phone number, come back and look through the phone book." ”

After saying that, the old man pushed open the door of the house and hurried in.

But the old woman looked confused and muttered in a low voice: "Okay, why do you want your son's phone number, he has been dead for eight or nine years..."

Cheng Hao, who was about to lift the curtain and enter the house, suddenly stagnated, and looked at the old woman in disbelief. Although the old woman's muttering voice was very small, with Cheng Hao's cultivation, how could she not hear it!

Cheng Hao hurriedly walked to the low courtyard wall and said to the old woman opposite: "Hello mother-in-law, you said... This old man's son has been dead for eight or nine years? ”

The old woman suddenly came back to her senses, looked left and right, seemed to be a little speechless and stopped, and suddenly her eyes rolled and said, "Young man, who are you?" I don't think you're a relative of old Liutou. ”

Cheng Hao smiled slightly and said: "Mother-in-law, that's the case, I am a member of the state department, and during this time, we are secretly investigating the living conditions of ordinary people all over the country. ”

As he spoke, Cheng Hao showed the old woman the ID card of the National Security Bureau when he was walking outside.

To tell the truth, in the end, it is the people in the countryside who are simple and honest, and when they saw that they had documents, and there was Guohui on the certificates, they immediately believed it, and hurriedly put down the basin full of small coals in their hands, and wiped their hands on their clothes vigorously at a loss, and then whispered:

"Comrade, don't you know, this old man's surname is Liu, and because he is old, he is still the only one surnamed Liu in the village, so everyone in the village calls him Lao Liutou. This old Liu Tou is also a bitter life, his family has been poor since he was a child, and he finally got married when he was almost forty.

Soon after marriage, Lao Liutou's daughter-in-law became pregnant with a child, but when she gave birth to a child, she had a difficult birth! It was a rainy day at night, and there was no doctor or midwife in our small mountain village. There are only a few elderly women, but they finally saved the child, and his daughter-in-law just...

Therefore, Lao Liu Tou is very close to this child, and this child is also sensible and clever, and he has been especially liked by the people in the village since he was a child.

When the child grew up, Lao Liu didn't want the child to nest in the mountains like him, so he sent the child out of the mountains to work outside.

Just went out for a year or two, and the children still celebrate the New Year every year, and they will come back to accompany Lao Liu Tou for the New Year. Until eight years ago, Lao Liu sat on the big stone at the entrance of the village, as usual, waiting for his son to come back.

But he waited left and right, waited for several days, and saw that the Chinese New Year was coming, and his son did not come back. At that time, the people in the village were also in a hurry, there was no telephone in the village at that time, and if they wanted to call, they had to go to the town 60 miles away from here to call.

At that time, I remember that two people accompanied Lao Liu Tou to the town, and when they came back and entered the house, Lao Liu Tou fell to the ground. At that time, everyone was frightened, and quickly asked the two people what was going on.

It turned out that they went to the town and called the place where Lao Liutou's son worked, only to learn that because of an accident, Lao Liutou's son had died. ”