4

After this rally, Ma Lao's health deteriorated dramatically. Yu Leshui immediately informed Liu Ye to rush back as soon as possible, and also notified his parents to return to China to say goodbye to their old friends - they were traveling abroad. In the afternoon of that day, the old man called his family to his side to explain the aftermath, and Ji Renrui and Miao Qi were also present. The old man's breath was weak, and sometimes he had to guess his words by the shape of his mouth. But his eyes were unusually bright, and his thinking was unusually clear. That is the final burning of life force. He smiled and said:

"I'm leaving, I'm going to be reunited with the wives and daughters of that world, they've been waiting for me too long. Dongmei, I'll wait for you over there, and when you come, the two families will be together, and we'll be happy together. ”

Tianle's mother held back her sobs, "Yes, let them take care of you first, and I'll be there later." ”

With difficulty, he raised his hand and pointed at his wife, "Don't cry." Don't break our rules. ”

"Well, we don't cry."

"I was cremated on the spot when I died. Tianle, I'm going to occupy your crematorium first. ”

"It's okay, Dad, you can use it first. Dad, you left a signpost on the way to heaven, and I will find you then. ”

The old man smiled again, "Okay, as long as I didn't drink Meng Po soup, I must remember this incident." Shui'er, I'm afraid I can't wait for your parents, thank them for me. They sent Dongmei, Tianle and you to me and changed my life for the rest of my life. ”

"Dad, they also want to thank you, you have also changed our lives."

"It's a pity that I can't see my little grandson, it's a pity, it's the only regret in my life."

"Dad, when the little guy can speak, I will often take him to the crematorium to call you, you will definitely be able to hear you."

"Yes, I'm sure I can hear you. Kiss him more for me. It's a pity that I couldn't see the willow leaves. Tell her not to cry, not to break the rules of the old Ma family. If she's going to get on the ship, let me know at the crematorium before she leaves. ”

Tianle's mother said: "Definitely, she will." ”

"Where's Renrui?"

Ji Renrui in the back row squeezed to the front, "Uncle Ma, I'm here." ”

"Do you remember when you abandoned your official position and went into the mountains to lobby us? It's been twenty-two years in the blink of an eye. ”

"Uncle Ma, I remember it all."

"I'll ask you to do one thing, take care of someone for me. Heavenly Pleasure. Everyone was stunned for a moment, they didn't expect him to make this request. The old man's mind was very quick, and he saw everyone's doubts, and explained, "Tianle's thinking is very sharp, but sharp things are often very fragile. The three of you, Dongmei, Leshui, and Ren Rui, all took care of him for me. ”

Ji Renrui understood what he meant: not only the care of life, but also the care of thoughts and emotions. He smiled and said, "For me, Chu Tianle is a giant of thought, can I take care of it?" But don't worry, Uncle Ma. If we can't reach his height, we will take a ladder to take care of him. ”

The old man was tired and closed his eyes and rested for a while. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Chu Tianle: "I have nothing to explain." You all go out, and I'll talk to Tianle alone for a while. ”

The crowd quietly left. Chu Tianle turned the wheel of the wheelchair, got closer, took the old man's hand, and buried his face in the palm of his godfather's hand. He came to the Ma family 38 years ago, and the picture of 38 years of life is flowing in front of him at this moment. For a long time, neither of them spoke. Then Tianle raised his head, and the two looked directly at each other. The old man said:

"Remember what I said? I say that the human body devours muscles and bones first and then the brain when it is extremely nutriently deprived. Thankfully, my brain cells weren't devoured, and I was able to stay awake when the candle of life was about to go out. ”

Tianle nodded, "Yes, you still maintain a clear mind. ”

"Well, maybe I can do you a little bit of a favor and untie your knots. Say, I know you've been harboring a secret for years, and you've been carrying a certain secret on your own. ”

Tianle was embarrassed and said, "Dad, I don't want you to be excited......"

"Confused! Even if I lose a few hours of life due to agitation, what is it? Which end is lighter and which is heavier? He said in a deep voice, "Tianle, you are a genius, I know that genius is also very difficult, he has to carry a lot of burdens, lose a lot of happiness, and add a lot of suffering." Let's talk about it, and feel better when I say it. ”

"Okay, then I'll say it." Chu Tianle's heart suddenly surged with sentimentality, and he tried to hold back his tears, "Godfather, I really can't bear you to go." He choked up, and in his excitement he shouted out the name of his early years. Even if the godfather can't catch up with the trend of science due to his old age, as long as he is there, Chu Tianle feels that he has spiritual support. When he dived deep into the sea of thoughts, to the bottom of the wild and lonely sea, he knew that someone was guarding the steel rope for him on the surface. The old man understood his sentimentality, and didn't say much, just patted him on the shoulder, waiting for his wave of feelings to subside.

Chu Tianle calmed down and began to tell his godfather the secrets buried in his heart. He did not carry the secret alone, but two of them, the other being Pauli, who was white-skinned and silent.

The others were chatting in the living room, but their hearts were on the room with the door closed. What are the two in the room talking about at the moment? Sometimes, Yu Leshui and Ji Renrui would exchange glances, and they also didn't know the content of the conversation, but they both had an ominous premonition in their hearts. Tianle has always had something on his mind, which began after he went to Rendan Island to live in seclusion, and I hope that the old man's last conversation can untie his knot.

The door opened. Chu Tianle leaned out, beckoned, and went back in his wheelchair. When these people passed, they saw Chu Tianle nodding to the old man:

"Okay, just do as you say, wait for the spaceship to go into the sky."

No one has said it since.

From afternoon to evening, people came to visit Ma Lao one after another. Because the old man was too weak, the visitors were strictly controlled, and the only people who came were Abikar, a representative of the United Nations and secretary general of the SCAC, Lin Bingzhang, a representative of China and director of He Guoji's office, and three representatives of the "Friends of Music" organization, Ge Qihong, Alex and He Zizhou. After their visit, they all went back to the headquarters of "Friends of Music" at the foot of the mountain. At night, Tianle's mother and Yi lay beside her husband, talking and looking up at him from time to time. The husband was calm and had been lying on his back with his hands on his chest and his eyes closed; Sometimes the eyes are also open for a while, and they look at nothing with a burning eye. He listened quietly to his wife, occasionally replying. And so it went until early in the morning, when he went away peacefully.

The funeral took place two days later. The crematorium was too cramped, so only the family of the deceased (including Liu Ye, who had returned from the United States), the fish husband, the three members of the Ji family, and five political representatives attended the funeral. Chu Tianle couldn't climb this mountain road anymore, so he was sent up by helicopter. He Zizhou, Ji Jichang, Liu Ye and helicopter pilot Xiao Zhu carried a simple stretcher and carefully lifted the old man's body onto the pine stack. Willow leaves lit a fire. Her eyes were red, but she obeyed her father's last wish and held back tears. The dried pine wood burns violently, crackling and popping, giving off the fragrance of pine resin. Above the tongue of fire was a thick white smoke, which rose straight up and was blown away by the horizontal wind after reaching a certain height. A mountain eagle slid over the white smoke with its wings outstretched, its wingtip feathers fluffy and scattered by the wind. Perhaps it was the bonfire and the white smoke that attracted it, and it circled around the column of smoke for a long time, sometimes swooping downward, sometimes soaring into the sky, and sometimes making an eagle's chirp. Maybe it is the ferryman between the earthly world and the heavens, and at this moment, on its back, it is carrying the heavy soul of the old man?

The eagle finally flew away, and everyone watched as the little black dot melted into the blue sky.