When the old village chief saw that Uncle Wu was coming, he hurriedly handed over the leaf cigarettes. Two old men squatted on the stone in front of the village office, smacked leaf cigarettes, and smoked silently.

"Old village chief, come here so early!" A burly, tall and handsome young man stood in front of them.

"This is Tang Xiaohong, a new cadre stationed in the village, a working comrade of the county transportation bureau." The old village chief introduced Uncle Wu.

"Comrade Tang is so young! How did you come to work in our poor ravine? Wu Sifu looked Tang Xiaohong up and down.

"What did you just say?" Tang Xiaohong asked.

"Alas!" Third Uncle Wu sighed heavily.

The old village chief told Tang Xiaohong in detail about the situation of Wu Sifu's family as the nephew of Uncle Wu. At the end, the old village chief added: "He is also a retired soldier." ”

Tang Xiaohong didn't know that there was such a worrying thing happening in this ravine. Tang Xiaohong decided to go to Wu Sifu's house in the afternoon.

"Wang, Wang, Wang!" A dog barking woke Wu Sifu from his daze. When he opened his eyes, he saw a young man who looked to be in his thirties, wielding a bamboo stick, and yelling with a curse in his mouth: "Dead dog, blind? What is it called? ”

Wu Sifu limped and hurriedly shouted the dog away, looked at the young man suspiciously, and did not speak.

The young man patted the dust on his body, stood in front of Wu Sifu, handed over a cigarette casually, and said to himself: "You are Wu Sifu, right?" ”

Seeing Wu Sifu respond, the young man introduced himself again: "I am the resident secretary of your Bamboo Village, called Tang Xiaohong." Cadres stationed in the village sent by the county transportation bureau. ”

"Tang Xiaohong? Like a woman's name. Wu Sifu lit the cigarette handed over by Tang Xiaohong, stretched out a smoke ring, and said jokingly.

"It's not the red of the red, it's the rainbow of the rainbow." Tang Xiaohong corrected in a loud voice.

Cigarettes are the best items for men to connect with their feelings. Wu Sifu limped out a bamboo chair and let Tang Xiaohong sit.

"Brother, did you make this bamboo chair?" Tang Xiaohong asked as she sat on the bamboo chair.

"My dad did it." Wu Sifu replied casually.

"Will you?" Tang Xiaohong asked again.

"It's simple." Wu Sifu replied briefly, refusing to say a word more.

Tang Xiaohong saw Wu Sifu's impatience in his speech, stood up, walked around the side of the dam, and asked again after coming back: "Brother Ang, what year are you a soldier?" ”

"Why do you ask this?" Wu Sifu asked warily. This kid, what did he do for no reason, how did he still know that he had been a soldier?

"I was a special forces soldier in 2002 and spent 12 years in Tibet. I heard that you are also a veteran. Where did you become a soldier? Tang Xiaohong looked into the distance, and seemed to see the vast snow-capped mountains in Tibet again, and his eyes were profound.

When Wu Sifu heard that Tang Xiaohong was a Tibetan soldier, his spirit suddenly doubled, as if he had seen his relatives. Busy said: "I am also a Tibetan soldier. However, I'm a car soldier. My leg was frozen when my car broke down and froze when I was delivering daily necessities to the border outpost. ”

As soon as the two talked about Tibet and their life as soldiers, the topic was endless. Although Tang Xiaohong is a round younger than Wu Sifu, the two have a great feeling of seeing each other late.

Wu Sifu immediately invited Tang Xiaohong to sit in the house, saying that tonight, the two of us will have a good drink. Tang Xiaohong hurriedly said no, saying that he couldn't go back to the village office to sleep when he was drunk.

Wu Sifu thought to himself, could it be that Tang Xiaohong came to talk to him about the life of the barracks today? Tang Xiaohong didn't say it, and he didn't want to ask clearly.

It was almost dark, and Tang Xiaohong got up to leave. When leaving, he said to Wu Sifu casually: "I will go to your team with your old village chief today to investigate the situation of the subsistence allowance family.

Just now in the courtyard of your third uncle, there was a woman surnamed Shen, who was the woman whose man died in the coal kiln, scolding and scolding, saying that your old village chief bullied her orphans and widows and did not give her family a subsistence allowance.

This time, the Civil Affairs Bureau will strictly review the conditions for families with subsistence allowances, and they should ensure that they are fully protected. Those who do not meet the conditions for enjoying the subsistence allowance should be cleared up. ”

Wu Sifu let out a vague "oh", and then sent away Tang Xiaohong, a cadre stationed in the village.

Back in the house, Wu Sifu thought about it. His parents were sick, the medical expenses were high, and his son was in school, and the family life was poor. Now that my parents are gone, listening to Tang Xiaohong, this subsistence allowance is probably going to be canceled.

It's better to die than to live, and you have to live this life. Wu Sifu thought so in his heart.

Zhuxian No. 1 Middle School.

Mr. Yang, Wu Xiaotian's homeroom teacher, looking at the results of this month's monthly exam, he couldn't believe that Wu Xiaotian, who has always been among the top in science, actually made a low-level mistake in the calculation error in this monthly exam.

"Xiaotian, this monthly exam, is it a clerical error to calculate the wrong questions?" Teacher Yang asked Wu Xiaotian kindly.

Wu Xiaotian was silent, his hands kept twisting the corners of his clothes.

"Did something happen to you? Speak up and tell me. Teacher Yang looked at his face and guessed that Wu Xiaotian must have something on his mind.

"Teacher Yang, I don't want to go to school anymore. After my grandfather died, my dad was the only one in the family. The family owes a lot of debts, and I'm afraid my dad won't be able to think about it. Wu Xiaotian raised his head and said boldly to Teacher Yang.

"Where's your mother?" Teacher Yang asked casually.

Xiao Tian's eyes immediately filled with tears, and he bit his lip tightly and said nothing.

Teacher Yang didn't ask any more questions, guessed that there was a hidden secret, and said kindly: "Xiaotian, the book still has to continue reading." I'll reflect it to the school to see what policies are available to support you, and I'll help you apply. You just have to settle down and study, and you don't have to worry about the affairs of the family. Be careful in the future. ”

Wu Xiaotian nodded, bowed to Teacher Yang, and left the teacher's office quickly.

Teacher Yang decided to find out about Wu Xiaotian's family situation. He dug through the parents' address book and called the phone.

"Are you Wu Xiaotian's parent? I'm Mr. Yang. Teacher Yang asked openly.

"Teacher Yang, what's the matter with you?" Wu Sifu was very surprised when he received a call from Mr. Yang.

"Would it be convenient for you to take the time to come to school?" Teacher Yang then asked.

"Did Xiaotian make a mistake?" Wu Sifu didn't think about it, he opened his mouth and asked. What is it that the teacher asks the parents, what is it that is not a mistake?

"Oh, no, no. I'll talk to you in detail when you come to school. Teacher Yang hurriedly explained.

Wu Sifu took out the jacket he bought with his mother to the city two years ago, boiled hot water to wash his hair, shaved the beard that was covered in thick and horizontal his face, put on a pair of sneakers, limped to the village, called a motorcycle to take him to the side of the national highway, and waited for the shuttle bus to the city.

Wu Xiaotian has been in high school for two years in this key middle school in the city, and it is the first time that Wu Sishi has come to see the teacher. The son knows that his family is poor, he has always been sensible, diligent and studious, and he has never worried about him.

In the past few years, I have devoted all my thoughts to my mother and father, borrowing money everywhere, accompanying my mother to the hospital for dialysis, getting medicine, and taking my father to the hospital for surgery. Now that I think about it, I am really ashamed of my son.

He asked as he walked, and finally found the office of the third-grade teacher. He knocked on the door, asked Mr. Yang, and walked in with a limp.

Teacher Yang looked at Wu Sifu in surprise, he didn't expect Wu Xiaotian's father to be a disabled person. Judging from his face, Wu Xiaotian's father looks like an old man in his sixties. No wonder Wu Xiaotian wants to go home to take care of his father.

Teacher Yang handed Wu Xiaotian's monthly exam results to Wu Sifu, and handed him the mathematics test papers, saying that Xiaotian's current decline in grades was purely caused by excessive mental burden and lack of concentration.

Teacher Yang also said: "Xiaotian is a very smart child, polite and understands filial piety. He said he didn't want to go to school anymore and he was going back to take care of you. Now is the sprint stage of the third year of high school, I hope that you parents will create a good family atmosphere for your children, and give your children more warmth and encouragement. ”

Wu Sifu looked at the results and math test papers, nodded heavily at Teacher Yang, and said as if he had made a lot of determination: "I will cheer for the child, Teacher Yang, don't worry." ”

Teacher Yang didn't ask where Xiaotian's mother went, he was afraid of tearing a man's self-esteem and dignity.

Wu Sifu staggered out of Mr. Yang's office.

When I got home, it was getting dark. Wu Sifu looked at the calendar, this weekend should be the time for his son to come home from his monthly vacation, and he has to prepare living expenses for him.

He was thinking that he would find a tricycle tomorrow and ask the third uncle to help sell the family's bud grain, and he would have to make up enough for his son's living expenses no matter what.

He made himself a bowl of noodles by making a fire and added an egg to himself. He used to go and take the bottle, and it was very light; I shook the bottle again, but there was no dingdong sound, and I put it down. Shaking his head, he snorted and drank a large bowl of noodles into his stomach and smiled bitterly.

The next day, Wu Sifu got up early, and he called his cousin Wu Siquan and asked him to drive the tricycle to the back of the house to help him get buds to sell.

Wu Siquan hesitated and didn't want to agree. The road to my cousin's house was full of potholes, and the tricycle was very bumpy and steep, and it was really dangerous.

When Wu Sifu heard Wu Siquan's words, he thought to himself, it is really a poor person who is bullied, and Ma Shan is ridden. yelled angrily into the phone: "It's not that I won't give you the freight?" How much money do you pay for a trip to someone else's house, and I will give you how much money. ”

When Wu Siquan heard that his cousin was angry, he immediately explained: "Brother, I'll pull it." Am I not afraid of the road in front of your house, the ditch is deep and the cliff is high, and the tricycle is dancing on it. ”

Wu Sifu hung up the phone. After a while, I heard the horn of the tricycle and hurriedly came out to greet my cousin. Third Uncle Wu had already come over to help, and a few sacks of bud grain had been placed under the eaves. Seeing that Siquan's tricycle had arrived, he picked up a bag of buds and walked towards the tricycle.

Wu Siquan hurriedly helped the third uncle carry the bud valley together, and Wu Sifu stood lame on the side of the tricycle and looked at the third uncle and his cousin.

"Brother, why did you sell the bud valley?" Wu Siquan asked his cousin casually.

"Xiaotian has a monthly vacation this weekend, and he wants to come back to get living expenses." Wu Sifu said calmly.

A few bags of buds were quickly moved. After thanking Uncle Wu, Wu Sifu followed the tricycle to the town to sell bud valley.

Sitting on a tricycle, the car shook violently. Wu Sifu looked at the cliff on the right, his heart was hanging, and he told Wu Siquan to drive slowly and lean on the left mountain as much as possible. It took more than 20 minutes to climb out of the three-kilometer mountain road.

When I came to Shuangjiang Town, the market had already opened. However, there were not many people rushing to the market, most of them were old men and women who were over half a hundred or sixty or seventy years old, and the young people had gone out.

The owner of a farm came to look at Wu Sifu's bud grain, and bit it with his teeth, seeing that the bud grain was in good condition and the water content was not heavy, so he repaid the price. When Wu Sifu heard this, he lowered the market price by three points, and quickly calculated that he would sell three or four hundred catties of bud grain for more than ten yuan less.

Wu Sifu limped over and handed a cigarette to the owner of the pig farm, and said lightly: "This bud grain was planted by my father, if he hadn't just left, he wouldn't have let me sell it." In this way, you add 2 points to the price you give. ”

The owner of the pig farm saw Wu Sifu lame, listened to his tone, and was still a cheerful man, even if he made a deal. After weighing the scale, Wu Sifu saw that there was no shortage of catties, so he happily took the money and left.

He wandered around the town again and found an old man in his 70s selling bamboo sieves and baskets. The old man was dozing, and when he saw him standing in front of him, he looked at him with his eyes half-open, and saw that he did not look like a person who bought things, and closed his eyes again.

Wu Sifu thought, now that everyone uses plastic baskets, who still uses this?

He bent down and picked up the bamboo sieve to take a closer look, it was made of yellow bamboo, not a hundred bamboos, and the style was not very good. casually asked, "Old man, how much?" ”

The old man slowly spit out two words for a long time: "10 pieces." He looked at Wu Sifu indifferently and looked at it repeatedly.

Wu Sifu did not make a counteroffer. This thing is far worse than Dad's work. He put down the bamboo sieve and walked away.

He bought some oil and salt and other necessities, bought a pound of pork, and went home. Thinking that my son came back, I had to improve his food.

Wu Sifu saw that noon was approaching, so he went home slowly. When he got home, he was dumbfounded.