The mottled and dilapidated Dragon King Temple was empty and silent. It rained on the hazy day, dripping on the black stone slab and making a crisp ticking sound, as the rain fell, the ticking sound gradually turned into a dense drumbeat, and the invisible wind sounded a weak sorrowful roar, as if announcing the opening of a big show.

The human heart is complex, unable to distinguish between good and evil, let alone the boundary between truth and falsehood. Huang Simiao came to this place called Hulou for the second time this month, once at the beginning of the month, the old man was still there, in addition to Huang Simiao's mother and aunt taking care of the old man, his eldest uncle and second uncle basically did not ask about the old man's life, and the filial piety of Baishan seemed to be inseparable from the shadow of snobbery.

Huang Simiao received a call from her mother Hu Lan yesterday evening, and her voice was hoarse.

"Son, your grandfather is gone... You, can you come and take a look? ”

When he heard his mother's voice choked, he had an ominous premonition, and when he heard that his grandfather died, his whole brain buzzed, and he promised something chaotically, at a loss, and wanted to speak, but he didn't know what he should say.

In the two-story building at the head of the village, there is a simple mourning shed in the courtyard outside the door, and the second cousin is sweeping the fallen leaves in the yard with a white cloth tied to her arm. When Huang Simiao got out of the car, the second cousin-in-law Liu Hua looked up and didn't speak. There was a faint cry in the house. Uncle Hu Quan went out to welcome him into the mourning shed, his eyes were indifferent, and he said a few words to his uncle-in-law Liu Ji, who picked him up behind him, "Go in, in the house." ”

"Just arrived, Xiao Miao came late, don't wait for him to arrive early." The uncle-in-law looked back at him: "Take the paper, just go in and kneel down and cry." On the way here, my uncle said that my uncle and second uncle were not filial, and said that if there was no care from my mother and aunt, my grandfather might not have been able to survive last month, and he didn't mention how long he hadn't come home, and finally asked him to cry loudly, if he didn't cry, the neighbors would laugh.

The cold wind suddenly rose, Huang Simiao couldn't understand the reason for crying, and the original sad mood turned into an indescribable sourness. Is this the end of his grandfather's busy life? This old man, who had experienced the war years, endured a lifetime of hardship, faced loneliness and illness alone at the end of his life, and could not even get sincere grief after his death. Huang Simiao thought that his relationship with his parents had gradually become indifferent, would he become like this in the future? His heart was filled with this inexplicable fear, as the uncle entered the mourning shed, walked into the house, and saw two groups of people kneeling on both sides with filial piety hats, and a small bed was erected in the middle, covered with a linen cloth, at this time he saw his father Huang Gang and his uncle-in-law signaling him to kneel, and then heard his father and uncle-in-law crying in front of him, and he could only cry in a daze, but he could only make a sound like laughing and crying. He seemed to be able to see the strange gazes around him looking at him, and I don't know how long it took for someone to pull him up and tell him not to be too sad, and the crying in front of him also stopped at this moment. His mother and aunt took him to the side room on the other side, and Huang Simiao saw that her mother was emaciated, and her sideburns and white hair were much more, and she seemed to be ten years older than at the beginning of the month, but for some reason, the aunt next to her was much fatter.

Maybe it's cloudy, it's dark in the house. Huang Simiao always felt that the people around him looked at him with scrutiny. Cousin Liu Jie came over and asked him if he had eaten, he only said that he was not hungry, and his mother asked Liu Jie to go and order some noodles, and later Huang Simiao knew that he could only make noodles and eat during this time. Liu Jie picked up Huang Simiao's hand and asked if it was cold, this is the cousin who loves him the most since he was a child, even when he is the most confused, he has been with him even when he is most confused, he was also there when his cousin got married last year, whether this is the life that his cousin wants to know, but this land and the people on the land are like shackles that bind Liu Jie firmly here, the shackles have worn out Liu Jie's arrogance, Liu Jie used to laugh, stubborn, like and want to go out of this land, but now Liu Jie has to take care of her aunt who lives alone in addition to taking care of her own home, My cousin, who works in Sichuan, heard from my mother that the injections and medicines used by my grandfather were all bought by Liu Jie when she was working in the hospital. The people around her said that Liu Jie was filial and virtuous, and her aunt was even more proud of it, and these words of praise made Liu Jie unable to leave that land.

Once I asked my cousin if she was tired, Liu Jie said, "This is fate." ”

My cousin also believed in her fate.

The noodle leaves were quickly ready, white bubbles spit out in the soup in the pot, the noodle leaves were flipped, Huang Simiao saw the green vegetables and egg flowers floating in the soup, and the soup noodles were floating with a few slices of green onions and oil stars, and the faint fragrance emanated, making his groggy spirit a little sober. Liu Jie smiled and put everyone in a bowl, and finally put out two bowls, put her eggs in Huang Simiao's bowl, saying that she was not hungry, Huang Simiao also smiled, without words, and ate silently next to Liu Jie, in the room, the mother held the bowl silently, the aunt ate it in a big gulp, the uncle-in-law smacked his lips with disgust, and there was a faint cry and wind outside to cover everything up. The eldest cousin came down from upstairs, filled a bowl by herself, and then said that she didn't wake up yesterday, and only arrived home from the field with her cousin in the early morning, and her mother asked her to go to sleep again, and the eldest cousin smiled and stopped talking, and the room was quiet again.

The atmosphere was too depressing, Huang Simiao didn't want to stay in the house, pushed open the door and walked to the courtyard. The cold wind passed through the padded jacket, and I shivered involuntarily.

Liu Jie saw him walking to the yard, afraid that he would freeze, so he also walked out and warmed his hands.

"Why did you get out, it's so cold outside"

Huang Simiao pulled her neckline up, trying to block the cold wind out, but she still shivered involuntarily.

"It's okay." After thinking about it, he asked again, "When is Xiaopeng coming," Xiaopeng is the nickname of his cousin who is far away in Chuandu.

"Liu Peng wanted to come, crying and shouting, but it was too far, I had to go to Shannan to pick him up by plane." The uncle-in-law wiped his mouth and walked into the courtyard, and was very bored when he saw the dilapidated spiritual shed, and it was difficult to open his mouth when he wanted to leave.

"Liu Peng is coming, the two of you will be lively, the two of you will cry together, see who cries."

The uncle-in-law smacked his lips: "Liu Peng is too far away to come, you have to cry out his share to know if you don't." ”

Huang Simiao smiled and did not speak. Didn't you come, this kind of thing, what is the reason not to come.

After the uncle-in-law finished speaking, he probably felt cold, and walked back to the side room, the sound of chatting began to come from the room, and he could vaguely hear what the salary and housing prices were, Liu Jie listened to a few words with a bored look on his face, "I can't get used to hearing him blowing nonsense, I can't eat, and I'm idle all day long", saying that the whole person was very lonely and quiet. My cousin didn't like her uncle-in-law Liu Ji since she was a child, she didn't achieve anything, she didn't seek progress, and the most important thing was that he almost ruined this home that was supposed to be happy.

"Son, you and your dad will go to your grandma's place in a while."

The mother walked out with the bowl, and a gust of wind blew, bringing up the mother's black and white sideburns, and her face was tired. Sideburns and hair, a deceased person in front of the door, Huang Simiao can't fully feel the pain of his mother's loss of his grandfather, but this does not prevent him from seeing his mother's disappointment in this family, this land has become unrecognizable, and he can no longer find a similar shadow in the memory of his childhood. Decadent, snobbish, and almost nowhere to be found, everyone's eyes are full of desire. Seeing her mother's irrepressible sadness but powerless, Huang Simiao wanted to escape from here for a moment and find a place where no one could find it to live again, but all this was an extravagant hope.

At the urging of her uncle, Huang Simiao soon embarked on the road to Taiping's hometown, with her eldest cousin Hu Chao driving, accompanied by her second cousin Hu Jie and her father.

"Mom, don't come out, you'll be back in the evening." Liu Jie also wanted to follow, but the car was full and she could only stay.

"Slow down on the road, it's okay to come back later, drive slower at night."

I was speechless all the way, and when I arrived at my grandmother's house, it was already five or six o'clock in the afternoon, and the big yellow dog who was watching the house barked and shook his head when he saw me. Grandma didn't know what was going on, but when she saw us, she was surprised that so many people came home, and she thought it was the New Year, and her heartfelt smile made the dim and damp cottage warm.

The mountains don't know the years, and the concern for the children will probably be sent to the children along the big river outside the village, but it is a pity that the children have lost too many things that they will have to carry again in the future on the way to grow up. The breath of indifference, like a cold and watery fog, permeated the world, covering the vast place.

"Grandpa, you're in good health!"

"Eat, eat, eat." Grandpa is eighty-five years old, and the back of his ears is very serious. The same age as my grandfather.

The eldest cousin hurried back, not wanting to delay too much time, and urged his father. My father was worried that my grandfather would be too sad when he heard it, so he only told my grandmother: "Mother, Si Miao's grandfather is gone, so we have to prepare here." ”

Grandma was a little shocked when she heard it at first, but after all, she was a person who came over during the war years, and she regained her calm in a moment, but she was a little regretful: "Big Brother is not bad, he has been offended, and this can be regarded as a relief." "Grandma was a Christian and believed that death was a return to the arms of the Lord. looked back at his wife: "He is the same year, he is eighty-five years old, this is just leaving, you go to the village old man to say it." ”

"Hey, when are the three days?"

"The day after tomorrow, then I'll talk about it later, and let them go on behalf of the village when the time comes."

"Go now, go early and come back early to eat."

When my father heard this, he went to the yard to push the motorcycle.

"Don't forget the rules when you get there." Grandma instructed on crutches, my father answered and went out, and grandma turned back to ask Uncle Luo to go to the restaurant to order, and the cousins said no, but grandma still insisted that they finish their meals before leaving.

"Xiao Miao, how is it at work, are you tired?"

"I'm not tired grandma, it's all fine, I'm fat." Huang Simiao held her grandmother's arm and let her grandmother sit on the sofa, poured hot water for her cousin and grandfather, sat next to her grandmother and stopped talking, and her grandmother looked at him with a smile: "Have you found a girlfriend, grandma is still waiting to hold her grandson." Huang Simiao was a little embarrassed, said no, and went back to the corner, watching them talk about the shortcomings of the family, this feeling may be the feeling of home, because it is warm, comfortable, and reassuring. Peace of mind is home. My father came back soon, the restaurant food had just started, and my cousin couldn't drink while driving, but was just eating in a hurry. No matter what grandpa wants to eat during the meal, grandma will put it in the bowl for grandpa before grandpa opens his mouth to speak, which makes grandpa very unhappy, saying that he can reach it, grandma just laughed and said that grandpa didn't know what to do, and everyone echoed and laughed a few times. Huang Simiao suddenly thought of his grandfather, who had been guarding the hut for half his life, except for the dog he was with on weekdays, he was probably lonely, thinking about it, he felt a sour feeling in his heart, why didn't he accompany the old man more on weekdays, and after he died, he regretted it.

It gets dark very quickly, there is no city in the countryside at night, people always go to bed early, and the next day is tiring enough to make people forget about the joy. After dinner, my cousin went to drive, and my father and I said goodbye to my grandmother, who was on crutches and wanted to go out to deliver it, but my father said it was too cold, and my grandmother insisted on sending it. This time, I may really have to see you again for the New Year. Life has too many explanations for us, whether it is pressure, joy, a moment of tranquility, a struggle day after day, or a round of shattered and reborn hope, after all, we can see the dawn of the morning, that is the meaning of life.