Winter and noon of the twentieth year of the Republic of China.

The goose-featherlike snow is still flying, and the south mountain is hazy and white. The snow outside the house was raging, but the inside of the house was a little warm, only a wall and a fire to block out the cold of winter, and the two of them only survived several harsh winters with this simple facility. The old man lay on the kang, wrapped in two quilts, pulling the undulating snoring, while Bai Shan sat by the stove, staring at the crackling firewood burning in the furnace in a daze without blinking.

Suddenly, there was a violent coughing sound from the old man, and the old man's tears flowed, and a mouthful of phlegm was hoarsely pulled back and forth in his throat, but he couldn't cough it out, and he felt very uncomfortable. Bai Shan hurriedly got up and went to the kang to help the old man gently pat his back, the old man was relieved, and waved his hand gently at Bai Shan. Bai Shan understood his meaning and slowly put the old man on the kang, got up and poured a bowl of hot water and walked to the side of the kang, just wanted to help the old man drink water, but the old man waved his hand and said: "Mountain, is it still snowing outside the house?" ”

"Yes!" Bai Shan put down the bowl, gently rubbed the old man's arm and said: "Grandpa, this snow has been falling for two days, and it hasn't stopped, the snow outside is almost a foot deep, and I can't go down the mountain, as long as this snow stops, I will immediately go down the mountain to get medicine for you." ”

"Mountain. The old man turned his head to look at Bai Shan with a kind face: "No need, how many times have I told you, why don't you listen?" Grandpa's body Grandpa knows that medicine doesn't work much, it will only waste money in vain, and now that there is war outside, there are many fierce beasts at night, in case you want to make a mistake, I ...... it."

Before the old man could finish speaking, he only felt an itch in his throat and began to cough violently again. Seeing this, Bai Shan hurriedly picked up the old man and handed the bowl to his mouth, but the old man coughed nonstop, and he didn't care about drinking water at all, only feeling a hot current surging in his body. Suddenly, the old man hurriedly pushed Bai Shan's hand away, and the water in the bowl shook a few times and spilled on the quilt, and before Bai Shan could react, he saw a stream of blood gushing out of the old man's mouth.

Bai Shan had never seen the old man like this, and he was a little overwhelmed, and hurriedly said after a short period of fright: "Grandpa, grandpa, don't be angry, I listen to you, don't go down the mountain, I won't go down the mountain." ”

The old man's face was pale and uncomfortable, and he had no time to speak. Bai Shan saw that the old man's beard was also covered with scattered blood stains, and hurriedly got up to get a washcloth. The old man's mouthful of blood seemed to have been relieved of the cough, and he lay on the kang panting hoarsely. As soon as Bai Shan picked up the face cloth, suddenly the old man's intermittent laughter came, and the laughter was accompanied by the snowstorm whistling outside the house, which was a little sad and desolate; Bai Shan was stunned in place, his nose was sour, tears gradually appeared in his eyes, and his eyes were a little hazy, and he hurriedly raised his sleeves and wiped them.

The old man suddenly stopped laughing, exhaled a long breath, and said, "Eighty years, eighty years! I have never done anything unconscionable since I can remember, and I could not have imagined that I would suffer such a sin in my old age, ridiculous, ridiculous!"

Bai Shan knew that the old man had been haunted by the paralysis for the past two years, and he would complain inexplicably from time to time, which was also human nature, but for him, seeing the old man's legs unable to move, sometimes not saying a word for a day, it was inevitable that he would feel a little sad.

Bai Shan hurriedly walked to the kang, took the old man's arm and said, "Grandpa, don't think like this, the mountain will always be by your side." As soon as these words came out, Bai Shan's tears could no longer be controlled, like a river that broke the embankment was unstoppable, lying on the old man's arm and crying bitterly.

The old man saw that Bai Shan was so sad because of himself, he couldn't help but feel sour in his heart, and his compassion was even stronger, he stretched out his hand to help Bai Shan wipe the tears on both sides of his cheeks and said: "Shan'er, don't cry, I know that you are good for grandpa, but grandpa's body grandpa knows best, you don't have to run around for me anymore, you can accompany me for two more days, and I will know enough." I think they're calling me, and I don't think I've had a few days left. You keep asking me about your life experience, the reason why you didn't tell you is because grandpa is reluctant to tell you, afraid that you will never go back in the future, I know that it is very selfish to do this, but I am more worried about your safety, I can't rest assured of you! Paralysed for the past two years, I have figured out a lot of things, I have no reason to hide your life experience, now I will tell you everything I know, this is also what you should know, I just hope you don't hold a grudge against grandpa. ”

Bai Shan's face was full of tears, I don't know that the old man actually brought up the topic of his life experience, he couldn't help but be a little surprised, after all, he had concealed it for so many years, he had no intention of pursuing it anymore, the old man suddenly said this, he didn't feel much, but he was even more distressed about the old man in front of him, Bai Shan also knew the good intentions of the old man, the children of the poor family had been in charge of the house for two years, and he knew what the world outside the mountain was like in chaos, how difficult it was for the old man to raise him, how could he hold a grudge against the old man who had raised him for his own selfishness。

With the deep thought, Bai Shan's tears were already thicker, and he just wanted to open his mouth to explain his thoughts, but he saw an old man with bloodshot eyes and a haggard face, he opened his mouth, and he wanted to speak and stopped, but he couldn't say a word.

The old man's eyes gradually blurred, as if he was recalling something a long time ago, and after a while, his blood-stained lips moved, and he said softly: I remember that it seemed to be the winter of 1916, two days before the first day of October, I went down the mountain to buy sacrifices for the Taoist chief, and it was late at night when I went back and forth, and it was snowing heavily, so I had no choice but to hide in a cave to avoid the wind and snow. When I woke up the next day, I found that half of the pot of water in the pot had been frozen into ice lumps, I had a dry mouth and walked towards the nearest Yunxi Town, when I was about to reach the town, I saw a small earthen house next to the field, I walked over with the heart of trying, I didn't expect that the room had experienced a battle, the room was full of freeze-dried blood, there were several corpses in military uniforms lying on the ground, and a man in gray clothes was lying on the kang, I guessed one or two at the time, as for who killed those in military uniforms, I don't know! And you were lying in the kang at the time, maybe the lights were dim and they didn't notice it, so they survived, and I also heard your slight sound of sleep before I saw you. At that time, you were wearing a black Tang costume, and I thought that judging from your clothes alone, the fabric must be expensive, and ordinary people can't afford it, and I thought that you must not be a child of this family, and when I saw your dark red pendant, I was even more convinced of my thoughts.

Bai Shan was extremely curious when he heard this, and he couldn't imagine that he had escaped a catastrophe when his life was hanging by a thread, so he couldn't help but look at the old man twice, and his eyes were full of gratitude. When the old man talked about the dark red crystal, although he knew what pendant he was talking about, he couldn't help but take out the dark red crystal hanging around his neck and said, "Grandpa, is this it?"

The old man turned his head and looked at the dark red crystal in Bai Shan's hand, and nodded slightly: "When I used to work in the Qi Mansion, there was a crystal like this on the table in the main hall. This means that you were not born in bitter cold, but in a large family. The reason why I named you is the text in this piece of glass, because I think this piece of thing must be related to your life experience, so that you will have a greater chance of meeting your relatives in the future. I was eager to save people and even forgot to hit the water, so I hurriedly left the place of right and wrong with you, I have no children and no daughters in my life, and I was a little reluctant to see you at the first time, and I saw that you were more sensible and filial when you grew up, and I was even more reluctant to hide it from you until today. Alas, when people get old, the older they get, the more confused they become, and they do some foolish things. Alas!" The old man closed his eyes with a deep sigh of breadth, and a tear ran down his wrinkled cheeks to his ears.

Bai Shan had never seen the old man so melancholy, and he didn't know where to persuade him, but he knew why the old man was crying, and his heart couldn't help but be even more touched, and he cried again.

The old man opened his eyes when he heard the sound, looked at Bai Shan's eyes were red, tears flowed, his heart hurt even more, and he took Bai Shan's hand tremblingly and said, "Shan'er, don't cry, good boy, don't cry." After speaking, he wiped the tears on both sides of Bai Shan's cheeks, and couldn't help but sigh and said: "There will be separation in this life in the world, but sooner or later, don't be too sad and sad, grandpa will be gone in the future, you have to live well, act like a man, don't cry, remember?"

Hearing this, Bai Shan hurriedly nodded vigorously, choked up and said a little slurred: "Mountain...... Mountain, remember ...... Remember?"

"Good, good, good boy. The old man got Bai Shan's definite answer, obviously a little excited, showing that long-lost smile, suddenly, his face sank, as if he remembered something: "Shan'er, I have a few words in my heart to say to you, no matter what, you must remember." ”

Bai Shan wiped his tears and nodded vigorously, he didn't know how long the old man had to live, he only knew that he wanted to listen to every word of the old man at this time, and he knew that the old man at this time was one more sentence and one sentence less.

The old man patted Bai Shan's hand lightly, and said with a serious face: "Shan'er, you are not deeply involved in the world, you don't know that this world is sinister, and the lives of our poor people are as humble as grass." Receiving the grace of dripping water, when the spring reciprocates, I live in this barren mountain, not only for the Taoist chief to repay the kindness and guard the soul, but also because of my own cowardice. The only thing I can't rest assured after I leave is you, that town has passed for decades, the vicissitudes of life, things are people, I don't know if it's still there, if you want to leave here after I leave, you need to remember, this good and evil thoughts, don't have the heart of harming people, have the idea of harming people, and do harmful things!"

The old man let go of Bai Shan's hand, looked at the black beams and pillars on the roof with hazy eyes, and said slowly: "There is no need to sow the seeds of the coming year, just let the land under the mountain be barren! You can't be like me, you can't be like me, you live here, this ancient man has clouds: there are three unfilial pieties, and no queen is great, and my life can be regarded as a violation of the principle of filial piety! After so many years, I have taught you the principle of filial piety, which is really ridiculous!" The old man couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly, and suddenly, the old man put away his smile, turned his head and looked at Bai Shan expectantly and said: " And you're different! Shan'er, you are still young, you must not follow in my footsteps and be such an unfilial person as me? Shan'er, can you do it? ”

About the old way, the old man also occasionally mentioned one or two, but every time he talked about his feelings, the old man would keep silent, so Baishan also knew very little, the old man taught Baishan with the principle of filial piety, and Baishan also knew what the principle of filial piety was. Bai Shan, who heard the old man's words, was already a tearful man, he heard the old man's instructions clearly, but he didn't know the deep meaning of his words, he only knew that the most important thing in front of him was to agree to the old man's instructions first.

I saw Bai Shan hurriedly get up and kneel on the ground, kowtow three times in a row, and wiped the tears on his face with his sleeve and said: "Shan'er has been adopted by Grandpa for many years, and he will definitely remember your teachings, and he will never do that harmful thing, and he will never be that unfilial person."

The old man looked at the white mountain on the ground, full of relieved smiles, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Good boy, don't kneel, come, get up quickly." ”

Hearing this, Bai Shan got up slowly, walked to the kang in two steps and sat next to the old man, the old man was full of smiles, and helped Bai Shan wipe the soil on his cheeks in distress: "Shan'er, grandpa still wants to drink another sip of the noodle soup you made......"

Before the old man's words fell, Bai Shan had already gotten up, patted the soil on his sleeve and said, "Then I'll do it now." ”