Chapter 21: My Former Rite of Passage
I squinted at her, and she stared at me waiting for my reply.
I hummed, and although I was still a little nervous, I was still willing to listen to her.
I don't know exactly what I think.
I'm just that my grandfather knows that he has been in a good mood for the past two days, and if it weren't for Han Jianjun and the two of them, I guess the mood would be better.
So to simply say that they were able to accompany grandpa in the last days of his life is worthy of my gratitude.
She sighed slightly, a look of remembrance on her face.
She organized the language and said, "Son, whether you believe what your mother says below or not, you must listen carefully." β
I nodded, shifted slightly, and waited for her to continue.
She pondered again and said:
"Twenty-five years ago, in the autumn of that year, your father had just retired from the army, that is, I had just graduated from school that year, and your father and I met in Nancheng, I especially liked the kind of righteous temperament in him at that time, and then we fell in love very quickly, and then."
Sure enough, I still couldn't calm down to listen to these things about the rotten grains, and I regretted my decision just now.
I interrupted him directly, and said with an impatient face:
"I don't want to hear your old things, you pick on what I have to do with it."
Xia Fang still insisted on starting from the beginning, but I didn't want to hear it at all.
So I said:
"Do you know how old I am?"
Xia Fang nodded and said:
"Of course Mom remembers, you are a rabbit, born in 99, and you are twenty-three years old this year."
"You also know that I am twenty-three years old, I just want to tell you that I have grown up, not the child who lies on my grandfather's kang and cries and shouts for my parents, nor the child who needs to be taken home by my parents when it rains. You know what I mean. β
Xia Fang's eyes were red.
I continued:
"Actually, in my sophomore year of high school, I was still quietly leaning against the window, fantasizing that one day you would suddenly appear in front of me, because on the morning of that day, the teacher informed us that we were going to have a coming-of-age ceremony and needed to be accompanied by our parents. Do you know, after knowing the news, many of the students in the class at that time were discussing whether to let their father come, and some said that they didn't want them to come, and they were going to spend 100 quick money to take care of a fake father on the street. β
"Some people who don't know my family situation come to me and ask me who is from the family. I lied to me that you were so busy with work that you didn't have time to attend my coming-of-age ceremony. But when I was alone, I often felt that my nose was sour, and then I hurriedly stuffed a piece of spicy strips into my mouth, and my classmates thought that I was spicy when they saw my red eyes, and laughed at me. β
"You should know what the coming-of-age ceremony is, I don't believe you didn't go to Xia Chuxue's coming-of-age ceremony."
I couldn't control my emotions, I took out a cigarette and put it on my nose and smelled it, the cigarette was quickly wet, I don't know if it was snot or tears.
"Son, I'm sorry..." Xia Fang couldn't help covering her mouth and choked.
I pulled my lips and put on a dashing look and continued:
"So at that time, I was very resentful of you, why didn't you even come to my upcoming coming-of-age ceremony, but the teacher clearly said that it was the only and important day in our lives."
"But more than that, I still miss it, and deep down I still feel that you love me, so even at that time, I still look forward to it."
"During the coming-of-age ceremony, other students were sitting next to their parents, and their parents had 100 quick money to be a fake father for half a day, and next to me was my math teacher, who could see that I was very depressed, so he told me that the coming-of-age ceremony was just a formality, so I didn't take it to heart."
"Until one day, Uncle Li at the entrance of the village called the school, saying that my grandfather had fainted and was in the county hospital, and then Uncle Li pretended to be my relative to pick me up. At that time, how I wished that Uncle Li would be my real father, so that my grandfather would have something to rely on. When I arrived at the hospital, I saw my skinny grandfather lying on the hospital bed, I couldn't help but want to cry, I was afraid that my grandfather would suddenly wake up and see me crying, so I secretly hid in the hospital toilet and cried. β
"Then I stopped going to school and went to the construction site. At that time, not long after I had completed the ceremony, I distinctly remembered what the principal said in his speech at the coming-of-age ceremony, saying that we are adults now, and we should take responsibility as adults, and we should not seek help from our parents, but should protect our parents in turn. β
"I didn't have parents, I only had a grandfather, but I walked out of school without hesitation. After all, 'the son wants to raise but does not wait'. The moment I stepped out of the school gate, I hated you deeply, I hated all of you, I hated you for giving birth to me and not raising me, I hated you for not raising my son and not treating me, and I hated you even more for not letting me raise my head in front of my classmates. β
I leaned back against the wall, took a deep breath, and continued:
"But now I'm too lazy to hate, we've become strangers. Don't say anything in front of me about 'flesh and blood' and 'blood is thicker than water', even if you bring me into this world, it will be wiped out in my anticipation day after day. β
"It's like a cloud in the sky, it's beautiful, but it will be blown away by the wind."
"So, I waited for the rest of my life. You will go back to your southern city, I am still in this small county town, and from now on the well water will not interfere with the river water, isn't it? And Xia Chuxue, that girl, I don't know where you came from, you actually want to arrange other people's lives for me, are you brainwashing others, right? Sure, so you're going to brainwash me now? β
"Don't do it. Not necessarily, really. β
Xia Fang had already cried into tears, lying on the bed and crying.
Say I'm sorry.
I stood up and stopped.
When I came to my grandfather's house, Xia Chuxue was sitting at the sewing machine table with her chin propped up and watching TV quietly, but the TV didn't make a sound, so it should have been muted. Grandpa still lies on the kang to rest.
Xia Chuxue saw me come in and threw me an inquiring look. She was surprised that I had come out of the house before Xia Fang.
I pointed to the room and motioned for her to come and have a look.
After Xia Chuxue went out, I sat in the position she was sitting in just now, picked up the remote control next to me, and changed it.
But who knows what's wrong.
Because it's an old TV,The volume of each channel is different,That is to say, you need to turn down the volume again if you don't change the channel onceγ
It just so happens that grandpa is old, and when he watches TV, he will turn the volume to the maximum.
So the deafening sound came out of the TV.
Grandpa was snorted by the noise.
After that, he opened his eyes and didn't blame me, just quietly looked at the ceiling.
I'm a little ashamed of myself.
After a while, Grandpa regained his strength, as if remembering something, sat up and crossed his legs.
"Xiao Ming, when you go to the class reunion, remember to buy two thick clothes for Xiaoxue's girl in the city, although she said that she brought thick clothes, but I don't necessarily see how thick they are, the weather here has to be cold and hot, don't catch a cold when the time comes." We can't let people come all the way to follow me, an old man, to suffer, not to mention, but also to catch a cold. Grandpa said to me solemnly.
I nodded and said a little perfunctorily:
"Uh-huh, okay."
Grandpa saw my perfunctory and said:
"Why so reluctantly."
There's no way I'm going to tell my grandpa that I don't want to go to any bullshit reunion, and that I'm not going to go to the city these days.
"I remember." I said.
"Is there no money? Come. Grandpa, this is still a little, wait for grandpa to get it for you. β
Grandpa supported the kang with one hand and removed the shabby coat he was wearing with the other, and was about to get up.
I hurriedly stopped him and hurriedly said that I have it.
Grandpa didn't believe it, and definitely thought that I had no money, so he was so reluctant.
I smiled wryly and said:
"Master, I really have it. It's not that I don't want to buy it for her, but I don't want to go to the class reunion. β
Grandpa didn't know why, and said:
"What's wrong with the reunion?"
For a moment I didn't know how to answer.
Grandpa must have thought that the reunion was a good party, just like their old playmates from the village gathered at the entrance of the village all day to gossip.
As everyone knows, this so-called class reunion is not a clean place at all in my opinion, and it must be full of filth. First of all, there is Wang Shuo, who I hate, and if there is Wang Shuo, there will be Shen Yu.
Hehe!
"Master, it's a long story, so let's wait for Han Jian... When my dad came back, I drove to the city with the early summer snow to buy it. I won't go to that class reunion. β
Grandpa nodded, seeing that I was so resistant to the classmates, he didn't say anything.
I was a little bored again, and suddenly remembered that I still owed Uncle Li the hospitalization fee that I hadn't paid.
So I got up and went out of the yard.
Ma Lanying and the two of them had already gone back in front of me, probably tired of scolding.
The early summer snow also followed at this time.
His eyes were red, and he looked at me indignantly and said:
"What did you say to your mother! She cried so sadly, I've never seen my mother cry so sadly! β
"What can you say?" I asked her rhetorically.
Then I asked her with confusion:
"Hey, have you been brainwashed by the two of them? It's still three times a day. β
Xia Chuxue looked at me with wide eyes and disbelief and said:
"What do you say? How can you think so. β
"Then why did you keep saying that you wanted to marry me, we didn't know each other at that time."
"I'd love to! I'm short of eyes! β
"Domineering! Admire under it. β
Then I touched my chin and said in deep thought:
"Why don't I learn from you, and find someone to adopt me, preferably the kind who has a daughter, and then I'm saying I'm going to marry her?" I think Chen Chengfei's father is not bad, but I just don't know if he has a sister or something. β