Since before Zhou Lei came back, his aunt had already helped him deal with most of the things, so after he came back, most of the cases were to sign and go through the process, in the Dashizhen Police Station. After only staying for a while, Zhou Lei walked out of the police station, standing at the gate, the bright sky swayed his eyes, so that he couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly, there were few pedestrians on the street, occasionally parents with their children passing by, watching others take their wives leisurely shopping, he lost his mind in a trance, thinking back to his life to grow up to now, only a wry smile, the young family lost his father, the middle-aged wife left his mother and died, and now only the young son is accompanied, how difficult this life is, how difficult this world is, where should he and his Zhou father and son go?

Waking up from a trance, Zhou Lei calmed down, walked out of the door of the police station, on the way back, Zhou Lei thought about Zhou Hao's future arrangements, there is no way to study in Binhe Road Primary School, after all, it is impossible for the aunt to take care of Zhou Hao, the aunt and his wife have no children under their knees, and the village clinic has recently expanded its scale, but it is even more impossible to let Zhou Hao take care of himself, it seems that he can only let the child follow him, thinking of following himself, Zhou Lei is thinking about the child's reading and life problems, and he has made difficulties for a while, Before I knew it, I was walking to the door.

Today's roller shutter door was pulled to the top, Zhou Lei felt that the half-open roller shutter door, the light in the door was too dim, so that his mood was more depressed, so he directly pushed the roller shutter to the highest, the bright sunlight illuminated the spacious front hall, and the feeling of emptiness and haze was also reduced a lot.

Zhou Hao squatted at the door, watching the ants in the cement crevices, the ants were diligently carrying the food, forming a long queue, and at the end of the queue, there was a pig worm that was being split, it rolled and twisted its body, resisting this group of fierce soldiers in armor and armor, but it was all in vain, and could only be slowly eaten away.

Zhou Hao was watching with relish, a big and generous and warm hand covered his head, rubbed his little head, and a warm and clear voice sounded: "Hao Hao? ”

Zhou Hao heard his father's voice, raised his head excitedly, and found that it was indeed Zhou Lei, "Dad...... you're back!" As he spoke, he happily threw himself into Zhou Lei's arms, Zhou Lei stroked his son's head and said softly: "Are you watching the ants move?" ”

"Uh-huh", Zhou Hao nodded and said, "They also caught the nasty pig worms back and ate them!" ”

"Huh, huh?" Zhou Lei smiled, looked at his son, and thought to himself, "As Hao Hao grows older, the estrangement between his family and his family gradually weakens, and his speech is not as clumsy as before." After thinking about it, he thought again, "In the face of outsiders, it is still easy to lose control of emotions, and his words are jerky, and he can't express himself." I couldn't help but look gloomy.

"Wow, ants are amazing!" Zhou Hao had an excited look on his face, stared at Zhou Lei and said loudly.

His son's voice interrupted the distracted Zhou Lei, his eyes that were scattered due to the stunned regained clarity, and he saw the appearance of his son in front of him clearly, Zhou Lei smiled, led his son to the house, and said: "The ants are all big heroes!" ”

"Wow! Big Hero! Zhou Hao shouted excitedly.

led his son into the house, chatting with his son without a match, Zhou Lei walked directly through the small door of the partition and walked to the innermost kitchen door.

Inside the kitchen. An old woman was waving a shovel stir-frying the dishes in the pot, "Auntie, I'm back." Zhou Lei looked at the old woman's back and said loudly.

Hearing the voice, the old woman didn't look back, and the old and gentle voice sounded, "Leiwa, you play with Haohao for a while, and the dish will be fried immediately." ”

"Hmm", Zhou Lei didn't say much, he took his son to the front room, sat on the recliner, Zhou Lei looked at the ceiling attentively, while Zhou Hao sat on the recliner on the side, poked the woven bamboo rows with his fingers, and observed the lines of the bamboo rows.

"Leiwa, serve the food." Auntie's voice came from the kitchen, Zhou Lei touched his son's head and said, "It's time to eat, go wash your hands!" ”

"Good!" Zhou Hao was already hungry and happily ran to the sink, while Zhou Lei walked into the kitchen and brought the prepared meals to the table.

on the dining table. The three of them ate slowly, Zhou Lei and Auntie did not mention the previous things, Zhou Lei only talked about his interesting things in the field, and Auntie also talked about some recent changes in the town and village, Zhou Hao ate very seriously, occasionally interjected to ask what he didn't understand, and the meal was finished in this warm atmosphere.

After the meal, Zhou Lei was washing dishes in the kitchen, Auntie wanted to help, but Zhou Lei refused, he said that if he didn't do something, his conscience would condemn him, listening to him say this, Auntie had to let him, Zhou Hao went to see the ants move in the front hall again, and Auntie took a small stool and sat at the door of the kitchen.

The old man looked at the man who was washing dishes in the kitchen, this man has grown up for many years, with a broad back and tall figure, he can already shield others from the wind and rain, and he is also working hard to move forward, but the more he cares, the more he cares, he leaves him one by one, so the old man said: "Lei Wazi......, your mother's business, you want to open some ......, alas, ......." At the end, the old man sighed softly.

"Auntie, thank you, I'm fine, my mother has been misunderstood all her life, except for her own family and your family, no one has ever really understood her, now that she is gone, it can be regarded as a relief, and now she can meet her father under the spring, she will be very happy." Zhou Lei put away the cleaned dishes and chopsticks and wiped the water stains on his hands with a handkerchief.

"Alas......", Auntie sighed and said: "Silly girl, what I care about most in this life is your Zhou family, and you will rely on yourself in the future." ”

Zhou Lei hung up the apron, took a small stool, and sat next to his aunt, he looked at the small window of the kitchen, outside the small window is a wall, this wall blocks the scenery outside the small window, only by looking up obliquely can you look over the top of the wall and see the blue sky.

Zhou Lei's voice sounded, "Auntie, I understand, you and Uncle should also take care of your health." ”

"Well, you know it in your heart, I'm relieved." Auntie nodded, and said with a smile: "I'll tell you, don't worry, the old bones can live for a few more years, and strive to see Haohao marry ...... daughter-in-law, hehehe." ”

"Yes, ......", Zhou Lei heard his aunt say this, and couldn't help but start fantasizing about his son's marriage, but he didn't know which girl would be willing to accept him, thinking about these, the light in his eyes was bright or dark, intertwined with the worries and expectations of being a parent.

"By the way, aunt, I'm going to take Hao Hao with me, so that I don't have to trouble you, and I can take better care of him." Zhou Lei remembered the decision he had made before, so he brought it up, after all, if he dealt with his son and mother as soon as possible, he could go back to work sooner, otherwise his financial resources would be cut off.

Hearing this, Auntie couldn't help frowning and said, "I know what you think, but you have to go to work on weekdays, how do you take care of the children?" ”

Zhou Lei knew that his aunt would ask such a question, and he had considered these questions in advance, so he replied without pause: "I thought about it, my colleague's children were also with me before, and their children only came back for half a day a week in boarding school, and I usually rest on Sunday afternoons, so there is basically no problem." ”

Hearing him say this, Auntie knew that he had already thought about it, sighed in her heart, and still said uneasily: "But the people in other places are not familiar with the place, and there are not a few fellow villagers, Haohao will not be able to communicate with others, what should I do if I am bullied?" After speaking, there was worry in his eyes.

"Auntie, don't worry." Zhou Lei gently covered the back of her hand and patted it, with a certain determination in his eyes, and said loudly: "I will always pay attention to Haohao's situation, I can't always trouble you, he still needs to go on his own in the future, after all, I also have the day when I will grow old." ”

Auntie looked into his eyes and felt his insistence, "Alas......", she couldn't help but sigh again, "Okay, okay, I won't dissuade you, you have your considerations." ”

"You......, you've been like this since you were a child, you are sensible early, think about this, take care of that, worry more than anyone else, and when you're tired, you have to learn to rest...... bastard!" The old man raised his hand as he said and knocked on Zhou Lei's head.

"Uh......, auntie, I'm in my thirties, not a child......." Zhou Lei said with some embarrassment.

"In my aunt's eyes, you are still the child who was beaten and cried when he fell asleep." The old man looked at the man in front of him with relief in his eyes, "It's just that the child has grown up, changed from a sapling to a big tree, and has learned to think about others and shelter others from the wind and rain." ”

"Auntie, for so many years, thank you for always helping us, without you, our Zhou family may have ......, ouch!" Before Zhou Lei finished speaking, the old man knocked him and said: "Don't mention the old accounts again, now you just have to live well, and there are some things that can be put in your memories." After the old man finished speaking, he raised his hand and rubbed Zhou Lei's head, perhaps worried that he would hurt some children.

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt." Zhou Lei waved his hand, but he did not refuse the old man's move to rub his head.

"By the way, have you considered finding another mother for Haohao?" The old man said suddenly, and when Zhou Lei heard this, his face turned embarrassed, "Auntie, this matter is ...... for the time being." Not to mention, the child is too young to be suitable. ”

The old man looked at him and pouted, "It's easy for children to accept when they're young, and it's even more difficult to accept when they're older, finding a mother for Haohao is good for you and him, and children can't live without mothers." The old man said meaningfully.

"Oh, ...... second marriage, who wants to look for me, and you know, I ...... this painting." Zhou Lei muttered.

"What about the second marriage, as long as you are willing to find it, there will be people who are unwilling? How many can you find in this appearance? That mother-in-law didn't look at you handsome! As a result, just because of the child, I dumped your father and son, and ran away with the wild man, I should have blocked his door back then, poured two buckets of dung water on him, shameless thing! The more the old man spoke, the more angry he became, and his voice gradually increased.

"Oops! Neither! Shh......h......h Zhou Lei hurriedly begged for mercy and gestured to let his aunt lower her voice.

"Humph!" The old man folded his arms, his face was full of disdain, but his voice was much quieter, "If you want me to say, you weren't like this when you were a child, why the bigger you are, the smaller your temperament, we should have a fight with them and let them have a lawsuit!" ”

"Yes, you're right." Zhou Lei had to echo his aunt with a wry smile, after all, the aunt is also famous for her violent temper in the village, and the village health center receives all villagers, and her temper is already vulgar, but when she arrives in front of her aunt, she is obedient, and the pungency in her bones can be seen.

"Next time, when you come back with the baby, remember to bring his mother, otherwise, I will accompany your uncle to the clinic during the New Year." The old man said without joking, Zhou Lei knows how tired he is to go to the clinic, and there are few people in the village health center on weekdays, only the New Year is very busy, so he has to work for a year, and he has to work tirelessly when he comes back, although he will also take a hand, but he doesn't want to go to the clinic at all, and immediately begged for mercy with a desperate face: "Auntie! Spare me! ”

"No! You can't afford to be sloppy in this matter! ”

“……”

The kitchen doorway. The two figures are noisy about "finding a daughter-in-law", as if a son is arguing with his mother, eager and warm.

A few days later, inside the funeral home in Dashizhen. Today is the farewell ceremony of Zhou Lei's mother Zhou Hao's grandmother's body, after the ceremony, the funeral home staff will transport the old man's body to the crematorium outside the town for incineration, due to the implementation of cremation, burial has been basically banned, if there is a special channel, of course, the Zhou family is not, in the narrow funeral home, the ice coffin is placed in the middle, and the people who came to mourn, there are only four people, Zhou Lei, Zhou Hao, Zhou Lei's aunt and uncle, standing in front of the ice coffin, the funeral home staff said a few words casually, ended the farewell ceremony, Zhou Lei walked next to his mother, looked at the familiar face in the ice coffin, and he was shocked that his mother had really left.

Zhou Hao also wondered why his grandmother, who had not seen him for so many days, was lying in the glass cabinet, so he asked his father curiously: "Dad, why is grandma sleeping in the glass cabinet?" After a pause, he added: "Is it because it's too cold, so it's warmer in the glass cabinet?" ”

Originally, the aunt was reluctant to bring Zhou Hao here, but in the end, Zhou Lei insisted on bringing it over, hearing his son's question, Zhou Lei calmed down, thought for a moment before saying, "Yes, grandma is most afraid of the cold, you know, so we found her a glass cabinet, she is not afraid." ”

"Okay, then grandma is warm, will she still play with Haohao?" Zhou Hao stared at the old man in the ice coffin and asked expectantly.

"I'm afraid not." Zhou Lei replied blandly, "Why? Zhou Hao looked up with some confusion and looked at his father.

"Because grandma is going to meet someone who is very important to me this time, your grandma, I have been thinking about him all my life."

After listening to Zhou Lei's words, Zhou Hao was silent, he lowered his head, he didn't know what he was thinking in his little head, and found that his son didn't say anything more, Zhou Lei lowered his head, saw his depressed appearance, and sighed slightly in his heart, he squatted down, looked at the child in front of him, and pulled a smile on his face, "Hao Hao, can't you bear grandma?" ”

"Well......", Zhou Hao lowered his head, but his mood was very low.

"Haohao, do you want to make grandma happy?" Zhou Lei suddenly asked, "Happy?" When Zhou Hao heard this, he raised his head suspiciously.

"That's right, because your grandma is very happy just thinking about meeting that person, remember every year grandma receives a letter?" Zhou Lei looked at his son and explained gently.

"Know! Know! Zhou Hao hurriedly said, "Every time grandma asks grandpa to read it to her, she is happy!" ”

"That letter was written by that person to Grandma." Zhou Lei said loudly.

"Dad, I get ......." Although he was very reluctant, Zhou Hao still said sensibly, and then he walked to the edge of the ice coffin, waved his hand, and the immature child's voice sounded, "Grandma, goodbye...... ”

Touching his son's head, Zhou Lei turned his head, looked at his uncle and aunt, aunt and uncle understood what he meant, and aunt walked to Zhou Hao's side and said, "Haohao? Hungry? ”

"I'm a little hungry, I didn't have enough breakfast." Zhou Hao turned to his grandmother and whispered, and the aunt smiled, "Hey, hey, grandma knows, go!" Let's go eat cold noodles. ”

"Yay!" With cheers on his lips, Zhou Hao pulled his grandmother and walked out, and when he was about to walk out of the door, he suddenly looked back at his father and found that his father had not followed, so he said loudly: "Dad, let's eat cold noodles!" ”

"Go, Dad still has to talk to this brother, and I'll be here in a while!" Zhou Lei said, pointing to the staff next to him, the staff also smiled at Zhou Hao, Zhou Hao turned his head a little scared, and said, "Then you hurry up...... Oh. So I followed my aunt and uncle to buy cold noodles.

Watching his son leave, Zhou Lei looked back at the staff and said, "My mother's business will trouble you." ”

"You're welcome, Brother Zhou, if it weren't for you, I fainted that day, and I don't know when someone would find out." The staff said gratefully.

"It's a little thing, it's just a coincidence." Zhou Lei waved his hand, took out the things in his pocket again, and said, "Brother, this pile of letters, trouble with my mother." As he spoke, he handed the letter in his hand to the staff.

"What is this?" The staff looked at the letter in their hands in confusion.

"This is the letter I send to my mother every month, and since everyone is gone, let's burn it together." Zhou Lei explained calmly.

"Well, no problem, I'll just register it later." The staff said happily.

"Then thank you, I don't have anything to do, I won't bother you, you get busy first." Zhou Lei said and walked away.

"Mmmm, Brother Zhou, you go slowly." The staff also said goodbye to him with a smile, and after he walked away, the staff took the letter to the backstage to register.

Walking on the street and walking for a while, Zhou Lei saw Zhou Hao and his uncle and aunt sitting on cold noodles and eating cold noodles, Zhou Hao found his father from a distance, with cold noodles in his mouth, waving his arms to his father, the expression on his face seemed to say, Dad, come on, this cold noodles are super delicious, come and eat with me!

Zhou Lei also waved his hand, his mouth opened and closed silently, and his lips seemed to be saying, let Zhou Hao eat slowly, and then he quickened his pace and walked towards them with a smile on his face.

Birth, old age, sickness and death are the norm in the world, but they always make people cry and find it difficult to hold themselves, and the most hurtful of them is the separation between life and death of the flesh and blood. Therefore, people in the world often sigh: "When your parents are there, there is still a place in life." When my parents are gone, there is only a way back in life. ”

[I have a cold.....]