Wen | Wu Zehua
1
"Mom..."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the playground not far from the dormitory sounded the sound of fireworks crackling and exploding. In an instant, thousands of silver needles slowly fell down from the night sky, leaving a brilliant trajectory. A strong smell of the New Year hangs over the city.
Lin Zi was deeply attracted by the beautiful fireworks and forgot her mother on the other end of the phone.
"Lin Zi... Lin Zi, is it a holiday? ”
"Mom, it's a holiday."
"When are you going home for the New Year?"
“...... Mom, I don't want to go home for the New Year. I want to use my winter break to find a job. ”
“……”
Mother was silent on the other end of the phone.
"Mom... mother...... I miss you and Dad! ”
"Baby, you come back for the New Year!" Tuition money, my mother told my uncle, he promised to lend us. ”
"Mom, you don't have to borrow for tuition." I got a student loan at school. You don't have to worry! I just want to... I just want to work and earn some money to buy you and dad two new clothes. You two haven't added new clothes in years. ”
"Baby, come back!" Mom and Dad don't need new clothes, as long as you come home, we gather around the fire pit to eat a steaming meal, and the family is lively and chatting, and we are satisfied. ”
There were more and more fireworks, colorful mushrooms floating in the night, and Lin Zi really wanted to pick one for her parents.
Lin Zi thought for a moment and said, "Mom, I know." I promise you that I will definitely go home to spend the New Year with you and dad. ”
2
At the entrance of the train station, the crowds were crowded. An emaciated boy crouched at the entrance to the station, with an umbrella, a raincoat, a mobile phone charging cable, a tissue in front of him...
Passers-by ask him for prices from time to time, and occasionally some people buy them, mostly umbrellas and charging cables.
Tiangong seemed to know Lin Zi's thoughts, and suddenly it rained lightly, and a group of people gathered around and asked about the price of the umbrella.
"Handsome man, how much does an umbrella cost?"
"Forty, thirty, ten."
"One of thirty!"
"One of forty!"
"Five out of ten!"
At noon, dark clouds covered the warm city. The wind urged the wanderer's pace, making a series of piercing whistles.
Lin Zi stood in the cold wind, glanced at the sky, and counted the money in his hand- five hundred and sixty yuan! Earned one hundred and thirty dollars. He had a slight look of happiness on his face and gently brushed his sideburns with his hands. The heat above the head is bubbling, and the temperature is transmitted to the body, feeling warm.
"Boy, look at this brother! Maybe he was a student, selling things in the cold for the sake of life... Look at you, it's time to be content! Mom and Dad don't work easily, but you don't study well and play games every day! A mother holding a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old said.
Lin Zi listened, smiled, and was very proud.
In the afternoon, the contents of the woven bags were all sold out. Lin Zi counted the money seriously and silently chanted, "I earned two hundred and seventy yuan today!" ”
At this time, Lin Zi felt his stomach croaking, and after eating two steamed buns in the morning, he carried something to the train station, and now it was five o'clock in the afternoon, and his stomach must be hungry. He hurried to a bun shop, bought two steamed buns and a cup of black rice porridge, and got on the bus with the bag.
At night, the night is beautiful and the fireworks in the night sky are still blooming, which is charming. Lin Zi went to the wholesale market next to the school and entered a batch of goods. Yesterday there was no experience in the purchase, there were many people who bought umbrellas, he had to go a little more; and he felt that the food around the train station was very expensive, and if he took a batch of bread and snacks, it should be sold quickly.
He took two bags of goods back to the dormitory, did not rest for a moment, hurried downstairs to the school train ticket sales point, bought a ticket at seven o'clock in the morning of the twenty-eighth of the new year, and then called his mother and told her that she had arrived home on the twenty-ninth day of the new year.
Mom was on the other end of the phone, smiling happily.
"I know, Spring Festival train tickets are not easy to buy... As soon as you come back! ”
"Mom, I just want to make some money during the winter vacation."
"What kind of money can you make during the winter vacation as a child, a student?" Hurry up and come back! ”
"Mom, I tell you, today I wholesaled a bag of goods to sell at the train station and made two hundred and seventy yuan."
"—Huh? My forest is so powerful! Oops, my family's forest has grown up! ”
"Mom, I'll keep selling for a few days and come home later!"
"My baby is smart!"
On the twenty-seventh day of the New Year, Lin Zi came back very late, and only went to the school dormitory at ten o'clock in the evening, originally he sold out at six o'clock, went to the mall, bought a few sets of clothes for his parents, and then bought a set for himself.
Back in the dormitory, counting the money earned in the past month, half a year later, cheerfully said: "The tuition fee for the next year has been saved enough, and this Spring Festival can be spent with peace of mind." ”
3
In the twenty-eighth year of the year, Lin Zi got on the train and called his mother before getting on the train.
The train to Guiyang is 6 p.m. It was getting late, so he stayed at a hotel near the bus station and reported to his mother that he was safe at night.
The next morning, Lin Zi boarded a bus home.
Mother heard that Lin Zi was coming back today, so she came to town early with her back to wait.
Lin Zi got out of the car and looked at her mother's pale face and white hair, and tears couldn't help but flow out of the corners of her eyes.
"Coming back! Definitely exhausted! Mom saw Lin Zi get out of the car, carrying a large suitcase, and hurriedly greeted it to help carry it.
The suitcase was tied to the back basket, and the mother was ready to squat down on the back of the body, and Lin Zi did not agree anyway. He looked at his mother's white hair and comforted her: "Mom, you and Dad don't have to worry about it." After I graduated from college and worked in a few years, I will take you to live in a big city and let you experience the life of urban people. ”
"Oh, as long as you graduate from college and work, your parents will be solid."
Lin Zi thought about his father's illness and asked, "Mom, is Dad in better health?" ”
"Nothing serious, just rheumatism! But somehow, this month, the legs and feet are not flexible, and it is difficult to walk. The day before yesterday, your uncle took him to the Chinese Medicine Hospital for an injection, and now it is better. ”
Lin Zi burst into tears.
When he got home, Lin Zi saw his father standing in the doorway on crutches, tears rolled out of the corners of his eyes again, and his mouth shouted: "Daddy... I am back! ”
Putting down the back basket, a pair of delicate hands held Dad's broad shoulders, and the warmth was passed again, "Baby, just come back." Mom and Dad miss you, haven't seen you for half a year, Mom and Dad dream of you every night, I don't know how you lived at school? ”
"Dad, I'm doing well! My special hardship allowance is five hundred yuan a month, enough for living expenses, and..."
Before he finished speaking, Dad burst into tears, "Baby, if it weren't for Dad's back injury... If you have rheumatism, you may follow young people to work along the coast, and you will not be wronged, suffer like that, suffer like that..."
"Dad, you've been good enough to me, I'm content!"
Speaking of this, Lin Zi was busy taking his parents' clothes and pants out of his suitcase and trying them on. He told his parents that he had bought it for his uncle and cousin, and that tomorrow when he was free, he would go to his uncle's house and let them try it too, hoping that they would like it.
After dinner, the family gathered around the fire pit, and Dad put firewood and grass while pulling a family meal with Lin Zi. Mom said coldly: "Lin Zi, you don't have to worry about your tuition fees, although your parents don't have money, your uncle has." This year he did odd jobs in the city, and he had a lot of things to do, and he paid his workers well. He said, "I've saved you three thousand dollars." When you need it, tell him not to save at school, especially to eat, otherwise you will be hungry and your body will affect your studies. ”
"Mom, I've got a job for myself now. It's a good job, it can be done on Saturdays and Sundays. ”
"What work?"
"There is a department store wholesale market next to the school, and I have time to wholesale some goods to sell at the train station or bus station, so I can make some money. During the winter vacation, I earned more than four thousand yuan! I plan to spend the Spring Festival, and then wholesale order to sell, my tuition, my living expenses will be solved. Don't worry too much. ”
"Our good forest, too clever, too capable!" Mom smiled and encouraged him.
"My forest is originally handsome, the reading grades are good, and I can make money, who married my family's forest, really slept in the nest."
Dad suddenly said, "Lin Zi, your father was also a capable person back then!" If it weren't for the fire in Daxing'anling, you wouldn't have been able to suffer so many grievances today. ”
Lin Zi was stunned and asked, "What father?" ”
Dad and Mom looked at each other and were silent for a moment. Dad said in a serious tone, "Lin Zi, I don't hide it anymore." You're not our biological baby! Maybe you don't know why your surname is Lin and my surname is Zhang! At first, your parents tricked you to hide this matter in their hearts, and when you grow up, we will tell you again. Today, it's time to tell you. You've grown up and understood things. ”
"You're not my parents, so where are my parents?"
"Alas, mention that fire... I'm so sorry for your dad. ”
As Dad spoke, his eyes stopped rolling and his gaze stopped on Lin Zi's face.
“...... When we entered the mountain, the instructor told us not to put out the fire against the wind. I put out the fire and just rushed forward. Your father was my squad leader, and when he saw that I was about to be swallowed up by the flames, he rushed up and pulled me down, but he was blown into the sea of fire by the wind, and was instantly swept away by the flames..." Dad said sobbing, tears falling like rain.
Lin Zi also shed tears with her father. Mom was also in tears.
“...... At that time, you were still in your mother's belly. When I told your mother the bad news, she was in pain and later suffered from depression. ”
“...... When you were three years old, she was gone and out of this world. From that moment on, I promised that I would take good care of you and not let your parents be sad in another world. ”
"If it wasn't for that fire, your father wouldn't have gone, and you wouldn't have suffered so much grievance!"
Lin Zi wiped her tears with her sleeve and said, "Dad, I have not been wronged." If my parents were there, maybe I would be a bad child! Maybe you won't be able to get into a good university! Now, look at me, I was admitted to my ideal university... Also, you and your mother love me so much, care for me, and love me so much. ”
He truly felt that he was lucky to have come into this world! Mom and Dad loved him so much, even more than their daughter Hideko. Whenever there was something delicious, they gave it to him first, and there were beautiful clothes for him to wear first.
After Lin Zi's mother left, his father took Lin Zi and raised him with his own child, Ying Zi. Originally, his wife also wanted to have another child, but in order to give the two children a rich life as much as possible, he decided not to have any more children.
Unexpectedly, in the summer when Hideko was six years old, she went to town alone to buy salt and never came back. Dad searched for a year with money and food, but did not find Hideko. From then on, he was depressed and depressed, until Lin Zi went to high school, realized his mistake and promised to raise Lin Zi well. He scolded himself for not living up to the expectations of the old squad leader and sister-in-law.
Nineteen years in the blink of an eye. Lin Zi was admitted to his ideal university today, and his wish was fulfilled. Unfortunately, her daughter Hideko was lost, and I don't know how she is doing now.
4
Time is like an arrow, the sun and the moon are like shuttles.
Lin Zi graduated from college, and after the graduation party, he and his classmate Mengyao sowed the seeds of love when they said goodbye on the tree-lined path by the school pond.
Mengyao once told Lin Zi that she was an orphan, growing up in an orphanage. Lin Zi believes that he and Mengyao have the same fate, have the same goal, and have a common dream - the grace of dripping water, when the spring repays each other.
After graduation, Lin Zi and Mengyao entered the same financial company, with a good salary, and they can get an annual salary of about 150,000 yuan a year. The first month's salary hit the bank card, and Lin Zi removed his basic expenses and remitted the rest of the money to his parents. Mengyao, like Lin Zi, remitted the remaining money to the orphanage.
At the end of the year, the Spring Festival came, and Lin Zi returned to his heart like an arrow and called his mother.
"Lin Zi, when are you on vacation?"
"Mom, I'll be back next week!"
"That's fine. I told your dad to make your favorite sausages and bacon. Now that it's all done, come back and try it! ”
"Mom, I'm in love!" I've been embarrassed to tell you. ”
"Huh? My son is so good, he certainly can't worry about marrying his daughter-in-law! Mom supports you, the age is not small, there should be a companion. Not to mention that your parents are not around, there is a person who cares about you, and your parents' hearts are also implemented. ”
"I'm going to take her back for the New Year and let you and Dad see it." Your good son is not very discerning and has found a good daughter-in-law. ”
"Haha, my son is mature, sensible, and humorous."
Lin Zi hung up the phone and discussed with Mengyao to buy New Year goods. They combed through a list and went to the mall to buy it. When the purchase came back, Mengyao and Lin Zi first sent a few boxes to the orphanage; the rest, the two of them packed them in boxes and brought them back to Lin Zi's house.
After everything was arranged, Lin Zi and Mengyao boarded the plane from Shanghai to Guiyang.
Arriving in town, it was also dusk, and my mother stood at the place where she got off the train again and waited. Lin Zi told Mengyao that it was her mother. Mengyao greeted her with a smile and called out kindly: "Mom! You've worked hard! ”
The mother did not respond, and Mu Ne looked at Mengyao. Lin Zi felt strange and suspected that she was sick, and asked busily: "Mom, are you sick?" You don't look good! ”
The mother realized that she was out of shape, took the box in Mengyao's hand, and said with a smile: "Babies, it has been hard all the way!" ”
On the way home, Mengyao walked in front, and Lin Zi carried two suitcases and walked behind her mother. Mom whispered to Lin Zi, "Baby, did you find out?" That girl is like Hideko! ”
"Eiko? No way... Sixteen years on, people have changed! ”
"Yes! With the look in her eyes, I guessed that she was our sixteen-year-old daughter, Hideko. ”
Lin Zi carefully recalled Hideko's countenance and said, "Mom, with her countenance, I also feel very similar." ”
Mom said excitedly, "Oh my God! If only it were! Baby, you say..."
The two looked at each other and laughed.
Entering the house, Lin Zi and Mengyao helped their mother to do things. Mother saw Mengyao for a while to help wash vegetables, and then sweep the floor, like a virtuous daughter-in-law, her heart was like infusion of honey. She moved a chair and sat by the fire pit staring at Lin Zi and Ying Zi, talking softly with her father, Meng Yao was like Ying Zi who had been lost for many years.
Dad was very surprised, carefully observing Mengyao, the appearance of Ying zi cheering and cheering came to mind, tears slowly spilled out of her eyes, and a happy smile appeared on her face, saying: "Could it be... Could it be that my old squad leader has appeared? When we joined the army together, we made a promise that the two of us would marry a man and a woman, and beat up our relatives; if the two were men, they would worship as brothers; if the women were sisters. ”
At dinner, Lin Zi bought a bottle of Moutai wine from Shanghai, unscrewed it and drank it with his father. While drinking, Dad opened the conversation box and said to Mengyao, "Sister, I want to ask you, where do you live?" ”
Lin Zi knew that Mengyao was an orphan, growing up in an orphanage, and his father inevitably embarrassed him when he asked, "Daddy, drink when you drink, how is it like the police asking criminals." ”
"Lin Zi, didn't you find her like your sister Hideko?"
Lin Zi pretended to exclaim, "Dad, it's like that!" Especially that pair of little dimples! ”
MengYao froze and smirked awkwardly. Since he and Lin Zi are brother and sister, and now they are boyfriend and girlfriend, isn't that a joke?
"Baby, I can't say if you are our daughter, but now the most scientific method is to do DNA identification." Mom laughed.
"Needless to say, there is a scar on the back of the left foot. It was when she was five years old, disobedient, hitting the head of the forest with a wooden stick, I was drunk, I threw it with an iron clip, and I knew that it just hit the instep of her foot, and the blood was pouring out... I regretted dying at the time. ”
"Dad, I remember! She was so naughty, chasing me every day... Dad was scolded by his mother for a few days and did not dare to speak. ”
"Also, there's a black birthmark on the sole of your right foot."
Lin Zi looked at Mengyao stunned, put down the bowl and chopsticks, lifted her right foot, and took off her shoes and socks. Mom and Dad put down the bowl and chopsticks and stared intently at Lin Zi's shoes and socks, his eyes were wide open, and his eyeballs were about to jump out.
Sure enough, Mengyao had a black birthmark on the sole of her foot.
Lin Zi lifted her left foot again, took off her shoes and socks, and found a five-centimeter-long scar on the back of her foot.
"Oh my God! My old squad leader has appeared! My baby is home! Dad said with tears in his eyes.
Mengyao completely collapsed, isn't heaven playing tricks on me?
"Mengyao, in the future, your name will be Zhang Mengyao!" Lin Zi said excitedly.
"What Zhang Mengyao?" Isn't the surname Lin? ”
"You and dad are surnamed Zhang, you're Daddy's biological daughter, I'm not."
"Why? I'll tell you this slowly later! Lin Zi looked at her parents and smiled in unison.
Outside the house came the sound of fireworks exploding, "Boom... Boom...".
Lin Zi put on her shoes and socks, pulled her out, and said cheerfully, "It's so beautiful!" The family looked at the dark night sky, and the sound of fireworks exploding in all directions, like dandelions floating in the air, as if to welcome the long-lost Hideko home.
2019.12