In 1998, when I was working thousands of miles away from home, I received a phone call from my mother, in which she said, "Your father misses you, if you have time, come back and see." After answering the phone, I immediately bought a train ticket to my hometown despite the busyness of my work.
After thirteen hours, I finally returned to my hometown again after a gap of three years, standing on this land that gave birth to me, and I silently read: "When I come back this time, I must accompany my parents well."
As I pushed the door with a large bag and a small bag, my father, who was repairing the hoe, looked up at me, and then said with some panic and some excitement: "You, how did you come back?"
I smiled and said, "I haven't been busy at work lately, so come back and see, I just want to eat the fish soup you made."
The father patted his clothes and said to his mother, who was busy in the kitchen,, the child is back, you hurry out.
That night, my father was very happy, and he had to pull me to drink some liquor, and each of us drank about half a kilogram, and my father took a bite of the dish and said, "You, even if you have won glory for our ancestors, I also have light on my face."
The mother said, "Son, your father is most worried about one thing now, I hope you find a girlfriend soon, he still wants to hold his grandson early." At this point, the mother suddenly turned her head to wipe a handful of tears.
My father pretended to smile and said, "Come, eat more." This is to ease the somewhat awkward atmosphere.
The next day, when I got up, I asked my mother, "What about my father?"
"Your dad went to sprinkle you fish, and he knows you love fish soup." My mother said.
The mother stood in the courtyard and looked around, as if something was not heard.
She pulled me into the room and handed me the medical record book, and she asked, "Son, when your father is away, you hurry to see, is your father really sick?"
I said with some panic: "Mother, when did my father get sick, why didn't he tell me earlier?"
The mother said, "Your father, don't let me tell you!" He's afraid of delaying your work. "
I looked closely at the medical record book, and I suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and my father's illness was very large and could not be treated.
I suppressed my tears and said to my mother, "There is no big problem, people are old, they are old, there will always be some diseases."
In between my conversations with my mother, my father came back, and I seemed to hear his once loud voice again, and he shouted loudly, "Son, son, I came back from the fish, and today is a good harvest."
I quickly handed the medical record book to my mother, then went to the courtyard and said to my father, "Dad, what fish did you scatter today?"
My father put the tin bucket on the ground and said to me, "Hey, come and see."
He fished the fish in the bucket and said, "The fish of this season are fat and tender, delicious and delicious, and I will make you a fish soup at noon today."
My father worked for more than three hours to make the fish soup, and I smelled the smell of the past again, a wisp of cooking smoke rose, and the village was immersed in such a delicious fish soup.
My father happily gave me the fish soup, and I said with some embarrassment, "Dad, I have grown up, how can I be kind enough to let you serve me a bowl?"
Dad smiled and said, "You come back, Dad is happy, Dad is willing to do anything for you."
Drinking the fish soup made by my father and thinking about my father's illness, my heart has never been so heavy.
I thought about it for a moment, and then I said to my father, "Dad, Mom, do you want to come into town with me for a while?"
The mother hurriedly said, "I won't go, my legs and feet are inconvenient, and the chickens and ducks in this house must be taken care of." Let your dad go and live for a while. "
As I put the fish in my bowl, my father said, "Or I'll go and see where my son works."
The mother quickly echoed, "Go ahead, follow your son to see the big city."
The next morning, I set out with my father on the way back to the city, walking on the streets of the village, many neighbors greeted my father, and my father took out a cigarette and handed it to my uncle and brother, who stood up and said, "Go to my son's place for a few days and see the big city."
I know that my father at this time is proud and proud. But, I also knew that this was probably the last time my father would go into town.
After my father entered the city, I played with him for a few days, looked at the scenic spots, and bought two clothes for him and my mother, this time my father did not criticize me for spending money indiscriminately, he smiled and said to me: "I, I have also lived to the time when my son is filial to me."
In the evening, my father suddenly said to me with some anxiety: "Son, if I don't go back, I'm a little homesick."
I said, "I've found a friend, tomorrow I'll take you to the hospital to check your body, when you're older, there will be some small problems, so we have to prevent them in advance."
My father stood in front of the window, looked at the traffic outside, and said, "I know what my body is, I haven't worked in vain in my life, and I've visited the big city." As for the son, he is also very filial. I am content. "
I walked over and said, "Dad, go to the hospital tomorrow, if there's no problem, we'll go home."
The father frowned and said, "Then go and see, in case there is no problem, I can still hold my eldest grandson."
The next day, I took my father to the best hospital in the provincial city for a check-up, and after a busy day, at more than four o'clock in the afternoon, the results finally came out. To be honest, I prayed countless times before the results came out, but the results backfired.
The doctor calmly said to me: "There is no way to treat the old man's disease now, you can only use medicine to control the progression of the disease, but there is not much time."
When I came out of the doctor's office, my father quickly asked, "Is there anything wrong?"
I quickly said, "There's no big deal, it's all geriatric diseases, I'll go to the ward and get some medicine."
The father was as happy as a child, and then he said, "Hey, it looks like my old man will live for decades."
And when I came back with the medicine, I saw in the distance that my father, who was sitting in the rest chair, had no more excitement in front of me, and he was hanging his head low, bent over, and his face was pale.
At noon the next day, I said to my father, "Dad, I'll send you back to my hometown!"
My father said stubbornly: "What to send, I have been in school for a few years, I know a few words, I can't lose it, you can work here with peace of mind, and you have time to go back again."
I stood at the door of the train station and watched my weak father squeeze into the train station in the crowd with his luggage.
Six days later, I got another call from my mother, who was crying heart-wrenchingly, and she said, "Your dad took a lot of sleeping pills and is gone."