Li Changsheng resigned from Guangzhou last month and originally planned to go to Zhongnanshan to practice Taoist Kung Fu. He did not expect that much time would be delayed due to Yin Yue and Shen Ziyu's affairs. He calculated that the date agreed with Yin Lingzhi was approaching. So when he saw the elders of the Shen Ziyu family returning to the Shen Family Villa, he decided to leave without saying goodbye. He doesn't want to have too much contact with the Shen family. Although the Shen family is a prominent political family in China, power and wealth do not benefit his Taoist Kung Fu at all.
Li Changsheng went to the post station to pay the deposit, chose a strong black horse, and headed north, riding fast and without stopping. After arriving in Xiangyang, he headed east through the city of Danjiangkou, riding more than 150 kilometers a day. Five days later, he hurried back to his home in Shangluo, southern Shaanxi.
He stepped on the morning dew and bathed in the rising sun set off. It was already dusk and the sun was setting in the west when he arrived at his destination. Houses with adobe walls and thatched roofs stand on both sides of a quiet river. The smoke from the chimney on the roof was dimly visible.The villagers began to cook dinner.
When a stranger came in, a dozen children with dark skin and bare upper body and feet even in late autumn came to watch.
They stared at the horse rider with astonishment and curiosity on their faces.
"Ayuan, don't you recognize me?" Li Changsheng jumped off the saddle, took off his hat, and said to the tallest boy among them.
"Uncle Changsheng, you're riding a horse!" the boy ran up to him, surprised and shy.
Li Changsheng took a cloth bag from his saddle, which contained candy, cookies, and comic books purchased by the county seat. Li Changsheng opened the cloth bag and said to AYuan:“It's up to you to distribute the contents of the bag and divide them equally among your little friends. Each of them needs to share as much. Can you do that?"
"Yes,I can." Ayuan raised his chest, proud as if he were a general about to lead the army.
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Li Changsheng smiled and touched his head. Under the gaze of the children, he led the big black horse towards the depths of the village.
Li Changsheng walked along the village path and finally stopped at the entrance of an independent small stone house near the foot of the mountain. The roof of this small stone house is also emitting black smoke. Obviously, the owner of the house is also cooking.
Through the courtyard fence made of thin bamboo sticks, he can see leeks and scallions planted in the courtyard, as well as two pepper trees with withered and yellow branches and leaves.
Li Changsheng tied the big black horse under the poplar tree in front of the door, pushed open the wooden door of the small courtyard, and walked towards the cottage with joy. The room was small and dark, and there wasn't even a candle lit. In the left corner of the room, there is a cooking table. The firewood in the cooking table is burning vigorously, and the light of the fire reflects the face of a man in his fifties who has experienced many hardships. The man is tall and has rough hands.
"Dad!" Seeing this man, Li Changsheng felt warm in his heart.
"Hmm." The man nodded and looked up at Li Changsheng. He was startled. "How did you come back, kid?" Carpenter Li put some firewood in the stove and stood up and asked, "Did you have dinner? If you didn't, it would be just in time for our dinner."
Li Changsheng looked around and saw that this was the cottage where he had lived from childhood to adulthood. Upon entering the door, there was a stove and a chopping board. Behind the chopping board was a bed, on which a skinny, gray-haired woman lay, covered in a quilt. On the ground next to the stove, a low black lacquer wooden table is the place to eat. A small table is filled with pots and pans. Under the table, in a bamboo basket, there are scallions, ginger, garlic, and chilies, as well as a pile of potatoes.
The carpenter Li, who was a big and rough person, whispered to Li Changsheng to sit on the stool next to the small wooden table. He gently picked up a thermos on the ground, poured two glasses of water, and motioned to his son to drink with his eyes.
Then he picked up another cup of hot water and walked over to sit by the bed, gently pushing the woman on the bed. The woman woke up and looked at him tenderly, with a faint blush on her pale face. She turned her head and found Li Changsheng, and immediately struggled to get out of bed. Li Changsheng's heart immediately became heavy. His mother had been suffering from tuberculosis for many years and looked even more serious.
Li Changsheng's mother sat up from bed and leaned against her husband. She whispered to Li Changsheng, "It's not the Chinese New Year. How did you go home? How did you work for that company in Guangzhou? Are you tired now? Have you saved your salary for future marriage?"
Li Changsheng lowered his voice and told her frankly. He only didn't mention that he had resigned and was going to Zhongnanshan to learn Taoist martial arts. Because this is something parents cannot understand and accept. He only said that the company had sent him to Gansu Province to purchase a batch of local specialties such as angelica and astragalus. He passed by his hometown on the way, so he came back to visit. Mother listened quietly and gently advised him if she thought he was doing something inappropriate. Finally, she couldn't help but turn to her illness, even though it is a topic that the family has been avoiding.
"Changsheng, I'm glad to see you for the last time. I'm afraid my life will end this month."