Druid's Country Retirement

Chapter 1 Homecoming
A good man like me,

Should have lived a bright life,
How come over the past 30 years,
Still floating in the sea of ​​people.

The train station in Mingzhu City at night is full of traffic and colorful neon lights illuminate the whole city, but you can't see any stars when you look up.

Li Hongbing took off his glasses, wiped away the mist of tears on the lenses, picked up his luggage, and walked into the station without looking back.

As the saying goes, nine is not nine, and there are nine major hurdles, especially at the age of 36, which is a hurdle and a catastrophe.

passed!
The road behind is easy to walk, if you can't make it through, you may rush.

On his 36th birthday, his mother called Li Hongbing and asked Li Hongbing to take some time to burn incense and pray to God.

Li Hongbing, who considers himself highly educated, scoffed at feudal superstition.

However, reality soon slapped me in the face.

Not long after her birthday, her wife Jiang Jing, who wanted to go abroad, disappeared inexplicably with her 4-year-old daughter, leaving behind a divorce agreement.

Li Hongbing wanted to get his daughter back, but was rejected by his ex-wife again and again, so he could only listen to his daughter crying on his mobile phone.

I often look at the divorce agreement and reflect on this marriage.

As a husband, I consider myself fairly standard.

Refuse the job arrangement of the family's iron rice bowl, and work hard in Mingzhu City alone for love. In ten years, I bought a house, a car, and a stable job.

I thought that if I just lived an ordinary life like this, raised my daughter, and lived with my wife forever, my life would end perfectly.

Now thinking back to what my father said, if a poor boy marries a wealthy daughter in the city, he is not in the right place, and sooner or later there will be problems.

I didn't expect to be hit by my father's words.

In Li Hongbing's view, divorce is not terrible, but he is afraid of hurting his daughter.

th.

The empty home, without the innocent and lovely laughter of my daughter, became deserted.

Next, Li Hongbing lived like a walking dead, and his rival in the company took the opportunity to backstab him, which caused a flaw in the project, and the company kicked him out.

At the same time, he lost his family and career, and Li Hongbing completely collapsed.

Shut yourself in at home.

Curtains hide day, night, and time.

one night.

Had a dream in the muddle.

When I was a child, I dreamed of the vast meadows in Caogou Village, the blue sky and white clouds, the mountains, my grandpa, my grandma, and the old oak tree at home.

Awakened from a dream.

And that beautiful dream was still lingering in his mind, Li Hongbing made a decision.

I want to go home!

Go back to Caogou Village.

The next morning.

Standing in front of the mirror, the bright mirror reflects a haggard and vicissitudes of life, and the temples turned gray at some point.

Li Hongbing laughed at himself, washed from head to toe, and put on the wedding suit.

Came to the appointed cafe, signed the divorce agreement amidst the astonishment of the wife and the crying of the daughter.

I originally wanted to take my daughter home with me, but my hometown couldn't bring her a high-quality educational life.

Under the difficult decision, Li Hongbing decided to relinquish the custody rights. Under the fire-breathing eyes of his ex-wife, he did not hesitate to donate all the houses and cars bought before marriage to his daughter.

Although you can't give your daughter a happy family, you can give your daughter a future without looking at others.

Back then I was able to come to Mingzhu City with nothing, and now I can walk out of Mingzhu City with nothing.

Since you can leave as soon as you want, and it is impossible to work again, it is better to retire and return to Caogou Village to farm for the elderly.

Li Hongbing used the rest of his private money to pay off his personal social security for retirement, and left this city where he had struggled for many years with his reluctance and concern for his daughter.

Sitting on the train to my hometown.

There are all kinds of passengers sitting in the carriage, some want to go back to the previous place, some rush to the next stop.

The scenery passing by outside the window has become Li Hongbing's memories of the past 36 years.

Not long after he was born, his father Li Guoqing took his mother Zhang Yunhua and two older sisters to leave the remote forest area to work in the city, leaving him in Caogou Village to be taken care of by his grandfather and grandmother.

It was not until the age of 12 that his parents took him back to the city after he had a stable job. He lost his innocence as a country child and became a role model for his neighbors. He was admitted to a key high school and Pearl University, started working, got married and had children.

Under the corrosion of the bustling city, Li Hongbing lost himself. Even when his grandma and grandpa passed away, he came back and left in a hurry.

I don't know when Li Hongbing lost his yearning for Caogou Village, which is almost isolated from the world and lacks all modernization, and turned into a kind of disgust.

Can.
Going round and round, back to the starting point.

Li Hongbing couldn't wait to step on the ground of Caogou Village and breathe the air that haunted his dreams.

Before I knew it, tears of sadness welled up in my eyes.

"Uncle, are you crying? Mom said she was ashamed to cry. You see, when the doctor and aunt give injections to my daughter, she doesn't cry."

A crisp child's voice sounded.

Li Hongbing looked up, and saw a little girl with braids lying on the seat pillow, proudly showing off her slender arms, densely dotted with needles.

The little girl is about 4 or 5 years old, as old as my daughter, but the little girl's face is pale and bloodless, and her body is so thin that it makes people feel distressed.

"Ninny, don't disturb uncle's rest." A sad young woman stood up, picked up the little girl, and nodded apologetically to Li Hongbing.

The little girl twisted in her mother's arms and continued to raise her arms.

"Uncle, good children don't cry, you have to work hard!"

Li Hongbing smiled and raised his arms.

"come on!"

The train traveled for two days and two nights, arrived at the provincial capital of Northwest Province, and then transferred to a long-distance bus back to Dongfeng City.

Get out of the passenger terminal.

The family stood guard at the exit. When the mother, eldest sister, and second sister saw the old Li Hongbing with white hair on the sideburns and wearing glasses, tears of distress immediately fell.

The two brothers-in-law stood beside them and sighed secretly.

Back when my brother-in-law was in high spirits, he was very beautiful, but now people can't bear to sigh about his fate.

The haggard face looks like what a 36-year-old should look like.

"Brother-in-law, where's dad?" Li Hongbing asked his brother-in-law while comforting his mother and sister.

"Knowing that you are divorced, the old man's old problem of anger broke out. Rest at home, let's go home first."

The eldest brother-in-law and the second brother-in-law were about to pick up the luggage, but found that the brother-in-law only had one suitcase.

Get out of the house!

Sighing silently again, the eldest brother-in-law greeted everyone to get on the car.

Along the way, Li Hongbing was caught between his mother and sister, and faced with one problem after another, he had no choice but to smile bitterly.

"Where's Nier? I gave it to that woman, and it's from the old Li's family."

The mother and sister glared at Li Hongbing angrily, and the latter smiled calmly.

"Mother, sister, Mingzhu City is a big city after all, and its educational resources are better than Dongfeng City. I made an agreement with Jiang Jing that Nier will come to me every winter and summer vacation."

The mother caressed Li Hongbing's white hair fondly, and hated that daughter-in-law who was dressed up in a demonic way.

"Don't mention that woman, what kind of harm did you do to you, wait until you get home and see how your father treats you."

"Just come back, rest for a few days, and go to work with your brother-in-law. My sister will introduce you to a good one." After finishing speaking, the eldest sister suddenly patted the headrest of her husband's driver's seat, "Speaking, I'm dumb."

The eldest brother-in-law held the steering wheel tightly, first glanced at the second brother-in-law who was snickering in the co-pilot, and then saw the wrath of his daughter-in-law in the rearview mirror, and curled up his neck to please.

"Hong Soldier, you will go to work tomorrow. With your qualifications, it would be aggrieved to be a vice president in our company."

From top to bottom in Lao Li's house, yin flourishes and yang declines, women are the masters of the house, and husbands are weak.

The second brother-in-law, who was having fun at the side, caught sight of his daughter-in-law's gloomy expression out of the corner of his eye, and hurriedly answered.

"If you don't like going to the boss's, come to my supermarket, be a purchasing manager, and travel around the mountains and rivers."

After finishing speaking, seeing his daughter-in-law's expression improved a lot, she secretly praised herself for her wit and cleverness.

The two brothers-in-law have a lot of business in the county, and the eldest brother-in-law is the boss of the construction company.The second brother-in-law is the owner of a chain supermarket.

For the kindness of his sister and brother-in-law, Li Hongbing kept it in his heart, but it was a pity that these were not what he wanted.

Trying to figure out how to use good words, I met my mother and sister's expectant eyes, and said in a slightly relaxed tone.

"I'm retired, what work do I still do, this time I'm going back to Caogou Village to farm."

……

Dongfeng City.

A fourth-tier city located in the mountainous area of ​​Northwest Province, once became a major economic household in the provincial government through the forestry industry. However, since the government began to return the farmland to forests and closed the mountains for forestation, the urban development has declined rapidly, and the sunset has fallen.

Li Guoqing walked out of the mountains in his early years and took his wife and children to the city to work hard.

Catch up with the good times, and with a little luck, he transformed from a farmer to a regular worker in the city's supply and marketing cooperative.

The couple lived frugally to train three college students. However, it is the youngest son that Lao Li owes the most, and it is still the youngest son that he can't let go of.

I never thought about it, but something happened in the end.

Early in the morning.

Old Li was forced to stay at home by his wife and daughter. Although he was cursing, he missed his youngest son, so he stood by the window and watched again and again.

Until a car drove into the community.

Old Li's anxious mood finally fell to the ground, and he sat back on the sofa with a stern face, and there was a yellowed bamboo strip on the tea table in front of him.

With the sound of opening the door.

Old Li raised his head in anger and grabbed the bamboo stick.

Let's arrange a meal of fried pork with bamboo strips first.

"Dad, I'm back."

Hearing his son's familiar voice, Lao Li turned his head with furious eyebrows.

The anger brewing in his heart was instantly extinguished.

Gray hair, thick glasses, haggard old face.

Is this still my son?

pat!

The bamboo board fell down.

My heart throbbed in pain.

The eyes are black.

fainted.

"father."

"Old man."

"dad."

There was chaos in the room.

After taking the medicine, Old Li opened his eyes leisurely, scanned the concerned faces, and finally landed on Li Hongbing's face.

"Come back, just come back."

……

"You have to go back to Caogou Village."

Seeing his son's gray hair, Lao Li's anger dissipated.

Who said that children are not the heart and soul of parents.

No matter how old they are, children always look like children in the eyes of their parents.

No matter how far away, children are the most concerned people in the hearts of parents.

Son, these years have suffered.

Old Li is not good at expressing feelings, he only knows how to keep his care and concern in his heart.

Li Hongbing met his father's gaze, "Yes, I dreamed of Caogou Village, our old house, our big oak tree, and grandma. Kowtow."

Yes!

Fallen leaves return to their roots, no matter how good the city is, the roots are not here.

Old Li Tou let out a long sigh.

"Go, you have been wandering outside all these years, should you go back and burn paper for your grandpa and grandma, when will you leave?"

"Tomorrow." Li Hongbing said firmly.

Bang!

The mother who had just walked out of the kitchen dropped the fruit plate in her hand and burst into tears again.

"Just coming back and leaving again, how much you despise this family."

As soon as the mother spoke, the elder sister and brother-in-law shrank their necks, not daring to say anything, and could only use their eyes to signal Li Hongbing to be more steady.

Li Hongbing picked up the fruit and put it on the tea table, then hugged his mother.

"Mom, I'm just going back to live for a few days, and I'll come back when I get tired of staying here."

The mother's eyes were full of tears, "Really, don't fool me again?"

As a teacher, the eldest sister naturally speaks with integrity, "Mom, it's good for San'er to go back to his hometown, the air is so good over there, and he can take care of his body by the way."

The second sister also interjected, "Yes, my hometown is much closer than Mingzhu. If you miss your son, let Jianjun take you back."

The sisters helped, and the mother gave up the idea of ​​blocking it. When she turned her head and saw the old Li head sitting like a great god, she immediately became angry.

"The old stuff rolls up, and the fruit is stolen and you don't know how to wash it, you just know how to eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it, and eat it to death."

Forehead!
Old Li was scolded inexplicably, and just about to retaliate, he saw the old woman's posture became more and more violent.

Dejectedly stood up, picked up the fruit and walked into the kitchen cursing.

The two brother-in-laws watching the play looked at each other and smiled.

When Zhou Yu beat Huang Gai, one mountain was still as high as another.

night.

have eaten.

Li Hongbing lay on the bed, smelling the familiar smell of bedding.

Tired heart, get a little comfort.

……

(End of this chapter)