20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 233 The Long Farewell

Xiao Nanfeng went to the east room to wake up her sister-in-law.

Hu Xiaoyan was sitting in a new wheelchair and was pushed by Xiaohua to the backyard. She happened to meet Gong Baonan walking out of the cellar in a daze.

Lao Qi's expression was a little dull, as if he was at a loss after going through many vicissitudes of life. He wanted to recall something, but his mind went blank.

Behind him, the shrill pleading sounds were still intermittent.

"Uncle Qi, why are you still up so late?" Hu Xiaoyan asked nonchalantly, "Are you hungry?"

"Huh?" Gong Baonan was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't hear clearly.

However, there are people with sharper ears than him.

As soon as Hu Xiaoyan finished speaking, the pleading in the cellar suddenly stopped.

A crazy woman with unkempt hair and scrawny face poked her head out from the cellar, glanced slyly from side to side, and glanced at Hu Xiaoyan. She immediately rushed over, stumbled, and pounced on Hu Xiaoyan.

"Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law, I can see you!" the mad woman sobbed sadly, "Sister-in-law, it's really none of my business! It's her! It's the little girl and him. They opened the door, I didn't. , I really didn’t open it!”

Gong Baonan recognized that voice, and when he saw this situation, he couldn't help but be stunned.

What's even more bizarre is that the crazy woman was lying on the wheelchair, obviously trembling with fear, but her mood gradually stabilized.

Hu Xiaoyan gently stroked the crazy woman's messy hair and comforted softly: "Well, I understand, you are a good child."

"Sister-in-law..." The crazy woman burst into tears of gratitude.

Hu Xiaoyan gently raised her chin with her index finger, then took out the handkerchief from her collar and wiped her tears: "Okay, go back! Don't open the door again. What's outside?"

"There are bad people out there!"

The mad woman responded, then quickly turned around, almost crawling back to the cellar entrance using her hands and feet, and went straight in with her head down. Finally, she raised her hand and closed the cellar baffle again.

"Bang!"

The sound of the door closing made Gong Baonan tremble. He almost subconsciously took Xiaoxue's hand and pulled it behind him.

Naturally, Lao Qi cannot be called good.

Over the years, he has killed many people, and he has never shamelessly used the excuse of necessity to excuse himself.

But one thing is for sure, he never takes pleasure in killing and torturing.

He originally thought that Zhao Lingchun was already dead and deserved to die.

If this girl hadn't tipped off Bai Guoping, the eldest brother might not have died, Sister Hong would not have gone crazy, and the second brother, the third brother...

The rivers and lakes are fighting. Murderers should be prepared to be counterattacked; Avengers should also be prepared for the consequences of failure.

However, the current situation seems to have gone beyond the scope of revenge and has become something almost pathologically satisfying.

Even so, Lao Qi was not qualified to say anything.

What he saw today made Gong Baonan finally convinced that he was not suitable for this path and had never been suitable.

If you continue like this, you will have to twist yourself into a knot.

When will the injustice be repaid? Who can be sure that he will not be next?
  In order to repay his kindness, Lao Qi served for more than ten years. Now that his eldest brother is dead, it is time to say goodbye.

Gong Baonan glanced at Hu Xiaoyan from a distance, turned around, and said lightly: "We are going back first."

"Uncle Qi." Hu Xiaoyan stopped him, "Actually, I have always wanted to ask you a question."

Gong Baonan was suddenly startled, stopped, and asked doubtfully: "What's the problem?"

Hu Xiaoyan turned her wheelchair twice, glanced at everyone, and said, "You guys, please go back to the house first."

Si Fengkou looked at me and I looked at you, and we all noticed something was wrong with the atmosphere, so we hurriedly responded and left the backyard quickly.

"Uncle Qi, Dad used to say that you are too soft-hearted and can't be ruthless, so you will never be the head of the family." Hu Xiaoyan glanced at Xiaoxue and continued, "Your choice is indeed in line with your usual style, but there are Something I’ve never been able to figure out.”

Gong Baonan frowned, expressing confusion.

Hu Xiaoyan's eyes did not give in, she looked directly at him and talked about an old story.

"Since you are soft-hearted, why didn't you save me ten years ago?"

Gong Baonan couldn't help but took half a step back and said in surprise: "What happened ten years ago?"

Hu Xiaoyan spoke slowly: "Later, I heard Xiaodao talk about the situation back then. At that time, when Xiaodao went to Mrs. Feng to rescue me, it was not just you and Uncle Six who followed him. In fact, Uncle Five also followed you. You know this. Right?"

Gong Baonan instantly understood what she meant and nodded guiltily.

Hu Xiaoyan then asked: "You also know that with Uncle Wu's character, he will definitely get rid of all our children, right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Since you knew I was going to die, why didn't you save me back then?" Hu Xiaoyan asked forcefully, "Actually, it doesn't matter if you don't save me. I am a child without a father and a mother. I never expected anyone to have any love for me." That's great. But Xiaodao wanted to save me back then, why did you stop him in every possible way?"

Gong Baonan immediately took two steps back, speechless.

Hu Xiaoyan asked again: "Or, because I am disabled, do you think my life is not worth saving?"

"No, I didn't mean that."

"Then what do you mean?" Hu Xiaoyan was puzzled. "If Xiaodao hadn't been so stubborn and stubborn, I would have died long ago after listening to you, right?"

When hypocrisy faced true evil, Gong Baonan panicked.

It turned out that Hu Xiaoyan had always remembered the situation back then and had never forgotten it.

Even though Uncle Qi was the first person to make her happy on the donkey cart back to Fengtian and had been taking good care of her for many years, it was not enough to dispel the resentment in her heart.

Of course Lao Qi has his own reasons.

At the beginning, he was just a pure executor, and the only thing he could do was refuse to execute. Apart from that, he could not do anything else; but when he destroyed the Bai family, his identity was mixed with a hint of the role of a decision-maker, plus the previous dialogue Yuqing's promise, these two things don't seem to be the same.

However, saying a thousand words and saying ten thousand things is just his self-forgiveness, which is not convincing at all, and naturally it is extremely difficult for him to speak.

Gong Baonan hesitated and couldn't answer.

Hu Xiaoyan didn't blame him, she was just confused.

"Uncle Qi, don't you think you are living a miserable life?"

Gong Baonan was stunned, and then he smiled wryly and said with some self-deprecation: "You're right, it's very embarrassing."

Knowledge and action cannot be united; neither can one do pure good nor be cruel enough to do pure evil.

In this world, can we have both the Dharma and the Dharma, and live up to the Tathagata and the Lord?
  Perhaps, everyone in the world is more or less like this, swinging left and right in the cracks, unable to do what they want or do whatever they want, and the whole person is always in a state of self-tearing and self-denial.

Being depressed and sleeping became his only way to escape.

Jiang Chenghai's "not wanting to" and "not looking back" seemed destined to be impossible for Lao Qi.

Hu Xiaoyan lowered her eyebrows and glanced at the cellar again, then asked: "Uncle Qi, you don't seem to be very satisfied with this matter?"

Gong Baonan pondered for a while, shook his head and said, "I just think that killing her is enough for revenge."

"She wants to live, and Xiaodao agrees. She can't let her face lose any ash, so let her live."

"But what's the point of this?" Gong Baonan asked, "Or will doing this make you feel - very satisfied?"

This is a question.

Unexpectedly, Hu Xiaoyan faced the malice deep in her heart very calmly.

"Uncle Qi, you are right. Seeing her look like this, I - am very satisfied."

Gong Baonan pulled Xiaoxue and took two steps back.

He seemed to have seen an abyss, and glimpsed some meaning of reincarnation, which was even worse than the cycle of reincarnation.

Lao Qi thought of the revolutionary slogans that could be seen everywhere on the streets in the past two years. Words such as "youth", "future" and "hope" once made people think that this was really the case, but at this time, all of them were in vain.

Gong Baonan stood there blankly, speechless.

Differences in ideas cannot be bridged.

The cold wind blew between the two of them like a wall.

Hu Xiaoyan looked at Uncle Qi, thought for a long time, and finally said, "Uncle Qi, let's go."

This is the result of careful consideration.

Lao Qi has never been a reassuring executor.

This was already evident when Jiang Chenghai was still here.

Considering Uncle Qi's seniority, achievements, abilities, and prestige among the Four Winds, it would be beneficial for both parties to say goodbye.

Although Gong Baonan was surprised, he breathed a sigh of relief, and his whole body seemed to feel a lot more relaxed instantly.

He grabbed Xiaoxue, nodded to his niece-in-law, turned around and disappeared into the darkness...

……

……

The next morning, it snowed heavily.

Fengtian Railway Station, the east square is crowded with people, and migrant workers are starting to return home one after another.

Jiang Xiaodao was wearing a black satin cotton robe and a Western hat. He was pushing passers-by, looking around on tiptoes, and trotting along.

The breath exhaled from his mouth was like a light mist, spreading in front of his eyes.

"Let let! Let let!"

Jiang Xiaodao opened a path with both hands and rushed to the train station gate in a few steps. He looked around a few times and finally saw a tall and thin figure and a half-grown girl in a red cotton coat not far away.

"Uncle Seven! Uncle Seven!"

Gong Baonan was wearing a black coat and a hat on his head. He was carrying a heavy luggage package in one hand, and with the other hand he was dragging Xiaoxue, who was approaching the food stall step by step.

Lao Qi didn't seem to hear the movement behind him. It wasn't until Xiaoxue shook his arm and pointed behind him that he turned back, a little surprised and a little relieved: "Xiaodao? Why are you here?"

Jiang Xiaodao gasped and climbed up the steps with his teeth bared.

"You're still talking! What's going on? Why did you suddenly leave without saying goodbye?" Jiang Xiaodao said with a hint of reproach in his tone, "Didn't I agree not to leave until after the New Year!"

Gong Baonan was stunned for a moment, and then he guessed that Xiaodao didn't know anything about last night.

Hu Xiaoyan always knew everything about Xiaodao, and the matter of "letting" Uncle Qi go was probably the only time she concealed it.

Gong Baonan didn't want to let the young couple have a big quarrel because of him before he left, so he gave it a tacit understanding and said, "Just leave if you want. I'm afraid to tell you that you won't be able to leave at night." I couldn’t sleep, so I wiped my tears secretly.”

"Pull it down! I'm planning to buy two hanging whips later to celebrate!"

Jiang Xiaodao said he was not forgiving, but he raised his hand to grab Uncle Qi's luggage: "Let's go back with me! You are not in a hurry, just leave after the New Year!"

Gong Baonan pushed Xiaodao's hand away and smiled resolutely: "Stop making trouble, I really want to leave this time."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the loudspeaker rang in the waiting room behind him.

"Xiaodao, go back! I'm leaving!"

Gong Baonan pulled Xiaoxue and turned around and walked into the waiting room.

Jiang Xiaodao refused to walk and followed behind him: "Uncle Qi, where are you going?" Before Gong Baonan could speak, Xiaoxue beside him happily responded: "To the capital!"

"What are you going to do in the capital?" Jiang Xiaodao said as he walked, "Look at you, you are indifferent to your body and grain. How can you live there? Uncle Qi, stay here!"

Gong Baonan curled his lips: "I told you to tell me! How can I, a big man like me, starve to death?"

Xiaoxue continued next to her: "Yes! He is rich! I saw it last night. He has a lot of money!"

Gong Baonan's heart trembled, and he hurriedly covered Xiaoxue's mouth with his hand. He looked around at the passers-by like a thief, and then cursed in a low voice: "Silly girl! You don't show off when you go out, and you make a big mistake. It's not enough for you." Damn it! Shut up!"

Jiang Xiaodao was still chattering beside him: "Uncle Qi, if you want to retreat, you can retreat. I won't stop you. But you don't have to leave! Even if you want to leave, go to Dalian, Liaoyang, or Haicheng to find a place closer to you. What a place! I can still visit you during the holidays, so why do I have to go so far away?"

Gong Baonan pretended to be free and easy, and said: "The rivers and mountains are so beautiful, let's walk around and see more!"

"I still don't believe it. Why, you've traveled all over Northeast China?"

"Xiaodao, stop trying to persuade me." Gong Baonan stood still and patted Xiaodao on the shoulder, "You are all a gentleman, so don't let outsiders see the joke. Take care, I'm leaving."

"Come on, come on, check the tickets! Get your tickets ready!" the staff at the train station shouted loudly, "Give way, everyone, give way, let's be discerning and let the passengers from Japan get to the station first! Hey! I'm picking it up. Qiwa! Hi! Arigado!"

"Xiaodao, go back! Don't give it away!"

Gong Baonan handed the train ticket to the ticket inspector.

Jiang Xiaodao still refused to leave and followed, but was stopped by the ticket inspector: "Hey! Here are the tickets!"

"I'll give it away."

"There are so many passengers now, we are not allowed to send them off! Let's go, let's go!"

Jiang Xiaodao quickly took out three yuan from his pocket and secretly put it into the ticket inspector's hand. The two of them glanced at each other and went in together.

Jiang Xiaodao immediately chased after him: "Uncle Qi, when you arrive in the capital, why don't you send a telegram here? Give me a message!"

"Okay, I'll tell you when I get settled."

The three of them came to the platform together. The surrounding area was filled with passengers waiting for the train to enter the station. There were all kinds of people, Chinese and foreign, young and old, men and women, rich and poor.

It's snowing now and the train seems to be delayed, making me anxious to wait.

In the meantime, Jiang Xiaodao tried his best to persuade her to stay, but Uncle Qi was a bastard and was determined to leave. No matter what he said, it would be useless.

It can be seen that although Gong Baonan is a little reluctant to give up, he can't hide his longing for a life after retirement - finally there is no need to worry about it anymore.

"Woo-woo-"

In less than a quarter of an hour, the dark locomotive finally entered the station with billowing smoke.

Passengers picked up their luggage and rushed to the platform, becoming restless in an instant.

"laugh--"

The door opened and passengers entered the carriage one after another.

Gong Baonan said "Don't say goodbye" all the way, but when he was leaving, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked up and down at his eldest nephew in front of him carefully.

"Xiaodao, it's a big man!"

Jiang Xiaodao curled his lips and said, "Where are you now? I haven't traveled all over the country. I haven't been to any place. I only have one-third of an acre of land at home. What a big deal."

Gong Baonan nodded: "I'll have to run away from now on."

"Ok!"

"Teach your skills, don't fall behind, practice hard no matter what."

"You didn't teach me anything!"

"Uh...don't you have to teach me a little bit?"

"You're just doing it to fool around. I don't know about you?"

The conductor was walking back and forth on the platform, urging passengers: "Get on the train quickly! Get on the train quickly! Those in front move forward, don't be stuck at the door!"

The uncle and nephew looked around at the gradually fewer passengers on the platform.

Gong Baonan picked up the luggage in his hand, took a deep breath, changed the topic suddenly, and suddenly asked an inexplicable question.

"Xiaodao, what are you going to do with Guan Wei?"

Jiang Xiaodao was suddenly startled, his eyes widened suddenly, and he asked: "Uncle Qi, do you know?"

Gong Baonan's eyes wandered, he thought for a moment, and then nodded: "Yes. However, I also know that he has never done anything to feel sorry for you and your father, so -"

"If he did it, how could he dare to come back in the first place?" Jiang Xiaodao interrupted, "Uncle Qi, do you want to plead for him?"

"It's not a plea, but he could have taken advantage of it."

"You said the same thing as my wife-in-law."

"Then what do you plan to do?" Gong Baonan asked.

"Gong is merit, fault is fault." Jiang Xiaodao said calmly, "However, since you and Xiaoyan have said it, I will consider it."

The conductor’s voice sounded again——

"Hurry up and get on the train! The train is about to leave! Hey! Those three people over there, get on the train quickly, do you listen?"

The uncle and nephew both turned around.

There were almost no other passengers on the platform.

Xiaoxue shook Gong Baonan's arm twice: "Are you still going? The train is about to leave!"

Sending you thousands of miles, you have to say goodbye in the end.

Lao Qi patted his eldest nephew on the shoulder and urged: "Xiaodao, come back! It will only be you and Xiaoyan from now on, take care of yourself."

Jiang Xiaodao nodded silently, then suddenly raised his hand.

Fortunately, Gong Baonan had quick eyesight and quick hands. He immediately grabbed Xiaodao's wrist, took half a step back, and cursed: "Little bastard! What are you going to do?"

If my son beats his father, I will come back sooner or later!
  Gong Baonan still remembered these words, especially after seeing Jiang Xiaodao shoot Hook, so he had been on guard against this kid.

Now that we are apart, I don’t know when we will see each other again. Do you want to take this opportunity to bring back those talkative people from back then?

"Boy, stop dreaming! You are still young!"

Jiang Xiaodao threw away his arm and cursed: "You have a crooked mind and you see everything crookedly!"

According to Xiaodao's character, of course he remembers what he said back then, and he has been looking for the right time to "retaliate" over the years.

However, now that things have happened, he suddenly doesn't dare to talk back to what he said back then.

It doesn’t matter whether he can survive the fight or not.

Jiang Xiaodao was afraid, fearing that if he and his seventh uncle were "separated", without a trace of ties, they would never see each other again.

Instead, he took out a banknote from his arms and handed it to Uncle Qi.

A poor family must be rich on their own, so they must prepare enough for their expenses!

Gong Baonan waved his hand in a rare move: "Xiaodao, Uncle Qi appreciates your kindness. But I don't need to rely on your support to live on now! You will have a lot of money to spend in the future, keep it for yourself!"

Jiang Xiaodao glanced at Xiaoxue and whispered: "This is her parents' share of the money. Xiaoyan and I took it from the Bai family's account. Uncle Qi, this is all for you, save her. My father didn’t say anything, so I’ll help you too.”

Gong Baonan was a little embarrassed: "I'm just pretending to be a coward. It's all hypocrisy. If there are really eighteen levels of hell in this world, I have to go down."

"Then we happen to have a companion!" Jiang Xiaodao pretended to be relaxed, "I don't understand what you are talking about about hypocrisy and not being hypocritical, and I am too lazy to think about it. If you want to pretend to be a coward, just keep pretending. ! If you don’t pretend, I’ll be digging for gold in Siberia right now!”

"Xiaodao, I'm causing trouble for you."

"No trouble, you saved me. No matter what you want, I can give it to you, let alone a human life."

"Okay, then I accept it."

Gong Baonan carried Xiaoxue into the carriage and followed him on the train. He turned back for the last time and waved his hand.

"Xiaodao, go back!"

Xiaoxue actually poked her head out of the carriage and imitated the words: "Go back!"

Jiang Xiaodao stood alone on the platform, nodded to the two of them, and waved.

"Go back, Xiaodao!"

"laugh--"

The door closed, the whistle sounded, and smoke billowed from the locomotive, making people choke and cry.

"Bang dang... bang dang... bang dang..."

The wheels slowly began to turn, and Jiang Xiaodao couldn't help but follow the train forward.

Gong Baonan and Xiaoxue gathered in front of the car window.

The frost froze the window tightly, and the two of them struggled for a long time, but still couldn't open the window, so they had to wave goodbye to the river trail with their mouths open through the thick glass.

Jiang Xiaodao couldn't hear the voices of the two of them. Judging from the shape of his mouth, he seemed to be telling him - Xiaodao, go back!
  Let's go back! Trail!

But where to go back?

Jiang Xiaodao still followed the train, walking faster and faster, waving goodbye to them.

"Woo-woo-"

The whistle sounded piercingly, and the train ran faster and faster, farther and farther...

This seems to be a season of farewell.

In just a few months, Jiang Xiaodao said goodbye to countless people, including Li Zheng, Brother Zhang, and Uncle Qi...

Of course, there are also farewells between life and death, father, second uncle, third uncle, and even earlier fourth uncle...

"Woo-woo-"

The train finally moved away, like a long sword piercing the depths of the dense snow curtain, and finally disappeared into the void.

Jiang Xiaodao slowed down, stopped gradually, put down his arms, and suddenly felt that his hands were missing. He was tugging at the skirt of his clothes and the cuffs of his sleeves. He didn't know where to put them. He just looked into the distance silently, savoring this moment. A long farewell.

At this time, he didn't know that what he was bidding farewell to was not just a few people, but an entire era.

Jiang Xiaodao left the train station feeling lost. As soon as he walked down the steps, he saw five or six newsboys on the east square, running like crazy and shouting at the top of their lungs:

"Outside the number! Outside the number!"

"Big news! Big news! Big news!"

"The Qing Emperor abdicated, and the five ethnic groups became a republic!"

"Sun Dapao resigns and President Fang ascends the throne!"

----

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  　This chapter is a bit difficult to write. I didn’t finish it last night and I still owe one.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)