The children of the Qiao family

Chapter 59

3
Old man Qiao was going to get married when he was nearly [-] years old, and there was an uproar among several children in Qiao's family. Sanli had the most intense quarrel with old man Qiao.Sanli said that old man Qiao was selfish all his life, did he intend to be selfish until death?

Old man Qiao was furious, took the drinking cup on the table and threw it at Sanli's head, if Yicheng hadn't pulled Sanli to protect her behind her, Sanli's head would have been smashed broken.

The water glass hit Qiao Yicheng's back, and he felt dull pain even after wearing the winter clothes. The water splashed on the corners of Yicheng's hair, and flowed down to Yicheng's neck, drawing a cold line on his back.On this day, it has entered April, and there is a cold current, and it is so cold.

Seeing the old man's ruthless attack, Sanli opened her eyes wide and looked at the old man's face purple with anger, Sanli said angrily: You hit me?You want to kill me again for yourself?
Only Qiao Yicheng could understand the meaning of Sanli's words. The unbearable old events from many years ago rushed to his face, with a stale atmosphere, pulling people to sink into the past.Looking at Sanli's trembling lips and red eyes, Yicheng realized one thing: Those who can forget are not those who have experienced it personally.

Qiao Yicheng pulled Sanli over, looked at his father coldly and asked the first sentence of the day: Do you really want to get married?
How about a knot?No matter how capable you are as a son, you can't control Lao Tzu's marriage.The old man scratched his neck and answered.

Qiao Yicheng laughed again: I don't care about you, I'll just ask you, have you thought it through?

The one-tenth attitude made old man Qiao feel guilty for no reason, and his eyelids twitched: think clearly.I raised you to such a big age, it's time for me to live a good life with someone waiting on me for two days.

Yicheng pulled his face, and there was a hehe sound in his throat. Er Qiang knew that his brother would only have this kind of expression and movement when he was in a hurry.Yicheng laughed and said: Oh, this is the first time I heard of it, so you have been taking care of us and serving us for so many years.It's really an unforgettable father's kindness.Okay, if you want to get married, no one from us will stop you. Even if you get married, a man will have to support his family when he gets married. From this month onwards, we will not give you any living expenses. Thank you, Mr. Dad is considerate of the difficulty of his children, two strong, three beautiful and four beautiful, dad saved us money, and in the future, we don't need to spend a penny to support him.

Yicheng walked out the door while talking: Let's go, let's all go, don't delay his old man discussing life-long affairs with his lover.

Turning around, he said to old man Qiao: Do ​​you always want to borrow a car to pick up the bride?I have a friend who has an extended Cadillac, and I will borrow it for you, and he will definitely give me this face.

Old man Qiao was so angry that he stopped interacting with his sons and daughters from this day on, and ordered Simei to find a house and move out, saying that Qiao's old house was his, and from now on half an inch of ground would not be occupied by the unworthy descendants. go.

Yicheng asks Simei to move in with him first, but Qiao Simei loses her temper and refuses to leave, saying that she will stay and fight with her stepmother to the end.Yicheng called several times to tell her to move out of the house. He has a way to deal with the old man, but Simei said that she would never leave. This house belongs to the old man, but the property was bought two years ago. At that time, the money was paid by their brothers and sisters, and the old man didn't take half of the money. Why should the person who paid the money be kicked out now?Take this three rooms to outsiders?Besides, she, Qiao Simei, was born here, grew up here, got married and lived here for more than thirty years. Leaving this place is like an orange tree whose nest has been moved, and she will die.

Qiao Simei said to her elder brother on the phone: I don't believe that I can't beat them. Let me tell you, elder brother, I now understand that Chairman Mao is really right. All reactionaries are paper tigers. The old man dared to send that woman home. Married, I will play "Jia Baoyu Crying Spirit" for him on the loudspeaker on the day of their wedding!
Qiao Yicheng was amused by Qiao Simei, this is still his little sister who is not afraid of anything, she has no brains, thinks to do it, has a clear love and hate, and goes forward bravely.

Qiao Yicheng is not afraid that old man Qiao really drives Simei out, he has his trump card, and he has learned to keep a hand on this father for decades. He is just afraid that Simei will be angry at home. Looking at the situation, Simei is also If she couldn't suffer a big loss, Qiao Yicheng let her go.

Because of the trouble caused by the children, it really made old man Qiao stop the idea of ​​having a high-profile marriage.The old man thought, since they are living together now, we can talk about it later if we can do it or not.

Qu Aying has always maintained a low profile in this quarrel, she does not participate in the quarrel, does not express any opinions, she hides meekly in a corner, lowers her eyebrows, and even her voice is soft, the shadow It's also thin and thin, and it's also light-handed when doing things. It's still as neat as before, but it treats the old man extraordinarily kindly.

To Qiao Simei's provocations, cold eyes, and accusations, she just pretended to be deaf and dumb. In such a small home, people come in and out through the same gate, and see each other without looking up. It's impossible not to feel sad, Qu A Ying has been in the country for many years, and people near and far know that it is not a good role to get along with.But, who cares, Qu Aying poured water under the faucet to wash a handful of red-stalked spinach, who cares, as long as the old man doesn't tell her to go, she will have a chance to gain a foothold in this house and stick to it. Rooted.She looked up at the green and black roof, it was a good place, she thought.She lost her husband when she was only thirty, and she had to earn everything in her own life, so there was nothing wrong with her, she was always in charge of herself.

She knew that the most important thing for her now was to win over the old man, so she took extra care of him.

That day old man Qiao had a big fight with his sons and daughters. After the children of the Qiao family had left, Qiao Simei also took her daughter and went out for a walk. Qu Aying made two small dishes and asked old man Qiao to sit opposite Drink it up.It's cold, Qu Aying said, I warmed some rice wine for you, someone brought it from my hometown just now, brewed it myself, shared some with me, and tasted it.

Old man Qiao drank a few more glasses this night, his face was purple with blush, his cheekbones were greasy, the age spots on his loose cheeks were particularly bright, his eye sockets were red, and there was cloudy yellow mucus at the corners of his eyes Leach out.Qu Aying thought, after all, he is almost 20 years older than himself, he is indeed a bad old man, when he gets close, he can smell the old man's smell, that kind of rotten stuff The smell, when you look closely, you can see that there are old oil stains on the neckline of the new underwear that has been changed for two days.People, Qu Aying thought, when people are old, it’s just such a thing, no matter how radiant and juicy they are when they are young, there will be such a day, no one can stand the hardships of life.

Qu Aying took away the wine glass in old man Qiao's hand, and replaced it with a small bowl of thick soup. Old man Qiao picked it up and drank it, dripping it onto his lapel.After Qu Aying brought a clean towel to wipe him off, he simply tucked the towel around his neck.

She didn't have any feelings for him, but sitting face to face, facing the lamp, drinking wine, watching him look old, listening to the muffled heartbeat from his heart in the silence, there was always something A little bit of pity and a little bit of unbearable, it feels like wood chips floating on the surface of the water, light and vague.

These days, Sanli doesn't have the energy to take care of her father's marriage.

Yiding's father has been lying on the bed for several years since he broke his leg. Not long ago, the old man passed away.

This is also normal for an old man who has been ill for many years, but it happened too suddenly.That night, Yiding’s father played with Yiding’s son for a while, and then said that he was a little tired and wanted to go to bed early. Before going to bed, he asked his grandson to tune the radio to the news channel for him, saying that he wanted to listen to the news for a while. just fell asleep.After about ten minutes, Yiding's mother said, "Why is your radio turned on so loudly?"

But Yiding's father couldn't hear the answer, and Yiding's mother said again: Are you asleep?He went over to turn off the radio for him, and when he looked closely, something was wrong, the old man's face collapsed suddenly, and he stretched out his finger to the end of his nose to check, but he didn't breathe at all.

Yiding's mother froze for a moment, then suddenly cried loudly.

Yiding rushed out of the room. Seeing this situation, he quickly called an ambulance. After the car arrived, the doctor checked and confirmed that the old man was dead.

This time, Mama Yiding let out a loud voice and burst into tears.

Although the funeral was kept as simple as possible, it still made Yiding and Sanli very busy.The younger brothers and sisters were not around, and it took two days to rush back.

Yiding's father passed away suddenly, and Yiding's mother cried fiercely. Relatives, friends and guests all persuaded him, saying that Yiding's father had been a patient for many years. Blessing to come.Yiding's mother just took the person's hand and chattered over and over again: "It was too sudden, too sudden, and I was not prepared at all. I talked to him 10 minutes ago, and then I went there in the next 10 minutes." .

Until a few days after the funeral, Yiding's mother still repeated these few words when she saw everyone. Her daughter got tired of hearing it, so she stepped forward to stop her and said, "Mom, don't be like Mrs. Xianglin, those few words always go wrong." Talk back and forth.

After saying this a few times, Yiding's mother really stopped talking to people, and her words gradually became less.

The youngest son and daughter returned to their own home, and the days went on as usual.As the weather got hotter, Yiding's mother started to cough more than usual. One day, Yiding found that her mother's sputum was bloody. She was shocked and told Sanli to take her to see a doctor.

Yiding and Sanli took the old lady to the hospital. The doctor ordered a film and said it was emphysema. Yiding and Sanli were relieved.Although the illness is not mild, it is not a terminal illness after all, and it will be better after taking medicine slowly.

This dragged on until May, and one day Sanli secretly said to Yiding, I think it’s better to find a good doctor in a good hospital to see your mother again. After taking this medicine for so long, it didn’t improve, and she still coughed. It gets worse at night, I'm afraid... Could it be that the doctor misdiagnosed it last time?

After hearing this, Yiding felt a little nervous in his heart, saying that he couldn't do it, but in his heart he also thought that it was very possible.

Sanli said: "I don't think she is well. The phlegm she spits out is purple-black blood. I heard people say that if it's bright red blood, it doesn't matter. If it's tight black blood, it's probably not a serious illness. You need to check it out as soon as possible." one time.

Yi Ding was afraid of what she said, so she discussed with her mother to go to the hospital again, but Yi Ding's mother refused, her face was so thin that she was so thin that her face was tense. After Yi Ding persuaded her for a long time, she suddenly said: I don't want to go to the hospital again, but once I go in this time, I won't be able to get out.I know it!
Yiding couldn't do anything about it, the old lady was originally stubborn, and now that she was sick, she couldn't reason with her. This sentence "I can't get out" hit Yiding's heart, yes, she treated him badly, but , always his mother.He couldn't watch her die at home.

In the end, Sanli came up with a solution. She took the film taken by the old lady last time to Qiao Yicheng, and begged him to find a good doctor he knew well to see what was wrong.It just so happened that Song Qingyuan said that his cousin was from the Radiology Department of the Military Region Hospital, and accompanied Qiao Yicheng to take the film for a look, and the doctor concluded that it was lung cancer.

As soon as Yiding heard the news, he became depressed. He took Sanli's hand and asked, "What should I do? What should I do?"
Sanli is also afraid. What is afraid is that the old lady may really be unable to escape this time. The life I fiddled with in my hand is not in the slightest.

Qiao Yicheng said to Yiding: When is it, you are still hesitating, like headless flies, why don't you hurry up and get the old lady to the hospital, whether it is chemotherapy or radiotherapy, it is important to treat the disease first.

However, no one could persuade Yiding's mother. The old lady was lying on the bed, wrapped tightly in a new quilt made inside and outside, and the quilt was pulled up to her chin. His face was even paler, with a faint shadow on his forehead.

She burrowed into the quilt again and said: Enjoy the blessing, new cotton in the new lining, nothing can compare to sleeping on the bed at home.It's worth dying for.

Yiding originally wanted to take her to the hospital while she was asleep, but the old lady had been shrewd all her life, and she didn't want to be confused at this moment. She said, whoever dares to take her to the hospital will wait for her Forget about collecting the body.

Yiding and Sanli were completely helpless, and they really complied with that sentence: they went to the doctor in a hurry.I heard from neighbors that boiling water with branches of jujube trees can cure the disease. For the first time in his life, honest man Wang Yiding took advantage of the night to steal a few handfuls of twigs from the jujube tree in the small garden not far from his home. When the water was boiled, a small light red bowl was brought to the old lady's bed, and she was coaxed to drink it like a child.Three times a day, not once.I also heard that an old Chinese medicine doctor had some folk prescriptions for lung cancer. Yiding spent half a morning shuttling through dilapidated houses and old houses in the winding streets and alleys of the southern part of the city before finding the old Chinese medicine doctor's small clinic.Looking at the place, Yiding's heart became cold, and he went in to see the old Chinese doctor. He asked for a folk prescription, but the man didn't ask for too much money. He said that filial sons are rare these days, and he It can be regarded as accumulating virtue for oneself.

This dragged on for more than a month, and summer came.

The summer in this city is the most difficult, humid and hot, which makes people feel desperate.Yiding's house is an old house, not well sealed, and the air conditioner doesn't work very well, and Yiding's mother won't let her use it, saying that the air-conditioning went straight into her bones, as if she had teeth, and it hurt her all over.

She was still wrapped in that quilt in such weather, and she refused to ask someone to remove the quilt to wash it in the sun, so that her neck had prickly heat, scratched and scratched, and the blood-red marks looked scary.

Sanli was afraid that she would get bed sores, so she had to wash her body with warm water several times a day, and change her underwear every day. Even so, the old lady still had lice in her hair.The first time Sanli saw the tiny gray-white wriggling thing in the old lady's hair, she couldn't help but vomited all over the floor.

Sanli got angry, went out without saying a word, bought a pair of shiny tweezers, pressed the old lady's head, pushed her thin gray hair with a tweezer, and then washed it for her involuntarily. I took a shower and changed the thick quilt.

In fact, the old lady has become so thin that she has become a bone, and the skin on both sides of her body has collapsed, layer upon layer. Even after being washed with hot water, her skin is still a terrible blue color, as if her whole body is still alive. But first it becomes ashes.

Sanli's attitude was tough, but the old lady became docile, leaning against Sanli's arms, sighing slightly like a child because of the comfort after washing her body.The bald head made her look ugly, although it was extremely ugly, but for some reason, the original sharpness and shrewdness on her face faded, and at this moment, she showed a bit of the gentleness and kindness of an old man.

She suddenly grabbed Sanli's arm, and said in a hoarse voice: When I die, you remember, hang up that water-red curtain for me.

What?Sanli didn't hear clearly.

The old lady smiled and raised her voice slightly: I'm sorry for Yiding.

He is not raised by me.

(End of this chapter)