The children of the Qiao family

Chapter 66

Simei walked to the old man's bedside, hesitating, squeezed out "Dad" between his teeth, the old man turned his eyes, saw Simei, Simei looked at those cloudy old eyes that had lost all luster, and his heart suddenly tugged , and called Dad clearly again.

The old man called her by her nickname and said: Pour me a glass of water, little four.

Simei turned around and poured warm water. She didn't know that this was the last sentence that old man Qiao told her.

Of course Yicheng knew about the brothers and sisters going home to visit their father. Er Qiang said, don’t be angry, big brother, he is our father after all.I know you've been in a bad mood recently, so don't be angry about this anymore.

Qiao Yicheng stayed for a while and said: I'm not angry.You're right, it's the father after all.And... And what, Qiao Yicheng didn't say it, but kept it in his heart.

And, he thought, now I kind of know what it's like to be beaten all the time.

At this time, it is good to have half a broken wall for you to lean on.

Fortunately, I have, Qiao Yicheng thought.

Then let him have it too.

In the last days of old man Qiao, Qu Aying finally raised the issue with him.

That day she wiped old man Qiao's body well, sat beside him, and said slowly: Brother, you see, although we are a half-way couple, how do I treat you, brother, you know, of course you treat me too OKBut, big brother, if you are a hundred years later, who am I?I don't even have a place to stand.

After whistling in his throat for a long time, the old man said: I gave you all the money.

Qu Aying grasped his hand: I'm not a money-seeking person, we've made a couple, at this point, can you give me a title?
The old man gasped again and said: I can't move.

Qu Aying said: I inquired about it and said that in the current situation, you can write a power of attorney and sign your name, and you can go through the formalities.

The old man seemed to have a short laugh: I am illiterate.

If he refused to admit it, Qu Aying became angry at a thought, and raised her voice and said: "You will always be there if you press your fingerprints."

After a long time, the old man actually said, yes.

For a moment, Qu Aying had thousands of feelings in his heart, rolled a pot of porridge, for the sake of himself and the old man, knocked off a mirror on the table with a trembling hand, smashed countless pieces, and it was shining brightly under the incandescent lamp A small piece of a small piece, the shadow of the lamp flashed, and the eyes shed tears all over the place.

The old man said again: The day after tomorrow.

4
On this day, Qiao Qiqi came again.

It was evening when he came.The weather on this day is a bit strange. It was cloudy for a day when it was almost the beginning of autumn. At dusk, there was a sky full of clouds, wrapped in a thin layer of light gray clouds. The color of the clouds was transparent, and the orange light separated This layer of thin ash was removed, and it was as warm as amber.There was a gust of cool wind, like the deep courtyard of an old house like Qiao’s old house, the wind that is most suitable for passing through the hall. As soon as Qi Qi entered the main room, he said something cool, and the old man Qiao said with a whirring sound in his throat Sentence: Or the old house?
Qiqi said: Good.He laughed as he spoke.

The old man snorted twice again, and suddenly said: I'll leave it to you if you think it's good.

Qiqi was stunned for a while before she understood, and said in a panic: I don't want it.

The old man let out a laugh that couldn't be laughed, and said Qiqi, come here.

Qiqi suddenly felt a little ominous, as if the soul of the person lying on the bed had slowly ascended, and only a thin thread was pulling a shriveled body.

Qiqi rubbed over little by little, and bent down to look at old man Qiao.

The old man's eyes were scattered, and he couldn't focus on things. He opened his eyes, but he only saw a cloud of dust in front of him.

He reached out to touch Qiao Qiqi's head, patted it twice, grinned his toothless mouth, smiled, and said a word.

Like.

Qiao Qiqi smelled a strange smell from his father's mouth, like rotten food mixed with a bit of rust and fishy smell, it was hot, and it was already cold when sprayed on his face.Qiao Qiqi suddenly remembered the ghost stories she heard when she was a child, that ghost loves to suck the yang energy of living people, could it be this way of sucking it?Qiao Qiqi was pulled slightly to the side by a wave of fear, but was held back by old man Qiao.

Qi Qi felt the old man touch her fingers one by one, and said again.

Like.

Qiqi put her empty hand on the back of her father's.Dad, you sleep for a while.He said.

Ok.

The old man snorted.

I won't go, stay with you.Qiqi said.

Qiqi didn't leave until almost ten o'clock.

Since the old man was completely paralyzed, Qu Aying has been sleeping with her daughter in the original Simei's room, and she would get up in the middle of the night to take a look at the old man.But that night, for some reason, she was extremely sleepy, as if a stone was pressed on her eyelids, and in the middle of the night she heard the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground in the main room, and she thought in a daze that maybe the old man knocked over the bed beside the bed. The chair, let it go, anyway, he can't get out of the bed, he can't knock it.While thinking, fell asleep again.

She always wakes up very early in the morning, sitting up from the bed, the boss is still a little drowsy.She suddenly remembered the muffled noise at night, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water on her head, she woke up all of a sudden, hurriedly tore off her clothes and put them on, opened the door stumblingly, and stepped into the main room , I was so frightened that I was scared out of my wits. After a long time, I wailed with a prolonged voice, and sat down on the ground.

Qu Aying's son and daughter-in-law rushed out when they heard the noise. Her son saw the situation and drove his wife inside. Don't look, go and look at your son, mom, don't tell the younger sister to come out!

Old Man Qiao's lower body was still hanging on the bed, but his upper body fell on the ground in front of the bed. His head hit the ground, and his head was smashed. The blood on the ground was thick and congealed. Bloody smell.

Qu Aying's son boldly stepped forward to touch it, but he was already terribly cold.

Qu Aying sat on the ground all the time, the ground was cold, her buttocks and thighs were cold, she forgot to cry, until her son came to pull her, saying Mom, the old man has passed.Hurry up, I want to notify the police station and their Qiao family.

Said and ran out quickly.

Someone from the police station soon came, and after some inspection, it was confirmed that the death was indeed an accident. It may be that the old man fell down when he wanted to get out of bed in the middle of the night.

The old man was carried back to the bed, and the police from the police station said, put the old clothes on the deceased, I'm afraid it's too late, people are so stiff that it's not easy to wear them.

Qu Aying went back to the back room, opened a small leather case, and there was a neat set of shrouds in it, from hat to cloth socks, she took out one by one.One day the old man suddenly said that he was afraid that he would die without clothes. Qu Aying remembered that he had comforted the old man, don't worry, I will prepare them for you.Good materials are used, and there is no ambiguity at all.She kept her promise, and really prepared a whole set of clothes for him.Qu Aying said in a low voice: I treat you with conscience, and the clothes are made with my own money.I didn't expect you to be so cruel!
The old man's hands and feet were already rigid, as hard as rocks, his trousers were better, and he could barely put them on, but Qu Aying and her son had no way to put on the two sleeves for him. She fell onto the bed, her head hit the bed rail with a loud thud, both Qu Aying and her son were shocked.Qu Aying subconsciously stretched out her hand to touch Old Man Qiao's head, as if she wanted to rub the wound for him, the cold feeling from her hand made Qu Aying suddenly realize, and suddenly, tears came down her face .

The sons and daughters of Qiao's family received the news and rushed over one by one.

The first two to arrive.Er Qiang felt a little strange the moment he stepped through the door, the main room was so quiet, Er Qiang yelled: Dad!
Qu Aying turned her head, Er Qiang saw tears on her face.

Er Qiang looked at old man Qiao on the narrow bed, his face was slightly swollen, and the dark blue old clothes on his upper body were half wrapped around his body.Er Qiang slowly took off the clothes wrapped around him, and patiently tried to put the clothes on for Dad from various angles.

Sanli and Simei also came at this time, and Wang Yiding came to help Er Qiang, two big men, and after a lot of effort, they finally put on the clothes for old man Qiao.

Sanli stood at the foot of the bed, staring blankly at her dead father, while Simei was next to her tightly, holding her hand.

Sanli thought, is he dead?So I am now a parentless person.

Simei squeezed her sister's hand hard. In her conception, the old man is such a stubborn existence in the world. No matter how hateful, despicable or emotionless, he will always exist.Her mind was numb, and she couldn't figure it out for a while, this person was gone.

Is gone.

Yicheng, Qiqi, and Qi Weimin arrived one after another.

When the people arrived, Qu Aying covered the old man's face with a white cloth.

Qiqi always stood far away from him as if she was a little afraid of Yicheng.

Because there were quite a lot of people in the main room, at the corner where Qiqi was standing, only a pair of brand-new black cloth shoes with snow-white soles could be seen on the feet of old man Qiao.

Qi Qi recalled those days when the old man was seriously ill. He came to see him and had a conversation with him. On the last day, he asked him to come to the bed, touched his head, and said twice: Like.picture.

Qiqi shed tears silently, the tears flowed violently, the sobs could not be suppressed, and rushed out of her throat.

Qiao Yicheng heard it, and turned to look at Qiqi very strangely.

Why is this child who is most alienated from the old man so sad? On the contrary, it makes them seem heartless.

Qiao Yicheng was the calmest looking one.

But it is not.

For so many years, he hated this old thing, and he always felt that he was an orphan.

But in any case, it never occurred to him to curse him to death, and it never occurred to him to curse him to death during the worst quarrel, or even when he started to fight.

there has never been.

At this moment, Qiao Yicheng suddenly realized that he and his younger brothers and sisters were indeed orphans.

To them, the old man used to be just a father's status, but his death has achieved his essence as a father.

The room was so quiet, only Qiqi's low and intermittent sobs could be heard.

The funeral unfolded in an orderly manner after Qiao Yicheng's arrival.

Something went wrong.

The sons and daughters of Qiao’s family couldn’t find a recent photo of old man Qiao to make a portrait. Sanli and Simei rummaged through the old man’s wooden boxes. , finally found one.

It was a photo of the old man when he was young, half a century ago.In the photo, the old man is only about 20 years old.

The photo has long been yellowed, and it is unbelievably brittle, and it rustles in the hand, as if it will be broken into pieces at any time.Qiao Yicheng carefully held the photo in his hand, and after just one glance, he felt a ray of cold air pouring down from Tianling's cover.

He knew who Qiao Qiqi looked like.

In comparison, Qiqi's eyebrows are kinder and gentler, but those eyes, that nose, and the lines at the corners of her mouth when she smiles.

The long years, the honest and ruthless, the giant palms are like rubbing plasticine, they can destroy a person like this.

Qiao Yicheng's heart was really chilled. The mystery that had troubled him for 30 years was finally unraveled. Behind the mystery was the truth that suddenly appeared. This truth had been hidden for so long, separating him from his own brother for life.

Forget it, Qiao Yicheng thought, anyway, it can't make up for it now.It's too late.

That's too late.

The funeral home's car came and the staff carried the body out.

Qiao Yicheng walked in the front.

(End of this chapter)