The children of the Qiao family

Chapter 67

There was a wind, and suddenly the white cloth covering Old Man Qiao's face was blown away, no one paid attention to it, only Qiao Yicheng saw the face of Old Man Qiao under the white cloth.Yicheng stretched out his hand to cover his face with the white cloth, and his fingertips touched his face as stiff as a cold stone.

This was the last and most intimate contact between the father and son.

The funeral home's car drove away, kicking up a cloud of fine ash, slowing down in the narrow alley, and finally moved out slowly, inch by inch.

All of a sudden it's far away.

After a while, Qu Aying burst into tears.

The old man was cremated two days later.

When Qiao Yicheng came out with his siblings, someone came up to him.

The man said: I, I came by car to pick you up.It's not easy to get a taxi here.

It's Qi Chenggang.

Simei was so surprised that she lost her response, and it was Sanli who greeted her, "Thank you for your trouble."Are you driving a taxi again now?

Qi Chenggang obsequiously opened the car door, and said, "Ah, no, I hired someone to look at the bookstore and drive in my free time."Open with others, I am a day shift.Not tired.

After the funeral, Simei went home with Sanli.

One night, it was so late, Sanli saw that the light was still on in Simei's room, and went to have a look. Simei sat on the bed blankly, with a thin velvet blanket over her body, and her daughter, Qi Qiaoqiao, was leaning on her bed early. Fell asleep on the side of the bed.

Sanli said: Why are you still awake?
Simei suddenly said: Sister, why do I always feel a little strange in my heart.Old man, if you say no, it will be gone.The last time I went to see him, it seemed like it could be delayed for a while, but I didn't know that it would be gone the next day.

Sister, Simei continued after a while, I heard that Mrs. Qu has been urging the old man to go through the marriage procedures these days.The old man seemed to agree.Why do you just say that it's gone?
Sanli's face was hidden in the shadow of the light, and she answered after a while: "My man, how can you tell for sure?"Don't think about it, go to sleep.it's already over.

Sanli sighed a long time: It's all over.

Simei turned off the lights and opened her eyes in the dark thinking about it in the middle of the night.

For some reason, I remembered something from a long time ago.

At that time, when the old man came back from gambling, he was used to bringing himself a supper.Sometimes it's a bowl of small wontons in spicy oil, sometimes it's a serving of bean sprouts back in marinade, and sometimes it's a spiced tea egg.He always ate it by himself.There was one night when Simei got up at night, her shoes were off, her eyes were sleepy, and she smelled the fragrance like a puppy, she found the door of the old man's house and looked in through the half-closed door.The old man was afraid that he was lucky, so he was very kind that night, so he beckoned Simei to come in, took a small bowl and put a few pieces of stewed rice back for Simei to eat, Simei was so happy that he felt his head fly, huh Eating loudly, the old man smiled at her.

Suddenly, Simei figured it out.

This old man who has no parental heart, has been selfish all his life, and suddenly, just like this, he lost his old life and was selfless once.

Simei suddenly thumped the bed board in the darkness, suppressing her voice, and was about to cry.

5
Two months after old man Qiao died, Qu Aying waited for the boss of Qiao's family to come.

From the moment she put on old clothes for the old man, Qu Aying knew that such a day would come.

But she thought that day would come sooner, but it didn't.

She waited day after day.

The tense nerve in her was tightened and relaxed by an invisible hand, tightened and loosened again.She accumulated a lot of resentment, her chest swelled like a drum, and she had to fight for her own size.But, day by day, the air accumulated in the cavity slipped away, and Qu Aying felt like a balloon that started to leak.

Qu Aying felt more and more that the eldest son of the Qiao family was not simple.He asked her to spend such a fight on her own first, so that she lost her ambition and fighting spirit, and then deal with her.She could not please him.

So, when she finally sat face to face with the eldest son of the Qiao family, Qu Aying was very energetic.

She even put on mourning for the old man, pinned a small flower made of white wool to her temples, straightened her back, and shrugged her shoulders.She remembered that many years ago, her husband died, and it was the same. There was a whole room full of in-laws, with red eyes, and vicious hearts. By her side, there was only an eight-year-old son and a little daughter in her arms. , She was not afraid at that time, and she is not afraid now.

However, the sons and daughters of the Qiao family didn't seem to be very aggressive. There was only one eldest and the fourth eldest who lived in this house before.

The eldest, Yicheng, sat across from her, and Simei sat on a short wooden stool.

Qu Aying shut her mouth tightly, and made up her mind before striking out.

Sure enough, Yicheng spoke first, beyond Qu Aying's expectation, his tone was calm, the old man had never been so gentle when he was alive.

Qiao Yicheng said: I'm sorry, Aunt Qu, I have to trouble you to move.My younger sister wants to live back, but it is impossible for her to live in her elder sister's house for the rest of her life.

Qu Aying smiled slightly and said, "Is Simei going to move back?"This was originally her home, how could I do such mean things, I told my daughter to clean up the house and move out today, and asked Simei to live in her original house.My daughter can share a bed with me in the main room.

Yicheng looked a little tired, so he also smiled, and continued to say softly: That's not what it meant, Aunt Qu, you didn't figure it out.I mean, this old house belongs to my younger sister, Qiao Simi, and it is inappropriate for you and your family to live here.

Qu Aying felt that her voice was trembling slightly, she was not afraid, but she couldn't help being afraid.

Qu Aying said: I have not gone through the formalities with your father, but we are a de facto marriage after all.We are country people, but we also understand the law.I have the right to inherit Brother Joe's legacy.

Yicheng pinched the bridge of his nose, smiled again, and said: Aunt Qu, you are right, you are a wise old man, and you have the right to inherit the old man's property, so you can take away how much money the old man has, and we will do it. The children, since they were young, have not received much grace from this father, and of course they will not fight for the money now.However, this house is in the name of my sister Qiao Simi on the real estate certificate and land certificate, and it is not the property of the old man. Of course, you have no right to inherit it.

Qu Aying really laughed this time: Oh, Yicheng, did you remember it wrong?You see, the real estate certificate and land certificate clearly stated Qiao Zuwang's name.

She took out two pieces of paper and pushed them in front of Yicheng: Of course, this is a photocopy, and the original is with me.Yicheng, I'm a widow, leaving home and serving your father, it's not easy, there is hard work without credit, especially later, when you get angry with the old man and let him go, it's not a day or two what.What I do for him, even if it is his original spouse, your mother may not be able to do it.

Yicheng pushed the two pieces of paper back in front of Qu Aying with one finger: so I said, you can take the old man's money.Our sons and daughters have no objections at all.However, you still haven't figured it out, the certificate in my hand is the real one, not the one from the old man.If you don't believe it, we can find an authoritative department to identify it.

Qu Aying smiled coldly: Oh, the old man's certificate is fake?He told me personally at the time that the house belonged to him.There are two skins in the mouth. At this time, the person is dead, and there is no proof of death. You can say whatever you want.You work on the TV station, you have seen a lot, and you want to lie to me, an old woman from the country, without saying a word.

Simei interjected: Don't be confused, how many truths are there in the old man's mouth?You have not been with him for a long time, but you are not short. Do you really not understand or pretend to be confused?
The old man had a few truthful words in his mouth, but these words hit Qu Aying's chest squarely.How many truths did the old man say?She thought, she really didn't know.People are such insignificant things, who knows who has put a few truths in their hearts, and after the truths have been rummaged out from the two skins of the mouth, there are a few remaining truths.

Yicheng went on to say: I will accompany you to the appraisal. If you don't believe my words, you should always believe what the public says.When things are cleared up, let's talk about moving.Don't worry about this.You see, you are an orphan and widow, and my sister is also single with a child. You can understand this kind of hardship best, and I hope you can understand. I have to make plans for my sister.

Qu Aying shook her hands in cold sweat, she knew she had lost.But if you lose, you have to put on airs, she thought, she is a widow, and she raised two children to grow up, so she is naturally a bit awkward and a bit responsible.Then let's go to the public for an appraisal. She said, if my share is fake, I'll pack up and leave without saying a word. If it's true, I'm sorry, and no one will try to drive me away.

As Qu Aying said, she straightened her waist slowly and stood up, walking out step by step.She knew she was losing.She has to complete these two steps with airs, so that people don't look too complacently at the joke.

After finishing this matter, Qiao Yicheng rested at home for two days and did not go to work.On the third day, he went to work.He thought, no matter what, he had to go to work this day.

Originally, Qiao Yicheng was one of the candidates for the new deputy director, but because of the prostitution incident last time, Yicheng missed this opportunity.

This day was the day when the new director and deputy director announced his appointment. Qiao Yicheng sat in a corner of the spacious TV studio hall and applauded with everyone, feeling calm and relieved.

On the day when all competitions for the leadership of Taiwan were over, Taili solemnly issued an announcement to rectify the name of Comrade Qiao Yicheng, clearing his reputation of prostitutes, and posted this announcement on the Xici reporter forum.

A month later, Qu Aying's family moved out of Qiao's old house.

Qu Aying's son wanted to make a fuss, Qu Aying said: Son, do you still remember the mahjong game we loved to play when we were in the countryside?Son, if you lose, you lose.Let's shuffle the cards and play again, what's the matter with being lazy?

The mother and son of the Qu family moved out of Qiao's house. Before leaving, Qiao Yicheng gave Qu Aying another sum of money, saying that the children of the Qiao family had contributed to her, expressing his gratitude for everything she had done for Qiao Zuwang.

Er Qiang told Qu Aying's son, if you still want to do it, you can naturally do it in my shop.

Qiao Simi moved back to the old house.Her brother and sister helped her move.

Sanli said: This room is wider now, you are not afraid of Simei, are you?A person with a child.

Simei said: I am not afraid.I have been here since I was a child, how could I be afraid?I was afraid of ghosts and monsters when I was young, how can I be afraid when I am old?
Moreover, Simei thought, the people who died in this room, no matter how good or bad they were, were always relatives of their own family, whether they were mothers or fathers.

There was another person who came to this old house together.

south.

Nanfang came back to visit the old man's grave.

At the time of the funeral, Nanfang was on a business trip and was very busy all the time. This time, he came back to attend the burial ceremony of old man Qiao's ashes.

The sons and daughters of the Qiao family discussed and buried their father and mother together.

This day's lunch was eaten at Qiao's old house.

There used to be a one-meter-square glass skylight on the roof of the main room. For many years, the glass was covered with a layer of plaster half an inch thick so that no light could penetrate. I set up a ladder and went up to change a piece of glass for the skylight, and the honey-colored warm sun shone in, and the main room suddenly became brighter.Sanli said happily: You still remember this window, second brother.

Yicheng laughed and said: How could he not remember?When he was a child, he got up at night to steal food under the gauze cover on the table, not daring to turn on the light, and relied on the little starlight through this window for illumination.

Everyone in the room laughed.

After eating, Sanli pushed Qiao Yicheng and told him to go out with Sister Nanfang for a stroll. Didn't she say that Sister Nanfang's new house was finished? Why don't you go and see it?

Nanfang and Yicheng walked slowly along the street, Nanfang said: I heard that you have a new leadership team in your station?
Yi Cheng smiled and said yes.

Nanfang said: Don't regret [-]%, you are not suitable for that.

Yicheng suddenly made a joke and asked with a smile: Why?
Nanfang also said in a light and joking tone: Your aura is too positive.

Yicheng laughed loudly: this is Comrade Song Qingyuan's tone.

Nanfang also laughed: Xiaoyuan is a good comrade.

Yicheng said: Good comrades have encountered new problems.A few days ago, Lao Song went to the education system to do a special topic, preparing to hit the awards of the General Administration of Press and Publication this year. He interviewed several schools, and one day he was suddenly accepted by a primary school teacher. Row.

Nanfang laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten up, and immediately called Song Qingyuan to congratulate him, saying, come on, be a fighter in the sky of love!

The two laughed like two children on the street.

Yicheng suddenly said: Thank you, Nanfang.

When Nanfang turned her head, her hair was blown by the wind and covered her eyebrows and eyes. She pushed her hair behind her ears, showing a peaceful smile: "The clean is clean, and there is always right and wrong in this world."

Yicheng let out an "ah", turned his head away, and asked for a long time: Do you trust me so much?
Nanfang said: I believe in myself.Xiang Nan had nothing else but his eyesight.How could Xiang Nanfang not know what kind of person Qiao Yicheng was?
At the end of autumn and early winter, the sky darkened early, and the two of them walked to the bank of the Qinhuai River without knowing it.The river water was turbid, with salty humidity, and there were lights on the other side of the bank, and the light was scattered on the river surface, shining like diamonds among the ripples of the river.

Yicheng asked Nanfang: Is it cold?

Nanfang answered irrelevantly, saying: [-]% You see, this river has been treated for so many years, but it is still not ideal.In the end, though, it was much better.It vaguely has the charm of the sound of oars and the shadow of lights.

Yicheng put his arms around Nanfang's shoulders, but didn't make a sound.

Ten percent, Nanfang said again, no matter how painful life is, no matter how hopeless, there is always something bright, worth struggling for, and desperately reaching out to grab it.

Yicheng and Nanfang hug each other tightly.

Nanfang said softly: If you want to do anything in the future, remember to be the first to let me know.

(End of this chapter)