In the evening, the rich man had to carry Lu Rong to see the landslide road again.
Lu Rong was feeding the puppy grass in the yard. He swallowed, and handed a few burdock mushrooms to the puppy's mouth: "Eat it, it's delicious."
The puppy dodged backwards, and he chased after him patiently: "You will know after you try it."
The puppy sniffed the grass with its nose for a while, then turned its head aside.
Cai Ye walked out of the house and said, "Rongrong, let's go to the pass."
He took out another candy from his pocket, peeled off the wrapper, and fed it to Lu Rong's mouth.
Lu Rong squatted down to look at the puppy, and said, "Grandpa, I don't want to go."
"People from the Taoist class are repairing the road these days, and it's almost finished, don't you want to see it?" Cai Ye asked.
Lu Rong held the candy with his tongue and tasted the sweetness of the fruit. He picked up the puppy and turned back to the house, saying in a voice that only one person and one dog could hear, "I don't want to see it."
The next morning, Mr. Cai didn't let Lu Rong sleep in. He took him out of the quilt early, got dressed, and handed him a peeled boiled egg.
"Rongrong, grandpa is going to the next village to do some errands. You are playing at Li Zheng's place. I will pick you up at noon when I finish my errands." Cai Ye knelt down to put cotton shoes on him, and said in his mouth.
Lu Rong was eating eggs with half-closed eyes, when he heard that he would come to pick him up after finishing his work, he stopped moving immediately.
The rich man tied his shoelaces for him, and suddenly two drops of warm water splashed on the back of his hands. After being slightly stunned, he raised his head in surprise.
Lu Rong still held half an egg in his hand, his head was lowered, tears were falling down.
"You doll, what's the matter?"
Lu Rong lowered his head and remained silent, tears streaming down his face.
A while later, the rich man was carrying a black artificial leather bag, and sat on Lu Rong's backpack, walking on the village road leading to the next village.
"Baby, is it cold?" Cai Ye asked.
Lu Rong's face was flushed by the cold wind, his eyes were half-closed, but he said, "It's not cold."
After speaking, he stretched out his hand to grope on Cai Ye's face: "Is grandpa cold?"
"Grandpa isn't cold either."
The rich man went to Zengjia Village to inquire about planting herbs. Longtan Mountain is high in altitude and dry, which is suitable for planting herbs. Many villagers in Zengjia Village are planting Sanqi and raw land. He wants to see it.
The ancestors of Longtan Village relied on the mountains for food for generations, and they have always been poor. If we can grow medicine, even if young people go out to work, a group of old, weak, sick and disabled can earn a little money.
"Are your feet cold?" Cai Ye asked Lu Rong.
Lu Rong moved his feet in the round cotton shoes in the back straps and said, "It's not cold."
He turned his head to look at the rich man's feet.
Cai Ye wore the same cotton shoes as him, with fat black cloth tops and thick rubber soles, except that there was a patch on the big toe.
When washing his feet last night, he poked the patch with his finger: "Grandpa's shoes have eyes."
Zengjia Village was larger than Longquan Village and had a larger population. The rich man greeted the villagers familiarly, and carried Lu Rong to the gate of the village committee.
"Uncle Cai is here? Come in and enjoy the fire, hurry up." The village cadres of Zengjia Village warmly welcomed Mr. Cai into the door, and took off the bag containing Lu Rong.
The village cadre touched Lu Rong's face and handed him two hard candies.
Lu Rong looked up at Mr. Cai, saw that he agreed, took the candy, and said thank you very politely.
The dolls in the village don’t have the habit of thanking them. The village cadres thought it was a novelty, so they asked happily, “Master Cai, is this your grandson? He looks so good and has a sweet mouth.”
Lu Rong quickly looked at Cai Ye's face again, with a nervous expression.
Uncle Cai carried him to the small stove and sat down. He went to poke the stove himself, trying to make the fire bigger, and said, "Yes, my new grandson can't leave him for a step. He can only come to your village with his back on his back." gone."
Lu Rong relaxed and listened to their conversation while peeling candies. After peeling off one, he slid down the high stool, walked up to the rich man, and put his hand to his mouth.
Cai Ye pretended to be eating, pouted exaggeratedly, and said, "It's delicious, let Rongrong eat it by himself."
Lu Rong didn't follow the words and fed the sugar into his mouth, but still stretched out his hand stubbornly.
"Why don't you eat, this is the baby's wish." The village cadre laughed.
The rich man had no choice but to swallow the candy, smiled wrinkled all over his face, and kissed the back of Lu Rong's fleshy hand.
Only then did Lu Rong return to his stool with satisfaction, climbed up, and began to concentrate on peeling another candy.
After chatting with the village cadres for a while, Cai Ye went to the villagers' homes to ask the details. The moment the door was opened, the overwhelming snowflakes swept in with the cold wind.
He hesitated for a while, and said to another village cadre in the house, "Can I just keep the baby here? It's too cold outside, so please take care of me for a while."
The village cadre wearing a blue sleeve said with a smile: "Don't worry, Mr. Cai, the baby is so good, I can just watch."
The rich man whispered a few words to Lu Rong, saying that he would come back after finishing his work, and let him warm up here.
Lu Rong was not very happy in his heart, but he had heard all the conversation between the rich man and the village cadres, so he only agreed after a little bit of tangling.
After they left, Lu Rong sat quietly by the stove without making a sound.
The cadres of Lanshoutao Village were busy finishing their work before they remembered that there was still a child sitting here. After praising him for being obedient, they went to the corner to take out some potatoes from the sack and buried them in the ashes box.
"I'll give you baked potatoes later," he said with a smile.
Lu Rong thanked again softly.
There was a small alarm clock on the side table, ticking in the silent room.
After the cadres of Lanshoutao Village buried the potatoes, they continued to copy the documents. Lu Rong stared at the long needle of the alarm clock, watching it go round.
Whenever footsteps were heard outside, he would quickly look towards the door until the sound of footsteps gradually faded away, and then sit down properly.
Little feet in cotton shoes stepped on the bar of the high stool, with both hands behind their backs.
The village cadre glanced at him and laughed: "Baby, don't hold your hands behind your back, isn't it tiring?"
Lu Rong quietly put his hands on his knees again.
The potatoes buried in the ashes gradually gave off a scent. The Lanshoutou village cadre put down his pen, dug out the potatoes with tongs, peeled them with blowing and blowing, and handed one to Lu Rong.
Lu Rong took a delicious potato, took a bite and didn't eat it. All his mind is now outside the door, carefully distinguishing every movement outside.
Footsteps were heard at the door, and he turned his head again, staring at the closed door with bright eyes.
The door was pushed open, and a stranger poked his head in: "Zeng Er, accompany me to Mrs. Zeng, and ask him if he wants next year's grain seeds."
The light in Lu Rong's eyes dimmed instantly, and he looked disappointedly at the kettle sitting on the stove.
The cadres of Lanshoutao Village went out, and when they reached the door, they told Lu Rong: "Baby, you just warm up here and wait for your grandpa, don't run around, it's very cold outside."
"Okay." Lu Rong replied obediently.
After the village cadre left, he continued to wait. The potato he had only bitten into was getting cold and hard in his hand.
The kettle made a gurgling sound, and steam spewed out of the spout. The long needle of the alarm clock advanced half a circle, but the rich man still didn't come back.
Lu Rong slid off the high stool, walked to the door, hesitated for a while staring at the doorknob, and finally opened the door.
In the wind and snow, he carefully descended the steps of the village committee yard and stood on the path.
Surrounded by a vast expanse of whiteness, and no one else passed by, Lu Rong stood firmly in the middle of the road, looking in the direction of the depths of the village.
.
Cai Ye bid farewell to the villagers who were sent to the gate of the courtyard, and walked back with the accompanying village officials. The two discussed in low voices and turned the corner, and he froze in place.
A small figure stood on the road below the village committee, like a small statue. I don't know how long I stood there, and the hat and shoulders were covered with a layer of white.
When he saw him, the little man moved, as if he wanted to move forward, but stopped in place again.
Cai Ye strode forward, walked faster and faster, and finally started to trot.
He hugged Lu Rong into his arms, and asked with distress and anger, "Why did you come here? Didn't you tell you to warm up and wait for me?"
The rich man pulled off his gloves and touched Lu Rong's face: "Look at this face, it's as cold as an ice lump, and your nose is frozen off. Let me touch my lower back to see if it's cold."
Lu Rong didn't reply, but the big eyes that were staring at the rich man quickly filled with tears, and the small mouth that was white with cold also shriveled.
Immediately afterwards, a sharp cry broke out.
He put his arms around Cai Ye's neck, pressed his face against Cai Ye's face, and wailed, "Grandpa, you are back, you are back."
He cried so sadly, panting with his mouth open and eyes closed, as if he had suffered endless grievances. She cried louder and louder, clearly because she knew someone was hurting and coaxed, so she cried vigorously, crying out all the fear of being abandoned again just now.
Cai Ye's eyes were also wet. He patted Lu Rong's back with trembling lips: "I will definitely come back, Rongrong is still here, and I will definitely come back. Still crying, still crying, you are crying so much that Grandpa's heart is broken." broken."
The village cadre was stunned for a moment, clapped his hands and smiled: "Look at you two, you two are crying after being separated for a while."
…
After such a small episode happened, Lu Rong suddenly changed his reticence these days, and babbled like a chatterbox. She was also in a very good mood, always hugging Mr. Cai's neck and rubbing his face against it.
It was only at night that Cai Ye mentioned the matter of sending him down the mountain, but he met with fierce opposition.
"I don't want to go, I don't go, I don't go."
After washing his feet, Lu Rong rolled on the bed in long johns.
"Don't want to leave? Don't you want to go home? Just feed the cattle in this mountain?" Cai Ye asked with a smile.
Lu Rong continued to roll: "I have no home, no parents, no Wang Tu, I won't leave."
Cai Ye was stunned for a moment, then said: "What nonsense are you talking about, baby? There is nothing in this mountain, you have to go back."
"I won't go back, and no one wants me when I go back. I don't have a home, so I still have to go into the trash can." Lu Rong stopped rolling and looked at Mr. Cai, and said confidently: "I want to feed cows, I want to grow medicine, grandpa can't Throw me, I am your new grandson."
Although he was being violent, the child couldn't hide what was on his mind, his eyes were full of fear and pleading, and his small chest heaved nervously.
The rich man was silent for a moment, then bent down and patted Lu Rong's head: "Grandpa will go to the police station tomorrow and ask if he can keep you."
"Grandpa must mean what he says." Lu Rong retracted his head into the quilt, but his voice was filled with tears.
"count."
After the landslide section was repaired, Cai Ye went down the mountain alone, told Lu Rong that he was going to dig medicine, and let Dan Wa and the others play with him for a day.
Two days later, the landline of the village committee rang, and it was the Shanxia Police Station looking for Mr. Cai.
"Yes, yes, Gao Cheng has just been arrested? Okay, okay... The child is talking about Xiaohua Kindergarten... What? The guardian is missing? Can't find anyone? Oh... don't go to the orphanage, don't go, my baby won't go..."
Cai Ye yelled into the microphone, and Lu Rong stood beside him, pursing his lips tightly.
The winter in Longtan Mountain is slowly passing, the snow has disappeared, and the whole mountain is light green.
Lu Rong took off his thick padded jacket and wore a fleece vest over his sweater. He played with the puppy in the yard of the village committee every day, sometimes jogging behind Danwa and the others.
During this period, Cai Ye often went down the mountain, and occasionally took him to the town police station to answer various questions from the uncles and aunts, and asked him if he would like to go to the orphanage, where there are teachers and many children.
He was always nervous and kept asking if he was going to be taken away. He didn't want to go, he just wanted to follow Grandpa.
The last time I answered the question, it was almost summer.
After Mr. Cai signed the thick stack of papers, the uncle he already knew squatted down in front of him and said with a smile, "Lu Rong, I won't take you away again. You will live with grandpa from now on. But if If you feel unhappy, you should come to see Uncle."
Lu Rong's eyes were bright, his mouth was puckered, and he wanted to cry, but he laughed again with tears in his eyes.
That day, Cai Ye walked all over the town with him on his back, and even went into a restaurant to have a drink. I ordered stir-fried bacon with bracken root vegetables, peanuts and steamed pork ribs. Whenever someone asked me, I replied loudly: "This is my grandson, dear."
Lu Rong was gnawing on ribs, raised his oily face, and replied seriously, "My dear."