In the afternoon, the bus finally arrived at the county seat, and the middle-aged man was still admonishing me, so I nodded with a smile and said goodbye to him. Home, I must go back!
Looking at everything in the county, I haven't been here for several years, and it has changed so much since I left that I almost can't recognize it. But today was a coincidence, after walking a few steps, I ran into an old acquaintance whom I hadn't seen for many years.
"Er Fatty!" I laughed and shouted at a young man standing in front of a vendor bargaining.
A few years have allowed him to shed his immature face and body fat, and now he has become a tall and big young man. But the facial features, the way he spoke, and the habitual movements remained unchanged, and I recognized them at a glance.
Er Fatty looked back at me and was stunned for a long time before he stepped forward and patted my shoulder, "Xiao Jin? You are Xiao Jin! It's been a long time since no one called me Er Fatty. Here you are."
Er Fatty looked at me with a happy smile, but after a while, that smiling face collapsed in an instant, and he turned his head, obstinately refusing to say another word to me.
"Yo, what's the matter?" I knew Er Fatty was angry with me for leaving without saying goodbye. But I can't help it, it's out of my control. What's more, I know Er Fatty best. After so many years, although he is angry in his heart, he should be thinking more.
Just like me, I miss him as a friend who has played since childhood.
I walked up to Er Fatty, patted his shoulder, and saw that he was already taller than me. Time seems to have stopped for a while in the past. I can't remember exactly what happened between me and Er Fatty, but I know that no matter how long the relationship between us has been, it will remain the same as it was at the beginning.
"Er Fatty, how have you been doing these years?"
Er Fatty turned his head to look at me, his eye circles were already red, and he punched my shoulder, "You still know how to come back! I thought Aunt Lian Qiao sold you to some rich man to be a child bride. "
"Nowadays there are still people who dare to ask for child brides, aren't they afraid of being arrested! Hehe, what about you, what have you been doing lately? Why did you come to the county?"
"What else can I do, let's live like this! There was a famine two years ago, and many people died of starvation in the village, but your family is good. Your elder brother found a job in the city, and I also got rich. If it wasn't for Aunt Lian Qiao who often came to help, I would have starved to death."
I patted Erpang's stomach and smiled, "No wonder this stomach has disappeared!"
"Hey, where is this? It's fashionable to have muscular beauty now. I have practiced it. I have figured it out in the past two years. I will never be able to make a fortune if I stay in that remote mountain valley. So I went to the county to find a way out, no, I just finished a job."
I didn't ask what kind of work Er Fatty does in the county. I was just worried about my mother, "Hey, when I just came here, someone with me said that something happened in our village, do you know?"
Erpang looked at me blankly, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one and put it in his mouth, and gave me another one, and he gave up after I waved my hand.
He took out a match and lit one skillfully, and then took a deep breath, exhaling a faint white smoke from his mouth, looking very enjoying it.
"Let me tell you the truth, I just came back a while ago, and I didn't dare to go home! What big things can happen in the village every year, it's not just a trivial matter of Zhang's parents and Li's family."
I pulled Er Fatty to the side road and stood there, smoking the cigarette between his fingers.
Master never smokes, and I don't like the smell of smoke very much. Master said that smoking and drinking will affect people's hearts, so it is best not to get involved. Even Uncle Heiying seldom smoked in front of me before, so seeing Er Fatty like this made me feel a little annoyed.
This is exactly what a local ruffian looks like.
"Why don't you dare go home?"
Er Fatty saw that I stomped out the cigarette, and felt a little distressed, "This is the Magnolia cigarette I just bought." He looked up at me, saw that I didn't seem to be joking, and hurriedly said, "Forget it, forget it! Xiaojin, you I'm not an outsider, so I'll tell you everything!
After you left, my father married me a stepmother and brought a whole family with him. Don't you know what my father is like, I can't support myself, let alone such a big family. Later, my dad asked me to drop out of school and stay at home, and go to the town to do some odd jobs. Later, when there was a famine, I really didn't want to spend my whole life in that small village so aggrieved, so I stole a few dollars from my father and ran away.
But I swear, if I don't look like a human being, I'll never come back. "
I looked Erpang up and down, "Well, so what? You look like a man now?"
"Hey, it's not, isn't it because I was a fledgling and was cheated by someone! I was thinking about going back to the county to find a job to do, first deal with it, save some money, go home and give it to my father, and don't worry too much. Hit no!"
"You also know that you have a father!" I was impatient, this Er Fatty has not been serious since he was a child, and he still looks so cynical now. It was also rare for me to argue with him, so I said, "It seems that you don't know what's going on in the village either! Someone told me today that Village Chief Wei died."
"What? Village Chief Wei? Impossible, impossible!" Er Fatty shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly, "Cun Chief Wei is in good health, why did he leave in good health? If you say that the old man is true, I still have a little faith, the village chief..." Er Fatty shook his head again, "I don't believe it!"
"I don't know what's going on, but that person doesn't seem to be lying to me. It's just right to meet you, let's go back and have a look."
"I'm not going back! I made an oath. If I go back like this, my father will beat me to death. If you want to go back, go back alone. I'll wander around the county for two more days and find some work. .”
Seeing that there was no one else around, I leaned close to Erpang's ear and whispered, "What job are you looking for? The man said that our village is not peaceful, and that people in the village are having a hard time. Many people have died. Even the village chief Wei is dead. Aren't you worried about your father?"
Er Fatty paused slightly, and frowned, "Who did you meet? It can't be a liar!"
Just as I was about to speak, two people hurried past me, whispering about Jiangwu Village. Although the voice was small, when we walked to Erpang and me, we both heard it clearly.
"Hey, I heard it's the third one this week? What happened in Jiangwu Village is so troublesome that the police in the town don't dare to intervene. Some kind of forensic doctor has been sent to do the autopsy."
"What is a forensic doctor?"
"That's right, it's the autopsy! But there are no results. If this continues, people will panic, and the whole county will be in trouble."
"Hush, don't talk about it, you can't talk nonsense about it. Let's go home quickly."
After the two good people walked away, Er Fatty took my arm, "Little, Xiao Jin, is what they said true?"
I took a deep breath and shook my head slightly, "I hope it's not true, too!"
"Then what are you waiting for, go, go back! I have to go see my father!"
Er Fatty got a little anxious, and pulled me onto a tractor going to town and left.
The bumps along the way cluttered my mind, and this is the third one this week, and the words keep repeating in my head. Did something really happen? Master asked me to come back at this time because I knew something would happen? Who is that murderous thing? It shouldn't be Fang Qihong!
Maybe everything I want to know can only be known in the village.
The turbulence was already in the evening, and the uncle driving the tractor took a look at me and Erpang, and reminded me in a low voice, "Are you two going to Jiangwu Village?"
I nodded and wanted to go up to get close, the uncle immediately started the tractor, "Then be careful!" After speaking, he drove the tractor and ran away immediately.
I froze in place for a while, and then came to my senses.
What is it that makes these people so afraid of Jiangwu Village
After walking for a few miles, the sun pierced through the layers of branches in the cold wind, sporadically sprinkled on the ground, and there was a faint fragrance of flowers in the air, which symbolized the beauty of spring.
When I got to the entrance of the village, the changes in the village were so great that I could hardly recognize them. The mountain roads have changed, the houses have changed, and many things cannot overlap with what I remember.
"These years have changed quite a lot!" Er Pang was carrying an army green canvas bag, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of emotion when he looked at the scene in front of him.
"Hey, that's not right! Why haven't I seen anyone here?"
I also find it strange that Er Fatty said this. Even if something happened, there would be no one in the village. I groped my way to my home. The crops in the field were growing well, and this year should be a bumper harvest.
After passing the bridgehead of Shuikuzi, I remembered what happened here many years ago. Two fresh lives were ruthlessly taken away here.
The incident between Aunt Dong and Wang Fugui was finally said to be an accident, but everyone in the village knew it well. After all, it's all about obsession, and I can't blame anyone.
I sighed, and when I was about to move on, a voice stopped me.
"Xiao Jin! Is it Xiao Jin?"
The woman's voice was vicissitudes and deep, slightly hoarse, but I could recognize this voice immediately. Looking back, I couldn't hold back my tears anymore.
How many years have passed, the family love that blood is thicker than water still makes me unable to let go.
No matter where I go, no matter what achievements and encounters I have, home is always home, and my mother is always the person who loves me the most.
"Mom, Mom!" I ran all the way to my mother excitedly, looking at the extra silver strands on my mother's head, my heart ached.
The eldest brother and the second brother in the back also came forward to hug us with hoes.
My heart is hard to be calm, I have been thinking day and night looking forward to the reunion of my family, and today it finally came true.
Seeing our family like this, Er Fatty also shrugged his nose, "Aunt Lian Qiao, I won't bother you, I will go home and see my father too."
I waved at him, "Go, I'll find you later."
Seeing that my mother and brothers were fine at this moment, the worries in my heart were finally settled. I just want to go home with my mother and brothers and have a good talk, and talk about the endless thoughts of these years.
The author has something to say: I wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, and then I was horrified to find that the holiday is over halfway.
Hey, the little angels should eat, drink, have fun, and have a happy family. This is the most important thing.
Thanks to the friends who have been supporting me, there are many shortcomings in the southern country, and we still need to work hard.
I hope everyone is happy!