The old man was still rubbing the corners of the room stiffly. He was a little surprised why his movements were so stiff today, as if he couldn't lift his hands. He wondered if he had arthritis, but he didn't feel any pain.
If he continued to wipe like this, when would he have to wait until he could finish wiping the tables, chairs and benches in this house, Xiliu loved cleaning so much, when he was at home, he wiped the table by himself with a rag every day.
Thinking of his little granddaughter, the old man became a little happy. Because Xi Liuneng wanted him to come back to see him, it was something he couldn't even dream of. The more he thought about it, the happier he felt, and the stiffness in his hands eased a bit.
He doesn't know why, his thinking seems to have become slow, and now he has to think about something for a long time.
The old man sighed, he was really old, and he couldn't accept his old age.
After wiping the table, he slowly supported the table, walked slowly to the big cabinet in the room, opened the cabinet with hands covered in bruises, trembling slightly in disobedience, and dug out the bottom of the cabinet. Something wrapped in a piece of cloth.
Open it slowly, and inside are all kinds of beautiful hair ropes that little girls will like. The old man caressed these cute hair ropes, and a smile appeared on his face.
In the past, when he went to the market, he would always buy hair ropes for Xi Liu. At that time, he was poor and didn't have much money to buy good-looking ones. After Xi Liu left, he slowly saved some money, and every time he went to the market , knowing that her little granddaughter was not at home, she still couldn't help but buy one and put it in her hand, thinking how happy Xi Liu would be if she saw it.
Thinking about it, he himself became happy first.
Unexpectedly, these hair ropes could be handed over to Xi Liu one day. The old man stood in front of the cabinet, holding the piece of cloth, looking at the hair ropes inside, a smile slowly appeared on his face covered with dark scars.
This smile is a bit stiff, but it is full of anticipation. For several years, sometimes the old man can't sleep in bed, and he will regret when he looks at the pictures drawn by his granddaughter on the wall.
He regretted sending away his good Xiliu, he missed her, and couldn't sleep all night long thinking about her, thinking about whether Xiliu was eating well, sleeping well, and whether the people who adopted her treated her very well. Well, did she cry, did she miss grandpa...
But when I wake up the next day, all these regrets will be hidden.
He told himself time and time again that Xiliu was still young, she was smart and well-behaved, such a good child should not have to endure hardships with a bad old man like himself, he couldn't even buy better clothes for this child, It's better to let her enjoy the blessings.
The old man had seen once or twice those spoiled little girls, wearing nice clothes, beautiful shoes, and all kinds of hair ropes tied on their heads, they were so beautiful in the sun.
They don't have to do laundry, don't do housework, and don't have to stay in a dilapidated room every day without even being able to watch the TV. The old man wants his granddaughter to live this kind of life, even if he crazily misses the baby he grew up with. Little Xiliu, who was brought up, also endured.
But now, his Xi Liu came back to see his grandpa.
The old man looked at the hair rope foolishly and smiled for a long time, carefully hugged the cloth tightly, stiffened his body, walked out of the room slowly, sat on a chair outside, and looked at the end of the trail full of hope with his cloudy and white eyes. far away.
***
Wei Mingyan came to the bamboo forest with the man in his arms.
He put the little girl down and took out a pair of shoes that had been placed before.
This is a pair of small leather shoes, the red is very eye-catching, and it looks like the style of painting that little girls like.
The handsome Taoist threw the shoe to Zhong Hua, "Burn it."
The young man quickly took it, started the fire again, and threw the shoes inside. The shoes were made of leather and had a smell when they burned. He was so choked that he coughed, which made Xi Liu turn his head and look at him worriedly.
"You know what to do?"
Wei Mingyan ignored Zhong Hua with a bitter face, leaned on the bamboo, slightly lowered his eyes and looked at the little girl, "You have learned a lot by Wang Jinchuan's side, you can lie, will you?"
Xiliu's fair face showed some certainty, she nodded, and said in a waxy voice, "Xiliu can deceive people."
"Good boy."
The Taoist priest leaned over slightly, rang the bell, watched the pinch mark on the girl's neck gradually disappear, and it became white again, so he smiled slightly.
He touched the girl's head, and said in a gentle voice: "Don't cry for a while, and let grandpa go away with peace of mind, okay?"
As soon as she heard Grandpa, Xiliu's eyes began to cry. She blinked her eyes hard to hide the tears, and said in a soft voice, "I won't cry, I want to make Grandpa happy."
"good."
Wei Mingyan straightened up and glanced at the little girl's feet. At this moment, there was already a pair of red leather shoes with two rabbit ears made of fake fur, which were playful and cute.
Zhong Hua had helped Xiliu cut her hair before, but now she is wearing a cartoon dress with a Mickey Mouse pattern, red leather shoes under her feet, her hair is neat, her complexion is fair, and her eyes are still moist from the tears she just had.
Xi Liu showed a sweet smile at the handsome Taoist priest, as if he had lived in a sweet pot since he was a child and was pampered and raised.
Zhong Hua came over, she stepped forward, held his hand, raised her face, and said with a smile, "Brother, let's go find Grandpa."
"He must have missed me."
"Okay, brother will take you to find grandpa." The young man's eyes were a little red, but he managed to force out a smile, holding the hand of the little sister who had grown up with him, and walked slowly in the opposite direction.
Someone saw him on the road and said hello, "Hua Hua is back? Now he is a big leader and has a bright future!"
Zhong Hua smiled and answered a few words, then bid farewell and continued to move forward.
The two villagers with hoes on their backs were a little puzzled when they saw him walking away holding something in his hand.
Isn't that nothing
The old man was waiting at the door of his house, when he suddenly saw two people walking up the path, he quickly stood up with a stiff body, looking forward to it.
"grandfather!!"
The little girl's crisp voice sounded, and then, a small figure rushed over quickly. The old man's thinking was a little slow now, and before he could react, a little girl squeezed into his arms.
The little girl hugged him and kept acting like a baby, which made his heart soften and his eyes were filled with relief.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, I miss you so much, I always miss you so much..."
The old man patted his granddaughter on the back with trembling hands, and opened his mouth to speak, but his tongue was a little vague, "Grandpa also... miss Xi Liu..."
He didn't find out what was wrong with him, but Xi Liu and Zhong Hua did and they just pretended not to know.
Zhong Hua closed his eyes, hiding the sadness in his eyes, and walked over with a smile, "Grandpa Gen, I met Xi Liu on the road, so I brought her back. Look, I didn't buy any food."
"It's okay...it's okay..." The old man waved his hands, his face was full of pure joy, he paused for a while, he looked at the trail behind the two of them with some hesitation, "Who... sent Xi Liu back?"
Zhong Hua was stunned, but before he could decide how to answer, the little girl who was acting like a baby in the old man's arms spoke first, "It's my parents, they went to the county to do business first, and they happened to meet my brother, so I asked him to take me away." Brought it."
The old man nodded and asked, "Xi Liu, how are your parents treating you?"
"Well, Mom and Dad said they like Xiliu. They bought me a lot of food, things to play with, and even bought me new clothes. Grandpa, do you think my shoes look good?"
The little girl stretched out her feet as if showing off, and showed the old man the red shoes she was wearing. The old man's vision was actually a bit blurred, but he smiled happily and nodded when he saw the red.
"Good-looking, good-looking, our Xiliu looks good in anything."
His brain was half-frozen, and he didn't realize why the granddaughter in front of him was still as tall as she left a few years ago. He just happily took her hand and asked.
"Xi Liu, did your parents send you to school?"
"I'm here, the kids in school like me, they say I'm good-looking, and they all like to play with me, and the teacher likes me the most, every time they eat, they give me chicken legs..."
The little girl's childish voice was crisp and full of happiness, "I also made a lot of friends and got a lot of picture books. Let me tell you, grandpa, mom and dad take me to the playground every week. We play A lot, a lot... ”
"Aren't Xi Liu happy?"
"Of course I am happy. Grandpa, Mom and Dad are so kind to me. When I first arrived, I couldn't sleep, so they came to sleep with me. They never let me go out alone at night. They always accompany me. Talk to me and watch TV, grandpa, look at the Mickey Mouse on me, does it look good?"
The old man smiled cheerfully, "It's pretty, it's so pretty..."
He touched the hair of his granddaughter in front of him and asked, "Didn't your parents buy a headband?"
Xi Liu paused, and said with a smile, "I bought it, but I forgot to wear it. What I'm wearing now is what grandpa bought for me before, so I don't want to throw it away."
The old man's bruised face hadn't stopped smiling since his granddaughter came back. He carefully and stiffly took out the piece of cloth from his pocket, opened it carefully, and exposed all kinds of beautiful hair ties inside.
"Look, grandpa bought this for you. I don't know if you like it or not. There is a Mickey Mouse in it. Grandpa remembers that we Xiliu like Mickey Mouse the most..."
He reached out his hand to take out the Mickey Mouse headband alone, but his hand landed on it, but there was a fog in front of him, and he couldn't see anything clearly.
Xi Liu looked at the eyes of the old man in front of him that had begun to turn white, and blinked quickly to hide the tears. He picked up the teacher Mi hairband and put it on his head.
She asked, "Grandpa, do I look good?"
The old man raised his head slowly, his eyes were already covered with cataracts, those eyes belonged to the dead.
He couldn't see it anymore, but he still smiled slowly and stiffly, "It's pretty, when Grandpa bought it, he thought Xi Liu's must look good."
The tears in the little girl's eyes could no longer hold back, she pursed her lips to suppress the crying, and slipped into Grandpa's arms.
Her voice was sweet, full of coquettishness, "Why does my grandpa always say it looks good when I ask everything! You must be kidding me!"
"No, no, Xi Liu is really good-looking, grandpa won't lie to you."
The old man laughed, but his head sank.
He whispered, "Xi Liu, grandpa is a little sleepy, may I go to lie down for a while?"
"I'm supporting Grandpa."
"Xi Liu has grown up and is really sensible, Xi Liu, Grandpa wants to hear from you about Mom and Dad..."
"Well... my father is tall and strong, he can protect us, he has bright eyes, he always calls me a good girl, my mother is very good-looking, and treats me very well..."
Leaning on crutches, Wei Mingyan watched the old and the young go in, and walked in with his slender legs.
"Xi Liu, grandpa, grandpa sleeps first, you go outside to eat sweets, ah..."
The old man on the bed heard the movement, and reluctantly let go of his granddaughter's little hand, letting her leave first.
The handsome Taoist priest watched the little girl go out, sat on the side of the bed and said, "Xi Liu is gone, do you have anything to tell me?"
"I, I remembered..." The old man lying on the bed showed a wry smile, and said in a hoarse voice, "I rolled down the cliff with firewood on my back, it was so high, I couldn't live..."
"You asked me, what's under the cliff..."
"Under that, there is really a small stream, many beautiful stones, and little birds landed on me, chirping..."
Leaning on crutches, Wei Mingyan rubbed the wood in his palm, and said softly, "You thought of your granddaughter whom you haven't seen since you sent her away. You wanted to see her, so you got up again."
"Yes, yes..."
The old man smiled wryly and said, "I don't worry about my Xi Liu, she is so small and obedient, if I don't take a look at her, I don't worry..."
"Master..." His body had already started to stiffen, he couldn't move anything except his mouth, so he could only lie on the bed stiffly like this, staring at the ceiling in confusion with his completely white eyes.
"Can you... Help me do the final calculation, Xi Liu, how will I live in the future, and whether I am happy..."
He couldn't see it, so naturally he didn't know that Wei Mingyan took out the tortoise shell and threw it on the bed, but he didn't look at the result.
The handsome Taoist priest said in a soft and pleasant voice, "Her life has been safe and smooth, her parents love her, her husband is caring, her children and grandchildren are filial..."
The old man on the bed smiled, "Okay, okay..."
Wei Mingyan sat by the bed, watched a soul come out, lost his obsession, and went to reincarnation with peace of mind.
"grandfather!!!"
The little girl who had been holding back all this time finally couldn't help it, and burst into tears.
She stumbled to her knees by the bed, took the old man's hand, and cried with tears all over her face.
"Cry, after crying, go and get your body back and bury him with him."
Gently touching her head with one hand, the little girl was sobbing, and looked at the handsome Taoist priest in front of her with red and swollen eyes, "Where will grandpa go? Will he also look like an uncle?"
Wei Mingyan looked at the old man who died with a smile on the bed, and said softly:
"Heaven."