Siheyuan: All the incense in the family is counting on you

The originally clear sky suddenly turned as dark as ink. Lightning was brewing in the clouds and the rumbling thunder sounded like a dragon's roar.

Strong winds swept through the streets, dust and leaves flew everywhere, making it impossible to open one's eyes. Pedestrians on the street covered their heads and hurried home.

The big raindrops mixed with the strong wind fell and wet the ground.

The crowd hurriedly went to the market nearby.

Li Bowen was lying on a recliner at his stall in the Huimin Vegetable Market, his chest rising and falling, and it was obvious that he had fallen asleep.

Suddenly, there was a commotion among the crowd, and they scattered like birds and beasts, with bursts of exclamations being heard.

Li Bowen was awakened by the noise: "It's getting dark so soon?"

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and curiously leaned out to look outside following the sound.

If you don’t watch it, it’s fine. But after you see it, you will be stunned.

Oh no! A round ball of light rushed into the market like a wild horse and headed straight for his stall.

It was too late to hide.

"Crack!"

The whole body felt numb; this was Li Bowen’s final feeling.

A report appeared in the urban news that day - a ball lightning incident. The lightning struck a stall in Huimin Market, and the stall owner and everything on the stall were reduced to ashes.

Then, experts came out to educate the audience about lightning, and finally concluded that one should not hide under a big tree when it rains and thunders.

If you see this kind of lightning, run away.

It’s a pity that Li Bowen can no longer hear what these beasts say.

Now he just felt a splitting headache, as if it was about to split open. He reached out to touch his head and found that it was covered with bandages.

I felt that I was lying on a bed, the strong smell of disinfectant filled my nostrils. I tried to open my eyes and look around.

What caught my eye was a big sticking out butt, and it was really round.

"Ouch, ouch, it hurts, it hurts, be gentler!" A man's cry of pain came from the bed next door.

"Oh oh oh, sorry, sorry, I'll be gentler, come on, raise your arms higher." An extremely gentle female voice came.

I shifted my gaze towards the next bed and saw a woman with her big butt sticking out was changing the hospital gown for the man lying on the bed.

The man had a decent appearance, except for bruises on the corners of his mouth and eye sockets, and his arm was in a plaster cast. He was now holding his arm up, allowing the woman to put clothes on him.

Seeing Li Bowen looking over here, the man spoke: "Bowen, you're awake, that's great, I was really worried that you wouldn't wake up, Huairu, go call a doctor!"

The woman straightened up, looked back at Li Bowen, responded, and quickly walked out of the ward.

The woman looked to be about 26 or 7 years old, tall, with curved eyebrows, a pair of peach blossom eyes, and a trace of sadness on her face, which made people feel distressed. Although she was dressed simply, her proud figure could not be concealed at all.

The man just called her Huairu, could it be...

Li Bowen burped and fainted again as if struck by lightning.

"Bo Wen, Bo Wen, why did you faint again? Huai Ru, hurry up!"

The woman started shouting at the door of the ward. The doctors and nurses heard her shouting and rushed over. After a busy period, Li Bowen finally woke up.

"Where is this?"

"Young man, don't move. You are in the hospital now. You have suffered a serious blow to the head. Do you feel dizzy and nauseous now?" the doctor asked.

Li Bowen shook his head slightly and felt dizzy: "No, I have a headache and feel dizzy. I want to vomit."

"What is this?" The doctor stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Li Bowen's eyes. After getting the correct answer, he continued, "It's okay. Dizziness and nausea are normal. Don't do strenuous exercise. It will be fine in a few days."

"Oh, ok, thank you doctor!"

"Just rest if you're fine. If you feel any discomfort, call the nurse. If you're fine tomorrow, you can be discharged from the hospital and go home to recuperate." After saying that, the doctor left.

Li Bowen lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying hard to recall what was going on. It seemed like he was struck by ball lightning. How did he end up here?

Suddenly, another memory popped up in my mind.

The year is 1961, and summer is almost over.

Li Bowen, whose original name was Li Wen, is 21 years old. His hometown is Changping, right next to the Ming Tombs Reservoir. There are many people in his family, including his grandparents, his uncle and aunt, his third uncle, his third aunt, and four cousins. Including him, there are 11 people in the family.

My uncle Li Dahai is in his fifties and works at the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill in downtown Beijing. He is a level 6 fitter. The old couple originally had two sons, but both died before liberation, and they never had any more children after that.

The second son was named Li Dajiang, Li Bowen's father. When the little bandits invaded, Li Dajiang, who was studying at Yenching University, left his pregnant wife and fled to Yan'an with his classmates. There has been no news of him until now, and it is estimated that he has died long ago. Li Bowen's mother was killed by a shell from the little bandits who came to sweep the area shortly after giving birth to him.

As a result, Li Bowen grew up with his grandparents.

My third uncle, Li Dahe, is the oldest in the family and has always lived in his hometown. After working hard for half a lifetime, he and his wife gave birth to four girls, none of whom were male. However, all four girls were very beautiful and were known as the four golden flowers of the Li family.

Five years ago, my eldest uncle came back to his hometown to visit my grandparents. He sighed in front of the old couple and said that it seemed that his family would be extinct in this lifetime. These words also resonated with my third uncle.

Grandpa, eldest uncle and third uncle discussed the matter for a whole night and finally decided to let Li Bowen take care of these three households alone to continue the Li family's incense.

Because the uncle worked in the city and the living conditions were better than in the countryside, he asked the uncle to take Li Bowen back to the capital and arrange a job for him. It would be better than digging for food in the dirt, and it would also be easier for him to find a wife in the future.

So Li Bowen, who had just turned 16, followed his uncle back to Beijing and lived with his uncle and aunt in the front yard of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, opposite his third uncle Yan Bugui's house.

Before the steel rolling mill was merged into a public-private enterprise, I spent some money to get him an apprenticeship in the factory. He learned locksmith skills from my uncle. He has been an apprentice for more than a year and is now a second-level locksmith, earning 38 yuan a month.

After digesting the memory, Li Bowen did not open his eyes. He discovered something more important.

It was in his mind.

It was a white ball of light. I tentatively touched the ball of light with my consciousness. After a tingling sensation in my soul, the ball of light slowly expanded, and images of some objects appeared in it.

The more Li Bowen looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. Isn’t this my stall?

How did it get into my head? What is this ball of light? Is it the ball lightning? Is it the one that carried me through?

It's unscientific, really unscientific, but who cares whether it's scientific or not. After reading so many systematic articles, Li Bowen's acceptance is still very high. It's better to have it than nothing.

Just as he was about to figure out how to operate it, he heard someone calling him and shaking his body.

"Xiao Wen, Xiao Wen!"