Zhu Qinghe hesitated and walked into the newsstand with a payphone, hesitated for a long time, and dialed his home number.

He held the microphone tightly with his cracked hands, his knuckles were slightly white, and he didn't even notice the blood streaks in his fingers.

The cold wind was biting, but Zhu Qinghe was wearing thin and shabby clothes. While waiting, he huddled up in a corner that could block the wind. He had already sneezed a few times, and the phone was disconnected for a long time, until Zhu Qinghe made the third consecutive call. The other side was finally connected, and a middle-aged woman's voice came, and Zhu Qinghe called "Mom" with slightly sour eyes.

"Qinghe, do you have something urgent? Your brother brought his girlfriend home these two days, and I'm busy with entertaining, so hang up if you're not in a hurry. Long-distance calls are so expensive, don't waste money, it's hard to earn I have to save some money. Everything is fine at home, but...forget it, I will talk about it later."

After Zhu Qinghe listened quietly, before hanging up the phone over there, he said: "Mom, the money I called back half a month ago has not been moved yet, has it? Can you transfer it to me? I need it urgently."

There was silence for a while, and when he spoke again, his voice was a bit colder: "At the beginning, it was agreed that the money was for your brother to buy a house, but now it is still [-] yuan away, and your father and I are both grey. I still expect you to send some back... Qinghe, tell mom the truth, are you still hiding the money and not giving it?"

Zhu Qinghe looked down at the ground in a strange posture, and stood there for a long time without saying a word, the sun was hitting his body, but Zhu Qinghe felt the cold was even more biting.

Zhu Qinghe's mother seemed to take him as acquiescing, and said bluntly: "Have you got a girlfriend? Mom told you a long time ago that women outside are all liars. They only want your money. Don't be stupid." Wait a minute, when your brother gets married, mom will tell you about it. In our village, there is only one college student born in our family. Even your uncle praises your brother for being promising. Don't make trouble at this time, hurry up and give all the money Call back, your brother is in urgent need. You are a big brother anyway, don't let the village see the joke."

The money his mother was talking about was the work injury compensation money given by his boss when he broke his leg while working on the construction site half a month ago.

Because his mother was in a hurry, Zhu Qinghe had no choice but to send all the money back. His injury was only treated briefly, and he was barely able to walk on crutches until now.

Zhu Qinghe's heart was as cold as if someone had been immersed in the frozen river for three or nine days. His gray and dry lips were parted, and he could hardly utter a sound: "Mom, the doctor said that I have cancer, which is in the terminal stage, and the operation should be done as soon as possible." There is a good chance of surviving."

"What?" The voice in the microphone increased sharply, and her breathing was also rapid. The person beside her whispered something, and her mood calmed down. She said coldly, "I don't care if you have been outside these few years." You, you are wild, and you still plan with your family, and use this kind of excuse to lie to me, I don't have a son like you."

Zhu Qinghe's shoulders trembled slightly, he bit his lip, and begged eagerly: "Mom, I'm at the gate of the hospital right now, if I don't pay the money, the hospital will let me go. Mom, I beg you, I don't want to die!"

The other side was even more furious: "Your brother said that the loss of money in a big city is at least 30 yuan, and you only gave me [-] yuan. I raised you so much, and you just play tricks on me like this? Don't do it again in the future." Call home, hold your money and live a good life."

Zhu Qinghe heard a beeping sound, and he twitched the corners of his mouth weakly, slowly closed the phone, grabbed it in his trouser pocket, and took out a crumpled ten-yuan bill and handed it over.

A person like him with all his strength can only do heavy work on the construction site, and he doesn't have much money for a month. The boss is in a bad mood and finds excuses to deduct money. This time he broke his leg, just as the relevant departments were watching. Unable to be fooled, the boss gritted his teeth and paid [-].

Two weeks ago, he came to the hospital to change his dressing. When the medicine was prescribed, he told the doctor that he was not feeling well for a while. The doctor suggested that he have a full body examination, and only then did he know that he was so sick. 5000 yuan is just a drop in the bucket in the face of cancer. The nurse urged him to continue paying the fee, but he was desperate, so he talked to his family.

After going through the discharge procedures and returning to the work shed, the manager urged him to pack up his things and leave, cursing harshly for bad luck.Zhu Qinghe looked calm, packed his things, and entrusted someone he knew to take him to the station.

He stayed at the corner outside the waiting room. He couldn’t help it. He was not allowed to enter without a ticket. He huddled in the leeward place, listening to the sound of the green train, and couldn’t stand the cold. When it got dark, I found a cheap hotel to stay in.

For the next year, he made a living on the streets by nailing shoes and repairing car tires. The so-called family members had no contact with them, as if they had never appeared in his life.

People who are about to die always have a premonition, and Zhu Qinghe feels that his time is approaching.That night, he dragged his unconscious legs and stood on the boulevard in the city center, staring blankly at the high-rise buildings he had worked hard to build. The metropolis is out of tune with him.

On the large electronic screen in the center of the square, a tall and handsome young man said in a deep and cold voice: "Hengda can travel all over the country because of a tolerant and grateful heart. Someone taught me this fortune that year. , I didn’t have time to thank him. After 16 years of delay, I want to use the remaining time to find him.”

Zhu Qinghe smiled, thinking to himself how lucky that person is, someone still misses him in the past ten years or so.At this time, his body became more and more uncomfortable. He turned around and walked back. Cold sweat poured out of his forehead like a waterfall.

At that last moment, it was as if a hand stretched out from the darkness and clasped his throat tightly, choking off his vitality.

In the chaos, there was a dog barking next to my ear, followed by a woman's crisp voice: "Brother Yutian, is your family Qinghe feeling better? You agreed to ask me to mark the preview points in the past two days, but there was no one there. I'll ask."

The fog dissipated in an instant, Zhu Qinghe woke up suddenly, sat up, and subconsciously turned his head to look outside, because of too much force, the headache was even worse.This voice...isn't it Teacher Wang from the village?Isn't he dead?Is it hallucination?

Looking around, the walls of the small room were smoked black, two large wooden boxes with peeling paint were piled up in the corner, pots and wooden benches were placed on the uneven ground, so familiar, it was clearly him and his younger brother Zhu Qingliang house.After a brief moment of surprise and disbelief, a look of ecstasy quickly appeared on his face.

These hands are no longer skinny and ugly. Although they are blackened, they can still be seen as the hands of a child.God brought him back to life!

Now that he is reincarnated as a human, this time he will not let himself live so miserably. He wants to occupy a place in the bustling city full of tall buildings and busy traffic. The man who arrives is admired by thousands of people with wealth.

He limped to the window. Dad was sitting under a tree weaving a basket without raising his head. Teacher Wang stood awkwardly and tried to persuade him.

Zhu Qinghe remembered that in August of this year, he had a few quarrels with Liu Tong from the same village. He threw a stone at Liu Tong's head, and blood gushed out. His father captured him and beat him half to death. He couldn't get off the ground for several days.

After living a lifetime, he began to wonder why he did that.Liu Tong said that he was picked up on the mud pile, not his parents' own son, otherwise why would his mother only buy delicious food for Qingliang, but his father loved Qingliang very much, but he always beat him to death like an animal, the whole family It seems that everyone regards him as an enemy, and grandma doesn't even bother to look at him. He has lived for decades without even being on the side of the kang in the main house. Sometimes he can't help but suspect that he is not his own.

Later, I heard someone say by chance that his grandfather listened to the words of the fortune teller, saying that he was born as a nemesis debt collector, and his family members were not allowed to treat him well. So we cut off contact.

"Qinghe won't study anymore, Mr. Wang should go back."

"Why don't you study well? Qinghe is a good seedling for studying. As long as he spends more time, he will definitely be a college student in our village. He will also have a decent job in the future. Isn't it better than facing the yellow land all day long?"

Zhu Yutian stood up suddenly, his face flushed, and he said in a rough voice: "Teacher Wang, don't come to my house in the future. I won't say anything to make Qinghe study. He broke the head of the grandson of the old Liu family. I have lost all my money, my family is poor, how can I have so much money for him? Come back quickly."

Teacher Wang still does not give up: "The past few years in junior high school are very important. After laying a solid foundation, high school and university will be easy. Brother Yutian, as parents, who doesn't want their children to have a great future? Don't let this good seedling in our village Buried. Or you let him out, I'll tell him."

Zhu Yutian's face immediately became even uglier, and he waved his hands irritably: "Stop talking, hurry up, if you have the heart, teach my family to be clean, and that will be of great promise."

Teacher Wang is a public teacher from a big place. She graduated from Zhenger Bajing Normal School. No one knows why she came to such a poor place, but she is beautiful and knowledgeable, and is very respected in the village.

Zhu Qinghe felt that the only way out for him was to go to school, otherwise he would go to the south with the adults in the village to make money in a short time. He didn't want to experience that kind of desperate life again, so he staggered without thinking Push open the door and go out.

The light outside the house hurt his eyes, he closed his eyes, walked under the tree, and said in an extremely firm voice, "Father, I want to continue my studies, I want to go to college."

Zhu Yutian walked over quickly and pushed him into the room: "The adults are talking, why do the children get in the way? Go back and be careful with your skin."

Zhu Qinghe swayed slightly, gritted his teeth and stood firm, stared straight ahead, his jaw tightened, and repeated: "I want to study, even if Dad beats me to death, I still want to study."

At this time, a loud voice came from outside the courtyard: "Hey, Teacher Wang, are you here again?" When he came to the front, he continued to smile and said, "Mr. Wang, don't make things difficult for my second brother. Qinghe has great strength. He is the eldest of the family again. Life in our village is difficult. He has to help his parents support the family. I went to the county a few days ago and happened to meet a young man who was recruiting from the south and wanted to be strong and strong. For the salary, I signed up for Qinghe."

The uncle is the head of the village, the most proud son of the grandfather, he can manage the affairs of the Zhu family village, and he can even be the master of Zhu's second family.Zhu Qinghe couldn't help curling the corners of his mouth, his father only knew how to work and beat people, and he panicked when encountering troubles, and this uncle made up all the big and small matters in the family.

He didn't know it before, but now he understands it. Dad should know, so Mr. Wang was pushed away by him several times when he came to the door.Zhu Qinghe moved two steps forward, raised his head slightly to look at Zhu Yuliang, and said calmly, "Uncle, since there is such a good opportunity, why don't you sign up for Brother Dahu? We two cousins ​​will go together, on the way You have a partner too, don't you?"

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