Chapter 16 second quarter

Lin Ling quickly waved her hand at the old party secretary, meaning that there is no need to worry, then she turned her head and said kindly to Mrs. Sun: "Grandma Sun, I just want to ask something about your grandson—if you are in trouble, even gone." "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. If you have any questions, comrade journalists, just ask." The old lady was very straightforward. "I heard that you got sick in the year of your grandson's college entrance examination. What kind of disease is it?" "My eyes are blind." "Ah?" Lin Ling was shocked by the old lady's illness, but also surprised that the old woman in a closed mountain village could say such a sophisticated word as "blindness".

"The doctor said it was a cataract, and it could only be cured by an operation! That would require a huge operation fee." "How much will it cost?" "I don't know the exact amount, anyway, it's a number that we rural people probably won't be able to earn in our lifetime!" "You raised the money?" Mrs. Sun shook her head, "It was all brought by my daughter-in-law. If it weren't for my daughter-in-law, I'm afraid I would be blind now. In fact, I spent so much money for this bad old woman who buried her neck in the soil." Healing, why bother?"

"How is your vision after surgery?" "I can't see very clearly. I can barely see your figure now, girl, but it's better than being blind!" The distance between Lin Ling and Mrs. Sun was less than two meters, and she could barely see the outline of people at this distance, which showed that her eyesight was already very poor. "Do you know how your daughter-in-law got the money for your treatment?" Old Mrs. Sun shook her head again, "I really don't know about this, but because of this, my daughter-in-law has been running around the city for many days."

"Your grandson was taking the college entrance examination at that time, right? Did he know about this?" "I haven't seen my grandson since my eye was healed. But I think he should know." "Why didn't you see him again? Didn't he come back once after college?" "Actually, I know that something must have happened during the time my daughter-in-law went to raise money! The money must not be easy to come by, and my grandson must know what's going on here, so he won't come back to the village " Mrs. Sun thought for a while, and added, "I guess it should be like this."

"But he is your grandson, no matter what, he should come back to see you!" "Actually, I'm not his real grandma! His father is not his real father!" Mrs. Sun calmly said this extremely sad sentence. "Grandma, why are you still singing "Red Lantern"? How do you know that he is not your own grandson, not your own grandson? You have raised him for so many years?" The old party secretary interrupted eagerly, as if trying to help her cover up Family ugly. Lin Ling knew that the old branch secretary was a fan of the theater, and Mrs. Sun's words were very similar to the libretto in the Peking Opera "Red Lantern", so he would inevitably think of it.Lin Ling also knew that the old branch secretary was covering up for the Sun family, but she felt that since Mrs. Sun said this, her words were well-founded.

"Old party secretary, you don't know about this kind of thing. My daughter-in-law is pregnant and married to that unworthy bastard of my family. I know about it." "Then you didn't object at that time?" Lin Ling couldn't care less about the sharpness of the question. "No, why should I object! Such a good daughter-in-law brought me a grandson of Bai Rao, why should I object?" "Mrs. Sun, you really don't mind that the grandson is not a Miao of your old grandson's family?" The old branch secretary was also very strange to Mrs. Sun's attitude.

"Of course there is a reason for this. Let me tell you the truth, my son Sun Shao can't have children at all! It's impossible for me to have a grandson!" Lin Ling and the old branch secretary were shocked again. Mrs. Sun revealed more and more news, and the two of them were speechless for a long time. "You don't need to be surprised! This matter is not a good thing, so I never mentioned it to anyone. But now that my wife is dead, comrade reporters are here to investigate my grandson again today, so I will discuss these matters one by one. Ten days to tell you clearly."

"How did you know there was something wrong with your son?" Although it was not appropriate for a girl to ask this kind of male reproductive issues, Lin Ling insisted on asking in order to get closer to the truth. "He was naughty when he was young, and he always liked to ride the stool upside down as a wooden horse. Our old man passed away shortly after he was born, and there was no one at home, so I often told him to do this or that. Once I asked him to do it. Help me carry something, but he was in a panic and fell down for some reason, and his thing happened to hit a chair leg, and he cried out for pain at that time, I knew something bad was going to happen, but because The hospital is far away from the village, and there is no car in the village, so it is very inconvenient to go out, so I wanted to stay at home to see it for one night before talking. After one night, he said that the pain was gone, so I thought there was nothing wrong. Sigh , who would have thought? When he grows up, I will know that something is wrong."

"What question?" Although Lin Ling knew that this question was embarrassing, she couldn't help asking. "His bastard, after reaching his age, never grows bigger! So, I knew there was something wrong with his eggs." Lin Ling blushed. Although what Mrs. Sun said was rough, she could understand it. "Then when did you know Teacher Liu was pregnant?" "After my daughter-in-law went to the countryside, she has been living in my house. I know she likes that tall and handsome young man. Women can't hide this from women. But Gao Fengjun has been here for less than two years, so I don't know how to mediate with him. Back in the city, no one notified him when he left, not even my daughter-in-law. When my daughter-in-law found out that he was gone, she felt as if she had lost her soul and was restless all day long. About a month after Gao Fengjun left, That day my daughter-in-law followed me to work in the fields, and suddenly she said that she had a stomachache. When I saw blood on her crotch, I knew that she was pregnant and showed signs of miscarriage. A woman must be pregnant Be careful, don't do too much exercise, this is common sense, and it also shows that my daughter-in-law didn't know she was pregnant at the time."

"Is the child okay in the end?" Lin Ling was very concerned about this question, but as soon as the words came out, she consciously asked another nonsense. "Well, she's been raised at home for two days, and she's fine. The child is saved!" "A question that shouldn't be asked, do you know who this child, your grandson's name is?" "I don't know!" Mrs. Sun said very simply. "That child belongs to Gao Fengjun! He already admitted it yesterday, and he is going to lead that ungrateful boy to recognize his ancestors!" "Really? Humph! This is probably the beginning of another tragedy!" Mrs. Sun's expression became extremely serious.

Lin Ling felt that Mrs. Sun's eyes were very strange. Although her eyes had not fully recovered, she had a feeling for light, but when the old branch secretary said the name Gao Fengjun in a resentful tone, her eyes flickered A strange light came out, not anger or resentment, but a deeper secret. "Grandma Sun, how did you persuade Teacher Liu to marry your son?" Lin Ling continued to ask, and of course she listened more seriously. "I'm telling the truth!" "be honest?" "I just said that your big belly can be seen by others in a few days. Hurry up and find a hospital for an abortion! My daughter-in-law thought about having an abortion at the time! But it was quickly rejected by her. The reason is our village. It's too far away from the hospital, she can't go by herself." Lin Ling was thinking, this is probably only one of the reasons, and another reason is that Liu Yanfang didn't want to kill her own flesh and blood. People at that time thought differently from people now - killing a child is as simple as cutting a watermelon ——People at that time had yearning for a new life, and they especially hoped to see their own flesh and blood born.Nowadays, most women have a sense of fear about the birth of a baby. This fear comes from the pressure of the child's future raising costs, especially the education cost, and the pressure that the child brings to their own lives. "In those days, not having an abortion and having a child out of wedlock was almost a capital crime! I told her that the only way to save two lives was to find a man to marry as soon as possible. I told her the truth at that time, saying that my son was a loser. A man with a bad egg can't have sex with her, so just marry him!" "What did Teacher Liu say at the time?" Lin Ling listened to Mrs. Sun's words and felt that this was indeed the most difficult moment for a woman to make a decision. "She cried all night!" Lin Ling could imagine how desolate the scene was at that time, and there is nothing more sad than this for a woman. "So that's the case! Granny Sun, why didn't you tell me that at the beginning!" The old branch secretary sighed as he heard it. "Who would believe it at that time? Besides, you were still squatting in the cowshed at the head of the village that year!" "You remember it really clearly!" The old branch secretary sighed, "What's your son's attitude towards this matter?" "At that time, I didn't tell him anything! I just said that if Miss Liu married you as a daughter-in-law! Would you like it?" "What did your son say?" "He's beautiful! Marry him for such a juicy city girl. He told me at the time, mother! I will never idle around anymore, marry a wife to support the family! He also said that he must be filial to me in the future!" "Didn't your son know that he was infertile?" Lin Ling's questions became more and more acute. "In our rural areas, the understanding of this aspect is relatively backward, and there is no such thing as a pre-marital examination. Before my son got married, he didn't know that he had this problem, and he never doubted himself. The two of them went to the village committee to register. Just remember, even if you are married.” "Even if anyone in the family gets this disease, they won't go around talking about it. I said why this boy Sun Shao eats, drinks, and gambles, but he has never made any mistakes in terms of women!" The old branch secretary added. Lin Ling thought, in fact, Sun Shao's bad temper and doing all kinds of bad things may also have something to do with his physical problems.But she couldn't say that in front of other people's mother. "But after marriage, something happened." Mrs. Sun's face became more and more gloomy. "I can't do that, but my daughter-in-law's belly is getting bigger every day! That's why your son will beat his wife later!" "This is one aspect, and there is another reason. My son always thinks that this child belongs to Gao Fengjun! Because my daughter-in-law called to the village to jump in the queue, she and Gao Fengjun are on good terms, and have always been good." "It turns out that your son had a feud with Gao Fengjun, and Gao Fengjun even beat him!" Lin Ling heard this last night, so she asked Mrs. Sun to confirm. "Yes, Gao Fengjun was the most popular man among women in the village at that time, and my son couldn't compare with him. At that time, the young people in the village wanted to compete with him. They wanted to defeat him, make Gao Fengjun lose face, and then establish their own Prestige. My son was no exception at that time. At that time, he found a lot of young people playing together and fought with Gao Fengjun. In the end, none of those people were Gao Fengjun's opponents, and they were all beaten away. My son was the worst. He was caught by Gao Fengjun and beat him up. Shaoer is the only seedling in my family, and although he was blamed for the beating, Gao Fengjun was too harsh. That day, my son came back with blood dripping from his mouth Yes, I'm a mother, it hurts so much! But Shao'er has no other brothers, so if you want to settle accounts with Gao Fengjun, you can't rely on me, an old woman, right?" "So, later on, he poured all his hatred towards Gao Fengjun on Teacher Liu?" Lin Ling finally understood the crux of the problem. Mrs. Sun didn't answer Lin Ling's words. "Are you telling the truth to your son at this time?" the old branch secretary interjected. Old Mrs. Sun nodded, "I told him about the root of his offspring, and said that letting a pregnant daughter-in-law marry him is the only way to carry on the family line. In the countryside, there are three things that are unfilial, the worst is having no offspring. If you want to prevent the villagers from poking the back of our old Sun's family, you have to find a way to have a child." "How did he react?" "Crying! My son is actually a timid person who can't stand anything. However, I knew at the time that my son was wronged, so I didn't blame him." "Later it was said that your son always beat Teacher Liu, did you know about this?" Lin Ling's eyes were full of concern. Mrs. Sun nodded, "Before the child was born, I never left my daughter-in-law's side. I was afraid that my bastard son would hurt her, but after the child was born, I had no reason to leave my daughter-in-law behind." By my side, no matter what, they are also a couple, and they want to sleep in the same room." "The problem came later, right?" The old party secretary took out a cigarette from his pocket, took out one and smelled it on his nose for a long time, but he didn't light it. "Later, I often heard them quarreling. I also know that their cultural level is too different, and my son is a sick person in that area. I am afraid that any woman will not tolerate it. I have been thinking about matching them. Was it a mistake to be together?" "It's a trick of good fortune. Gao Fengjun and Mr. Liu are a natural couple, but they shouldn't have had children before they got married. It wouldn't be a problem now, but it couldn't be done then. However, that Gao Fengjun is really a beast. He slapped his ass and left when he had an accident with a woman. What is it all about! Mrs. Sun, you were absolutely right at the time. If you didn’t do that, you would have lost three lives! Teacher Liu , Gao Fengjun, and your grandson, none of them will survive." The old branch secretary obviously did not shy away from some irritating words. Mrs. Sun didn't mind the old party secretary's words at all, and continued: "Later, because my daughter-in-law was always abused, she spent a lot of time living with the children in my house, and she didn't have much time in Shao'er. Oh! My daughter-in-law is very filial! She has nothing to say to me. She cooks during the day and washes my feet at night. She never tires me out. I know she wants to repay her life-saving grace, but I have feelings for her. What the hell, I completely killed her!" Lin Ling saw tears oozing from old Mrs. Sun's blurred eyes, so she switched to Sun Qiming again, "What happened later? How did Sun Qiming get?" "That child grows up day by day, but there is also a problem - no matter how you teach him, he won't care about Shao'er calling him Dad!" "Why? Is your son always beating children?" "No, he never beat a child, and he loved Xiaoming very much at first." "Did Teacher Liu ask him to do this?" "No! I know this. My daughter-in-law taught him many times to call him Shao'er's father, but he didn't call him by nickname. Later, my daughter-in-law even gave him a nickname because of this, but the child was very stubborn, so he just didn't call him by nickname. .” "Did Sun Qiming call you grandma?" "Call! He is very close to me. Maybe it's because I loved him very much since I was a child!" Lin Ling thought, sometimes the blood relationship is really a gap that is difficult to explain clearly. Even if they live together all year round, the blood in the blood vessels will not flow together. "When did your daughter-in-law start working as a village teacher?" This question was snatched up by the old party secretary, "After the Cultural Revolution, the Sun family didn't have much farm work, so Teacher Liu came to me and said that he wanted to teach the children in the village. I also thought at the time, that fellow Sun Shao might also do it. There is no farm work, how can two women and one child support this family? I applied to the county to set up this teaching site, and the county also promised to pay Teacher Liu every month, but the number of teachers has not come down .” "I heard that Sun Qiming sent his mother to go to school outside the village since he was a child. Why?" "There are many reasons. The child doesn't get along with his father. Teacher Liu also wants the child to be successful, because this child is her only hope." "Because someone funded him!" Mrs. Sun ignored the words of the old branch secretary and said unhurriedly. "Funding?" "With conditions like ours, if there is no outside funding, how can we afford a child to go from elementary school to university outside?" Lin Ling felt that although Mrs. Sun couldn't see clearly, she knew very well in her heart. Every word she said was backed by iron-like evidence, "Do you know who sponsored your grandson?" Mrs. Sun shook her head, "I don't know, I don't know." "Could it be Gao Fengjun?" The old branch secretary obviously agreed with Mrs. Sun's conjecture. "It's not him. He came here before, sent money, and my daughter-in-law drove him away! I'm afraid you all know about this. I don't think my daughter-in-law will go to him, right?" "But he is Sun Qiming's biological father?" The old branch secretary was a little anxious, obviously accusing Mrs. Sun of being too stubborn. Mrs. Sun seemed to be avoiding Gao Fengjun's question on purpose, and when the question came to this point, she fell silent. "Does Teacher Liu have any other acquaintances outside?" Lin Ling seemed to agree with some of Mrs. Sun's judgments, and led the topic to other aspects. "Yes, there were quite a few people who jumped in line with them at that time! Don't they all go back to the city now? I think my daughter-in-law may have asked them for help!" "Do you have the names of those people?" "Name? Then you have to ask the old branch secretary." The old party secretary sighed, "I have all the names of those people, and some of them are already famous people, such as Gao Fengjun who is already the big boss, and Song Huang who is now from Hongfu County. The county magistrate is now a celebrity!" "Can the old branch secretary show me the names and contact information of these people." Lin Ling was very concerned about these discoveries. "It's hard to say the contact information, but I have the name and place of origin, I can give it to you in a while, and I also keep the registration they did when they came to us, I hope it can bring you some help." Lin Ling nodded gratefully at the old branch secretary, and then asked Mrs. Sun: "Grandma Sun, can you give me something about your grandson? For example, photos, things he wrote and so on." Grandma Sun shook her head and said, "There isn't a single photo." "Why?" Lin Ling knew that although the countryside was very poor, she didn't even take a photo. "I don't know about this either. Just after I had the eye surgery, when I returned home, I found that many things in the house were gone, especially the photos." After speaking, Mrs. Sun pointed to the wall. Lin Ling looked in the direction she pointed, and found a rectangular white area on the grayish-yellow wall.Lin Ling instantly understood that there used to be something hanging here, and judging from the location, it was probably a photo frame. "There used to be a lot of photos with nicknames hanging here, but when I came back, there was nothing here. I asked my daughter-in-law where the photos went, and she said that she broke the photo frame when she was fighting with my son, so I just asked my daughter-in-law. Throw it all away." "threw?" "I know she is lying. I also asked Shao'er about this. Shao'er said that I never saw my daughter-in-law come home when I was sick, and he never quarreled with her. I think it must have happened here." whats the matter." "Why do you say that?" "Because except for the photos, everything from Xiaoming's childhood to adulthood is gone." "Is everything missing?" "The homework books, certificates, and grade books that Xiaoming grew up with are all gone. Do you think it's strange?" "Your grandson is already in college. Mr. Liu may think these things are useless, so just throw them away. What's the use of keeping some rags, not suitable for eating or drinking." The old party secretary obviously thinks that this matter is not Belongs to the abnormal range. "No, those things are not with my daughter-in-law at all, but with me all the time. I kept them for my grandson. My daughter-in-law took them away after digging through my cabinet." Lin Ling's thought at this time was the same as that of Mrs. Sun: this is really abnormal. "Didn't you ask about that?" "It's also a lie to ask. I'm afraid she won't tell me, but one thing is for sure. I think Xiao Ming's absence for such a long time must have something to do with this matter." "Is there really nothing left?" "It's not that there are no leftovers at all. In my place, there are still two compositions with nicknames." "Ah?" Lin Ling and the village party secretary exclaimed together. "Grandma Sun, you are joking, you are having fun with us, aren't you?" "These two essays are different from other essays. Compositions written by nicknames have always scored high, but he got zero for these two essays. One was written in elementary school and the other was written in high school. Daughter-in-law After seeing these two compositions, I was so angry that I tore up the composition, and I picked up these pieces of paper little by little, and put them together." "Grandma Sun, do you know how to read?" Lin Ling questioned the eloquent old man in front of her. "Yes, don't look at my old woman who stays at home in the countryside. My family is also a big family. My father also specially invited Mr. private school to teach me. But the characters I know are all traditional characters, so I use them a lot. I don’t even bother to read what’s written now.” Lin Ling remembered what the village party secretary said about the girls from the big family in their village reading "Biography of Martyrs" when they were young. Maybe he was talking about Mrs. Sun. "Then where are these two compositions now? Have you read them all?" "I read the article in elementary school, and I put it together and glued it together; the article I wrote in high school, because my eyesight is no longer good, so I didn't glue it together, so naturally I didn't read it. But I picked up all the fragments, and there were not many pieces. I was afraid that my daughter-in-law would be angry if she saw these two articles, so I kept them hidden under the small box where I put the bracelet, and my daughter-in-law didn’t even know about them.” "Grandma Sun, can you show me these two compositions?" "On the cabinet opposite the kang, there is a nice little box, go and get it." Lin Ling followed Mrs. Sun's instructions and walked to the cabinet, and she saw a delicate box on it.This small box is extremely delicate, with a red top and a black box body. The body of the box is coated with a layer of wax-like material, making it extremely smooth.The beauty and delicacy of the small box is completely out of tune with the simplicity of this house. Lin Ling opened the box, and there was no bracelet inside, but a pile of papers and yellowed manuscript paper folded into squares.There are obvious cracks in the manuscript paper. "This thing is my natal family's dowry. The bracelet in it was sold long ago, and it was given to my unworthy son to pay off his gambling debts. In the end, only this box was left, and I used it to put my grandson's composition. I thought, No matter how bad Xiaoming's composition is, he should keep it! Besides, I don't think my grandson's composition is that bad." Lin Ling knew that all kinds of so-called zero-score essays for the college entrance examination have been circulating on the Internet these years, which are a kind of venting of people's emotions. These two essays could not be written by Sun Qiming to vent their emotions, right? "Grandma Sun, can you lend me these two compositions?" Mrs. Sun didn't hesitate, "I just want to show it to you, or I won't mention it. Comrade reporter, please help me find out why my grandson hasn't come to see me for so long. Does she really disown me as a grandma? I don't believe that child is an ungrateful person." As she spoke, old Mrs. Sun burst into tears, and some light appeared in her cloudy eyes. "Don't worry about this, I will try my best. I don't believe your grandson is an ungrateful person either." Old Mrs. Sun nodded, "My old lady is dying, so I never expected to encounter such a white-haired person sending a black-haired person. My daughter-in-law has taken care of me for so many years, and I absolutely don't believe that she will commit suicide." Lin Ling nodded. It seemed that she also knew some facts about the case. "Grandma Sun, let me ask you one last question. Do you know why Teacher Liu went to the city?" "I don't know, she suddenly said she was going to leave. I asked her, but she didn't say anything. She is a person full of secrets, and most people can't touch her secrets. But you can ask about this matter." one person?" "Who?" Lin Ling asked eagerly. "County Song." "County Song?" "Yes, that's the Song Huang that the old party secretary mentioned just now. His family is in the county seat. He came here with my daughter-in-law and Gao Fengjun. He returned to the city before the end of the Cultural Revolution. He left earlier than Gao Fengjun. He was on good terms with my daughter-in-law and Gao Fengjun." Lin Ling's eyes lit up, this seemed to be another important clue! At this time, the rain outside the door became heavier and heavier, and the mystery of the incident became more and more blurred like this rain.