Chapter 36 Chapter Six

In 2007, Si Wang entered the junior high school of Wuyi Middle School. This year, He Qingying felt a little ominous, perhaps because of her son's birth year, she was determined to spend more time with him.The best way is to open a small shop by yourself, and let Wang'er come to the shop often.She still has 100,000 yuan in bank deposits, which is left after the Gu family paid off the loan sharks for the compensation for Wang'er's adoption. During the summer vacation, with the help of police officer Huang Hai, He Qingying rented the storefront and opened a small bookstore, which was located just across the road from Wuyi Middle School.

Si Wang named the bookstore—Huangcun Bookstore. He Qingying and her son went to the book wholesale market to buy goods under the scorching summer sun at 38 degrees Celsius, and both of them lost their skin.In addition to Si Wang's favorite literature and history books, he also selected a large number of supplementary teaching materials. This is the only way for the small bookstore to survive.She deliberately piled Guo Jingming's and Han Han's together, plus various suspense and thriller novels, don't junior high school students like these now? The first day of school was also the opening day of Huangcun Bookstore. Police officer Huang Hai brought a group of policemen to present flowers in support. People who didn't know thought there was a murder case in the bookstore.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, after finishing the firecracker setting off ceremony, He Qingying took her son to report to the opposite middle school.Wearing a red scarf, Si Wang urged his mother to go back to the bookstore early to take care of her.She was a little sad when she parted, but the child has reached the age where she doesn't like to be called mother at school. Wuyi Middle School is on Changshou Road, next to the gate is a high-end nightclub, every night the gate is lined with luxury cars, and there are girls with heavy makeup coming in and out.The school has a small playground with lush oleanders planted on both sides.The teaching buildings are connected together in a horseshoe shape with a small patio in the middle.On the opposite side of the playground is a row of low two-story houses, like a long isolated island, where the infirmary and music classroom are located.Si Wang adapted to the new environment faster than others, and if he hadn't been intentionally slack, he would definitely have become the student with the best grades in the class.

Si Wang still seldom interacts with others. In the eyes of the teacher, he is an extremely withdrawn child, and no one knows his experience in the third and fourth grades of elementary school.The endorsement photo he took for Erya Education Group was thrown into the garbage dump long ago.He only talks a lot at the Huangcun Bookstore, because he wants to drag his classmates over, recommend various best-selling books and the magazine "The Minimal Story", as well as teaching aids that are cheaper than those sold at school. He Qingying will give his son's classmates a 20% discount .

The second year, spring. Those photos of Edison Chen became popular on the Internet. I heard that many children secretly watched them on the computer. He Qingying was very worried about this, but she couldn't tell her son, so she could only let him go. Si Wang also lost his last deciduous tooth, and a mouthful of healthy permanent teeth grew out.He didn't throw his upper teeth to the ground and his lower teeth to the sky like other children, but gave them all to his mother. "Wang'er, every hair and every tooth of yours is precious. It was brought to you by my mother's narrow escape. I need to keep and cherish it."

He Qingying locked her son's replaced teeth in the last drawer of the dressing table. In the autumn, Si Wang was officially promoted to junior high school student, Class 1 (2) of Wuyi Middle School. Since the first grade of elementary school, my father has been missing After six years, both mother and son have gotten used to living without him, and it seems that he is just the man in the memory of the previous life, even though there are still family photos beside the bed. The operation of Huangcun Bookstore is going smoothly. He Qingying and his son are more like partners of the bookstore. For more than a year, the income and expenditure have been flat, and gradually there is a meager profit, which is only enough for monthly living expenses.Because of the police officers from the Yellow Sea, the bookstore did not encounter any troubles in industry and commerce, taxation, or urban management.She sits in the bookstore every day, almost without a day off, and only hires someone to help look after the store when there is an emergency.

Sometimes, when she tossed and turned all night, He Qingying would touch her son's back, but Wang'er said that she would rather not grow up, her Adam's apple would not protrude, and her vocal cords would not be hoarse, so that she could hug her mother to sleep all the time.The light outside the window shines through the curtains on her face that hasn't aged yet. Lin Chiling is only four years younger than her, so there must be other men who like her. On December 19, 2008, Si Wang's thirteenth birthday. He has never celebrated his birthday in a restaurant outside. His mother bought a cake every year and went home, and the mother and son huddled together to listen to the birthday song.This time, police officer Huang Hai also came to the door with big bags and small bags.To be honest, he didn't know how to give gifts at all, they were all salted fish and bacon, and he even gave him the ugliest set of stationery.He helped He Qingying cook in the kitchen, clumsily knocking over bottles of soy sauce or vinegar from time to time.This silent and rude man was uncharacteristically instigated by his mother-in-law. He Qingying couldn't help laughing. It was rare for him to make a few jokes with him, but when he turned around, he saw Si Wang's eyes.

The son looked at her coldly. Before blowing out the birthday cake with thirteen candles, Officer Huang Hai hurriedly said, "Wait a minute, let me make a wish first." He Qingying could almost guess his wish, but Si Wang was ahead of him and blew out all the candles. He Qingying hid in the dark corner of the room, resting his chin to observe the boy's face—what was he wishing in his heart? After celebrating her son's birthday, He Qingying went out to send Police Officer Huang Hai off for a long time to express her gratitude.When she got home, she found that Si Wang was watching a horror movie by himself, with musty disappointment in his eyes.This birthday was not a happy one. Although he had a face that was hidden, he couldn't hide it from his mother no matter what.

Three days later, the winter solstice. He Qingying took her son alone, and went to the suburbs by car to visit the grave.The car passed by Nanming Road, the raindrops blurred the vision outside the car window, but Si Wang closed his eyes and opened them after walking away. This is the grave of grandparents, surrounded by small rivers, dense with pines and cypresses.The name of the owner of the tomb is painted with black paint on the stele, and a long list of names is painted with red paint, which means that these relatives are still alive, and Si Wang is among them.As the eldest son of the family, Si Mingyuan's name was at the top of the list.He Qingying brought fresh food and offered it in front of her in-laws' tombstone, and pulled her son to kneel on the ground.The time when the three sticks of incense are burned is the process of the ancestors' souls enjoying their lunch.

An hour later, He Qingying came to the gate of another cemetery.She bought several stacks of tin foil, and asked Si Wang to hold a bouquet of flowers.Among the crowded tombstones, I found a slightly old tomb, inlaid with a photo of an elderly couple. "Wang'er, kowtow to grandpa and grandma." Facing his grandparents whom he had never met before, Si Wang kneeled down in a sensible way, and kowtowed three times respectfully.He and his mother burned the tin foil together, the smoke smoked his eyes, and the tears couldn't help streaming down. He Qingying squatted and hugged him tightly.

On the way home, there were snowflakes in the sky, and the son asked inappropriately: "Mom, where did you say Dad went?" "have no idea." Her answer was so cold, it was like talking about an irrelevant dead person.