Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Come back quickly after visiting the grave!" Gao Qingzhen shouted at the father and son who were about to leave on their bicycles.
"Got it, no need to rush us. We have a watch, we know the time!" The father replied a few times before getting on the old-fashioned bicycle with a crossbar and slowly pedaling away. Jiang Yizhou seized the opportunity to jump onto the back seat and waved goodbye to his mother.
They had just finished putting up the Spring Festival couplets. There were only a few rooms, so it didn't take long to finish. They had some noodles for lunch to fill their stomachs, saving room for dinner later.
Fine snowflakes floated in the air. A sudden snowfall occurred last night, leaving about ten centimeters of snow on the ground, and it continued to snow today. However, it wasn't heavy; when it landed on them, it quickly melted, only dampening their jackets without much impact.
Jiang Yizhou enjoyed this atmosphere. In the future, snow would become increasingly rare. During his previous life, it often snowed in winter, but as he grew up, he encountered snow only a few times each winter, and heavy snow that blanketed everything like a thick quilt was even rarer; most of the time, there was just a light dusting that disappeared quickly.
Riding along on his bicycle, they soon arrived at a grocery store near the village street, which sold all sorts of things. With the New Year approaching, it was naturally filled with firecrackers and paper money.
Suddenly, Jiang Yizhou felt a pang of discomfort as he remembered an elderly man who ran a grocery store in his hometown not far from here. That grocery store was located in a single room in the village and was managed solely by that old man.
At that time, he didn't understand much. There was an inflatable lighter that he and his friends found amusing, so they bought one and kept deflating and reinflating it. They took turns doing this dozens of times. The old man, with his cloudy eyes, couldn't figure out what was happening; he only noticed that so many people came to refill their lighters.
As Jiang Yizhou grew older, he felt guilty for having played tricks on that old man. However, when he returned to his hometown one day intending to apologize, he discovered that the old man had already passed away.
Although it was just a matter of refilling a lighter dozens of times, it left a deep impression on Jiang Yizhou. He could still recall the old man's sad and pained expression.
Perhaps it was because he didn't fully understand sadness and death at that time. In his previous life, although his grandparents were still lying in bed smiling and giving him delicious food, when he returned home from school one day and was told by his parents that someone had died, he found himself wearing mourning clothes.
He looked blankly at the tables filled with food in the courtyard; aside from his parents and other children of his grandparents crying sorrowfully, everyone else seemed to be gathering for a feast—rarely together but happily enjoying a meal—similar to a celebratory banquet, except for the slightly different atmosphere around them.
At that moment, he thought, so this is death! There was no fear at all as he looked at his grandparents lying in the room, waiting to be placed in a coffin. They seemed no different from someone asleep, except for being picked at by the Second Mother, who cheerfully pulled out some money without any reaction.
Only when that old man's death made him realize that death is a complete loss, even denying him the right to say sorry, did Jiang Yizhou feel somewhat fortunate. He had not let his parents down in their old age because in his past life, he had already passed away before disappointing his graying parents.
As for sorrow, there was still his elder brother to support their parents. His brother was definitely an outstanding person—filial to their parents, with a happy family. The Sister-in-law was also gentle; he did everything better than Jiang Yizhou could.
“Son, what’s wrong? What are you daydreaming about? I’ve bought everything; weren’t you going to make a phone call? Why are you still standing here?” Jiang Maoqiang asked curiously as he carried a large bag of firecrackers and several stacks of paper money after finishing the transaction and walking over to the bicycle.
The large bag of firecrackers was for Yizhou Taige. His grandparents' health was failing; they had suffered too much in the past. The firecrackers were for some other relatives and elders who had no one to honor them.
What has this child thought of that made him tear up?
Waking from past memories, Jiang Yizhou stammered a few words, “I just remembered something; I’m going to make a phone call! Wait for me a moment, Dad!” He then hurriedly searched for a public phone and finally found a store in the center of the street.
He asked about the price and dialed Song Rushi's phone number. There might be someone on duty at the company now, but no one should know more than Song Rushi about what needed to be reported back to America.
After a few rings, the call connected. “Hello, who are you looking for?” came a kind voice from an aunt.
Jiang Yizhou blinked rapidly and shook his head before politely greeting her, “Hello Auntie, Happy New Year! I’m looking for Song Rushi; I’m her colleague. My name is Jiang Yizhou!”
Mother Song was initially delighted but then felt a bit worried. She didn’t hide it at all; she was very open about it, unlike someone who had any relation with As such. She said into the receiver, “Okay, okay! Happy New Year to you too! I’ll call As such over right away; just wait!”
Mother Song put down the receiver and walked to her daughter’s room, knocking on the door. “As such, there’s someone who called from your workplace looking for you; it’s Jiang Yizhou!”
Song Rushi scratched her head, feeling annoyed. It was frustrating to have everything thrown onto her; being a housekeeper was not easy!
"I'll go out right away!" Song Rushi put down the pen in her hand, adjusted her outfit, and left the room. Ignoring her mother's gaze, she picked up the microphone and said, "Hello, Yi Zhou, it's me!"
"First of all, Happy New Year, Sister Ru Shi! How's the company?" Jiang Yizhou asked casually.
"There’s a pile of things waiting for you to handle when you get back! I've postponed everything because I couldn't reach you. Please don't cause any trouble when you return!" Song Rushi couldn't say much more; this was a long-distance call, and it wasn't clear over the phone. She could only hope that Jiang Yizhou would come back soon.
"So there's nothing wrong?" Jiang Yizhou felt relieved and said cheerfully, "In that case, I'll hang up. I'll be back on time! Bye!"
Mother Song saw her daughter hang up the phone and walked over to ask, "What’s your relationship with him? Why did you hang up? Don't you want to chat a bit longer?"
Song Rushi knew her mother was overthinking again and straightforwardly explained about Jiang Yizhou: "He's my boss, eighteen years old, started from scratch, and his company is worth millions. Impressive, right?" Then she dragged herself back into her room with a sigh.
Mother Song mumbled, "What a shame. He has great conditions; if only he were a few years older, it would be acceptable. What a pity..."
Comment 0 Comment Count