Chapter 61: Future Arrangements

I was curious why Gao Ning would leave me a letter, but then I thought of what he had said, that he had no friends to confide in, and I understood. But when I thought of how rebellious Gao Ning’s heart was, I couldn’t help but feel my heart racing. My parents were temporarily living in Beijing, and if Gao Ning left me a letter, what would my parents do when they saw it?

“Did he leave a letter before?” I couldn’t help but ask.

But Gao Ning didn’t answer my question, just looking at the infinite sunset and said, “Chen Chengyi, if you have the heart to bury me, then bury me here. It’s not bad to be close to the village where Grandma grew up. If you don’t have the heart to hide me, then let me die here. In any case, it’s all about life and death, and it doesn’t matter if you don’t bury me.”

I felt a little sad. Gao Ning, who was still alive in front of me, had only ten minutes left to live at most. I held back my sadness and said as calmly as possible, “There is no reason not to bury you. Don’t worry.”

“What am I not at ease about? My parents have long been dead, and I’m afraid that no one will shed a tear for me when I die. Thinking about it, this half of my life has really been sad. But thank you, Chen Chengyi, for giving me a place to rest in peace after I die. I won’t say anything else, let’s get started.” Gao Ning didn’t turn his head, looking at his side face, only to find a tear falling.

I picked up the golden talisman with trembling hands…

The trip to the Miao village of Heiyan finally came to an end on this day. The village, which was once full of people and grudges, had now completely turned into a deserted village.

What remains is Gao Ning’s lonely ruin on the hillside and a simple wooden tombstone in front of the grave, on which I wrote “Gao Ning’s Tomb,” and there is no more superfluous language.

The result is somewhat bleak.

We were all exhausted, and when we walked out of the mountains, we didn’t have much to say, but the mission had been perfectly accomplished, and we weren’t in a hurry on the way back.

The master seemed to be the most exhausted one. After getting on the motorcycle, he kept taking naps. When he woke up for a while, he was full of worries and didn’t want to talk.

I didn’t ask him anything more. This time, I just watched the unbelievable things. Watching so many lives disappear and watching prosperity turn into desolation was a great test for my state of mind.

It wasn’t until the afternoon of the next day that we returned to the town. The master finally said, “Chengyi, your parents probably won’t be able to get used to living in Beijing. Take them back to Sichuan. You and I should also go back to Sichuan for a while. Let’s stay at the Bamboo House for a while and find a quiet state of mind.”

The Bamboo House? My heart sank a little, and my thoughts drifted back to the days of more than a decade ago, when life was simple, we depended on each other, and that quiet bamboo house… It was better that Master didn’t say it, but once he did, I realized that after this experience, I was crazy about missing the Bamboo House.

It would be best to go back and live there for a while.

“As for your family, they are like two girls. If they want to stay in Beijing, they can. If they don’t, they can go back to where they came from. Go do your business. I’ll wait for you at the Bamboo House. Oh, and remember to bring Yuanxi with you. I said I’d take her with me for a while.” The master said to me.

I nodded and agreed. Master Hui appeared out of nowhere and suddenly said, “I’ll stay in Beijing for a while. When Hui Gen’s spring break is over, I’ll bring him here.”

“Who wants you to come?” Master said without even looking up.

“Do you want me to come? Do you care? Do you have any say in this?” Master Hui looked at him with a look of indifference.

Looking at this familiar scene, I felt both warm and funny, and I was afraid that they would continue talking, and it would be a one-on-one fight. But at this time, Grandma Lingqing also spoke up: “Sichuan is a nurturing place, with good water and air. I’ll stay there for a while, too. Ru Yue will follow me, but unfortunately Ru Xue won’t be coming. It’s better that she doesn’t come…”

After the war, the tense nerves finally relaxed. When Grandma Lingqing mentioned Ru Xue at this time, my heart was both sour and sad. I simply kept quiet, and Ru Yue’s expression was also a bit bleak, biting her lower lip, and suddenly she said to Grandma Lingqing, “Grandma, I’m not going. I’m going back to the village to stay with my sister.”

Grandma Ling Qing is such a clever woman. She had already sensed the emotions behind the scenes. She suddenly said, “Not saying, not wanting, not asking, does not mean letting go. When can you be so calm and brave that you can talk about your feelings without changing your heart? I’ll go back to Yueyan first. I’ll also go see Ru Xue. In a few days, I might come back to the Bamboo Grove.

Grandma Lingqing, I’m afraid the state of mind you’re talking about is the state of mind between you and Master. I can’t do it at all now. I just think of Ru Xue, and I can’t help but be a little crazy. I really want to see her again and hug her.

I thought that Ling Qing’s grandmother would be a bit disappointed if she suddenly stopped going, but I didn’t expect her to be so indifferent. She just said, “That’s fine. You can go back to Yueyan first. I’m always at the Bamboo Grove. You can come whenever you like.”

I always felt that there was something wrong with this sentence, but my heart was already filled with the warm plan to stay at the Bamboo Grove in the future, so I didn’t think about it too much.

After a simple discussion, we rested in the town for a day and then set off.

I went to Beijing with Grandpa Hui, Grandma Lingqing took Ru Yue back to Yueyan, Uncle Chen and Brother Chengxin went back to Hangzhou, and Uncle Wang found Chengzhen, who had stayed in the town, and God knows where he was going to wander.

Gatherings are always short, and so are farewells.

What’s more, our reunion was for a battle. When will such reunions be happy and harmonious?

I was in a hurry to get back to Beijing, where I hadn’t been for more than half a year. There were so many people I missed, my family, Qin Huai, Su Rou, Jingyi’s sister-in-law, Yuanxi, Yuanyi’s brother, Uncle Li, Chengqing, Xiaohui Gen… I missed them all.

Uncle Hui said he was going to pick up Hui Gen from school and give him a scare, so he said goodbye to me at a fork in the road. I almost ran back to the familiar courtyard and finally stood in front of the gate, panting.

My heart was exhausted and dusty, and it was only the warm stream of affection that could wash it clean and soothe it…

I pushed open the door, which was a bit shaky, and the smell of home came rushing at me. It was the middle of the day on a weekend, and my two sisters and their families always had to accompany my parents to dinner. The lively and warm scene was just behind the closed door.

“Uncle, it’s Uncle…” The first person to see me was my eldest nephew. After shouting happily, he came flying towards me. I hugged him and couldn’t help but rub his little head.

“Hahaha…” My nephew laughed happily, then pinched his nose and said, “Uncle, your beard is prickly and you stink.”

Before I could say anything, I felt a light on my shoulder. I looked up and saw my father’s back. I hadn’t noticed that he had already taken my backpack off and was hurrying to put it away in the house, saying, “If you smell, go take a bath. Or don’t, let’s eat first.”

I felt both amused and touched. My mother had already come over, and she touched my face with both hands and said, “Let me see if my son has lost weight… You should shave that beard off. You look older than your father.”

That’s it. That’s all I need. It’s as if the whole person suddenly became relaxed and warm. This time, I’m leaving home for another six months.

My son, my younger brother, has only one word for his family: wait! When will I be able to end this wandering life?

So I arrived in Beijing and was reunited with my family. After picking up his son from school, Mr. Hui also came to our house and said that he would be living with us for a while.

I didn’t have time to tell my parents about the master’s specific arrangements. After a quick shower, I had to meet many people.

It seemed like I was running around a lot, but for me, this was a happy kind of running around and busyness.

The first people I wanted to see were Qin Huai and Su Rou. Now that I was back, they were free. I remembered Qin Huai’s scolding me on the phone. If I didn’t go to see them first when I got back, I didn’t think the two of them would recognize me as a brother.

Before I left, I asked my parents if they had any letters for me, but the answer was inexplicably no.

Did Gao Ning lie to me? What reason did he have to lie to me?