Chapter 43 The bottom line
In summer, the days are long and the nights are short.
No matter how long the day is, there is always the evening. When dusk comes, tired birds return to their nests, cattle and sheep return to their pens, people who have worked hard for a day are getting off work, and those doing farm work are calling it a day.
Lele’s dad looked at his cell phone again after get off work, and shook his head helplessly. Lele’s little cotton-padded jacket didn’t call him for two days, and he didn’t know which nook and corner he went to to play and forget about the day. There was a good boy at home. He was a treasure when she was young, but she was like a wild horse when she was released. He deeply felt what it meant to be heartbroken and entangled. The girl was so bold that he couldn't even accept it.
Confused in my heart, I got on my electric tricycle and went home.
Zhou Qiufeng came back from the fields and washed her hands and feet in the ditch outside. When she saw my mother looking outside the door, she couldn't help but curiously asked: "Mom, what are you looking at?"
"I haven't heard Lele speak for several days. It feels so strange." Grandma Zhou glanced at Lele's house and was filled with wonder. Lele came once on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, but she didn't see the child in the next few days. Ying'er, I don't know where he went.
"You can just ask Brother Le to find out." Zhou Qiufeng replied casually. She was busy transporting fertilizers to the fields these days. She left early and came back late. She was rarely at home. Moreover, she had been thinking about Lele said she was looking for a new mother and was a little distracted from external affairs.
"Yes." Grandma Zhou responded and wanted to turn around and go home. She heard the sound of the car hitting the ground. She looked towards the village road and saw an old tricycle coming back. She immediately walked towards it. Lejia: "Yueqing is back. I'm going to ask him where little Lele has gone."
Zhou Qiufeng opened her mouth and wanted to say, "Let's go, let's go." She looked up and saw Yueqing approaching Lele's house, and was stunned. He was stunned, and his ears pricked up involuntarily.
Dad Le drove the car outside his home and saw Grandma Zhou coming straight towards him. He braked quickly and called out "Auntie".
"Hey, Yueqing, where is your Lele? I wanted to ask her to help me thread the needle during the day today, but I couldn't find anyone after shouting for a long time." Grandma Zhou agreed with a smile, and she was right. The mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law, and the more she looked at him, the more she liked him, and so did she. The more she looked at Yue Qing, the more she felt that he was a perfect match for her daughter.
"Auntie, you are looking for Lele. Lele is not at home. She went into the mountains to study medicinal materials." Le's father is an honest man and will say whatever he wants.
"Huh?"
Two surprised screams sounded at the same time, one from Grandma Zhou and one from Zhou Qiufeng. Both mother and daughter were frightened by the answer. One jump.
Grandma Zhou almost jumped up: "Oh my god, Lele ran into the mountains again? Why haven't you come back yet? It's almost dark."
Lele's father heard two screams and saw Zhou Qiufeng outside the Zhou family's house. Thinking of Lele's words, the tips of his ears burned. Grandma Zhou was panicked.Zhang's tone was startled, he quickly looked away, and hurriedly replied: "Lele went into the mountains on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year and has been there for several days."
His girl was lying to him, saying We have been there for three to five days, and this is already the fourth day. No one has been seen yet. The girl's words are not kept, and Le's father is very depressed.
"You went into the mountains on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year? Today is the tenth day of the Lunar New Year. Have you been there for so many days? Did you call me?" Grandma Zhou was very anxious.
"I called two days ago and said that I was going to a place with no signal. I won't be able to contact you for a few days. Auntie, don't worry, Lele knows what's going on and she will take care of herself."
As a father, Lele’s father is also worried and has to appease Grandma Zhou. The neighbors’ concern for Lele is the kindness of others. There is no reason for others to worry about him.
"What are you saying? Men are just careless. You don't even think about it. How old is Lele? You are willing to let her run into the mountains alone. What can I say about you? It's really shameful. People are anxious..."
Listening to Grandma Zhou's scolding, Le's father listened honestly. After she finished speaking, he murmured: "Auntie, you know, Lele has a stubborn temper, and even nine cows can’t get her back from what she decided. She said I didn’t agree. She ran away in the middle of the night without calling me or telling me where she was. How could I stop her?”
"This is really something Xiao Lele can do. When Lele calls back, you have to urge her to come back quickly. It is not safe in the deep mountains and old forests..."
Zhou Grandma nagged her for a long time before returning home. When she went to bed at night, she talked about Yueqing's difficulties and Lele's sensibleness, etc., saying that she decided to be a matchmaker, and she would go when Lele came back. Asked Lele who was the new mother in the picture, no matter what, she shamelessly asked the woman what she meant, and then fell asleep.
She slept soundly, but Zhou Qiufeng couldn't sleep. One moment she thought of what my mother said about Lele helping her father as a matchmaker, and the other moment she remembered that she would ask Lele what she wanted when Lele came back. If you want to be a new mother, you will be thinking about Brother Le and the Le family, and you will be thinking about this and that. Your mind will be full of thoughts, turning over and over again, and you will have no sleep for half the night.
It started to rain the next day.
It is rainy in spring and summer. It rains every now and then. It is normal. God has been kind to me in the past few days. It is either sunny or cloudy. Even if there is an occasional drizzle, it will not delay the work of the farmers in the fields. Therefore, The villagers have also planted sweet potatoes and sprayed herbicides on the fields. Even if it rains, it will have no impact on the farm work.
Probably because it didn’t rain a few days ago, God has accumulated a lot of sadness. Not long after the rain started in the morning, it fell from the sky like a splash with a basin, and accumulated a lot of sadness. The water is getting deeper and the river is rising.
Dad Le’s heart was twisted into a mess, such a heavy rain,Is Lele trapped in the mountains? Is there anything to eat? Will it get wet or cold?
A father is the supporter behind every child. He may be silent or not good at expressing himself, but he loves his children no less than the mother.
Le’s father looks dull and talkative but is delicate and gentle in his heart. He has been a father and a mother for more than ten years. His whole person is like the tea leaves in the water when making tea, always rising and falling, hot and cold. He is afraid that the child will get hot, that he will get cold if he is cold, and that he will be bullied if he is not around him. Not to mention the danger of the child running into the mountains for a walk, it is strange that he can rest assured.
In the afternoon, the rain stopped, but it was still wet.
Le’s father had been worried for a long time, but finally got some comfort in the middle of the afternoon. His little cotton-padded jacket sent him a text message! Even if he didn't call, knowing that the person was safe would help his uneasy heart feel more at ease.
As for the child’s return date, he no longer holds the hope that she will come back on time. As soon as Xiao Lele enters the mountains, he is like a bird returning to the forest. If he doesn’t play enough, he will probably not be willing to go home. He just I hope the little cotton-padded jacket can take good care of herself and not be hungry or cold.
Everyone has a bottom line. When it comes to children, Dad Le’s bottom line is getting lower and lower. In the past, he hoped that the children would be obedient and not fight. Later, he only hoped that the children would not lose a thousand enemies when fighting. It cost him eight hundred yuan. Before the child went into the mountains, he hoped that she would come back on time. Now he just hopes that she will not get hurt. Looking at the past and thinking about the present, if this development continues, his bottom line will probably be as low as possible.