Old Movies of the Republic of China II

Seeing the closed wooden door of his house far away, Du Zhongyuan's eyes were wet.

An old woman bent her back and narrowed her eyes to look at him: "This young man, I think you are very strange, you are..."

Du Zhongyuan thought that he would be unfamiliar with the words of his hometown when he talked about his hometown again. After eight years of absence, he moved around in Fengtian, Tokyo and other places, and rarely mentioned the small village where he was born.But when he opened his mouth, what he spit out was the language that had accumulated in his memory for 20 years: "I am Zhongyuan, Du Zhongyuan."

The old woman thought for a while, shook her head, and muttered: "What Zhongyuan, I haven't heard of it, I haven't heard of it."

Du Zhongyuan didn't bother to explain his identity to her, and strode towards home with the suitcase in his hands.

The smoke from the cooking in the countryside was rising, and the old woman leaned on a walking stick and looked at the strange young man in a suit hurriedly, and knocked on a door.

It was a woman who opened the door, a woman with wrinkles on her face, but she was obviously young.

Du Zhongyuan was stunned.

The woman was also stunned, and muttered for a while: "Yes, is that his father?"

Du Zhongyuan opened his mouth, but he didn't say anything, luckily the woman didn't see it either, she stepped on her little feet, hurriedly turned around and ran into the yard, shouting: "Father, mother, come out quickly! come out faster!"

The small courtyard was filled with the smell of food, Du Zhongyuan looked around with nostalgia and strangeness, he remembered everything at home very clearly.During those years in Japan, he would often come back in his dreams.But when he was really here, his eyes were not filled with tears and he was full of sighs as he imagined.

Du Zhong walked away to the only room that was lit.

If he remembered correctly, it was the kitchen.

When there were still a few steps away from the light, the old woman rushed out of the house, crying, "You child, you are finally willing to come back! Why don't you wait for your old mother to die before you come back?!"

After comforting his mother, Du Zhongyuan looked at his father standing at the door of the kitchen.He is an old scholar who has been sitting in this small village for decades, and his originally tall and straight body seems to collapse in the wind at this moment.

Du Zhongyuan whispered: "...Father, I'm back."

"Ping'er, Xiaoxuan, come here, this is your father, call someone."

The two little girls poked their heads out from behind their mother timidly, and whispered, "Father."

Du Zhongyuan's nose was sour, and he quickly responded twice, saying: "You all have grown up so much."

He hurriedly opened the box he had brought back and took out the presents for them.

The girls looked timidly at the small box in his hand.

Du Zhongyuan was a little embarrassed, the children were hiding behind their mother, should he go over and hand them to them?It won't work, he can't.

Fortunately, Du Xiucai said solemnly: "Go to your father's place."

Only then did the two little girls walk over cautiously, the box was opened, and the two identical golden Buddhas made their eyes widen, Zhuang quickly waved his hands: "This, this is too precious, the two of them are children, so they can't be so precious s things."

Du Zhongyuan said: "Take it."

Ping'er and Xiaoxuan held the Golden Buddha and flung themselves into their mother's arms. Ping'er looked back at the strange father. He looked different from the adults in the village. He was not tall and his voice was not loud. Looking at her Sometimes the eyes are different from them.

Mother Du was still wiping her tears, so the old scholar dusted off the hem of her robe and said, "Acan, Dad wants to ask you a few words."

"A Can" is Du Zhongyuan's nickname. As the saying goes, a cheap name is easy to support. An old scholar who has read a lot of books thinks that "彘'er" is very good. It took a month to finally decide on "A Can".

Du Zhongyuan felt an indescribable feeling slowly spread from his heart. After he was 16 years old, his father never called him by that name again. Hearing it now, he suddenly felt like going back in time, as if nothing had happened yet. He is not yet married, does not have these two children, and has not traveled far to Japan to meet Yuzhi.

"Father, you ask."

The old scholar looked at him without blinking, "You have to tell the truth."

Du Zhongyuan said: "I will not lie to you."

The old scholar asked with a heavy tone, "Did you really go to school in the past eight years?"

"Yes."

"How long has it been since you came back from Japan?"

"Almost a year."

"Then why did it take you so long to come home?"

Du Zhongyuan is hard to say.

How could he tell his old father that he didn't come back because his current lover didn't want him to come back?He didn't even send money to his family. His father had been sitting in the library for decades, and all the money he worked so hard to save was used to send him to school, and what about him?

He is ashamed to be a son of man, but a father in vain.

"Father, my son is not filial."

Du Zhongyuan can only say so.

He knew it was extravagant, but he still couldn't help thinking this way - if one day Yuzhi could come to his father with him, he hoped that his father would not have any discord with her.

The old scholar looked at him deeply, and the whole family of children dared not make a sound. Du Zhongyuan lowered his head slightly, not daring to look into his father's eyes. He knew that he must be full of disappointment.

"Your mother and I, it doesn't matter, but what about your wife and children?" The old scholar said, "Acan, father not only taught you the four books and five classics, but also taught you the principles of life. Being a father, being a husband, your Responsibility, but not fulfilled at all.”

The old Xiucai is a gentle person, even when he was young, he never blush with anyone.

Even when Du Zhongyuan was still young and ignorant, he would seriously reason with his son who couldn't even speak clearly, saying that a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall, and others laughed at him saying that Du Xiucai and Ah Can were just watching by the stove It's just hilarious, he said seriously that I told him it was wrong, and he wouldn't do it again.

Mrs. Zhuang hugged the two children tightly, and the golden Buddha shone brightly.

Du Zhongyuan stood up, walked to the middle of the room, and bowed to Mrs. Zhuang.

Mrs. Zhuang hurriedly tried to stop him, but they had been separated for too long. Even when they were still sleeping in the same bed, the relationship between the two of them was lukewarm, let alone today?Looking at the "Shanggong" in front of him who was wearing strange clothes, his face was whiter than his own, like the invisible moon in the sky, Zhuang Shi didn't even feel right to touch his clothes.

Du Zhongyuan knelt down to his parents and respectfully kowtowed to them twice.

Mother Du hurriedly helped him up: "What is this for? Why are you kowtowing!"

Du Zhongyuan said with red eyes: "These years, my son has been sorry to the elders, and I only want you to enjoy happiness in the future. Father, mother, go to Fengtian with me."

Mother Du cried and laughed, hugged him and said, "What are you kowtowing, mother doesn't blame you, I don't blame you."

The old scholar watched coldly, and suddenly said: "Ping'er, take Xiaoxuan back to sleep."

The girls walked away step by step, turning their heads three times, Zhuang seemed to feel something, and clasped his hands together.

"Tell me, are you getting mixed up with those dubious women outside?"

Du's mother was stunned, Zhuang's eyes were lowered, and tears slowly rolled down.

"Father, she's not a naughty woman—"

"Acan!" Mother Du called his name out of breath.

Mrs. Zhuang fell into Du's mother's arms and wept silently.

Du Zhongyuan dared not look at her.He knew he was a complete asshole and he ruined her life.

He remembered that when they got married back then, Mrs. Zhuang trembling her eyelashes did not dare to look at him, the wedding wine was spilled on the scarlet wedding gown, and the girl's fair body on the bed was like the most beautiful painting in the world.He remembered when Ping'er was born, the joy of being a new mother in her eyes and the softness spreading in the fragrance of milk, and also remembered that she gradually became less restrained and became a real master of the family.

When he left, she was five months pregnant, and his mother was holding Ping'er, even though her belly was covered by a thick cotton jacket, he was secretly startled.They watched him leave.

He swore back then.

He also swore to treat this woman well.

The old scholar's face had never been so red before. Anger, shame, disappointment, too many emotions flooded his face at the same time, and his thin body trembled unbearably.

He hates it!

Not only do I hate Ah Can for becoming like this, and for doing such a disgraceful thing, but I also hate myself, why I see so accurately, why I think so much.

"Father," Du Zhongyuan said in a shy voice, "everything is my fault. I'm sorry... Ling'er. Yuzhi, she, she's not wrong, it's me."

Du's mother scolded: "You know you have a wife and son, but you are still messing around outside. Of course you are wrong! Does that woman know that you have a family? If she knows, she still entangles with you. What? Zhongyuan, you are studying and going to school outside, you should be able to distinguish right from wrong, why did you become like this!"

Du Zhongyuan bowed his head and said nothing.

He could not refute a word.

He shouldn't meet Hou Yuzhi, shouldn't forget her, shouldn't pay attention to everything about her all the time, shouldn't go to light cigarettes for her when there is no one around her without a lighter, and shouldn't watch that night by her side.

The old scholar pointed to the door: "Get out of here. I only think that my son died outside, and Mrs. Zhuang will always be our family's daughter-in-law."

Zhuang's weeping continued.

Du Zhongyuan's limbs stiffened, yes, he knew that his father, who had been innocent all his life, would definitely not accept him now, he didn't dare to come back, but he knew that he had to come back.

Du's mother patted Zhuang's back comfortingly.

Zhuang's name is Zhuang Ling'er, and she married into their family when she was 15 years old. After all these years, she is no different from her daughter.There is no mother in the world who loves her daughter so much and can watch her suffer such a great grievance. Besides, she did nothing wrong, and the fault is another child.

Du Zhongyuan took out two boxes, one large and one small, from the box, put them on the table with downcast eyes, and said, "In the future... I will send money home."

"...You are still young, don't delay yourself anymore. I'm sorry for you, this is 1000 yuan ocean, it's for you, Ling'er, you are a good woman, I hope you can live better in the future."

He put the smaller box by Zhuang's hand.

Du Zhongyuan kowtowed three times to his parents and the Zhuang family. The ground was very hard, and he used a lot of strength.

Mother Du couldn't bear it and said: "You...sleep at home overnight before leaving. It's dark and it's not safe outside."

Du Zhongyuan said: "My son has no face. Take care of yourself. This is my address. If you need anything, write to me. I will come back again."

Walking in the dark and uninhabited wilderness, even if there are stars shining all over the sky, it is not an easy task.

But Du Zhongyuan was relieved.

He wrapped his coat tightly, the bitter night wind was blowing on his face, the cold air penetrated into the clothes from the collar, and the cry of wild animals could be faintly heard in the distance.

Am I going to die here?

Du Zhongyuan laughed, if he really died, wouldn't it be a good thing?Damn him, he's sorry for everyone.

Zhuang Ling is indeed a good woman.

In the first few months of marriage, Du Zhongyuan still felt calm, but after she had a child, Du Zhongyuan felt cold all over. Could it be that his whole life is like this?In a remote village, in the future, he will be a teacher like his father and raise a child like him. Is this his whole life?

He doesn't want to.

He wants to go out and have a look.

Yes, he did go out, not only from this small village, but also from Tokyo.He returned home full of ambition after studying, and opened a company in Fengtian City. He had met the most powerful young marshal in Northeast China, and even talked to him.But what's the point?

What did he gain and what did he lose.

What else does he have.

Above the night sky, the stars twinkled, as if they were laughing at mediocrity——laughing at him.