Danqing

2003 was a major turning point for the Qin family.

After three years, Father Tan finally waited for the admission brochure, resigned from the art troupe, sent three works to him, and passed the exam.

Only now did Tan Songxue know that his father was leaving, and he felt less uncomfortable than when his mother left, because his father would come back during the summer vacation.

Father Tan has saved a lot of money from teaching in the past three years, and he has not sold any more stones. The few best Shoushan stones have been painted with BB oil and kept in good condition.

Before Father Qin left, he assigned tasks to Qin Songxue and Chen Kezhi, and gave Tan Songxue a water-ripple inkstone that he bought for more than 500 when he went to other places before, so that he would not use ready-made ink in the future, but learn to grind ink by himself. (She inkstone: Sheyinshe, one of the four famous inkstones, is produced in Anhui)

The ink stick is the fume ink used by Tan's father to write works, and there are two thirds of it left. Qin Songxue has never used it, and finds it very novel. After picking it up and smelling it, he refuses to let it go.

That is the fragrance of ink, the smell that the finished ink sold on the market will never have.

"There is still a piece of pine smoke in the cabinet, you can use that for writing, and the lampblack is for drawing."

Qin Songxue is about to turn nine years old, and has also started to learn Xiaozhuan. Chen Kezhi entered the exhibition with a Xiaozhuan work last year, and once again made a sign for Father Qin. Many parents wanted to send their children, but Father Tan refused.The money has already been collected, and it is meaningless to teach another group of children. Among those students, there are only one or two who are talented. Qin Songxue.

"Dad, I will practice calligraphy well..." Tan Songxue was too tall to hug his dad's thigh, so he could only put his hands on his dad's waist.

"Listen carefully to what mother and elder brother Xiaoke say, do you understand?"

"Well, do your homework on time, practice your handwriting every day, and you can't get past the top [-] in the class in the final exam!" Qin Songxue had already memorized his father's instructions by heart.

Father Tan left with his unfulfilled dreams over the years.Qin's mother also made a wish, and she always felt wronged by Qin's father.A man, who would like to see his wife as the county magistrate, while he is just a small secretary of an art troupe?Father Tan has sacrificed too much for this family, and she only hopes that Father Tan's road will become smoother and smoother in the future, so that he will not be stumbling again.

Mobile phones have become popular, but they are very expensive, and calls are billed in both directions. Mother Qin bought one because of her work needs, and Father Qin didn’t spend that money because he was going out of town. He said that he would consider doing it if the economic conditions allowed there. a local number.That being said, Mother Qin knows that Father Tan will probably still use a phone card. The consumption level in H City is high, and calligraphy itself also costs money. A good copybook can range from a few hundred to a few thousand. Father Tan will not spend it wrongly. Money to buy a mobile phone.

After entering the third grade, there were more English classes. Like many boys, Qin Songxue had a harder time studying than before, and had a headache when she saw English. Chen Kezhi's language talent did not affect Qin Songxue.

However, the newly appointed principal paid special attention to the English class, and changed the English class from two classes a week to four classes a week. Qin Songxue lived like a year.

Soon it was May Day, because of the raging SARS, the school only had five days off so that the students could not play far away, and all the students mourned.

No one expected that a small fever would kill people, and it spread rapidly across the country after the Spring Festival.Moreover, more and more people were infected in April, and the death cases were refreshed every day on TV, and the people of the whole country fell into panic.

Fortunately, the small county is relatively closed, and no cases have been found, but there are still sporadic students wearing masks, which have not been sterilized, and wearing them is almost the same as not wearing them.Father Tan basically calls every day to report that he is safe, so that the family can rest assured.

Because Qin Songxue's English grades were too poor, Qin's mother entrusted Chen Kezhi to help Qin Songxue make up her English. Chen's mother is a high school teacher, and it is a bit overkill to teach a third-grade child.

"Can you write 26 letters?" Chen Kezhi asked while looking at the English textbook painted by Tan Songxue beyond recognition.

Tan Songxue tilted her head and thought for a while: "Know how to write."

"Silent again." Chen Kezhi closed the book.

Tan Songxue honestly took out the fountain pen she just bought, and wrote in uppercase and lowercase letters crookedly on the notebook.

After writing and counting, there are two missing.

"How did you score 67 in the final exam?"

"Copy it." Tan Songxue said honestly.

Chen Kezhi: "..."

Fill in what he missed: "Have you learned the phonetic symbols?"

"What is a phonetic symbol?" Qin Songxue didn't listen at all in class.

Chen Kezhi: "..."

It took Chen Kezhi the whole afternoon to finally get Tan Songxue to read the phonetic symbols correctly. He also turned out his mother's textbook and asked him to recite a few letter combinations with fixed pronunciations.

"Don't let me find out that you write Chinese pronunciation under the words."

Seeing Chen Kezhi's expressionless face, Qin Songxue shrank her neck, and honestly took an eraser to erase the words "touch you" and "basin lock".

At this time, the phone in the living room rang suddenly, and Tan Songxue immediately threw the eraser on the table, and Chen Kezhi leaned over to catch it so that the eraser did not fall.

"Father!" Tan Songxue yelled when she heard a familiar voice.

However, father Tan didn't joke with him as usual and asked him how he was doing.

"Is mother in the house?"

"No, mom is on duty today, and I'm in the house with Grasshopper." Tan Songxue thought his father was looking for his mother for something.

"Qiaoqiu, listen to your mother carefully, don't make her angry, tell her not to work too hard, pay more attention to rest... You should practice your words well, don't be lazy, you know?" Father Tan said in a hoarse voice. It was very slow, and the tone sounded a little weird.

"Father, I know. I'm usually the most obedient!" Tan Songxue held the receiver and didn't know what happened. She couldn't figure out why his father told him to be obedient again.

"Qiaoqiu, Dad loves you..."

"Dad, what's the matter with you? Are you drunk?" Tan Songxue asked suspiciously.

The receiver of the landline was very loud. Standing behind Tan Songxue, Chen Kezhi heard what Tan's father said word for word.Qin Songxue didn't know what that meant, but Chen Kezhi knew it all.

Something must have happened to Master.

"Give me the microphone, Qiuqiu, I'll have a few words with Master."

"Oh..." Tan Songxue blinked, looking confused.

Chen Kezhi covered the microphone: "Qiaoqiu, go back to your room and finish wiping your textbooks."

"You want to tell dad a secret, can't I listen?" Tan Songxue pouted, feeling very wronged.

Chen Kezhi nodded helplessly and coaxed him to leave.

With Chen Kezhi on the other end of the phone, Father Tan didn't have so many scruples when he spoke, and he said concisely: "Xiao Ke, I'm fine, but the dormitory building will be closed soon, so it won't be so convenient to contact in the future... now I have to I don’t know how the situation will turn out, and I will entrust you to take care of Qiuqiu these days.”

"Don't worry, Master, I will." Chen Kezhi said solemnly.

Rolling reports on the news refreshed the death toll. Even though the broadcast kept emphasizing that the mortality rate of SARS was less than 20.00% and that there had been cured cases, in the minds of ordinary people, contracting this disease was tantamount to equating death.

The more the experts refute the rumors with righteous words, the more the people feel that they are fooling people. For such a big matter, in order not to take responsibility, there must be concealed deaths. This is the practice of the Celestial Dynasty.

So the reports of cures and the like in the news are of no help to the panic of the people.

Even Chen Kezhi was no exception, he couldn't be sure if this was Father Tan's last words.

"Then I'll hang up first."

"Ah."

After the phone call, Tan Songxue was worried, and asked Chen Kezhi what happened.Chen Kezhi didn't want to talk too much, but said: "Master has been gone for so long, I miss you a little bit."

That day was the first time Tan Songxue saw his mother cry.

Qin's mother was sent back by the driver of the county party committee, her eyes were red and her eyelids were still a little swollen.

Qin Songxue was startled: "Mom, what's wrong with you?"

Chen Kezhi called Mother Qin when he knew his master hung up the phone. The administrative center is not far from here, and Mother Qin obviously came here after calming down.

Tan Songxue had to hide this matter.

"Mom is fine, I'm allergic to the eyedrops." Mother Tan hugged Tan Songxue tightly as she got out of the car.

Qin's mother is busy with work and her eyes get tired easily, so she always keeps a bottle of eye drops in her bag.

Qin Songxue felt a little uncomfortable being hugged, she slightly pushed Mother Tan away, and touched her eyelids with her chubby hands: "Then don't buy that brand next time."

"Well... okay..." Mother Tan stabilized her mood.

"Li County, do you want me to order a box lunch?" The driver asked from the side.

I don't even feel like cooking when something like this happens.

Mother Tan stood up and forced a smile: "Don't bother, Xiao Wu, you can go back first, it's really embarrassing to bother you during the holiday."

"Li County, you are too polite, everything should be done..."

Xiao Wu was a little worried about Qin's mother's mood, but seeing Qin's mother's determination, she admired this woman. Her husband's situation outside is unknown. Once she collapsed, her son would lose his backbone. For this child, she must hold on this home.

Father Qin also called Father Chen and entrusted their family to take good care of Mother Qin and Qin Songxue.Chen's mother is kind-hearted, she cried harder than Qin's mother when she heard the news, she didn't go to the evening study, she wanted to stay at home with Qin's mother.

Qin's mother cooked the meal. She bought vegetables in the morning and reported to the unit after lunch. She wanted to leave work early during the holidays, but she did not expect to receive a call from Qin's father...

Chen Kezhi also stayed for dinner that day, so Mother Qin cooked an extra dish.

In the evening, Chen Kezhi and Qin Songxue practiced calligraphy in the study as usual, and Mother Qin was called away by Mother Chen.

The Chen family has already installed broadband, so they can surf the Internet at any time.

Mother Qin typed keywords on the keyboard with trembling hands.

But now that the epidemic is spreading all over the country, everyone is in danger. It is not uncommon for one or two cases of illness to appear. It is impossible to focus on TV reports, and we can only search for relevant information on the Internet.

Mother Tan regretted why she didn't force Father Tan to buy a mobile phone before he left.

At that time, the Internet was not as developed as it is now. Mother Qin searched for a long time and only had news about the epidemic in City H. Father Qin and the others were not the first to have an outbreak, so they had no way of knowing the patient information.

On the phone, Father Tan only said that a case had been discovered in their school and that the building had to be closed for safety reasons, but he didn't mention any details.From Qin's mother's understanding of him, things probably won't be that simple. According to Tan's father's personality, if nothing happened, he would definitely explain everything, and he wouldn't tell Qin's mother all of his collections like a will. , Let her not be cheated by profiteers when she sells in the future.

"Old Chen, do you want to call big brother and see if it's convenient for him to inquire about the news?" Chen's mother was worried.

"Let me try." Father Chen dialed Chen Jianguo's number as he spoke.

Qin's study.

"Grasshopper, my mother never played cards."

Chen Kezhi looked at him, only to realize that an hour and a half had passed, and Tan Songxue had only written half a piece of rough-edged paper on Cao Quanbei. rather.

"Aunt Zhao called my mother to play cards just now, but my mother never plays cards."

When Tan Songxue spoke, her lower lip was shaking, as if she was going to cry immediately.

Chen Kezhi put down his pen, put his arms around Tan Songxue, and kissed his eyes: "Qiaoqiu, good boy...why are you crying..."

"My mother cried today. She is not allergic to eye drops at all. The eye drops she instilled...I bought them last week. They look the same as the ones she used before. How could she be allergic..." Tan Songxue said When I said this, my body had already started to twitch, and tears were rolling in my eyes, but I just refused to fall.

Chen Kezhi remained silent.

"Also... my dad used to call back from a landline. Today he called back from his mobile phone number. I can see it on the caller ID. My dad hasn't bought a mobile phone yet. He must have called from another mobile phone. Yes... my father told me that mobile phone calls are very expensive, and he has to go far to find a public phone booth every time. Today is different from before..."

There is a small caller display next to the landline in the living room, which was installed by Qin's mother the year before last for the convenience of answering calls. Qin Songxue often received calls from Qin's father this year, and it has become a habit to look at that small black and white display.

"Grasshopper...I hate you adults so much...don't tell me anything...what's the matter with my father! I hate you so much!"

After Tan Songxue finished speaking, he broke away from Chen Kezhi, knelt down and hugged his knees and began to cry. He cried in a very low voice, his chubby body was convulsing slightly, and his breathing was short of breath as if he couldn't breathe.