While Mr. Zhang was holding a mobilization meeting, Wang Guan concentrated on driving and drove at a fast pace. After passing several checkpoints and being stabbed many times, he finally returned to the county seat before the sun went down.

Parking the car in front of the house, Wang Guan opened the door and went in. First he saw his elder brother Wang Kan busy in the kitchen, and the aroma of cooking smoke wafted out.

Hearing the noise coming from the door, Wang Kan looked back and said in surprise: "Brother, why are you back?"

"Something happened to Dad. I will definitely come back and take a look." Wang Guan looked around and asked, "Where is the man? Is his injury feeling better?"

"Watching TV in the living room." As he said this, Wang Kan complained a little: "I didn't even say hello when I came back, and I didn't cook your food... Come on, let's cook two more dishes."

"Wang Kan, are there guests?" At this moment, his mother walked out of the hall and was very surprised to see Wang Guan: "Hey, when did you come back?"

"We just got home." Wang Guan said worriedly: "I heard that dad is injured, so I will come back and take a look."

"What's the injury? It's just a sprain. It'll be fine in a few days." Mother frowned and said, "It's you who has to work, so you don't have to worry about your boss blaming you when you suddenly come back."

"It's okay. I asked for leave. How is Dad?" Wang Guan explained quickly, then walked into the hall and immediately smelled a strong smell of medicinal wine.

"came back."

At this time, my father was sitting on the sofa, with his injured left foot resting on a small stool. When he saw Wang Guan coming back, he smiled and was a little happy. Moreover, his condition was not as serious as Wang Guan imagined. It was really just

Twist it. It's just a little bruised. After applying the medicinal wine, it will return to normal in about a week.

Seeing this situation, Wang Guan felt completely at ease. He had originally wondered if his family had deliberately downplayed the injury in order not to worry him, but now it seemed that it was really nothing serious.

"As I said, it's just a minor injury and pain. It'll be fine in a few days. But you guys are making such a show of mobilizing troops. People who don't know may think I have some terminal illness." My father was a little dissatisfied.

"Aren't you caring about you? I really think that I am still young. If you are a very old person with osteoporosis and you hurt your bones, you can still laugh..." The mother complained, but her eyes were filled with a look that she could not hide.

There was a look of concern.

My father became silent. A few years ago, he might have had a few quarrels with his mother, but after his retirement, his temper gradually calmed down and he became very gentle.

Wang Guan saw this and hurriedly smoothed things over: "Mom, dad often climbs mountains and is very strong..."

"Don't mention climbing. This injury was caused by climbing. Fortunately, it was just a sprained foot. If it had been a big fall, the consequences would have been serious." The mother said worriedly.

"Don't curse me, okay." My father couldn't help but retorted: "This was just an accident. If it hadn't rained and the grass roots on the slope had become loose, making it difficult to hold on, nothing would have happened to me."

"Stop making excuses for yourself. Now that you have retired, you should stay at home and enjoy your happiness, and don't torment yourself with nothing." The mother muttered, and her words made sense. At least Wang Guan agreed with her.

The father was silent for a moment. Then he shook his head and said, "I can't sit still. Besides, after sitting for a long time, my body will get rusty. You must know that life lies in movement..."

"I also heard that life lies in stillness."

My mother retorted: "Besides, there are many ways to exercise. You can run, practice Tai Chi, or even sing and dance. No one will stop you. But you should do less physical exercises like mountain climbing."

"

"Mom, it's not like you don't know that Dad's purpose of climbing the mountain is not to exercise, but to collect medicine."

At this time, Wang Kan brought two plates of food and put them on the dining table in the hall, and then said with a smile: "It's a pity that our place is not big enough. Otherwise, if we open a small garden in the back for him to grow flowers and grass, Dad Bao wouldn't

Stop running around."

Suddenly, Wang Guan's eyes lit up and his mind became active.

"This is fine too."

At the same time, my mother thought about it and nodded: "We can't open a garden, but the balcony is quite spacious and can be used to place seven or eight pots to grow herbs..."

"What can seven or eight pots do?"

However, my father shook his head and objected: "You must know that each herb has different medicinal properties. If there are differences in soil fertility and seasonal climate, it will not grow at all."

"Then you plant those that can grow." The mother said angrily. For a moment, the father became silent again. This negative response showed his attitude.

"Brother, come here and get the bowls and chopsticks. It's time to eat."

Fortunately, Wang Kan's voice came in time to avoid a new round of mother's nagging.

"coming……"

Wang Guan hurriedly walked to the kitchen, took the bowls and chopsticks and set them up, and then helped his father sit down at the dining table. There were several dishes of home-cooked dishes on the table, and in the middle was a large pot of pork bone stewed with tofu soup. It was steaming and had an alluring smell.

of aroma.

After scooping a large bowl of bone soup and placing it in front of his father, his mother looked at Wang Guan and asked casually: "I remember calling you at about two o'clock. How could you get home so soon?"

"I was in the provincial capital at that time. After receiving the call, I borrowed a car from the manager and hurried back." Wang Guan said, hesitating for a moment and ultimately not saying that he had resigned.

"Weren't you in the provincial capital a few days ago? Why are you going to the provincial capital again?" Mother asked in surprise.

Wang Guan explained: "A few days ago, I accompanied the students to play, but now I accompany the manager on business. It's different."

"Oh..." Mother nodded and suddenly asked: "How many days have you taken leave?"

"In a few days..."

Wang Guan was alert and said vaguely: "I just said hello to the manager, it depends on the situation."

"That's it." Mother pondered for a moment, then said with some regret: "Unfortunately, today is Monday. It would be nice if it was the weekend. I can arrange for you to go to Jiangzhou city to meet the girl."

"Mom, you're here again!" Wang Guan was speechless.

"What's wrong with me? You're in your twenties and you don't even have a girlfriend..." His mother muttered, as if a demonic voice was penetrating his mind. Wang Guan was so annoyed that he hurriedly raised his head to ask for help.

However, the father across from him lowered his head to drink the soup, as if he didn't see anything. As for the eldest brother, Wang Kan, he was immersed in eating and did not dare to say a word. It seemed that he was planning to protect himself wisely and avoid getting burned.

"It's so unkind..." Wang Guan muttered in his heart and had to face his mother's storm alone.

Finally, after dinner, the mother's murmurings came to an end. Wang Guanru was granted amnesty and helped his father back to the sofa to sit down, watch TV and chat.

After chatting, at about nine o'clock in the evening, when his father came out of the shower, Wang Guan took cotton and medicinal wine to redress him.

At this time, my father said with a somewhat contemptuous expression: "Your brother bought these medicinal wines from the drugstore. You can tell at a glance that they are diluted and inferior products. They are not as good as the ones I made myself."

After speaking, his father patted Wang Guan on the shoulder and ordered: "Go back to your hometown tomorrow and bring over some of the medicinal wine I hid in the corner of the house."

"Okay..." Wang Guan nodded and neatly tied a perfect bow.

There was no talking all night. The next morning, after Wang Guan had breakfast, he followed his father's instructions and drove to the village in the suburbs. Ten minutes later, he arrived at the village where he used to live.

This village is located near the county seat. In recent years, the fields in the village have been continuously developed, and buildings have been built. It is no longer the scene of the fragrant rice fields in the past.

Wang Guan drove slowly into the village and felt that the village had become very quiet, with few people walking around. Occasionally he saw a few children playing at the end of the village, but he could not identify which family the children belonged to.

Whenever encountering such a situation, Wang Guan would inevitably sigh and sigh. However, no matter how the houses in the village changed, the overall layout would not change. The road was still the same, and Wang Guan returned to his ancestral home with ease.

The ancestral house is really the ancestral house. It was built by Wang Guan's grandfather himself. It was originally a mud and tile structure. Later, Wang Guan's father renovated it and changed it to a brick and tile structure.

Wang Guan lived here for twelve or thirteen years. Later, he moved to the county town and did not live there again for more than ten years. The ancestral home was empty and seemed a bit lonely and lifeless.

However, every place in front of and behind the door is very familiar to Wang Guan, full of childhood memories.

Wang Guan opened the lock and pushed the door in. Since his father often came back to clean, the floor of the house, including the corners of the walls, was relatively clean, without dust such as cobwebs.

After walking through some rough passages, Wang Guan came to the lobby, where the memorial tablets of his ancestors were enshrined. At the right moment, Wang Guan stopped, walked to the altar table, took out a few sticks of incense, lit it, bowed twice, and put the incense on the table.

On the incense burner.

At the same time, Wang Guan's heart moved, and he looked at the incense burner carefully. He saw that the incense burner had been used for a long time, and its surface was covered with a layer of black ash. However, judging from the faint patterns, the appearance of the incense burner should be more exquisite, but I don't know if it is a new thing.

, or an antique.

Thinking of this, Wang Guan couldn't help but reach out and gently wipe away the black ashes on the incense burner, wipe it clean, and then observe it carefully. The incense burner is made of copper, with very complicated patterns carved on the outside.

After looking at it for a moment, Wang Guan frowned and shook his head in disappointment. Because he could see that the delicate patterns on the surface of the incense burner were not carved by hand, but the product of mechanical stamping. From this point, it can be judged that even if the incense burner already has

It's decades old, but it definitely can't be called an antique.

"Huh……"

Suddenly, Wang Guan woke up and couldn't help but smile bitterly. It seemed that he was here to get medicinal wine, not to look at the incense burner.

"This should be a legendary occupational disease." Wang Guan laughed dumbly. After he straightened the incense burner, he joined his hands and bowed respectfully, then walked through the lobby and came to the house where his parents used to live.

Wang Guan unlocked the door and pushed it gently. The door that had not been opened all year round creaked, and a puff of stuffy air hit his face.

"cough……"

Wang Guan waved his hand and fanned lightly, and then walked in after the fine dust dispersed.

Since the power supply to the ancestral house had been cut off and the windows were sealed, it was very dark. Wang Guan relied on his memory to find his way to the corner and vaguely saw a large vat...
Chapter completed!