The white handkerchief that had not been washed for two months was pulled out of the cuff, and it had already turned brown and yellow. When he wiped his eyes, Mr. Tong sighed softly.

Is he crying?

In fact, except for his 80-year-old mother who cried once when she died, he never cried. At the age of eighteen, his fiancée's family was killed by bandits, and when the Ming Dynasty was founded, he was forced to hand over half of the land. This was already a thing of the past. What's there to cry during the war years?

Two younger brothers who have a promising prospect can revitalize their family members, but the younger brothers who have split up may not be of any help to their family, so that is nothing. Ten years ago, the boat he was riding on the wife capsized and dragged away two well-behaved grandchildren. Mr. Tong seemed to be lonely and still did not cry. In recent years, he has taken several concubines and added two grandchildren, and the past is no longer in love.

This year, all the fields were sold out, the people were dispersed, and the county's mansion was sold. The family had fallen to this point, and Mr. Tong did not shed more than half of his tears, because he still had a hope that his third son had been trained to become a famous scholar in the Imperial College.

Many vulgar children of the family have given up, and finally worked hard to create outstanding talents. Therefore, they have lost their property, but completed their living property. Overall, there is nothing to be sad. The interest on living property is so large that it is impossible to calculate.

Although the third son has never returned home since he entered the Imperial College and has to travel overseas every year, there are letters to comfort his father every year saying that he is in good health, his studies have increased, his experience has increased outside, and he has also met some noble people.

That's good. Mr. Tong endured all the pain at present and waited wholeheartedly. In short, the elderly who are generous and have a vision will not cry.

In the quiet night, the dog in front of the door barked.

"Someone knocked on the door?" Mr. Tong turned his head and opened his eyes.

The whole family opened their eyes wide, but for a long time, there was no sound outside the door.

"Oh!" Mr. Tong let out a long time ago, and then pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes with his hand that had just touched the white beard.

The house was dark again, cold, empty, slim, unbearable rags, and poverty. Thinking of his miserable experience, just sitting and waiting was not a road, Mr. Tong got up tremblingly, patted his robe, held the chair and said, "It's getting late, go to bed."

The living room was a little turbulent, and the old man said not to light it, but the candle was still lit in his second son's hand. Mr. Tong followed the fire into the wing room, and for a while. The fire came back, and then the second daughter-in-law who was holding the child entered the room, and for a while, the fire came back.

The second son blew it out in one mouthful, and still placed it on the table to work, and the living room still entered darkness and silence.

The eldest son sat on his father's chair, took out the most annoying Ye Ziyan, and took a deep breath, thinking for a while in his mind. He remembered a big thing, "Tomorrow morning, the big one in the bar will be fed two more scoops, and the butcher shop will come to weigh it."

The eldest daughter-in-law understood it herself and didn't answer. The Tong family was located deep in the courtyard. Even if no one was responsible for locking it, the door was still not locked as usual, and she was not afraid of stealing her children coming in. Suddenly, the dog barked a few times, and my cousin who lived in the nearby hut came in without knocking on the door.

He walked around the house and saw cold fire and cold smoke. He had no food or drink. He dispelled his interest in sitting down to talk, stood for a while, and went.

After all, someone came, and there was only Mr. Tong who appeared in the dark.

"Who came before?"

"No. It's the fifth brother in the hall here, it's okay. Dad, why are you going to get up? It's midnight and it's cold again."

"It's not a big deal. I said, it's time for you to sleep."

"knew."

He pushed his father back in a few words. He felt sad about the old man's unwillingness to sleep late at night recently. He felt that his eldest son, who was not easy to manage the family, shook his head in a low voice and said, "Oh! What should I do? Dad doesn't know that, right?"

The second son whispered, "I don't know, no one told him."

"Be careful and don't mention it to anyone in the future." The eldest son said softly, "Even if the city newspaper has been published, the village knows little, and they are a little more nervous, so they can no longer make the family uneasy."

The second son Youyou said, "I don't care, what are you afraid of? I don't know who in the village, but my father is in the dark."

The eldest daughter-in-law said, "What's the use of deaf people not afraid of thunder? Now you can live seriously by your strength. Although the villagers are cruel, they still have room for space everywhere. There are thirty acres of land left, four pigs, one cow, and more than a dozen sheep. It's enough for our family to live. As long as you brothers are willing to work hard, don't ask your children to go to school. Look at the second uncle's second uncle's family. They have just graduated from school and just wait for him to make money. They will end as soon as they go out to sea. They can't even find the body, and there is also our third brother."

"The woman has no knowledge, and the third brother is just to make a name for himself." The eldest son retorted: "The second brother and I are fighting hard to farm. We can't make our family come back even if we are exhausted. We still have to go out, so I don't believe it."

The eldest daughter-in-law was overjoyed. What she was afraid of was that her husband would not recover. As long as she could cheer up, one had studied and the other graduated from a martial arts school, why not worry about not finding a regular business student? Farming was the last way out. She hurriedly said: "The day before yesterday, my aunt went to Huanggu Temple to make a wish. I asked her to ask for a sign. She came back and said it would not matter. The Bodhisattva blessed peace in the future."

Outside, the dog yelled and became more fierce as it barked. Then the door rang, and the dog kept chasing in and chased to the entrance of the living hall.

The eldest son got up and lit the light, ran out and drove away the dog, recognized the person under the dim candlelight, and said, "Ah, Fourth Cousin, have you come back from the city?"

"Yeah, I'm back."

The fourth cousin, who was never taken seriously by the two brothers, walked into the house and smiled at the second son who was owed and smiled: "I haven't fallen asleep yet!"

The second son asked, “When will it be home?”

"I got home in the morning and I didn't have time to come." The fourth cousin sat down and held a letter in his hand. "Mr. Li asked me to bring a letter, saying it was the third brother."

"Ah, the third brother's letter? Really?" The eldest son raised his head, a little shocked, and was also a little surprised. He stretched out his trembling hand, took the ragged letter, held it tightly, and couldn't bear to read it immediately. He first gave the guest a cup of tea and asked the second brother to raise the fire. Then he found his father's reading glasses in the drawer of the coffee table, wiped the glass lens with his hand, rubbed his eyes, and then embedded it unnaturally on the bridge of his nose, muttering nervously: "The third brother sent it back, let me read it first, let me read it first."

He took the candlestick and put the wrinkled letter in front of him, looking up and down at the envelope, and then the eldest son carefully pulled out four pages of letters. His haggard face looked like crying or laughing, his hands were trembling and disobedient, tears were flowing, his chest was undulating, and his mouth was intermittently socializing: "I'll be home in the morning? OK, how many good things have I brought this time?"

In fact, the guest didn't listen to a word of the answer, and his mouth was struggling to chew every word in the letter.

The handwriting is indeed written by the third brother, and it is not difficult to recognize it, but I always feel unfamiliar. Although I have been used to reading such half-text and half-blank sentences in previous years, now I feel like I am driving a cattle and cannot plow.

The second son next to him also threw the guest aside and stared at his brother very anxiously. The fourth cousin couldn't make it easy to stay up late with the two brothers, so he got up and said goodbye. The eldest son raised his head and said a lot of sorry words. When the second son came back, he had no intention of finishing reading the letter, took off his glasses, and tears flowed.

After a long time, the eldest son smiled bitterly and said, "I can't hide it anymore, let's go."

The second son was silently holding the lamp, while the eldest son staggered towards the wing room with his letter and glasses.

"Yes, is that one here?" Mr. Tong had already lifted the tent and stuck his head out. His son sent his words before he even entered the room.

"Good news, dad, good news." The eldest son said with a wry smile.

"Good news? What good news? The third brother's good news?" Mr. Tong suddenly smiled and his whole body became hot. He stared at the letter in his son's hand. He suddenly jumped up quickly, flipped the quilt aside, twisted his hand hard on his face, and with an indescribable good mood, he laughed: "I guessed it, I have a strong son, my Tong family is finally in awesome. Haha! I want to take revenge, I want those dogs to know that my Tong family is not easy to bully. Haha! Boss, have you read it from beginning to end? Tell me quickly."

The eldest son said hunchedly: "Don't catch a cold, you can put on your clothes and see it yourself."

"Did you be the county magistrate?" The old man slowly put on his clothes and said to himself without saying a word, "It's unlikely that he was an aide to the minister? Did he enter the East Palace? Oh, isn't that going to be successful just in time? Haha, it's great that the Chinese New Year is coming soon. In the local area, all the relatives and old friends and neighbors, I want to see what kind of face they will look at us!"

The second son put the lamp on the table in front of the bed, ran back to the living room a few steps, picked up a towel, collapsed on the chair on the backrest, and covered the towel on his face.

Mr. Tong put on his clothes, and the eldest son turned his head, fearing that his father would see his face, so he stretched out his trembling arms and handed over his letter and glasses.

Mr. Tong, who was content with glasses, calmly browsed the envelope, smiled and nodded, and then started reading the letter. Every word and every sentence were as interesting as a candied date and lychee. He nodded from time to time with a smile, or touched his beard, but halfway through reading, his expression was shocked, his hands were shaking, his head stretched longer and longer, and his tears were filled with eyes, the wider he opened, the more he could see it, the more he could not see clearly.

Gradually, Xin slid from his hands, his body collapsed and fell backwards, laying on the bed, his chest slumped, breathing rapidly, and after a long time, he howled like a wild beast.

"Third brother, why are you so confused? You are accused of the King of Han, intending to rebel, and wandering to the border for ten years. Ten years! Ten years! I don't know if I can see you alive.

Ah! You unfilial child.”
Chapter completed!