si-mexico Chapter 48 People might mistake you for a charlatan.
Chapter 48 People might mistake you for a charlatan.
Deng Xiuzhen stopped Xiaobao, who was crying and trying to chase after her, and her heart softened. She could tell that Xiaobao had cerebral palsy, which not only affected his mobility but also his intelligence. He was basically silent, and the only words she had heard him say were when he called for his mother, but even that was unclear.
She coaxed softly, "Little Bao, let's go eat something delicious. Mommy will be back in a little while."
Xiao Bao stopped struggling and looked at her instead.
She turned to look at the person sitting by the door.
The man didn't move and said, "You take Xiaobao there. His mother has had a mental breakdown and might need to be hospitalized."
After saying that, he got up and groped his way inside, and Deng Xiuzhen realized that he was blind.
Xiao Bao walks unsteadily, wobbling and moving slowly. Deng Xiuzhen hasn't been feeling well lately, so she can't carry him or lift him on her back. She can only coax him to walk slowly.
The journey that usually takes less than 20 minutes took a full hour and a half.
When they arrived home, Wenjing and the others had already started preparing dinner.
Deng Xiuzhen asked Wen Yu to play with Xiao Bao while she went to cook. She told Wen Jing and Wen Xin to take a bath and change into clean clothes.
After the family finished tidying up and preparing dinner, they sat by the stove talking and waiting for Old Man Zhao to return.
Old Zhao returned as it was getting dark. He told Deng Xiuzhen that Old Li and his son had gone home, and that the woman was in the hospital.
After finishing their New Year's Eve dinner, Deng Xiuzhen asked Wenjing to take her younger siblings to the yard to set off firecrackers.
Old Zhao said if you want to watch TV, you can go to his room and turn it on. If you're cold, you can fill a basin with flint and steel to warm yourself by the fire.
Wenjing asked, "Mom, is there any news about Dad?"
Wenxin and Wenyu heard about it and came over to look.
Deng Xiuzhen was taken aback and said, "No, no."
Wenjing smiled, asked no more questions, lit an incense stick in the stove, and took the children out.
Old Zhao asked, "What did you say to Guoqiang?"
Deng Xiuzhen shook her head.
Old Zhao said, "Wenjing is a smart child. If she is properly nurtured, she will have a bright future."
Deng Xiuzhen smiled and said, "Child, as long as you are healthy and safe, don't forget your duty as a person, and know how to be grateful, that's enough. As for whether you become successful or not, that's secondary."
These were Deng Xiuzhen's true feelings. In her previous life, Wenjing was considered quite successful among the children of her relatives and friends. However, she didn't think Wenjing was that good.
"I'll be going to Kyoto in a few days. If you need anything, just ask Tiger." He smiled and looked at Deng Xiuzhen, asking, "Don't you feel these people are a bit chaotic?"
Deng Xiuzhen smiled but didn't say anything.
Old Zhao continued, "Honglian was picked up by Old Li and raised as a child bride. Hu Zi has always regarded Honglian as his wife since he was a child."
Later, society changed, and child brides were no longer common, right? Honglian got together with Zhao Fulin's son.
Tiger made a fuss for a long time, but it was no use.
Honglian Tiexin married Zhao Fulin's son and gave birth to a child the following year.
However, Zhao Fulin's son was no good; he got into trouble and was arrested and imprisoned.
Not long after, Zhao Fulin and his wife also left, leaving only the widow and her child.
Later, more and more people moved away from the mountains and came to the city to make a living.
Old Li suggested moving, but Tiger refused.
We could all see that he didn't trust the mother and child, but he wouldn't admit it, and he would often bully them.
Old Zhao laughed and scolded, "That's just a stupid idiot."
Deng Xiuzhen smiled and said, "He is a person with a sense of loyalty."
"Hmm, Tiger is not bad."
"What's going on with Xiaobao's parents?" Deng Xiuzhen asked, remembering the question.
"Xiao Bao's father, Qingmin, and Hu Zi are cousins. Qingmin has had poor eyesight since childhood, and his vision has deteriorated further until he could only see shadows."
Xiao Bao's mother was found during the Qingming Festival. It's said that she was mentally unstable at the time and somehow ended up at Qingming's house. Qingming gave her food, so she stayed.
Xiao Bao's mother is mostly confused. When she is occasionally lucid, she either stands still or cries and screams, looking like she has been greatly frightened.
Later, after she became pregnant with her second child, the woman's condition improved somewhat. However, one of her eyes became blurry, and the other became confused. Then, during the child's birth, there were some unexpected complications, resulting in her current state.
“No wonder Xiaobao is close to Huzi, and Xiaobao is also quite close to you,” Deng Xiuzhen said.
Old Zhao's eyelids twitched, and he changed the subject: "You said last time you dreamed that the land was very valuable, when did it become valuable?"
Deng Xiuzhen tried to recall, but unfortunately she didn't care about these things in her previous life and only remembered a little bit. All she could tell Old Man Zhao was that house prices seemed to have skyrocketed starting in the early 2000s.
Old Zhao said, "Wouldn't it take at least ten years to become worth anything?"
Deng Xiuzhen nodded and continued, "If we don't buy now, we might not be able to buy it when it's more valuable."
Old Zhao nodded and said that was true, then thought for a moment and asked, "What else is likely to happen in the near future?"
Deng Xiuzhen was about to explain that many shops might be built on the street at the alley entrance and at the corner the year after next, but she was interrupted.
The children all came over, and Wenjing said, "Xiaobao is going to sleep, Mom, let's go back too."
Wen Yu also said he was going to sleep.
Deng Xiuzhen took the children home.
As soon as we got home, Wenyu said, "Mom, I actually want to watch TV. My sister said that we can't spend the New Year at other people's houses, we have to spend it at our own."
Wenjing said shyly, "Dad said that we must be home by midnight on New Year's Eve."
Deng Xiuzhen smiled and patted Wenjing on the shoulder, saying, "That makes sense. Let's turn on all the lights and celebrate the New Year as a family."
Wen Yu is still young and sleepy, so he climbed into bed and went to sleep soon after.
Wenxin wasn't worried. With nothing to do and no TV to watch, she started nodding off after sitting for a short while. Wenjing told her to go to sleep too.
"Mom, is there any news about Dad?" Wenjing asked softly as soon as they fell asleep.
Deng Xiuzhen didn't speak for a while before asking, "Why would you ask that?"
Wenjing smiled and said, "You went to see Uncle Tian this afternoon, and you came back looking much more energetic. I think you must have heard something from Dad, right?"
Deng Xiuzhen nodded and said, "I promised to keep this a secret, so I can't tell you."
"Okay, then we won't say anything and will wait patiently for Dad to come back." After hesitating for a moment, Wenjing added, "Mom, please don't tell anyone about the dream you had."
Deng Xiuzhen was taken aback and asked, "How did you know?"
"That day, I was about to go in to get a bamboo basket when I overheard it."
I heard you mention it again today. I thought it was best not to talk about this, or people might think you're a charlatan.
Moreover, we should still remain a little wary. Isn't there a saying: "One should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others"? Wenjing said, getting up and taking out a string of firecrackers as she walked towards the door.
Deng Xiuzhen checked the time; it was almost midnight, time to welcome the New Year.
Looking at Wenjing, she felt a deep sense of emotion: the child is so sensible, they shouldn't be like they were in their previous life, right?