between clouds and mud

Chapter 49 The Thief of Time (Extra)
On the playground of Dengxinqiao Friendship Primary School, teenagers wearing red scarves stood in the spring breeze, following the rising of the five-star red flag with their eyes, and their immature faces were inlaid with black and white eyes.

Xiaoshu is 14 years old this year. She is in the sixth grade. After the flag was hoisted, she continued to go back to the office to be punished. Because of fighting with her classmates, Xiaoshu was given some ideological education by the teacher.

The little girl had a stubborn face and was not convinced. The teacher invited the parents.

Beside her was a little boy with a thick head and a thick head, and the two stood side by side in the corner facing the wall and thinking about the past.

The little boy was about nine years old and was in the third grade. He was the best student in his studies. Because he didn't do his homework, he was punished to stand together.

After Zhang Jiaxiang got off work, he rushed to the school immediately to rescue Xiaoshu.

Facing the teacher's criticism, he accepts it humbly, and said a few words to his daughter in a nonchalant manner. When he was in school, he was the student who was criticized the most by the teacher. Now that his daughter is in school, he has to continue to be criticized.

"Dad, don't tell my mother." Xiaoshu begged for help pitifully. Zhang Fang has always been strict with her daughter. If she knew she was fighting, she might have a good meal.

Zhang Jiaxiang knocked on his daughter's head, and didn't have the heart to do it hard. He turned his eyes to the little boy who had been thinking about it in the corner: "Then I took away these two children."

"Zhang Jiashu is also your child?" Jiashu's head teacher came over and asked.

"This is my little nephew, No.1 in the back exam, why did he get into trouble?"

"This kid is smart, but he just doesn't learn well." The head teacher said in a tone of love and hate: "I like to sleep in class, and now I don't hand in my homework. I have urged him three or four times."

"The child can still take the first place in the exam while sleeping in class. My family Jiashu is fighting for it." Zhang Jiaxiang's tone was slightly proud.

"You can't say that, the child can be the first now, and the difficulty of learning will increase in the future, can he still maintain it?" The head teacher took the lesson plan: "There must be a basic sense of awe for learning, this child does not have it, and the parents are too irresponsible , I couldn’t get through to his parents even once.”

Zhang Jiaxiang's heart ached when he heard this, it was more uncomfortable than scolding his daughter, but considering Jiashu, Zhang Jiaxiang rolled his eyes and explained patiently: "Teacher, please take care of us Jiashu, his mother is Those who do scientific research have no mobile phone signal in the mountains all year round.”

"Isn't work still for the children? Parents can't let their children's education fall behind. Jiashu, please make up for my homework this time."

Jia Shu, who was standing in the corner, didn't respond, the expression on his face was very flat.

"Teacher, I must watch him finish writing." Zhang Jiaxiang helped smooth things over: "What is this homework?"

"A composition - "Father's love is like xx." The head teacher looked at the records on the worksheet.

Zhang Jiaxiang took the two children home on a motorcycle, and in his heart scolded Jiashu's homeroom teacher thousands of times. What kind of stupid question is this.

As long as Xiao Jiashu could remember, he had no impression of his father. That man was just a name on the tombstone, and he hadn't even read the name seriously.

Every time he went to worship and sweep the tomb, he bowed reluctantly, only knowing that the man lying in the tomb was his biological father.

To little Jiashu, he was a stranger.

Xiao Jiashu finished his homework with Xiaoshu. When Zhang Jiaxiang and Zhang Fang knocked on the door and came in, the two children were lying on the table watching cartoons on the tablet.

Zhang Fang glared at her daughter, Xiaoshu obediently put away the tablet after receiving the order, and did not forget to pull out her younger brother to apologize: "It is Jiashu who wants to watch cartoons."

Zhang Fang looked at Jiashu, and the expression on his face was extremely doting and loving: "Jiashu, how did you do your homework, do you want my aunt to teach you?"

"Mom, have you ever studied Peking Opera? You can change your face so quickly." Xiao Shu muttered to the side.

"If you were half as sensible as Jiashu, how could you suffer so much scolding?"

"Jiashu doesn't do his homework either, so he copied mine." Xiaoshu said confidently.

"With your half bucket of water, the first place in the Jiashu exam and the last place in the exam, the two first places fell to our house."

The mother and daughter quarreled, back and forth, and the quarrel was basically endless.

Jiashu on the side silently packed his schoolbag and shrank it aside.

Zhang Jiaxiang beckoned to him, and took him to hide outside: "Jiashu, this composition, if you don't want to write it, it's fine, turn around and talk to your teacher, Daddy."

"No, I've finished writing." Zhang Jiashu said with a small schoolbag on his back, "Daddy, take me home."

"So cute, how did you write it?"

"Simply write."

Xiao Jiashu's grandparents (Zhou Laoliu and Zhang Fuying) passed away one after another. He lives with his mother, but her mother is very busy with work and stays on the mountain all year round.

The young little Jiashu matured precociously, he learned to stir-fry and cook by himself on the bench, and Xiaoshu's sister's family took good care of him.

Zhang Jiaxiang touched Xiao Jiashu's head: "Jiashu, your mother can't get up and down the mountain during this time, and see if there is a newly bought bunk bed in Xiaoshu's sister's room. From now on, you will sleep on the lower bunk, and my sister will sleep on the upper bunk, okay?"

Little Jiashu nodded sensiblely: "How long will my mother stay on the mountain this time?"

Zhang Jiaxiang calculated the time: "It's estimated to be half a month."

Half a month later, it was Xiao Jiashu's tenth birthday, and he couldn't come back.

At night, the two children were lying on the bed, and Xiao Shu began to look forward to it: "Jiashu, Dad said to take us to the scenic spot this weekend."

Jia Shu closed his eyes and began to sleep.

"Don't you want to go?" Xiaoshu asked again.

"Nothing." His tone was flat.

The next day at school, Jiashu finally handed in the composition on time, and the teacher let him go.

"Father's Love Like an Umbrella"

Father's love is like an umbrella, sheltering you from wind and rain, and father's love is like a road, accompanying you through life.

My father works at the police station. He is a glorious auxiliary policeman. The bad guys are scared to death when they see him.Dad is not only a big hero, but also magical little magic. The pocket is like a treasure chest, which is full of my little wishes, and from time to time, he can conjure up delicious snacks.

But every time we always have to secretly, because my father is not afraid of anything, but most afraid of my mother.

The class representative handed out the homework. At the end of the composition, the teacher rated it as "excellent". Jiashu tore up the page with a blank face, and an N parabola fell into the trash can at the back of the classroom.

On weekends, Zhang Jiaxiang and his wife took their children to the mountain for an outing. Linxi Mountain is full of tourists. They are locals and familiar with the terrain. They usually choose a path that is sparsely populated.

Xiaoshu looked eagerly at the tourist hall.There is a cable car on the mountain, but she has never been on it before, so she really wants to play.

Xiaoshu's temperament is used to being a bit squeamish by her father and grandma. Zhang Fang has always asked her daughter to endure hardships and stand hard work, so she doesn't pamper her much in these matters.

The family's financial power is in the hands of the mother, and the humble father has no say.

This time, Xiao Shu got four cable car tickets before she even opened her mouth to be a rascal. She danced happily and shouted, "Long live my mother."

The four of them sat on the sightseeing cable car and had a panoramic view of the scenery below the mountain.

In mid-air, the two children were curiously holding the glass window, Xiaoshu pointed to a small red dot in the distance, and said in surprise, "Jiashu, we can see our school from here."

Jiashu's personality is more restrained and calm, without too many emotional ups and downs.

The husband and wife looked in the direction guided by the small book, which was the direction of the elementary school, but their eyesight gradually deteriorated, and they could only see the endless green fields.

Xiaoshu grew up in this school from the first grade to the sixth grade. She couldn't help being curious: "Do mom and dad also go to school here?"

This sentence seems to recall the time and times decades ago. Zhang Fang replied: "At that time, there was no such school."

After getting off the cable car, there was still a long way to go. Xiaoshu held his father's hand and jumped up and down, and a naive little question popped up from time to time.

Jiashu's shadow followed behind, hugging his small water bottle, without saying a word.

Zhang Fang was very thoughtful, and she took Xiao Jiashu's hand: "Jiashu, I'll take you to see Auntie's school later."

Where is aunt's school?

In the exhibition area of ​​the visitor center, a swaying autumn harvest picture is hung on the wall inconspicuously.

As soon as you look up, you can see that the painting is a golden mountain and river with abundant grains, and a string of hazy little bean diced shuttles among the full grain fields.

Zhang Fang pointed to the small cowshed that merged into the field: "This is the school we used to go to when we were young."

She moved her fingertips slowly, and introduced to her daughter one by one: "The tallest figure in the painting is Dad, and the last one is your little sixth aunt."

Her fingertips passed over a shepherd boy, looked at Xiao Jiashu, and paused on the name on the scroll——Zhang Chengnian.

"This is our little Jiashu's father."

"He is the designer of Dengxinqiao Friendship Primary School and the founder of this visitor center. He participated in the route on the mountain, the planning of the scenery, and the construction of the town. Jiashu is involved in every place you grow up. figure."

Jiashu looked up at the painting, his black and white eyes flickered.

Xiao Shu seemed to understand but half understood, and she said with an airy expression, "But my father is the tallest."

From the beginning of the little secretary, father and mother looked like middle-aged people, with silver threads in their hair and wrinkles carved on their cheeks.

I have to lament the magic of time. It turns out that my parents grew up as little dolls.

The kid next to him passed by with a bucket of fried chicken, Xiao Shu smashed his mouth, almost drooling.

Dad would secretly buy them for her, and her mother would never allow her to eat them, saying it was unhealthy.

Zhang Fang was uncharacteristically generous today, and almost responded to her daughter's requests. Xiaoshu felt nervous while biting the fried chicken, and she said awkwardly: "Mom, please scold me first, or I will get scared after eating."

Zhang Fang sat on the side. She broke two chicken legs and distributed them to the children. She looked at her daughter and said, "This is the reward that brave children deserve."

ah?Xiaoshu was confused, Zhang Jiaxiang gave her a thumbs up: "Daughter, you did a great job."

The reason why Xiaoshu fights at school is to protect his younger brother.

Jiashu's grades are very good, but he has a withdrawn personality. He walks alone in school and doesn't get along well with others.

With the process of rural urbanization, the scale and population of the village are much larger than before, but the communication between everyone has become less, and every family lives their own small life.

A classmate who heard it from somewhere, asked bluntly, "Jiashu, is your father dead?"

A child's world is straightforward and simple. He may not understand the harm caused by this sentence, and only speaks out of curiosity.

The class had just finished its lunch break, and the classroom was completely silent. A few children who woke up looked at Jiashu, and their eyes were also brightly written with inquiry.

The little Jiashu had a calm expression, and he denied it in his usual tone: "No." But under the table, he secretly clenched his fists, guarding the fragile line of defense in his heart.

"I heard that you are lying." The classmate gave an example to prove his words: "Then why don't you write essays?"

A few classmates started whispering. Jiashu sat quietly in his seat. He lowered his head to read, but the words in the textbook were blurred in his eyes.

But ah, in this world,
Not all children have a father, and we in Jiashu do not have one.

Xiao Jiashu's tenth birthday was celebrated at Xiaoshu's sister's house. Looking at the candle flames dancing on the birthday cake, Jiashu smiled cooperatively, but felt infinitely lost in his heart.

Before blowing out the candles, you have to make a wish. This is Xiaoshu's favorite show, because her wishes always come true, but Xiaojiashu avoids saying a word.

Facing Jiji's eyes, the sensible child couldn't bear to brush away his thoughts, Jiashu said, "I want to grow up."

Want to grow up?

How can this wish come true?
The husband and wife have a headache.

The aunt was persuasive: "When Jiashu grows up, do you want to become a scientist?"

Jia Shu shook his head, but didn't answer.

Daddy continued to ask, "Do you want to be a designer?"

Jia Shu continued to shake his head.

Xiaoshu looked enviously at the side: "Jiashu, can you give me your wish for this year."

Zhang Fang glared at her daughter. Just as she was about to reprimand her, Xiao Jiashu nodded, "Okay."

Xiaoshu twitched his nose slightly, sniffed the sweet cake, and made a wish: "I wish Jiashu a happy ten years old."

The two children came forward and blew out the candles together.

In the darkness, there was a rustling sound, and the moment the lights came on, Xiao Jiashu saw Changsha's grandma, grandpa and mother miraculously appearing in front of him.

Jiashu smiled, and he lightly licked the cake at the corner of his mouth, it was so sweet that it melted in his heart.

Every year, sister Xiaoshu's wishes come true, and this time is no exception.

Tenth birthday, and another thing.

His grandfather and grandmother told him that because his mother was too busy with work and had no time to take care of him, they would pick Jiashu to go to school in Changsha.

Although he spends less time with his mother and leaves more, when he goes to Changsha, he sees him less often, so he doesn't want to be separated from his mother.

Jiashu thought precociously, nodded and silently accepted.

He is more unwilling to be a burden to his mother than to be separated.

About to leave his homeland, mother and son sat in the valley, and his mother accompanied him to admire the stars in the night sky.

Jiashu was more like a grown-up, he was worried because his mother was a coward and refused to go to the hospital every time she got sick.

The child didn't understand why, but he could already catch the sad emotion in his mother's eyes.

Zhou Song rested her head on the pillow, her eyes followed the twinkling stars in the sky: "Jiashu, maybe grandparents are watching us from the sky too."

The stars in the sky were bright and faint, Jiashu held his breath, "Is he there?"

This was the first time that Jiashu took the initiative to mention that man to his mother. The mother and son had a good understanding, and Zhou Song understood: "Father is here."

"The teacher assigned a composition." Jiashu said, "The topic is Father's Love."

What is love?

There are many kinds of love, and the most frequently turned page in his dictionary has turned yellow.

Jiashu—good rain, timely rain.

In the book left by "that person" there is a note in a strong pen, the paper has turned yellow-we met in the rain of a southeast monsoon effect.

This is my mother's handwriting, the note she wrote to that man, and he has kept it for many years.

It turns out that the father's love is hidden in the son's name and built in the bricks and tiles of his life.

Jiashu set off with his grandparents and returned to his home in Changsha.

Grandpa is old and dim-sighted. When he plays chess, he often regards pawns as flying cannons.If he loses, he will act like a child, and he will be a bad chess player.

Jiashu looked at the messy moves on the chessboard and fell silent.

Jiashu felt for the marbles in his pocket. The marbles were given to him by his younger sister, and they cost two yuan for a big bag.

"Grandpa, eat candy." Jia Shu held the marbles and made a feint in front of him.

Grandpa squinted his eyes, but this time he saw it clearly: "This is not sugar."

Sure enough, it was pretending to be blind.

Grandpa took it and was about to put it in his mouth: "This is chocolate."

In a hurry, Jiashu stretched out his hand and patted the beads off Grandpa's hand.The marble bounced a few times on the ground, and wobbled into the crack of the door.

He glanced around, if he lost it...

Alas, it is very troublesome for girls to cry.

Jiashu gently pushed open the dusty door, the rusty lock was loose, the utility room was filled with dust, and the smell was a bit choking.

Turning on the light, he saw the small marbles next to the desk, went to pick them up, and put them in his pocket.

There were limping footsteps outside the door, and grandpa followed with a cane. His eyes were cloudy and his voice was trembling.

"Little gift?"

Grandma just came in with vegetables in her hand, and laughed at him: "You old fool, this is Jiashu."

The two old people walked into the room that they hadn't set foot in for many years, one after the other, and they were a little sentimental.

Grandma picked up a dusty family portrait on the table and wiped it clean with a sad expression.

She wore reading glasses and looked around, with a moving expression on her face.

The little boy with thick head and thick brain gradually overlapped with Jiashu's small face in front of him.

(End of this chapter)