Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

"I love it when you're all alone, then I can take care of you one by one."

Lin Tian murmured to Xu Fugui's corpse, a faint smile curving his lips, before his figure vanished from the spot.

On the other side, Yan Bugui was still shouting.

"Ruihua...Jiedi...where are you? Answer me quickly, I'm coming to find you..."

The sun gradually set.

Xiao Zhao followed behind him, holding up a flashlight to illuminate the road ahead.

Every time he swept over a corner, Yan Bugui would rush up to take a look, only to retreat in disappointment.

Watching his hunched back swaying in the beam of light, Xiao Zhao thought to himself, "Teacher Yan, please take a rest."

But after opening his mouth, he swallowed the words back.

He knew it was pointless to say anything.

I have also experienced the pain of losing a loved one.

They are separated by two alleys.

Liu Haizhong's loud voice was still shouting, and Xiao Wang, with his whistle hanging around his neck, wanted to blow it several times.

Each time, Liu Haizhong would suddenly accelerate and rush into a side alley. Xiao Wang thought he had discovered something, but Liu Haizhong would just rush in, shout, and then turn back.

Xiao Wang was panting heavily from running, and could barely hold the flashlight steady; he had stayed up all night last night.

He felt that since he hadn't found Yang Ruihua, Li Zhaodi, and Yan Jiedi, he should go see his great-grandmother first.

Qin Ming stood at the entrance of the guesthouse, a cigarette between his fingers, watching the beams of flashlights swaying in the distance.

My brows remained furrowed.

Director Li walked back from the alley ahead, and the result was clear from his expression without him saying a word.

Qin Ming threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out, then lit another one.

"This method of searching is not working."

"I know."

Qin Ming exhaled a puff of smoke. "But if we make them sit inside and wait, they'll be even more restless and break down. Letting them search gives them something to look forward to."

Director Li sighed, looked up at the darkening sky, and realized that it was finally getting dark.

Liu Haizhong called out "Wife" again from afar, but there was still no response.

...

at the same time.

Suzhou Railway Station.

The green train slowly pulled up to the platform, steam puffing out from under the engine.

As soon as the carriage doors opened, passengers carrying bundles, sacks, and children poured out, instantly filling the platform.

Lin Jianguo carried Tangtang at the front, holding a package. Tangtang wrapped her arms around his neck, looking around curiously.

The waiting room at the station was much smaller than that in Beijing, with the slogan "Go all out and strive for the top" painted on the dusty red brick walls.

The sheet metal on the platform roof rattled in the wind, and a female voice with an accent was broadcasting arrival information over the loudspeaker.

Lin's mother followed behind, holding Lin Tian's hand. After getting off the bus, she didn't rush forward but stood on the platform and took a deep breath.

The air was filled with coal smoke and the dampness unique to the water town, just like she remembered.

eight years.

I haven't been home for eight years.

"Mommy, are we going to Grandma's house?"

Tangtang turned her head in her father's arms and asked in a childish voice.

The little girl's pigtails bounced up in the wind, and her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Lin's mother snapped out of her daze, reached out and tucked the stray hairs from her daughter's forehead behind her ear, her voice unusually gentle:

"Yes, we're almost there. It's been seven or eight years since I've been back. I wonder how your grandparents are doing."

When she said the second half of her sentence, there was a hint of worry in her tone.

Lin Jianguo switched Tangtang to his other arm and used one hand to reach for his wife's hand.

He hesitated halfway through reaching out his hand, leaving it hanging in mid-air.

Looking at the fine lines around his wife's eyes from all these years of hard work, he suddenly remembered the day she insisted on marrying him against her family's wishes.

Her father threw all her clothes out the door, and her mother sat in the main room crying. She didn't say anything, picked up the bundle on the ground, took his hand, and left.

This departure lasted for eight years.

"Wife, it's all my fault."

Lin Jianguo lowered his voice and firmly took her hand.

"If it weren't for me back then, you wouldn't have had such a falling out with your family."

Your father is right. I'm just a poor worker, not good enough for you. You've suffered so much with me all these years, even going back to your parents' home is a struggle..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin's mother pressed her finger to his lips.

"Jianguo, I've never blamed you."

She looked into his eyes, earnestly and solemnly.

"These past years with you have been tough, but I've been very happy, truly. You are my blessing."

Lin Jianguo was stunned.

He looked down at her, at her eyes that, like his own, were beginning to show crow's feet, and at her rough hand that was still pressed against his lips.

He suddenly didn't know what to say, and only one word came out: "Wife."

"Nation-building".

Lin's mother only came out with one title.

The two of them just stared at each other blankly, their eyes shining and their lips curving into smiles.

"Mom and Dad, let's go."

Lin Tian's clear, unromantic voice rang out, and he had already walked several steps away.

Standing at the exit with a small bag on her back, she looked back at her parents who were still standing there gazing at each other affectionately, and rolled her eyes.

Tangtang leaned on Lin Jianguo's shoulder and, mimicking her brother's tone, said, "Let's go, let's go!"

As she spoke, she patted the back of her father's head.

Lin Jianguo and his mother exchanged a glance and laughed at the same time.

Lin Jianguo held his wife's hand in his palm, hugged Tangtang tightly with his other hand, and strode towards the exit.

Lin's mother walked behind him, holding his hand, her steps light as if she had suddenly become seven or eight years younger.

Outside the station exit is a narrow stone-paved road, lined with sycamore trees, whose leaves have long since fallen.

There was an old man selling roasted sweet potatoes by the roadside. A row of golden-brown sweet potatoes were displayed on his charcoal stove, and the aroma wafted across half the street.

Upon smelling the aroma, Tangtang immediately squirmed in Lin Jianguo's arms, crying, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, sweet potato, sweet potato!"

Lin Jianguo patted his pocket, took out three cents, and bought one for each of his two children and his wife.

When Tangtang took the sweet potato, it was so hot that she kept switching her hands between them, and she puffed out her little mouth and blew air into the sweet potato as hard as she could.

Lin's mother playfully slapped him: "You're wasting money again."

Lin Jianguo chuckled, broke off half a sweet potato, and held it to her lips: "You eat some too."

Lin's mother rolled her eyes at him and took a small bite from his hand.

Lin Tian walked at the very back, holding a hot sweet potato in his hands, eating it in small bites.

My gaze fell on my parents and sister. My family was all here. It was wonderful.

Those birds deserve to die. In this life, he will never let anyone bully his family.

My parents are getting old.

Find an opportunity to give them the water from the sacred spring.

"Guoguo, Guoguo."

Tangtang struggled to get off Lin Jianguo and ran to Lin Tian with small steps.

"Daddy, your stubble is scratching me, I want to stay with you."

"Haha... your daughter is disgusted with you."

Lin's mother laughed heartily.

Lin Jianguo's serious face broke into a smile, and he subconsciously touched it; indeed, the stubble was prickly.

……