Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 17 Alma Mater
The college entrance examination report card came down, and Liu Xiaonan failed the ranking, which was more than [-] points lower than the admission score. Physics and chemistry were seriously hindered.These two subjects are weak. In junior high school, I was good at it. In high school, I felt very difficult, but I didn't expect it to be so bad that I failed both subjects.

Of their high school graduates, only one was admitted to university, and six were admitted to technical secondary school.The blow of failing the exam made Liu Xiaonan re-examine herself. Looking back on her two years of high school study, she did not try her best, and did not pay attention to the impact of the college entrance examination on her life.

The road of life has just started and fell, and there is nothing to regret if the fall is bad enough.This is a true reflection of the usual academic performance. The college entrance examination is a touchstone, and it can only show that hard work is not enough.

Liu Xiaonan decided to repeat the study, but he was not reconciled.He seemed to see a pair of eyes full of expectation in the distant sky, staring at him mockingly and disdainfully while disappointed, which made him feel ashamed.

However, the Thirteenth Middle School did not recruit resuming students, so Liu Xiaonan could only turn to her father for help.

Liu Zhixin didn't blame his son. After all, the cultural courses now are much more difficult than his own in the past. After all, the teachers and teaching conditions in the countryside are limited, and it is rare for them to be admitted to universities and technical secondary schools.

His son wanted to repeat his studies, so he personally ran errands to contact the school and decided to send his son to his alma mater, Fuzhou Cheng No. [-] Middle School, to repeat his studies.Not only because No. [-] Middle School left me the most glorious and memorable moment in my life, but also because I usually pay too little attention to my son, and the trivial matters of the family and the environment also have an impact on my son. The son lives in school and concentrates on studying.

The teaching staff and learning environment of No. [-] Middle School will be much better than that of ordinary rural high schools.He sincerely hopes that his son can draw strength from his alma mater, embark on the road that he failed to complete, and be admitted to a higher education institution, so as to make up for the shortcomings in his life.

Pushing the bicycle, Liu Zhixin walked straight into the gate of No. [-] Middle School, looking around blankly.The alma mater is still on the old site, the school building has been refurbished, and the area has doubled. A high stone wall separates the school from the surrounding residential areas.

The school has not yet started, the campus is deserted, and there are only a few students playing basketball on the playground.This is the first time he has returned to his alma mater in 30 years after graduating from high school, which is both familiar and unfamiliar.The scenes of life and study in those years appeared in front of my eyes one after another, as clear as yesterday and suddenly like a dream.

He parked his bicycle against the wall and stood upright, full of emotion and sentimentality.His alma mater remains in his memory and life, but he is a stranger to his alma mater.

Time passes quietly, taking away the great youth mercilessly, who will remember "a piece of loyalty"?Who will still remember the graduation ceremony of the [-]nd high school?

That wonderful moment is just a wave in life.Falling from the peak to the trough, the life movement used its brutal prehistoric power to inadvertently make a series of spoofs and jokes with people, which made people really unbearable.

"Who are you looking for?" A voice asked sternly from behind.

Liu Zhixin turned around.Standing in front of him was a tall, thin, hunchbacked man, old and lonely with numerous wrinkles, his silver-white hair was like frost condensed on a pile of withered grass after autumn, messy and lifeless; Just one glance at someone will chill your heart and give you the first impression of being unsound.

Liu Zhixin said, "Let me find out if the No. [-] Middle School recruits resuming students."

The white-haired man still said sternly: "Why don't you come in after saying hello to the reception room?"

"I'm sorry." Liu Zhixin smiled and said to the aggressive white-haired man: "No. 30 High School is my alma mater. After returning to my alma mater after [-] years, it feels like going home. I was a little excited and ignored the necessary procedures."

"The No. [-] Middle School is your alma mater?" The white-haired man's eyes became more friendly, and he asked in surprise, "We should be the same age from the looks of it. What class are you in?"

Liu Zhixin said, "I am a graduate of the [-]nd Class of High School."

"I'm also from the [-]nd class, and my name is Yue Zifan." The white-haired man reported himself, "Which one are you?"

Liu Zhixin couldn't believe her eyes.Although he already knew that Yue Zifan was arrested during the movement and sent to the Northwest for labor reform, and he must have suffered a lot, but he could never have imagined that he would become unrecognizable.

Is this still the tall, handsome and upright Yue Zifan back then?

It's unbelievable, it seems that there is still a little mental problem.He stretched out his hands, tried his best to suppress the turbulent emotions, and said in a calm tone: "Old Yue, old classmate, I am Liu Zhixin."

"I didn't expect it! It really is you. I was sitting in the reception room, and when I saw you coming in, I felt familiar, so I followed you out."

Yue Zifan held Liu Zhixin's hands tightly, his sunken eye sockets were moist, and he couldn't control his sobs and said: "The world is unpredictable, we will meet at our alma mater 30 years later, and we will become strangers to each other."

In the past 30 years, how many changes of fate, joys and sorrows have happened in the blink of an eye?The two hands clasped tightly for a long time, their eyes intertwined, and they were relatively silent.After going through all kinds of hardships, the unexpected encounter is out of the question.

Liu Zhixin explained his intention.Yue Zifan said that he was the school teacher in charge of recruiting resuming students, took him to the reception room, and went through the relevant procedures for Liu Xiaonan's admission and resumption of classes.

After finishing business, Yue Zifan dragged Liu Zhixin to a small restaurant, ordered two dishes, and drank to catch up.

"You must be surprised to see me now, right?" After two cups of wine, Yue Zifan's face became even paler, and he looked up to the sky and sighed: "The inhuman treatment and mental torture that I have endured in the ten-year labor camp are unnecessary. Besides, stooping is the most powerful proof. It is Yidan and his mother and daughter who supported me to survive tenaciously."

Liu Zhixin has always wondered why Yue Zifan would return to No. [-] Middle School to teach.After rehabilitating and releasing the policy, he should stay in Bincheng Hospital and continue to engage in medical work. The working conditions and living conditions are not comparable to those in this small town.

Is it because of Lin Yidan?
Yue Zifan's subsequent narration confirmed his judgment.

After Yue Zifan was rehabilitated and released, he implemented the policy and returned to Bincheng Hospital. He was full of hope that after the family reunion, he could start a new life again.

During the labor reform in the Northwest, the double torture of mental and physical made him have the idea of ​​committing suicide several times.It is the belief in reunion with his wife and daughter that supports him to live tenaciously.

Unexpectedly, what awaited him was a bolt from the blue for Lin Yidan's remarriage.His spiritual world collapsed, and his originally fragile nerves suffered a severe blow again. He became insane for a while, and almost strangled Lin Yidan to death in front of everyone.

He was sent to a mental hospital, and his hair turned white overnight. Only when he faced the terrified and innocent eyes of his daughter, his restless mood would calm down a little.Lin Yidan often came to visit him, and every time he scolded him away with the most vicious language.

He felt that the world was cruel, women were ruthless, and he was hopeless.

Until one day, the friend who betrayed him back then knelt down in front of him to repent, let him beat him, scold him and punish him, begging him to forgive him.He was surprisingly calm, and only said one sentence: "Go away, don't let me see you again, I forgive you."

What if you don't forgive?Can you bring back your lost youth?Can broken families be saved?Can all the suffering be thrown out of the sky?

"Zhixin, you don't know." Yue Zifan picked up the jug and poured wine for Liu Zhixin, and opened his heart: "When I said the words to forgive him, I suddenly felt open and magnanimous in my heart. Like a man who hanged himself People, when he could not breathe air and saw the horror of death, the rope suddenly broke, and he felt the beauty of life again. I also suddenly felt that if the heart is open enough to let go of everything that fetters you, it would be very relaxing and joyful thing."

Liu Zhixin picked up the wine cup and said, "Old classmate, you are really not easy. Being able to defeat yourself is probably the most difficult thing in the world. I toast you."

"My mental illness was miraculously healed just like that." Yue Zifan picked up the wine cup and clinked glasses with Liu Zhixin, and drank it down in one gulp.He raised his hand and stroked the white hair on the top of his head, and said with a bleak smile: "But there is still a little root of the disease. I don't want to see others spitting and spitting in front of me. I subconsciously feel that this is ridiculing and humiliating me. I can't control it." I will curse myself."

Yue Zifan's mental state and professional level are not suitable for continuing to work in the hospital.The organization asked for his opinion, and he chose to return to his hometown to teach at his alma mater.

He doesn't like to stay in the world of adults. The students are pure and optimistic. He can still feel a little joy in life when he is with children.Staying in the city will only increase the pain in his heart. He doesn't want to see Lin Yidan again, and he doesn't want to disturb her peaceful work and life, so it's better to stay far away.

The only thing I can't bear to let go of is my daughter.His daughter is in high school and is at a critical stage in his life. He has not fulfilled his responsibilities as a father since he was a child.

When his daughter was young, he often quarreled with Lin Yidan, which had already caused a certain negative impact on her daughter. How could he bear to add an extra psychological burden to her now?He is aware of his own problems, and living with his daughter will only affect her healthy growth, so staying away from her daughter may be the most appropriate choice.

It is gratifying that my daughter was admitted to the provincial normal school this year.After receiving the admission notice, I made a special trip back to announce the good news to him, and lived with him for more than a month.My daughter has grown up and is sensible. She cooks for him, washes his clothes, laughs, reads and hangs out with him.

He is happy, he is proud, and he feels that the time spent with his daughter day and night is the happiest time in his life.

Yue Zifan was already a little drunk, his eyes were straightened, his face was as pale as paper, and he couldn't speak fluently.Liu Zhixin persuaded him not to drink any more, since he hasn't seen his old classmates for decades, so it's better to say more happy things.

Yue Zifan was still sensible, shaking the wine cup and said, "Let's drink the wine in the glass slowly. I don't usually drink alcohol. I only drink a little when my old classmates are happy, and use the strength of alcohol to vomit the bitterness in my heart."

Liu Zhixin said: "We should think this way, we've been like this for the rest of our life, the good is not going to get better, half of our life is almost over; the bad is not going to be bad, what sufferings have we not experienced? I hope that the next generation will not have a rough life and go through hardships like ours."

"I think so too, but I can't see Yidan marrying an old man. Even if she marries you, I have no objection."

"You're thinking wrong, old classmate. It's not easy for Yidan to be sent to the mine for ten years. Her choice has her own reasons. I saw how she came here with my own eyes. Yidan and I are somewhat related. We have been getting along as siblings, supporting and taking care of each other, without any extraneous thoughts. Yidan is still my savior. Without her superb medical skills and meticulous care, I would not have the opportunity to sit here and drink with you. A loyal heart is just a legend."

"I'm not as frank as you, I misunderstood you, forgive me!"

The two drank their glasses of wine and shook hands to say goodbye.Liu Zhixin said: "I have entrusted my son to you, so I will trouble you in the future."

Yue Zifan said: "Don't worry, I will do my best to train him into Liu Zhixin back then."

On the way back, Liu Zhixin rode on the bicycle and thought to herself, since they parted, she had never written a letter to Lin Yidan, so was she not frank enough?
(End of this chapter)