In the silent place

Chapter 18

Zhan Zhao sat in front of the bed, staring at the white porcelain cup on the octagonal window sill, dazed.Liu Rong passed by the door of his room several times, seeing his straight and thin back, motionless like a sculpture, felt as uncomfortable as a needle prick in her heart.Back then, she lived in the same yard as Jiang Yewan's family, and she had the best relationship with Jiang Yewan's younger sister, Jiang Hanshan, in the entire alley, and they had to walk together to and from school every day.Now that old compound has long been gone, but it is deeply engraved in her mind, staying in the depths of time.It records her youth, friendship, love and affection, everything is so beautiful.After getting married, she took care of her husband and raised her children. Jiang Hanshan often went back to her natal home.Later, Zhan Huaiyi was transferred to the southern military region, and Jiang Hanshan moved with the army with her husband.Liu Rong still remembers that when Jiang Hanshan hugged the child to say goodbye to her, the little nephew didn't know why the two adults were crying, but obediently nestled in his mother's arms, holding an apple in his hand, blinking a pair of big bright eyes, looking at it from time to time. Look at her, then at mother.When Zhan Zhao was a child, he spent more time with his grandmother in the compound than with his parents in the military area. Her aunt watched him grow up day by day like a half-mother.I remember one time when I went out for a long time, my little nephew pulled her and asked her where she was going.She patted her nephew's head and said that her aunt was visiting a relative and would be back in a while.The little nephew blinked and asked again, how long will it be.She said, what my aunt said is that after a while, you count one finger a day, and when you have counted all the fingers on both hands, your aunt will come back.The little nephew tilted his head and pondered for a while, then ran away.After a while, he ran back again, holding a few steel coins in his hand, and grabbed the corner of her clothes and said, "Grandma gave it to him before, and now it is used as travel expenses by aunt, so that he can finish counting the fingers of one hand, aunt." can come back.When she heard this, she knelt down, picked up her little nephew, and kissed his little face vigorously.When he grew up, outsiders said that Zhan Zhao's temper was as righteous as his father's, but Liu Rong knew that the tenacity in Zhan Zhao's bones was exactly the same as that of Jiang Hanshan.The year Jiang Hanshan passed away, Zhan Zhao was under 13 years old.After receiving the telegram, she and Jiang Yewan came here after hearing the news. It was the first time that she saw her brother-in-law so distraught, lying on the bed all day, sluggish, as if his soul had gone with Jiang Hanshan.On the contrary, it was Zhan Zhao who quietly took them to the mourning hall to worship, then ran out to buy food, and when he came back, he didn't say a word, silently accompanying his father.At that time, he and his wife only cared about comforting Zhan Huaiyi, but ignored the child Zhan Zhao.Until one time when Liu Rong went to dry clothes on the balcony, she accidentally bumped into her nephew squatting in the corner. The tears that rolled down her cheeks, Liu Rong will never forget in her life.No matter how strong he is, he is still just a child.Now her nephew has grown taller than her, but in her heart, Zhan Zhao is still that child who is both lovable and loving.

Thinking about it, Liu Rong's eyes felt hot, she took a deep breath to adjust her expression, walked quietly to Zhan Zhao's side, and handed him a glass of warm water. "Xiao Zhao, take your medicine."

Zhan Zhao looked up and thanked his aunt, then took the water, took out the medicine from the drawer, and drank it with his head up.

"It's not easy for your father to come back from a long distance. He is used to being an official in the army. He has a quick temper and speaks straight. In fact, he is worried about you. You are in better health, so don't get angry with your father, huh?"

"En." Zhan Zhao bowed his head and hummed, comforting his aunt and said, "Don't worry, I understand."

Liu Rong was about to say a few more words to her nephew, when she raised her eyes and saw Zhan Huaiyi walking into the room, she sighed and patted her nephew on the shoulder, then walked out and gently closed the door.

Looking at his son's lonely figure, Zhan Huaiyi felt uncomfortable.He walked over and sat down on the chair opposite his son. He tried his best to soften his voice: "Xiao Zhao, go back with Dad. You are not in good health, what can you do when you come back?"

"Dad, I heard everything you said to Dr. Johnson." Zhan Zhao slowly raised his head, looked his father in the eyes and said firmly, "I won't go back again."

Zhan Huaiyi's heart skipped a beat, as if his son had seen through his thoughts, he hurriedly covered up: "After you go back, let's change to another hospital, not the previous one."

"I'm not a child anymore!" Zhan Zhao felt his chest tight and uncomfortable, swallowed, he took a deep breath and said, "It's a miracle to be able to recover to what I am now. No matter how many doctors there are, it is impossible..."

"I don't allow you to say that." Zhan Huaiyi interrupted his son. "As long as you can persevere, you will be cured sooner or later. Dad will not stop you from whatever you want to do."

Zhan Zhao closed his eyes, unable to say a word.For four years, his father went to many hospitals because of his illness, and finally found Dr. Johnson, an authority on hematology. At that time, he had lived in the isolation ward for more than two years, but his condition often relapsed. After Dr. Johnson’s treatment, he finally recovered It was relieved, from weekly blood transfusions, to blood transfusions every 22 days, and finally walked out of the hospital.He could clearly hear the conversation between his father and Dr. Johnson outside the ward. His disease is called "soft cancer" in the world's medical circles. There is still no specific medicine for treatment, and the possibility of cure is very small.ten years? 20 years?Maybe it will go on like this for a lifetime.In fact, he already had a premonition, but his father was still unwilling to face this fact.In order to minimize the infection and risk factor, he even sent himself back to the isolation ward.When he thought of waking up in the middle of the night, he would face those pale walls and sheets alone again, and his heart felt as if a big rock was crushed.Opening his eyes, he stood up abruptly, as if he could escape the whiteness that was about to engulf him. "I won't go back." As soon as the words came out, she suddenly fell back on the bed.

"It's up to you this time. I've already booked a ticket for the day after tomorrow. If you don't go back, you have to go back with me." Zhan Huaiyi's angry voice hit Zhan Zhao's heart like a ruthless hammer.

"You clearly said you won't stop me anymore." With the violent panting, Zhan Zhao's chest kept rising and falling, his brows were slightly frowned, his eyes were burning, and his vision was blurred.

Zhan Huaiyi also lost his temper, and didn't notice what was wrong with his son at all. "It was a mistake for me to let you back last time. This time, whether you hate me or scold me, I will tie you back."

"I don't..." Zhan Zhao didn't finish his sentence, he stood up and wanted to run outside, but his legs were weak, and he fell down.Zhan Huaiyi was startled, stood up and grabbed his arm, but his son still slid limply to the ground.He quickly knelt down to help him, but saw that Zhan Zhao's face was pale, he closed his eyes and covered his mouth, panting continuously.

"Don't scare Dad." Zhan Huaiyi was also scared.

Zhan Zhao was in a cold sweat, too uncomfortable to speak.At this time, he was so palpitated that he couldn't breathe, and his stomach felt as if it was overwhelmed, and he couldn't help but fell on the ground and vomited wildly.

Liu Rong outside was terribly flustered, listening to Zhan Huaiyi yelling at her son uncontrollably inside, the voice was so loud that the neighbors next door could hear it for real, even if his wife didn't shake his head at her, she didn't dare to go in and stop him .At this time, when I heard something wrong, I hurried over to open the door.Seeing this, Liu Rong's heart suddenly rose to her throat, and she ran forward in three steps at a time.The nephew looked like he was about to spit out all his viscera, his fists were so tightly clenched that she couldn't break them apart, so she could only let him run along his back. "Old Jiang, come here and help."

Although Zhan Zhao felt uncomfortable, how could the pain in his body compare to the pain in his heart?Maybe the father is right, even if he comes back, what can he do?Like this, what right does he have to argue and argue with his father here?And my aunt and uncle must have been frightened by me again.Every time he wanted to do something good, this body was always against him.But even so, he has to live.Taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm down the churning in his stomach, Zhan Zhao raised his head and smiled at his aunt.Liu Rong's eyes turned red, and she reached out to wipe the wet corners of her nephew's eyes, but saw his eyes drooping slightly, his body softened, and he fell into Zhan Huaiyi's arms.

Jiang Yewan and Zhan Huaiyi carried Zhan Zhao to the bed together.Zhan Huaiyi took out the pillow behind his son's head, tilted his head to one side, pinched his Renzhong acupoint, and pulled his hand to pinch Hegu acupoint.Liu Rong quietly walked out of the room, went to the bathroom to get a warm wet towel and came back, gently wiped her nephew's forehead soaked in cold sweat, and cleaned up the filth in the room later.When he came in with a kettle and washbasin, Zhan Zhao had already woken up, but his consciousness was still hazy, and his legs kept shaking. Can't stop shaking.

Looking at his son's weak appearance, Zhan Huaiyi felt like a slap on his face, his face hurt, his hands hurt, and his heart hurt even more. "Just be stubborn, just fight against me like this! If something goes wrong, just make such a big noise for me to see. Do you want to torture yourself to death, or do you want to torture me to death? Huh?"

"Dad." Zhan Zhao's face was waxy, and his weak voice made people worry. "I'm... sorry."

"You still know I'm your father!"

Jiang Yewan elbowed his brother-in-law, and felt a little bit resentful for his hot-tempered brother-in-law.Originally, Xiao Zhao was just right, but now he came back like this. "Okay, the child is so uncomfortable, you can say a few words less."

Zhan Zhao rolled his eyes, looking at his aunt and then at his uncle. "uncle..."

"Stop talking, take a break. Huh?" Liu Rong wiped the corners of her eyes and said gently, brushing the sweaty hair on her nephew's forehead like coaxing a child. "Don't be tense on your legs, close your eyes and sleep for a while." Liu Rong watched her nephew close her eyes obediently, tears fell like broken beads, and ignored her brother-in-law watching the joke here, so she just wiped it with her jacket sleeve .Wipe it off, wipe it off again.She thought, if her good girl was still alive, how distressed she would be to see her son like this.It's a pity that although she loves this nephew more than her own son, she is still not his mother.Otherwise, she really wanted to stand in front of Zhan Huaiyi and tell him that the child wasn't going anywhere, so she just stayed here.

Jiang Yewan and Zhan Huaiyi saw that she was crying so hard, so they stopped talking.The room that was noisy not long ago suddenly became quiet, only Liu Rong's low sobs could be heard occasionally.

Zhan Zhao's legs finally stopped shaking, and his breath gradually became even and long.Seeing that her nephew finally fell asleep due to the exhaustion of her body, Liu Rong waved to her wife and brother-in-law standing in front of the bed, and threw them out together.

As soon as the two men walked out of the house, Jiang Yewan gave Zhan Huaiyi a sharp look.He said angrily: "What did you say to you before the meal? When will you change your bad temper? Shouldn't I hang a sign of infantry company and political commissar room on the door of my room, so that you will be happy? "

Zhan Huaiyi also felt wronged, and followed Jiang Yewan into the living room without saying a word.

"I'm not talking about you. When Xiao Zhao comes back this time, your sister-in-law and I don't know how happy we are to see him. But when you come back, it's like having a big enmity with your child. You can't talk to him if you have something to say, you have to You're comfortable with your beard blowing your beard and staring at you, right?" Jiang Yewan is not like Liu Rong, this nephew also has their Jiang family's blood on him, so he must say what he has to say. "Also, you know that his heart can't stand the stimulation after he has this disease, and you still yell at him so loudly. It's fine if you yell at him before, but now that the child is not in good health, let's not talk about it. He is an adult after all. If you yell at him, he can feel at ease? Your method works in the army, but you can’t use it on children. Xiao Zhao has been obedient since he was a child, and he rarely contradicts adults. If you reason with him, he will not refuse Yours, but today I feel wronged for him. If my sister is still alive, she will never agree with you educating children like this. "

Everything Jiang Yewan said made sense, and Zhan Huaiyi sat on the sofa with his head sullen, but he had already started to regret it.

"The last time you two talked on the phone, I knew there was something wrong. With his personality, he rarely said such angry words. What are you doing?"

"Why must it be me? You dote on him too much."

"Although Xiao Zhao is stubborn, he is stubborn every time." Jiang Yewan turned his head to look at his brother-in-law, and saw that his expression was a little unnatural, which made him more sure of his guess. "On the eighth day of the eighth day, he got up early in the morning and happily went to find his mentor. He told me that this mentor had mentioned it to him several times and wanted him to go to the police station to help. I can see that He also wants to go. Such a sure thing, if there is no play, then there is no play, what's the matter?"

"I... I don't know." Zhan Huaiyi said hesitantly.

"You don't know? I don't know. You don't even ask him when you come back. When you come, you say you want to take someone back. If the child doesn't tell you, he doesn't want to talk about it, so as not to quarrel with you again. But look at your virtue." Jiang The more Ye Wan said, the more distressed he became. "You love him, and the child loves you too."

"Lao Jiang, I..." Zhan Huaiyi's voice choked up.

"My poor girl, she died at such a young age. You are uncomfortable, and your sister-in-law and I can see it. The child is sensible and never cries in front of you, and he doesn't even mention his mother's business. You Whatever you say is what you want, and you always follow your will." Jiang Yewan wiped his eyes as he said. "But Huaiyi, you have to think about it. My sister left. You lost your lover, but children also lost their mother."

Zhan Huaiyi sat on the sofa, and after listening to his brother-in-law's words from the heart, he leaned over and propped his forehead, his shoulders trembled, he choked up, and finally burst into tears.

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