Chapter 19 Life is unpredictable. Early in the morning, He Feng went to the vegetable

patch... Early in the morning, He Feng went to the vegetable patch to pick the sprouts, preparing to sell some of them directly on the street.

Every household wants sweet potato sprouts, but some families cultivate them themselves, while others buy them directly on the street.

The crop He Feng planted last year had both yellow and white flesh. The yellow ones were sweeter, and the white ones were more floury. Everyone has their own preferences.

Later, when he was selling cucumbers on the street, someone asked him when he would plant sweet potatoes and save some seedlings for him.

He Feng smiled and said it was still early.

I didn't expect time to pass so quickly, and now I can sell sprouts.

No one thought that He Feng could be a soldier and carry a gun, and then go home to farm and do so well.

At first, when He Feng had just retired from the army and dealt with his parents' funeral, someone suggested that he sell the land, go to the town or the county to find a wife, and live there in the future.

It just so happened that someone asked a matchmaker to come and propose

marriage to He Feng. It was said that the girl was from a family that owned a big restaurant, but He Feng refused. Some people privately felt that it was inappropriate, but no one would bring it up in front of He Feng.

Gradually, He Feng lived a good life alone, and no one mentioned the matter anymore.

But He Feng looked fierce and spoke directly. There were not many girls in the village, and most of them got married when they were eighteen or nineteen years old.

No matchmaker came to He Feng's house to propose marriage anymore.

He Feng liked farming. It was a very fulfilling thing to see the seeds he planted with his own hands germinate, grow, bloom, and bear fruit.

Besides, his home was in Hejia Village, so how could he just leave?

But now he was enveloped by an indescribable sense of guilt. He didn't feel so uncomfortable when he realized his feelings for Song Qingshu.

Instead, when he realized his desire, his moral sense defeated his emotions first.

He stood at the edge of the field, gathering the last of the sprouts, wrapping them in a slit nylon bag, and putting them in the basket of his bicycle.

He hadn't gone far when he heard someone shouting, "Something's happened.

" He Feng rode over and nearly bumped into He Lishu, who was running over. He called out, "Something's happened, uncle! Erdan was killed by an electric wire pulled by Song Laosan."

"Such a little kid, lying under the pomegranate tree, with a crawling grasshopper next to him."

"What a sin!"

He Feng frowned, remembering what he'd heard when he came back yesterday. "Why did they really pull the wire? Where's the village chief?"

"Boss Wei turned off the power and went to call the police. My dad sent me to find you."

He Feng didn't bother selling the sprouts anymore. He asked He Lishu to get on and rode his bicycle to Song Laosan's house.

The village was small, so the news spread quickly. By the time the two of them arrived, a crowd had gathered.

Some cursed, some expressed regret, and some came to help.

There was a loud cry from the house, "Oh my son! Song Laosan, you bastard, give me back my son..."

Song Laosan's wife was very capable when she was young. People in the surrounding area had heard about her. When she was pregnant with her first child, she fell down and lost the child. She was no longer energetic.

Now there is only this one child, and he was beaten to death by the electric wire pulled by his own father.

The men who came to help were young and old. They were all preparing to go to the fields early in the morning. The first one to discover it was He Zhenxing from next door.

The child was still lying under the tree. He walked over to see that his hair was burnt and there were electric wires tied to the tree.

He was so scared that he didn't dare to move. He stood at the door with red eyes and cursed: "Fuck your uncle Song Laosan, how can you be such a bad person!"

The people next to him heard it. They had been watching from a distance. Song Laosan came out of the house yawning and put on his clothes slowly.

"You can still sleep when your child hasn't come home all night! Ah, look at yourself, are you being a human being?"

He Zhenxing had two children at home. The younger one was still breastfeeding, and the older one was only four years old, too young to understand anything. If they ran out and ran into the tree with the electric wire, they would be dead.

He thought about it and felt a wave of fear, cold sweats running down his back. Looking at Erdan, thin as a bamboo pole on the ground, he felt angry and annoyed.

Poor child.

When Song Laosan saw him, he knelt down without saying a word, not daring to touch the child. It wasn't

until Wei Laoda came into the house and turned off the power that he dared to reach out and touch Erdan's hand. It was still covered in mud and was already cold.

Only then did he burst into tears, his voice hoarse and rough, and everyone couldn't bear to see him.

He Feng came over directly. He was of a higher generation, and the elders of his generation were dead.

He Lishu's father was older than He Feng. Last year, a cerebral hemorrhage hit his head, leaving him paralyzed on one side, barely able to speak, unable to do anything.

He Feng was about to speak when a pair of hands pulled him aside. "Sister-in-law,"

Liu Cuiling patted him with tears in her eyes. "There's no point in talking now. I'll go upstairs and talk to Xiuzhi. She depends on this kid for survival."

"Auntie," He Lishu said to Liu Cuiling. She sighed, "What a sin."

This was probably what everyone in the village was thinking right now. Such a young child, picking grasshoppers to make money, more sensible and obedient than other children, yet he was beaten to death by his own father's electric wire.

He had been freezing outside all night and was only discovered by the neighbors at dawn.

The village chief and the eldest son of the Wei family arrived. Both of them were village cadres, so their words carried weight. They stood with He Feng to discuss a solution.

He Lishu prepared to go home first and tell the children not to go to the river or climb trees anymore. This was truly a natural disaster.

He Feng felt uneasy after He Lishu left. The crowds of people around him indicated that the village had been in turmoil for a long time and could no longer be concealed.

It was truly pitiful that this child passed away. Not everyone in the village would come to a wedding, but at a funeral, they would come without saying a word.

What if Song Qingshu… knew about this?

He had even fallen down trying to help Erdan, and the bruises on his butt hadn’t even subsided when the child died. Would he be particularly heartbroken?

He knew the answer deep down in his heart, so he was a little flustered, with all sorts of chaotic noises in his ears.

Beneath the lush, leafy, and fruit-laden pomegranate tree, there were only two people, one lying and one kneeling. The autumn wind swept down a few dead leaves, which landed on a plastic bag containing cicada shells of the same color. He

Feng looked up and saw Song Qingshu, his eyes flushed. He was squeezed in the crowd, his face wrinkled, revealing only his eyebrows and eyes.

This was enough for He Feng to recognize him.

“You two discuss first, I’ll go over.” He Feng said hello to the village chief and Boss Wei, then strode over.

He pulled Song Qingshu out of the crowd like a chick, "Baby, why are you here?"

The moment he saw him, Song Qingshu couldn't hold back his tears. His lips drooped, his voice choked with sobs, "Brother, is Erdan really gone?"

"Is that him on the ground?"

He Feng had been holding it in all morning. When his parents passed away, he was the only child. He cried at night and spent the day dealing with the aftermath with red and swollen eyes.

Outside, he never cried easily.

But now he was also infected by the surrounding environment, his nose felt a little sour, he pulled Song Qingshu into his arms, "Yes, Erdan, I hope you will be born into a good family in your next life, and don't come to Hejia Village to suffer."

In fact, Song Qingshu was not awakened by the shouting around him. After all, where He Feng lived, there was only an old woman named Liu Cuiling, who raised a few puppies that never grew up.

In the morning, when outsiders came to shout, the puppies would bark a few times and then stop.

Song Qingshu had another nightmare. Under the lush pomegranate tree, there was a thin child lying, and a man in his forties or fifties was kneeling, sobbing with a sad face.

He Feng went to persuade the man and wanted to pick up the child. He couldn't just leave him on the ground.

But just as he touched the child, the man who jumped up pressed him against the pomegranate tree, his eyes bloodshot, "Don't touch him! Don't touch him!"

He Feng had no intention of offending the grief-stricken man, and half raised his hand, "Okay, then think about it yourself, can you just leave the child like this?"

Seeing that the man was persuaded by him, "Put your hand down."

He Feng slowly lowered his hand, but next to his hand was a hanging electric wire, without a protective cover, and the yellow copper wire was exposed.

Song Qingshu was frightened and woke up from his dream. He put on his shoes and was about to run out. The time in the dream was morning.

He guessed it was this morning, but hoped not, because he didn't want Erdan to die, nor did he want He Feng to get into trouble.

He was still wearing the loose pajamas from last night, with his white legs and arms exposed, and he got goose bumps from the cold.

He Feng looked at him with pity. He took off his long gown and gave it to Song Qingshu, then leaned over to put it on him. "Son, I need help here. Can you take care of yourself?"

Song Qingshu nodded. "I can help too."

He was so thin that he felt shaky standing there. The corners of his eyes were red, and his health was not good. His hair was limp and covered his forehead, revealing only his black and moist eyes.

He Feng held his face and kissed him on the eyes. "Then follow me first."

He wore a white old man's shirt and took Song Qingshu's hand to walk to the village chief and asked them what to do now.

"First, persuade the third brother to buy a coffin and arrange for the child."

"We're all here to help. We can move the tables and build the shed."

Boss Wei exhaled a puff of smoke, his brows furrowed so tightly that a fly could be pinched to death. "For this kind of thing, the third brother can only be blamed. If he kills someone, he will be bulleted."

Song Qingshu couldn't stand the smell of smoke and couldn't help coughing twice. "Then I'll go and persuade him, while you ask everyone to help."

He Feng took Song Qingshu's wrist. His hand was big, and he held the delicate wrist effortlessly. Song Qingshu's cool hand came up, "Brother, there are electric wires on the tree!"

"It's okay." He Feng patted his hand.

How could it be okay if 220-volt electricity hits someone? Song Qingshu was unwilling to let go, "Then I'll go with you, I want to see Erdan."

"No, son, be obedient and wait for your brother here."

"The power switch here is turned off, it will be fine."

He Feng pinched his face, "Do you believe me?"

Song Qingshu puffed up his face and said nothing, obviously a little angry. After a while, he uttered: "Brother, you are all I have."

But He Feng had already walked towards Song Laosan.

Things were exactly the same as the first half of the dream. Song Laosan held He Feng and pressed him against the tree trunk. His knees were still covered with mud and dry grass. His eyes were wide open, and his saliva was splattered on He Feng's face when he spoke.

He was not allowed to touch his son.

He Feng frowned and turned him over to hold him down. How could someone who had been in the army be held down by him so easily?

He held his breath, trying to speak calmly. "Third Brother, you did this all by yourself. A few people were just playing around, and you're pulling the wires."

"Have you thought about this? There are so many children in the village. You electrocuted your own son today. What if it was someone else's?"

"You'll have to pay him money and his life! And they might not even agree!"

He Feng's voice was loud enough for the others to hear clearly, and voices of agreement rose one after another.

"What a sin..."

"Erdan died because of you. You're his father, and you have no right to kill. If you're not conscious, I'll send you to the police station."

"Now, you have to hold on. Take care of Erdan's funeral properly."

His firm words gave Third Brother Song some strength. Something to do helped him not be completely overwhelmed by grief, and he could finally move forward.

He Feng let him go, and he no longer had the energy to shout.

His family was broke, and he looked at the villagers gathered around him, even children. They wanted to come over, but their families held them back.

Some of them were Erdan's playmates.

Liu Cuiling came out from inside and called a group of old ladies to pull up the white cloth.

Erdan'er's mother, who was in poor health, also came out. Her eyes were red, and she had a white cloth on her head and a piece of white cloth tied on her arm.

Time was short, so she dug out the white cloth that she had secretly bought when the first child left home, and asked her aunts and sisters-in-law to help tear it apart.

She was still holding a piece of white cloth in her hand. The village chief wanted to come up to help her, but she waved him away. She walked to Song Laosan and tied a white cloth on him as well. She dragged him to his knees in front of the villagers around him.

"What are you doing, my child's mother, stand up quickly. You don't have to kneel before us."

Xiuzhi's eyes were swollen and her voice was hoarse. "Someone has passed away in the family. I should have been the one to call the villagers. This is the rule. Since you are here, you can bear it."

Her expression was so determined. Although her body was shaking, she still dragged Song Laosan and made everyone kneel down and kowtowed.

The girl with shallow eye sockets started crying. People around her went to stop her. Song Qingshu sighed and wiped her tears with her back.

She turned around and fell into He Feng's broad arms. "Cry if you want to. Brother will protect our baby."

He Feng patted his back. Since things in the world are impermanent, he has nothing to worry about or fear about this relationship.

As long as he can accompany Song Qingshu, there is nothing wrong with continuing to live as before.

Unless, Song Qingshu has the same feelings and ideas.