Chapter 134 Under the Willow Tree in Dashi Village

Chapter 134 Under the Willow Tree in Dashi Village

"Old man, are you back?!"

After the coughing, an old female voice sounded.

Shan Li signaled Feng San and Feng Si to stay beside the cart, while he himself carried the basket of charcoal into the house.

There were tiny holes in many places in the dilapidated house, and light penetrated through these holes.

The rows and people in the room were not clearly photographed, only a rough outline could be seen, but the tiny dust particles floating in the air were clearly visible.

On the bed at the back of the room, there was a white-haired old woman lying. When she saw Shan Li coming in, she was stunned for a moment.

Then, her gaze moved downwards, and when she saw the backpack that Shan Li was carrying in his hands, her eyes were suddenly filled with tears.

For a long while, the two people in the room did not speak again. Finally, the old woman spoke first, "Thank you for sending the old man back."

"Old man, I..."

"Don't say anything, I understand." The old woman interrupted Shan Li and pointed at the basket in his hand, "This is what I made for my old man. He said that he would never lose it even if he died. Now it is in your hand. That means, the old man, he is gone."

Shan Li took a few steps forward and placed the backpack in front of the old woman. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't utter a word.

The old woman propped herself up so that her hand could touch the basket.

As she stroked him, she asked, "Was it painful when he left?"

The old woman's voice was very soft, but Shan Li still heard it.

He looked at her and shook his head, saying, "It's not painful."

The old woman smiled at this time, "That's good, that's good. The old man has suffered all his life. Now that he is gone, he finally doesn't suffer any more."

"This is the charcoal the old man asked me to bring back for him. He said you would be cold." Shan Li hesitated for a moment, but finally respected his heart and told the old woman what the old man in dirty clothes said before he died.

The old woman looked at the charcoal and nodded, "Young man, could you please help me light the charcoal basin? I feel a little cold here."

Shan Li nodded in agreement and began to look for a charcoal brazier in the house.

After a stick of incense, a burning charcoal basin with several cracks was moved to the old woman's bed.

The old woman reached out her hand to feel around, and said with a smile, "It's really warm. Ahem... I haven't felt this warm in a long time."

"Young man, could you please help me bring the old man in? He's cold too. It's still cold at this time of year. I don't know when it will thaw this year..."

Shan Li nodded, turned around and walked out.

"Master, what are we going to do?" Feng San asked hurriedly when he saw Shan Li coming out.

However, Shan Li didn't say a word, he just took the old man out of the coffin and carried him into the house.

When the old woman saw the old man in Shan Li's arms, tears flowed uncontrollably for the first time.

"Put the old man next to me." The old woman wiped her tears with her hand and gave up half of her lying space.

After Shan Li put the old man down, the old woman said, "Thank you so much, young man."

Then, the old woman began to reach out and caress the old man's body, which had already gone cold.

"Old man, is there anyone else in your house?" Shan Li discovered this when he was looking for the charcoal basin. There was no sign that anyone else had lived in the house.

The old man's funeral still needs to be arranged, but the old woman's condition seems to be unable to handle it. So I want to ask if there is anyone who can entrust it to someone.

The old woman nodded and shook her head, "My husband and I only have one son. Life was hard back then, and we almost lost this one child. It was not easy for us to raise him, and we also found him a wife and gave him children."

The old woman didn't look at Shan Li, but was looking at the old man who was lying next to her.

These words seemed to be spoken to Shan Li, but also seemed to be spoken to himself.

"In our Dashi Village, every household hunts. The old man was also a good hunter when he was young. He passed on his skills to his son. Back then, the father and son went hunting together in the mountains, and the furs they hunted were the best in Dashi Village."

"It's a pity that good times are so short. The year my grandson was born, my son said he wanted to hold a decent one-year-old ceremony for Xiaobao, so he went up the mountain alone. It was spring, when the wild animals in the mountains were at their most frenzied. He never came back after that."

"My son died, and my daughter-in-law couldn't bear the shock and fell ill. Not long after, she also died. Only I, the old man, and my grandson who just turned one year old were left."

''Since then, the old man has stopped hunting. I worked with him to farm, burn charcoal, and feed the little grandson. Although life was hard, fortunately the family was safe. However, three years ago, the grandson suddenly left, saying that he wanted to go out and earn some money. With this money, we can live a good life and no longer have to work so hard. ''

''Cough cough cough cough cough...''

When the old woman said this, she burst into violent coughing again.

Shan Li hurried forward to help her calm down, but the old woman raised her hand to refuse.

"It's an old illness... cough cough cough... It will be fine in a while..."

The old woman coughed for almost half an incense stick of time before she finally recovered.

Her face also turned red due to the violent coughing, but her eyes were cold and without any warmth.

"I guess our family is not destined to be reunited." The old woman stopped coughing and continued, "My little grandson has never come back since he left. My old man and I don't know whether he is alive or dead. Now my old man is gone. I am the only one left in this family."

"Young man, I can see that you are a kind person, otherwise you wouldn't have sent the old man back. Can I ask you for a favor?"

Suddenly, the old woman turned her gaze to Shan Li.

"You say."

When the old woman saw that Shan Li agreed, she quickly turned sideways and reached under her bed.

He searched for a long time before stopping and took out a small cloth bag from under the bed covered with hay.

She opened the small cloth bag in front of Shan Li, and inside was a red string bracelet. Perhaps because it had been so long, the red color of the bracelet had faded a little.

The old woman picked up the bracelet and rubbed the little pig carved out of wood on it.