Chapter 944: The beauty of the morning glow, the beauty of the heart
Bagong Mountain.
Surrounded by green pines and shaded by green cypresses.
The quiet mountain road in Xiangning becomes more solemn as you go deeper.
Several bicycles were parked by the side of the mountain road. Qin Ruobai sat on a rock, looking at the halfway point of the mountain, crying silently.
Beside her, Song Yi, Qiao Henwan, and Ding Yuqiu stood with their hands behind their backs. Each of them held a bunch of bright and juicy crabapple flowers, which formed a sharp contrast with the black and gray tombstones in the mountains.
Dozens of meters away from them, Li Xiangnan, Wang Defa, Zhang Jingyang and Yang Weidong were smoking silently, frequently turning their heads to look at the winding mountain road.
At 7:40, a string of bells, shaken by the dirt road, rang out on the mountain road.
Li Xiangnan threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stepped on it, and walked over.
"Xiao Li!" Cui Xingjian rode his bike over with sweat all over his forehead. On the back seat, Wu Mao hugged a pot of brightly blooming crabapple tree tightly, with his legs tightly clamped around the seat, for fear of falling or getting hurt.
Sun Jie followed closely behind, and the seat of his car was filled with farm tools such as hoes and hatchets.
"It's not too much trouble, is it?" Li Xiangnan went forward to take over Lao Cui's car and said gratefully.
"No problem! There are several crabapple trees behind Xiao Wu's grandmother's mountain. We picked the biggest one and dug it up! I hope Aunt Bai will like it!" Cui Xingjian jumped out of the car, wiped the sweat off his face with the towel on his shoulder, and steadied the car to remind him: "Slow down!"
"Thank you, Xiao Wu!" Li Xiangnan went over and took the crabapple tree from Wu Mao's arms and put it on the ground.
"Brother Nan, you're welcome! It's what I should do!" Wu Mao wiped the sweat from his forehead with a silly smile.
"Drink some water! You're all sweaty from running so hard!"
Wang Defa and Yang Weidong each handed over a water bottle, and then followed Yang Weidong to get a rope to tie the tree, and tied it firmly behind Li Xiangnan's back to prevent him from falling.
Zhang Jingyang went to get the farm tools, counted the number, nodded to Sun Jie, and when he saw that Li Xiangnan was ready, he shouted, "Let's go!"
He was the oldest among them, and he also reminded: "Fatty, Weidong, go and carry the baskets of the three animals, don't forget!"
"I know!" Wang Defa nodded and went to pick up the bamboo basket.
Li Xiangnan stepped forward and led a group of people up the mountain path. When he came to Qin Ruobai and the others, he shouted, "Ruobai, let's go up!"
"Yeah!" Qin Ruobai wiped her tears, jumped down from the rocks, came over to support him, and went up the mountain together.
They all walked deeper into the mountain path, and soon they saw tombstones standing tall in the mountain breeze. The mountains and fields were filled with ancient cypresses that seemed to have stood there from time immemorial.
"Ruobai, let's wait for a while! Let Xiangnan and the others clean up first!"
When they were almost at the tomb, Song Yi sensibly pulled Qin Ruobai's arm and nodded to Li Xiangnan.
The man is dead, the living is like this.
The female comrades didn't want Qin Ruobai to be too sad because of Aunt Bai's death anniversary, so they all protected her carefully.
"Sit here with them for a while, we'll be ready soon!" Li Xiangnan still had the crabapple tree on his back, so he could only bend down and reach out his hand to gently stroke Qin Ruobai's face, smiling at her and admonishing her, "Be good!"
"Yeah!" Qin Ruobai nodded silently with red eyes and watched him leave.
Zhang Jingyang has led Wang Defa and others to find Aunt Bai's grave and is clearing the weeds around it.
Li Xiangnan walked over and had just placed the crabapple tree next to the grave when Wang Defa pulled his arm.
"What's wrong?" He turned around in confusion.
Wang Defa pointed to the tomb and said, "The tomb has been cleaned..."
Li Xiangnan was stunned, and saw that the surroundings of the cemetery were indeed different from other tombs. The lush grass and singing birds in June were not to be seen here. A large area had indeed been cleared around the cemetery, and all the weeds had been pulled out.
In front of the tombstone, there was a clean white cloth wrapped around something.
The mountain breeze blew gently, revealing what was inside...
It turned out to be a piece of cake with a bite taken out of it.
"Has anyone been here?" Zhang Jingyang stretched out his hand and swept the dust at the bottom of the tomb, and his palm was spotless.
"Hmm!" Li Xiangnan turned his head and looked around, a little confused.
They came early enough, arriving here at 7:30, but actually they set out at around 6:00!
I never expected that someone would be there earlier than them!
He asked Qin Ruobai yesterday about his mother's death anniversary. In fact, many people in the Municipal Bureau would come here to pay their respects as long as they were free.
But most of them come here together after reporting to work in the morning!
"Has Uncle Qin been here?" Wang Defa asked.
"No!" Li Xiangnan shook his head directly: "Ruobai said that my father-in-law likes to come in the afternoon, bring a bottle of wine, and sit here for the whole afternoon! No one will visit the grave at that time, and no one will disturb him!"
Unable to guess who it was, Li Xiangnan simply shook his head and waved his hand, saying, "Brother Zhang, plant some trees!"
"it is good!"
Everyone used axes to chop down the weeds beside the tomb and used hoes to dig a hole for the tree. Li Xiangnan knelt in front of the tomb and planted the crabapple tree solemnly.
Wang Defa and Yang Weidong took everyone's water bottles, and Li Xiangnan poured all the water into the crabapple tree.
Then they set off firecrackers, burned incense and paper, and offered sacrifices to the three animals.
Li Xiangnan did it meticulously and with great piety.
When the cannon fire died down, Li Xiangnan knelt in front of the tomb again in an orderly manner.
There is a photo on the tombstone. The young woman in the photo is wearing a navy blue police uniform and has a gentle smile.
Li Xiangnan poured a glass of wine into the cup and threw it in front of the grave, saying, "Mom, I am your son-in-law Li Xiangnan! We are here to see you today!"
After another glass of wine, he said sincerely, "I heard from Ruobai that you particularly like crabapples. Every time Ruobai comes to see you, she brings a crabapple with her! So I asked a friend to find a crabapple for you. You will be able to see it every day in the future, and you will definitely not be lonely!"
The last glass of wine was poured out.
"Mom, from now on, Ruobai will be taken care of by me, don't worry!"
After saying this, he kowtowed three times respectfully toward the grave.
After standing up, he looked at the tombstone engraved with "Tomb of my beloved wife Bai Haitang", silently chanted a few words to bless Ruobai, and turned to look at the crabapple tree swaying in the mountain breeze.
The jade tree is rich and noble, and the crabapple tree is beautiful.
The beauty reflects the morning glow, and the fragrance blooms in the heart.
Anyone who likes it must be an elegant and tough person.
But now, the crabapple tree is still there, but the old friend has not returned...
He turned his head again and stretched out his hand, calling out, "Ruobai, come here!"
Qin Ruobai staggered over, knelt down in front of the tomb like him, and shouted, "Mom..."
Her shoulders trembled as she bowed her head, each time expressing her deep piety and nostalgia, and the sobs in her mouth sounded like a song and tears.
"grandmother……"
What no one expected was that when Qin Ruobai was bowing for the last time, his whole body suddenly shook, and he reached out and grabbed the bitten dry biscuit in front of the tomb, then he stood up suddenly and burst into tears.
"Xiangnan! It's grandma! Grandma is here! She is here! Look, look, this is what she gave to commemorate her mother. She sent it..."
Qin Ruobai's sudden eagerness and anxiety made her jump and shout at the same time.
Li Xiangnan had never seen Qin Ruobai lose control like this before. He quickly grabbed the other's arm and said softly, "Don't worry, don't worry. If it's really your grandmother, she must not have gone far..."
"It's definitely her! Grandma said that my mother's favorite food is the grandma cake made by grandma! And she always likes to let grandma take the first bite. Look, look..." Qin Ruobai cried while holding the cake in her hand, pointing at the dry cake that had been bitten and burst into tears. She instantly softened in his arms, "Xiangnan, after my mother died, grandma and her family haven't been in contact with our family for many years. Please, find her..."
Just as Li Xiangnan was about to nod his head in agreement, he heard Wang Defa standing on a nearby tree and shouting, "Xiao Li! Look! There's an old man walking down the mountain..."
When everyone turned their heads to look, they saw a hunchbacked old lady walking down the mountain with unsteady steps, taking a shortcut.
Li Xiangnan was shocked and shouted, "Song Yi, take good care of Ruobai! Everyone else, follow me!"
After saying that, he chased down the mountain without hesitation...