Chapter 1 Returning Home

Author: Lao Klin

Chapter 1 Returning Home

An excellent person like me,

I should have lived a glorious life,

How come more than thirty years have ended?

Still floating in the sea of ​​people.

The train station in Mingzhu City at night is bustling with traffic and colorful neon lights illuminate the entire city. But when you look up, you can't see any stars.

Li Hongbing took off his glasses, wiped away the tears on the lenses, picked up his luggage, and walked into the station entrance without looking back.

As the saying goes, nine is not nine, and the dark nine is a hurdle, especially the age of thirty-six, which is a hurdle and a disaster.

Passed!

The road ahead will be easy to walk, but if you can't make it through it, you may die.

On his 36th birthday, his mother called Li Hongbing specifically to tell him to take the time to burn incense and pay homage to God.

Li Hongbing, who considered himself highly educated, scorned feudal superstition.

However, reality soon hit her face.

Not long after her birthday, her wife Jiang Jing, who wanted to go abroad, disappeared inexplicably with her 4-year-old daughter, leaving behind a divorce agreement.

Li Hongbing wanted to find his daughter, but was rejected by his ex-wife time and time again. He could only listen to his daughter crying on his mobile phone.

I often look at the divorce agreement and reflect on this marriage.

As a husband, I consider myself to be pretty standard.

He refused the work arrangement that provided him with a guaranteed job at home, and worked hard alone in Mingzhu City for love. In ten years, he bought a house, a car, and a stable job.

I thought that by living an ordinary life like this, raising my daughter and growing old with my wife, my life would end perfectly.

Now I think back to what my father said: for a poor boy to marry the daughter of a rich family in the city, he is not from the right family, and problems will arise sooner or later.

Unexpectedly, my father's words hit the mark.

In Li Hongbing's view, divorce is not scary, but he is afraid of hurting his daughter.

There is no greater sorrow than the death of one's heart.

The empty home, without my daughter’s innocent and lovely laughter, became deserted.

Next, Li Hongbing lived like a zombie, and his rivals in the company took the opportunity to stab him in the back, causing mistakes in the project, and the company kicked him out.

Losing his family and career at the same time, Li Hongbing completely collapsed.

Lock yourself up at home.

Curtains cover the day, night, and time.

One night.

I had a dream in a hazy state.

I dreamed about my childhood, the vast meadows in Caogou Village, the blue sky and white clouds, the mountains, my grandpa, grandma, and the old oak tree at home.

Wake up from a dream.

With that beautiful dream still lingering in his mind, Li Hongbing made a decision.

I want to go home!

Return to Caogou Village.

The next morning.

Standing in front of the mirror, the bright mirror reflected my haggard and vicissitudes of life, and I don’t know when my temples turned gray.

Li Hongbing smiled to himself, washed himself from head to toe, and put on the suit he wore when he got married.

He came to the agreed coffee shop and signed the divorce agreement amidst the shock of his wife and the crying of his daughter.

I originally wanted to take my daughter home with me, but my hometown could not provide her with a high-quality education and life.

After making a difficult decision, Li Hongbing decided to give up custody rights. Under the eyes of his ex-wife, he did not hesitate to give away the house and car he bought before marriage to his daughter.

Although I can't give my daughter a happy home, I can give her a future where she doesn't have to look at other people's eyes.

Back then I could come to Mingzhu City with nothing, and now I can leave Mingzhu City with nothing.

Since I have to leave immediately, it is impossible to work anymore. It is better to retire directly and return to Caogou Village to farm for the elderly.

Li Hongbing used the remaining private money to pay off his personal social security until his retirement. With reluctance and concern for his daughter, he left this city where he had worked hard for many years.

Sitting on the train bound for my hometown.

There were all kinds of passengers sitting in the carriage. Some wanted to go back to their previous place, while others were rushing to the next stop.

The scenery passing by outside the window became Li Hongbing's memories of the past thirty-six years.

Not long after he was born, his father Li Guoqing took his mother Zhang Yunhua and two sisters to leave the remote forest area to work in the city, leaving him in Caogou Village to be taken care of by his grandfather and grandmother.

It was not until he was twelve years old that his parents took him back to the city after his job was stable. He lost his innocence as a country boy and became a role model in the eyes of his neighbors. He was admitted to a key high school and Pearl University, worked, got married and had children.

Under the corrosion of the bustling city, Li Hongbing lost himself. Even when his grandma and grandpa passed away, he came back and left in a hurry.

I don’t know when Li Hongbing started to miss Caogou Village, which was almost isolated from the world and lacked all modernization. It turned into a kind of disgust.

Can.

Going round and round, we are back to the starting point.

Li Hongbing could not wait to step on the land of Caogou Village and breathe the dreamy air.

Unknowingly, tears of sadness welled up in my eyes.

"Uncle, are you crying? Mom said it's embarrassing to cry. You see, the doctor gave my daughter an injection, and she stopped crying."

A clear childish voice sounded.

Li Hongbing looked up and saw a little girl with braids lying on the pillow of the seat, proudly showing off the dense needle holes on her thin arms.

The little girl is about 4 or 5 years old, as big as her daughter, but her face is pale and bloodless, and her body is so thin that it makes people feel distressed.

"Nanny, don't disturb uncle's rest." A sad young woman stood up, picked up the little girl, and nodded apologetically towards Li Hongbing.

The little girl twisted in her mother's arms and continued to raise her arms.

"Uncle, a good boy doesn't cry, keep working hard!"

Li Hongbing smiled and raised his arms.

"come on!"

The train traveled for two days and two nights to reach the provincial capital of Northwest Province, and then transferred to a long-distance bus back to Dongfeng City.

Walk out of the passenger terminal.

The family members stood guard at the exit of the station. When their mother, eldest sister, and second sister saw Li Hongbing, who had white hair on the temples, glasses, and an old face, tears of distress immediately fell.

The two brothers-in-law stood nearby and sighed secretly.

When my brother-in-law was high-spirited, he was very prosperous, but now people can't help but lament his miserable fate.

The haggard face looks like what a 36-year-old should look like.

"Brother-in-law, where is dad?" Li Hongbing asked his brothers-in-law while comforting his mother and sister.

"I know you're getting divorced. My old habit of being angry has relapsed. I need to rest at home. Let's go home first."

The eldest brother-in-law and the second brother-in-law were ready to pick up the luggage, but they found that the brother-in-law only had one suitcase.

Clean up and leave the house!

Sighing silently again, the eldest brother-in-law greeted everyone to get in the car.

Along the way, Li Hongbing was caught between his mother and sister. Faced with one problem after another, he could only smile helplessly.

"Where's Ni'er? I gave it to that woman. She's from the Lao Li family."

His mother and sister glared angrily at Li Hongbing, who smiled calmly.

"Mom, sister, Mingzhu City is a big city after all, and its educational resources are better than those of Dongfeng City. I have made an agreement with Jiang Jing that Ni'er will come to my place every winter and summer vacation."

The mother caressed Li Hongbing's white hair with distress, and she felt a little more hatred towards the seductively dressed daughter-in-law.

"Don't mention what that woman did to you. Wait until you get home and see how your father deals with you."

"Just come back. Take a few days off and go to work for your brother-in-law. I will introduce you to a good one." After saying that, the eldest sister suddenly slapped her husband's driver's seat headrest, "Speak, you are mute."

The eldest brother-in-law held the steering wheel tightly, first glanced at the second brother-in-law who was snickering in the passenger seat, and then saw his wife's angry expression in the rearview mirror, and she winced and said in flattery.

"Hongbing, you will go to work tomorrow. With your qualifications, it would be unfair to work as a vice president in our company."

From top to bottom in Lao Li's family, the yin is strong and the yang is weak. The woman is the master of the family and the husband is weak.
To be continued...