I quickly nodded in agreement, and then Liu Tingting and I snuggled under an umbrella, and followed the old man selling melons and walked towards his simple house.
It rained heavily, making the already dark forest path even darker and blurry, and the road also became extremely muddy. We could only move forward slowly, one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Finally, we followed the old man selling melons back to the house where he lived. As before, after entering, Liu Tingting and I stood at the door, with the rain on our bodies flowing down our bodies like a small river.
The old man selling melons took out a brand new towel and handed it to my hand and said apologetically: "Young man, this is the only new towel left in the old man's house. You two can wipe it quickly, don't catch a cold." !”
"Thank you, old man!"
I thanked him and reached out to take the towel from the old melon seller's hand. However, I did not use it directly. Instead, I handed the towel to Liu Tingting's hand, because Liu Tingting seemed to need it even more at this time.
Liu Tingting took the towel and wiped her hair thoroughly, then handed it to me again, "You can wipe it too."
I nodded, took the towel, and while wiping it, I looked into the dim room again.
Click...!
The old man selling melons suddenly took out a key that was tied to the red monk, and opened another locked door in front of us.
"This was my son's house. It has been empty for some years. If you two young men don't mind, you can stay here tonight."
With that said, the old man selling melons reached out and opened the door.
The house in front of me is not big. Although it is also very dim, the windows of the same size give a clear view, and you can clearly see the lightning and thunder outside.
At that moment, the small room in front of me was brightly illuminated, allowing me to see clearly the furnishings inside.
The furnishings in the room are very simple. Below the window is a single bed with bedding like tofu cubes stacked on it.
Beside the bed is an old-fashioned cabinet. The door is closed, but there are pieces of clothing left through the gap.
The most eye-catching thing is a ten-inch black and white photo, which is placed directly above the cabinet.
In the photo is a young man about my age, wearing a spirited military uniform. He is tall, handsome, majestic, and upright.
"Old man, is this your son? Is he a soldier?" I said, looking at the photo.
"Ah, yes." The old man replied silently.
"Old man, is your son staying in the army? How often should he come back to visit you two?"
I found a way to get close, and I talked a little more.
I thought that the mention of his son might make the old man start talking, but what I didn't expect was that after listening to my words, the old man's face became more and more gloomy.
He didn't even answer. Instead, he lit a half-length candle by the window with a match.
"I'm sorry, young man, it's a coincidence. There were a few thunders just now and there was a power outage. Let's use this to shine for the time being."
"Oh, thank you, old man, please excuse me." Liu Tingting said, trembling all over.
The old melon seller didn't say anything else. He seemed to think it might be inconvenient for us to have him around. After lighting the candle, he turned around and walked out of the house, closing the door.
The light brought by the candle was very weak, and it seemed so insignificant under the lightning flash.
Ah sneeze...!
Liu Tingting seemed to have really caught a cold. After sneezing, her body shivered even more.
I quickly handed the towel in my hand to Liu Tingting's hand again and said: "Take off your clothes quickly, otherwise you will really catch a cold."
Liu Tingting took the towel, but she didn't take off her clothes for a long time. She just stood there and looked at me stupidly. I could even see a rare blush on her face.
"What's wrong, take off your clothes quickly!" I urged.
Liu Tingting replied with some trepidation: "You are looking at me here, how can I take off my clothes?"
After saying this, Liu Tingting no longer looked at me, but slowly lowered her head.
It was only then that I realized like a fool, Liu Tingting was a woman, how could she take off her clothes in front of me, a man.
"Ah, I'll go out first, you take off your clothes!"
I smiled awkwardly, hurriedly opened the door and walked out, then closed the door again with my backhand.
I was feeling embarrassed for a while when I saw the old man selling melons walking out of the kitchen with food in his hands.
"Young man, you must be hungry. There is nothing delicious at home. You don't have to go to the city. These steamed buns are freshly steamed and these bamboo shoots are also freshly picked. Eat them."
I quickly reached out and took the meal from the old melon seller, and then thanked him profusely.
"Okay, Xie Dongzi... Come in then!"
At this time, Liu Tingting's voice came from the room. I agreed, pushed the door with one shoulder and walked in.
The thunder and lightning stopped, but the heavy rain continued, and only the half-length candle on the windowsill was left swaying in the room.
Under the dusk, I saw Liu Tingting's clothes were all draped on a bamboo chair nearby, and the remaining rainwater was dripping down continuously.
Liu Tingting was lying on the bed, with the quilt covered tightly. Only her little head was exposed. It could be seen that she was really cold. Even though she was covered in such a thick quilt, I could still see her. His body was still trembling.
There was a small space beside the bed, and I placed the food beside the bed. "This is what the old man gave us. Eat it while it's hot. It won't be cold after you eat it."
We don't know whether we were really hungry, or this simple meal was so delicious that the two of us ate it up without even realizing it.
After finishing the meal, I walked out of the house again carrying the empty plate, and unexpectedly found that the old melon seller was still stuffing bamboo branches into the stove.
Seeing me coming out, the old man selling melons said with a smile: "It's very cold in the mountains. Let's light up more fires to make the house warmer."
I responded with a smile, placed the plate in my hand on the simple stove, then casually picked up a small matza and sat next to the old melon seller.
Although I had eaten some hot food and my body had regained some heat, because I was already soaked through, the negligible heat was quickly eroded by the cold.
Sitting next to the stove, it was very warm. I planned to take this opportunity to absorb some heat and dry my clothes at the same time.
"Old man, that...your son...!"
After sitting for a long time, I took the lead in speaking out and expressed some of the questions in my mind.
In my opinion, it is human nature that parents are basically proud of their children. Often when they are mentioned, the old man will tell outsiders more or less about his children.
However, this old man who sells melons is very abnormal. When I mentioned his son before, his face was so dark. If I guessed correctly, something must have happened to his son.
"well……!"
After a long time, the old melon seller sighed helplessly and said helplessly: "He's dead. He's been dead for more than ten years...!"
The old melon seller finally told me about his son, and I sat next to him and listened to his story silently...
The son of the old man selling melons was drafted into the army ten years ago and became a border guard at the foot of Shiwanda Mountain on the Sino-Vietnamese border.
The son of the old man selling melons was very capable. In just one year, he rose from a new recruit to the position of squad leader.
Originally, after two years of service, the old couple planned to let their son return from the army and find a good job in the local area, get married and have children.
The old melon seller's son also agreed, but unexpectedly, on the day he was about to leave, an accident occurred at the border, and in that accident, the melon seller's son died heroically.
