But the issue the fat guy mentioned about my second uncle, I can understand. Nowadays, anyone with clear eyes can see the problem with my second uncle, but where is the problem with my mother? Just because she pretended to be foolish for over twenty years, does she suddenly realize it today?
"What's the matter with my mom? Tell me," I asked the fat guy.
"Kid, I'll be honest with you, don't feel bad, no matter how I look at her, when I see your mom, she doesn't seem like a regular person," the fat guy looked at me.
"Not an ordinary person?" I asked puzzled.
"Not like a person, at all," the fat guy said.
I immediately covered his mouth and said, "Let's stop here, I don't want to hear anymore." The more I heard, the more frightened I became. If my second uncle used to be the most mysterious person in my family, then his mystery lay in his origins and his demeanor, not fitting in as a resident of Linjiazhuang. I had no idea why he had come to Linjiazhuang, but sensitively, I knew that he must have had a specific purpose.
But my mother's sudden turn today made my head spin even now.
Twenty-three years ago, my father spent three hundred yuan to buy my mother. At that time, three hundred yuan was a staggering amount, almost all the savings in our family.
I've also said before that when my mother was bought, she was mentally disabled. However, when my father bought her new clothes and brought her back to the village, almost half the villagers were envious. This shows that my mother was extremely beautiful and dignified, resembling the noble ladies from the Republic era on TV.
But every time someone drooled over my mother's beauty and envied my father, they would say, "So what if she's pretty? She's a simpleton." — Even for a long time, my getting into university was quite inspiring in several surrounding villages. People would say, "Look at that kid's mother, she's a fool, yet her child managed to get into university. It's not that the kid isn't stupid, why is he so incompetent?"
To sum it up, a beautiful but simple-minded woman in the market of twenty-three years ago was worth a lot for three hundred yuan. — My father was quite handsome when he was young and was not a person who couldn't find a wife. In those days, appearance and diligence were the only standards to judge a man, and girls were not as practical. Inexplicably, my father had both looks and diligence, so at that time, many people didn't understand my father, Lin Yutang. They would wonder, "For a man like you, why marry a simpleton? And still spend three hundred yuan?"
My mother's beauty was worth more than three hundred, but because she was a simpleton, it had to be three hundred.
I've always thought this way, and on many occasions, I have pondered this issue. If my mother wasn't a simpleton, given her looks and personality, my father definitely wouldn't have been able to afford her back then.
But my assumption now has become reality. I find that I still cannot answer this question.
Why was a woman who was not a simpleton and beautiful brought home for three hundred yuan by my father?
Twenty-three years ago, the general demeanor was relatively simple, but I have also heard of incidents of buying and selling human beings back then. Yet now when I see my mother, she is not only not a simpleton, but also quite intelligent.
If she was kidnapped and brought to our village by traffickers at that time, why has she been so calm for over twenty years and let everyone, including her own son, believe that she is a simpleton without ever speaking up for herself?
I suddenly realized that the biggest puzzle in our family is not my second uncle, but my mother. A person I've known for over twenty years has now overturned all of my impressions of her.
At this moment, Lin Xiaofan suddenly discovered that he didn't even know his own mother.
But this is his own mother. If she can suddenly become normal, then he is also happy. Therefore, he doesn't want to hear the fat guy talk about her problems. How should he put it? This is his own choice of self-deception.
"Let's go and see my second uncle," I said to the fat guy.
The fat guy is perceptive and knew the choice I had made when I covered his mouth at that moment. Without saying anything, he looked at me. We went out together and headed straight to the beating platform to see what my second uncle was up to again.
Before we even reached the beating platform, we saw my second uncle's staggering figure coming toward us. When he saw us, he said in a deep voice, "Let's go back."
After saying this, he completely collapsed.
At this moment, the fat guy looked up and saw the two bright moons in the sky gradually merging into one, and he also breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, even now I still don't know what happened tonight, but seeing the fat guy's expression also relaxed me.
Is it finally over?
The two of us helped my second uncle back home. When we arrived home, we saw my grandmother who was being supported by Lin Yaoyao, with red eyes and a vacant stare. So many things have happened in this period of time that this normally fiery old lady's eyes were dried from crying. My grandmother usually had no opinion about my second uncle and just tacitly acknowledged his presence in this household, but she had never spoken to him. Seeing my second uncle being carried back home by me and the fat guy, my grandmother said, "Xiaofan, what about your second uncle?"
"He just passed out, nothing serious," I said to my grandmother, with red eyes.
Overnight, two men lay in my house, which was a disaster for a family.
At this time, the people in the house seemed busy but had no idea what they were busy with. If it were an ordinary patient who had fainted, we would certainly rush to take them to the hospital. But in this situation, we didn't even know what they had experienced, so how could we treat them properly?
Father couldn't be disturbed.
When will Uncle Two wake up from his fainting spell?
"It's late, go to sleep! Even if the sky falls, the Lin family can handle it!" Grandma suddenly spoke at this moment, not allowing anyone to question her.
I didn't want to go against the intention of this elderly person who was trying to act strong. Even though such a big thing had happened, we all went back to our own rooms. Looking at Uncle Two lying beside me, breathing like a thread, and my father next door hanging by a thread, I, the college student in the eyes of the villagers, was completely panicked. Unconsciously, I fell asleep with my head in my hands.
That night, I had another dream. I dreamt of my grandfather kneeling at our doorstep. No matter what I said to him, he didn't look up. He was wearing a green and white shroud.
Kneeling at the door, quietly sobbing.
When I woke up from the dream and opened my eyes, I saw Uncle Two looking at me. I asked, "Uncle, when did you wake up?"
"Just now," Uncle Two sat up.
I wanted to ask a thousand questions, but I couldn't bring myself to speak when Uncle Two was at his most vulnerable.
"Little Fan, I know you must have a lot of doubts about me, and I have indeed kept many things from you. It's not time to talk about it now, but I want to say that I never intended to harm the Lin family. Your grandfather's death is related to me, but it was not my intention," Uncle Two said slowly.
"It's okay, you focus on getting better first." His words left me feeling deeply helpless.
"In fact, your father was at death's door last night. Whether he wakes up or not is still uncertain," Uncle Two said.
"Uncle, I don't want to talk about this now. What I regret most now is why I didn't listen to Grandfather's advice in the first place. Why didn't I leave Lin's village earlier? If I had, both you and my dad wouldn't be in this situation," I said in a low voice.
"You can't escape this. This is a debt that must be repaid," Uncle Two said solemnly.
These last three sentences were the most heartbreaking words I had ever heard in my life. After all, it's like Emperor Mao, who could say he had boundless joy in fighting against the heavens and the earth.