Uncle Two waking up was definitely a relief for everyone, even though he was not usually very friendly and had a strained relationship with everyone. At least, everyone still considered him a family member, and when he faced trouble, everyone was worried.
This morning, Wu Miaoke had already gotten up as usual to make breakfast. By the time they called us out to eat, people had started coming to the house. Lin Sanshui had arrived early, standing at the door with Fatty, not daring to go inside.
Fatty was still feeling guilty about his sudden escape last night, and Lin Sanshui was quite conflicted about the situation in our house. On one hand, Wu Miaoke was present, and as village head, he should have come yesterday evening, but he hadn't.
"Xiaofan, is your dad okay?" Lin Sanshui saw me and apologized.
"The situation is still unclear, there shouldn't be any problem," I replied.
"Should we take him to the hospital for a check-up? If we don't say anything, the doctor won't know what happened, will he?" Lin Sanshui asked.
"Let's wait and see. I trust Mr. Liu and my Uncle Two more now." I told him.
After some pleasantries, neither of them entered the house. After they left, villagers began to arrive one after another, some bringing a hen, some bringing a basket of eggs. This was the highest form of sympathy the villagers could offer.
They all expressed their desire to see my dad and asked about his condition. I couldn't answer them, only saying that the situation was still unclear, and I didn't know either. After handling these obligatory social interactions, it was already noon.
My grandmother, who had been very ill, was now sitting in the main hall. Lin Xiaoyao was standing beside her like an ancient maid, and with her doing so, there was a bit of a feeling of a dowager sitting in the main hall at the Grand View Garden.
Including Jiuliang, all of them were particularly quiet in front of my grandmother.
"Xiaofan, go and check on your mother. I don't care what she's been pretending to be crazy for in our house all these years, but she's still your mother. She didn't come out this morning and didn't eat lunch either?" My grandmother sat there, giving out orders to me.
I thought about it and realized that my mother occasionally sat at the dining table and ate, but most of the time, my father brought the food to her room. Since my father was carried back yesterday evening, my mother had not left her room for the whole day.
I walked over to the door and knocked lightly, calling out softly, "Mom?"
No one answered me.
If it were before, I could have accepted this kind of mother. It would have been strange if she did answer me, but now, I was very uncomfortable. My mother no longer pretended to be crazy, so why would she ignore me?
I gently pushed the door, but it seemed to be barred from the inside. A sinking feeling rose in my heart, and I suddenly had a bad premonition.
Was my mother unable to cope after my father collapsed last night and did something irrational? Even though I had many questions about my mother, I had never doubted her feelings for my father.
The drunken Empress last night.
Their gazes met each other's.
It was enough to prove their genuine love for each other.
"Not good, the door is blocked!" I shouted towards the yard.
"Break it open!" My grandmother's expression changed, and she shouted directly at me.
At this moment, Uncle Two also heard my shout and walked out of the room. I looked at him, wanting to hear his opinion, after all, he had said last night that if my father was startled awake, he would be beyond saving, and now, breaking the door would definitely make noise.
Uncle Two walked over and, when he saw me looking at him, did something that made me feel ashamed. He simply walked slowly to the window and peered inside through the cracked window.
I was in a panic. I panicked, I didn't have even basic intelligence?
I hurried over, sticking my head out and looking into the room.
At the head of the bed, there were many red candles burning.
Father lay quietly on the bed, and my mother lay next to him.
"Mom!" I called into the room. My mother lying there didn't move at all. Now I was completely panicked. Just now, I had thought she was pretending to ignore me, but now I was sure she couldn't hear me at all!
I ran straight to the door, disregarding whether or not it would alarm my father. In my world, my father is just as important as my mother!
The door itself was already very old, and I managed to push it open after a few tries.
"Mom! Are you okay?" I rushed to the bed and shook her.
The next moment, I was so scared that I took a step back and sat on the ground!
My second uncle also came in. I had just screamed in fright, and the people in the courtyard had all rushed in upon hearing my screams.
They were all about to ask me what had happened, but when they saw my mother lying on the bed, they all fell silent.
Grandma suddenly fainted.
At home, in times of disaster, this uneducated woman who had already lost her spirit after my grandfather's death had chosen to be strong, but at this moment, in the presence of my mother on the bed, her forced strength was not enough. This strange situation completely overwhelmed this old lady.
On the sickbed, lying next to my father, was my mother. She was still wearing last night's traditional opera costume, with opera makeup on her face and a phoenix coronet on her head.
But she was a paper person.
A pale face.
No matter how beautiful the dressing, on the face of a paper person, it would appear particularly eerie and terrifying.
Several women rushed to help my fainting grandma, while my second uncle at this time closed the door of the room.
"Whatever happens here, no one is allowed to say a word about it, or else, death." My uncle's face bore a cold, stern expression that made people shiver.
I sat on the ground at the moment, feeling an indescribable mix of emotions. My mind was in turmoil!
"Lin Xiaofan! The most important thing now is to take grandma to the hospital!" Jiuliang shouted with red eyes.
I finally got up like a puppet. At this moment, I was like a marionette; tell me what to do, and I would do it, all purely a physical response, unrelated to my brain.
I carried my grandma, dashed out the door, with Jiuliang running ahead, opening the car door, and the car raced into town. Due to Jiuliang's status, many tedious procedures were omitted at the hospital, and my grandma was rushed into the emergency room.
It wasn't until Lin Xiaoyao and Wu Miaoke arrived at the hospital later that Lin Xiaoyao pressed my head against her chest and comforted me as if I were a child, saying, "Xiaofan, be strong. Whatever happens, Little Yao will stand by your side."
Only then did I seem to awaken from the events of today, everything that had happened from last night to now racing through my mind like a dream.
I couldn't restrain myself and began to cry.
When my father handed me his cigarette gun, he told me that I would be a real man from then on.
Last night, my father told me, "A real man, a man's man, bleeding is always better than tears."
After truly understanding my mother last night, regardless of my doubts, I couldn't hide my joy!
Just because I lacked maternal love from a young age doesn't mean I don't crave it!
Now that I can finally have a normal family, my father is now on the brink of death, and my mother has turned into a paper person today!
I've never longed for incomparable strength as I do now.
For over twenty years, I, Lin Xiaofan, have been in a daze, powerless to protect my family when they faced disaster!
Fate, debts?
If I have enough strength, why fear them?!
At the same time, I was anxious to know what the hell was going on! Why, with over a billion people in China and over six billion people globally, did such bizarre and unthinkable things happen to my family in the plain Lin family village of Ten Li Pu, Luoyang?
From my grandfather to now, three generations of my family, not absolute saints, but I believe we've never done anything to be ashamed of. If this is truly fate, why is heaven so blind?
All my confusion, grievances, helplessness, and anger all seemed to turn into tears, and I wiped them all on Lin Xiaoyao.
When I raised my head, three women were looking at me.
They didn't look down on me because of my current helplessness.
That was genuine sympathy from the bottom of their hearts.