In the afternoon, I rode Aunt Zhu's small electric vehicle, carrying the old-fashioned tape recorder, and went to the countryside.

After they left, I was feeling regretful when Aunt Zhu brought a plate of hamburgers and fries, and leisurely sat down across from me.

She blinked and said, "Girl, dare to do something for your mom?"

In a flash, I understood.

After eating and drinking my fill, wiping my mouth, I listened to her explain the route again, and then set off.

Aunt Zhu had fully charged the electric vehicle, and with a twist of the handle, we sped off.

After asking around on the way, I smoothly entered a small courtyard.

The old man looked even older, his back hunched deeply as he mended fishing nets by the river in front of the door.

His hearing was still sharp, he glanced back at me, ignored me, and continued to mend the net with a bamboo needle.

I licked my chapped lips, nervously opened my mouth, "Grandpa, I am Lin Suyu, I have good news for you, Xiaosan is not my mom, Xiaosan is my dad's first love Gu Lanlan, they were childhood sweethearts, they even eloped together..."

The old man raised his arm, I instinctively shrank back, afraid he would hit me.

Oh, he was just pulling the line in his hand.

I knew he was listening, and willing to continue listening, so I quickly followed Aunt Zhu's instructions, pressed the play button, and fast-forwarded.

Fast-forwarded to my mom's issue, followed by my dad's indifferent tone:

"That's her own fault, I just spoke some heartfelt words after drinking, and she got upset with me..."

A duck "quacked" and approached, stretching its beak to eat the small dried fish stuck to the net.

The old man kicked the duck away.

As the sun set, I sat on a small bench in the courtyard, eating a bowl of sweet soup with eggs.

The old man sat on the ground, puffing on his cigarette, one foot scratching his rough sole.

Just now, in the process of cooking snacks, he spat and cursed vigorously.

My dad and Gu Lanlan had already died in various gruesome ways in his mouth, including but not limited to being gnawed by fish and crabs, swallowed by turtles, flattened into meat patties by a truck, roasted, and slashed open by wild wolves to reveal their hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, and kidneys...

He kept cursing until I shouted, "Grandpa, the water in the pot is about to overflow!"

He stopped, lifted the lid, cracked in four eggs, and scooped a large spoonful of sugar into the bowl.

After a while, the four eggs squeezed into the sugar water.

He placed the steaming snacks on a small square table, handed me a blue and white porcelain soup spoon, and said forcefully, "Eat!"

How could I not eat...

While eating, he continued to mutter:

"Damn it, Lin Lao'er is really not a good person. Back then, so many people came to propose to my family, some even brought lotus ponds and forests as betrothal gifts, did I look like someone who only cares about money? My daughter, who I raised in the palm of my hand, fell for a poor boy and started a small business with him..."

"My daughter committed suicide, everyone expected me to smash their house, but I didn't, my grandson still depends on them. When the child grows up, if he has a conscience, he will stand up for his own mother."

He flicked the cigarette ash and asked me, "Is your third aunt still healthy? She's a fiery and righteous person, she used to treat my daughter well, I remember her kindness, hoping she lives a long life and scolds me a few more times!"

Finally finishing the snacks, burping, I called my brother.

While waiting for the call to connect, I looked outside.

It was getting dark, the swallows returning to their nests, the old man sitting on the doorstep, tilting his head, watching the swallow's nest attentively, looking kind.

After the call, I bid him farewell.

He looked at the sky, walked to the corner of the wall, took off the car lights, and insisted on installing them on my vehicle.

As he adjusted the car lights, he said that he regretted driving away his brother back then.

He said to let bygones be bygones, his brother was a good kid, he shouldn't have let him suffer.

I thought he was going to let it go lightly.

Who knew, he smiled slyly, "This old man who refuses to die just won't die, let me see this day."

The old man already looked rugged, and with that smile, he resembled a major villain from "Wind and Clouds."

After installing the car lights, a bright beam of light shot out.

I safely returned to town, my mom had been waiting at the intersection.

I rode up to her, abruptly stopped the car, raised my face proudly and said, "Mrs. Hu, treat me to dinner tomorrow."