Ever since I got a call from my cousin Bin, my heart has been restless, saying that my uncle has been cremated and the ashes are stored in the funeral home. The follow-up things are all done with the help of the school cadre department, so I don't have to rush there.
I didn't expect my uncle to leave so soon after he got sick. I called my cousin the other afternoon, and he said that his father probably had another cerebral hemorrhage. 120 From the nursing home. He is in the hospital now, and the overall situation is not very good. He hung up before he finished.
Because I thought Tinger was going to school soon, I didn't bring my key, and the hospital was far away. The day after tomorrow is the weekend. I wanted to go to the hospital to see my uncle at the weekend, but I received a phone call from my cousin the next night.
Feeling guilty and sad, I always felt that I should go to see my uncle earlier, which became a permanent regret.
Uncle's life is full of ups and downs and misfortune. He lost his mother in childhood, his father in adolescence, his wife in middle age and his children in old age. All the misfortunes in the world befall him, but he just lives silently and stubbornly.
2
My uncle is my father's cousin, that is, my father's uncle's child. I should say that he is my uncle. I didn't remember my uncle very much when I was a child. I just vaguely remember that my uncle is a soldier, and every time I visit my relatives, he is very handsome in a military uniform.
It was only in my father's mouth that I learned intermittently that my uncle's parents died one after another when he was young, and my uncles and sisters lived in my grandfather's house for a while, and then went to school with my fathers.
At that time, it was really difficult for fathers and uncles to study. There are not many small counties that have been liberated throughout the country, and few can really study. With the support of grandparents and brothers, my father and uncles finally finished high school, but gave up school because of life reasons.
Father was admitted to school for more than a month, but grandpa took him back to the county seat. Because the county recruits cadres, those who go to school outside high school or above will arrange jobs, and for grandpa, they will get paid to go to work. At that time, having a job was a good thing. My father rushed back to the county seat under the leadership of grandpa and began to work in the county seat. Although his salary is low, he can subsidize his family. My father doesn't think it necessary to ask for money from home for school.
My uncle went to the provincial capital to go to college, and it didn't take long for him to go to school. My uncle signed up because the army recruited military cadres in universities. Because my uncle's excellent physical quality and cultural knowledge were admitted, he bid farewell to the university and officially became a soldier.
In my vague memory, every few years, when my uncle visits relatives, he always goes home for a few days. We will all be curious and scramble to put on his military cap. He'll let us take turns carrying it. Sometimes he sends us five-pointed stars or hat badges, but most of them are taken away by his brothers.
My memory of my uncle only stays in the memory of my youth. ...
three
I didn't know all my memories of my uncle until I went to work in the provincial capital. My uncle had already jumped ship in a university in the provincial capital. When I saw my old uncle again, he was over 50 years old, his skin was still fair, he was tall and thin, and he spoke kindly, but he didn't have the hearty laughter I remembered.
I heard about it long before I went to my uncle's house. When my youngest son was three years old, my aunt died of illness. My uncle brought Yong up. I first met Yong, probably in high school. Yong looks a lot like his uncle. He has fair skin, wears glasses and is gentle and handsome. Maybe it's because his uncle raised him alone. Of the three children, he likes Yong best.
My uncle has three children, and my cousin has been at work for a long time. The place where he works is not in the provincial capital, but in the region. I heard that the company is good, but he only comes back for the Spring Festival once a year. After my aunt died, my eldest cousin Bin was taken back by her grandmother because her uncle couldn't take care of her two young children. When I first met my uncle, he had come back to live and go to school with his uncles.
Cousin Bin went back to his uncle's house when he was in junior high school. After he came back, he alienated his uncle, who was always sad. Because I was spoiled by my grandmother since I was a child, my living habits were different, and my relationship was not very good after I came back.
Cousin Yong's accident was a devastating blow to my uncle. In a few days, he was white-haired and much older.
four
I didn't realize that something had happened to my cousin forever. Until now, I still think he is somewhere in the world, but until my uncle died, there is still no trace of him. My uncle has been looking forward to it for 20 years, and finally I haven't seen the last side!
Cousin Yong disappeared during the college entrance examination. When I received a phone call and listened to my uncle's hoarse cry, I realized that my cousin had disappeared forever. Colleagues in my uncle's unit have been looking for a week by the Yellow River, posting searching for you everywhere, but I didn't know until a week later.
I hurried to see my uncle, but he kept saying that I shouldn't put pressure on him, even if I didn't get into college. I hurt him. ...
My cousin Yong disappeared on the first day of the college entrance examination. I heard from my uncle that everything was normal in the morning of the college entrance examination, and nothing was shown. After breakfast, I took the test equipment at the urging of my uncle and went to the examination room myself. Because the school where he applied for the exam was very close, Yong took the exam himself.
At the end of the examination time in the morning, my uncle cooked lunch at home and waited for Yong to come back to eat. I thought of letting him sleep at noon, so I made lunch early, but I didn't come back. Anxious uncle went to the postgraduate school to find it. There is no one in the school. My uncle wanted to know if he would find a classmate, so he hurried home to find a good classmate's phone number.
I called two classmates and said they were not together. Just then, I received a phone call from Yong's class teacher, saying that Yong didn't take the exam in the morning. What happened? My uncle was blinded as soon as he heard it, and his head was so loud that he could hardly stand up. Finally, he came to his senses and said to the class teacher, "Yong went to the exam normally in the morning." The class teacher made lunch and was waiting for him to come back for dinner. ...
My uncle never imagined that Yong, who is usually clever and obedient, didn't take the college entrance examination, so he gave up so easily after studying hard for 12 years! Moreover, it is unacceptable for him not to attend secretly without saying hello. He was angry and just wanted to wait for Yong to come back and teach him a lesson. He thought he was too lazy to find a place to hide first.
Never went home for a day, and my uncle didn't sleep all night, because he didn't worry about his uncle since he was a child. From study to life, Yong has always been very sensible to do what he should do. Uncle tried hard to remember Yong before the college entrance examination, but he still couldn't find any reason to give up the college entrance examination.
Two whole days passed, and I never came home. His uncle's anger became restless and he became more and more worried about anxiety, because Yong never didn't go home for no reason since he was three years old, and he never stayed outside alone at night. The more I think about it, the more scared my uncle is. He quickly called his cousin Jun and asked if Yong had arrived. Knowing the never-ending answer, the whole fear hung over my uncle.
My uncle called the class teacher and explained that Yong had been missing for two days. The surprised class teacher quickly mobilized the whole class to start looking for him. My uncle also called all relatives and friends and said that he had not seen Yong. My uncle was so scared that he began to look for Yong around his home, because they lived in the family courtyard of the university campus, not far from their compound, which is the Yellow River flowing from west to east.
Uncle started walking towards the Yellow River for the first time. Although he thought that he would never commit suicide, he couldn't help thinking the worst. He searched slowly along the Yellow River, but after a long, long walk, he still couldn't find it. At night, his tired and anxious uncle came home, and his cousin's army had hurried home and contacted him, but there was still no news forever. ...
Then I heard someone say that on the day of the college entrance examination, I saw a teenager wandering on the edge of the Yellow River. My uncle ran to the edge of the Yellow River like crazy. My cousin and my uncle's colleagues organized a salvage team to search for salvage from the Yellow River opposite the university to the downstream cities. For half a month, I didn't find anything about Yong, let alone his body. Forever disappeared completely, without any sound. ...
Desperate uncle, with everyone's comfort, expects to go to other places forever. He will work hard somewhere and come back to see him one day. In this expectation, my uncle waited for 20 years, and my home phone number has not changed for 20 years. I'm afraid to call him!
My uncle's expectation has gradually become indifferent in the years, and his personality has gradually become eccentric.
five
Great changes have taken place in uncle's personality since he disappeared forever, and the contradiction with cousin Bin has become more and more fierce. Finally his helpless cousin rented a house outside. After retirement, my uncle lives alone. He still exercises every day and does what he likes. He has plenty of time to travel, but he never goes back to his hometown because he has several cousins, like his own brother and my father.
I don't know if I have been away from home for too long, or I am afraid to face the greetings of my relatives. My old uncle has never been home. Although the provincial capital is only two hours away from home, my uncle has never come back. Every time I go home, my father often asks questions, and I can only answer them truthfully.
It was not until the National Day that the fathers talked about their dead uncles and said that they had not contacted each other for decades. It was not until they received a phone call from their cousin Bin after their death that they realized that he had passed away. Everyone shook their heads and sighed, silent.
The lonely old uncle quietly left in this September, just like the fallen leaves in autumn. ...