After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

As the oxcart entered Qinghe Village, a group of people gathered under the big locust tree, chattering about something that no one knew.

Uncle Ding knew that Ah Long was not a talkative person, so he cracked his whip to urge the oxcart to pass quickly.

"Was that the Ding family's oxcart that just passed by? It looks like Ah Long is on it, the one from Lin Lao Er's family. I haven't seen him in a while." An auntie saw him, and as he passed by, she called out to the people next to her.

"I heard he's in another town, but I don't know what he's doing. He looks quite well dressed," another auntie chimed in.

Someone's words drew attention again, and the topic was dropped.

The oxcart stopped in front of Lin Qianqian's house. Before it had even come to a complete stop, A Long jumped off and rushed into the yard, shouting, "Sister, I'm back!"

Uncle Ding and Hu Zi started unloading things into the yard. After they finished, Uncle Ding drove the oxcart away.

Before Lin Qianqian could even get out of bed after hearing the noise, Ah Long had already darted into the inner room.

"You seem to have lost weight. Is it because you're not eating well, or is your studies too demanding?" Lin Qianqian asked several questions in one sentence.

Ah Long didn't have time to answer; he just looked anxiously at his sister's wrapped ankle: "Sister, how's your foot? Does it hurt?"

"It's nothing, just a sprained ankle, nothing serious," Lin Qianqian said with a smile. At that moment, Hu Zi also entered the house.

"Sister Qianqian, I'm going to collect snails," Tiger said, then turned to ask Ah Long, "Are you coming?"

"I'll go," Ah Long replied. "Sis, you don't need to go. I'll go with Brother Hu. You stay home and rest."

"I'm not going... Dad is going too," Lin Qianqian said, looking at A Long.

Ah Long grunted and said, "I know." His voice was soft, and his emotions were unreadable.

The gate rang; it was Lin Guozhu.

Tiger looked up and greeted, "Uncle Lin, I was just saying I was going to look for you."

Lin Guozhu smiled, a rare occurrence for him: "No need to look for me, I came myself."

Tiger turned around and called into the house, "Ah Long, Uncle Lin is here."

He was wearing old clothes, the cuffs were worn white, and he carried a basket on his back and a hamster on his arm.

Ah Long opened his mouth, the word "Father" rolled in his throat for a moment, but he still managed to call out, "Father."

Lin Guozhu was taken aback.

The word "father" sounded both light and heavy in his ears.

His lips moved, and he responded with a hoarse "Yes." His voice was as if something was stuck in his throat.

He turned his head away, pretending to look elsewhere in the courtyard, but his hand clenched the hem of his clothes so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Ah Long saw it too; he saw his father turn his head away and saw his clenched hands.

In his memory, his father had never done anything like this before.

In the past, when Dad looked at his children, his gaze was always indifferent, as if there was something between them. But today, this "sigh" seemed to come from the bottom of his heart.

He suddenly felt a bit confused, unable to quite describe the feeling.

"Wait for me to go call my eldest brother and second brother." Just as Hu Zi was about to run out, Ding Da Hu and Ding Er Hu were already at the door.

The group left the Lin family's courtyard and headed into the deep mountains.

Lin Guozhu walked in front, with A Long following behind, watching his father's back.

His back was a little hunched, and his clothes were soaked with sweat and stuck to his spine.

He remembered when he was a child, his father would carry him on his back. Back then, his father's back was very straight, and he walked with a brisk pace. But now…

Ah Long shook his head, trying to stop himself from thinking about it any further.

As they approached the depths of the mountains, Tiger led the way. With Tiger guiding them, the journey proceeded smoothly for everyone.

Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu have never been deep in the mountains.

"Are there really no monsters in the deep mountains, Tiger?" Ding Dahu asked somewhat uneasily.

Ding Erhu was also waiting for his answer.

Tiger smiled and said, "No, there are no monsters, it's all a lie."

He turned to look at Ah Long. "I knew I wasn't the only one who believed it."

When they reached the riverbank, they all stood still.

The river water flows out from the foot of the mountain, crystal clear, and you can see the stones underneath.

Tiger squatted down first, rolled up his trouser legs, and then turned around to remind his older brothers, "Roll them up higher, don't let them get soaked in water."

Ding Dahu looked around and suddenly shouted, "Fish! There are fish in the river!"

Ding Erhu sidled up from behind: "Where? Where are the fish?"

Ding Erhu went closer to take a look. The river water was clear, and fish were swimming in it in groups. The sun shone on the water, and their scales shimmered.

"There really are fish!" Ding Erhu's tone was also filled with joy, and he involuntarily took two steps forward.

"Stop looking, hurry up and collect snails." Tiger had already gone down into the river and bent over to start digging into the crevices of the rocks.

The two then came to their senses and followed Tiger's example, rolling up their trouser legs.

Lin Guozhu had already gone into the river. The water was up to his calves. He was bent over, groping in the crevices of the rocks with both hands. His movements were steady and precise, clearly something he was used to doing.

Ah Long stood by the riverbank, watching as the others went down into the water, and then squatted down to roll up his trouser legs.

He rolled up his trousers to his knees, revealing his slender calves. He tried to put his feet in the water, but as soon as they touched the water, his toes recoiled; the autumn water was chillingly cold.

He had thought about feeling cold, but he hadn't imagined it would be this cold.

He gritted his teeth and stepped his other foot in. The water reached above his ankles, and the chill crept up his legs, causing him to frown.

He looked up at his father.

Lin Guozhu had already touched a lot of water, his waist was bent very low, his face was almost touching the water, and his hands were going in and out of the crevices in the rocks.

If his older sister can go into the river, why can't he?

He took a breath, bent down like Hu Zi, and put his hand into the crevice in the rock.

The water was so cold that his fingers went numb. He fumbled around for a bit and his fingertips touched something hard. He pried it open and pulled out a handful of snails, with water plants still clinging to their shells.

He was so happy that he busied himself putting things into the basket, and a smile couldn't help but appear on his lips.

"Wow, I grabbed a whole handful!" It was Ding Dahu's voice.

"I caught a whole handful too!" came Ding Erhu's voice. The two brothers were very excited, showing off the snails in their hands.

Tiger laughed heartily at their naive and unsophisticated expressions.

Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu also noticed Hu Zi's sarcasm.

"Big brother, third brother is mocking us," Ding Erhu said to Ding Dahu.

"I noticed it too. Let's go, let's take him down." After Ding Dahu finished speaking, the two of them moved closer.

Seeing that things were going badly, Tiger quickly admitted his mistake: "Big brother, second brother, I was wrong, I was rash."

Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu exchanged a smile, while A Long, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh.

When Hu Zi asked him for help, he shrugged and said, "Brother, I can't help you. It's best for us brothers to sort out our own problems."

He turned around decisively, then continued to rummage for snails, watching Tiger get beaten up as he did so, listening to him say, "Ah, I was wrong."

With many people working together, they quickly filled several baskets. Lin Guozhu was the fastest, almost filling two baskets. Along with A Long, his basket was almost full too. They were so full that they couldn't fit any more baskets in them, so they went down the mountain.

Fortunately, Uncle Ding brought six wooden buckets, which he had just made for Lin Qianqian, and they were a timely help.

They were only thinking about collecting more snails, not realizing they wouldn't have enough room at home. Tiger went home and got two more wooden buckets, and Lin Guozhu also brought all the wooden buckets from his house, and only then could they fit them all.

I was thinking of going to touch them again, but there wasn't enough room, so I decided to go again tomorrow.

Lin Guozhu went into the mountains again, but this time he didn't go deep into the mountains. He went to collect wood, thinking of finding the village carpenter to make more wooden buckets for Lin Qianqian.

Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu also went home.

Tiger and Ah Long were whispering and chatting, while Lin Qianqian was reading a medical book on the kang (a heated brick bed).

I'm too busy to move around much lately, so I'll take this opportunity to review and study.