The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

"Finished?"

"It's over."

Grandma Li heard something different for the first time and remained silent for a long time.

"Grandma Li, we're leaving now."

Zhao Lin took out a tissue and wiped Xu Xi's eyes.

We will help you write a reply to your granddaughter.

Grandma Li then snapped out of her reverie. She nodded and groped for Xu Xi's little hand to grasp.

"My sweet child, I want to hear you read the letter to me again next time."

"Listening to you read the letter is like listening to your granddaughter speak."

Xu Xi choked back tears as she gazed into Grandma Li's cloudy eyes.

"Grandma Li, I will come to visit you often."

"Oh, I believe in you, you should come often."

As the two footsteps faded into the distance, Grandma Li wrinkled her nose and a single, cloudy tear fell from her eye.

Perhaps Grandma Li knew better than anyone that the letter was fake, but she never exposed it.

Perhaps she also needs this false hope to sustain her and keep living, as her only hope in the few years she has left.

I look forward to the day when my granddaughter will appear at the gate of the courtyard, carrying her luggage and calling out "Grandma".

A north wind blew by, and a withered leaf, carried by the breeze, landed on the bridge of her nose, obscuring her eyes.

......

The two girls walked along the wheat field toward the school.

All the way, Xu Xi kept her head down, walking silently, her shoes kicking at the pebbles on the roadside, one after another, showing none of the joy she had shown on the way there.

Only after walking a distance did Zhao Lin sigh and recount Grandma Li's ordeal.

It turns out that Grandma Li's son and daughter-in-law passed away early, leaving behind only a granddaughter who depended on Grandma Li for survival.

My granddaughter is beautiful and intelligent. A few years ago, she became the only person in the village to pass the high school entrance exam and leave the mountains. After graduating, she stayed in the city to work and earned more money than most people in the village could earn in a lifetime.

Back then, everyone in the village envied Grandma Li, saying that she had suffered her whole life and had finally made it through, and could now enjoy a peaceful retirement in her old age.

But no one expected that the young woman would be in a car accident on her way home from get off work and die on the spot.

When the news reached the village, the village chief gathered the villagers and asked them to keep this cruel truth from Grandma Li.

The news could be kept secret, but Grandma Li would never see her granddaughter again.

Over the years, Grandma Li missed her son and granddaughter so much that she cried all day long, eventually going blind from crying.

She often sat in the courtyard, facing the gate, waiting all day long.

Although she had prepared herself, Xu Xi still couldn't control her emotions when she heard the truth with her own ears. Her heart ached as if it were being pricked by needles, and she couldn't breathe from the pain.

She squatted by the wheat field, sobbing softly.

The hemp rope is cut at the delicate point, and bad luck finds the poor.

......

That night, Xu Xi lay on the shore, writing letter after letter.

"Little Stream, what are you writing so late?"

Xu Nian tiptoed to the girl's side and gently draped her coat over her shoulders.

"I'm writing... about longing."

With red and swollen eyes, Xu Xi carefully folded the letter she had written and put it into an envelope.

Then, she took out a blank sheet of paper, lowered her head, and continued writing the next letter... a granddaughter's longing for her grandmother.

......

Life in the mountains continues with the rhythm of resting at sunset and working at sunrise.

As dawn broke, the crowing of roosters shattered the silence of the mountain village, ushering in a new day for this village deep in the mountains.

"Attend class."

"Stand up, good morning, teacher."

"Hello, students, please have a seat."

Qi Yu put down his book, took out the class roster, and began the daily roll call as usual.

"Wang Hanxuan".

"arrive."

"Du Mingyu".

"arrive."

"Li Mingxuan".

"arrive."

"Zheng Xiaona".

No one responded.

"Zheng Xiaona?"

Qi Yu looked up, searching for Zheng Xiaona in the classroom.

Following the children's gaze, he saw an empty seat.

Has anyone seen Zheng Xiaona today?

"no."

The children all shook their heads in unison.

One of the children lowered his head, not daring to meet Qi Yu's gaze.

"Zheng Xiaoyi, come out with the teacher for a moment."

When his name was called, the boy visibly trembled.

He stood up and followed Qi Yu out of the classroom.

Outside the classroom, Qi Yu looked at Zheng Xiaoyi, whose eyes were darting around, and asked softly.

"Xiaoyi, why didn't your sister come to school today? Did she ask for leave?"

It turns out that this little boy, Zheng Xiaoyi, is the younger brother of Zheng Xiaona, who was absent during roll call.

Zheng Xiaoyi hesitated for a moment, and then nodded slightly.

"Yes, that's right. My sister wasn't feeling well today, and Dad asked me to go to school and ask Teacher Qi for leave, but I forgot about it."

As he spoke, his fists clenched tightly, and cold sweat broke out on his palms.

Qi Yu squatted down and buttoned up Zheng Xiaoyi's clothes one button at a time.

"Xiaoyi, do you remember what the teacher said in class the first time you came to school?"

Zheng Xiaoyi lowered her head and spoke as softly as a mosquito's buzz.

"Be honest...be honest, be an honest child."

"Did you manage to do it?"

Qi Yu stared into his eyes and asked seriously.

Zheng Xiaoyi was only seven or eight years old. Under this questioning, she quickly couldn't withstand the pressure. Feeling wronged and scared welled up, and tears instantly streamed down her face.

"Don't cry, Xiaoyi, you're a real man."

Qi Yu took out a tissue from his pocket and carefully wiped away Zheng Xiaoyi's tears.

"Tell the teacher the truth, why didn't your sister come to school today?"

"I...I..."

Zheng Xiaoyi sniffed and stammered for a while before finally speaking haltingly.

"This morning, I heard crying coming from my sister's room, as well as my father's cursing."

"After a while, the crying stopped. My father came out of my sister's room with a wooden stick and told me to come to school. He also told me to tell Teacher Qi that my sister was sick."

Qi Yu's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition rose in his mind.

He patted Zheng Xiaoyi on the shoulder and led him back to the classroom.

"What's wrong?"

Xu Nian noticed Qi Yu's serious expression, stepped forward, and asked in a low voice.

Qi Yu glanced at the children waiting to start class in the classroom, thought for a moment, and whispered in Xu Nian's ear.

"One child is absent from class today; something might have happened at home. Could you go find Ah Lin and tell her to check on Zheng Xiaona?"

"Okay, I understand."

Xu Nian nodded and quickly left the classroom.

After Xu Nian left, Qi Yu picked up his book, looked at the children below the podium, and cleared his throat: "Class, let's begin the lesson now."

"Clinging firmly to the green hills, its roots firmly planted in the broken rocks."

"Though battered and bruised a thousand times, it remains firm and strong, letting the winds from east, west, north, and south blow as they may."

The sound of students reading aloud could be heard from the classroom.

......