must be so

At the turn of spring and summer in 2006, many villages in City Z were still poor.

The Municipal Bureau of Education and the Civil Affairs Department organized the first batch of one-on-one programs to help impoverished students in accordance with the instructions of their superiors.

The main content is to select dozens of students from extremely poor families in the remote mountainous area of ​​Z City, and form one-on-one support with wealthy families in the city.As a promising young entrepreneur in the city, Luo Jian was naturally on the list.

That was an interesting event, partly the original Metamorphosis, where the two families were paired up for long-term funding.In addition to providing financial support to families, the original intention of the municipal department also had the idea of ​​allowing poor students to live in the city for a few days.But because there were too many disapproving voices, it was not implemented. Instead, a social gathering was organized, and dozens of poor students were brought to the city to exchange feelings with sponsors.Afterwards, dozens of impoverished students were led by guides to study in the city for a week, which was successfully completed.

Luo Jian didn't know who his funding target was when he arrived at the meeting site by appointment, and he forgot to read the materials.When the time came, the little girl who worked in the city brought in a group of students, tall and short, fat and thin, but the common feature was that they were all disheveled.

The disheartened team of students followed the pre-arranged procedures and bowed deeply to the sponsors in the audience.

Then an organizer made a speech and said a few words, and the rest is today's conversation.

The seats were arranged in advance, Luo Jian glanced at the sign in front of him.

"Lin Haotian" seemed to be a boy.

A skinny child stood in front of Luo Jian and bowed earnestly, "Hello, Uncle Luo."

Luo Jian was a little dazed, "Sit."

"Thank you, Mr. Luo."

Lin Haotian carefully opened the chair and sat down opposite Luo Jian.

Luo Jian looked at Lin Haotian, his skin was dark, his head protruded because of his thinness, like a match.On the outside of the green turtleneck was an old khaki jacket with holes in the cuffs.Looking at the clothes, even among a group of poor students, it was a bit too shabby.But there is an extraordinary calmness between his eyebrows and eyes. Compared with the timidity of other poor students, Lin Haotian just sat there openly and let him look at him, his eyes even revealed a sense of firmness,

Luo Jian regretted that he did not read the information in advance and did not understand the specific situation of the child.

"Did you come yesterday?"

Lin Haotian nodded, "Yes."

After Luo Jian asked when he came here, he asked about his life, "Are you still used to eating and living?"

"Habit."

Luo Jian seemed a little at a loss for such a stable boy.Although he also has a son who is about the same age, but that son is a chatterbox, and he talks like peas, so he doesn't need to start the conversation.So here Luo Jian seems a little short of words, and he is not very good at enlivening the atmosphere.

Compared with the warm atmosphere in other groups, two men, one big and one small, stared at each other, and the scene was once very awkward.

"I'm sorry I didn't read your profile carefully before, I've been too busy recently."

Lin Haotian shook his head, "It's okay, thank you for your support."

"You can tell me what you need, and I will try my best to help."

"Thank you, Mr. Luo, I don't need it for now."

The first time Luo Jian and Lin Haotian met was so lackluster.During the period, Luo Jian answered a phone call and came back a little absent-minded. When he looked down at the time for the second time, Lin Haotian said calmly, "Mr. Luo, you can go first if you have something to do."

At that time, Lin Hao was only ten years old, and he had already shown an extraordinary maturity and understanding, as well as a calm and generous style of life, even though he grew up in a closed village.Such a child obviously left a deep impression on Luo Jian, so when he left the meeting room in a hurry, what he thought in his heart was to go back and take a good look at this child's information.

Luo Jian was very busy at that time, so he put the matter aside in a blink of an eye. Three days later, he discussed with the manager in the mall to adjust the layout of the first floor of the mall. He saw the team of poor students visiting the mall under the leadership of the team leader. Get up the child he wanted to read the information on earlier.

In 06, it was the best shopping mall in the city. The white checkered floor was spotlessly wiped, and the shelves were full of beautiful things. Nice and decent people in the city.

A group of children visited many places in the past few days. They were wearing beautiful and bright new clothes, which contrasted with the dusty faces, which looked a little funny. They seemed out of place in such a high-end shopping mall, and they dared not show their atmosphere.

Luo Jian left the manager behind, exchanged greetings with the team leader, and then glanced around the team, but he didn't see his sponsor.

"The child I sponsored, didn't come?"

The team leader wondered, "Which one? Are they all here?"

Luo Jian was a little surprised, "My name is Lin Haotian, a little boy, a very sensible one."

The team leader suddenly realized, "Oh, that child is in a special situation. He left after attending the meeting, so he didn't participate in the study tour for the past few days."

"What special circumstances?"

The team leader thought for a while, "His mother is not in good spirits and needs him to go back to take care of her, so she sent her away early."

Luo Jian felt a little regretful, "That's right."

"It's very pitiful. He is the one who suffers the most. They are all just short of money. Only Lin Haotian, his father ran away, and he has to take care of his mother."

"That's not easy."

"Yes, we all felt sorry for him."

After chatting with the team leader, Luo Jian was very touched. After being touched, he asked the manager to send a gift bag to each child, stuffed with snacks and some school supplies. The children were very happy and bowed to thank Uncle Luo.

Luo Jian took this matter to heart, but it wasn't until the end of Auger's summer and the eve of the fall school that Luo Jian made time to visit the child he sponsored.

"Dad, I want to eat a hamburger tonight." Seven-year-old Luo Mai sat in the passenger seat and prayed to his father.

"No, you have already eaten this week's share on Monday."

Luo Mai begged, "I'll eat tonight, but I won't eat next week, okay?"

Luo Jian refused very simply: "No."

Luo Mai wriggled around in the co-pilot, pouted Lao Gao, "You're a bad father! I'm going to tell grandma, you won't give me food!"

Luo Jian ignored his son's complaint and concentrated on driving. The road condition was very bad with potholes. Luo Jian drove as smoothly as possible.

The destination is a small village, so it is not difficult to find.There are neat fields beside the road at the entrance of the village, where peanuts and purple sweet potatoes are thriving.Luo Jian got out of the car and asked for directions twice before finding Lin Haotian's home.

Luo Mai was vaccinated by his father in advance, but he was still shocked when he saw that the person he was going to visit lived in such a place.

The adobe house has no plaster on the outer wall, so the mud is exposed.The roof is still thatched, and it has been blackened by the sun and rain for many years, and a piece of it is empty, exposing the khaki mud roof.

The two wooden doors were locked with a large lock, but a sudden human head appeared in the dark grid window, with disheveled hair, prominent cheekbones, and motionless eyeballs, staring at Luo Jian and his son.

Luo Mai was stared at for a while, then hid behind his father and looked forward cautiously.

"Father, who is this? Aren't we looking for Lin Haotian?"

Luo Jian stroked his son's head, "This is his mother."

The woman at the window stared at the two uninvited guests for a while, and then hid from the window. Luo Mai had just breathed a sigh of relief, but his shrill cry frightened his legs weak again in an instant.

"Juanzi~Juanzi~"

The shouts made Luo Mai's scalp go numb, and he couldn't stop shaking Luo Jian's hand,

"Father, let's go, I don't want to be here anymore, I'm afraid..."

"It's okay, she can't come out."

Luo Mai was so frightened that he complained softly, "Why hasn't anyone come back yet?"

Luo Jian led his son out and walked along the village path. Not far away, he saw a boy carrying a bundle of grass, hunched over from the opposite side, and the boss buried his head in the bundle of grass. A thin black dog followed behind, fluttering butterflies in the nearby grass.

Lin Haotian clearly saw the tall man in front of him, he was both surprised and happy, "Mr. Luo, why are you here?"

Luo Jian held his son with one hand, "Let me take a look." He pushed Luo Mai closer, "This is my son."

"Hi brother."

That little black dog is a coward, Luo Mai looked at the little white hair on his neck.Just wanting to tease him, Luo Mai took a step forward, and the little black dog ran away...

Luo Mai: ...

Lin Haotian took out a bundle of grass and handed it to the two goats in the sheep pen, and pulled out a folding round table and a mat from the house, "Mr. Luo, sit down."

Luo Mai sat on the Maza with his buttocks, stretched his neck and looked into the open black hole door, looking for the woman at that moment.The woman didn't see it, but Lin Haotian ran out from inside, carrying a hot water pot and a few tea bowls.

Luo Jian greeted, "Haotian doesn't need to be busy anymore, let's come and sit together."

Lin Haotian poured a little water into the dog bowl, raised his head and said with a smile, "Here we come." After that, he called the little black dog over to watch him lick the water and drink it.

After Lin Haotian was busy with all this, he had the time to sit down and talk carefully. Luo Mai saw that he had done all this skillfully, and he felt admiration spontaneously.

"Wow! You are amazing."

Lin Haotian smiled and shook his head, "It's not great."

Luo Jian took the opportunity to educate his son, "You have to learn from brother Haotian."

Luo Mai nodded hard, "I will, Dad."

Lin Haotian’s house is bare and there is no yard. There are two goats in the fence next to the wall of the courtyard. Other than that, there is only an abandoned millstone and a persimmon tree, which grows luxuriantly, just for people to enjoy the shade.

Luo Mai had already lost his previous vigilance, and stood outside the fence holding two straws to feed the two sheep. He wanted to touch the little black dog again, and was busy running around the yard.

Only Luo Jian and Lin Haotian were left sitting opposite each other under the tree.

"Where's your father?"

"I went out to work and haven't been back for a long time."

Luo Jian remembered what he had heard, that his father had gone to other provinces to work and live with another woman.

"How long have you taken care of mom by yourself?"

Lin Haotian snapped his fingers, "It's been two years."

At the dark doorway, a woman leaned out from the side, holding up her wrist. Her wrist was actually tied and connected with a rope.

Luo Jian sighed silently, "Is there no one on your mother's side to help take care of and treat her?"

Lin Haotian lowered his head deeply. Luo Jian saw him shed tears for the first time, and the teardrops fell into the soil. He whispered: "Mom's home is far away...she was tricked here."

Lin Haotian's father has a good skin, and tricked his mother with sweet words.At first they were able to live a decent life, one was working outside and came back every six months, and the other was taking care of the children at home.But as time went on, it was no longer possible. Lin Haotian's mother was cowardly, unable to speak when things happened, and the man was not in front of her. Her mother's family was far away, and there were people in the village who bullied her.At this time, Lin Haotian's grandparents and uncles all watched from the sidelines, no one said a word of justice, just waiting to watch the excitement.Lin Haotian's mother had nowhere to turn for help, and in the end she was forced to go wrong.

Lin Haotian's father came back at the end of the year and saw that his wife had become like this. He took care of her for two years. After he couldn't bear it, he ran away and never came back.

From the age of seven to ten, Lin Haotian was the most helpless time in his life.His father was a bastard, his mother was so crazy that no one would recognize him, he was isolated and helpless, the pain of survival and life came ahead of time, and all his brains were pressed on his immature shoulders, almost crushing him, making him want to die countless times.

until he saw the light.

"Are you willing to accept my help to you?"

"willing."

In just one afternoon, Luo Mai developed a deep affection for Lin Haotian. Before leaving, he reluctantly told him to come to play at home.

"Father, doesn't brother Haotian have any grandparents?"

"Have."

"Then why, Brother Haotian has to take care of his mother by himself? Wouldn't grandparents feel sorry for him when he's so tired?"

Holding the steering wheel in his hand, Luo Jian thought for a while before seriously answering this question.

"There are many people in this world. Not all of them are as kind as you think. They will take care of children, love future generations, and there will even be many bad people. I know you will not understand, because you have always been in a kind environment and received The elders love you, but this is your luck, not everyone is like this, just like you saw Brother Haotian working hard to take care of his mother alone."

"Dad doesn't want to tell you things that are too difficult to understand, but you are already seven years old, and you have to learn to observe everything by yourself. I hope that while you remain kind, you must see the reality clearly. This is what Dad expects from you. "

Luo Mai shook his head, "Dad, I don't understand..."

Luo Jian smiled, "Okay, because Brother Haotian's grandparents don't like Brother Haotian, so I don't care about him."

"Brother Haotian is really pitiful!"

"There are many poor people, but few are as brave as him, so you have to learn from him, Luo Mai."

Luo Mai immediately sat upright, "Yes, Brother Haotian will be my role model from now on!"

Luo Jian smiled silently.

Seeing that his father was happy, Luo Mai leaned over to try to discuss, "Dad, from now on, let's invite brother Haotian to our house to play?"

"can."

The author has something to say:

I have to teach you the ugliness of life, but I selfishly want you to never have to test the bottom line of human nature.