Chapter 66: All the Old Tears Were Caused by Sorrow

  The door opened, and Professor Song himself opened the door. There were not many people in the school who did not know about this old man's life experience. His wife had passed away early, his daughter was married far away, and he lived alone by himself. When he opened the door and saw these three people standing like clay or wooden statues at the entrance, the old man was stunned for a moment, then smiled, inviting them in, just as he would invite all students and teachers who came to visit him.

  "Don't be polite, sit down... Just wait a moment, I'll get you some water. Not many students come here, but in four years, I've never seen you guys come before... You're rare guests."

  Song Chengyang said, pressing the water dispenser, smiling kindly, his movements slightly slow, and sat down on the sofa in the living room. This living room didn't look like a typical living room either, with bookshelves all around and a pile of documents on the coffee table. Professor Song was tidying up slowly and deliberately, not treating the visitor like a student, but rather like a friend who had come to visit.

  Such a harmonious and polite array, it was difficult for Ge to get used to. Originally, he thought about the possible situations he might encounter, including disdain, ridicule, rejection, and even verbal abuse. All his experience of dealing with teachers was gathered together, and Ge was prepared to see who could be more shameless, but unexpectedly, the old man turned out to be so gentle and kind, that bellyful of anger, couldn't be vented after all.

  The old professor smiled humbly, and the three of them calmed down. At this time, looking at the arrangement in the house, Lei's experience with thunder, these three papers are very good, but I think the three papers should be written by the same person, it's strange that there are three names on them? This is why they were all rejected, if anyone can explain or prove me wrong, I will apologize sincerely, and apologizing in front of the whole department is no problem.

  Song Chengyang was taken aback, and Shuang Yong and Lei Yuan were shocked, "Is this a volunteer?"

  "This... is my personal matter." Si Mu Xian's expression changed again, and he fell silent.

  "You should know me and also know the relationship between me and your family, why didn't you come to see me in four years of school?" Song Chengyang asked again, like a parent to Meng.

  Si Mu Xian's face turned even darker, as if he had done something wrong. He hung his head and didn't say a word. This scene was all too familiar to Shan Yong and Lei, who had spent over ten years researching the folk culture of Shangdang County and compiling their findings into a book called "Searching for Roots in Shangdang Folk Culture". But unexpectedly, this book, which had taken them over a decade to complete, found no publisher and was not recognized. Si Mu Xian had even gone so far as to mortgage his house to print 5,000 copies at his own expense, but only a handful of them were sold...

  Ximu Xian cried, two lines of clear tears streaming down his face, choking and sobbing. Professor Song also wiped away old tears, muttering: "I ruined him, causing him to work hard and die young, without seeing the folk culture flourish. You don't have to insist, no one will blame you."

  It's gone awry, it's gone completely off the rails. Lei Dapeng gave Dan Yong a look, his eyes flashing with discontent. It seems that even Egg Brother, whom he most admired, also had moments of misjudgment. If this was the reason, then they had all been blindly worrying and making a fuss for nothing.

  The two of them looked at each other and then back at Si Mu Xian, who was welling up with tears. Si Mu Xian nodded: "I'll persevere, I want to become a person like my dad."

  "Maybe he's not even as good as him, and can't even find a job to make ends meet, let alone pursue his ideals. Even if he could find one, maybe he'll end up like me, with an empty house and dying alone. Your personality is even stronger than your father's, maybe in the future you'll be just like him, misunderstood by people for his entire life, and ridiculed after his death." Professor Song said, his eyes welling up with tears.

  "One person's understanding is enough; his teacher understands, and so does his son. Never mind, Professor Song, I insist! Sorry, I misunderstood you."

  Xiao Xian cried, overcome with grief. She turned around, wiping away tears, and rushed out the door, surely to find a secluded spot where she could cry her heart out.

  After a while, tears flowed for a while, as if these tears were flowing so refreshingly. Song Chengyang's eyes lit up, as if he couldn't relieve his chest. This was the right time to take a swig. Shan Yong observed and guessed accurately, quickly glanced around the room, bent down from under the tea table, pulled out a bottle of wine, checked if there was still some left inside, and raised his hand saying: "Professor Song, is this what you're looking for?"

  "Ah, ah... the young generation is indeed formidable. Come on, come on, let's have a drink." The old man clapped his hands and said, as Shanyong unscrewed the bottle cap. Lei Dapeng knew what to do, found a large tea cup, and handed it directly to Song Lao. This old man poured himself a drink, with tears in his eyes, gulped down a full cup, and then refilled it again.

  The next moment, this old man was a bit abnormal, with tears streaming down his face, shouting that the heavens were not opening their eyes, and then he poured himself another large cup.

  Cried for a while, then burst out laughing, shouting "The fire of the salary has been passed on to someone, my way is not lonely", and downed another big cup.

  They cried and laughed, leaving Dan Yong and Lei Da Peng bewildered. Dan Yong poked Lei Da Peng and pointed to the door. The two of them tiptoed out, while Professor Song seemed oblivious, still sighing, drinking, and shouting unclearly with great relish.

  Out of the door, down the stairs, Lei Dapeng finally expressed his feelings, giving a thumbs up: "Egg brother, this old man is not bad at all, in a few decades, no matter what, we must make friends."

  "What about you? Does he look up to you?" Dan Yong said, and in his heart, he also had a bit more reverence for Professor Song. But how could he have thought that there was such a complicated reason behind it? As soon as he thought of this, he looked around: "Where's Brother Xian? This matter has been blown out of proportion... I'm telling you, Da Peng, it's been four years, how come you didn't know that Brother Xian doesn't have parents at all? What have you been eating and drinking, not even caring about this?"

  "Hey hey hey, blaming me? You're the big brother, what are you eating and drinking for?" Lei Dapeng was unhappy, calling him out.

  The two of them were blaming each other, both complaining that the other had not taken care of their younger brother. They usually only thought about having fun and eating well, and every day they lamented how unlucky they were. But unexpectedly, there was someone even more unfortunate standing right next to them, yet they hadn't noticed. Not far away, the two of them stopped at the same time. Si Mu Xian was squatting beside the flowerbed in front of the teaching building, crying, and then sat down alone.

  Two people sat on either side of Simu Xian, wanting to comfort him with a word, but not knowing how to start. Simu Xian sniffled and said in a low voice:

  "Boss, Lei Ge, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was like this. I thought that apart from me, no one else would still remember my father, remember what he used to do. In other people's eyes, he was just a poor and outdated rural teacher who self-published books, which were laughed at by others. Everyone knew he died in poverty, exhaustion, and hardship... When he passed away, I had just entered high school. Later, when filling out college applications, I only chose one major - the same as his. I wanted to become someone like him, no matter what others thought. In my eyes, he was a great father."

  "It's us who should be saying sorry." Jian Yong said in a low voice: "I really didn't know your family was like this."

  "I didn't tell anyone, I was afraid others would pity me." Si Mu Xian said, looking around at the two roommates, yet speaking with a sense of gratitude: "Thank you for always treating me like a brother, taking care of me. If it weren't for your constant help, I'm afraid I'd even have problems with living expenses."

  "That's nothing." Leida Peng patted his younger brother on the back and consoled him, saying directly: "Don't be depressed, it's not like we don't have parents or anything. This is a good thing! No one to bother us, how free and easy that would be! I don't even want parents, they're such a nuisance."

  As soon as he said that, Shan Yong slapped the goods with a slap. Si Mu Xian let out a breath and knew Le Ge's temper, didn't see anything wrong, and when the three of them stood up at the same time, they almost shouted in unison: "It's bad!"

  "Brother Egg, this is bad, you've messed up the whole committee. What are we going to do tomorrow?" Lei Dapeng said with a scowl. Si Mu Xian also had a belly full of bitter water, this toilet lid plan, it seemed that all the innocent people were implicated, and Shan Yong was also at a loss for what to do, just muttering to himself. Lei Dapeng could be blamed, and he directly scolded Shan Yong, saying: "Brother Egg, you've really messed up this time, you'll have to make yourself egg-painful! If people find out about this, it's all over."

  "By the way, boss, what did you send to Professor Kang? Won't there be any trouble?" But Simu Xian was worried about this matter.

  "Ham." said Dan Yong.

  "Ham? You're so kind?" Lei Dapeng was skeptical.

  "He added some rhubarb and cooked it." said Shan Yong with a smile.

  Lei Dapeng gulped, startled for a moment. He had taken the fish bait mixed with rhubarb before and knew its effect - it was absolutely **.

  "Boss, this time we're in a bit of a dark situation." Si Mu Xian said softly.

  "That's too much, Lao Da, you're too dark, can't think everyone is as bad as you." Lei Dapeng said, probably influenced by Professor Song's charisma.

  "Two brothers, I'm not also helpless? Who could know it's this kind of reason, and even if it's just a prank, it shouldn't be so dark, right?...... Oh my god, this has to stop immediately."

  He picked up the phone and was about to inform Song Siyun to stop the event from escalating, but after connecting, the two brothers' ears were leaning in, only to receive even more depressing news:

  "What, stop? What's the point of stopping now that it's already been done? It's already been spread online. Guo Qishen's wife and daughter are fighting with each other, covered in blood, and all three have been taken to the police station. I spoke with Tian Xueshan, but that idiot still doesn't believe me. I said, how did you handle it? My big mouth has already spoken out of turn, let Tian Xueshan wait and see..."

  Dumbfounded Zhang Yong looked at his two brothers who were staring blankly, this absurd matter was done, how could one be so fed up...