In the winter of 1972, when Grandfather passed away, Zheng Kai also followed him to study in Hei Province.
It turned out that Zheng Kai was grateful; during the years he was away from home, he always helped take care of the elderly.
He expressed more warmth and care during the illness than he himself had done.
Although he sent food home every month, the elder’s body had been too depleted over the previous decade, and it was too late to compensate later on.
So, two years after Zheng Long brought Zheng Kai back home, Grandfather passed away. It was regrettable that he couldn’t return home then to manage the funeral.
The entire process was helped by villagers; after he finished his duties and returned, he specifically bought gifts and went door to door to express his gratitude.
Then, the Zheng Family’s old house was given to the village to use as an activity center, as they likely would only return to visit Grandfather’s grave and not live there anymore.
He found a boarding middle school for Zheng Kai in the nearest city to their military unit.
Zheng Kai studied hard; although he had only attended primary school for three years, he had already mastered five years of primary education. Upon reaching the middle school in X city, Hei Province, his efforts increased even though, coming from a rural area to the city, his academic performance couldn’t keep up. But he was willing to learn, and that gave him a chance.
Zheng Long had always adopted a go-with-the-flow attitude toward Zheng Kai’s schooling.
In that era, there were no cram schools, so he didn’t have to worry about that. On weekends, if he had free time, he would visit the city to see him; if not, Zheng Kai would just stay at school.
They usually lived at the school and the father and son could meet twice a month, which was not easy.
In August 1974, he received an admission letter, while Zheng Kai was about to enter eighth grade. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on NoveI-Fire.ɴet
"Dad, just go study with peace of mind. We father and son will work hard together. There are so many uncles here to watch over me, what could you possibly worry about?"
Zheng Long had thought about taking Zheng Kai with him to Nanjing, but Zheng Kai refused, "There’s no need, Dad. Our residency is already moved here, there’s no point in us moving back and forth, and I’ve gotten used to living by myself on weekdays. Don’t worry about me. Although I’m a bit behind in my studies now, please believe in me, I’ll definitely get into a key high school, and maybe I could even qualify for military school in the future!"
"You want to attend military school?" Zheng Kai nodded vigorously, "Yes, our family has always been in the military, and I definitely want to attend a military school. I’ll make you proud!"
In this way, father and son parted ways, one in Nanjing and one in Hei Province, separated by vast distances, only seeing each other during the winter and summer holidays.
During each holiday, Zheng Long would always rent a place nearby to tutor him academically and teach him about life, occasionally taking him out for trips.
After Grandfather died, he left behind three hundred yuan in savings, which Zheng Long knew were originally from him; he hadn’t touched that money over the years.
If not for the child being by his side, insisting he eat finer grains, he might have passed away earlier. This meticulous elder, who had taken in both father and son, passed away without enjoying a single day of peace, leaving both Zheng Long and Zheng Kai feeling terrible.
So, during the summer holidays, they would also return to their old home to visit the grave, to show their remembrance.
From 1965 to 1975, ten years had passed since he last visited his former home, and he hadn’t even inquired about news from there.