If he remembered correctly, the last words that the man in his memory said to him was, "Goodbye".
That morning, he was on his way out of the house, dressed in the same old polo shirt and trousers, carrying his briefcase. Zhang Wensi had just woken up and was still rubbing her eyes at the dining table.
Mother was in the kitchen, making herself some milk.
He said "goodbye" and really never came back.
Zhang Wensi remembered that the milk that day was very tasty and sweet, just as sweet as the mung bean popsicle she had eaten the night before.
But she couldn't remember at all how her father had walked out after saying goodbye, with his briefcase on the left or right.
The sun seemed to be just behind him, so he looked like he was in the same light, but no matter how hard you looked, you couldn't see him clearly.
When she received the call, Zhang Wensi was preparing to go to the supermarket with her mother to buy daily necessities.
"Hello, may I ask if this is Mr. Zhang Ze Cheng's home phone number?" The landline suddenly sounded when the two of them were about to leave.
Her mother had already changed into her shoes and was standing in the hallway. Zhang Wensi turned around and picked up the phone.
"Ah, yes. "May I ask who you are?"
After all, she was just a kid who had just entered high school. Zhang Wensi didn't know how to answer the phone, so it was better to use honorifics when she didn't know who the other person was.
"We are at the city hospital's reception desk. Mr. Zhang was in a car accident just now. The police have asked us to call this number through his identity card and address book. I'll have to trouble you and your family to come to the hospital as soon as possible. Mr. Zhang's life is in danger, please come as soon as possible. "
"I feel like I haven't received a reply for a long time, the person on the phone is still very polite." Miss, are you there? Miss? "Please hurry …"
But Zhang Wensi no longer knew anything.
The word "endangered" kept spinning around in her mind.
"The phone fell out of Zhang Wensi's hand." There was a snap, like a stop note.
When Mama Zhang saw that her daughter did not respond to her call, the receiver at the back of the phone directly fell off. Mother Zhang thought back to the time when she had just changed clothes. Her eyelids kept twitching, and she felt that something was wrong.
Without even bothering to change her shoes, she walked straight to the phone and bent down to pick up the receiver. Before she knew it, the wheel of fate had already reached the other side of the road.
The road ahead was rough.
The woman's voice on the other side was still the same. It was still the same long notice. Mama Zhang could not believe her ears. After confirming repeatedly, she finally understood that her husband had really been in a car accident.
Beside her, she saw her daughter, who had lost her mind and become completely dumbstruck, forcing her tears to remain in her eyes.
"Wise, let's go." Mama Zhang hung up the phone in grief. Then she took Zhang Wen Si's hand and walked out of the house with big steps. The iron door was gently closed by the woman's hand, leaving behind a torrent of sunlight and dust.
It was in the early years of the twenty-first century, when the spring wind of reform and opening came to the inland cities. With the rapid economic development, the cars sped through the city, trampling on the envy and humility of the people at the bottom.
Zhang's father was a civil servant who obediently followed the daily routine of living from 9 to 5. At that time, the iron rice bowl of state-owned enterprises was still very popular.
However, the Zhang Family was only a well-off family. They were far from being able to afford a car. Zhang was riding his bicycle to work when he was knocked down by a car.
At that time, there were still many kind-hearted people on the streets, and the word "pengci" had not yet appeared in people's lives. Therefore, Papa Zhang, whose head was covered in blood, was immediately sent to the hospital by a kind-hearted person. However, the perpetrator quietly slipped away amidst the crowd.
The law was gradually being perfected, but there were many gaps in the law. Once it was used by someone, it would be a sharp sword that would harm the fairness of society.
The perpetrator quietly fled. There was no advanced camera at the intersection, and the witness could only be the kind people who helped him send Father Zhang to the hospital.
The Zhang family had no connections, and there was no back door. Father Zhang was the person with the highest salary and status in the entire family. It was possible to find the owner of the car based on its purchase history and photos, but this step was blocked by a few high-end bottles of tobacco and alcohol from the people who wanted to buy it.
The perpetrator fled and refused to plead guilty.
The family officially began their journey of tribulation. With the fall of the pillars, the family's economic income had been reduced by more than half. Zhang Wensi faced the high tuition fees and living expenses that would be needed to attend high school soon. Zhang's mother had been on leave for a long time to take care of her husband.
Years of family savings had been taken out; donations had been organized; all the relatives had been loaned, but they still could not fill in the hole for the cure. Father Zhang did not wake up for a long time, and his relatives were unwilling to borrow any more money. In the end, he didn't last more than a month before dying.
Zhang's mother and Zhang Wensi were left to fend for themselves.
On the day of the funeral, not many relatives came. Everyone was afraid of borrowing money. On the other hand, Zhang's colleagues from the unit came over, leaving Zhang Wensi with a year's worth of book money, allowing this difficult family to breathe a sigh of relief.
The perpetrator refused to plead guilty and the due compensation was delayed. The case seemed about to drop.
The Zhang Clan immediately fell into despair.
During the following holidays, Zhang Wensi helped her mother make money by hand every day. After dinner, she went to the place where Father Zhang's accident occurred. The perpetrator's facial features, body height and weight. At first, she asked explicitly, but no one had any reaction. Afterwards, she learned how to be flexible with her words and finally pieced together a vague picture.
While Zhang Wen Si was asking around, she met a handsome and tall uncle. He was attracted by Zhang Wensi's behavior and asked her what she was asking about.
"My dad got hit by a car, but the perpetrator wouldn't admit it. I want to collect what the neighborhood people saw and hand it over to the police so they can avenge my dad." When Zhang Wen Si said this, her eyes were filled with faith and determination.
No one had told her that the police also had their good and bad points. Not everything in the world can be solved by the police.
Zhang Wensi insisted on coming to the scene of the incident every day to inquire about the progress of the investigation, and often went to the police station to inquire about the progress of the investigation. The police station's reply was always the same: "It's still under investigation, so it's not convenient to divulge it." Minors, don't listen to me. "
After that, she and her uncle met several more times at the police station. Zhang found him often chatting and laughing with his uncles and aunts at work.
When the two of them greeted each other for the fourth time …
The uncle was moved by Zhang Wensi's insistence. "I'm a lawyer," he said. I will help your father take revenge, find the culprit and bring the culprit to court. The punishment that he deserves, your family will receive compensation for it! "
At that time, Zhao Lide was a rising star in the industry. At that time, Zhao Lide was still at home, thinking about how to escape from his father's surveillance and go to the Internet Cafe.