Tom finished his dinner, wiped his mouth and prepared to go out for a walk. The phone ringed suddenly. Seeing that it was called from his son, who was working in the big city, Tom picked up the phone with smile, “Dear, how’s it going about your girlfriend? Your mother and I were looking forward to seeing you. Bring her back one day to let us have a look, Ok?” His son paused and said, “Dad…I…I…called you just for this thing.” “Gorgeous! When? Call me in advance! Your mother and I should prepare for it carefully, we know that the city people prefer tidiness but our countrymen are floppy,” Tom said joyfully. The son was embarrassed, “Dad, I’m not going to talk about this. My girlfriend told me to settle down in the city, which means that I should buy a house at first. We have fancied one, which will costs six hundred thousand or more. Do we… have that money?” Tom realized he was asking for money, but for their family, six hundred thousand was an incogitable number, then Tom stopped smile and got into silence, without saying a word for a long time. On the other side of the phone, the son heard no echo from his father, was well aware of the result, so he didn’t ask anymore and hung up the phone gently. After several days, the son called back and told Tom that his girlfriend broke up with him because he can’t afford the house. Tom still didn’t say anything but just hung up the phone. One night after half a year, the son called to the home and asked timidly, “Dad, I have a new girlfriend, can… can we afford two hundred thousand?” “My dear son, can’t you figure out the situation of our family? Your mother and I make a living by growing crops, how much can we deposit by digging into the soil? Tell your girlfriend, wait for several days, and I will try my best to borrow some money from relatives,” Tom hung up the phone without waiting for his son’s reply. The son waited for plenty of days, but didn’t received the call back and never ask anymore. Tom picked up the phone and down, picked up and down for several times. Looking at his empty hands, he didn’t know what to say to his son, he squatted on the ground and smoked one after another. On that night, the son called to Tom and told him that he broke up with his new girlfriend. Tom can’t sleep that whole night. After that, Tom was afraid of the gripping phone ring every night. That ring ripped off his sleep. Old Tom made a tough decision that he went ahead regardless of his old body. Following the construction crew in the village to earn money, he spared no effort to add wood to his son’s future marriage. Tom worked in the construction site during the day, and guarded the site at night for more money. Reaching the age of old Tom, he was supposed not to do such heavy jobs, let alone working day and night. As we all know, human’s energy is limited. On that day during the constructing time, Tom felt dizzy and fell down from the ten-meter high scaffold. He was sent to the hospital at once for the emergency rescue, although doctors kept his life, he paralyzed for life and lost the labor capacity forever, which worsen the poor family. The roof leaks but it rained all those days. The son received the bad news and hurried home, seeing that his father lied on the bed with the haggard faces of the bitterness, he heard the voice of his broken heart. Tears poured down on his face. He was determined to tell his father that he has grown up, he would not bother the parents anymore, even if he has to be single all the life. Old Tom paralyzed in bed, thinking about his son’s marriage all the time. It was the old face that filled with bitterness and sadness. Tom left the hospital and lied on the bed at home, during the night, he never heard the gripping phone ring anymore. Complicated feelings took up his mind that he missed his son when the phone didn’t ring, but he was also afraid of the phone ring. In a night of drizzle, Tom hadn’t gone to bed when the phone rang. He was aware of that it must be his son’s call, and he raised his trembling hands but not picked it up. The gripping phone rang for a long time until his son hung it up. The day after that night, his son came back to home in haste. He was puzzled that he didn’t find anything wrong with his parents, “Why didn’t you answer my phone last night? And later I can’t get through it anymore.” “Dear, we…we are fine, maybe we just fall asleep and didn’t hear that.” Tom glanced at his son and prevaricated. The son knew his father too well, he understood that his father was lying and thought he was calling for money to marry. He can tell the feeling of his farther, it was the melancholy and helplessness that you want to help but you can’t. He knew it to well that his father resisted to answer the gripping phone ring just because of the fear. “Dad, do you know why I called you last night?” “For money, there is nothing except asking for money. I am useless, I can’t earn money anymore, and I was too old that I can only spend money,” Tom answered only reluctantly. The son walked up to his father, “Dad, don’t blame yourself so much, it’s not your fault. You raised me up and give me the best education that you can afford. It can’t be an easy thing. I called you to send my good news to you and mother!” “Good news? Did you pick up some money? Or you got a promotion? ” Tom asked his son expressionlessly. “No, no, no… I’ve got a new girlfriend!” “How much will this time costs to buy a house? Dear, your farther don’t have money at all!” Tom said weakly. The son smiled, “Don’t be afraid, Dad. I don’t need money this time, in the meantime, when my girlfriend and I got married, her father would buy a brand new house for us.” Tom opened his mouth and swallowed his words into his belly, thinking that his son was just trying to please him. The son told Tom the whole process after he saw his father’s expression of uncertainty and astonishment. “My girlfriend’s family are breeding specialized households. Because of the lack of scientific breeding technology, they stood a loss of four million those years and made a tough decision to gamble so that they loaned to breed thousands of live pigs. Half year past when it was time to muck out, epidemic came and several pigs died. Her father’s heart was torn with anxiety and seek for help to our leaders of the animal husbandry bureau. My majority in university was animal disease prevention and control breeding, so the leader sent me to help response to the epidemic. Judging from the epidemic situation, I thought it was swine fever and took emergency measure immediately. Giving medicine to the pigs and spraying drugs all around to disinfect the piggery controlled the spread of the epidemic disease. I helped her father recover tremendous loss and in return her father sent a silk banner to our bureau. My leader agreed that he employed me as a part-time technical advisor for them, and I always went to their farm to give technical guidance. Every time I went there, my girlfriend aided me, and took me as her teacher to learn animal disease prevention and scientific feeding technology. We got familiar with each other later and share everything, then we…we fall in love.” Tom remembered the magpies on the tree in the morning, it was a symbol of good luck! He smiled the winter away from his face, “My dear son, you are so fortunate to meet the girl! It must be the most gorgeous news I have heard those days. You should get along well with the girl and bring her back some day for me and your mother have a look!” In the meantime, the phone of the son rang, “Dad, guess what? My girlfriend will arrive soon, she came here to see you and mom specially!” Tom was thrown into a panic after listening to that, but it was a sweet panic. He told his wife to clean up the room, take out the pickled cabbage in sault sour in the jar and go into the wood for two chicken which was preparing for stewed young chicken with mushroom. At around noon, the trumpet of the car came outdoors. The son’s girlfriend came in with a loud laugh. She has a mane of black hair, sloe eyes, a fetching smile and a cute giggle. They sat together and had a harmonious lunch. After lunch, Tom said to his son, “Plug in the telephone wire, those days every night I’ll tell your mother to plug off it because we are afraid of the gripping phone call.” On that night when the son went back to the city with his girlfriend, he called his parent, within a voice of the bell, he got response. Tom was about to say something and his son’s voice came out，“Dad, it’s the first time that the phone got so smooth and easy. You answered me immediately.” Tom smiled, “My dear son, the ring seems to change to a warm ring. Call me more often and I’ll wait for you!”
