Chapter 7 Chapter Six

Zhiyong went to Huazhong in the summer, and came back in October of the next year, and told her, "I brought a sum of money to Feiwen to settle her matter." Except for that letter in which she said, "Worried about what we will do in the future," Jiu Li never mentioned his divorce.But now that he mentioned it, he smiled and whispered: "And your second wife." He married him when he was teaching in the Mainland. Except for the eldest son who was born to his deceased wife, all his children belonged to her.Later, he got insane, and lived in Shanghai with his children, and was managed by Xiu Nan. "Because legally she is your official wife."

"Everyone admits that Fei Wen is my wife." "But you didn't divorce Fei Wen when you married her." "It's impossible to drive her out!" she laughed. "It's just a legal formality." Then he walked away. Finally on this day, he brought two newspapers, both of which had "Shao Zhiyong, Zhang Feiwen's Divorce by Agreement" and "Shao Zhiyong, Chen Yaofeng's Divorce by Agreement" printed side by side, which looked very ridiculous.He tossed the newspaper onto a black sumac root table with a mirror surface, and sat down on the sofa chair, although he was smiling, his face was very sad.

Knowing that it was because of Fei Wen, she sat on the arm of the sofa chair and stroked his hair.He frowns and dodges a pain-protecting smile, and she smiles and sits back. "Also bought a truck for Vivian. She wants a truck for business," he said. "Oh." After chatting for a while, Jiu Li suddenly smiled and said, "I'm so happy." Zhiyong said with a smile: "I already knew you couldn't help but say it!" She later told Chu Di: "Shao Zhiyong is very sad, because of his wife." Chu Di frowned and said with a smile: "It's really——! 'It's a bone in your mouth, but it's a piece of meat if you lose it.'" Then she said: "Of course this is also for his benefit, and he will treat you the same in the future."

As soon as those two notices were published, the newspaper naturally speculated that they were going to get married. Chu Di smiled proudly: "Big newspapers and small newspapers report together. ——I was the most annoyed that I didn't want to get married if I lived with me. Isn't this strange?" It turned out that the relatives were already discussing that Jiu Li was infected with celibacy by living with her.Of course, this was before Zhiyong's story got out.She never told Jiuli. "So when are you getting married?" she asked. "He also mentioned it, but in the current situation, it's better not to, it's better for me."

He put it this way: "It doesn't matter if you just announce it, or treat your friends to a drink, that kind of atmosphere is also very good," he said with a sigh. He is paying his debts.She felt a little miserable. Seeing that she was silent and didn't seem interested, he spoke again. When mentioning the current situation, Chu Di nodded in response, "Oh." But she frowned and said with a smile: "What if I raise a child?" As usual, Jiuli would only smile in surprise, but today their aunt and nephew are a little abnormal.Jiu Lijing smiled and said, "He said that if there is a child, he will give it to Xiu Nan to take care of him."

Chu Di laughed and said: "I can't listen to him. It hurts a lot. —Maybe you, like me, won't give birth. I don't know how many abortions Second Aunt has had." Jiuli was very surprised. "Second aunt had an abortion?" Chu Di smiled and sighed: "Drink!" Seemingly regretting her slip of the tongue again, she glanced at her and said quietly: "I take it as you know." Because she has always treated Schachter so adultly.In Hong Kong, Ruiqiu said: "Your third aunt, I have friends as soon as I leave." Of course, when she returned to Shanghai, she guessed that it meant Schachter, the principal of the German school, whom Chu Di went to learn German.She had seen him too, thin, of medium build, fair-haired, wearing glasses, quite handsome, always speaking in a sour, mocking tone.When he comes, she always eats at Bibi's house.

Jiuli smiled and said, "I really didn't know. Because the second aunt is always the most opposed to having sex." Chu Di shook her head tiredly and sighed with a smile: "At that time, it was because of Jian Wei's abortion—drink!" Because in the unfamiliar place of life in the UK, it is even more difficult to find a doctor for abortion? "I didn't understand anything at that time. At that time, I thought, if you really can't get a divorce, if you really have no choice, you can marry me as a cover. I also agreed." After a short pause, he said: "Second aunt just I was fifteen years old at the time, and it was as if I fell in love with her."

She didn't say she loved Jian Wei, but of course she fell in love with him too.Jiuli's words were so shocking that it was confusing to her ears.But this kind of thing between three people is that one of them is willing to fight and the other is willing to suffer. Although it is tragic, she doesn't think there is anything wrong, so she smiled and said, "Why didn't it be implemented later?" "Didn't it be the Northern Expedition later? Divorce was not allowed during the Beiyang government." No wonder the inscription on the photo that Jian Wei sent her is in such an apologetic tone: "Give me Chu Di, who will always be my sister." The photo shows a sensitive long face, oval-shaped big black eyes, thick eyebrows, flowery tips, A look of Guying Pianpian.

Of course, three people go together to visit the lake area.Ruiqiu’s poem says, “The roses on the fence are still as red as before.” In the cool summer of the northern country, the red roses are in bloom, and there are new overseas students in the old places where several “poets on the lake” visited wife case.Perhaps from then on, Chu Di always had a kind of fear, wondering if people took a fancy to her wife's wealth, so she was even more attached to this warm small group, and she was willing to share a man with her sister-in-law, one bright and one dark. Chu Di smiled again: "There is also Ma Shou. There is also Cheng's nephew and nephew. The second aunt has a lot of things like this!"

"I don't remember my nephew Cheng." "Why don't you remember?" Chu Di became a little anxious, as if her credibility was affected. "Cheng Da nephew. He has lung disease." "I only remember the big fat nephew, the braided nephew." Because one is fat, and the other is young, with big braids dragging on his back. "—and Colonel Naboudin." Chu Di obviously thought that the French officer who came to have afternoon tea was insignificant and could not be counted. "Second Aunt was already dead when she came back last time." She shook her head and said.

Jiuli always thought that Ruiqiu was the most beautiful at that time. Seeing her surprised look, Chu Di immediately stopped talking.Although she has no feelings for her mother now, sometimes she still feels disgusted when she is criticized by others. Chu Di smiled quietly again: "Then Doctor Feinstein did it for you." Jiuli was shocked.It turned out that when she had typhoid fever, the German doctor saw her for nothing!The elephant, which had been thoroughly rinsed by the rubber water hose, leaned over her bed, smelling the smell of disinfectant.In his clinic, Ruiqiu and his opposite picture: the clinic is attached to a residence, a gorgeous semi-old bungalow, the silhouettes of the two are reflected on the colored glass windows painted with iron and silver hooks, and he listens to her frail words through the receiver with his head down. The boobs, her timid, wary face. No wonder she cursed at the bedside: "You are living to harm others! People like you can only let you fend for yourself." Maybe he paid for the hospital bills. Some things are known too late, as if those involved were already dead.Jiuli didn't feel anything at all! !I know I'm wrong, but the fact is that I feel nothing, like there is no difference at all.When the emotion is exhausted, it is gone. Is it also because there are too many people, and one more person makes no difference?Logically, it can't be said that way, others are people she loves.Because they didn't make a long-term plan, who did they ask her to be loyal to? Jiuli thought, maybe she knew it all along.After the guests for afternoon tea were booked, she came down from the roof. For some reason, there was a smell of water vapor in the bedroom, and the bed cover seemed to have been put on hastily.Of course the impression was fleeting and repelled. How come you don't have the slightest impression of Cheng's nephew?It must be because of his guilty conscience, he always stands back, and after Rui Qiu Chudi left, he didn't come to their house to play, unlike his other brothers.Only him, she didn't mind a little, not because her mother was a married woman at that time-it would be too ridiculous to talk about the law at that time.And it might have been a bit vindictive at the time, as there was probably a small mansion at that time.She just because it was her childhood, somehow that time was especially hers.A long time later, she met a family on the road in the New England countryside. A little boy was leading a "Buzo", a small Mexican donkey, very cute, and the face was not so long.Because she had been walking the same way for a while, she reached out and touched the back of its neck, and the child immediately looked unhappy.She can also understand that she has not forgotten how possessive she was as a child. That year I invited my nephews and nephews to celebrate the Gregorian calendar year. Chu Di still has the small photos I took, and Naide was also present, only he didn’t wear a gold and silver paper pointed hat, and Jiu Li didn’t come to the table, but I remember that before the banquet, Rui Qiu and Chu Di used red Wrap flower pots in crepe paper.The small firecrackers displayed on the table are also made of this kind of crepe paper, and the lanterns and decorations are also made of crepe paper tapes.It was the first time she saw it, and she liked it very much, but she didn't remember Youcheng's nephew and nephew.He didn't take pictures either. In the past few years after they left, Mother Han always took Jiuli Jiulin to their house, and took a rickshaw.On the desolate street is this long square of white clay, which looks like the Middle East.There is only a small old blackened white wooden door on the wall. Once you enter the dark courtyards, there are many small courtyards. They are all families, but there are also unrelated relatives.After rounding the bush, they were led into a very small "dark room", where a tall old man was wearing a gray cloth coat and sitting on a wicker reclining chair.It's her grandfather's nephew, her name is Second Uncle. "How many words have you read?" He asked as usual, and then asked his wife, fourth sister-in-law: "Is there any snacks to eat?" The fourth sister-in-law is a little old lady with small feet, standing at the door of the room.Weng's daughter-in-law finished the discussion, so she went to get some snacks.None of the nephews and nephews hid because there was food to eat. "I'll listen to a poem by heart," he said. Standing on the brick floor, Jiuli shifted her weight back and forth from her left foot to her right foot, and swayed her back with sound but no words. She heard the male servant at home say that the second uncle is the governor.When the city of Nanjing was broken, he sat in a basket and hung from the city wall to escape. The only close relatives in the local area are the uncles of these two families, and the other family is rich.It is only called "new house" among the servants.A newly built large bungalow with milky yellow walls inside and outside, all white lacquered furniture, and a ring of green glass beads hanging from the lampshade in each room.This branch of the Sheng family has a very strong family concept. Not only the two brothers are called the eleventh master and the thirteenth master according to the ranking, but even the aunts and grandmothers are the senior ones.Arranged in turn to the nine aunts and "quan" aunts, making people dizzy.Master Eleven is the head of the Beiyang government.Han's mother took Jiuli and her siblings there, and they always sat alone in the living room on the second floor, while Han's mother stood behind and leaned on the back of their chairs, waiting for two hours at a time.From time to time, Mother Han took a piece of cherry blossom candy from the tall glass dish on the table and peeled it for them to eat. Someone gave me a new aunt who was only seventeen years old and was from Yantai. She stood with her arms crossed in front of the fireplace, her narrow dark purple cheongsam reflecting the green tile fireplace, making her look even more slender.Wearing two braids, one on each side, with sparse front bangs, Xiaoyuan's face is so rouge that it looks rustic. "How long have you been here? Where are you from?" She asked Han Ma with a sullen face.The guests who were also left out, strike up a conversation and find something to talk about, so as not to get stiff.Mother Han respectfully said "aunt and grandma", but she didn't talk much. Even the new aunt and grandma walked away.Finally, the seventh old lady summoned them, and their family even called the old lady according to the ranking.Seventh old lady sat on the edge of the bed and pulled them to ask questions. "What do you eat? Their mothers don't call them food, so they don't dare to give them anything. Can you eat steamed eggs with crucian carp? What else?" After asking one by one, Fang ordered, "Master Sixteen Okay? Sixteenth grandma, Miss Nineteenth, do you have a letter?" Of course, she referred to the Ned brothers and sisters by their senior ranks. "Cough, how can the two children be thrown away, why don't people feel distressed? Thanks to you old people!" "It's the letter that came back, right? Our subordinates don't know about it, old lady!" "The two children are very gentle! It's not like ours." "The two of them are fine and don't quarrel." "How is Master Sixteen doing?" He lowered his voice again, indicating that he was asking seriously this time.Then there was a chatter. Han Ma blinked her eyes halfway, and said with a soft smile: "We don't know, old lady, we are all upstairs. Now there are two cigarette burners downstairs." After the questioning, he said to the children: "Go and play. Ask them for anything you want, and buy it if you don't have it. It's your own home here, don't be a guest." There was no one to play with, so Mother Han took them to the fourth floor, where there was a huge room on the fourth floor, which was a workshop, where the aunt and grandma cut and nailed the quilt on a long table, and stepped on the curtains on the sewing machine.In a corner stood huge rolls of velvet floral curtain material.Her face was yellow and she was no longer dressed up, her eyebrows were black and her hair was furrowed, her small black eyes were like tadpoles, and she never had a smile on her face. "Hey, Aunt Han, sit down, sit down! Have you seen the old lady?" "Meet the old lady! My aunt is busy." She gave a short laugh. "Anyway, I'm—I'm never idle. Lao Wang pours tea!" "What can aunt and grandma do!" The old lady recycles waste, and the outdated aunts and grandmothers send other errands.The second aunt is older than the first aunt, skinny, with big eyes, good at socializing, she entertains all the female guests, she is the celebrity in front of the old lady. Aunt Grandma has a son who is six or seven years old, looks like her, and is as old as Jiuli, but he doesn't play with them. what. She was a little embarrassed in front of people, and said in surprise: "Huh?" But finally took out some money from her pocket and gave it to him, angrily said: "Okay, go, go!" He ran downstairs again go. "Dinner is ready." The maid came upstairs to invite her to dinner. The old lady sat around a large white lacquered round table with her grandchildren and Jiuli Jiulin.The two of them still placed the few dishes that the family ate every day in front of them, while Han Ma stood behind and put them into the dishes. After the meal, the old lady asked the second elder brother to take them to the Commercial Press to buy something for them.The second elder brother was a middle school student. He was wearing cotton under his blue cloth burqa. His long round face was red and white from the cold. He lingered in front of rows of glass counters for a long time.There are many fountain pens, propelling pencils, exquisite pencil cases, glass paperweights, and incomprehensible instruments. Jiuli is too embarrassed to look closely, as if she wants to buy something. A shop clerk came up and was very fawning. Maybe he knew the car at the door and knew that it was the young master of the head's family.The second elder brother suddenly raised two eyebrows, as if very angry, but he didn't buy anything. In the evening, when the car took them back, Jiuli Jiulin rushed to recognize the words on the market sign and read them aloud, very happy. A servant in the "new house" recommended him to serve as a waiter on a ship. He was a big man in black serge shorts, with a fat face like a shiny red apple. "They can 'bring goods' and earn a lot of money," Jiuli heard the servant at home say.Everyone is very envious. He sent a large basket of crabapple fruits from Yantai, the bamboo basket was almost as tall as a person.The maids sneered as they ate, as if embarrassed.I'm already tired of eating it. On a moonlit night, they moved a long bench out to enjoy the shade in the backyard. "Aunt Yu, how big is the moon?" "what do you say?" "How big is the moon with your little eyes?" Mother Han turned to Jiu Li. "As big as a dime? Single dime or double dime?" The moon is very high and small, and it is misty and emits a blue light.How far is the silver coin?Take it closer, make it bigger, take it farther, make it smaller.If it is hung so high in the air, how small should it be?Jiuli's mind was in chaos. "Single dime," Bitao said. "Aunt Han, how old do you think it is?" Han Ma smiled embarrassedly and said, "Old man, my eyesight is not good, and I always look like a big dog." "I don't think it's as big as a dime," said Mama Li. "You are young." "Still young? I'm old!" Smiling and sighing, he said again: "We have no choice but to come out to help others. Aunt Yu's family has fields, land, and a house, so come out at such an old age." Mama Yu remained silent.Mother Han didn't have an interface either.Bitao and Mama Yu were both married by the Bian family, and they said behind their backs that Mama Yu was out of anger with her son and daughter-in-law.My son also often writes letters. "Brother Mao, don't squat on the ground, you bitch! Don't sit on a small bench!" Yu Ma said. There is this kind of "earth dog" in the north, which looks like a small clod, three or four inches long, smooth and light khaki, and looks like a simplified fat dog. It has no neck, ears and tail, and two small black eyes. A spot or a small black bead, crawling on the ground, it is almost indistinguishable, until it suddenly slips away and disappears, so it is always glanced at the corner of the eye, which is very scary. "Sister Mao stamped a word on my fan," Li Ma said.Each of them has a big plantain fan, which is easy to be mistaken.Use mosquito-repellent incense to scald a surname made of dots, but accidentally burn a hole. Lord Deng turned off the lights in the concierge, moved a chair and sat at the door. "Master Deng won't come out to enjoy the cool? It's so hot inside!" Mother Han said. Lord Deng put a white coat on top of his undershirt, and just brought out the chair. Bi Tao snickered and said, "Master Deng really has rules, and he insists on wearing a small gown when he comes out." Mr. Deng is thin, with a shaved head.When he first came to the Sheng family, he was a book boy. Later, the Sheng family married a wife for him, but she died. "I imitate Lord Deng to deliver posts." The miscellaneous workers are also from their hometown. Sometimes they play around, imitating the figure of visiting guests and family members posting posts in the former Qing Dynasty. One hand holds the post aloft. Lord Deng didn't smile at all. Jiuli wanted to say, "Master Deng sent me a post," but she didn't say it, knowing that he would ignore it. Two years ago, he took her to the streets, sat on his shoulders, watched wooden mannequin shows, bought rock candy hawthorns for her to eat out of his own pocket, and bought tickets to visit the Daluotian Amusement Park. Once she heard the maids laughing and saying that Mr. Deng and two servants from "New House" were going to the hall. "What house?" "Hey!" Han Ma whispered to scare her, but she also laughed. She played in the concierge and liked the place very much.There were cigarette burns on the rough old square table.Camellia teapot set, pouring lukewarm light orange tea from the pot.There are pens, inkstones, account books and letterheads on the table, and she can scribble on them as much as she can, and it is up to her to take away one or two blank account books.Once upon a time, she had a nosebleed, so I brought her here, and asked someone to wipe some ink in her nostrils with a brush. The cold and wet brush licked her, and there was a slight smell of ink, which seemed to stop the bleeding. "When I grow up, I will buy a leather robe for Mr. Deng," she said. "It's better to be a big sister," he said.Jiulin remained silent, he was crawling around on Lord Deng's bunk bed, lifting the pillow to look at the corners of the copper plate under the pillow. "What about me? I don't have one?" Mother Han said standing at the door. "Buy a leather jacket for Mother Han," Jiuli said. Han Ma half-shot her eyes at Deng Ye, and said with a soft smile, "Hello, Eldest Sister." There was often a game of cards in the concierge. "Who wins today?" they asked her. The maids upstairs taught her to answer in advance: "Both win. Tables and benches lose." Two cigarette-burning footmen, one was very tall and thin, with a triangular face, big bluish-white cheekbones, shoulders so thin that he shrugged, like Bai Wuchang, who was recommended by the latter, and could take morphine injections.At first, there was only the short man with monkey face, in order to quit gambling, he once cut off a ring finger, and everyone laughed when he mentioned it at the spleen table.Jiuli held his hand and looked, there was only one knuckle left in that finger, and the end was as smooth and pale as a dice.A wry smile appeared on his orange face. "The eldest son poked his foot, the dwarf was so angry, so angry! He said he was going to kill him." Li's mother also did the laundry for the downstairs, and she was more informed. Thunder, the maids said: "Master Lei is dragging the mahjong table." After the rain was over and the sky was blue, they said, "It won't rain anymore, the sky is blue enough to make a hakama." Those who farm them pay special attention to the weather.Waking up in the morning in autumn and winter, I exclaimed loudly: "It's frost!" Holding Jiuli and looking at the window, I saw the frost on the red tiles of a row of houses across the street, which was already melting in the sun, and the back of the tiles was wet and shiny Yes, the depression is still white, redder red, white white, a large area of ​​Ye Ye, she also thinks it is magnificent. "It's windy!" There was a strong wind, and the sky turned yellow. When the windows were closed tightly, there was still a layer of yellow sand on the table. After cleaning it, another layer came out. They wiped it and smiled. Mother Han took her to sleep in the same bed, and licked her eyes when she woke up in the morning, like a cow to a calf.Jiuli doesn't like this, but she also knows that she believes that when she wakes up, her tongue will be refreshed and original, which is good for her eyes.Of course she didn't say it, and she didn't do that when Rui Qiu was at home. According to the rules set by Rui Qiu, she took them to the park with Mama Yu every day. In winter, her legs were bare and she wore woolen socks that did not reach the knees.As soon as she entered the garden gate, the pale yellow grass undulated in front of her. Jiuli yelled and ran wildly. She ran straight and cut everything in Guangyuan in half.I heard Jiulin yelling faintly from behind, and ran after him. "Brother Mao! Don't run, you'll fall to the ground!" Mama Yu yelled like a parrot, she also ran a pair of small feet to catch up, running staggeringly.Less than a year or two ago, Jiulin had weak feet and fell easily. When he went to the park, he always used a big red wide belt as his chest, holding both ends in Mama Yu's hands, like letting go of a dog, which was very eye-catching. .He thought her little feet were walking too slowly, the whole body leaned forward, struggling to move forward, the face on the red strap on her chest seemed to be about to cry. Because Mama Yu is the housekeeper, she will take care of the boy.The generals who defeated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom lived in Nanjing, so all the servants of the Bian family were from Nanjing. "Your surname is Peng, whichever house you meet is which," she said to Jiuli with a half smile. "My surname is Sheng, my surname is Sheng, my surname is Sheng!" "Brother Mao's surname is Sheng. In the future, Brother Mao will marry the young mistress, so I don't want you, a sharp-mouthed aunt, to come back." Ruiqiu said before leaving: "I don't want to talk about this now, now men and women are equal, they are all the same." Mama Yu smiled hostilely: "Oh?" On the delicate and chubby face, the bags under the eyes suddenly deepened.Although the hair is thin, it is still pitch black.Rural women in the south of the Yangtze River don't farm the land, so their feet are bound.Mother Han and the others are all big feet. "We won't go to the fields," she said decisively, also in a tone of pride. Seeing Jiuli turning half-eaten fish over with her chopsticks, she always said, "Young Master Shao doesn't eat turned fish." "why?" "Hey, a gentleman just doesn't eat turnip fish." Jiuli still didn't understand why, and vaguely thought that it might be a "gentleman" to leave half of it for the servants to eat. It was not until half a century later that Taiwanese fishermen believed that eating turnip fish was a sign of capsized boats.Northern Anhui is dry and there are few boats, so Mama Han and the others didn't say this, but Mama Yu doesn't seem to know the origin of this taboo anymore. Yu Ma "talked about ancient times" and said: "In ancient times, there was a catastrophe when there was a flood! Everyone died, and there was only one sister and younger brother left. The younger brother wanted to marry the older sister so as to carry on the family line. The older sister refused, saying : "If you can catch up with me, I will marry you." The younger brother said, "Okay." The older sister ran away, and the younger brother chased after her, but couldn't catch up with her. Who knew there was a turtle on the ground, which tripped her sister's feet and fell When I fell, my brother caught up with me, so I had to marry him. My sister hated the tortoise, and smashed the tortoise's shell with a stone, breaking it into thirteen pieces, so the tortoise's shell is still thirteen pieces now." Jiuli was very embarrassed and didn't look at Jiulin.Of course he didn't look at her either. There is no hot tap water at home, so I have to bring pots and pots to take a bath and pour them into the foreign-style bathtub.In order to save trouble, the maids always wash two children in one basin, and two maids wash at both ends.Jiuli and Jiulin sat at each end, never raising their eyes. In summer, they and their maids spend all day in the backyard. The cook squats on the edge of the gutter scraping fish scales, and the maid washes clothes under the tap. Except for Bitao, who is a girl, the family rarely comes downstairs.Jiuli held a small red leather three-legged stool and sat in a place out of the sun, with the deep blue sky of the northern country above her head.Mama Yu squatted aside to urinate for Jiulin. "Be careful that the dog bites the little sparrow," said the cook. One day, Mother Han said, "The cook said that he couldn't buy ducks for two days." Jiuli said, "If you don't have ducks, you can eat chicken." With a broken voice: "Hey!" "I'm just saying you can eat chicken if you don't have duck." "Say more!" In winter, a can of maltose is placed on the stove lid, and a pair of moso bamboo chopsticks stand inside.The frozen maltose melts very slowly, making people anxious to wait.Finally, at a certain time, Han Ma twisted a ball on the pair of chopsticks, she raised her head and opened her mouth to wait, the brown gelatin twisted and twisted like a golden snake against the sunlight, and seemed to come down very slowly. Small black magnetic jars of maltose, which the maids keep for "cupping".Whatever ails them, crumpled newspapers are burned in pots and folded upside down on their bare, freckled shoulders. In winter, Jiulin wears a gold maroon satin one-breasted small vest, and a sapphire blue cocoon cotton robe is sprinkled with pink and orange butterflies.Jiuli smiled and said, "My brother is so fun," and kissed his face many times. Although the skin is tender, because it is thin, it looks like soft chiffon.He lowered his eyes, pretending not to notice, not to feel it. The maids admired this scene very much, and they were very happy even if Mama Yu didn't say anything. Bitao exclaimed, "Look at how nice they are!" Mama Yu can read and write.Only she didn't have to send money back to support the family, so she had more pocket money. One day, she bought a precious scroll on a load of old books and read it to everyone after dinner. I was dumbfounded, half-understood and pious.The most important thing is "If you take off your shoes and socks today, how will you know whether you will wear them tomorrow?" Mama Yu repeated these two sentences several times, and the elderly people were very moved. She sometimes talks about hell, Jiuli thinks it is a big cellar, just like the gray cement walls on the stairs of the Daluotian Amusement Park, but it is located in the basement, divided into categories, Yinshan Daoshan Flaming Mountain, Niejing Wangxiangtai , the big wheel of reincarnation high into the air.Of course Jiuli went, but just looked around, she won't be punished.Why does she do bad things?But she shouldn't be too nice, jump out of reincarnation and go to heaven, and the Jade Emperor will personally come down to greet her.She will be reincarnated endlessly time and time again, leading various lives, and sometimes she is beautiful and rich.But no matter how much you want to believe it, you still don’t believe it, because it’s so satisfying, it’s exactly what people want in their hearts, so it’s like a made-up word, unlike when they entered a missionary school later, their heaven is to play the harp and sing in the clouds forever Hymns - Not Enough of Worship?Every morning for half an hour, and in the evening, there are classmates who come to talk and drag people to listen to the students' sermons.We prayed for three hours on Sunday morning, and the only adjustment was Qiang Subai, an American pastor, who laughed so hard that we couldn't make a sound, and there was a female teaching staff watching every two rows.Looking at the blue sky outside the small narrow windows of the cathedral in the middle ages, she always felt that it was a crime to be locked inside.Sometimes the bishop came to preside over the meeting. He was originally a missionary from Shandong, and he learned Shandong dialect. But the Bible is a great work, the Old Testament is an epic, the New Testament is a biographical novel, and there are some magical writings like Jesus telling Judas: "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." She read this verse in school, Immediately I remembered one time when she was six or seven years old.Ai Lao San has moved in since her mother left.The third child of Aiyuelou has a slender figure, a pale melon-seeded face, and her hair is combed horizontally, her bangs cover her eyebrows, and her eyes narrow when she smiles.She asked a tailor to make the clothes, and made Jiuli a set of identical ones, snow-green velvet dresses. Recently, short jackets are waist-length, without slits, and narrow sleeves reach the elbows. It is also as clear as water, without any fringe, and it is a simplified western women's clothing at the end of the century.Ai Lao San is actually the figure of a high-end fashion model, thin but without ribs, and has better hangers than anyone else. In the dark large room, a Western-style carved teak full-length mirror stood on a shelf, leaning forward.Jiuli stood in front of the mirror. She was fat, and the tailor couldn't find her waist after pinching it.Ai Lao San impatiently grabbed the side, and said: "Here! It's better to be taller, and the waist is taller." The tailor left, and Ai Lao San hugged her and sat on his lap, and said with a smile: "Your second aunt always remakes old clothes when she makes you clothes, but mine is a whole new one. Do you like second aunt or me? " "I like you." Jiu Li felt that it would be impolite not to say that, but suddenly it seemed as if a chimney opened above her head, leading straight up.In the faint crowing of a rooster, someone heard it in the twilight sky. Clothes are here.Ai Laosan takes Jiuli out alone at night in a rickshaw.At the end of the year, the wind was strong, and the driver pulled up the tarpaulin to keep out the wind. Ai Lao San asked: "Is it cold?" He also wrapped her in the cloak. In the dark, Ai Lao San is very fragrant and very fragile.The strong fragrance is mixed with a slightly sweet breath of old opium smoke. After entering a long alley and getting off the rickshaw, they stood in front of two red oil gates, with the word "king" in red on the gate lights.The lights are bright, and the northwest wind is whistling, blowing the underground spotless.Ai Lao San rang the bell, raised the collar of the cloak, and the black velvet burst out of the rose-purple velvet lining, supporting her small head like a flower.From her black rhinestone handbag she counted a large roll of bills, the size of bricks, but disorganized. Jiu Li thought: "There are robbers coming to rob!" Her hairs stood on end.Looking back, the rickshaw was gone.Just now the coachman was very neatly dressed, with Zhigong shoes and snow-white socks, and he was there for a few regular customers. At this moment, she thought he was a savior, a family general, but on the other hand, he felt that he had seen him. Maybe it will be robbed too. I opened the door and loved the third child, and I haven't finished ordering, maybe it's deliberately showing off.Entering the house is large, newly painted, but not exquisite.There are people coming and going in the hall, and there is a staircase.There is a large lamp on each table in the hall, and the faces on the table are all blue and white.Once Ai Lao San took off his cloak, their mother and daughter outfits were really eye-catching. A mysterious young woman was leading a little fat girl, dressed exactly the same.One of her little sisters came up to greet her, and she gave Jiu Li a strange look, with an air of disgust. Ai Lao San hurriedly said: "It's our second master's child." Then Zhang Luo Jiuli smiled and said: "You just sit here, ah, don't go elsewhere, or you won't be found." The two walked away, and soon her little sister brought a handful of sweets and left again. Jiuli watched these people gamble from a distance, but she couldn't see why, and she couldn't see Ai Laosan either.Beside a potted palm tree, a man and a woman walked by, like movie stars, the woman wore a short western-style skirt, with a three-foot white silk scarf floating behind her, and the man's hair was as shiny as patent leather.Can't hear them talking - it was a silent film at the time.Sitting for a long time is like a "new house", waiting for several hours is very annoying.When the third love came, she leaned there and fell asleep. After that, he never took her there again, and always liked the third child to go out with Ned. "Say it's a big loss," the maids murmured to each other with fear on their faces. "I went every day after the new year....the club didn't gamble so much....I said I met Langzhong....this time I was at an acquaintance's house....I fell out with Mr. Liu...." I have long heard that "Mr. New Year's Eve" is a threat.After the New Year, I really invited you. "Is the board open?" The maids and maids, including the cook, asked happily from time to time for some reason. The board was placed on the desk, next to the brass ruler, Jiu Li didn't even look at it, expressing her disdain.It was Mr. Deng, who had been a book boy, who found all the equipment in the second master's study.The size and shape of the board is like a glasses case, but it is flatter, old and greasy, and there is a crack in one place, with a small piece missing, exposing wood fibers of uneven length. Although it has been polished again, it still makes people worry about thorns. . Start talking about "Guidelines". "'Zhou Zhao Gonghe' is like the housekeeper of Han Ma Yu Ma now," Jiu Li thought. Speaking of Boyi Shuqi starving to death on Shouyang Mountain, she saw the two brothers picking wild vegetables in the pale yellow weeds to eat. They did not eat the grain of the Zhou Dynasty, and the people at the foot of the mountain continued to live.She burst into tears.The teacher didn't expect him to speak so movingly, so he felt a little embarrassed.But the more he cried, the more sad he became, he couldn't help but suspect that he was using this to strike out from class, so he straightened his face, ignored her, and continued to talk, punctuating her.Jiulin lowered his head and pursed his thin lips.She knew he was thinking: "Showing off again!" The master and the apprentice sat closer together, and she couldn't hear them because of the noise.Then she gradually stopped talking. Ned has always taught the lessons behind closed doors, and checked twice. He thought they were not familiar with the memorization, so he asked them to read the night book, sit opposite each other at the dining table after dinner, and review the day's lessons. Recite it to him.The teacher didn't say anything when he heard it, but it was obviously a bit of a shame for him. In the two rooms across from the living room and dining room, the sliding door in the middle is always open, and the two rooms are merged into one room. There is a large arch door in the middle, the light is dim, and the blue smoke is misty, like a cave.Ned and Ai Laosan were lying on the cigarette shop, only lighting a lamp on the coffee table. Ai Lao San wears a red-lined jacket with wire gauze, flared hakama feet, and a line of black spiders embroidered on the heel of white stockings climbs up his slender ankles.She ignores Jiu Li now, and Jiu Li doesn't say hello when she sees her.Ned hadn't wanted them to call her anything.But in front of her endorsement is very uncomfortable. The eldest son sat on a small stool and burned a cigarette. He wore a short-sleeved white coat with the wide cuffs turned up high, and occasionally said something with a smile in a low voice.Neither of them made a sound on the bed. Ned took the book and sat up. He was wearing a sweater, his eyes were slightly swollen, and his half-drunk look was on his face.Jiuli stood on the ground, swayed and began to recite, and stopped halfway through the recitation. "Take it and read it!" He couldn't recite it the second time, so he threw the book on the ground. The more afraid of making a fool of myself in front of Ai Laosan, the more unable to recite it.第三次他跳起来拉紧她一只手，把她拖到书房里，拿板子打了十几下手心。她大哭起来。韩妈在穿堂里窥探，见乃德走了方才进来，忙把她拉上楼去。 “吓咦！还要哭，”虎起脸来吆暍，一面替她揉手心。 佣仆厨子不再笑问“板子开了张没有”了。 每天晚上九林坐在她对面惨惨戚戚小声念书，她怕听那声音，他倒从来没出事。 爱老三有个父亲跟着她，大个子，穿着灰布袍子，一张苍黄的大脸，也许只有五十来岁，鬼影似的在她房里掩出掩进。 “怕二爷，”女佣们轻声说。 “又说不是她老子。” 他总是在楼下穿堂里站在五斗橱前，拿着用过的烟斗挖烟灰吃。 爱老三仍旧照堂子里的规矩，不大跟男人一桌吃饭，总要晚两个钟头一个人吃，斜签着身子坐着，乏味的拨着碗里的饭，只有几样腌渍卤菜。 刚搬进来吃暖宅酒，兼请她的小姐妹们，所以她们也上桌，与男客并坐。男女主人分别让客进餐室，九莉那时候四岁，躲在拉门边的丝绒门帘里。那一群女客走过，系着半长不短的三镶阔花边铁灰皱裥裙，浅色短袄，长得都很平常，跟亲戚家的女太太们没什么分别。进去之后拉门拉上了，只听见她父亲说话的声音，因为忽高怱低，彷佛有点气烘烘的声口。客室裹只剩下两个清倌人，身量还没长足，合坐在一张沙发椅上，都是粉团脸，打扮得一式一样，水钻狗牙齿沿边淡湖色袄袴。她觉得她们非常可爱，渐渐的只把门帘裹在身上，希望她们看见她跟她说话。但是她们就像不看见，只偶然自己两个人轻声说句什么。 赤凤团花暗粉红地毯上，火炉烧得很旺。隔壁传来轻微的碗筷声笑语声。她只剩一角绒幕搭在身上，还是不看见她，她终于疑心是不理她。 李妈帮着上菜，递给打杂的端进去，低声道：“不知道怎么，这两个不让她们吃饭，也不让她们走。说是姐妹俩。”因向客室里张了张，一眼看见九莉，不耐烦的“啧”了一声，皱着眉笑着拉着她便走，送上楼去。 也是李妈轻声告诉韩妈她们：“现在自己会打针了。一个跑，一个追，硬给她打，”尴尬的嗤笑着。 毓恒经常写信到国外去报告，这一封蕊秋留着，回国后夹杂在小照片里，九莉刚巧看见了：“小姐钧鉴：前禀想已入钧览。日前十三爷召职前往，问打针事。职禀云老三现亦打上针，瘾甚大。为今之计，莫若釜底抽薪调虎离山，先由十三爷借故接十六爷前去小住，再行驱逐。十六爷可暂缓去沪，因老三南人，恐跟踪南下，十六爷懦弱，不能驾驭也。昨职潜入十六爷内室，盗得针药一枚，交十三爷送去化验……” 他向往“新房子”，也跟着他们称姑爷为十六爷。像蒋干盗书一样，他“卧底”有功，又与一“新房子”十三爷搭上了线，十分兴头，但是并没有就此赏识录用他。蕊秋楚娣回国后他要求“小姐三小姐荐事，”蕊秋告诉他“政府现在搬到南京了，我们现在也不认识人了。” 爱老三到三层楼上去翻箱子，经过九林房门口，九林正病着，她也没问起。 “连头部不回，”李妈说。 余妈不作声。 “嗳，也不问一声，”韩妈说。 九莉心里想，问也是假的，她自己没生，所以看不得他是个儿子。不懂她们为什么这样当桩事。 好久没叫进去背书了。九莉走过他们房门口，近门多了一张单人铜床，临空横拦着。乃德迎门坐在床沿上，头上裹着纱布，看上去非常异样，但是面色也还像听她背书的时候，目光下视，略有点悻幸然，两手撑在床上，短袖汗衫露出的一双胳膊意外的丰满柔软。 “痰盂罐砸的，”女佣们轻声说。“不知道怎么打起来了。” 乃德被“新房子”派汽车来接去了，她都不知道。下午忽然听见楼下吵闹的声音。 “十三爷来了，”女佣们兴奋的说。 李妈碧桃都到楼梯上去听，韩妈却沉着脸搂着九莉坐着，防她乱跑。只隐隐听见十三爸爸拍桌子骂人，一个女人又哭又嚷，突然冒出来这么几句，时发时停，江南官话，逼出来的大嗓门，十分难听。这是爱老三？九莉感到震恐。 十三爷坐汽车走了。楼下忙着理行李。男仆都去帮着扛抬。天还没黑，几辆塌车堆得高高的拉出大门，楼上都挤在窗口看。 “这可好了！”碧桃说。余妈在旁边没作声。 还有一辆。and also. 又出来一辆大车。碧桃李妈不禁噗嗤一声笑了，碧桃轻声道：“哪来这些东西？” 都有点恐慌，彷佛脚下的房子给掏空了。 李妈道：“是说是她的东西都给她带去，不许在天津北京挂牌子做生意。” 碧桃道：“说是到通州去，她是通州人。” “南通州是北通州？”李妈说。 似乎没有人知道。 北洋政府倒了她有没有回来，回来了是否还能挂牌子做生意，是不是太老了，又打上了吗啡？九莉从来没想到这些，但是提起她的时候总护着她：“我倒觉得她好看。” 当时听不懂的也都忘了：在那洞窟似的大房间里追逐着，捉住她打吗啡针，那阴暗的狂欢场面。乃德看不起她，所以特地吩咐韩妈不要孩子们叫她。看不起她也是一种刺激。被她打破头也是一种刺激。但是终于被“新房子”抓到了把柄，“棒打鸳鸯两离分，”而且没给遣散费。她大概下场很惨。
九林虽然好了，爱老三也走了，余妈不知道怎么忽然灰心起来，辞了工要回家去。盛家也就快回南边去了，她跟着走可以省一笔路费，但是竟等不及，归心似箭。 碧桃搭讪着笑道：“余大妈走了，等毛哥娶亲再来，”自己也觉得说得不像，有点心虚似的。也没有人接口。 白牛皮箱网篮行李卷都堆在房间中央。九莉忽然哭了，因为发现无论什么事都有完的时候。 “还是毛姐好，”碧桃说。“又不是带她的，还哭得这样。” 余妈不作声，只顾忙她的行李。九林站在一边，更一语不发。 楼下报说黄包车叫来了。余妈方才走来说道：“毛姐我走了。毛哥比你小，你要照应他。毛哥我走了。以后韩妈带你了，你要听话，自己知道当心。” 九林不作声，也不朝她看。打杂的上楼来帮着拿行李，韩妈碧桃等送她下楼，一片告别声。 此后九莉总觉得他是余妈托孤托给她们的，觉得对不起她。韩妈也许也有同感。 他们自己也要动身了。 “到上海去喽！到上海去喽，”碧桃漫声唱念着。 家具先上船。空房里剩下一张小铁床，九莉一个人蹲在床前吃石榴，是“新房子”送的水菓。她是第一次看见石榴，里面一颗颗红水晶骰子，吃完了用核做兵摆阵。水菓篮子盖下扣着的一张桃红招牌纸，她放在床下，是红泥混沌的秦淮河，要打过河去。 连铁床都搬走了，晚上打地铺，韩妈李妈一边一个，九莉九林睡在中间。一个家整个拆了，满足了儿童的破坏欲。头上的灯光特别遥远黯淡，她在枕上与九林相视而笑。看着他椭圆的大眼睛，她恨不得隔着被窝搂紧了他压碎他，他脆薄得像梳打饼干。 最初只有他们两个人。她坐在床上，他并排坐着，离得不太近，防万一跌倒。两人都像底边不很平稳的泥偶。房间里很多人，但是都是异类，只有他们俩同类，彼此很注意。她面前搁着一只漆盘——“抓周”。当然把好东西如笔墨都搁在跟前，坏东西如骰子骨牌都搁得远远的，够不到。韩妈碧桃说她抓了笔与棉花困脂，不过三心两意，拿起放下。没有人记得九林抓了什么。 也许更早，还没有他的时候，她站在朱漆描金站桶里，头别来别去，躲避一只白铜汤匙。她的调羹呢？白磁底上有一朵紫红小花。不要这铁腥气的东西。 “唉哎嗳！”韩妈不赞成的口吻，一次次泼撒了汤粥。 婴儿的眼光还没有焦点，韩妈的脸奇大而模糊。 突然汤匙被她抢到手里，丢得很远很远，远得看不见，只听见叮当落地的声音。 “今天不知道怎么，脾气坏，”韩妈说。 她不会说话，但是听得懂，很生气。从地下拣起汤匙送了出去，居然又拿了只铜汤匙来喂她。 房间里还有别人来来往往，都看不清楚。 忽然哗哗哗一阵巨响，腿上一阵热。这站桶是个双层小柜，像向蹀廊似的回声很大。她知道自己理亏，反胜为败了。韩妈嘟囔着把她抱了出来，换衣服擦洗站桶。 她站在蕊秋梳妆台旁边，有梳妆台高了。蕊秋发脾气，打了碧桃一个嘴巴子。 “给我跪下来！” 碧桃跪了下来，但是仍旧高得使人诧异，显得上身太长，很难看。九莉怔了一怔，扯开喉咙大哭起来。 蕊秋皱眉道：“吵死了！老韩呢？还不快抱走。” 她站在旁边看蕊秋理箱子。一样样不知名的可爱的东西从女佣手里传递过来。 “好，你看好了，不要动手摸，啊！”蕊秋今天的声音特别柔和。但是理箱子理到一个时候，忽然注意到她，便不耐烦的说：“好，你出去吧。” 家里人来人往，女客来得不断，都是“新房子”七老太太派来劝说的。 临动身那天晚上来了贼，偷去许多首饰。 女佣们窘笑道：“还在地下屙了泡大屎。” 从外国寄玩具来，洋娃娃，炮兵堡垒，真能烧煮的小酒精钢灶，一只蓝白相间波浪形图案丝绒鬈毛大圆球，不知道作什么用，她叫它“老虎蛋”。放翻桌椅搭成汽车，与九林开汽车去征蛮，中途埋锅造饭，煮老虎蛋吃。 “记不记得二婶三姑啊？”碧桃总是漫声唱念着。 “这是谁呀？”碧桃给她看一张蕊秋自己着色的大照片。 “二婶，”只看了一眼，不经意的说。 “二婶三姑到哪去啦？” “到外国去了。” 像祈祷文的对答一样的惯例。 碧桃收起照片，轻声向韩妈笑道：“他们还好，不想。” 韩妈半霎了霎眼睛，笑道：“他们还小。” 九莉知道二婶三姑到外国去这件事很奇怪，但是这些人越是故作神秘，她越是不屑问。 韩妈弯着腰在浴缸里洗衣服，九莉在背后把她的蓝布围裙带子解开了，围裙溜下来拖到水里。 “唉哎嗳！”韩妈不赞成的声音。 系上又给解开了，又再拖到水里。九莉嗤笑着，自己也觉得无聊。 有时候她想，会不会这都是个梦，会怱然醒过来，发现自己是另一个人，也许是公园里池边放小帆船的外国小孩。当然这日子已经过了很久了，但是有时候梦中的时间也好像很长。 多年后她在华盛顿一条僻静的街上看见一个淡棕色童化头发的小女孩一个人攀着小铁门爬上爬下，两手扳着一根横栏，不过跨那么一步，一上一下，永远不厌烦似的。她突然憬然，觉得就是她自己。老是以为她是外国人——在中国的外国人——因为隔离。 她像棵树，往之雍窗前长着，在楼窗的灯光里也影影绰绰开着小花，但是只能在窗外窥视。