Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

Li Lan had already stood at the gate of the hospital in the early morning. Although Song Fanping said in his letter that he would not arrive in Shanghai until noon, the separation of more than two months made Li Lan's thoughts surging like waves. Woke up, sat on the hospital bed and waited for the morning light.When a postoperative patient turned over due to pain and woke up, he saw Li Lan sitting there motionless like a ghost, and screamed in fright, almost tearing the newly stitched wound.When she was sure that Li Lan was sitting on the opposite bed, she began to moan in pain.Li Lan was deeply disturbed, and after softly saying a lot of words of apology, she picked up her travel bag and walked out of the ward, walking to the gate of the hospital.The street was empty before dawn, the lonely Li Lan stood with her lonely travel bag, and the two shadows stood silently in front of the hospital gate.This time, the porter of the hospital was taken aback. The old man who guarded the gate with hypertrophy of the prostate was woken up by urination and came outside the house with his pants up. shouted:

"Who are you?" Li Lan told him what her name was, which ward she lived in, and she was going to be discharged today, and she was waiting here for her husband to pick her up.The old man guarding the gate was still in shock. He pointed to another shadow and said: "Who is he?" Li Lan picked up the luggage and said, "It's a travel bag." The old man who guarded the door breathed a sigh of relief, he walked around to the back of the house, and flushed out the remaining half of his urine against the corner, muttering in his mouth: "It's scary, my fucking pants are wet..."

Hearing his complaints, Li Lan picked up his travel bag and walked out of the hospital gate in shame. He walked along the street until he reached the corner. Not far from the dark gates of the hospital.At this time, Li Lan's heart suddenly became peaceful. When she was sitting on the hospital bed, she felt that she was waiting for the dawn; now that she was standing on the corner of the street, she felt that she was waiting for Song Fanping, and she was imagining I saw Song Fanping's tall and strong figure approaching enthusiastically. Li Lan has been standing there, her thin body motionless in the darkness, she is indeed frightening.There was once a man who walked towards her and found her after walking about ten meters away. He couldn't help being startled, then walked carefully to the opposite side of the street, and kept turning his head to spy on her as he walked past.The other man bumped into her when he was turning a corner. He trembled in fright, and then walked around her pretending to be calm. His shoulders were still shaking when he walked, and Li Lan couldn't help laughing softly. The ghostly laughter made the man completely collapsed, and he ran away all the way.

Li Lan did not end her role as a female ghost until the light of sunrise illuminated the entire street. She was still standing at the corner of the street, and she began to become a human being.When the street gradually became lively, Li Lan walked back to the gate of the hospital with her travel bag. At this time, her waiting officially began. The whole morning, Li Lan was flushed and excited, the street in front of her was also filled with the sound of red flags fluttering and slogans, and the continuous flow of parade teams made the hot summer even hotter.The concierge of that hospital had already recognized Li Lan, and he

He spent the whole morning looking at this woman who scared him so much that he peed his pants before dawn. He saw her excitedly looking at everyone in the parade, it should be said that everyone who passed by.Li Lan's excitement merged into the excitement of the street, just like a brook merged into a river. Her excited eyes searched for Song Fanping's figure in the excited crowd.The concierge saw her standing there for a long time, wondering why no one came to pick her up, so he went over and asked her: "When is your husband coming?" Li Lan turned her head and replied, "Noon."

After hearing her answer, the concierge of the hospital walked back to the reception room suspiciously, and looked at the wall clock on the wall suspiciously. It was not yet ten o'clock in the morning.He thought to himself that there are so many wonders in the world, this woman was standing here before dawn, waiting for a man who didn't come until noon.Next, the old man guarding the gate looked at Li Lan even more curiously, thinking to himself: How long has this woman not been touched by a man?He couldn't help but stepped forward to ask Li Lan again, how long had she been separated from her husband?Li Lan told him that it had been more than two months.The concierge laughed a few times, thinking that it had only been more than two months and she had become so anxious. This thin and shriveled woman was a 100% slut in her bones.

At that time, Li Lan had been standing on the street for almost six hours. She hadn't touched a drop of water or eaten a grain of rice, but her face was still flushed with high spirits.As noon approached, her excitement and excitement also reached its peak. When her eyes looked at the men who came and went, it seemed like nails were about to smash into the bodies of those men.Several times she saw a figure similar to Song Fanping, she stood on tiptoe and waved her hands vigorously, and tears welled up in her eyes, although such joy was short-lived, she still continued her excitement. After twelve o'clock at noon, Song Fanping still didn't show up, but Song Fanping's sister rushed over. She squeezed out of a bus and ran to the gate of the hospital sweating profusely. After seeing Li Lan shouted with joy:

"Oh, you're still here..." Song Fanping's elder sister wiped the sweat from her forehead and talked endlessly. She said that she was worried that she would not be able to catch up with her along the way. She almost had to transfer to the coach station, but luckily she didn't.As she spoke, she handed a bag of white rabbit toffee to Li Lan, saying it was for the children to eat.Li Lan accepted the toffee and put it in the travel bag.She didn't say anything, she just nodded to Song Fanping's sister with a smile, and couldn't help but look at the flow of people on the street.Song Fanping's sister looked at the men on the street with her, this sister

The older sister was puzzled by the absence of her younger brother, so she pointed to her watch and said to Li Lan: "He should be here. It's almost one o'clock in the afternoon." The two women stood at the entrance of the hospital for half an hour, and Song Fanping's sister said that she couldn't wait any longer and had to go back to work.Before leaving, she comforted Li Lan, saying that Song Fanping must be stuck on the road; she said that it took three bus transfers from the long-distance bus station to the hospital, and the street was full of marchers, blocking the street; she said It is difficult for people to squeeze through, let alone a car.Song Fanping's sister left in a hurry after speaking, and then came back in a hurry and said to Li Lan:

"If you can't catch the afternoon bus, you can come to live at my house." Li Lan continued to stand at the entrance of the hospital. She believed what Song Fanping's sister said, that Song Fanping was blocked on the road, and her eyes were still passionately watching the men who kept coming.As time passed, Li Lan became more and more tired. Her hunger and thirst made her unable to continue standing. She sat down on the steps of the reception room and leaned her body against the door frame. Her head was still upright and her eyes were still looking around.The old man in the reception room looked up at the wall clock on the wall, and it was already past two o'clock in the afternoon, so he said to her:

"You're here before dawn, and it's already past two o'clock in the afternoon; I didn't see what you ate or drank, but you were standing all the time. Can you do it without eating or drinking?" Li Lan turned her head and said to the old man with a smile, "It's okay now." The old man continued: "You'd better go buy something to eat, there is a pastry shop twenty meters to the right." Li Lan shook her head and said, "What if he comes after I leave?" The old man said: "I will watch for you, tell me, what does he look like?" After thinking for a while, Li Lan still shook her head, and said, "I'm still waiting here." The two stopped talking, the old man was sitting at the window of the reception room, and people kept coming to ask him something.Li Lan was still sitting on the steps at the door, still looking at everyone who came by.Then the old man stood up, walked up to Li Lan and said to her: "I'll go buy food for you." Li Lan was startled, the old man repeated the words, and at the same time stretched out his hand to Li Lan.Li Lan understood, and hurriedly took out the money and food stamps from her pocket.The old man asked her: "What are you eating? Steamed buns? Meat buns or red bean paste buns, would you like a bowl of wontons?" Li Lan handed the money and food coupons to the old man and said, "Just buy two steamed buns." The old man took the money and food stamps and said, "You are really saving." When the old man reached the gate, he turned back to her and said, "Don't let anyone enter the reception room, it's all state property." Li Lan nodded and said, "Understood." At about 3:30 in the afternoon, Li Lan finally had food.She broke off the steamed buns one by one, put them in her mouth one by one, chewed them slowly, and swallowed them slowly.She didn't drink water all day, and she had a hard time eating, as if she was taking a piece of bitter medicine.When the old man saw it, he handed her his teacup.Li Lan picked up the cup full of tea stains, drank the tea in it slowly, and ate a steamed bun.She didn't eat the other steamed bun, so she wrapped it in paper and put it in a travel bag.After eating a steamed bun, Li Lan felt her strength gradually returned. She stood up and said to the old man in the reception room: "The car he took arrived in Shanghai at eleven o'clock in the noon. Even if he left, he should have walked to the hospital." The old man said: "Even if you climb, you have already climbed here." At this time, Li Lan felt that Song Fanping might be taking the afternoon bus, and she thought that Song Fanping must have been delayed by some important matter.She felt that she should go to the long-distance bus station, because the afternoon bus will arrive in Shanghai at five o'clock.Li Lan described Song Fanping's appearance to the old man in detail, and said that if Song Fanping came, please tell him that she went to the long-distance bus station.The old man reassured her, saying that whenever a tall man came over, he would ask him if his name was Song Fanping. Li Lan carried the travel bag, walked out of the gate of the hospital, and walked to the stop sign of the bus. She stood there waiting for a while, and then walked back to the window of the reception room with the travel bag. The old man saw her and said: "How did you come back?" Li Lan said, "I forgot to say something." The old man asked, "What are you talking about?" Li Lan looked into the old man's eyes and said solemnly, "Thank you, you are a good person." The thin Li Lan carried a fat travel bag, squeezed onto the bus, staggered in the crowded compartment, and was drowsy from the smell of sweat, body odor, foot odor, and bad breath.Then squeezed out of the car, squeezed into the car again, changed the car three times and arrived at the long-distance bus station.At that time, it was almost five o'clock in the afternoon. She stood at the exit of the station, and the light of the sunset reflected her body red. She watched the long-distance buses enter the station one after another, and the passengers walked out.She was flushed and excited again as at noon, and she Knowing that when a man who was a head taller than others came out, it must be Song Fanping, so her shining eyes looked over the heads of those passengers.At this time, she still firmly believed that Song Fanping would come out from this exit, and she never thought that any accident would happen. At that time, it was Baldy Li and Song Gang who were waiting for her at our station in Liu Town. When the gate of the station in Liu Town was closed, this station in Shanghai was also closed; Baldy Li and Song Gang were eating steamed buns given by the dim sum shop owner When walking home, Li Lan was still standing at the exit of Shanghai Railway Station.It was getting dark, and Li Lan didn't see Song Fanping's tall figure. When the big iron gate at the entrance of the station was closed, her head seemed to be hollowed out, and she stood there as if she lost consciousness. Li Lan spent that night outside the door of the waiting room. She once thought about going to Song Fanping's sister's house, but she didn't have her home address. Song Fanping's sister forgot to tell Li Lan's home address. Li Lan also had no idea whether Song Fanping would come to Shanghai or not. She thought it was enough for her younger brother to know her address.So Li Lan fell asleep on the floor like a homeless beggar. The summer night mosquitoes buzzed and bit her, but she didn't realize it. She fell into a drowsy sleep and woke up in a daze. In the middle of the night, a female lunatic came to accompany her. The lunatic sat beside her first, watching her carefully, giggling and laughing at the same time.Li Lan was woken up by her strange smile. In the light of the street lamp, the mad woman was unkempt, which made Li Lan let out a scream, but the mad woman let out a longer and sharper scream, as if Li Lan had frightened her. He jumped up, and then sat down as if nothing had happened, watching Li Lan continue to giggle. Li Lan was still in astonishment, the lunatic had already hummed a ditty, she was humming, and at the same time she was talking endlessly, her voice was bursting like a machine gun.Li Lan was no longer shocked. Although she didn't know what the lunatic was talking about, a voice kept ringing in her ears, which made her feel very peaceful.After Li Lan smiled slightly, she fell asleep again. I don't know how much time has passed. Li Lan heard crackling applause in her sleep. After she opened her heavy eyes, she saw that this crazy woman was still sitting beside her, waving her arms to repel mosquitoes, and at the same time beating her hands. watching them.After the lunatic slapped more than ten times in succession, she carefully removed the mosquitoes from her palm and put them in her mouth, swallowing them with a giggle.Her actions reminded Li Lan of the steamed buns in the travel bag. Li Lan sat up, took out the steamed buns in the travel bag, broke off half of them and handed them to the lunatic. Li Lan's hand holding the steamed bun was almost under her eyelids, but the lunatic still ignored it. She continued to drive away and slap the mosquitoes, continued to put the mosquitoes on the palm of her hand into her mouth, chewed them, and continued to eat and laugh.Li Lan was tired of raising her hand, and when she was about to put it down, the lunatic suddenly snatched half of the steamed bun.After getting the steamed buns, the lunatic woman stood up immediately, whimpered, and walked down the steps of the waiting room, as if she was looking for something. The lunatic walked a few steps south, then turned back and forth He walked a few steps north, then walked eastward with the steamed buns in his hand.When the lunatic walked away slowly, Li Lan finally heard what she was calling clearly, and she kept shouting: "Brother, brother..." Li Lan was the only one left under the dim streetlights. She sat there, eating the steamed buns slowly, feeling empty in her heart.When she finished eating the steamed buns, the street lights suddenly went out, and she looked up to see the light of the sunrise, at that moment her tears burst out. Li Lan got on the morning bus. When the bus drove out of the long-distance station, she turned her head and looked around. She kept looking at the street outside, looking for Song Fanping.It wasn't until the car drove out of Shanghai and the scenery outside the window turned into a field that Li Lan closed his eyes, leaned his head on the window frame, and fell asleep in the bumps of the car.During the three-hour journey, Li Lan kept falling asleep and waking up again and again. Those envelopes kept appearing in her mind. Why are the positions where the stamps are always different?Such doubts struck again, and intensified.Li Lan knew that Song Fanping was a man of his word, since he said he would come to Shanghai to pick her up, he would come to Shanghai regardless.If he hadn't come, something must have happened.This kind of thought made Li Lan tremble in his heart. As the car got closer and closer to Liu Town, and the scenery outside the car window became familiar, Li Lan's premonition of uneasiness became stronger and stronger.At this time, she clearly felt that something happened to Song Fanping. She covered her face with her trembling hands. She didn't dare to think about something more specific. She felt that she was about to collapse, and tears came out of her eyes. The car drove into our station in Liu Town. Li Lan was the last to get off the bus carrying a gray travel bag with "Shanghai" printed on it. She followed behind the crowd leaving the station. She felt that her legs were filled with lead. Every step she took made her feel that the bad news was approaching. When she walked out of the bus station in dire straits, two dirty boys who seemed to have been buried in the garbage for several days cried loudly at her. Li Lan knew that her premonition had been confirmed. Her eyes were dark, and her travel bag fell to the ground.The two filthy boys were Baldy Li and Song Gang, and they wept and said to Li Lan: "Dad is dead."