Chapter 73 12. Quiet days

In October 1997, at the wedding, the host asked Hong what he saw in me. Hong talked about a car accident she was driving two months ago. Both of us almost died, but I didn’t blame her at all, but said a proverb : "We can blame each other for small things, but we must work together for big things." She said, she married me for the sake of this sentence.I forgot to say this, of course, the scene of the accident is still fresh in my memory. That day, Hong was driving a rented car to practice on a suburban road, and I sat in the passenger seat.The car was driving from east to west, and when we reached a crossroad, a motorcycle coming from west to east also arrived at the intersection. There was a man and a woman in the car, and they turned left suddenly, blocking our way.At this time, our car was still driving fast and was about to hit the motorcycle. Hong and I yelled at the same time. I remember what I yelled: "Why are you doing this!" Hong instinctively turned south in a hurry.What happened next seemed like an instant.The car rushed to the side of the road after turning the corner and rolled over.I could feel the car drop and roll and knew we were done.Hong later said that this thought also crossed her mind at the time: Is this the end?Don't feel scared because it's too late.There is no time to think about how things will end, only know that we must be over.However, the rolling stopped suddenly.I felt myself above, Hong below, and mud and water rushing into the car.I took her hand and said, "Don't be afraid." She agreed.It was dark on her side, and the windows were blocked.The window on my side was exposed, half open, and the handle had already come off. I groped around for the handle to swing the window open, but couldn't find it.A young man's face appeared at the window.He said: "Don't worry, you all back away a bit, I'll kick the window glass." He kicked it twice, but the glass didn't break.I was a little panicked, Hong at the bottom was submerged in the water, I was afraid that the water would submerge her, and then me, and what awaited us would be suffocation.I told him to kick quickly.He kicked it hard again, and the glass shattered and fell together in pieces.I breathed a sigh of relief knowing we were saved.Hong and I climbed out of the window and onto the road.Standing on the road, the situation at the scene is clear at a glance.There is a ditch on the side of the road, about three meters deep, with a gentle slope and loose soil, which is why the car was not hit hard.There is a big tree along the edge of the ditch. If the car collides with the trunk, the consequences will be disastrous.The car was stuck upside down in the ditch, tipping to one side.The water was flowing, about half a meter deep, and it would not actually submerge the car.The man who kicked the glass for us passed by on a bicycle, and the perpetrator has fled.

Both of us had only scratched a little skin.The car is seriously damaged, and compensation is inevitable.We survived the catastrophe, and our mood is quite relaxed.Hong's BP machine was damaged by water, and I bought her a Chinese display for more than 1,000 yuan as a reward.She is really skilled. She drove the car into a three-meter-deep ditch, rolled over, and kept the occupants of the car basically uninjured. No matter how skilled an old driver is, she can't do this.I thank her for giving me a special experience that I will never have again in my life, and it is more rare than true love.Afterwards, Hong repeatedly said to people: Such a person can marry well.He said to me again: You are so tolerant, I feel as if nothing happened.She was so silly that nothing really happened.However, this near-miss scene also made us share life and death together, and became a romantic prelude to our peaceful life.

In the second year, one night in the summer, it was raining heavily, and there was a week before the due date, and Hong's water suddenly broke.I just got the car book, and I have only practiced driving near my house. Now that I have no shirkable responsibility, I can't take care of the fear. I drove to the city for the first time, through the dark night and heavy rain, and sent Hong to Xiehe Hospital.A few days later, the weather was fine, and I picked up the mother and daughter from the hospital.Five years after Niuniu left, I became a father again.I thank God for giving me Jiujiu, so that all my father's love can be found in this world.People often ask me what position Jiujiu and Niuniu occupy in my relationship.I don't think about such fake questions.I really felt that all new life came from the same divine source and was a manifestation of the same divine power.At this moment, Jiujiu is my only child and all the children in the world, just like Niuniu was the only and all children at that time.

With the birth and growth of our daughter, our home has a very solid core.I was out again, an incorrigible family man and infatuated father.All temptations retreat into the distance, and the besieged city becomes my paradise.No matter going to a banquet or traveling, I like to take my mother and daughter with me. It is really a blessing to share and a view to enjoy together.Nine months after tweeting, Heidelberg University invited me to be a visiting professor.I said, how can I be separated from my daughter who is only a few months old for half a year? If the whole family can't come together, forget it.So, our family was invited.We lived on the hillside only one kilometer away from the world-famous ancient castle, and spent many days and evenings in that beautiful scenery.As soon as the holidays came, we traveled around the world with a stroller, and Chubby Jiujiu appeared successively on the streets of Weimar, Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Rome, and Florence.I was sitting on the solemn podium of the international conference to give a speech, and suddenly there was a crisp voice calling my father at the door of the conference hall.Since Jiujiu was able to talk, Hong and I both became her secretary and worked hard to record her remarks.Of course, I couldn’t stop doing this. The child is a born poet and philosopher. I was very pleasantly surprised by her wonderful words, and I read the original human mind that has not been polluted by culture.

Now I have a very happy family, I live a harmonious life with my wife and daughter.So, am I no longer tempted by other lovely women?Not necessarily.God gave me a susceptible nature, which I cannot change by myself.However, I have fully understood that romance and love are in fact incompatible, and none of those who wanted to have both ended in failure, so they made a firm choice.I would rather keep a safe distance from every lovely woman who approaches me, and enjoy the warmth of women in a friendly way.I really feel that loving only one person while keeping all other possibilities and not realizing any of them is the best situation I can have with the world of the opposite sex.In fact, I get the most out of it, all the unrealized possibilities that enrich my life, and if I greedily want more, I end up ruining everything.

My life is really quiet. Every day is nothing more than reading and writing. The days seem to be repeating, but I don't feel boring at all.I do these things because I like them, not because I want to make money from them.However, one day, I suddenly discovered that my writing could earn some money, so that my wife and daughter could live a better life. That was really an unexpected gain.In fact, I only discovered this when my wife was trying to buy a car and a house.I just buried my head in the writing, and the writing itself was already satisfying and occupied my main thoughts.For me, earning money is an easy thing, because it's just a by-product of writing, and I don't have to work hard for it.Spending money, on the other hand, is such a hassle that I have absolutely no imagination in spending it.Fortunately, there are women in the world, and they are geniuses in this regard.I don't know what the extra money is for without women and children.It is a great fortune in life that a person can ensure that he can live comfortably just by doing what he likes to do, and that he does not have to do things he does not want to make a living.I tried to imagine that if China was still the way it used to be, and the fate of individuals basically depended on the size of power and the outcome of intrigues, I must still be an unlucky guy.So, I really appreciate the market economy.I don't write for the market, but the wonderful thing about the market is that it offers opportunities to someone who doesn't write for it.

After the mid-1990s, I didn't have a fixed circle of friends, and all kinds of lively parties had nothing to do with me. At first I was not used to it, but later I found that it was quite good.As for interpersonal relationships, I have gradually come up with a principle that is most in line with my temperament, that is, mutual respect, closeness and closeness follow each other.I believe that all good friendships are formed naturally, not deliberately obtained.I also think that no matter how good a friend is, there should be a distance, and a friendship that is too lively is often empty.Now I still have some very good friends, including academic colleagues, artists, entrepreneurs, and politicians.I am particularly happy with my artist friends, from whom I appreciate the free and unrestrained state of life, and from whom they gain silence and—according to them—wisdom.Among my entrepreneurial friends, I would like to mention Ah Liang in particular.When we met, he was still an educated youth jumping in the queue. For more than 20 years, our friendship has never been flawed.For more than 20 years, he has truly cherished brotherly friendship with me, cared for me and helped me selflessly.I really felt that he valued me more than himself and would not hesitate to protect me even if the whole world turned its back on me.In the academic world, I am surprised that Zhenglai, who is famous for his madness, has become my best friend.We seem to be very different people. In terms of personality, he is bold and unrestrained, while I am reserved. In terms of aspirations, he focuses on academics, while I am immersed in the thoughts of life.We usually concentrate on our respective fields, and when the two families get together, they feel like relatives.It goes without saying that I appreciate him, because he is really good at learning, and he has a lovely pride on his body.What moved me was that a person like him who seemed to be only highly educated could understand my works and my heart better than many people in the academic world.Ah Liang and Zheng Lai are both chivalrous people. After Jiu Jiu was born, they naturally became the godfather of Jiu Jiu. Jiu Jiu is really a blessing.

Now I am getting farther and farther away from all kinds of excitement in the outside world. Basically, I don’t participate in social activities, and I only participate occasionally because I am attracted by the scenery of that place.I have always been not good at dealing with people, especially with unfamiliar people. Once I am in a group of strangers, such as in a meeting, I will be at a loss and I will be tongue-tied when I speak.Such a person, of course, should try to go outside to join in the fun as little as possible, and live a peaceful life in accordance with his own nature.