Chapter 8 Chapter VII

Mei Wuniang gave birth to Mei Darong's posthumous child, and asked the midwife for water to drink. The midwife walked out of the bedroom, came to the stove, lifted the heavy wooden pot lid, and took a ladle of boiling water.She knew what Mei Wuniang was going to do to send her away.A lie is very precious, worth twenty oceans.Mei Wuniang asked her to lie three times, and told the Mei family that as long as she gave birth to a boy, she was stillborn.The midwife bought twenty mulberry trees with lies and built a silkworm house.Just as she was scooping up a ladle of boiling water, the father-in-law and mother-in-law of the Mei family came in and gave the midwife a push.The midwife's head was rinsed in boiling water, and when she got up, even the hair and scalp were cooked, and a lot of them were torn off with one pull.The father-in-law and mother-in-law of the Mei family snatched the grandson of the Mei family who had been silenced.

From then on, the Mei family had another Meianon who spoke in Xiaodan's falsetto and endorsed.Mei Yanong's voice was crushed by Mei Wuniang. One day Meyernon murmured softly in a false voice that the next person to come out of the door would be Zai or Nan, and if it was Zai, he would win.Mei Wuniang looked down from the small window upstairs and saw her son and four or five classmates sitting under the eaves of the corridor, staring at the grocery store opposite.At this moment, a young man who bought lamp oil came out from the grocery store. The students coaxed and congratulated Meianon for winning.

Another day, Mei Wuniang heard her son's false voice say, "Everyone peels ten cocoons to bet on females and bet on males. There are more female pupae than males. The one who bets on females wins, and vice versa, the one who bets on males wins."The winner will get ten cooked chrysalis to eat. Meignon was twelve years old that year.Mei Wuniang sold the silk reeling workshop, took her children to Hongkou, Shanghai, and joined her natal cousin who was doing business in southern goods there.Mei Wuniang thought that the gambling wind was blowing along the coast of Guangdong, so she avoided the limelight when she came to Shanghai.When she arrived in Shanghai, she found that she could gamble on everything, betting on horses, dogs, and crickets. The children gambled in the alleys with a lollipop stick, a stack of foreign paintings, and a stack of cigarette packs.Meyernon won all the cigarette boxes from the neighbor boy, and his fake voice rang from the alley all the way to the door of the house, and Xiao Dan on the stage seemed to sing from the backstage to the front stage.Mei Wuniang was already waiting behind the door, holding a cleaning rod for the coal stove in her hand.The son announced the good news to his mother with a bright red face and panting unevenly, and the front pocket of his gown was filled with the cigarette packs he had won.All wins?all!Will you win in the future?certainly!Mei Wuniang put the stove cleaner in her palm, a puff of green smoke and the smell of meat rose up.

Meyanon's face turned green, and he shouted "Old mother, old mother" in a fake voice. Mei Wuniang's right hand still grabbed the stove cleaner and told her son that it was only because her hand was not good enough, not fast enough and not strong enough, that she didn't strangle the little gambler when he was born, but only made a man who was not a man. The voice of the woman came, and the father who jumped into the sea and became a water ghost on his behalf came to collect debts from her, Mei Wuniang. Meianon's voice suddenly changed into a low, hoarse beast voice.He continued to shout "Old mother, old mother" with this voice, begging his old mother to burn the stove cleaner again, and it was his hand that fell on his hand; his hand was not his own, it was his father who jumped into the sea of.

Mei Wuniang slowly let go of the stove cleaner in front of her son who suddenly changed his voice.A few months later, her hand for raising silkworms and reeling silk had a palm as hard as a walnut shell.The flesh turned into a scab, which clung directly to the bone. Afterwards, Meyernon became a model student in the school, ranking among the top three in all subjects. Afterwards, Meyernon was admitted to the Beijing Normal University. The Revolution of 1911 succeeded. Meyernon served several terms in the north. One president came up and that president went down. , but there is one thing that Mei Wuniang likes most about this unhappy son, that is, he never gambles.

Mei Xiaoou knew that the two rooms of her grandparents in Dongcheng were still owned by her great-grandfather.Generations of members of the Mei family have been ordinary and mediocre, and they only regard this ancestor who was a Beijing official as an honor to be handed down from generation to generation. The second time Mei Xiaoou saw Lu Jintong's severed finger, his heart was so cold and hard, it was Mei Wuniang possessed.Mei Wuniang seemed to understand the bitter tricks the men were about to sing at this moment, so she sang for them, making her own palm into a walnut shell, and this singing was the last song.Xiaoou watched Lu Jintong raise the knife to her finger for the second time with cold eyes, but she remained motionless.As soon as she moved, she would snatch the knife and chop it at Lu's head: the disaster started from it, it had nothing to do with the fingers, it contained crazy brains, crazy about losing money, crazy thinking about money, the pain and suffering of being poor and crazy for generations. The humiliation has been instilled through generations of father and mother blood, instilled in that head, and gradually formed a code word: get rich quickly!

Xiaoou always wonders why Chinese men still want to get rich at the gambling table after they get rich in other ways.Flipping one's hand at the gambling table can be a windfall. Could it be that this unexpected fortune gives them the satisfaction that other forms of making a fortune cannot give them?The unknown and impermanence formed by the exact same back of the card is too mysterious. It may only take half a second from that mystery to the answer to win or lose. If the fortune is revealed, the fortune will be made too fast .From ancient times to the present, the change of dynasties in China takes place in the blink of an eye, so it is faster to get rich, and it is too late if it is slow, and it is time to come again.How short, how quickly, the interval between the last turmoil and the next turmoil left for people to make a fortune!Therefore, the Chinese people are anxious from generation to generation. The sooner the money is in the bag, the better, just as the crops are put into the warehouse as soon as possible.

So the bus of the "Fa Consortium" headed for Las Vegas from the east, west, north, south, and north of the North American continent, full of thousands of Chinese descendants.Get rich fast! Mei Xiaoou was riding on one of the buses of the Wanqianfa Consortium, three or four months pregnant, snuggling up next to Lu Jintong, who she thought was hopeful of turning her back on her ways, with Lu's broken finger resting on her chest, The bandages were blindingly white.At that time, she was a happy little woman. Originally, she thought that happiness was only when Lu Jintong left his wife and belonged to her Xiaoou, but at that moment, happiness became simpler: his not betting was her happiness.She would rather have a non-gambler half husband than a gambler to be her whole husband.A man who didn't have many virtues before became perfect in her eyes because he gave up a huge vice.And this perfect person was created by her, or more than half of it was created by her.That silly girl in her early twenties didn't expect that the perfect man she created would return to the gambling table half a year later.

Lu Jintong will never disappear in her life, and she will find a little bit of Lu Jintong in her son almost every day: the square feet, the slightly raised big toes, the posture of putting his hands on his hips when he brushes his teeth, and the bouncing posture after shaving his head. The shallow, cute groove on the back of the head, and the thin gap between the two upper front teeth...and of course the hands.The hands are unusually large, and the fingers are unusually long. When I was a child, it was the hand of a teenager, and when I was a teenager, it was the hand of the young Lu Jintong.In the villa area where she lived, there was the sound of pianos everywhere. A female neighbor came to the door and said that she would let Xiaoou’s son join her daughter to hire a piano teacher. The hand of God, the hand of a pianist!Xiaoou sweetly declined the female neighbor.The son's amputated hands were not given by God, but by the son's gambler father.Such hands don't need to play the piano, as long as they don't rub cards, they are beautiful to the extreme.

The pain of Lu Jintong's first severed finger may be connected to his son who was still in the womb at that time, although he was still a translucent, light red, androgynous mermaid at the time.After many years, Xiaoou still remembers the strange feeling in her abdomen when the muffled sound of the blade colliding with the phalanx happened.Great fear and shock were transmitted to the mermaid in the womb in an instant, and it jerked violently.The small mermaid felt that the small warm and dark space was turned upside down, its extremely safe hotbed was almost overturned, its straightening gave Xiaoou a dull pain, spreading from the abdomen to the lower limbs, and spreading to the back.This is what she felt before her sanity broke.

Every time she sat face to face with her son at the small kitchen table, she watched her son peel off eggshells or spread jam with his almost inflexible hands. From time to time, she would see Lu Jintong's forever lost middle finger revived on the boy's hand.A son can achieve nothing, as long as his hands don't twirl the cards, he can achieve great success in his life.The son raised his face, and the sun came in from the window on the right side of the mother, and he saw a nightmare fading from the mother's eyes.He stared at it for two seconds, then lowered his head again.He knew from a young age that his mother had dark stories, and that his father, whom he had never met, was a big part of those dark stories. "I came back to your room to see you last night, and I didn't turn off the game console again!" Mom said. "What time was it last night?" "It's past twelve." The son remained silent, and asked his mother to realize whether "it was past twelve o'clock" could still be counted as "last night".The May holiday can turn non-gamblers into gamblers. Xiaoou served and entertained batches of gamblers, and it was the earliest time to go home after twelve o'clock last night.After dropping her son off at school, she took a shower and called her masseuse.During the hour of pushing the oil, she fell asleep.The masseuse put the bill on the coffee table, put a thin quilt on her, and left quietly. It was dreamless sleep, like two hours of death.The phone rang at half past eleven.Ah Zhuan told her that Mr. Duan was about to board the ferry to Hong Kong, and he bought Xiaoou a pack of dried meat and a box of almond cookies.Xiaoou asked Ah Zhuan to eat the jerky and cakes for her, thanked Mr. Duan for her, and wished Mr. Duan a smooth journey for her. Ah Zhuan understood that his female boss had lost her admiration and admiration for President Duan, so she said: "How much is dried meat? I almost threw it to him for you just now, telling him that my boss never eats dried meat and almonds." cake." Xiaoou turned on the microphone of the phone, put it on the sink table, and started to put the mask on his face.Xiaoou's attitude towards each client is Ahzhuan's wind, and when the wind changes, he will immediately try to steer.It's just that when Xiaoou's wind blows one degree, Ah Zhuan's rudder will turn 90 or 180 degrees, Xiaoou is slightly disappointed and disrespectful, and Ah Zhuan is just cold-eyed.Any attitude trend of the female boss is magnified by him several times, and the subtlety and complexity are removed, and it is implemented into the happy love or hate of the bottom people.Every slave will exaggerate his intentions out of shape when carrying out his master's intentions, and at the same time exaggerate his own bravery and loyalty. "Why offend him? It's not easy to maintain a client!" Xiaoou's lips were restricted by the mask, and the words he spit out were somewhat distorted. "What a bad customer, digging holes everywhere! Open up several casinos, your money will be moved to his house, and his money will be moved to the next one! No wonder Lao Liu found you, because he owed you money in those two casinos. Too much money, I can't borrow any more! Lao Liu is also a bad boy! Throw it away!" After saying goodbye to Ah Zhuan, she turned off her cell phone. Xiaoou walked into the bedroom and turned on the TV.If she gains a little knowledge of current affairs, it's all thanks to the mask.The facial mask takes 20 minutes to irrigate and fertilize the face, and Xiaoou has 20 minutes more knowledge about the economic recovery in the United States, the imminent withdrawal of troops from Iraq, the escape of Taiwanese businessmen along the coast of China, and the absconding of small commodity manufacturers in Zhejiang.This is an era of rich people avoiding debt. The 20-minute lecture on current affairs was closed, and Xiaoou touched the mask. The dried mask was stretched on the skin like clothes that were too small for the face.She went to the dressing table next to the French window and sat down. The dressing table was avant-garde, with three large mirrors that could be folded and illuminated her from all angles at the same time.Follow this woman in the white pantomime mask.This is a grotesque moment. The hairstyle, bathrobe, and mask hide all the evidence of being Mei Xiaoou, or nothing can prove that the person behind the mask is Mei Xiaoou.Then an even weirder idea came up. Under the mask she tore off with her fingertips, there should be a strange face, a fresh face: there would be no eternal fear left in her eyes when Lu Jintong severed her finger, and there would be no disaster of Shi Qilan’s debts. There are light strokes etched between her brows, and no embarrassing smile that she pushes on her cheeks to condolences to clients who have lost badly.These cheekbones were cast by her increasingly insincere smile, and they towered high on her face, forcing her to go back to her Cantonese ancestor, Mei Darong.So she always sits in front of the vanity mirror and dawdles, letting her face greedily absorb the last bit of nutrients from the mask, giving her face a chance to renew itself... This is the era when factory owners, company presidents, and bank presidents are fleeing The complete stranger in a foreign country is their mime mask, with a smirk fixed on the white, the comedy of the mime masters is tragedy.If possible, Duan Kaiwen, Shi Qilan, and Lu Jintong would all be like Mei Xiaoou at this moment, hiding behind a pale mask, gambling, robbing, committing crimes, and even loving.She also has a hopeless hope like she does at this moment: a better face, a better self will be revealed under the uncovered mask. Ten days later, Duan Kevin really fled behind the invisible mask.Every time I called, there was a busy signal, and when I got through by chance, it was said that an important meeting was in progress, and I called back half an hour later.The text messages sent in the past seemed to fly in the sky and never landed.The reaction Xiaoou got recently was to shut down the phone.She grabbed Lao Liu and asked him to go to Duan's head office to see if the company was closed, and if it was opened, is Duan still alive and sitting on the top chair in his big office.Lao Liu showed slight indignation, thinking that Mei Xiaoou was ruined by Lao Ma's Pavilion, and he didn't think well of an industrialist like Mr. Duan.Do you think about the benefits?People in casinos only see the bad in people.Lao Liu finally agreed to help Xiaoou and ask Mr. Duan when he could pay back the 24 million.And I want Dai Xiaoou to remind Mr. Duan that the 24 million yuan is not Mei Xiaoou's money (she would not take advantage of that much money if she killed Mei Xiaoou), but the gambling hall's money. When the money was returned to the casino owner, Mei Xiaoou was put in the middle, and Mei Xiaoou was pushed to the position of debtor to be embarrassed and humiliated.It's okay to be embarrassed and humiliated, but the bad thing is that she can't continue to do business with the casino: all her clients can't get a dime from the casino anymore. The next day, Lao Liu reported to her the process of visiting Mr. Duan in a very long text message.Of course, Duan's company did not close down, and there were sand tables one after another. Duan always wanted to build Qinghai and Xinjiang into Beijing.Mr. Duan is not only alive, but also lives ten people's time by himself, and only has half a minute to talk to Lao Liu.Lao Liu relayed the half-minute conversation to Xiaoou: send the money on time at 4:00 pm next Monday, and please inform Mei Xiaoou by text message when he receives the payment. On Monday afternoon, Xiaoou waited for Lao Ji Bank to receive Duan's remittance information.The message from the old season at five o'clock: "There is no money in the account." The text message Xiaoou sent to Duan was still polite: "Mr. Duan, the money didn't arrive at the time agreed in advance. Is there something wrong with the remittance channel?" At the same time, he sent a ignorant emoji. Duan Kaiwen ignored her this time, and replied to the text message saying that the financial affairs are busy with other things, and the remittance is delayed for a day or two. Xiaoou waited for three days, and Friday came.Asking her to wait a day or two, she gave her the face of waiting for three days.All the phone lines were congested as usual, Xiaoou called the front desk of Duan Kaiwen's company, and the front desk asked her name.My surname is Li, from the Industrial and Commercial Bank.Half a minute later, the front desk politely apologized to "Ms. Li from Industrial and Commercial Bank" on Mr. Duan's behalf. Mr. Duan is receiving guests, please call back in half an hour. Half an hour later, Xiaoou dialed the front desk lady again, and the lady asked her if she didn't have a direct dial number for Mr. Duan's office?Yes, but generally they cannot get through, either the busy tone or empty beeping.Then call his cell phone!The mobile phone is not connected.The front desk lady was also idle, and promised to try again for Xiaoou. Mr. Duan's calm husband's tone came out. "I know it's you." He ignored Xiaoou's mischievous laugh, "I usually don't answer the phone. I really can't answer it!" His voice was very high-spirited. Xiaoou hurriedly complimented, those who are so busy are all big shots now, I heard that President Duan is going to build Qinghai and Xinjiang into Beijing. "It's not that you didn't promise on purpose, it's that the financial manager has changed. The new one can't get any clues, so the money hasn't been remitted to you." Duan Kaiwen cut off Xiaoou's circle, and directly told her what she wanted to ask. she. "The money must be remitted before leaving get off work next Monday afternoon. You won't lose a penny." Xiaoou thanked again and again before hanging up the phone.Duan Kevin's words sounded true, and the day and time were true. The money must arrive before get off work next Monday, that is, before 4:59.The slightly hot phone cooled down in the palm of her hand, and she felt that she was too small compared to Duan Kevin's atmosphere.The debt collection was too ruthless, too hasty, and too low-class.She had a clear idea of ​​who Duan was ten minutes ago.He doesn't even listen to the compliments, so hurry up and tell you what Mei Xiaoou wants to hear.All you want to hear are days, hours, and money.She had already put Duan in the team of Lao Shi and Lu Jintong, and now she felt sorry for Duan's bad reputation in her heart for several weeks.Duan Kaiwen, who has huge capital, is pushed by Mei Xiaoou, who runs a small business, as a rogue. How lacking in self-restraint, how skeptical, and how thoroughly exposed she is. Can't get along with her. She called Lao Liu.If Mr. Duan was wrong, Lao Liu might be able to get some forgiveness for her from the side.Old Liu was very happy for her, because her wrong suspicions were dispelled this time, and it should be a great thing to really know a man Duan Kaiwen.Lao Liu beat her again with pain, scolded her with love, how could he doubt Mr. Duan, who has an annual profit of hundreds of millions? She couldn't help but wonder.She suspected that everyone was fraudulent, exaggerating their financial resources, liars, everyone was cheating and running away with debt.She relied on suspicion to defend herself and her son, as well as the casino.Her doubts are earlier than the recognition of a person, earlier than the beginning of a matter, and she persists in doubts until the doubt is dispelled by the ending of "it's not unexpected after all" or the ending of "I didn't expect this person to keep his promise" .She doesn't like to doubt, and the happiness of understanding people is "not doubting", so she understands that she is not happy.Just as the nurse in the emergency room of the poor hospital in Las Vegas more than ten years ago put it bluntly: "Oh, boy, how unhappy you are!" From the first love she should have been happy with, she began to suspect: Suspected that Lu Jintong was actually inseparable from his wife, suspected that he was actually in his wife's arms when he was not by her side.She was not yet twenty then, how early her doubts had begun.In fact, it started earlier, at the age of six or seven.At the age of six or seven, she suspected that her parents did not love each other, and that the whining she heard at night was her mother crying: she was crying after being beaten by her father.Later her doubts grew, matured and matured with her age.She suspected that the day her divorced mother looked good was because she lightly applied lipstick and lightly applied powder.She suspected that her mother was looking good for a shameless purpose.Her mother often put her arms around her and said that she only had two lifelines, Xiaoou and her younger brother Xiaoying.But she suspected that her mother must have done something wrong outside to hug her so tightly. It is precisely because she has another lifeblood that her mother chatters about her and her younger brother as lifeblood. Her doubts are often dispelled by the worst endings.The mother remarried to a professor who was eight years younger than her and ten years older than her father.The professor teaches Chinese. Ever since he married Xiaoou's mother, no one in his family can speak Chinese correctly, because he always reminds you of your grammatical mistakes and your mispronounced words.So she began to suspect again, suspecting that the mother with a fully functioning female is not using him as a man, but using him as a master. It was a fourteen-year-old Mei Xiaoou, whose homework was mediocre, but with this free tutor, he became useless. He made her see herself as worthless.She suspects that this excellent Chinese professor who is improving her and improving her will make her lose the last bit of appetite for Chinese.Precisely because of his promotion to the dean of the university, the university has become a terrible place for her.The reason she failed the university entrance examination was to teach him a lesson. From then on, she could speak Chinese as she wanted. Since then, her Chinese and her have come alive. It was the 1990s, and there were many boys and girls in Beijing. Among them was a Beijing girl who was eighteen years old, Mei Xiaoou.Like all young people in Beijing, she has a precarious job, hungry and full meals, constantly changing jobs, changing roommates, and moving houses.She suspects that all roommates fabricate backgrounds and resumes, that all roommates steal a little from others, and that all female roommates earn dirty money outside. Once she went back to her mother's house and saw something strange in her mother's eyes.She suspected that her mother had just quarreled with her stepfather, and it was another cry.Her doubts were quickly dispelled, and she only asked "Are you crying", and the mother no longer showed her happy and reserved smile of "an old woman and a young husband".The old master, who is eight years younger than her, just cheated on her. He cheated himself even more cruelly. He refused to eat well-cooked meals, and picked up fish offal from the neighbor's house to stir-fry!In the eyes of the neighbors, what kind of nightshade is she, the eldest daughter-in-law, who is so hungry that the younger son-in-law picks up the fish thrown in the trash can and eats it? !Let's just say that he suffered from childhood and was used to fish in the water, and he grew up by the waters of the south of the Yangtze River. How could he do such a low-level thing?Even though it was a fat fish weighing eight catties... Eighteen-year-old Xiaoou was dispelled with another big suspicion. His stepfather was only a teacher in words, noble and elegant in words, but a beggar in action.So she suspects that mother and stepfather are not in love either, and that they came together from an ugly source.She groped along with her doubts, which stretched all the way to her childhood, those late nights when her father and mother made her restless... Six or seven-year-old Xiaoou saw a twenty-year-old man who was so emaciated that he was always hairless. White and blue clothes, with new blue patches on the elbows and knees.She saw the same brand-new blue cloth in her mother's sewing dustpan. The two oval holes could be combined with the two patches on the elbow to make a jigsaw puzzle, seamless. The hazy doubts in childhood became clear in youth: for more than ten years, my mother has worked hard to support Xiaoou's future stepfather just like her children.The stepfather secretly ate her and her younger brother's small meals, completed his final growth, was reborn from tuberculosis, and read one degree after another.Suspicion was dispelled by a horrible vision: the calf raised by the mother herself ended up killing and eating herself.She didn't want to see her mother who was with her stepfather again, which was the most important reason for her to keep up with Lu Jintong. She met Lu Jintong in her first year in Beijing.In the early days of following Lu, Xiaoou was happy because she stopped doubting at that stage.Lu's provenance is so reliable, the son of her father's good friend, so she was too lazy to doubt.By the age of eighteen, she had doubted for twelve or three years, and she was tired of doubting.Just met a young electronics business owner who wanted a break from her doubts.The young Boss Lu wants her to rest for the rest of her life, do nothing but be his lover in a down-to-earth manner. She reconnected with her estranged father on the hotline after the fish-in-water incident.During the New Year holidays, she was a distant relative of her father's family, a guest, and she was treated equally by her stepmother, but when she went out, her father secretly stuffed a wad of money into her palm.No matter how much money her father gave her, it was all her father's love from one New Year's Eve to the next.Occasionally, her father would send her to the bus station and ask her about her life with her mother on the way.She mentioned the quarrel between her mother and her stepfather about fish entering the water, and her father's eyes lit up and his eyebrows flew up.From then on, she suspected that any bad news about her mother and stepfather could improve her father's mood.Mother and stepfather quarreled over the electricity bill, quarreled over the fees paid by mother for participating in music quizzes, and mother cried loudly because stepfather ate moldy peanuts... All the bad news cheered up father, and he couldn't hold back the dark joy of watching jokes .So Xiaoou began to boldly develop new suspicions: his father actually loved his mother as if he was seriously ill.In the love struggle with his stepfather for more than ten years, his love for his mother used jealousy as fertilizer, nourished it in a deep and tortuous way, and was intertwined in his heart. Divorce only cut off the torso on the surface, but the roots never stopped extending to the soul.If he had known that his ex-wife worshiped intellectuals as a god, and then regarded respect as estrogen to catalyze her estrus, he would desperately go to college after returning to Beijing from the Yunnan Construction Corps, instead of coveting a ready-made salary to work as a tour guide at the Tourism Bureau.The foreign language talents of the Tourism Bureau are too scarce. The two volumes of "Xu Guozhang" that my father taught himself in Yunnan became the first batch of foreign language national treasures after China's unprecedented "Cultural Revolution" through acquaintances. Xiaoou, who became a frequent visitor to his father's house, found that his father began to take the initiative to inquire about the recent situation of "the professor's wife and the professor".At times like this, Xiaoou would make his father happy by talking about some absurd incidents between the professor’s stepfather and his mother, such as when her mother couldn’t find her sneakers when she came back from get off work, and later found that they were worn on her stepfather’s feet.Mother wondered how her size thirty-six shoes could fit on a pair of men's feet.His stepfather said that he wore small shoes when he was a teenager, because his thrifty elders always asked him to wear shoes with his younger brother. If two pairs of shoes were broken, the other two shoes of the same size could make a good pair, so his feet were always in good condition. It stops growing at fifteen or sixteen, and it doesn't hurt to wear shoes two sizes smaller.Xiaoou looked at her father and laughed, and since then she has found a way to make him happy.She soon began to suspect that her father's upturned smile was not a sign of happiness.It looked like he was laughing at the professor's failure to keep a woman's heart angry because a woman's heart couldn't see the grotesque details when it got angry with a man.In fact, he was laughing at his own failure: the person he had wrestled with for more than ten years turned out to be such a sick man and freak.The father lost to this freak, so in this polyamorous relationship, he is the loser of all losers.He used to make sacrifices with his own failures, allowing the woman he loves to win and the man the woman loves to win, but he found that in the end his sacrifice was in vain, and his sacrifice caused everyone to fail.Xiaoou suspected that his father looked up and laughed because of this. Halfway through a week, Xiaoou's suspicion returned.Duan Kevin said that it will be next Monday: the day, time, and amount of money are undeniable, so what happened to his secret trip to Macau in February and March?What about his accounts at other casinos?He met Mei Xiaoou because he was obviously unable to repay the debts of other creditors. To put it bluntly, Mei Xiaoou became his east wall and was torn down by him to repair the west or south wall.In his eyes, the amorous Mei Xiaoou is nothing more than a potential pile of broken bricks!Suspicion makes Xiaoou stand in Duan's perspective and stand, reviewing all her words and deeds of Mei Xiaoou: this brick and tile that is being demolished is still pretending to be coquettish, hopelessly using color to lure him to fulfill his promise. Mei Xiaoou, who has been suspicious for thirty years, decided not to be a passive doubter anymore.She immediately booked a plane ticket, planning to fly to Beijing by plane at 4:00 pm.It was Thursday, and if Lao Ji's bank did not receive Duan Kevin's wire transfer on Friday, Mei Xiaoou would suddenly appear in his luxurious office. It was already past nine o'clock in the evening when we arrived in Beijing, and the plane back to the mainland from Mage was delayed as usual.She called Shi Qilan first, and the phone was turned off.Shut down of course.Whether to continue to degenerate or save the factory and himself, Lao Shi must rely on the closed mobile phone to block the outside world.There is nothing good about Lao Shi’s outside world now, it’s full of faces of debt collectors: murderous, angry, heartless, miserable... The second call was to Lao Liu.She said that the business in Macau has slowed down recently, and she just happened to be at home to catch up on her son's homework.Lao Liu said that his ministry sent people to investigate several countries in West Africa, where they planned to open large-scale power plants and crop processing plants and teach Africans how to farm.Xiaoou knew Lao Liu well, and his eloquent answers on the phone proved that his wife was staying closely with him.They can talk their own way.What does she want to tell Lao Liu?It's nothing more than Kevin Duan.Mr. Duan's project was published in "Beijing Daily" and Evening News, with the headline "The People Who Let Frontier People Live in Beijing". Lao Liu warmly recommended Xiaoou to read it.But she is in Macau, how to read it, read it online!Lao Liu said that he was already in his fifties but was used to reading newspapers online, not to mention the young Miss Mei!Lao Liu is not stupid, he knows what Xiaoou wants to hear, and the digression is actually a bit of a point: Mr. Duan is showing his big plans, and the appearance rate is so high, can he be a mere bad guy?If he reneges, he won't even have a place to hide. Xiaoou said "goodbye" to Lao Liu, and then she turned on her laptop, and the Beijing Daily website posted three photos: Kevin Duan and Mrs. Duan smiling in front of the sand table (Mrs. light makeup).A large group of miniature high-rise residential buildings stands on the sand table.The other one is Mr. Duan wearing a safety helmet, next to the designers, stretching out the leader's arm pointing the country into the distance.The last one is a group photo with a group of construction migrant workers. It looks like the migrant workers and Duan are laughing a little silly, like a pantomime mask. I hope Duan does not owe the migrant workers wages. She goes into her mailbox.The first email came from an anonymous person, and her firewall reminded her that she could reject this strange visitor. Xiaoou let the strange visitor in.It turned out that the visitor was no stranger, it was Shi Qilan who had changed his appearance.Behind closed cellphones, shuttered factories, sealed doors and windows, Lao Shi started a new website selling hardwood furniture and sculptures.Each piece of work is accompanied by commentary and music, before the words are spoken, the exotic musical instruments play the pure melody of the natives of the oceanic island country, and then a piece of southern land fades in. The appearance of years ago, the picture gradually appeared the woods in the mud, the picture faded out and then faded in, and the woods became sparse.The narrator tells you that these are red sandalwood trees fifty years ago, how many years it took to grow a millimeter, the picture fades out and then fades in, the woods are gone, only some scabies are left, it seems that a forest was originally planted in the swamp , but the harvest is a crutch.The narrator then tells you that the small-leaved red sandalwood has been felled almost to the point that these seedlings that have not yet grown into trees are actually old birthday stars, aged between 100 and 150 years old.Therefore, this is one of the most expensive woods in the world.The picture fades out and fades in and out again. After the piece of "crutch" was collected, it is being polished by hands. The wood is gradually shining under these hands. The camera is looking at everything. The wood is already ripe and moist, and it looks slightly warm, like the skin of a living thing. , the picture unfolds, and what is held in those hands is a semi-finished pen holder. Xiaoou knew this pair of hands playing with precious wood very well.The area between the index finger and the middle finger of the right hand is slightly yellow, because Lao Shi usually smokes until the filter is turned on quickly, out of frugality or concentration.A pair of hands that turn decay into magic can also turn magic into decay.Just move casually on the green felt of the gaming table, and hundreds of magical works will be cartloaded away as worthless as dung. But Xiaoou still loves these hands, so much that he wants to stretch himself under them, let them be polished and get rid of all other men's fingerprints.How are these hands long?Each finger is streamlined, as if there are no long joints.Those nails are all perfect and full ovals, which are more suitable for a lazy and boring woman to have. It was late at night, Xiaoou dared to think about his feelings for Lao Shi presumptuously, not purely feelings, but also lust.Lao Shi's debauchery, Lao Shi's negativity, and Lao Shi's talent combined into a kind of romanticism unique to Lao Shi.Xiaoou secretly believes that this is the old history that she knows alone, but everyone knows a very different old history.She even felt that Lao Shi only made the real old history in front of her, but the old history that people agreed with in front of everyone.Xiaoou thinks this way because she only acts as the sensitive, worrying, but mature Mei Xiaoou in front of Lao Shi, who is like Lao Shi's little mother.She hates Lao Shi's degradation, but she herself has long been a degenerate person. Degradation is the unique state of Lao Shi and her, forming a unique sentiment between her and him.But Chen Xiaoxiao has no part in her and his unique realm. She used MSN to reply a few words to Lao Shi. "I saw the new website, it's beautiful. I think of you a lot these days." Lao Shi's email came ten minutes later, and it was a sketch of him scribbling, with a few strokes, outlining his sad and wry smile, with the inscription "Heartbroken man is at the end of the world".A fifty-year-old man always plays young at this time. Xiaoou replied a few more words: "Vivid! You are a treasure!" Old Shi was silent.Xiaoou felt that he had thrown a ball in the past but was not thrown back, and the night would end lonely.Besides, the ball she threw was a bit like a hydrangea, so she wrote another sentence. "How's the matter with the court?" "A little progress." "What kind of progress?" "I found an acquaintance and communicated with the judge twice. But the opponents also have acquaintances in the court. These days, it is common for the same acquaintance to eat two sides, and there are also three or four parties." "The judge should be wiser than your creditors. You should discourage your creditors from forcing you to death, because at best you will have a life and a warehouse of inventory. If they don't force you, they will be in your factory. A huge sum of lump sum deposits with zero withdrawals, which will be settled with interest after a few years, is far more than the amount they deposited!" Old Shi was silent.There was silence for five minutes. Xiaoou sent a "?" in the past.Another three-minute charade. 然后老史发过来一张漫画：一只母鸡蹲在草窝里，旁边放着三四只蛋，从各方向伸过来抓蛋的手起码有几十只，一只手直接伸进母鸡屁股，去抠那个即将临盆的蛋，血顺着那手流出来。母鸡头上长着史奇澜式的半长中分头。 晓鸥明白那意思：怎样频繁产蛋也来不及，产一个蛋有十只手等着来收，没产出的蛋已经被拥有，这是他老史目前的悲惨现状。未来也许更悲惨，那些伸入母鸡产道抠蛋的手最终会掏空它，掏尽它最后一滴血。 老史或许是没错的，他就算能下金蛋也扛不过太多的收蛋的手。他穷尽一生产蛋量也许还远远不顶那些手的需求量。他毕竟是个比赤贫线还要贫穷一亿几千万的穷光蛋，需要产多少金蛋才能从负数值的身家回到正数值？五十岁的老史很可能看不见自己东山再起的一天了。 晓鸥看着“产蛋图”，凄然得很，她也是那众多抢蛋的手之一。老史这只高产蛋量的母鸡产下的蛋有十分之一会由她收走。那只伸进母鸡产道、抠出血淋淋的早产蛋的，或许正是她梅晓鸥的手。 她站起身，在房间里闲步，刹那间她抓住自己一个可怕的念头：告诉老史，只要他再不上赌台，她就勾销他欠她的债务。但她立刻冷笑了：一千三百万，她孤儿寡母，这世上有谁会白给她一千三百万？如果她欠人一千三百万有谁会饶她一个子儿吗？十多年前，那个姓尚的给了她十万美金，说是礼金，是赠她的赌资，几年后找到她家门口，一点亏都没有吃，按零售价嫖的话，他的花销早就超出了十万。因此他预付的是超值批发价，批发了整整一年的梅晓鸥的青春。二十二岁到二十三岁的晓鸥，弹指欲破的晓鸥。那时候，谁会白给她一毛钱？ so close!她在窗前顿住。差点事情就成了另一个性质：史奇澜当然清楚他和晓鸥一直以来心底的情感暗流，他会明白梅晓鸥用一千三百万交换什么，一千三百万，她梅晓鸥也给自己批发了一个情夫，只不过相当昂贵。太昂贵了。 她像从悬崖边回头一样，离开窗口，走回写字台。老史没有再发邮件给她。她关闭了“产蛋图”，回到先前的视频：老史那流线型的手指爱抚着温润的紫檀，紫檀那深色肌肤舒适得微颤……这是她所见到的最富感知的手，即使抚摸木头，木头都舒适，何况人非草木。她爱乌及屋地从那手爱上那人，尽管是一种缺乏灵魂和诗意的爱，很生物的一种爱。 她洗澡出来，给保姆打了个电话，询问儿子放学之后的琐琐碎碎，作业写完了？饭吃的是什么？几点睡觉的？从保姆的报喜不报忧的回答中，她打些折扣，得出大致正确的答案，比如保姆说：“九点钟睡觉的，睡前玩了一会儿游戏。”那就是说：“九点开始洗漱，十点上床，十一点多入睡。” 然后她发现两条短信，是她洗澡时阿专发来的。史奇澜在澳门出现了！第二条短信是阿专请示晓鸥，要不要跟老史接触。 刚才的“产蛋图”竟是从澳门发过来的！视频也是一路北上，穿越三千公里送达晓鸥的！ 晓鸥看了一眼手表：夜里十一点五十五分。她按下阿专的电话号码。老史那多情风流的手把一块乌黑的紫檀木料都摸活了，摸出体温了，险些摸得她梅晓鸥醉过去，一笔勾销掉那一千三百万！ 阿专在《献给艾丽丝》急急忙忙的第四个乐句之后接起手机。 “你在哪里看见他的？” “就在这里。”阿专知道女老板所指的“他”是谁。“我现在正看着他。他一进赌场，就让我一个小兄弟看见了。小兄弟第一次是从电视新闻上看到他的，就是他跳楼那次。” “他看见你没有？” “没有。我藏起来监视他的。” “他在赌吗？” “他在看人家赌。” 晓鸥奇怪刚才那一会儿自己怎么可能爱老史这么个混账。对这么个浪荡破落户，她明明只感觉一腔恶心。不仅恶心老史，也恶心爱老史的那个梅晓鸥。怒气上头，冲得她眼睛发黑，耳鸣一片。这一刻她怒得能杀人。她不仅能杀了死不改悔的老史，也会杀了死不改悔地怜爱老史的梅晓鸥。 “你现在走到他跟前，跟他打个招呼。”晓鸥远程导演阿专。 阿专照办了，一手仍擎着手机，带着手机里的晓鸥穿过黑压压的赌客，赌客的哄闹声浪冲出晓鸥手机的听筒。这种小赌场的气味尤其浑厚，从手机穿过来，直达晓鸥的嗅觉。晓鸥总是惊异众人在聚赌时散发的气息为什么那么浓。不仅仅是赌客们的消化不良、不洗不漱气味，而是某种荷尔蒙的气味。猪、牛、羊在看见屠刀时身体内会飞速分泌一种荷尔蒙，这种生命在极度绝望和恐怖时分泌的荷尔蒙等于毒素，假如有嗅觉探测器，一定能探测出这种毒素的不佳气味。牲畜和人在死到临头的一瞬会突然发出难闻的气味，或许这就是为什么赌徒们聚在一块发臭一样。他们每人都在临危一搏。 阿专把手机上的麦克打开，于是晓鸥隔着三千公里旁听以下对话—— “史总！” “哟，阿专啊！你老板呢？” “……她没来。” “陪别的客人，还是在家呢？” 阿专没声音，或许他支吾回应了一声，但隔着三千公里和赌客们的吵闹晓鸥没听见。 “我在香港办一个展销会，顺便过来看看晓鸥和你。” 你是不是办展销会很快可以核查出来。晓鸥的手脚顿时凉透了，捉奸捉双捉弄到自己和男人也不会比这更让她心凉。她觉得自己体验到某种思维休克。她不知道这阵休克持续了多久，意识回来时，她听见阿专在呼叫她。是阿专把她叫醒的，真的在叫一个休克的人似的那样惶恐。她缓过一口气，发出苏醒般的第一声呻吟。阿专的急救却还不松懈，口吃地问她怎么了，没事吧？ “他人呢？”孱弱的晓鸥问道。跟这混账真成难分难解的一对儿了，醒了不顾自己死活的，先担心他。 阿专跟她是默契的，马上安慰她，要她别急，别气。混账还坐在那里看人玩，自己没动静。阿专已经离开了史奇澜，在史的侧后方找了个更佳的观察位置。 十分钟过去了，晓鸥坐在床沿上一动不动。这一夜的睡眠被老史糟践了，她在三千公里之外监视这个混账。手机响起来，段凯文的号码。十二点多钟他想和她漫谈，可是她已经睡了。睡这么早？淡季嘛，抓紧时间补觉。抱歉吵醒了她。给段总吵醒是造化！这个时分谁有福分让伟大的段总想起来做漫谈的谈手啊？ 她的调情很放肆，太放肆了，因此就不是调情了。段被她打发掉了。临近子夜，离段还款大限不到十六个小时，这十六个小时她可不能让他把两人关系弄乱，她要把他锁定在欠债人的位置上。 她给阿专拨号，《献给艾丽丝》惶惶不可终日地奏了一遍又一遍。贝多芬暗恋过的明恋过的调过情的女人无数，偏偏这个莫名其妙的某艾丽丝通过二十一世纪上亿人的手机彩铃得以永垂不朽。农民工们、小保姆们、小区保安们，成千上万迁徙中惊魂未定、居无定所的人们听着《献给艾丽丝》寻找老乡、熟人、住处、工作。贝多芬做梦都不敢想，自己在三个世纪后拥有成千上万蒙昧而赤诚的中国粉丝。那首随兴而作的小品在三个世纪后如此被中国大众推广，成了他们音乐教育的启蒙。他那几句神来之笔的乐句原来可以如此被庸俗化、廉价化，并潜藏着催促感，米来米来米西来多拉，米拉西，米拉西多……把中国人的生活节奏催得风驰电闪，听上去像扭紧两腿夹着一泡尿找厕所。当手机里奏出毛焦火辣的“米来米来米西来多拉……”的时候，你看看人们那一双双魂飞魄散的眼睛！ 晓鸥听着阿专手机奏出的《献给艾丽丝》，感觉到这些音符在跟她贫嘴，像只饶舌鹦鹉。如果阿专再不接电话，她就会把手机里这只贫嘴鹦鹉掼到对面墙上，摔死它。 “喂？”音符的饶舌终于停止。阿专在晓鸥第三次给他拨号时接听了。 “怎么不接电话？” “没……没听见！” “马上换一种手机铃！”晓鸥太阳穴乱蹦。她明白自己很不讲道理。“听见那铃声就讨厌！” 你是讨厌贝多芬还是讨厌艾丽丝？你有权利讨厌他们吗？永垂不朽的贝多芬和艾丽丝在这支旋律中有着至高无上的音乐地位，早就把你梅晓鸥的“讨厌”否了。哪怕你喜欢也无济于事，好恶的权利都在三百多年前被免去了，或说被强迫无条件弃权了。 现在你梅晓鸥对它的好恶更得弃权，它被听得烂熟于心，它是人们在一片陌生中可抓得到的一点熟悉，它是人们从一个点走向下一个点的连线，最后把所有陌生的点连成一盘棋。所以你梅晓鸥不能把贝多芬和艾丽丝从亿万粉丝心里拔出去，至于你喜欢还是讨厌，完全彻底无所谓。这大概也是阿专刹那间想说却不敢说的，或说阿专直觉到的却想不到的。 “为什么……”女老板的火气确实让阿专觉得她没有道理。 “反正你换一种铃声就是了！” “……好的。换哪一种？” “老老实实的电话铃怎么不好呢？你就不能让我舒服一点吗？每天给你打几十通电话，要我听几十遍那个鬼音乐吗？” 阿专碰到过晓鸥不讲道理的时候，但很少这么不讲道理。 “你要再让我听一次那个鬼音乐，你就给我结账，走人！” “好的！马上换！” 阿专是很难被谁气走的，他的忍受极限很大，此刻他一声不吭，晓鸥几乎能看见他在三千公里之外俯首帖耳。一分钟就这么过去了。静默让晓鸥都不好意思起来。她叹了一口气，老史的罪过，让她失控到这种程度。若是把忠心耿耿的阿专气跑，老史该全权负责。叹息之后，她让阿专把他的手机递给老史。 “哟！你大小姐给惊动了？”老史逗她玩的口气。“阿专！我叫你不要惊动梅大小姐的大驾呀！” “还用阿专惊动？史老板现在是澳门的名人，看了史老板落网记的电视新闻的人都记住您的尊容了。”晓鸥阴阳怪气地回答。 “我是去香港参加一个展销会，顺便来看看你。”老史不在乎晓鸥的揶揄。 “什么展销会啊？” “是一个贵重木材艺术品和家具展销会。” "where?" “在中国领事馆旁边的文化艺术中心。” 说假话比说真话流利自信的人不少，可像老史这样流利自信的，大概不多。 “陈小小和你一块来的吗？” “没有。厂里、法院里的事那么多，她哪儿走得开？孩子也需要照顾。” “你住在哪家酒店？” “凑合住，住在离泗蜢钢不远，离大大龙凤茶楼很近，叫什么来着……对了，富都！” “你答应过小小和我，不会再进赌场了。” “我没玩，看看还不行？”老史的嗓音扬上去，骂街的嗓门。 晓鸥看着手机，她似乎看见了一个恼羞成怒的赖子。会羞会恼就还不是地道赖子，给他台阶下吧。有阿专的瞭望哨，老史不会出大动作。等北京这头的事务结束，确保段凯文的还款到位，她再去招架老史。 她躺回床上。这一夜已所剩不多。 后来她听说老史给各个赌徒当了一夜免费参谋。一张赌台轰走他，他会在赌厅盘旋一阵，盯好一张台的路数，再朝那张台俯冲。一夜之间，老史不辞辛苦，使一些人赢了，一些人输了，他也间接输输赢赢。那些赢了的人，老史参谋或不参谋都注定会赢，因为他们的赢是一次次的输铺垫起来的。那些输了的人也是注定要输，但是有个自充参谋的老史，他们的责怪便有了去处：他们的运气是由于误导而转向的。老史从而被联合起来的赢者和输者一同憎恶，一同驱赶。不过他在最初没有引起公愤之前，还是从几个赢者手里搜刮到几笔“抽头”，无非一千多块钱。 第二天早上六点，阿专跟着老史向金沙走去。小赌厅的低端客人多，气度也就小，心也就黑，赢的概率也就低。这是老史听人说的。他要玩就跟金沙这个级别的庄家玩。往金沙的路上，老史被阿专贴得难受，叫他离远点。阿专稍远一点，可还是一块上乘狗皮膏，甩不下去他。老史发了大脾气，自己给晓鸥打了个电话。 晓鸥就是这个时刻被吵醒的。北京灰白的早晨刚上窗台。老史的嗓音和调门都不像老史，像某个年代久远的电影中的人物：由于当年录制条件和胶片闲置太久，速度有些偏差，因而声音失真而接近卡通。他大致是骂阿专死不识趣，狗一条，真是条狗也该被打走了。 “你慢点说。”晓鸥厌烦地打断他。 他慢不了，在赌场一夜不寐的人都有种病态的速度。此刻的老史比《献给艾丽丝》还饶舌烦人，从骂阿专转过来骂晓鸥了。一串一串的丑话持续加速，意思是梅晓鸥拿她自己当谁呀，上次是关，这次是看，他史奇澜的老婆也不敢这么过分吧？ “嚷嚷什么？再嚷嚷我让赌场保安直接把你推出澳门海关。”晓鸥的牙关使着一股力，咬出的字眼气大音小。 史奇澜没听过梅晓鸥如此险恶的腔调，被吓住了，继而因为自己被一个女人吓住而窘住了。 “办什么展销？满嘴谎话！一查就查清楚了，哪儿来的什么贵重木制品展销？” “你跟小小联系了？”史奇澜把一切希望建筑在小小和晓鸥翻脸的现实上。自上次的“跳楼”事件，陈小小跟梅晓鸥就断绝了关系，老史钻的就是这个空子。 “我不用跟她联系。一个展销会还不好打听？网络是干什么的？”晓鸥无情揭露，“一个展销会不需要做广告？除了是一帮白痴，不想让人买他们的东西！” 史奇澜又不说话了。其实梅晓鸥什么都没打听，并且广告做不到位的展销会也多的是。她就凭一点稳准狠地识破这位老史，那就是：他声称的事物反面一定是真相，他撒谎倒过来听就是实话。他声称去香港办展销，这句谎言的反面便是根本不存在什么展销会，他也没因此去香港。 “那展销会是十二月份开，我先去打探路子……” 老史现在的谎是为面子撒的。谎现在是他的衣裳，你知道是假的也不能把人剥得赤裸裸的。而晓鸥就是要剥得他赤裸裸的，赤裸裸一个垃圾男人，看你梅晓鸥还为不为他心痒痒。 “那我问你，”她压低声，几乎压成了女低音，一种危险的声音，天边滚动的雷一样。“你老实回答我，你从香港怎么过来的？澳门海关怎么会让你过来？” 晓鸥把史奇澜的护照信息在澳门挂号已经两年多了，海关不可能让他进关而不通知晓鸥。倘若妈阁有一百个海关官员，晓鸥起码跟二十个做了半熟人，跟五个做了朋友。否则她梅晓鸥早已被十个史奇澜害死或逼疯了。 老史之所以能发挥才华就因为他对某些事物的大意。他的大聪明是他无数细小愚蠢的反面。没有诸如忘记护照之类的小愚蠢，他就不会有雕刻传世之作的大智慧。他的大智慧和小蠢笨是他人格、气质的拼镶，紧紧叉在一起，天作之合。他把进澳门需要用护照通海关这桩致命细节忘了！ 无地自容的老史挂了手机。 晓鸥也挂了手机，随手把它往枕头上一扔。似乎老史通过它跟她说话，跟她撒谎狡辩把它都弄脏了似的，她不要它搁在自己手里。她的眼泪慢慢从面颊上流下，这个不成器、扶不起的老史。这个知道他扶不起还在锲而不舍地硬扶他的梅晓鸥。她恨透了老史，因为老史已成了一堆污秽，可他对晓鸥还是一味药，虽然是早先吃下去的，但功效一直在作用她。而每次见他、听他、想他，功效都会扩大一会儿，扩大到差一点勾销他一千三百万的债务！她也在混账的作用下成了混账，在澳门和香港这样的地方，做个慷慨的混账，稀里糊涂勾销欠债人一大笔债务是没人赞誉的，做个精明敬业的生意人，一横一竖地记账讨债才是本分。本分人是为自己和家人把自己的活儿干漂亮。一个社会人人都做本分人就稳定发达…… 两小时之后，晓鸥在吃早餐看晨间新闻时接到阿专电话，老史反跟踪成功，现在各个赌场的小兄弟都向阿专报道老史失踪的消息。 中午了，老史继续失踪。 下午一点，钱庄的短信来了，一笔款子从北京汇到老季账户。晓鸥正在试衣间试冬季裙装，马上脱下新衣，换上自己的衣服。不用做无聊的事来消磨时间排遣焦虑了。她系好纽扣，对着镜子整理头发，然后把一套套新裙装端正地挂回衣架。差点买下一套她以后肯定不会穿的衣服，只有焦虑能让她走进昂贵无比的“香奈尔”、“迪奥”、“普拉达”，把一堆不合意的甚至设计荒唐的衣服往身上套，当着自己一个人的面出自己一个人的丑，看看这些衣服究竟能把你打扮成什么怪物！其间还让胆怯的怀有希望的导购小姐一次次烦扰她：“号码不大吧？”“我们还有另一个样式也特适合您！”“您气质那么好，试试这一套！”这些导购小姐用“气质好”来骂她不漂亮，“好气质”是“青春已逝”、“红颜渐老”、“不够漂亮”的同义词。 她理好头发，看着“气质好”的自己。钱终于到位，段总，谢谢您阻挡了几乎在我心里垮塌的段凯文形象。从镜子里看到衣钩上几件贵得惊人的裙装挂得隆重端庄，每件衣服的价值都能让老史在赌台上玩一把，快活一会儿。因此她觉得它们跟老史的玩上一把、快活一会儿相比，更不值当，更无聊。她一开门出去，就要让导购小姐失望了。她知道小姐刚才在门外等她试衣时有多焦虑，她马上就要平息小姐的焦虑，用失望。不到三十七岁的梅晓鸥认为，失望比焦虑好。 一件重要的事她忽略了，钱数。与钱庄老季的约定是手机短信中不提具体数目，为三方的安全。出了“迪奥”的大门，站在被各种国际品牌店筑起的宽阔走廊里，她给老季拨了个电话。汇数是多少？三百万。不对吧？不对是什么意思，钱庄跟她梅小姐做了十年生意，不对过吗？ 焦虑扼住了晓鸥的喉管，使她艰难地向黑帮腔调毕露的老季解释，不是说他不对，是钱数不对，汇款方不对。然后她挂断老季，连“拜拜”都省略了。她马上拨通老刘的办公室电话。老刘是遵守上下班时间的好干部，不然他上哪儿找八个小时读完日报、晚报、参考消息的每一条新闻，上哪儿去找到办公室那么安静的地方去看股市行情，顺便吃进、抛出？ “喂！”老刘在他的副司长办公室电话上的声调跟在手机上略有不同，拖出一点官腔，“哪里呀？” “你那位朋友跟厅里借钱是有整有零，现在还钱就有零没整了。零头都不够。两千四，他还个三百，什么意思？”赌徒们都习惯把大数目后面拖泥带水的一系列零去掉，尤其在电话上，两千四百万在这里就是两千四。 “……谁，谁呀？” 晓鸥不理他。老刘当然明白她说的那位朋友是谁。其实老刘对自己拉给晓鸥的每个客人输赢数目都记得很清。他不愿带祸害给晓鸥，也在乎晓鸥挣了大数后给他个小数。 “你现在打个电话，看他在哪里，在不在他的公司。别说是我让你打的。”晓鸥指示道。 “那我给他打电话说什么？” 是啊，说什么？段凯文这样呼风唤雨的大人物，此刻一定要有大事才能给他打电话。找借口也得找个大借口。 “你就说，梅晓鸥问他，剩下的两千一是不是汇出了，收款人没收到。两千一不是小数，值当问一声。” “那他会纳闷，梅小姐怎么不亲自问……” “放心，他不会纳闷。” 老刘就像脊梁上被抵着刺刀尖似的，不愿意也由不得他。他把办公室桌上的电话搁在一边，让晓鸥听他用手机跟段凯文通话。拨通了号，老刘的手机打开了麦克，晓鸥马上听见段的手机彩铃变了，变成了《献给艾丽丝》。堂堂段总，音乐教育启蒙比农民工还晚。 手机没人接。还欠款不足零头的人一般都不会接手机。晓鸥“拜拜”了老刘，跑下楼，奔了几条街。两台插卡电话落着北京的沙尘，背靠背站在街上。很久没人理会它们了，拥进城市的村民农夫们对着自己的廉价手机大叫大喊，从它们身边来去，似乎都不认识它们了。它们一副知