Chapter 16 Chapter fifteen

When Shi Qilan's works were shipped to Macau, it was the time for his son's college entrance examination, and Xiaoou realized that his son was one year younger than the other candidates.In order to allow her to spend more time with gamblers, she sent her son to primary school a year earlier.Thinking of this, she began to sweat outside the gate of the examination room.A son has to deal with older people since he was a child, and he has to pay a lot of extra care.How can a person be happy with so many minds?Now he has more foresight to deal with Shi Qilan.In the past two years, he could feel that Lao Shi was coming to Mage.Because a week before Lao Shi's arrival, my mother's bones became lighter.This light-boned mother's voice is half a tone higher than natural, and she is a little less patient with the nanny. The son is the biggest beneficiary of her good mood, and he is allowed to chat with people online at night for as long as he wants.He was inconceivable to his mother who was still in love at 412 years old. Forty-two years old, she was a very old person, let alone a very old woman.When he was preparing for the college entrance examination, his mother stayed up late with him and had supper with him, but the son knew that this vigorous energy that belonged to young people did not come from a good place.After his third exam, his mother showed him a poster: Shi Qilan Wood Sculpture Exhibition.

"Old Uncle Shi is going to be hot this time!" His mother told him. The son picked up the poster, and his eyes stayed on each photo for a few seconds enough to show politeness and respect.The son was never a child who was not polite.His manners are impolite, sometimes Xiaoou longs for him to be less polite. "How about it?" "pretty good." "real?" The son paused for a while, looking at the road in front of the windshield: "Didn't you ask me to take the exam? I think it's pretty good." This multi-minded boy.His insight and courtesy are enough for a country's foreign ministry.He was blaming his mother for not asking immediately after he walked out of the examination room: "How did you do in the exam? Are you tired?" Of course his mother knew that the test was for his son's strength: English.My son grew up with English in an American nursery school, and made many American playmates in Macau, so English has become a part of his growth.This is why Xiaoou didn't ask him "how was the exam", but his son punished her very diplomatically.

Tit for Tat: How did Xiaoou ever punish her middle-aged mother who was in love? She drove to the freight office at the pier, and Lao Shi was waiting for her outside the customs gate.The son asked his mother where she was driving him.Drive to the customs at the wharf freight station. Uncle Shi's wood carvings have arrived.The son stopped talking.Xiaoou used to treat her mother in the same way when she was in love, and she suddenly stopped talking.Not talking makes the elders feel useless more than anything else, and makes the elders feel guilty and at a loss more than anything else.The mother accepts everything as a son: no opinion, cohabitation is allowed, the mother is also a human being.But when he is suddenly speechless like this, you will realize how big his opinions are and how dirty he thinks of living together outside of marriage.Such an old age, still living together?Picture what?What do you guys do together?Also do what young men and women who live together do?Xiaoou heard his son's questioning from time to time in his silence.

Lao Shi slowly walked the wrong way along the road by the sea, Xiaoou honked the horn, and he stopped.The son asked Xiaoou more than once, isn't Uncle Shi a gambler who lost everything?He doesn't gamble now.Of course, if you lose everything, you don't have to gamble.Don't say that!That's what my mother said about my father. Uncle Shi is different from Lu Jintong.The son also ended up not speaking every time. Xiaoou stopped the car, briskly opened the door and walked towards Lao Shi.The son was left on the car seat, watching his mother's thickened back.Let him think that his mother is a fart.She turned her head and greeted her son loudly, and would be back in a while.Let the son see how the old and unprincipled couple love each other.She asked Lao Shi if all the things had arrived, and Lao Shi said yes, waiting for her to fill out the form and pass the customs.In Luzhai Town, Xiaoou blurted out that he wanted to buy all of Lao Shi's masterpieces, and Lao Shi gave them all as gifts in the end.But there was a condition, Xiaoou made a fool of herself before readily accepting Lao Shi's gift: she must repay all the debts of the Vietnamese casino.She sold the old apartment rented out behind her son's back, sold all the bonds, and returned 10 million to the Vietnamese casino.Although Lao Shi still has a large amount of outstanding debts in China, he no longer needs to hide his debts abroad, so he no longer has the danger of being hunted down by the current gang of former Vietnamese guerrillas.

After going through the customs formalities and returning to the car, my son reclined on the back of the passenger seat and fell asleep.Xiaoou pointed his index finger at Lao Shi who was sitting in the back seat, and sucked his lips.Remind him not to wake up his son, and also remind him not to say any intimate words, because the son is probably not really asleep, and it is to avoid talking to them and to facilitate them at the same time. After arriving home, Xiaoou found that Lao Ji had sent a text message from the bank, and Duan's interest had arrived.Duan Kaiwen didn't come back from the two million loan from Xiaoou, and he didn't hear about the "too project", but he remitted the two million interest every month on time.So Xiaoou didn't say anything.She gave all the gamblers wholesale to Lao Mao and A Le, and occasionally took a 10% or 20% discount, and Duan's interest supported the daily necessities of Xiaoou's well-off family.Don't many people in the Mainland and overseas who eat usury interest operate like this?It turns out that there is nothing wrong with being an ordinary person.She knew that Shi Qilan shouldn't be an ordinary citizen with her.He had told her that he had a terrifying energy that had to be volatilized, not by creativity but by destructive power.Gambling is self-destructive.Xiaoou organizes exhibitions for him in order to find an outlet for his terrifying energy.

But the fourteen-day exhibition was not very successful, with only a few perfunctory reviews in the newspapers, and a two-hour seminar held by the local artist association.This is the kind of meeting that is praised but makes people go crazy. Xiaoou has been looking forward to the end of the meeting, before Lao Shi goes crazy.Instead, a few gamblers from Hong Kong accidentally took a fancy to some woodcarvings and wanted to order 500 replicas from Lao Shi.The price of each replica is only worth the cost of that piece of wenge. Old Shi Fei returned to Guangxi to open a carpenter training class, and the first batch of 20 craftsmen trained delivered all the goods within two months.They made a large model, and Lao Shi polished and polished each carving, filed a few knives, and faked it. After two and a half months, the batch was delivered.Xiaoou celebrates for him and has a late night drink with him.He took out a piece of paper and wrote a number on it, which actually had six digits.After digging out the cost and craftsman's fee, it can be regarded as a deal without losing money.Old Shi's face was full of desolation, such mass production was not as good as furniture.Xiaoou maintained his optimism on his lips, but there was also a chill in his heart: it is difficult to get recognition for a unique artwork, but it is easy to exist and win people's hearts when it is popularized as a mass-produced product.McDonald's and KFC rely on batches to win.If there is not enough quantity, the customs cannot become popular, the customs cannot be established, and they cannot enter the culture. Only when the culture is accumulated and purified can it become a civilization. You create civilization as soon as you come up, and the order is wrong.In the future, the 1.36 million replicas of Lao Shi will be seen in Wal-Mart in the United States, Carrefour in France, and all supermarkets that go deep into the secular world, and the great era of Lao Shi will come.Xiaoou listened to Lao Shi's half-drunk nausea, and took his hand, which was cold.

Since living together with Shi Qilan, Xiaoou basically doesn't go to the casino.She found that she began to have mornings. It turned out that she was such a person who liked mornings.Mornings in Mage belonged to fishermen, vegetable sellers, small civil servants, and school students, and now she knew how much advantage these people had taken.She also knows how much the rich people who own the night have lost. The sunrise is much better than the sunset, and it is much better to watch the sun getting bigger and bigger than the sun getting smaller and smaller.The sun went from a tooth to a half circle, and then to a full circle. It was like a good thing getting bigger and closer. She stood on her balcony and watched the sunrise until the coffee was cold, but she still missed it. The last moment of the sun's fullness.It is said that not everyone can see that moment. You must be sincere and breathe deeply, otherwise your eyelids will tremble. You don’t feel them trembling, but the subtle trembling just makes you miss the moment when the sun is completely delivered.She wondered when she would be able to submerge to that extent and see the sun rising from the sea.

The phone rang.It's Lao Liu.Old Liu anxiously asked her with a pale face if she had seen Mr. Duan.Damn it, how could she meet Mr. Duan, and she's not in Beijing.President Duan said the day before yesterday that he was on a business trip to Shandong, but his daughter Duan Wendi called Shandong, and Shandong did not see President Duan at all!This matter is still hidden from Yu Jiaying! Xiaoou listened to Lao Liu's anxious voice.The emperor is not in a hurry to kill a group of eunuchs.The creditors of the Japanese barbecue restaurant took advantage of the chaos and beat up and the mediation of the court did not let Duan Kaiwen be honest.Her Mei Xiaoou's last trust in him was also treated as trash.How many original woodcarvings is enough for Shi Qilan to make two million?It seemed that the more than 30 million yuan he owed her was not enough to build up his debt, so another two million yuan was added.

The strange thing is that she is not angry at all, and she doesn't want to use any information means to search for him in Lao Ma Pavilion.She just wants to have every sunrise from now on, and no one will bother her.She hung up the phone, and found that Lao Shi squeezed his eyes and looked out of the glass door. Seeing her, he opened the curtain and the door and walked behind her. "I'm looking for you." He murmured sleepwalking. It was close to dawn when he went to bed.She pretended not to wake up, secretly enjoying his rustling groping sound and the aroma of wenge in the dark.Only when the vision is closed, the fragrance can only belong to the sense of smell, so it is specific and strong.He hugged those natural skin growth rings all night, and his skin also had a kind of oily coolness.Lao Shi has always lacked a little yang energy.He touched her hand, held her hand like he did every night, yawned for a long time, and fell asleep.Usually they have lunch together.She cut herself in two, shared breakfast with her son, had lunch with Lao Shi, and at dinner time her son studied with his classmates, filled his hunger casually at school, and returned herself to Lao Shi for supper.This apartment has a total of 138 square meters, each with its own sun, moon and day and night, or it is more like a revolving stage, the front and back take turns, you sing and I come on stage, only Xiaoou has to keep running to smooth things over , Whose background is her front desk.Old Shi smoothed her hair with his hands.Her haircut was too commercial, it was his opinion, and as soon as he got his hands on it he turned her hair into a crumbling stack of straw.

"Why don't you sleep?" Xiaoou asked. "Looking for you." He answered and took a sip of the cold coffee in her hand.You never want to know whether his passion is true or not. "Go to sleep a little longer." "Hair looks so pretty." He supported the "stack of straw" with one hand to keep it from collapsing. "Fuck you." She nodded her head. "Did the call wake you up?" "It's not...is it the phone that woke you up?" It seems that it must be.He never answered Xiaoou's phone calls, and his cell phone was turned off most of the time, except when he used it to call Xiaoou.No one in China knows his latest mobile number, except Mei Xiaoou.But every time the phone rang, whether it was a mobile phone or a home phone, he would experience an almost invisible thrill and excitement.He was visibly dreading and anticipating a phone call.

Chen Xiaoxiao called.How did Xiaoou know?Because Xiaoou is also afraid of Chen Xiaoxiao's phone call.She seems to take advantage of people's dangers to steal people's love.This stolen old history seems to be claimed by the owner, sooner or later. "The old Liu from the Ministry of Water Resources called just now." Lao Shi seemed to be a millimeter shorter, and he let out the breath that reached his chest.He is safe, or disappointed. "Lao Liu said Duan Kaiwen came to Macau again." She made it more specific in order to convince him that the call was indeed from Lao Liu. "Oh." Old Shi didn't remember what Duan Kevin was.I don't remember being interested either. Xiaoou pushes him into the door and tells him to go back to sleep.She walked into the kitchen by herself and started making breakfast for her son.The permanent nanny was fired by her half a year ago, and now she is a part-time cleaning worker.It has been half a year since her family stopped buying instant noodles.Two nannies and a boy raised by his mother with instant noodles, unexpectedly entered the top ten in the college entrance examination. Maybe the son is in the top three in intelligence, but the top ten is his life. A bad mother and two nannies gave him his life to eat instant noodles. She took a shower, wiped and cleaned the bathroom, and heard her son rummaging through the kitchen.Turn over instant noodles.This child is so easy to wean, but so difficult to wean instant noodles.He is addicted to artificial deliciousness, and the real deliciousness can no longer impress him.Where is the natural delicacy when the artificial delicacy soothes the bottomless appetite of his childhood?Therefore, his need for all kinds of artificial delicacies is not only a taste, but also a psychological need.When he goes to college in the fall, who dares to stop him from enjoying artificial delicacies? ! Xiaoou returns to the living room.The son sits at the kitchen table eating cold bacon.He said good morning to his mother and how he had slept last night.His appetite shrank without taking out the instant noodles, and he chewed the bacon like a stick of wood.Then he proposed to go to Beijing to visit his dying father. "A critical illness again?" Xiaoou immediately regretted his sharpness as soon as he opened his mouth. "Hmm." The son lowered his head.I don't know if I want to cry or feel embarrassed for my father who is dying of old age and not dying. "Then go. Anyway, the exam is over." She didn't see her son responding, "I didn't let you go, why are you crying?" "Who's crying?" The son suddenly lost his manners, even the ones without warmth. Xiaoou no longer recognizes this boy who is half a head taller than her.If she felt a little familiar, it would be Lu Jintong who was muddled more than ten years ago in the form of a boy.In a Las Vegas casino, she tugged on Lou's arm and he jerked her into a squat.The son didn't use his arms and just used that sentence to throw her a somersault, psychologically, affectionately... The son fought fiercely with his mother with words, and he was pissed off.He stood up and left, throwing half of the bacon back on the plate with a bang.The meat was cold enough and firm enough.Xiaoou fixed his eyes on Bacon, and heard his son go out the gate.The sound of closing the door touched her painful nerves and made her numb.The old cat called.let's hit.After the bell rang ten times, the old cat gave up.Five or six minutes later, another call came from the old cat, with the same ringtone, which sounded like the old cat was upset.trouble. Half an hour passed.Forty minutes passed.Xiaoou didn't move at all, his son couldn't put her in the air for no reason, no apology, no goodbye.Doorbell rang.It must be that the son came back to apologize or say something soft, or that I forgot the key.Can he forget the key as an excuse for reconciliation, and the seventeen-year-old high school student will not lose face?She walked to the door with a smiley face all ready.How to do it?These days, the elders think they are stupid, they think they are three points short, and they laugh first if they forget about eating or beating. Open the door, there is an old cat outside the door.Black T-shirt, white hair, black glasses, and white jade beads, all human beings can't count the old cat wearing beads. "Call you, if you don't answer, I will come." Xiaoou was very confused: how did his son turn into an old cat?As long as the person knocking on the door is not her son, they are all making things difficult for her.The old cat could see how shallow her polite smile was, and it couldn't hide her resentment and annoyance towards him.So he suddenly forgot the reason for rushing to her door. "Can I smoke?" the old cat asked, looking into the living room behind her. "cannot." Her expression said: It seems that only my 138-square-meter home, Mei Xiaoou, can be your smoking room in Quanma Pavilion. "Then let's go downstairs and talk about it." The old cat had already taken out the cigarette case and lighter. "What's the matter?" She was wearing a home dress, which could only be seen by Lao Shi and his son, not even the old cat, let alone the neighbors in the community. "I'll smoke on the balcony." He said as he squeezed through the door. "Not even the balcony!" The balcony is a castle in the sky for Lao Shi and her.Man said that Lao Shi was still sleeping on her bed. She turned and walked inside.The old cat understood that she was leading him.He followed her through the hall and into the kitchen.Xiaoou knew that Quanma Pavilion would not find a cleaner and brighter kitchen than this one, and it would be more than enough to entertain old cats as a smoking room.She went to the stove and shook her jaw at the old cat. "Come here. Come here." She gestured to herself. The old cat looked at her, with lustful hope floating in his eyes: You woman finally think about it?Because of an old Shi sleeping soundly on her gums, she seemed to have a mighty defense.The old cat took the last few steps of catching mice in a calm manner, and came to the stove, Xiaoou pressed the button of the top gear of the hood.There was a bang. "Let's smoke it." Xiaoou took a step back to the side. "Fuck..." The old cat glared at Xiaoou with a stupid and clumsy look.He has become Tom in the cartoon. She took a plate casually and put it on the stove, her eyes were straight, she didn't pretend to be Jerry to tease him. The old cat smiled, shaking its white and brown haired head, laughing at himself for being greedy for so many years.Or Xiao Xiaoou pretends to be sentimental, and makes a gesture of guarding her body like a jade, pity her forty-two-year-old body and only she herself still guards it as a jade. "What's the matter?" She leaned against the kitchen counter opposite the stove and waited for the old cat to puff out a puff of smoke before asking. "How can I talk so loudly?" He pointed to the smoking machine. "I can hear you." The smoking machine can smoke out some of his words, and Lao Shi can't hear clearly.She was afraid that he would have bad words. "You know who I saw?" Xiaoou didn't respond, there was no suspense to excite her, and she already knew who the old cat was referring to. "The one surnamed Duan is at the Arc de Triomphe, and he rubbed his cards hard!" Then he told Xiaoou how his horseman discovered Duan, how he followed him, how he watched him play cards, how he played from 100,000 to 200,000, then to 500,000, and then to 3 million , After a night of fierce fighting, what was left in the end was 11,000... Xiaoou asked Lao Mao's clients to make Lao Mao Xiao a few fortunes, and now some of the horses he hired were dedicated to searching for them in various casinos People who fail to repay their debts and then hook up loans to other Junket Operators to continue their gambler career.Of course, Xiaoou thought of the two million she loaned to Duan reflexively, and until now she hadn't heard that the "Taiwan Shopping Center" had started construction.The high interest paid by Duan on schedule was originally to guarantee that the two million principal would not be returned.At present, those who are pushed out on the green felt of the gaming table and planed back can only come out of the two million miles. "Will you go and have a look?" It would be too embarrassing to live: if she caught those hands rubbing the cards on the green felt while it was still hot, she didn't know what would happen, but she knew that she would feel ashamed and grope for the ground.The hands that used to tear pancakes and get excellent grades, and the hands that built tall buildings on the ground, were caught by Xiaoou on the spot like thieves, oh, how embarrassing!Just thinking about it makes Xiaoou stupefied with embarrassment. "Please, brother cat, help me deal with Mr. Duan." "It's your brother cat again?" The old cat smiled naughtily, hiding half of the smile behind the hand holding the lighter.There is only a half-minute gap between the second puff and the first. "The recovered money belongs to you." Before Xiaoou opened his mouth, he didn't expect that he would say this sentence. "real?" Xiaoou knew that the hope of recovering was extremely slim.She is full of foresight and confidence in Duan Kaiwen's straight fall.If she hadn't been competing with Lu Jintong for her son and Chen Xiaoxiao for her old history, she wouldn't be so negative about her "career".She felt that her life seemed to be changing qualitatively recently.She used to be worth tens of millions more, but she never felt a qualitative change in her life.Qualitative change is introverted, and can only be savored and enjoyed silently.Realizing this earlier, Lu Jintong would not be so attractive to his son.After the old cat was gone, she sat at the potluck table in the kitchen peeling young peas, full of dreamy, intermittent daydreams.The aimlessness of life at this moment is the best purpose.In this season, being able to eat fresh and tender peas peeled by oneself is a qualitative change in life.Now everything is expensive by hand. At this time, being able to peel tender peas for my son and Lao Shi by hand is a qualitative change in life.Who has the luxury of keeping the good news, bad news, and group jokes out of consciousness on the phone?She Xiaoou has it now.As long as her son loves her, Lao Shi also loves her... No, as long as the two of them allow her to love them, no matter how much she loves them, they won't get tired of it, and the qualitative change will reach just the right degree... Before the peas were finished peeling, a text message came.The old cat told her that if the surname Duan said he owed money, he would ask for it himself, and it was not the old cat's turn to ask for it.It seems that Xiaoou needs to personally act in order to transfer Duan's debts to Lao Mao.Xiaoou looked at a bowl of beautiful tender peas and half a table of emerald pods, and slowly stood up.She was about to enter that place of injustice again, and she was exhausted before she even set out to see those bull-headed and horse-faced faces. I saw Lao Mao, New Year's Day and Duan Kevin at the mouth of the Sanzai Hall of the Arc de Triomphe Casino.When Duan saw Xiaoou, there was a rescue look in his eyes.The poor man has gone to the point of betraying his relatives, counting down, Mei Xiaoou is still very close to him.She called "Mr. Duan" and walked up.Duan's right arm moved, but he didn't stretch it out, realizing that he had lost the height to shake hands and meet others.Xiaoou saw where his right arm was going, and reached out to him.Duan felt that he was being received by Xiaoou, so he bowed his head humbly and stretched out his right arm.Xiaoou's palm can no longer recognize this hand. It is not the hand that dared to do good and bad things in the past. , is up to you.Where is Chairman Duan Kevin's hand?Look at his face again, it is no longer bloated, but obese, which further confirms the inference that people will resort to the lowest pleasure - chewing - in a state of stress, confusion, and self-abandonment.He is wearing a light gray jacket that all middle-aged and elderly Chinese men have. It is either XXL or XXXL. It is much larger than his required size, and it seems to pre-occupy the space for future growth.The toe of the leather shoe is slightly upturned, like the bow of a stranded ship.Just as he was all right when he first appeared, now he is all right.He also wanted to bring back the warm smile and tone of voice they had when they first met. "I'm going to Zhuhai to look at a piece of land, and I'll come over to play a few games! How are you, Xiaoou?" Xiaoou only felt sorry for him, which made her feel sad and made both of them ashamed.She said that she is fine, but the business can no longer be done, and most of the customers are given up to Brother Mao.Mr. Duan looked at the old cat, the old cat was calm, and he didn't have to.Duan Kaiwen said a few more polite words about his son, is he good, and has he grown up, which made Xiaoou feel that if he stood up again, he would not know who would be the first to be ashamed to death.She asked Mr. Duan to continue playing, don't let her interrupt his good luck. "Hey, Xiaoou, you said that Mr. Duan will be taken over by me from now on." The old cat said. Xiaoou hesitated. Duan Kaiwen's eyes swept across Xiaoou's face in despair.At such an advanced age, he continued to be called "Mr. Duan, Mr. Duan" and was changed hands in the blink of an eye?No, resold?Thousands of years ago slaves were sold, but now debtors can also be sold as slaves? "I don't understand how he takes over?" Duan stared at Xiaoou. "It's easy to understand. How much should you pay her back? I'll put it on for you and give it back to her, and then I'll ask you for it. Xiaoou, how much does Mr. Duan owe you, three thousand or four thousand?" said the old cat. Of course, the word "ten thousand" is omitted here. "There is no rule in the court that a third party should advance the money for me first, Miss Mei." People are down and out, poor, but wisdom is not poor. "Dou, I won't give you a mat, you can pay her back now if you have money! Otherwise, what will she eat? Let her, a woman who is both a father and a mother, starve to death with the child!" "I didn't talk to you." "I'm talking to you!" Duan still kept the old cat out of his field of vision, thinking that he could be honored by the public and the security guards, and the old cat didn't dare to beat him up like he did in Yinhe's room last time. "Mei Xiaoou, I don't want him to advance me money." Duan Kaiwen was not so easy to change hands, and his eyes were red with anger. "Let's put it bluntly, it's his business that he likes to advance money, and it has nothing to do with me." After saying that, he was about to go back to the casino. The old cat pounced on food again, and he went up and pulled the collar of the dusty gray jacket, and the zipper of the jacket was pulled all the way to the throat.Fortunately, the size of the jacket is large, and Duan's neck can still have enough freedom in it.Xiaoou immediately grabbed the old cat from behind and dragged him away forcefully. "Brother Cat, the surveillance camera is on you!" Facing the camera diagonally above, the old cat said with lips: "Throw away your mother." Mr. Duan stared at Xiaoou, and said in his eyes, I never thought that you, Mei Xiaoou, would go so far as to deal with me like this kind of scum, men, robbers and women.Maybe you are a scumbag yourself, and scumbags are nothing more than differences between men and women.Slowly, accusingly, his hand straightens the jacket. Xiaoou got at least two men onto the sidewalk near the sea. "It has nothing to do with you, does it? You lied to Xiaoou another two million, saying you were going to bid. Where did you bid? Make up stories to cheat money! You can't cheat anyone, but you have to cheat a single mother! Are you a man? ?” As he spoke, he wanted to paw on Duan again. Xiaoou looked at the crazy cat, the white hair was more angry than others.Xiaoou sees a glimmer of hope in recovering the debt from Duan in Lao Mao's ferocity, and recovers a dime for a dime. "Brother Cat, let me talk to Mr. Duan first?" "No!" The old cat shouted at Xiaoou. "You asked him, did he use the two million yuan to bid in the casino?" "Okay, okay, I will definitely ask him." She gave the old cat a wink to make him withdraw, but the old cat's fist was still clenched. "President Duan, let's go." She took Duan's left arm, half of her body used as a shield, and walked around the old cat. "Let him return the two million to you first!" The old cat chased after them when they walked more than 20 meters away. The hand holding Duan Kevin's arm suffered a lot, and the two of them were embarrassed if they didn't let go.The hand itself gets tired first, and full of complaints, blaming its master for putting it in such a wrong place, grasping something so wrong.This grip also made Duan Kaiwen extremely miserable, his skin and posture were stiff, hoping that this contact would end immediately but he didn't know how to end it without any trace.In the end, Xiaoou let go first, and at the same time looked back, saying that it's all right now, and the old cat left.It seems that you should not treat Mei Xiaoou's arms and body as a woman, but as self-defense armor. They found a cafe by the sea and sat down.The sea breeze blows the extremely vulgar electronic music up and down, which slightly reduces the vulgarity.Duan Kaiwen called the waiter, ordered himself a cup of Americano coffee, and asked Xiaoou what he wanted.It means he treats guests.Become passive, not reconciled, not reconciled.Xiaoou decided to let him regain his senses and accept his favor.She glanced at the menu on the table and ordered a latte and a tuna sandwich.The more she ordered, the better he would feel.Sure enough, he smiled slightly, turned to the sea and let out a long breath, feeling a little taller again. "Your cat brother is simply a hooligan at the bottom of society," Duan Xian said. "I cheated you of money under the banner of bidding? Use the heart of a villain to measure the belly of a gentleman." Xiaoou could only listen.Lao Shi should be up by now. Every day he would drink a cup of soy milk after waking up, and while drinking, he would look at the creations he took with his laptop last night.At this time, he was another Shi Qilan, the critic Shi Qilan, who was objective and harsh, and specifically picked on the old Shi's failures last night.It's just that I don't know if there is enough soy milk at home... She was shocked and found that she had missed several sentences of Duan Kevin. "... Bidding is not a problem, but without this qualification certificate, you can't accept such a large-scale project." Xiaoou turned his doubtful face towards Duan: Huh?What qualification certificate? "I told you, Xiaoou, only five or six of the Beijing developers have obtained my qualification certificate!" Xiaoou nodded, expressing his belief.But does this have anything to do with his debt repayment? "Equivalent to an advanced license! Equal to the highest level among developers! Equal to a postdoctoral fellow in this field!" Xiaoou nodded again, she agreed, it should be a very, very advanced construction license. "It's a pity, because I was abroad and didn't pay the fee on time, so the license expired, otherwise my bidding is 100%!" That is to say, because his license expired, the super large shopping center project in Tai'an, Shandong fell into the hands of competitors.Can the two million bidding deposit be returned in full? "I know you're going to ask about the two million bid deposit." Xiaoou looked at him honestly: I miss my own money, there is nothing to be ashamed of, and there is nothing to deny. "The two million is still there. Don't worry, Xiaoou. Even if you use it to deposit and withdraw, you have to pay such a high interest every month. You won't suffer, right? When the two million principal is repaid to you , plus the interest, it has doubled!" "Mr. Duan, did you go to Vietnam or Singapore?" Duan froze for a moment, it was only half a second, but it was enough for Xiaoou to understand that he had taken her two million to a point of no return, and walked out of the gambling tables in Vietnam or Singapore. "Shandong is my old base. I haven't got the project in Tai'an, and there are still projects in Penglai and Yantai. My hometown Linyi also wants me to do big projects," Duan Kaiwen easily changed the subject.He hasn't gone to the point of outright, out-of-the-box lying, denying that he's been to Vietnam or Singapore. "As long as the fee is paid and the qualification certificate is updated, other developers are no match for my competitiveness, and they are not at the same level!" It sounds like he's only short of the fee to renew his license.Xiaoou made an analogy for him in his mind: It's like paying a membership fee to enter a certain high-end club, and after entering, you can meet high-level business partners and make high-level business. Everything starts with a membership fee.So how much is this senior dues? "How much is that fee?" "Six hundred thousand." Xiaoou was taken aback, she thought it was tens of thousands of dollars.But she would not give him tens of thousands of dollars.Tens of thousands of dollars are enough for her, her son and Lao Shi to live a good life for a few months.Duan Kaiwen saw that Xiaoou was turning on the computer in his mind. "As long as you give me 600,000 yuan..." "Mr. Duan, you think highly of me. I can't even afford 60,000 yuan. You are not the only one who owes money like you. You see, you owe more than 30 million yuan alone—let's calculate the interest. Right? If there are two more people like you, what else can I do in the casino? Which hall owner will give me chips to lend to customers? I have to pay back the money you owe the hall owner! You are a monk who can run away, but I am a temple that cannot run away. In order to pay back money to you customers who are in debt, I am not afraid of your jokes, I sold my house! In our industry, this is bankruptcy! You let me take What money to lend you?" She exaggerated a little, but it was definitely not nonsense. When she talked about her grievances, her eyes became hot.Peeling fresh peas at home feels extremely blissful, and some people use her as a squeezed tube of toothpaste. "I didn't say I must borrow your money, don't worry..." He stretched out his hand and gently stroked the back of Xiaoou's hand, and Xiaoou caught a glimpse of a shallow dimple on the back of his bloated hand.She withdrew her hand disgustingly—do you still have the money to betray a man? "I lent you two million, and you lost it again. I didn't press you for the debt, did I? Are you done yet?" Xiaoou's voice returned to that of three years ago.The male waiter who served the coffee just now stuck half his face out of the shop. "Who lost the two million?" He spread his hands. Xiaoou gave him a weary sneer.She didn't bother to expose him. "As long as you, Ms. Mei, take my lead again, I will definitely get our big project in Linyi. It's only 600,000, count it as my last beg of you!" Now there is always one trick and one trick, and as many tricks as there are, it is enough to make as many bets as possible. "You beg me, I have to have it too." Xiaoou pushed back her chair, stood up and left, leaving behind her untouched latte, sandwich and Kevin Duan. After returning home, Lao Shi really went to his studio.She saw that the unpeeled peas were now peeled, and the glass on the table was as bright as it had just been polished.I don't know if it was the son or Lao Shi who did it, but I hope it is the son.Relatives and aliens, abuse each other together, eager to seek peace and make up as soon as they separate, this is a family.She pushed open the door of her son's room and found that he had tidied up the bed and desk, which was another gesture of compensation.Now is the most relaxed time for him, waiting for the start of college life.He should be allowed to see Lu Jintong. If Lu walks away, it will become a big hole in his son's heart, a pain that can never be healed. Then Lu Jintong will completely win this emotional tug-of-war. She fried the peas and cloud legs together, blanched a few choy sums, poured oyster sauce over them, and made dried shrimp and winter melon soup. The rice happened to be cooked at this moment.Lao Shi couldn't answer the phone, so she left half of the vegetables and rice for her son, and packed the other half into bento boxes and enamel soup pots to send to Lao Shi.Lao Shi's studio is in an old building near Love Lane in the old city. The attic space on the top floor is all rented by Xiaoou, with a total of more than 200 square meters.On the drive to the studio, Duan Kevin's face was in front of her eyes.The downfall of a person is just a matter of appearance, a pile of rubbish in the heart, and a filth emerges from the face.What a face it was once.She knows that no one can pity him, just like the disabled beggars on the side of the road in Beijing, she knows that it is their performance, but she always buys their "tickets", people can be so pitiful to the extreme, Let's take it seriously. She told Lao Shi about her dealings with Duan Kevin several years ago.Lao Shi was sculpting a piece of work, and he turned to look at her with a comforting gaze. Of course, he felt the pain and sorrow she felt when she told Duan Kevin.Sweat flowed from his forehead to his neck, his head and face were shiny, more moist than his polished wooden head and face.她为他擦了擦脸，劝他歇歇，吃了午饭再干。他嘴上诺诺应允，却并不照办，似乎荒唐掉太多的时间，现在连本带利息往回捞。赌徒老史变成现在的老史是脱胎换骨，是浪子回归，可不是每个赌徒都能完成这个回归的。应该说能回归的不多，得爱妻和爱子再搭上和睦家庭来置换这个回归。够惨痛的，但毕竟回归了。看看段凯文吧，爱妻的半身不遂和高低不平的五官置换来的只是他手指上一块难看的疤痕。老史让到一边，意思是让晓鸥看看他几小时的工作成效。晓鸥表扬地微笑一下，他把胳膊伸过来在她腰上轻轻一搂。她是回归的老史的受益人。中年男女的爱情原来就是这样，比如十多只土鸡熬出的汤，只有尝的人知道多美，浮面一滴油腻都不见。 晓鸥的电话响起来，老史突然停下手。室内顿时是心惊肉跳的静，直到晓鸥对着手机说：“嗯，我知道那个段凯文。他怎么有我们家的电话？” 那一头是晓鸥家的钟点工，下午一点来上班，隔着吸尘器的噪音听到电话铃，就接听了。段凯文说晓鸥把丝巾丢在咖啡馆的椅子上了。那可是一条不能丢的丝巾，白底红梅，老史的手绘。穿戴了十多年名牌衣服和丝巾，现在她只穿老史的设计。穿了老史的设计她才明白那些名家想象力的匮乏，设计得重复和丑陋，也意识到世上只有一个梅晓鸥：她梅晓鸥的独一无二和不可复制性。她跟钟点工说，假如段凯文再打电话，告诉他把丝巾留在咖啡店，自己会去取。手机还没挂断，她听见老史开始活动了。他拖着脚步走到放着菜和饭的凳子旁边，慢慢坐在一块尚未雕刻出雏形的鸡翅木上。陈小小和儿子是否得知他已戒赌，他不知道，但他多希望他们知道。他也明白他的不赌是不够的，远不够把他们赢回自己身边。不赌只是个最最低的起点，从他的债务高峰算起，那起点只是跟死海齐平的海拔。即便陈小小和儿子回来，跟他待在死海边，仰望压顶的债务高峰，也没什么幸福。关于这一点，老史越来越看清了。从每一个误认为来自陈小小的电话铃声中看清的。 餐间说起段凯文要再借六十万的事，老史正用勺子舀冬瓜汤，半途搁回了勺子。他当然在意她是否又进圈套。她应该干脆地回绝了他。要不了多久，段凯文也能弄残自己一条腿或一只手，进修深造求乞艺术，到大街上去挣生计。差一点那就是他老史做的事了，只差一点。不对，不是只差一点，你史奇澜跟段凯文人品上差距很大。晓鸥怎么会知道，但史奇澜自己知道：就差那一点，要不是小小带儿子出走，就一点不差了。 接下去的对话，是勺子和碗的、筷子和盘子的。两人都不说话了，似乎都在为差的那一点而后怕。工作室里开始进来下午的太阳，一缕又一缕，把万千灰尘孵活了，欢蹦乱跳地起舞。老史忽然凑过嘴唇来亲她。等不来小小和儿子，又有那么多的柔情要施与。晓鸥感到他的亲吻越来越深，搅拌着新鲜豌豆和云腿的滋味，很是鲜美。晓鸥一向的卫生标准顷刻被颠覆，爱带一点不洁和腥气无妨。他知道她不愿意完整地裸露，中年的女性身体已经消失了一些年轻的线条，颜色也不那么新鲜，总之有些旧旧的感觉，因此他由她遮盖去，在太阳中让她的身体藏在衣物里。 两人大汗如洗，最后一点快感都被挖掘出来。之后你看着我，我看着你，淡淡的伤心还在，得而复失失而复得，总有那一点是得不到的，却也只能这样了。老史微微一笑，她把衣服拉直，一些地方还留着快感的印记。 “晓鸥，给他最后一次机会吧。” 虽然是一句建议，但充满商讨的意思。晓鸥感觉有点被背叛，退役赌徒在帮一个现役赌徒的忙呢。 “说不定他真的是缺少这一次机会。你忘了？你也给过我最后的机会。” 晓鸥摇摇头，表示不加考虑。老史是老史，段凯文是段凯文。 “只不过我没有珍惜你给我的最后机会。” “你凭什么认为他会珍惜？我那二百万给他骗去，都让他丢在赌桌上了！” “听你说过这个段总几次，你的口气都是替他可惜的。他比我有能力，条件也比我好，假如有最后一次机会……” 晓鸥收拾碗筷时，老史说那只是他随便说说的，只是建议，她听不听都无所谓。 离开工作室之后，晓鸥去了海边咖啡馆。丝巾却被段凯文拿走了，留下一张纸条。一笔隽秀的字迹告诉晓鸥，到他酒店前台去取，因为他看出丝巾的不凡，怕留在咖啡店弄脏或丢失。一个小小的负责行为，让晓鸥开始倾向老史的建议。她用手机拨通老猫，请他帮着查查看，资深开发商是否真有什么资质证明，有的话是否需要交费。老猫在傍晚时分查清了事实，段凯文在此事上没有撒谎。 她到了凯旋门酒店大厅前台，说明自己是来认领那条手绘丝巾的。丝巾被叠得四方平整，装在一个小购物袋里。段是识货的，和晓鸥一样爱这条丝巾，这和他在建筑上的超好审美观有关。一个有着巨大潜质做好人的混账。现在难道轮到她晓鸥来挖掘那些精良潜质？别逗了，她没那雄心和野心了。让老猫去挖吧。她把老猫招来，跟他摆出条件，段凯文可以让给他，要回的债务她只要两成，但现在他必须出六十万把段救活。 老猫瞪着她，一半上唇咧开，看着晓鸥这个葫芦里卖没卖毒药。 晓鸥见他掏出烟盒，替他按着打火机。猫哥这难道不是下注？愿意玩总得拿出赌资。干吗她晓鸥不自己玩？没赌资了，也玩够了。想想吧，猫哥，同意就签个合同。他要一天时间考虑，给三天都行。姓段的不是地道人，地道人就不用押注了。 地道我还请你老猫出马？晓鸥心里冷笑。她知道老猫不会把三天时间花费在考虑上，而是花在调查上。段的能力，曾经的丰功伟绩是经得住调查的。果然在第四天下午，老猫来敲晓鸥的门，他同意跟她签合同了。晓鸥知道他一定刚从北京回来，完成了一场透彻的调查研究加三思。 清晨五点，老史没有准时回家。晓鸥不放心了，起床随便套了条牛仔裤和T恤衫，就去了老史的工作室。工作室离她的公寓二十分钟车程，老史一般是骑车往来。走到工作室楼下，她看见阁楼上面灯光阑珊，不像在工作的样子。老史在为香港秋季艺术品拍卖会突击创作几件木雕，现在回家睡觉的时间从原先的凌晨三点推后到清晨五点。 她轻轻推开门。到工作室来晓鸥总是带有一种敬畏，是寻常人对创造者那种不求甚解的敬仰和畏惧。所以她每次进入这里总是十分知趣，尽管这间工作室是租在她自己名下的。灰暗的黎明中只有一盏壁灯亮着，老史坐在地上，背靠着墙，眼睛看着天花板。 “你怎么来了？”他既无倦意，也不精神。 “你怎么了？不舒服了？”晓鸥轻声问，走到他旁边蹲下来。 “没怎么，就是弄不出来。” 他指的是创作不顺心，不顺手。 “我恐怕完了，怎么使劲都弄不好。过去是心里有手上无，现在心里都没有了。” 这种状态在这两年中时而发生，延续的时间有长有短。它一发生，老史就说自己完了，或者说自己本身就很平庸，自以为复制几千件居家摆设屈了才，实际上何才之有，庸才罢了。晓鸥于是提醒他，每次这种创作低谷和自我怀疑都会过去，不过早点晚点的事。他却说这次过不去了，因为他从来没感觉脑子这么空过，举起刀之前还有点想法，可一举起来就不知该往哪儿落了，刚才的想法跑得干干净净，剩下个空空的脑壳。有时拼命地追捕还没完全散尽的思绪，就是捕捉不到，恨得撞墙…… 晓鸥赶紧去摸他的额头，额头还好，再看看周围墙壁，墙壁也无损。他明白晓鸥的眼神，说自己要不是吃了那几种药，早就撞得头破血流了。老史每天都吃三种药，有时快睡着了，又噌地一下跳下床，冲进浴室去吃药。其中几次晓鸥见他跳下床去开药瓶子，马上提醒他，他已经吃过这天的药了，别吃重了，他会疑惑地问晓鸥是不是看清和记清了，万一记错，少吃一天的药可是灾难。晓鸥问他那是什么药，为什么一天也不能缺，缺了会发生什么灾难？他含混地说都是些治疗焦躁的精神药类，他自己也不完全懂。这个黎明时分他告诉晓鸥，这些药副作用很大，其中最可怕的副作用是抑制创作的巅峰情绪。那为什么要吃呢？为什么要让它抑制呢？停了药不就能恢复创作巅峰状态了吗？ “创作状态倒是恢复了，你跟我的日子就难过下去喽。”他伸过一条胳膊，把晓鸥揽进怀里。 再追问，老史也没有说得十分清楚。 “吃了药，就可以做个正常的人，做个好人。不吃药，可能就是极富创造力的疯子。所以我还是做个好人吧。为你我也要做个好人，通俗平庸就通俗平庸吧，你说呢晓鸥？你配一个好男人跟你一起过。” 老史当然不可能平庸，起码晓鸥没这层担忧。她挨着他坐在地上，头靠在他没多少体温的胸口。