Chapter 4 Chapter Four

The next day, old man Xing was still driving the car to pull dung, and Captain Wei followed the car as usual.He told Captain Wei exactly what the old couple had said yesterday.Captain Wei rolled a handful of old man Xing's dry cigarettes with a note, put his arms on his thighs, swayed back and forth with the car, and didn't speak for a long time. Later, he spat and said, "This is more difficult than having a man in her family!" "What's the problem, woo, woo!" Old man Xing yelled at the animal, "I'm so poor that I'm going to eat, why are I still a rich peasant?"

Captain Wei glanced sideways at him, but knew he couldn't explain it to the old man.Old man Xing never participated in any study meetings.As soon as the movement came, the old farm laborer was sent to the most critical independent work position to replace others to participate in the movement. Therefore, old man Xing became the most "unconscious" member of the commune. "It's difficult, it's difficult!" Captain Wei took off his hat and scratched his scalp, "Even if the permit is issued here, it won't be allowed there, and it will bring disaster. I see, you can live with her, Hukou or not. Our team can squeeze out enough rations for one person at the moment, as long as there is food to eat. But you can’t tell others about this, just pretend it’s nothing like this; Wait until next spring to talk about it. Right now we’re just taking one step at a time, and who knows what will change next year.”

This year, the production team made final calculations, and the two of them received a total of more than 500 catties of grain and 120 yuan in cash for their work points.After getting the food and money back, it happened that the team was going to send a cart into the city to do a side job and pull sand on the construction site for three days.Old man Xing put the pancakes baked for him by the woman in his satchel, and drove into the city. This yellow dog was the one he met when he entered the city this time.At that time, it was still young, growing wild, and no one had ever fed it.When old man Xing rested the car on the construction site to eat dry food, it tilted its head and stared at him.Old man Xing tore two small pieces of pancakes for it.As a result, it followed old man Xing's car all day long.On the fourth day, on the morning when old man Xing was driving home, it still followed the cart and ran out of the city.Old man Xing couldn't bear it, so he carried it into the car on a thought.

At noon, the cart returned to the village.Still outside Zhuangzi, old man Xing found that his roof was not emitting smoke like other houses.An unfortunate premonition shook him suddenly.He was unloading the animals in a panic in the stables, when old man Wei's wife came looking for him. "Old man Xing, your woman said yesterday afternoon to go to the supply and marketing cooperative and gave me the key, but she didn't come back last night, what's the matter?" Old man Xing took the key and hurried to the house to open the door with trembling hands.The room was cleaner than usual, the quilt, mattress and old man Xing's cotton clothes were all cleaned and folded on the kang, and there were four pairs of new shoes lying on the pillow, but he had disappeared.After a while, many people gathered around the house, and someone even urged the old man Xing to go to the supply and marketing cooperative. In fact, this was really a stupid suggestion, and everyone understood what was going on.The old man Xing sat on the edge of the kang with his waist bowed in a daze, and he didn't hear what others said at all, he just kept repeating in his heart: Let's go!gone!Can't wait until next year to go!At this time, old man Wei separated from the crowd and walked in, saying, "Old man Xing, don't just sit around and look at what she took away?"

Everyone hurriedly counted the old man Xing, only to find out that besides the old clothes she was wearing and a new gown made when they "married", she also took away 120 catties of food and 50 yuan. money.She didn't get enough food and money for half of what she deserved. "This is really a conscientious woman!" Everyone praised her again.However, this made old man Xing even more sad, he was still sitting on the edge of the kang, just like a puppet.When he was about to start work, Captain Wei hurried into the house and said to old man Xing: "It just so happens that the tractors of the commune are going to the city to pull fertilizer. You go to the city and look for it at the bus station and train station. A woman Taoist It’s not easy to take more than 100 catties of grain on the road. I asked, she entered the city yesterday afternoon in the cabbage cart of the third team, and arrived in the city after dark.” Captain Wei was still afraid that he would have an accident, so he sent another A young man went with him.

Old man Xing entered the city in a daze. The vast crowd was full of unfamiliar faces.They asked the staff at the bus station and train station, and they all said they hadn't noticed such a woman.The young man said: "How did she get here, and she has to go, she is willing to spend money to get a ticket! She must have gone on a truck." They searched again on the empty wagons and trucks parked on the railroad tracks.Also no. In the afternoon of the second day, they took another car on the way back.On the way, old man Xing thought about his woman and left him a glimmer of hope: "This is a conscientious woman, she may come back." The young man also comforted him: "She just wants a baby, go back and have a look, Maybe I will bring the baby with me next time." Old man Xing returned to the village full of disappointment and hope.Just as he was taking the key to open the door, a fluffy thing stumbled under his feet and barked, it turned out to be the little yellow dog.For a day and a half, it never left the door of the owner it had identified.Old man Xing picked it up and walked into the now empty and cold room together.

Since then, the old man Xing has returned to his life ten months ago, with only one more beautiful memory, a deep nostalgia, a strong hope and a little yellow dog.Within a year, Old Man Xing held the hope that she would come back.He always kept the house clean, and kept everything as it was when she was at home. Every day, as long as he was at home, he thought she would suddenly open the door and come in.However, as the days passed, the patches she mended for him were worn out again, the clothes she sewed for him also had holes, and the shoes she made for him were almost worn out, and she still didn't come back.Slowly, old man Xing's yearning and longing for her became a dull pain hidden in his heart, covered by disappointment.In the days to come, only this dog came to comfort his loneliness.Every time during the rest time and at night, when he was in a trance with a pipe in his mouth, the dog would snuggle up to him, making him feel that there was another creature beside him that was full of emotion for him.From time to time the dog licked his hand with its wet, soft tongue, which would make him feel a wonderful tenderness, and remind him of all kinds of scenes when he lived with the beggar woman; Faithful eyes can evoke a series of memories of her and make him enter a hazy mood, because that woman's eyes are also so faithful and docile.In short, the yellow dog, now large and strong, had become a living link between him and her; for it was brought back the very day she left, and in his memory he even He thought this dog was a souvenir she left for him before she left.

However, this connection was finally broken.