Chapter 12 ninety-nine degrees

The three carried yellow big round baskets with the name "Meifeng Building" on their shoulders, and walked on a road scalded by the sun with six cloth shoes full of mud and condensation, before turning into an alley. . "Excuse me, excuse me - which side is No. 34 A?" In front of the sour plum soup stand, a speeding family car passed by - the wire wheels were dazzling - and turned to the shadow squatting in the corner Old man, after asking the direction of Zhang's house, the three sweaty porters tried their best to move forward again.Those six muddy cloth feet continued their mechanical rolling unconditionally.

In that brisk glance, Erye Lu, who was sitting in the rickshaw, saw the name of the restaurant on the yellow basket, and fully understood that there was a sumptuous banquet inside. Naturally, he guessed the problem of his own lunch.The food at home is boring, the vegetables lack personality, the wife has an ugly face, and you can hardly mention the cook to her.It's too hot these days, it's too hot, and she's already twenty-two today, she can get involved in salary issues in anything, and if the children quarrel, who can eat lunch at home! "Meifenglou Restaurant" was written in big black letters on the yellow basket, just now the third porter was particularly strenuous in picking, swaying the yellow basket from side to side...

Meifenglou’s dishes are not bad, and Yiyongju’s noodle soup is really good...so Yiyongju’s noodle soup?Or the snacks from Wanhuazhai in the market?East Side or West Side?Who do you want to chat with?Where does Yi Jiuxin from the south live?Maybe Lao Meng knows, why don't you borrow a phone number from Hutchison Barbershop?Lu Erye estimated, hesitated, following the ups and downs of the foreign car.He seemed to have already decided to borrow the phone from Heji, when he heard the greetings from the guys: "...Second Master, how are you early?...Use the phone, where are you over here!..."

Stretching out his arm, he glanced at the time indicated on the gold watch. The two tiny hands stopped at two o'clock, but they were clearly struggling to reach twelve o'clock.During this time, the coachman felt that the owner was shaking uneasy in the car, so he held on to the handlebar even more, bent his back a little, and ran bravely.The second master still wondered whether noodles or dim sum; east city or west city; the car had already passed the few cars in front.A woman riding a bicycle rushed past him on the left side. She glanced at the bright colors like a quick mirror. Her feet and legs, waist and back, side face, eyes and hair were all reflected in Lao Lu's eyes. Who was that? As I said... Old Lu just loves to look at women!Who doesn't love women?Don't you really close your eyes on the street and don't look at the beautiful people passing by!

"Get to the market, hurry up." Old Lu told the coachman to run to the destination, so the owner and the coachman, wearing two straw hats with very different prices, ran towards Dong'an Market under the same sun. A lot of beautiful dishes and fresh fruit snacks are all in the big kitchen yard, picked out from the yellow layer basket.The "Second Shopkeeper" of the restaurant and the "Master Master" of Zhang's house stood watching; both of them had big cattail fans in their hands because of their fatness.The master raised his fan and swooped at the big yellow dog who came in to join in the fun.

"This thing is the most disgusting thing!" This sentence was partly used by the master to scold the dog, and partly used by the master to greet the shopkeeper. "Isn't it? Damn it, this thing is really disgusting." The second shopkeeper scolded the dog in a good-tempered manner. Bored, the dog turned his head to the garbage heap to sniff the bones of the previous night. The nanny came in carrying Young Master Sun, and Seventh Young Mistress hired her with six yuan a month in cash, and took Young Master Sun to the kitchen, porter, gate, and some places on the street to nurse and even play.Today's kitchen is so different again; the "head knife" of the restaurant and a few waiters are busy cooking and chopping pork by the stove, and the nanny feels that Young Master Sun has to come and see: Sure enough, he saw strangers, saw Dog, seeing that the kitchen table is full of beautiful dried fruits, fresh fruits, pastries, and snacks, Young Master Sun is very happy, jumping in the nurse's arms, pointing to eat.The nurse chased away a few flies, picked a piece of hawthorn cake and put it in the child's mouth, saying hello to the boys.

Suddenly, she saw Chen Sheng go to the yard to look for Grandma Zhao. The nurse winked at him and asked with a smile, "What's worth being so busy?" "Those who carry the burden outside ask for money for drinks." Chen Sheng was not as gentle as usual, perhaps because he was too busy.The old lady's birthday party this time is indeed much busier than last month's full moon wine for the fourth young mistress and grandson. At this moment, those three stupid porters were squatting under the shade of locust trees in the outer courtyard, wiping their heads with dark towels, waiting for the price of their sweating.One poked his head into the inner courtyard to peek at the gorgeous scene in the courtyard.

Although the chaos in the courtyard and the kitchen is completely different, the main reason for their chaos is the same, for today, sixty-nine years ago.Sixty-nine years ago today, a rich family in the south of the Yangtze River added another little life wrapped in silk, satin, gold and silver.After sixty-nine summers of sweaty weather like this one, and another eleven lives that also need silk, gold and silver, that life is called the long-lived and blessed woman.This woman, supported by two old mothers this morning, sat in front of the bed, combed her gray and sparse temple hair, and shook her head at half a bowl of ham and porridge:

"Mom Zhao, how can I eat so much? You can take what's in the pot and give it to Seventh Young Mistress Yun obediently..." The interlude of seventy years has already been rolled up in the chapters of history, and no one dares to say how much it can be revealed in today's courtyard.The fact is that today, there will be many well-dressed men and women celebrating women who can maintain such a long life, and for this celebration, the life span of many creatures has been cut off in the restaurant, and their muscles are used to supplement this. The guts of the celebrants. Two days ago, the courtyard changed its appearance because of this incident. The brand new wedding shed was over a foot high with tile eaves.The glass square windows with red happy characters on both sides can be clearly seen from the east end of the alley and the yard of Heshun Chechang.At about six o'clock last night, Xiaosan and Huanzi, the sons of two rickshaw drivers, saw it when they were dumping the soil baskets, and told their mothers: "The Zhangjiaxi shed is all set up, which young master Sun will marry the bride?" For this matter, Mama took the shoe samples to Mrs. Chen's house to have a talk.Seeing her making dumplings, she smiled very proudly and said that the old lady had a whole birthday—what a blessing—she has been with Mrs. Zhang for many years as the head of the house.Yesterday, the third young lady of the Zhang family asked her to go in, saying that she was going to help out when the day came.

There are seven or eight round tabletops under the wedding shed, and the square stools are stacked on one side. A few servants are holding feather dusters, and it took half a morning to arrange five tables.There are so many children, the young master Sun, the grand nephew, and the few brought by the aunts and wives are all naughty enough.Li Gui lined up a few trains here, and the boys over there took away the row of trains for fun.The weather is so hot that there are bound to be many flies, and no one dares to put snacks and dried fruits on the table first.The ice melted quickly, and the ice water under the basket melted all over the floor!The soda bottles filled the corridor of the wing room, and the fifth young lady saw it and yelled, they wanted to freeze it all.

Freeze it all!Really, today's food is all set up like a vegetable market, and there is no room for the four refrigerators.Where should I put the newly bought ice?Holding two green tile pots in his hands, Li Gui muttered privately about the problems that had arisen for the banquet. Zhao's mother went to the outer courtyard to send a message, and heard Chen Sheng asking the three porters how much they wanted for wine. "Let's see." One said. "It's a hot day, let's reward more." Another one pursed his dry lips, thinking of the sour plum soup stall at the entrance of the alley just now, his mouth felt thirsty. It was the mouth that was so thirsty that Yang San pulled Erye Lu to the west gate of Dong'an Market, thinking that he had just seen Wang Kang taking a nap on the pedals of a rickshaw just now at the gate of the "Happy Hall".Wang Kang owed Yang Thirty-four hanging money at the end of last month, and he still refuses to pay it back; he only cares about avoiding him.Today, when the creditor met a gambler who was on credit, he had all sorts of calculations in his mind—when Yang San was hungry, his temper was often a little worse than usual.The sky is already too hot, the sun is so hot, who can stand it!Just now the second master was sitting in the car, even though he pressed the bell hard, there were so many students in the aisle of Jinyu Alley, you bumped into each other, it was really crowded.Yang San wiped his sweat and grabbed the handlebar with one hand, pulled the empty car and turned back to ask Wang Kang for the debt. "If it's not enough, it's going to be eight or six, or if it's not, it's going to be the mouth of some bastards of his!" Yang San's neck was scorched by the sun. "I'll buy some mutton for more than four hangs, and I'll have a good meal. Scallion pancakes are not bad either—who says you can't drink alcohol in hot weather? What's the point of drinking—I'll sleep more soundly. Second Master Lu went to the market to eat, and it would take several hours to go in..." There was a colorful hanging at the entrance of Xiyan Hall, and several members of the band were wearing red uniforms, sitting at the entrance and drinking tea—they put the big bronze drum aside, and the brass horn was sandwiched between their knees.Yang San knew which family was hosting the wedding.Anyway, there are two days of good days in a week, just in this Xiyan Hall, which week does not have a fancy carriage with fancy brides in it?Today's floats are still parked aside... "Wang Kang, it's not him!" Yang San saw Wang Kang buying cantaloupe in the bearer's load. "Isn't it the same for the rich to marry a daughter-in-law and we have no money to marry a daughter-in-law? How much money is spent to marry her, and she will not be short of wanting this or that--this year! Good wife, good! What do you think? What's more troublesome I’m sorry! I don’t want you to ask for money, but I’m mad at you for drinking! If you have children, you have to take care of their food and clothing..." Wang Kang speaks just to "have fun", and he dares to say what others dare not say.When a group of coachmen heard what he said, they all happily joined in the end.Holding the pie in his hand, Li Rong used his most ready-made foul language to make those young people laugh.Li Rong used to pull the family's car—it's a pity that the owner left the matter when he returned to the south—he can read and read newspapers, and he can use new terms to make comments: "Civilized marriage is different, these days It's the one that talks about 'freedom' and 'equality' the most." Then he quoted the divorce news picked up from the tabloids to laugh. Yang San has never married a daughter-in-law before, he wanted to, but the "old family" had passed away long ago and did not make an appointment for him, and he didn't dare to ask for a blind date outside.Two days ago, the proprietress of the shed shop wanted to match him; she mentioned a girl who said that everything was good, but for some reason there has been no news these days.Yang San felt unhappy when he heard the jokes of the rickshaw drivers today.Seeing Wang Kang's face wrinkled into a ball of laughter in the sun made him even more angry. Wang Kang was still talking with a smile, but he didn't see Yang San, inside the remaining half of the cantaloupe biting in his hand, a handful of yellow melon seeds pointed upward like irregular teeth. "Old Kang! Where have you been all these days? I'm still waiting for money to eat!" Yang San broke out with a burst of energy. Hearing the sound, Wang Kang was stunned and looked back, "Oh, where do you say that?" He began to renege, "If you want to eat, you will beat you to pay it out of your own pocket! Otherwise, you will pay for it." , go in there," he pointed at Xiyan Hall, "eat a ready-made banquet." Wang Kang's mouth slipped, and he couldn't help laughing at Yang San like this. Everyone around laughed too. The slap that was originally prepared to deal with repudiation immediately hit Wang Kang's old face.The necessary scuffle started from the side of the stall with the blue curtain and expanded to the place where the foreign cars were parked.The horns of passing cars, like a beaten dog, whine.Several foreign cars that were running in the middle of the street stopped, and the sweaty driver shouted "Come in!", "Look at the car!" The grumpy man said in passing: "Damn it, it's a scorching day to single out such a place !" The patrolman left his post; the children gathered around; the marching band members who were drinking tea all stood up to watch; the women were so frightened that they only shouted, "It's terrible, something happened ahead!" Yang San raised his voice and only yelled to Wang Kang: "The fourteenth hanging money, it was you——you took it, didn't you—" The shouts started from the wrestling two people, swelled, and swelled into the mouths of various people around: "you listen to me……" "Pull them apart..." "It's blocking the way... look at the legs." Amidst the noise, some people crossed their hands and shouted from a distance, "Good fight, good fist!" In the main hall of Xiyan Hall, there is a red building with Jinxi characters and several couples of wedding couplets. The bride is obeying orders and bowing deeply again and again.The noise outside caused the heads of the surrounding guests to turn outward at the same time, as if to inquire about the reason for the noise outside.The bride's heart was beating in bursts, but now she lost her balance even more; it hit and sank all of a sudden, and the flowers she held in her hand just trembled.The sound of thunder went deep into her ears, and in her heart... "Bride and groom - three bows - three bows".Ah Shu bent and straightened in confusion, straightened and bent.She cried last night, and her mother cried too, and gave her a series of lessons learned from experience—be patient with the elderly, be kind to the young, and give in to everything— It seems that life is supported by tolerance and concessions! What she is worried about is not making compromises between her parents-in-law and sister-in-law.In the past few years, everyone has been discussing the issue of marriage lively, but she doesn't understand how the rationale of those discussions does not have sex when it meets the reality.The reality of her marriage did not reduce the problems because she paid more attention to the marriage, family, and love issues discussed in the newspapers and new literature. "Twenty-five years old..." When someone asked Ah Shu's age, her mother would always answer the questioner softly, as if worried, and couldn't tell whether it was a sigh or a long-winded word. In this old-fashioned family, Ah Shu is considered to be much older than the age that should be married, she knows.The look of her parents eager to get her married made her too embarrassed!They are choosing the right family for her every day-in fact, there is no choice!Even if she objected, it was just a passive and helpless resistance. She knew that she had absolutely no chance to choose, and even come into contact with a more suitable and ideal person!She struggled for three years, three years is not a short time, and in her father's eyes, it was an unbelievably long time... "The Yu family asked someone to bring it up again. You should discuss it with Ashu. My body is getting worse. It's a humid day..." My father often spoke very loudly, deliberately trying to make her hear him, sometimes at the dinner table. Temper may be a little worse. "This sixty dollars is enough to support this big family! It's not enough to raise children and raise a daughter, so what money do you need to donate? Just starve to death!" Sometimes it is more direct and embarrassing: "Whose new jacket is this? Ashu, don't you If you walk around in fashionable clothes, you won’t be able to find your mother-in-law’s house—I won’t allow you to meet friends outside, we are not that kind of people!”… The cowardly mother lowered her head and pretended to sew: “Mom advises you to Just a little... Father's health is not good recently... Daughter can't stay in her mother's house for the rest of her life... The family is not bad; the job is good, and the ex-wife doesn't have children, it can't be considered as filling in the house..." There seems to be no relationship between theory and reality; it doesn't matter what the theory says about the marriage, Ah Shu can't remember much of it today.In fact, as long as she nods her head once, let a strange person with a different surname and sex sit in her home, or even next to her, and have a meal, the process of father and mother two or three years--it may have been the same. Five or six years—the coming problems were suddenly solved in a very civilized way for them. The suspicion and fear of Ah Shu's engagement often made her father comfort himself like a child: Ah Shu's marriage is really lucky, when she said it, she always hoped that Ah Shu would hear it.For some reason, Ah Shu always felt sorry for her father when she heard this, and wanted to pretend to be happy to comfort him.The mother is even more pitiful; ever since Ah Shu got engaged, she always seemed to be sorry for her, and often said in a hoarse voice: "Look at my heart as a mother." Look at the heart of being a mother!That day when she saw that strange man of the opposite sex with the same surname for the first time, that vulgar typical shattered her fragile hope of beauty, she was stunned, could she commit suicide because she was disappointed in her marriage?Can you boldly tell your father that this engagement is impossible?Can you escape the torture of this family (under the sign of love) to take risks and go adrift? She didn't have the courage to say anything, she cried for a while, and her mother also shed tears, and then her mother said: "Ah Shu, you have lost weight these days, don't cry, being a mother is just a heart... Now bow, bow It is too late to say goodbye to happiness. The noisy sound became more and more obvious for a while, the bridesmaid put on the ring for the bride, and the praiser shouted some orders. In the confusion, Ah Shu began to fantasize about the reason for the noise outside: the foreign driver should take the tram, the car must have hurt someone, the students petitioned again, and the authorities sent the military and police to suppress it... But what A Shu thought, I was still so anxious, what should I do now? I am like a dead person, and the waves of life should not touch me, like a person who has already been sentenced.But whether it's about to be sentenced or forced to marry, there is always an unexpected and comforting relief at such a helpless moment in the movie, illegal, amnesty, and the lover rushes to the starry night on a horse... But who is it? her lover?Except Brother Jiu!Brother Nine, who studies politics and law and pays attention to new ideas, does not know what to do when he gets the news that his cousin Ashu is getting married?He hated a marriage dominated by his parents...but who knew he cared?They haven't been in contact for many years, although when they lived in Shandong, they used to be neighbors and played together all day long as childhood sweethearts.Illusions are useless, Brother Nine is not in Beiping, he came back two years ago, she remembered that she met Brother Nine supporting a beautiful female classmate in front of the bookstore, she avoided Brother Nine's sight, Ashamed of her out-of-fashion attire, she didn't want to make an embarrassing comparison with Brother Nine's girlfriend. Feeling sore hands, heartache, and trembling all over, Ah Shu was surrounded by a group of people and retreated to the inner room to rest.The ladies greeted each other before and after the bride, paying attention to each other's attire.A few of them were criticizing the bride very rudely, obviously not satisfied. "The bride is too thin." A fat woman with her chin folded more than a dozen times was talking to the sixth aunt next to her, shaking her fan.Ashu felt that she could be crushed immediately; the fat lady was like a stone mortar, and Aunt Six was like an iron pestle lying in front of her. Ashu tightened a silk scarf with trembling hands, listening to her mother's voice on her head. I can't stop moving those velvet flowers. The two daughters of Aunt Six, Xijiao and Lili, who came into the room with the scent of toilet water, their attire had already attracted a lot of envious looks.Xijiao, with the thin eyebrows of a movie star, was gnawing melon seeds, her scarlet lips showing her snow-white teeth.She secretly tore at the skirt of her sister's shirt, and pouted to the side of a guest.Lili immediately blushed with a smile, took out a silk handkerchief to cover her mouth, and squeezed out of the crowd to the corridor.Looking at the male guests already at the table.A few of them had picked up their chopsticks and were happily choosing the fat chicken. While telling jokes, they all turned their faces to Lili's laughter and looked at her calmly.Lili twisted her waist and swayed again. The soft gown was gently unfolded, revealing her long legs wrapped in flesh-colored silk stockings and walked to the other side. The young waiter, wearing a blue cloth coat and a tablecloth on his shoulders, came out of the kitchen with four plates of cold meat in both hands, almost bumping into Lili.Smelling the fragrance of toilet water, the waiter forgot all his scruples and squinted.When he was serving food last night, Yun Juan, who was singing in the opera, was sitting at the chief seat and smiling at him, her two rhinestone earrings swaying from side to side like on a swing.He couldn't forget the scene of Fourth Master Zhang sitting next to Yunjuan grabbing her Ruyu's arm and urging him to drink.Smiling with drunken eyes, Yunjuan was obviously smiling at him who was holding a big bowl of three delicacies soup.He remembered leveling the big bowl, and his heart was still pounding.It wasn't until he couldn't sleep at night that he lay on the bench in the courtyard to enjoy the cool, and sang "The Lonely King...drunk..." casually before he felt a little looser.Today is such a smiling young lady again, dressed in such soft clothes, the waiter lowered his head to get the jug, as if hating someone in his heart. "Yi Jiu, what would you like to drink?" Lao Lu asked. "Let me have a cup of peach ice cream." "Go and pick up some good dim sum, Lao Meng." The host greeted the guest again.That's how the lunch problem was solved.Because of the hot weather and the fact that he got up too late, Lao Lu saw the moving signboard hanging in front of the pastry shop, "Healthy ice cream, coffee, milk, all kinds of pastries", so he decided to spend time inside.When Yijiu and Lao Meng came to chat, Lao Lu was obviously very satisfied. Among the three, Yi Jiu is the youngest and most modern.When I was in middle school, I could only speak English. There were photos of "Li Na" or "Qin Ni" hanging in the room, which were carefully cut out from movie magazines. ——He has been in Shanghai for two years, and his dancing is even better. Lao Lu looked at his feet and planned to ask Yijiu to take him to the dance hall to pay homage to his teacher. "Which movie is good, this afternoon?" Lao Meng grabbed a newspaper and read it. The two lovers on the next seat were looking at each other.The man has a very gentle face, smoking a cigarette without speaking; the profile of the woman is quite moving, with long eyelashes moving, and a smile on her face from time to time.Her green gauze gown covered her plump shoulders, carrying a mysterious elegance.The two ate ice cream silently, seemingly completely satisfied with everything. Lao Lu and Lao Meng talked about the current situation. Since Lao Lu is an official, he often said "I have a special news, so it seems that there is a reason for it", so he made a more detailed review of the reasons layer by layer, Dive deep into the political turmoil. Yi Jiu looked at the woman's eyelashes and the raised smile, and thought of the two braids of Joan who were playing hide-and-seek behind the rockery years ago, one jumping forward and the other backward.Joan has been dead for six or seven years, and no one has mentioned her again.Today, the woman in the green gown just caused the shadow of Joan to surge up in his heart.Uncanny, faint, memory paints a lively Joan.Being mischievous in the very old-fashioned family, the second uncle raised a pipe and came out sharply to stop her various games.But Joan just suppressed her voice and chuckled.It was raining heavily, and the courtyard was full of water, and Qiong was so bold that she rolled her trouser legs over her knees, and went into the water with bare feet, pretending to fish.Accidentally she slipped and fell, it was Yijiu who went to carry her back.There is also Ashu who is about the same size as Qiong, who lives in the opposite door, they often play together, Yijiu suddenly remembers Ashu who is thin and quiet. "I heard that Ah Shu is getting married soon, so Mama told her to visit her cousin's house. I don't know who Ah Shu is going to marry!" He seemed afraid of going to his cousin's house.The strangeness of the past few years made him feel embarrassed. They met once the year before last, and the out-of-fashion Ah Shu had a unique beauty, a kind of spirituality... I wonder why the woman in the green gown reminded him so much today... "Yijiu, you are quite smart, smart, and you can curry favor with women. You should try it too. I will introduce you to Lao Wang." Tired Yi Jiu suddenly felt depressed. Lao Lu flicked his hands on the table to express his displeasure: "Lao Meng, please don't talk, maybe the young master Yi Jiu would like to act in a movie!" . The woman in the green gauze gown and her friend finished eating and stood up.The man put his hand on the woman's arm, walked around the tea table of the three of them silently, and walked out the door.Old Lu Yijiu noticed that the woman had beautiful legs and a steady walk.The harmony between the two was revealed in silence. "They're sweethearts!" "May all lovers be married." "Is this woman pretty?" The three people said it at the same time, and each of them felt something. The afternoon heat came in through the window, and the three friends ate a lot of cool food, not knowing what to do. "Go to the cinema, let's study some 'life issues' or 'social issues'?" Yi Jiu looked at the empty cup on the table and urged Lu and Meng to leave.The shadow of Joan still floats in my heart.Lively, beautiful, strong, all disillusioned behind the scenes of death, time moves forward likewise, measuring the reality of death.Occasional flashbacks, like today, are the only evidence that Joan has had a lively life. The foreign cars at the gate of Dong'an Market are like a bunch of magnified ants, placed head to tail on the side of the street.Yang San is no longer in his usual parking place. "Go to the district, okay, go to the district! Let's go to the district and talk about it!" That's it, Wang Kang and Yang San finally ended the beating and were suppressed by two policemen. Mrs. Liu was holding an oil-paper umbrella, sitting upright on the rickshaw, thinking that Tailor Jin was too careless. The hem of this silk shirt still doesn’t fit today, and the collar is too small, too tight to breathe. I didn’t expect it to be so hot today. I knew it earlier. It's better to wear yarn.There is always something wrong with the work that the tailor is rushing to do.Shifu's temper is even worse now, and he always thinks women are troublesome.Every time there is an entertainment, you always have to listen to what he has to say. Today, Mrs. Zhang is celebrating her birthday, and the unusual scene can be casual... Opposite came a young lady in a light blue dress. The extremely fashionable attire made Mrs. Liu's eyes widen and she noticed. "Where is Mrs. Liu going?" The blue-clothed lady smiled and greeted her from afar. "Why are her clothes so suitable!" Mrs. Liu held up the flowered paper umbrella impatiently. "Wooooooooooh..." The horn of the car blared loudly. "Stop." The rickshaw driver gripped the handlebar tightly, restraining the body from rushing forward.After the car passed by, a patrolman walked out beside Mrs. Liu's car, leading two rough men: a white rope was tied from one arm to the other.The patrolman clings to the end of the rope and walks with a straight face.A rough man was evidently the coachman; still pulling the empty cart, grunting.The car body is very exquisite, and all the white copper pieces are polished brightly, and the word "Lu" is engraved on the bronze plate at the back.Whose car driver is this again? An accident happened and the patrolman took him away.Mrs. Liu thought bitterly that the drivers love to cause trouble. Anyway, when they go to the district, the boss will try to bail them out... "Stay in!...Stay in!" The majestic Liu's driver impatiently squeezed behind other people's cars—the master is the director, and the wife is going out for a luxurious dinner at the moment, the rickshaw is newly built, and the two lights are shining silver ... With a crash, the handboard wiped against the other car, and the car rushed to the front and left.Mrs. Liu's flower-oiled paper umbrella swayed in the sun against the wind, and slipped along the middle of the street to the north. Three porters just walked away from the sour plum soup stall at the entrance of the alley.The sour glass of water gave them pleasure for a short time, and their six muddy feet were still walking on the hot road.The old man selling sour plum soup was counting dozens of copper coins in his hand, with a small feather broom under his arm.He rolled up his dim eyes, looked at the flowered paper umbrella in the past, and knew that it was a visitor to Zhang's house.He wanted to celebrate Zhang's family's birthday today, there were many guests, and their driver would come to the stall to drink something cold to quench his thirst. "Two hangs...Three hangs!..." He moved his fingers, and put a stack of copper coins into the carton of Beauty brand cigarettes by the side of the stall.Not sure if there was enough ice for today, he turned over several lotus leaves and a piece of gray-black rag, and looked at the ice cubes in the porcelain jar with his dim eyes. "It's not hot, and there are few people drinking. It's hot, and the ice melts too fast!" There was nothing embarrassing about it, he sighed and turned his eyes to look at the passing cars.The car kicked up a cloud of dust, covering the old man and his stall. The mercury in the cold and heat meter has risen since the morning, and has been crossing the black line of ninety-five degrees.People of all colors once gathered on the relatively shady ground under the Xipeng.Dr. Ding is also one of them. Dr. Ding is the grandnephew of Mrs. Zhang. He has just returned from studying medicine in Germany. He is quick and handsome. What tiger epidemic, typhoid fever, vaccination, micro-bacteria, all discussed in the middle of swallowing eight-treasure east melon, tile fish, pot stickers chicken, fried shrimp. "It's great that your hospital has vaccinations. We'll come to ask for advice in a few days." The speaker thought that if Microbacteria heard that he had vaccinations, he would be discouraged. "welcome." The kitchen sent a bowl of cold dishes.After hesitating, Doctor Ding decided to give up the right to eat this bowl of food. The children snatched the small ice cubes on the side of the plate and chewed them in their mouths. Many other customers also liked this cold dish.It's hot! The young mistresses of the Zhang family dressed up very decently, wearing red flowers on their heads, showing that they still abided by the old etiquette and customs.Hovering around in the yard to be the master, everyone knows in their hearts how decent they are today.The various successes they have imagined for today, which they had considered several weeks ago, have already been realized sequentially before their eyes.Although for this important day, everyone has taken turns to feel wronged; angry; used their minds and tricks; The old lady gasped tremblingly and continued to maintain her life.Messy and vague memories floated in my mind.When Lan Lan was seven years old...the year when A Xu was sent to Shanghai for medical treatment was really hot...the four treasures were born in Hunan, so childbirth, illness, military chaos, travel, marriage, all happened in an orderly and irregular manner. She tilted her memory. "I wish the old lady a birthday, please reply." Whose voice is this?so big!The old lady opened her dozing eyes and saw a woman with heavy make-up bowing to her.Mrs. Liu—who is Mrs. Liu, really!There are too many guests today, it's delicious.The old lady helped Zhao Ma stand up and return the salute. "You're welcome, sit outside." The second young lady accompanied the guests out. Who is this Mrs. Liu...who? ... The old lady vaguely made some guesses, looked at the threshold and fell into various memories again. Shou'er, a little girl sitting on the threshold, was fascinated by the pomegranate flowers in the courtyard.She wished that the banquet could be finished quickly, and the people below could have lunch, she was really hungry.Most of what her eyes came into contact with in the morning was almost all delicious food, but she was still hungry and sat on the old lady's threshold waiting to be called.She really wanted to go to the front yard to see the excitement again, but thinking about the situation of being beaten last time, she had to endure it with all her strength.In hunger, there was one thing she still did not forget about her joy.Because the old lady's eldest daughter-in-law gave her a pair of silver bracelets.Although her arms, sore from beating her back, were too lazy to move, she still raised her hand triumphantly from time to time, shaking her new bracelet. The afternoon sun slanted to the east porch, and the back yard temporarily fell asleep in silence.Youlan cried and lost her temper with Yu in the study: "You all bully me. I didn't go to see the last game. Why did I go? I'm not welcome anyway...Hui Shi refused to say, but I know you and A-Ling have a good time together." Sobbing The voice came faintly from the corridor. "It won't look good when the guests come in...don't cry...you listen to me...there is absolutely no such thing. We are cousins ​​who don't know that we are making out. You are my Lan, forever, always mine My favorite, my favorite...you believe me..." "You're lying to me, I...I'll never trust you again..." "You hurt me again, you are cruel..." The voice became softer and quieter, and some time passed.There was a slight laugh.The little girl was still panicking from hunger, she still sat on the threshold and didn't dare to move. She listened to the constant bickering and crying between Miss Little Grandson and Master Yu Sun, but she didn't understand.After a while they came out of the study together laughing again. "I'll go to my mother-in-law's room to wash my face. Shou'er, get me a basin of washing water." Shou'er was ordered to fetch water and stood up happily.Nothing is better than sitting and waiting for the old lady to wake up. "Don't forget to wait for my table for dinner." After Yu finished speaking, he ran out with big strides. The backyard suddenly fell into a sweltering silence; the shadow of the wicker painted the whitewashed wall, and the red of the sun was as red as rouge.The sky outside the wall is blue without a single cloud, like the scenery on a stage.Faintly came the voices of peddlers hawking—watermelons—bedding mats, one after another. The porter raised his strength and called his child to find his wife.It was about to get dark, and the daughter-in-law was still sitting at the door picking up the soles of the shoes; I would finish one at dawn.The head of her family needs to wear two pairs of shoes a month, sometimes not enough, the head of the house just now came home feeling uncomfortable, fell asleep on the kang, and has not woken up for a long time.She put down the soles of her shoes and went to a small shop nearby to buy some ginger, and said a few words. Moaning intermittently, the porter began to feel pain. He shouldn't drink that cold thing. If he knew it was a hot day, he might as well have a sip of hot tea!In confusion, he saw tea bowls, tea mugs, people serving tea, bowls, saucers, and fruits scattered around the big round basket, and he seemed to see Zhang's kitchen.In less than a moment his stomach hurt like a hemp rope, and the frenzied vomiting sent him sinking into severe symptoms and fighting to the death. The husband and daughter-in-law lost their minds and asked the children to go to the pharmacy to ask for some medicine.Over there, summer heat medicine is often used... The neighbors gradually knew that something had happened to the porter's house, and those who had read the newspapers said it might be cholera and needed an injection.Baldy Zhang recognized Ding's family, a western doctor at the east end of the main street. He put on his small gown, buttoned it up, and ran.Dr. Ding's house number hangs high, and the two newly painted doors are tightly closed.Bald Zhang fumbled for the electric bell and pressed it desperately, and looked around the crack of the door for a while before someone came out to open the door.What's up?What's up?The concierge looked angry at Bald Zhang, and Bald Zhang looked at the concierge of Ding's house and said, "Excuse me—please sir, our 'neighbor' Li Tiaozi has suffered from heatstroke, please ask me to get some medicine." "Dr. Ding and Mr. Guan Pharmacy have 'gone out'. They are not at home, and there is no one else here. Who knows about this?!" The porter said hesitantly, "Let's go to the opposite door, Yi Nian Tang, to inquire." The door is almost closed. Bald Zhang ran away again, to Yi Nian Tang, where he heard that a child had left after taking heat medicine.Baldy Zhang is a religious believer. He believed in the medicines from foreign hospitals. He went to the hospital there to inquire. After waiting for a long time, he said that it was not a medical hospital and did not accept infectious diseases. The doctors also went home at night, and the assistant You can't just walk away if you don't have something to say. "It's best to report to the district and find someone from the Health Bureau." The manager told him, but where is the Health Bureau... By the time Baldy Zhang walked back to his yard in disappointment, it was already dark, and he heard Mrs. Li's crying and knew that something was wrong.There is also a strong smell of medicine in the porcelain jars in the courtyard.He stamped his feet, "Our lives are miserable..." He was already thinking about how to donate some money to collect his friend's body.Tell the filial son to kowtow from house to house! When it got dark, the Kua courtyard of Zhang's house became more lively. There were many children around under the water moon lanterns. The jugglers took out a large bowl of goldfish from their robes, and offered a plate of "Queen Mother's Flat Peach" to the old lady. The children all gathered together to check the authenticity of the goldfish.The old lady smiled happily. The old man is familiar with the famous actors who have joined the show, and he is willing to send the play. There is a stage in front of the main courtyard, and the servants are busy preventing the people from outside from crowding in. This is the first time in two years that the old man came back from Shanghai—this time, he was hindering his mother. It's too embarrassing not to come back.The market has been unstable for the past few days. The workers heard that they were very active, so they were worried about going away, and the old Zhao in the factory was unreliable, and the uncle was most concerned... Seeing the beginning of the stage on the stage in the courtyard, looking at the lights on the corridor, listening to the sound of cards, fans, and the sound of soda popping from all over the wing, the uncle knows that everything is going smoothly, and he can leave tomorrow when things are over. up. "Where are you going, Uncle?" A handsome girl came out from across the veranda.He was stunned to see, Huishi——is his brother's daughter, who has grown so big?The uncle was sad, looking at the posthumous daughter of his brother who died early, she really looks like her father...really like her father... "Hui Shi, it's you. You look so handsome, Uncle almost won't recognize you." Hui Shi just laughed, laughed.Uncle can tell jokes.She felt that it was too unexpected, and at the same time, like being shocked by electricity, she touched the love in Uncle's eyes, and a feeling of sadness clutched her throat. She is still just laughing. "What year did you graduate?" the uncle asked her. "next year." "After graduation, I will live with my uncle." "great." "Do you like Shanghai?" She shook her head: "It's not as good as Beiping. But it's not bad if you can find something to do." Uncle left, Hui Shi, who was easily sentimental, hurried back to the bedroom, wanting to cry, but his eyes got wet a few times, and he stopped crying, and put some powder on the mirror and smiled; she liked how uncle treated her. Friendly attitude.Mammy was often dissatisfied with her uncle and aunt, and often said things that displeased them, but she herself always felt like this uncle. Maybe it's because of the incredible intimacy in the relationship between flesh and blood, maybe it's because of the heart of gratitude to her confidant, Huishi knows that she likes her uncle even more. The phone rang in the wing. "Ding House, talk to Dr. Ding? Wait a minute." Dr. Ding's luck was not bad, he had just won a card three times, he proudly stood up to answer the phone: "Got it, got it, I'll tell him to send a car to pick him up at Zhang's house when I turn back. What? You want medicine for summer heat? You have fever and heatstroke? Tell him to go to Pingji Hospital." "It's really hot. Today, there must be a lot of people suffering from heat stroke." The fifth young lady sat on the poker table and smoked, waiting for Doctor Ding to call back. "It's just ninety-nine degrees at two o'clock in the afternoon!" She opened her eyes wide and expressed seriousness. "It's not so hot in previous years. The weather of ninety-nine degrees is really okay in Beiping." A customer shook a sandalwood fan, anxious to be a farmer. With a click, Doctor Ding hung up the phone. By this time, the newspaper office was getting busier, and typesetting workers were sweating and busy in the machine room.The editor sits at the desk to review the news.The news of this city is delivered from all the districts; the editor took a closer look at the scene where the famous actresses in Zhang’s house gave the show, thinking that after eating ice cream with his wife in the market just now, they encountered a fight on the street, and then looked at that part again. The news of the fight naturally read "Yang San, the coachman of Luzhai in the Santiao Hutong of Xisi Pailou..." The news described Yang San and Wang Kang's fight very beautifully, until "the dispute became a lawsuit". Now looking at some odds and ends, he couldn't help noticing the section where the porter was killed by cholera for hours, and felt that it was not wise to eat ice cream during the day. Yang San was worried in the hot and smelly detention center, thinking that the master should have got the news of his accident, why he hadn't tried to bail him out yet.Wang Kang fed the bedbugs in another room and slept carelessly. "...Where is it, I am Lu's house, please talk to Mr. Wang..." Old Lu has already made several phone calls because of the detention of his foreign car. At the dinner table, he listened to his wife's complaints... Then Yang San is really helpless It looks like he must be drunk again, making trouble twice in three days. "...That's right, I have something important to do with Mr. Wang. Are you out for dinner? Please ask him to call Lu's house later! Don't forget!" Could it be that you are bored at home listening to your wife complaining in this hot night?Yang San didn't come back again, and had to go out to hire a car. Lao Lu lay impatiently on the bed and read the newspaper, grabbing a cattail fan with one hand to drive away the mosquitoes.