Chapter 55 Minute

A giant spirit's palm broke me out of the dense net of sorrow and pain, and I croaked out the first mournful cry. When I opened my eyes, one of my legs was still held upside down in the palm of the giant spirit, and I saw my two exquisitely red hands waving in the air above my head. Another palm of the giant spirit gently held my waist, he turned his head with a smile, and said to a woman lying on her back on a white bed cart: "Great joy, what a fat boy!" He gently put me in a small basket covered with a white cloth. I struggled to look outside: I saw many nurses in white coats and hats surrounding the woman silently.She was pale and sweaty.She groaned slightly, as if she had just woken up from a nightmare.The eyelids were red and swollen, and the eyes were half-open in a daze.When she heard the doctor's words, she rolled her eyes and burst into tears.As if letting go of a hundred hearts, he closed his eyes with a weary smile, and said in his mouth, "Thank you for your hard work!"

I burst into tears: "Mother, we are the ones who worked hard, we all struggled out of death just now!" The nurses in white clamored and silently pushed the mother's bed cart out. I too was lifted up and out the door.The doctor waved, and at the other end of the corridor, a man walked by.He also had just woken up from a nightmare with joy and expression, as if wanting to embrace but not daring to hug him, he stared at me with pity and surprise, the doctor smiled: "Is this child okay?" As if embarrassed, he muttered: "This child has such a long head." At this moment, I suddenly felt that my headache was terrible, and I cried again:

"Father, you don't know, my head hurts from being squeezed." The doctor smiled: "It's amazing, such a loud voice!" A nurse stood by and took me over with a smile. Into a large room full of sunlight.Under the surrounding walls, there are many small white basket beds lined up, with children lying in them.Some raised their hands to their heads and fell asleep peacefully; some cried and said, "I'm thirsty!" "I'm hungry!" "I'm too hot!" "I'm wet!" Hold me The nurses, as if they had never heard, walked past their bed quickly and peacefully, and went into the inner bathroom, and put my head towards the water pipe, and laid me flat on the stone table next to the sink.

The warm water from the shower head sprayed on my head, and all the sticky blood washed down.I shivered, and my mind immediately cleared up.Looking up, across the water basin, on the stone table opposite, there is also a child lying on it, and another nurse is also washing him.He has a round head, big eyes, dark skin, and a strong and straight chest.He was also awake, silently looking at the sky outside the window.At this time, I had been lifted up, and the nurse gently supported my shoulders and put on my long white clothes.The children are also dressed, and we are facing each other across the water basin.The nurse who washed me smiled and said to her companion: "Your child is so strong and big, but not as fair and delicate as mine!"

I shyly said softly: "Okay, kid." He also said modestly: "Hello, little friend." At this time, we had been placed in two small basket beds next to each other, and the nurses had all left. I said, "My whole body hurts so much. The last four hours of struggling were not easy. How about you?" He smiled and clenched his fists: "No, I was bored for only half an hour. I didn't suffer, and neither did my mother." I was silent, sighed boredly, and looked around.He comforted me by saying: "You are tired, go to sleep, I also want to refresh myself for a while."

I was picked up from my deep sleep and carried to the big glass door.There were several young men and women standing in the corridor outside the door, their noses and hands pressed against the glass on the door, like a group of children standing outside the window displaying Christmas gifts, with a greedy and envious look. They laughed and pointed at each other, saying that my eyebrows were like my aunt, my eyes were like my uncle's, my nose was like my uncle's, and my mouth was like my aunt's, as if they wanted to swallow me up in pieces. I closed my eyes and tried to shake my head, but found that my neck was hurting. I cried and said, "I'm just myself, I don't look like anyone, let me go to rest!"

The nurse smiled, hugged me and turned back. I also saw them walking back and forth, smiling and pushing each other out. The kid woke up too, and greeted me, "You're up, who's coming to see you?" As I was put down, I said, "I don't know, maybe it's my aunts and uncles, some young people, they seem to love me very much." .” The child said nothing, and smiled again: "You are so lucky, it's been the second day since we've been here, and I haven't even seen my father yet." I didn't know that in the groggy state, I had slept for so long.At this time, I felt better pain all over my body, but my bottom was wet again. I learned to cry intermittently and said:

"I'm wet! I'm wet!" Sure enough, a nurse came over soon and picked me up.I was very happy, but I didn't want her to give me water first. It was around dusk when three or four nurses came in, their stiff white dresses rattling.They picked us up one after another and changed the diapers one by one.The child was very happy and said: "We are going to see our mother, goodbye." The children were with everyone and rolled out on the big bed car.I was carried out.Pass through the glass door and enter the first room on the right side of the corridor.My mother was lying on a high white bed, and greeted me with eyes longing for surprises.The nurse put me in her arms, and she untied her arms shyly.She seemed to be very young, her black hair was pulled back, and her eyebrows were slightly curved like a crescent moon.His pale, bloodless face, lined with large and dark eyes, looked like a stone statue under the dim circle of lights beside the bed!

I opened my mouth and sucked the milk.Mother nudged my hair with her cheek, rubbed my fingers, and looked at me carefully, as if she had infinite pleasure and surprise. ——Twenty minutes have passed, and I haven't eaten anything yet.I was hungry, and the tip of my tongue hurt, so I opened my mouth to let the nipple fall out, crying in annoyance.My mother was terrified, kept shaking me, and said, "Baby, don't cry, don't cry!" She rang the bell again, and a nurse came in.The mother said with a smile: "Nothing else, I don't have any milk, the child keeps crying, what should I do?" Hugging me, my mother let go of her lovingly.

When I got back to my bed, the kid was already on his bed. He was sleeping soundly, smiling in his dreams, and seemed very satisfied and happy.I looked around. Many children fell asleep happily.A few were half awake, humming and crying a few times.I was very hungry, and I was very concerned when I thought about when my mother's milk would come, but no one knew.Seeing that everyone fell asleep full, I felt jealous and ashamed, so I cried loudly, hoping to attract people's attention.I cried for more than half an hour before a nurse came over, pouted coquettishly, patted me, and said, "Really! Your mother won't give you enough to eat, drink some water!" She put the water bottle The nipple was stuffed in my mouth, and I hummed and whimpered, while slowly falling asleep.

When taking a bath the next day, the kid and I were lying on both sides of the basin talking again. He is full of energy.After being massaged, he shook his head, half-closed his eyes, and said with a smile: "I ate a full meal yesterday! My mother's black and round face is very beautiful. I am her fifth child.She told the nurse that it was her first time in the hospital to give birth, and she was introduced by the Salesian. My father was very poor, and he was a butcher who slaughtered pigs. "—At this moment a drop of boric acid water was sprinkled on his eyes suddenly, he shouted a few times in annoyance, struggled to open his eyes again, and said: "Pig slaughterer!What a joy, the white knife goes in, the red knife comes out!When I grow up, I also follow my father’s example, butcher pigs—not only pigs, but also those pig-like people who eat nothing but do nothing! " I listened quietly, and when I got here, I quickly closed my eyes and said nothing. The child asked, "How about you? Are you full? How is your mother?" I was also excited: "I haven't eaten anything. My mother's milk hasn't come down. The nurse said it will be available in a day or two. My mother is so kind. She can read. There are many books piled up on the bedside table. It's also full of flowers." "Where's your father?" "My father didn't come, she was alone in the house. She didn't talk to anyone, I don't know about my father." "That's a first-class room," the child said affirmatively, "One room per person! My mother's place is lively, with more than a dozen beds.Many of the children's mothers were there, and the children were well fed. " Come over tomorrow and see my father.While I was breastfeeding, he turned sideways, leaning against my mother's pillow.Their faces were next to each other, watching me.Father's face was very clear.Skin color light yellow.Very long eyelashes, good eyesight.As if thinking a lot, there are often slight wrinkles on his forehead. The father said: "This time I looked carefully, this child is very beautiful, just like you!" My mother smiled and gently rubbed my face: "It's like you too, with such big eyes." Father stood up, sat on the chair beside the bed, took mother's hand, and patted gently: "Now, we are not lonely anymore. I will help you take care of him and play with him when I come back from get out of class; , I took him to travel in the mountains and rivers. ——This child must pay attention to his body, don’t be like me. Although I am not sick, I am not strong..." Mother nodded and said, "Yes - he also needs to learn music and painting early. I don't know these things myself, and I always feel that life is not perfect! And..." Father laughed: "What kind of 'family' do you want him to be in the future? A writer? A musician?" Mother said, "Anything is fine—he's a boy. China needs science, and I'm afraid scientists are the best." At this time, I couldn't suck the milk, and I was so irritable that I wanted to cry.But listening to them talk with such relish, I didn't speak. Father said: "We should save for his education expenses. The sooner this money is prepared, the better." The mother said: "I forgot to tell you, my brother said yesterday that when the child is six years old, he will give the child a small bicycle!" The father laughed and said, "This kid has everything. Wasn't his sister a gift for his prison?" My mother hugged me tightly, kissed my hair, and said: "Little baby, how nice you are, so many people love you! When you grow up, you should be a good boy..." Full of joy, I went back to bed, ignoring my hunger, and looked up at the kid, who was thinking deeply again. I greeted with a smile: "Little friend, I saw my father. He is also very good. He is a teacher.He and my mother are discussing my future education.My father said that he will do everything he can to benefit me.My mother said that it doesn't matter if I don't have milk, I will eat milk powder when I get home, and I will eat orange juice in the future, and I will eat..." I spoke in one breath. The child smiled, with a mixture of pity and contempt: "You are so happy. I haven't had any milk since I got home. Today my father came and told my mother that someone would ask her to be a nanny. In a day or two we will have Let's go! I'm going back to follow my sixty-year-old grandmother. I eat rice soup, cakes...but I don't care!" I was silent, all the joy in my heart disappeared, and I felt ashamed. The child's eyes were full of pride and bravery: "You will always be a small flower in the greenhouse, blooming delicately under the same temperature without wind and rain. As for me, I am the grass beside the road. I have to endure the trampling of people and the storm. You may feel sorry for me when you look out through the glass window. But above my head, there is an infinite sky; around me, there is no breath. The air is exhausted. There are free butterflies and crickets singing and flying beside me. My brave and humble companions, I can't burn and cut. At the feet of people, green dots are all over the world!" I was so embarrassed that I wanted to cry, "I don't want to be so delicate myself!..." I said. The child seemed to have woken up, calmed down, and said to me warmly: "Yes, none of us want to be different from others, but all kinds of things separate us, - just wait and see!" The snow outside the window kept falling, like pulling cotton and rubbing wadding, and several snow grooves were evenly piled up on the green tiles.Mother and I are going home for the New Year.The kid had to go back before the year because his mother was going to work.We only have half a day to gather, the vast sea of ​​people, from now on we will separate and disappear in the hustle and bustle of a chaotic city, when will we be able to fall asleep under the same roof tiles again? We looked at each other lovingly.In the twilight, the child's face gradually magnified in my dizzy eyes.The tightly closed lips, the furrowed brows, the far-sighted eyes, and the slightly protruding chin all show determination and courage. "He slaughtered pigs—killed people?" I thought, stretching my little hands under the quilt, feeling my own insignificance! After returning from my mother, we reported to each other that we all changed to tomorrow—January 1st—and went back!My father was afraid that there would be too many things to do on New Year's Eve, and my mother would not be able to rest when she went back.The child's father went out to hide from debts on New Year's Eve. He was afraid that his mother would be surrounded by creditors when he went back, so he didn't let her leave the hospital.We've got another day out of nowhere! Firecrackers have been heard since the middle of the night, near and far in succession.In the continuous snow, a few cold dogs seemed to tell us that a period of grievances and enmities in life has come to an end.Before putting on the mask of modesty and joy tomorrow, this night, I will try my best to swallow, complain, and cry.In the sound of thousands of firecrackers, in the gloomy streets and alleys, there are thousands of terrifying emotions lurking... I shuddered, looking back at the children.He bit his lower lip and said nothing. ——This night, like slow-flowing water, a thin stream will pass.Towards dawn, in the dimness, I heard the child sighing on his bed. It was broad daylight.Two nurses walked in with New Year's smiles on their faces and took a bath for us.A nurse opened my suitcase, put on a white fleece jacket, a white fleece vest and pajamas for me.On the outside, I wear a bean and green woolen jacket, hat and socks of the same color.After dressing, she picked me up and said with a smile: "You are so beautiful, look at how well your mother can dress you up!" I felt very soft and comfortable, but it was very hot, and I was so irritable that I wanted to cry. The children were also lifted up.I was stunned, I hardly knew him anymore!He was wearing a big thick blue cotton padded jacket with very long sleeves, and there were stitches of tampering and patching on it; underneath was also a blue apron that had been washed and faded.His arms were straight out, his head was buried in the green cotton hood, he was as bloated as a kite!I looked down at the two sets of identical white clothes that were piled up on the ground and took off from us, and I suddenly shivered.We are separated from now on, we are separated forever spiritually and materially! The kid also saw me, smiled proudly and said: "You are so beautiful, this beautiful and soft clothes! My body is my armor. I want to compete with others on the battlefield of society." eat!" The nurses hurriedly picked up the white clothes on the ground and threw them into the basket.He hurriedly carried us out again.Walking to the glass door, I couldn't help crying.The children couldn't help crying too. We waved our hands and said, "My children! Goodbye! Goodbye!" As we walked, our crying disappeared at both ends of the corridor. Mother has dressed up and is standing at the door of the house.Her father was standing next to her carrying a small box.Seeing me coming, my mother quickly reached out to take me, looked at my face carefully, wiped away my tears, snuggled up to me, and said, "Baby, don't cry! We are going home, a happy home, and my mother loves it too." You, Daddy loves you too!" A wheelbarrow rolled over, and my mother wrapped me in a bean green blanket, and carried me to sit on it.Father followed.I thanked the doctors and nurses who sent me off, said goodbye, and went down the elevator together. Through the two half glass doors, I saw a car parked at the door.My father stepped forward and opened the door, and a gust of snowflakes blew in, and my mother quickly covered my face.It seemed we got out of the cart again, out the door, into the car, and the door slammed shut. Mother lifted the blanket over my face, and I saw the cart full of flowers.I myself was in my mother's arms, with my father's and mother's faces pressed against me. At this time, the car has slowly turned out of the gate.Many rickshaws were crowded outside the door, and when they gave way one after another, I suddenly looked up and saw my little friend who had been on a blind date for ten days!He is in his father's arms.His mother carried a bundle of green cloth.The two stood sideways at the door together, with their backs to us.On his father's head was a green felt hat with a wide brim, and on his body was a large green cotton gown.Under the wide brim of the hat, the child is leaning on his shoulders, facing me, and the snowflakes are falling between his brows and on his cheeks.He closed his eyes tightly, with a desolate smile on his face... He has begun to enjoy his struggle! ... When the car drove out of the door, it kept speeding.Snowflakes are dancing on the road.The gongs and drums of the New Year can be faintly heard.My mother cuddled close to my ear and said, "Honey, look at this flat and white world!" I cried. August 5, 1931, Haidian. (This article was originally published in Volume 3, Issue 11 of "New Moon" in 1931, and was later included in the novel collection "Aunt".)