Chapter 4 our wife's living room

The time is an ideal spring afternoon in Beiping, warm and bright.The location is our wife's living room.The so-called wife's living room, of course, means that our husband also has his living room, but the guests seldom meet there, so it is omitted. Our wife thought herself, and her guests thought she was the owner of a local "salon" at that time.At that time, local artists, poets, and everyone wanted to drink a cup of strong tea or coffee, smoke some good cigarettes, sit on a soft sofa, meet friends, and have bright eyes every leisurely afternoon. The white-toothed eloquent man chatted and laughed with them, and without thinking, he picked up his hat and cane, walked or took a car, and sent himself to our wife's living room.Here, everyone can get everything they want.

Facing the door of the living room is a semi-circular verandah, the upper half of which is inlaid with glass and hung with light yellow tulle curtains. A dark purple lilac tree is blooming outside the window, and a copper wire cage is hung inside the window, shutting an exquisite singing canary.The sun came in from the purple clouds wearing light yellow gauze waves, and the clear and crisp birdsong sang in the middle, and everything in the room fluctuated, soft and gorgeous, as if covered in a shark's beaker!There is a small desk under the window, a swivel chair in front of the desk, and a large piece of thick glass on the desk, covering a picture of flowers and birds drawn by our wife.In addition, there is a large ink bowl on the table, a few tubes of pens inserted in the white magnetic pen holder, and a few rolls of white paper beside it.

There are a few picture frames scattered here and there on the wall, most of which are portraits and photos of our wife herself.Undoubtedly, our wife was a famous flower in society at that time, especially when she was sixteen or seventeen!Several of the photos are traces of youth.There is a table facing the sofa, which the guests will stare at when they sit down. It is about the size of a living person and almost covers half of the wall. It is our wife, sitting obliquely on the steps, looking back with a smile, protruding from the side of the steps. A large branch of peach blossoms, temple clouds, eye waves, scarf scars, and folds of clothes, all of which show the tenderness of a virgin.Our wife said that it was enlarged from a small six-inch photo when she was a middle school student.On the bookshelf stood a small stone bust carved by a French sculptor for our wife, with her body slanted and her head slightly tilted.On the opposite side is an oval frame with an oval face inlaid, with waves flowing into the temples and frowning brows, making people think of the poem "Long eyebrows full of sorrow" when people see it.Next to the bookshelf is a portrait of our wife and her little daughter, with four big and small jade arms hugging each other's necks, the same smile and the same look in the eyes, which also reminds people of a famous European painting.In addition, there are various photos of costumes and bridal costumes, all of which are taken by the wife alone—our wives rarely take photos with the husband, at least we haven’t seen them.Naturally, our husband cannot be placed with his wife. In the eyes of the guests, he is at least obscene and a commonplace.Who can see our wife without sighing in admiration, and who can see our husband without sighing in disgust?

There is a fireplace in the middle of the north wall, short windows on the upper part of the left and right sides, and a row of low bookshelves under the windows, on which are neatly arranged small volumes of hardcover foreign poetry and essays.There is a set of yellow leather and gold letters, and from a distance, it must be the complete works of Shakespeare; but from a closer look, it is Thomas Hardy. Our wife snorted and laughed, and said, "Shakespeare, old man, who can bear to look at those!" The person who asked blushed.The next few books are E. E． The poems of Cum Amings and the novels of Aldous Huxley, ask * Na Si 蛑摑 pump swing punishment    饧 father 雒  Zheng  shoulder Huan with a stooped donkey foundation * The south side is a French-style long window, with pale yellow gauze curtains tightly stretched up and down. ——Beside the yarn, I vaguely saw a weeping willow with newly sprouted green buds in the small courtyard, and the willow silk hangs down all over the courtyard.There are several rocks around the tree, and some small flowers are growing in the cracks of the rocks, which are budding.In front of the window is a large sofa covered in round flowers, blue and double silk, and behind it stands a big lamp with yellow silk and tassels.There is a large copper plate supported by a mahogany shelf next to it, and there are tea sets on the plate.There is also a small steeple-like shelf on the side of the plate, and the upper and lower plates are filled with various fine points.

On the ground is a "palace garden" blanket of flowers and leaves.There is a very low round table in the middle, on which there is a large bowl of Huangshoudan with slanted branches and leaves.There are three or four small stools and six or seven soft cushions around, which are prepared for these artists and poets to sit and lie on. Our wife came in lightly from the door, her toes were so light when she touched the ground, her right hand was still busy buttoning the clothes under the collar.She was wearing a light green plain crepe long jacket with three dark green satin borders one and a half minutes wide, emerald buttons, flesh-colored socks underneath, and yellow suede high-heeled shoes.The hair was softly parted from the forehead, half covering the helix, and gently gathered to the back of the neck, with a vertebral knot.The sleeves are very short, and the arms are bright.On the right arm is a jade bracelet, and on the ring finger of the left hand is a diamond ring and a green jade ring.Her face is full of joy after waking up from a nap, her eyes are tearing up, but time has drawn a faint black circle around her eye circles, her cheeks have faded red, Pang Er is not as plump as in the photo, and her waist is not as good. It's as soft as it was in "29 Nianhua" ten years ago!

Our wife looked around and called Daisy, and a girl of seventeen or eighteen walked in outside, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, her complexion was very pale, and her cheeks were also very rosy--the guests often talked about it. Our Daisy.When everyone in the living room was sitting comfortably with their eyes closed, listening to the poets reciting long poems, Daisy came in gently from outside, wearing black leather high heels, black silk socks, wearing a black silk dress, stiff white Collar and sleeves, a snow-white apron on the front, neatly cut black and thick hair, lowered eyebrows, holding a burner of incense, or a medicine bowl, gently placed on the table, or Leaning on the back of the chair, leaning into the wife's ear, whispering a few words, the wife raised her head and smiled slightly. These scenes often make the listener temporarily and completely let go of the poems in his ears.

Daisy is a maid given by our wife.Although our wife likes to talk about women's rights and scolds the human trade, she never refuses the gift of "chrysanthemums".Chrysanthemum is the original name of Daisy. My wife thought it was vulgar, so she changed it to Daisy. After Daisy changed her current name, she gradually became able to speak a few words of English. Some European and American artists who came to Beiping came to visit or call us for a date. Daisy would also ask very gently and crisply when he was his wife: "Mrs. isinbed, can I take anymes-sage?" ①—the wife said: "Look, you haven't changed your clothes yet! Change Binbin's clothes too. , the guest is here, bring her here for tea." Daisy agreed and walked back.

——Binbin is the daughter holding our wife's neck in the painting.She was born in Italy.Our wife and husband's honeymoon almost extended to two years.Our husband is a banker and has plenty of money. In order to win the favor of his wife, our husband stayed here and there during the journey and did not dare to talk about returning to his country. Have a message for you?" ——The author's original note. Everything that Mrs. Yu appreciates is not interesting at all.Our wife is talking and arguing with people cheerfully during various gatherings and banquets, while my husband just listens numbly, often tired enough to fall asleep.Our wife's coquettish gaze often woke him up from his humiliation, and he looked around blankly, causing people to laugh sometimes.Our wife really regretted it at this time. If it weren't for all the comfort and convenience, maybe she would no longer be our husband!But husbands are never better than lovers, and all kinds of comfort and convenience are of great benefit to our wives.Although my wife often complained about these little ugliness to her most loyal admirers, she just smiled indifferently and wryly in the public.

When Binbin was not born, our wife was 100% afraid that she would look like her father.When she was born, she turned out to be a concrete and subtle mother!Our wives were overjoyed beyond description, because of all the troubles of raising them.They quickly took her back to China. No wonder her mother boasted that she had brought the beauty of the Italian landscape. Binbin had long eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose, and a small mouth.Although he still has a bit of his father's dullness, at the age of five, Binbin is already very good at putting on airs.It's a pity that our wife is an only daughter and used to be the center of the stage all her life. Although she loves Binbin very much, Binbin always only plays a supporting role.

San Mazi pretended to be Guan Gong, with a red face and a majestic look.The pony boy in front of him always wears a green coat to match Guan Gong.With a slight lift of the toe of Guan Gong's boot, the stable boy would do a dozen or so somersaults in front of Guan Gong.Our Binbin is that pony boy—— The doorbell in the distance rang a few times, followed by the sound of leather shoes in the outer courtyard, Daisy raised her voice in the small courtyard and said: "Mr. Tao is here." While opening the door, she leaned sideways to let the guests in. The wife took another look in the mirror in the corner, turned around and half-lyed on the sofa, with her elbows leaning on her hands, her legs flat on one side, and she raised her head with a smile. This posture reminded me of a European painting. famous paintings.

— Mr. Tao is a scientist.Like most scientists, he is not good at speaking among people, especially in front of women, he is always very cramped and silent. He and our wife are family friends. When our wife was "twenty-eight years old", Mr. Tao was just 12 or 13 years old. Because of the bow in front of the New Year Hall, Mr. Tao's mind will never be able to wash away this flowing shadow. .Our wife naturally does not shy away from men, but Mr. Tao will not take advantage of opportunities that are as numerous as leaves.When he saw him, he blushed dully, and while our wife was talking and laughing in the crowd, he hid in the corner of the room, silently appreciating everything about our wife's behavior, words and smiles.Our wife first ridiculed him and ended with contempt, and never had a good word for him.Recently, she has gradually felt that her youth is fading away, and Mr. Tao is as loyal as before. Before everyone came, our wife also looked at Mr. Tao more favorably—the wife said with a smile: "You find a place to sit down, and try to make a living." What's the matter? Are you still advocating science to save the country?" Mr. Tao still vaguely agreed, with his hat on his lap, and he sat very upright in an armchair in the corner of the room.His heart was beating slightly, at the moment of fear and joy. Seeing that he was still unable to speak, our wife was both amused and bored, so she let out a sigh of relief and stood up lazily.Binbin had already jumped in from the door, with black hair hanging down, light green clothes with a fine white fleece, white socks with green thread, and black patent leather shoes.The green color of Shan Bin's clothes is a color in the middle of our wife's clothes and the color of the bracelet. Daisy knows how to dress Bin Bin according to his wife's clothes. Seeing Binbin come in, Mr. Tao seemed to feel much more relaxed, so he quickly stood up and took Binbin's hand.The wife sat down lazily again, brushed her hair and said, "Binbin, you can play with Uncle Tao. Uncle Tao studies chemistry all day long, and you ask him if there are vitamins ABCD in pork liver and spinach? My mother usually advises You eat these, you never listen..." Outside, Daisy raised her voice and said, "Miss Yuan is here." Our wife stood up smiling. ——Miss Yuan is a painter and a poet. She is our wife's only girlfriend and the only female guest in this "salon".Of course, Ms. Yuan was not the only local painter and poetess at that time, but she was the only one appreciated and praised by our wife!Our wife, who is a woman herself, does not like women.She thinks Chinese women are very old-fashioned, trivial, and small.Most of the women painters and poets who are not conservative, not trivial, and not trivial, such as Miss Yuan, are not in the eyes of our wives, and all of them are not in the mouth of our wives, although a very small number of them are in our hearts. Our wife said that only women can see through women, so many women's weaknesses can be vividly described by our wives, but Ms. Yuan has never been criticized by our wives.Our wife boasted and defended her in front of the guests, saying that she is natural and bold, and she has her own real beauty! Some people speculate that there are several reasons why our wife likes Ms. Yuan: The first is because our wife said that a woman without a girlfriend is not a healthy psychological phenomenon after all.Moreover, between going to the garden and going to banquets, I only talked and laughed happily among the men, and saw other women whispering to each other from a distance. Although I was proud of it when I was young, I felt uncomfortable in recent years.The second is because things complement each other. Our wife and Ms. Yuan complement each other. Standing together, Ms. Yuan's bloatedness makes our wife appear slimmer; our wife's whiteness makes Ms. Yuan appear It gets darker.In the eyes of the "salon" guests, this naturally has a rich meaning of art.Third, because friendship is mutual affection, Ms. Yuan fell in love with our wife at first sight, saying that our wife has curves all over her body, and she is the number one beauty in her eyes.Our wife said that Ms. Yuan has a flamboyant, non-greasy look, so the two talked more and more speculatively, and the friendship continued forever—Ms. Yuan rushed in the door like a black whirlwind with her chest out, and sat down panting. , threw the gray georgette neckerchief on the sofa, took out a yellowed white handkerchief from the sleeve, and wiped the sweat on his forehead.She was wearing a long gray serge jacket that was just below her knees, and her orange silk socks were coiled around her two fat legs like tofu skin.Below are yellow leather shoes with flat bottom and round toe.Her hair was cut short and pushed back, and on her flat nose was a pair of near-sighted glasses as thick as a cup of wine.All over her body, the most symbolic of an artist is her pair of perplexed eyes that are always in a dream. Our wife sat beside Ms. Yuan with a smile on her face, and asked, "Don't be so angry, tell me, which critic did you get offended by?" Ms. Yuan took a breath, swallowed, and said, "What criticism?" Home, it’s a bunch of bastards! Just now, as if I had something to do, I ran to the Temple of Heaven to paint without washing my face after eating. As soon as I set up the painting equipment and started a few strokes, a large group of Qiu Ba was coaxing around. At first I looked at it from a distance, but then I squeezed closer and closer, gesticulating, smelling garlic and sweat, and it was so smoky. The more I painted, the more impatient I became, and finally I tidied up in a hurry, picked up the painting box and left, this group of old men He also smiled and sent me out of the garden gate from a distance. Don't you think it's annoying? Drive away my inspiration!" Our wife smiled: "This is a group of ordinary connoisseurs, you should welcome them! Take a good rest. Have you brought your painting of Yuquan Mountain Pagoda? Let us appreciate it in a while .” Mr. Tao and Binbin looked at them bewilderedly. The wife greeted Mr. Tao and said: "Come here and talk, you just need such a friend who is exactly the opposite of you, an artist, a woman, a bold talker..." Mr. Tao took a step forward in a murmur, A group of people have entered. Both our wife and Ms. Yuan turned their heads, and Mr. Tao took Binbin's hand and hurriedly slipped out the door. This group of people squeezed in, and the one who stepped forward more and more was a poet who was "in white robes facing the wind, naturally thin".His bald hair is evenly divided on both sides, his fair face, high nose, thin lips, chic attitude, and affectionate look, he is a born "woman's man". The poet leaned over slightly, held our wife's fingertips, kissed her lightly, and said: "Madam, whenever I see you, it's like a bright cloud..." Our wife smiled slightly, took out her hand, and grasped with a professor of literature behind. The professor was about forty years old, with two short beards, and his face was full of spring breeze, and he kept saying, "Long time no see, ma'am, hello!" The philosopher leaned over to look at the books on the shelf with his hands behind his back. He took out the translation of Schopenhauer's "On Women" and was flipping through it. The poet walked over quietly and slapped him on the shoulder. turn around.He was a tall, thin man with deep eyes and high forehead, drooping shoulders, and a yellowish complexion. People who didn't know him always thought he was a smoker. Our wife was greeting a political scholar. When she turned around, she said to the poet, "You really are! Why do you disturb him? Here is a free world, and everyone should choose what they love to do." Philosopher As if apologetic, he bowed and smiled and said, "There's nothing a nerd can do! Everywhere he goes, he reads other people's books first." The poet chuckled aside. The wife turned around and asked the political scientist: "What do you people say to create public opinion? The municipal administration has become more and more disreputable recently. The tap water made us sick from drinking. The other day, Miss Yuan and I went to Yuquan Mountain to paint. The car along the road almost didn't knock us to death! Fortunately, the patrolman at that station still has the face to stop our car and ask us for a car donation! I asked him: "Where did you use the donated money? Look at this." A motorway like a mountain of knives!' Really, we can't do the talking, you 'politicians'!" The wife finished speaking in one breath, turned around and lit a cigarette by herself, sat down, and asked Miss Yuan again : "Is it? You said?" The political scientist was young, tall, with a round face and a smile, and he also bowed and said, "Anyway, I'll apologize to our wife on behalf of the city! This driveway is terrible. Wait. I became the mayor, then you will see. Don't forget that we are still the 'opposition party'!" Everyone laughed!Our wife couldn't help but sneered and called back, "Daisy watching tea!" Daisy came in on tiptoe lightly, handed over the cup and plate, and then the pastry.Outside the door were two servants in white gowns and black satin waistcoats, quietly serving and passing soup. Holding the teacup, our wife walked up to the professor of literature.The professor of literature was talking to Ms. Yuan about the Beihai art exhibition the day before yesterday. When he saw his wife coming, he quickly stood up holding the tea towel.Our wife said with a smile: "Don't get up, I just want to ask you a question, how about the professor of poetry I recommended?" She sat sideways on the edge of Miss Yuan's chair. The professor of literature stood up and said with a smile: "There is nothing wrong with the person you recommend! Although he is young, he is eloquent, good at telling jokes, and the students are never sleepy in his class. But he seems to be in poor health. On the bulletin board, I saw his leave note." Miss Yuan suddenly laughed and said, "Are you talking about Xiao Shi? What's wrong with him! I see him in the park almost every afternoon, walking back and forth with a red-clothed and shaggy-haired woman." Our wife was taken aback for a moment, then restrained her expression and said: "Actually, I don't know him very well. It was last winter that he brought a letter of introduction, and a book of poems of his own, and came to ask to see him. I read what he wrote. Not bad, so I asked him to study here a few times, and later he told me very sadly how he was down and out. I thought maybe you could accommodate such a person in your literature department, but I didn’t expect..." Our wife shook her head slightly, stopped talking, stood up, walked slowly to the window, stroked the rim of the glass with her finger, and called out the window absently: "Binbin, come in." Binbin held his hands on the hem of his clothes, walked in with a smile, moved to our wife, raised his head and said, "Mom, Uncle Tao told me to tell you that he still has something to do, so let's go first. He will come tomorrow morning to take me to the park. "Our wife smiled from deep thought and said: "He has time--Binbin, look at these guests, you don't even say hello! " Binbin smiled and said to everyone: "Hello! " The poet sat in front of the desk, turned around with the chair, held a cigarette between the two fingers of his right hand, gestured to our wife with his left hand, and said, "Beauty, is the painting under the glass new again? Your brushwork is getting better and better." Xiuyi." Our wife took Binbin's hand, walked to the table, and said, "Old Mr. Jin came the next day, and he urged me so hard that I had no choice but to deal with it. When spring comes, my arms and wrists will I’m a little sour, I’m really impatient.” The philosopher was still reading "On Women", he closed the book after listening to it, and said with a smile: "Madam, I think you are too strong. I can do everything I want, and I say, a woman, read books, accompany the children..." Our wife laughed and said: "You are reading Schopenhauer's "On Women", and scolded What about women? Reading books and spending time with children count as a career in life? You should put aside Schopenhauer as soon as possible and take a look at Bernard Shaw. Old man Shaw, through the mouth of the heroine Zhou An, wants to tell you A group of men shouted and said: "These women's things, ordinary women can do, but no woman can do my things..." Turning around, he asked the professor of literature, "Is it right? Did he say that These few words?” The professor of literature quickly said: “Yes.” The philosopher suddenly laughed, and he seemed to find it very funny. Binbin broke free from our wife's hand, grabbed Miss Yuan, and walked into the yard again.Political scientists and literature professors also walked out, chatting quietly under the trees. The door of the small courtyard opened, and a man walked in, with shiny golden curly hair, short piled around his ears and neck, and a small dark brown felt hat, crookedly buttoned on his hair like a piece of watermelon peel .The body and feet are uniform light brown clothes, shoes and socks.A dark brown spring coat is hung in the crook of the left arm, and a light brown leather glove is on the right hand, holding a large dark brown leather clip.She is full of spring, with a smile on her face, her dark blue eyes are glamorous, and there is a deep dimple on her left cheek. Everyone cheered immediately, as if they were in front of each other: "Lucy, hello, when did you arrive?" Lucy went straight to the professor of literature, took his hand, and said with a smile: "I arrived by the express train at 11:50 this afternoon. As soon as I put my luggage in the hotel, I searched for you everywhere, and finally found your home. Your wife said you left after lunch, but didn't say where you were going." , I guess you must be here, you see that I am tired!" While holding hands with the political scientist again, he smiled.Turning around, he called out to Binbin again, saying in an unprofessional but very playful Chinese: "Hello, Binbin, you've grown taller again, where's your mother?" Go back and talk to the political scientist. At this time the philosopher also came out.The poet was just taking out a roll of paper from his pocket, spread it on the table, and bowed down together with our wife.I read softly, smiled, heard the doorbell, raised my head, and immediately stood up with a smile all over my face. Just about to call out, I turned around and saw our wife, who was also looking out the window, frowned slightly, and closed my eyes. Smiling, he patted our wife on the shoulder lightly: "Mei, you look down first, I'll go out to socialize with her first." Then he walked out—the yard was full of people's voices immediately. Ms. Yuan came in and saw our wife sitting at the desk reading the poem, leaning on her ear and asking, "Who is this foreign woman?" Our wife rolled up the poem and stood I got up, stretched my waist, and said lazily: "This is Kelu Xi, a so-called American artist, a romantic widow. The year before last, she and her husband came to China and were reluctant to leave, so they put it off by themselves.Last winter her husband died in the United States, and she just went back. After a few days, she came back again.I'm really afraid of her, like a sparrow, chirping all day long! I often say that her husband is a big sugar merchant and wants to monopolize all the sugar industry, and she goes around trying to monopolize all the audience! "Miss Yuan was silent, sat down, and took a cup of tea to drink. Before Miss Yuan, Lucy was our wife's only girlfriend.On the second day when Lucy arrived in Peiping the year before last, the professor of literature brought her to visit our wives, and we had a good conversation.Afterwards, our wife told people that Lucy was smart and polite; Lucy told people that it would be a pity if a foreigner came to Peiping without seeing our wife.So in all kinds of gatherings, they were always inseparable. After several months, they gradually became indifferent.Some people say that it may be because once the characters in our wife's living room were performed in a certain theater, our wife played the role of the lady, and Lucy played the role of the maid.After the play, our wife saw someone criticizing her in the newspaper, saying that Lucy's pronunciation, expression, and figure were all bad.Our wife didn't say anything at the time, and Lucy's name was often omitted from the list of guests after that. The wife has been here for a while, talking in the yard. The wife raised her head and frowned and said, "Understood, she won't come in by herself yet!" ——You called the old aunt and asked if the box on the first stage is reserved for tonight?I might be there in a while. Daisy agreed, and gently backed out. The poet pulls Lucy in, followed by the group of people.Lucy giggled, pushed the poet's arm with her left hand and said: "Let go, I haven't seen the master yet." Our wife stood up with a smile, stretched out her hand, and said: "I know you didn't come to look for me, so I didn't go out to pick you up." Lucy had already turned her head, looked at Miss Yuan, and said with a smile: "Who is this, who can you introduce me to?" The poet hurried over and said with a smile: "Wait for me, this is Miss Yuan, an artist, a poet..." Lucy quickly reached out her hand to grasp Miss Yuan, and said, "Long-awaited, long-awaited, today is your poetry reading, I am lucky You have to bow to your prosperity." Miss Yuan rubbed her hands together and said, "No, no, today I'm here to listen to poetry," pointing at the poet, "He has a long poem to read." Lucy said to herself He picked a low chair and sat down, leaning against the low table with his legs stretched out on the soft cushion, and said with a smile: "Come on, come on, read it out for us to listen to, and let me wash off the dust of traveling." While lighting a cigarette by himself, he slowly closed his eyes. Everyone found a seat to sit down one after another, and the room immediately fell silent.Our wife is still half lying on the big sofa.The poet pulled a cushion and sat on the ground next to the sofa, his hair brushing the toes of our wife's shoes.I took the volume of poems from our wife, opened it, raised my head and smiled at our wife, nodded to everyone, and said with a smile: "I'm going to make a fool of myself. The title of this long poem is "To——" So he read: Last night I dreamed of climbing the highest peak, there was not a single lamp on the ground, and there was not a single star in the sky.I just feel that you are next to me—— What's cold is your hand, what's beating is... Lucy opened her eyes suddenly, laughed so much that she almost turned her chair over, and said, shaking her hands: "No need to read it, wait for me to read it later—'It's your heart that beats', 'Star, heart, light, dear,' you are making up the rhyme again..." This string of silver bell-like laughter brought the The still air in the room was completely disturbed.Everyone laughed, and the political scientist laughed, stood up, pointed at Lucy, and said, "Order! Order! You rascal." Ms. Yuan didn't smile alone, she just looked at our wife.The wife sat up and was about to speak when the poet rolled up the manuscript with a smile, climbed from the sofa to Lucy's chair, hit Lucy on the head with the scroll, and said, "What's the matter with you? Taiwan!" Lucy still smiled and supported the hat with the hand holding the cigarette: "Be careful, you, my new hat!..." Frowning, he said, "Ask Binbin to pick him up. I don't have time." Standing up, he walked to the philosopher.The philosopher sat still, looked up with a smile, pointed at Lucy's back, and said softly, "Woman, isn't this a complete woman?" Our wife suddenly smiled softly and sat down. next to the philosopher. Binbin jumped in, walked up to his wife with a smile, and said, "Mom, the old lady said that the box has been reserved, and there are still people waiting for you for dinner. Tonight, Yang Xiaolou is playing the monkey again. Mom, I'll go too. Can you?" Then he climbed onto our wife's lap, hugged her arms, and begged with a smile.Our wife also smiled, pushing Binbin away: "You let go, there's no need to do this! You are fine, mom will take you there. "Binbin let go and started to leave, then stopped and said with a smile: "I forgot, the old aunt also told me to tell my mother that there was a telegram from Changchun, saying that grandpa was very..." Our wife suddenly blushed. , stood up and pushed Binbin and said: "You should get ready to go, you'd better have dinner at home before leaving, you can't eat anything at the banquet. Binbin agreed, and jumped out happily. Lucy nodded and smiled at the political scientist. Daisy said outside the door: "Miss, Dr. Zhou is here." While bringing in a guest, she casually turned on the big lamp next to the sofa.In the twilight and light, the one who came in was about 30 years old, wearing a suit, short and fat, with a trusting smile on his face.As soon as he entered the door, he rubbed his hands, nodded and bowed repeatedly with a smile, and said, "Hi Miss Yuan, Mrs. Ke, everyone. It's a coincidence that I came here, and I saw so many people again." Our wife stepped forward with a smile, and stretched out her hand Grabbing with the doctor, he said: "It's just a coincidence, you met so many people again, you should scold me for seeing visitors without rest." Doctor Zhou bent down and took a cigarette from Daisy's hand, I lit it myself, and said with a quick smile: "Where! Where! My job always seems to hinder people's friendship, but in fact I have no choice. If you are talking about your wife, you just caught a cold the day before yesterday, so the reasoning should be..." The poet came over with a smile, patted the doctor on the shoulder, and said, "It's the same old saying again. Sit down, and I'll ask you, should your business be good these two days? There are so many people with typhoid fever in season. I'm looking for friends everywhere. Almost everyone has a cold." Dr. Zhou said, "Originally, when it's warm and cold, it's the easiest to catch a cold." Everyone laughed.Our wife said with a smile: "You should keep to yourself and be a doctor. "When it's warm and cold", adding "the most vulnerable to colds" is nothing!" The doctor bowed deeply to his wife and said : "This is the atmosphere in this salon. I, who is vulgar, have a bit of poetic air." Lucy was talking with Ms. Yuan, she turned around and said with a smile: "Our wife is sick, you can treat it, if you get 'dampness', who will treat you!" Everyone laughed again, and this time Miss Yuan also looked at her. Lucy smiled. There was a voice outside the small courtyard door, a servant walked to the door, Daisy greeted him quickly, and said a few words in a low voice.When the servant went out, Daisy turned around and came in again. She first looked at Dr. Zhou and smiled slightly, and then said to our wife: "Mr. Yang, the flute player, is here, and asked Miss whether she will practice Kunqu opera tonight. I replied to him." Let’s stop talking and singing, the guests in the living room haven’t left yet, and Dr. Zhou is here too...” The professor of literature said to Dr. Zhou with a smile, “Look at how spoiled you are, otherwise we’ll be happy again.” Dr. Zhou stood up quickly, He laughed and said: "I should go, it's my fault again, I didn't say anything at first, I just said that learning to play is better than learning to sing, after all, it doesn't hurt. You also know her body..." Professor of Literature He suppressed his smile, turned around and said to our wife: "For your own sake, of course we should advise you to put these things aside, but we are all 'human beings', and sometimes we are too selfish. We only care about our own eyes and ears..." Our wife smiled slightly and turned to The professor of literature bent down and was about to speak, when Lucy suddenly laughed, and continued, saying: "Don't forget that there is still good food!" Everyone laughed too, and they seemed to feel bad, so they stopped quickly. Our wife suppressed her smile and swallowed back what she was going to say. Dr. Zhou took out his watch from his waist pocket, looked at it, and said: "I really should go. I was on a business trip. I passed by your door and saw many cars. Come in and have a look..." Our wife laughed, Said: "Isn't it? I said you're here for an inspection." As he spoke, Dr. Zhou had already picked up his hat.Lucy also stood up and said, "It's getting late, we should go too." Talking and looking at the literature professor and political scientist, everyone left their seats one after another.Lucy smiled and said to Miss Yuan: "Didn't you just promise me that you would join our dinner?" Miss Yuan hesitated, looking at our wife.Our wife leaned on the back of the chair, pressed her fingers to her lips, yawned, and said lazily, "I'm going out too, I won't keep you." The poet hurriedly put a veil on Miss Yuan from behind. Lucy smiled at our wife and said, "I'm sorry, I took all your guests away. I know you're going to listen to a play later, and you have to rest in the middle." Our wife glanced at Lu from the corner of her eyes. After a while, without words, he turned around. The philosopher took a few more books from the shelf, put them together with "On Women", held them in his arms, and said to our wife with a smile: "Can you lend me these books, and I will send them to you later. .” 我们的太太笑着看了哲学家一眼说：“你先把上次借去的书送回来再说！也没见我的书都是好的，你一般的也有这些书。”哲学家笑说： “你的版本好多了，我是穷人，买不起善本，只好沾你的光。” 大家寻衣觅帽，都已走到廊上。Ｄａｉｓｙ开着门，两个仆人垂手站在阶边，大家纷纷的向我们的太太道谢告别。太太似乎乏了，只微笑着点头，走到小院门口，便站住了。诗人站在太太背后，说：“你们先走一步，我随后就来。”露西回头说：“别忘了今晚六国饭店还有西班牙跳舞！”我们的太太看着诗人说：“你也走好了，还等什么？”诗人笑着，没有答应，只把客人往外送。 诗人进来时，客厅里又已收拾过了，壁炉里燃上松枝。屋里没有灯，我们的太太抱膝坐在炉火微光之前，懒懒的，听见诗人进来，头也不抬。诗人也没有言语，轻轻的拉过一个垫子，便坐在太太旁边，轻轻的说：“这微光，这你，这一切，又是一首诗！”太太不答。 屋里静得只听见松枝爆裂的声音，——Ｄａｉｓｙ轻轻的走到门口，看了一看，又轻轻的退了回去。 诗人轻轻的站了起来，走到窗前，叩着笼儿，说：“太静了，连最活泼的金丝雀也不叫了。”我们的太太这时才看了诗人一眼，歪着头说：“金丝雀现在不高兴！” 诗人笑了，走到太太椅旁坐下，抚着太太的肩，说：“美，让我今晚跟你听戏去！”我们的太太推着诗人的手，站了起来，说：“这可不能，那边还有人等我吃饭，而且——而且六国饭店也有人等你吃饭，——还有西班牙跳舞，多么曼妙的西班牙跳舞！”诗人也站了起来，挨到太太跟前说：“美，你晓得，她是约着大家，我怎好说一个人不去，当时只是含糊答应而已，我不去他们也未必会想到我。还是你带我去听戏罢，你娘那边我又不是第一次去，那些等你的人，不过是你那班表姊妹们，我也不是第一次会见。——美，你知道我只愿意永远在你的左右……” 我们的太太不言语，只用纤指托着桌上瓶中的黄寿丹，轻轻的举到脸上闻着，眉梢渐有笑意。 诗人用手轻轻托住我们太太的臂肘，说：“你还换衣服不？你进去罢，我在这里等你。”说着已轻轻的把我们的太太推到客厅门外，从甬道墙上摘下一件黑色的斗篷来，替她披在肩上。我们的太太把斗篷往身上一裹，头也不回的走到后面去了。 诗人退进客厅里，伸了一伸腰，点上一支烟，捻亮了灯，坐在沙发上，随后拿起一本诗来。正在翻看，听见门外汽车响，又听见脚步声走入内院来，诗人连忙放下书站起。 我们的先生在太太客厅门口出现了。大异于我们的想象，他不是一个圆头大腹的商人，却是一个温蔼清癯的绅士，大衣敞开着，拿着帽子在手里，看见诗人，便点头说：“你在这里。美呢？她好了罢？我今早走的时候，她还没有起床。”说着放下帽子，脱下大衣挂在墙上，走了进来坐下。 诗人也坐下，说：“美好了，下午还有茶客，她一会儿还听戏去。” 这时我们的太太已拉着彬彬的手过来。身上已换了黑色洒花丝绒的长衣，肩臂之间，隐约的露着玉肌，脚底下是肉色丝袜子，青缎高跟鞋。重施脂粉，也点上口红，显得容光焕发。彬彬是大红绸子衣服，乳色的领袖，白丝袜，黑漆皮鞋。进门看见我们的先生，便跳了过去，抱住笑道：“爸爸，妈妈带我听戏去。”我们的先生没有说什么，只把彬彬抱在膝上，摩抚着。 我们的太太仍旧站着，手扶着椅背，有意无意的问我们的先生： “娘叫我去听杨小楼，也在那边吃晚饭，你和我们一块儿去罢？”我们的先生看着诗人，踌躇的说：“我想我不去了，你们去罢。我今天有点倦，银行里开会整开了一下午；刚才孙经理还请我和他到六国饭店去看西班牙跳舞，我辞了他，我想着你不大舒服，我自己去也没有……” 我们的太太听着，忽然看了诗人一眼，一回身便侧坐在先生的身旁，扶着先生的臂腕，幽幽的说：“我本来也不一定要去，因为娘那边已约下了人，只好去应酬一下，你既然牺牲了西班牙跳舞来陪我，我也愿意牺牲杨小楼来陪你。我也倦，我们只在家里守着炉火坐坐也好！” 我们的先生愕然了，从来未曾受过这样的温存！他受宠若惊的正要说话，我们的太太赶紧说：“你不用劝我，我一定不去了！我倦得很，只要你陪着我！”说着歪了下去，俯在先生的肩上，眼里竟然有了泪光。 诗人默然站起来，把烟头扔在炉里。我们的先生也默然，只轻轻的拍着太太的肩背。彬彬本来只坐在父亲膝上，睁着大眼，很悬心的听着他们说话，至此便溜了下来，走到我们太太跟前，说：“妈妈，你不去了，我呢？”我们的先生抬头看着诗人说：“美倦了不去，由她罢，你带彬彬去，怎么样？”诗人还不及回答，我们的太太已连忙坐了起来，说：“别烦他了！人家还有饭局呢！”先生说：“既如此，彬彬也不用去了，小孩子太睡晚了，到底不好。” Ｄａｉｓｙ站在门口，臂上带着太太和彬彬的大衣。听到这里便微笑着进来，俯了下去，在彬彬耳边，轻轻的说了几句话。彬彬忍着泪，低头向父亲和母亲说了声“明天见”，便牵着Ｄａｉｓｙ的手出去。 我们的太太隔窗唤着Ｄａｉｓｙ，说：“你再打电话告诉老姨太太，说我又觉得不大舒服，不能来了。也吩咐厨房里把我们的饭开到这里来罢，这里有火，暖和些。”Ｄａｉｓｙ一面答应着便走了。 诗人拍了拍身上的烟灰，对我们的太太说：“那么我走了，明天见罢。我还要回去写几封信，我也太懒，晚上屋子里又冷，总不想拿笔，总挨朋友们的骂。”我们的先生站了起来，说：“你不是有饭局么，怎么又到冷屋子里去写信？若如此，就在我们这里用了晚饭再走。”诗人凝神看着炉火，回头笑说：“不用晚饭了，我也吃不下。我已住惯了冷屋子，正是'惭惯了单寒羁旅'！”他一面笑着吟哦着，往外就走。我们的太太忽然站起，要叫住诗人，诗人有我们的先生送着，已走出小院门口了。 门外是暮色逼人，诗人叫来了拱腰缩颈站在墙隅的车夫，一步跨上车去，伸直了腿，深深的向天嘘了一口气，说：“走，六国饭店！” 竟于一九三三年十月十七日夜。 第１０期，后收入小说集《冬儿姑娘》，北新书局１９３５年５月初版。 )