Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

"Well, when I first came to Hong Kong at the end of 1984, I could only enter through the Luohu Port. An iron bridge was built in the middle of the border between China and Britain. The iron bridge was about 100 meters long. After walking this distance, I left socialist China. Into the capitalist British colonies." "That's right!" Dai Xi felt like waking up from a dream, "At that time, Hong Kong still belonged to Britain!" Li Weilian glanced at Dai Xi, and said in a tone of tolerance for ignorant children: "At that time, there was no free shopping."

Dai Xi blushed: "Are you visiting relatives in Hong Kong?" "To be precise, I came to reunite with my parents. At that time, coming to Hong Kong was equivalent to going abroad. The approval process was quite strict. I have immediate family members in Hong Kong who meet the application requirements, but even so, it usually takes a lot of trouble." "So did your coming process go well?" "Very well..." Dai Xi keenly caught the small ups and downs in Li Weilian's voice.Her heart trembled - why did he say such painful words when they were supposed to be comforting?

"The process of passing through that section of the iron bridge is unforgettable. But the distance of 100 meters, the Chinese side is dilapidated and gloomy, and the border guards of the People's Liberation Army have serious expressions, and their eyes are full of indifference and vigilance. But coming from the Hong Kong side , the prosperous scene of thousands of lights is approaching step by step, the Hong Kong policemen in neat uniforms are smiling, behave in a standard and polite manner, and the wind blowing from behind them carries a special fragrance." Yes, the fragrance in the wind.Even today, as long as he takes a deep breath, Dai Xi can still smell this breath clearly. It is the wind of freedom from the vast ocean, carrying the prosperity and freshness of the flowers and fruits of the southern country.

"When I entered the country, I had to be interrogated by the British immigration officials. The British man who interrogated me could speak fluent Cantonese, because the vast majority of mainlanders who applied to enter Hong Kong were from Cantonese, so there was no problem communicating in Cantonese, but I did not I can speak Cantonese. I was in a hurry, so I had to tell him that I could speak English. He seemed surprised, but he started talking to me in English, which lasted more than half an hour. When he asked about the English name on the immigration form At that time, I said William, which is the most homonymous with Wei Lian. This English name was my favorite when I was reading the original book. He hesitated a little, then filled it out with a smile, and said while writing that I should have a The most authentic English name, because he has worked in the Hong Kong Immigration Bureau for 20 years, and my English is the most authentic among all the Chinese people he has ever seen. I didn’t pay much attention to it until I went to apply for documents a few weeks later and found out My English name was set as 'william lee' when I entered the country, instead of the Cantonese pinyin that was directly converted from my Chinese name as usual... Later, there were indeed many people who used this name alone before they met me. Take me for an Anglo-Saxon."

The car moved forward steadily along the corridor of the Eastern District, and the sea was always on their left side, never leaving.The past is still lingering in their hearts, the surrounding lights are gradually dimming, and the glory of the city that never sleeps is leaving them.The scene in front of me suddenly became gray, crowded and noisy. "Daisy, the area we are passing through is called North Point. It used to be a place where the middle and lower class people gathered in Hong Kong. It is a bit like... Shanghai's 'Xiazhijiao'. This area is also the worst area. With little improvement, you can still see signs of dilapidation."

Dai Xi looked out of the car window on Li Weilian's side, and sure enough, the tall buildings disappeared, replaced by narrow streets and five or six-story rectangular gray buildings. The windows filled with iron bars looked like iron cages one after another. A window-type air conditioner, which is rarely seen in Shanghai, hangs, and even the night can't cover the filth of the outer wall. "I lived here when I first came to Hong Kong, with my mother, for several years." Dai Xi didn't speak, because she knew that she shouldn't ask anything at this time, and because her heart felt the weight of fate and became heavy.

"Want to listen to music?" Li Weilian asked suddenly, he pressed the CD player, "I'm about to enter the cross-sea tunnel, and after arriving in Kowloon, I will not be far from Lei Yue Mun." Chopin's nocturne immediately filled the small space. Dai Xi's eyes darkened, and the tunnel stretched out endlessly in front of him. Fortunately, there was Chopin, and the sound of the piano gently relieved the huge pressure brought by the distance.After returning to the ground, not long after, dots of fishing fires shone not far away, and the fishing village on the edge of the city was approaching.

Lei Yue Mun is really lively. The sea breeze smelled a little fishy, ​​fishing boats were close together in the nearby bay, the whole street was full of seafood stalls, and there was a lot of haggling in Cantonese, which was almost like a quarrel in Dai Xi's ears.It turns out that the rule here is to buy seafood at the stalls lined up along the street, and then take it to the restaurant behind for processing.Of course, you can also directly select seafood from the restaurant's own display cabinet, and hand it over to the kitchen to cook according to your favorite taste.Perhaps because of the Spring Festival and the weekend, all the stalls are crowded with people, the narrow streets are crowded, and the smell of food is mixed with smoky smoke, which radiates from the open doors of restaurants of all sizes.

Li Weilian brought Dai Xi straight to a shop, and chatted with the boss like old friends.Dai Xi couldn't understand what they were talking about at all, and saw the boss scooping up and weighing the goods with a blushing face.Dai Xi can roughly recognize Australian lobster, mouse spot, abalone, giant jumping shrimp, conch, scallop... Oh my God!She stuck out her tongue, so much was enough for a large table. After sitting down at the table, Dai Xi asked curiously: "You have been talking with the boss for so long, are you haggling over the price?" "No, I was talking to him about buying horses."

"Buy a horse?" "Yeah, I just finished a race in Hong Kong yesterday, and the boss wants to compete with me on who can buy better. Of course he beat me." Dai Xi felt incredible: "You are so busy at work, and you still have time to play this?" Li Weilian smiled: "I don't have the time, and I'm not interested. But saying this can make the boss happy, and it's more effective than directly bargaining." Dai Xi was getting enlightened, when suddenly with a "boom!", the boss dropped a bottle of red wine in the middle of the table: "william!" He called Li Weilian's English name with a Cantonese accent, and a long string of ups and downs in Cantonese came out of his mouth.

Seeing Li Weilian shaking her head in embarrassment, Dai Xi understood, and quickly said: "You drink, I can drive back." "You?" Li Weilian was surprised, "Do you have your driver's license?" Dai Xi patted the satchel: "The international driver's license was originally planned to be replaced with a Chinese driver's license, but I haven't had time to do it after returning home." Li Weilian didn't speak immediately, but his surprise eyes made Dai Xi very happy. The boss muttered something in disappointment, and was about to pick up the wine bottle when Li Weilian pushed his hand away. "I really want to drink some wine tonight." Li Weilian held the glass, still hesitating, "Daisy, Hong Kong drives on the left, can you do it? And you don't know the way..." Dai Xi said firmly: "No problem! As long as you show me the way." "Okay! Then drive back to Marco Polo and park the car there. Anyway, we will start from there tomorrow morning. I will take a taxi back to Four Seasons." Li Weilian drank the wine in his hand, looked at Dai Xi and smiled. "I'm going to get drunk, and it's all up to you." "You don't get drunk easily, do you?" Dai Xi rolled his eyes. "When I'm in a bad mood, I won't get drunk no matter how much I drink. But if I'm in a good mood, I get drunk very quickly." Li Weilian drank another glass while talking.Putting down the wine glass, he reached into his arms to take out the wallet and handed it to Dai Xi. "Take it." "Ah?" Dai Xi was confused, it was the second time he gave her his wallet tonight. Li Weilian poured himself a drink with a smile: "You will be responsible for paying the bill later, lest I give money randomly." "Oh!" Dai Xi hurriedly put the wallet into the satchel, "Aren't you friends with the boss? Will he still lie to you?" "No business, no rape..." Li Weilian's cell phone rang. "Hello, baby!" He immediately picked up the phone, his expression suddenly became more gentle than ever, and he kept smiling.Dai Xi lowered her eyes, it was impolite to listen to others talking on the phone, but Li Weilian's beautiful English touched her heart.He hung up the phone, drank another glass of wine, and said to Dai Xi: "It's my daughter Isabella. She won the prize in the martial arts performance. Give me the good news." "Martial arts?" "Look." Li Weilian held the phone in front of Dai Xi, and a video was playing inside.Dai Xi saw a ten-year-old girl wearing a white exercise uniform, punching in a decent way: "It's so cute! What kind of punch is this?" "It's said to be monkey boxing." Li Weilian said, "Do you think she looks like a little monkey?" "Like!" They both laughed together. "I don't know how she likes kung fu." Li Weilian sighed at the phone screen, "I've been clamoring to be a heroine... Dai Xi, guess what isabella's Chinese name is?" "How do you guess..." Dai Xi pouted. "It's a good guess, it's the same as our name." "The same name as ours?" Dai Xi thought for a while, "Well, isn't it... Li Beila?" "You're really smart, Dai Xi!" Li Weilian drank another glass, and before the seafood was served, he had already drank less than half of the bottle of red wine. "Bella, that's a nice name." "I just think this name sounds happier." Li Weilian said, "Besides, it's also for the convenience of her mother." His tone became very melancholy: "It's a pity that I spend so little time with Isabella. I I originally hoped that she would grow up by my side, in Shanghai. But Katherine Sean doesn’t like China, she only has a little affection for Hong Kong, and has no interest in Shanghai at all, but I can’t live without Shanghai..." The seafood was finally on the table, Li Weilian stopped talking and just drank silently.Dai Xi was eating under his gaze for the second time. She didn't feel embarrassed, but she couldn't help feeling a little sad in her heart. "Daisy, you are left-handed." After a long silence, when the whole bottle of red wine was almost finished, Li Weilian said suddenly. Dai Xi looked at his left hand holding the chopsticks, and Li Wei continued, "I noticed that in 'Shuangmei' that time. During the training, you also hold the pen with your left hand." "When I was in elementary school, the teacher used to correct me, but my dad went to school to convince the teacher that it would be better for my brain development." "He is right. Dai Xi, you are very similar to a good friend of mine in the past. She is also left-handed and very smart." Li Weilian said thoughtfully, "Your father knows the brain?" Dai Xi smiled proudly: "The brain is his major. My father was originally from the medical school." "Medical school?" Li Weilian stared at Dai Xi and asked. "Well," Dai Xi was so nervous when he saw him, "My father studied psychiatry at first, and later when the psychology major was set up in China, he transferred to a normal university to become a professor of psychology." Li Weilian nodded, the bottle was already empty, he waved for a second bottle. "Daisy, Stanford University's psychology major is the best in the United States, and Professor Higgins' postgraduate position is even more rare. Don't you think it's a pity that you just gave up..." Li Weilian said, propping his forehead, his drunkenness It's getting stronger, but still drinking one glass after another, "Of course, if you don't give up, we won't have a chance to meet." He raised his glass: "You are my luck, Daixi. Come on, let's have a drink, for...for..." Dai Xi could clearly see the sparkle in his eyes, she raised her own orange juice and touched him: "For a better life." "Yes, for a better life!"