Chapter 8 Section 7

Last night Liu Weizu drank too much wine and slept so deeply that he didn't even have a dream.If it wasn't for the loud and beautiful chirping of the birds outside, he might still be able to continue to sleep. He opened his eyes, and saw streaks of red light squeezed in through the gaps in the shutters, making the central part of the ground like a square carpet of light, illuminating the darkness in the room. "I'm an extremely unwelcome person here, and I'm leaving immediately." was his first thought after waking up. Look at your watch, it's already ten o'clock.If you act quickly, you might be able to catch the 11:30 train to Paris.

He got up after thinking about it, packed his rucksack and opened the blinds. Outside the window is another world, the sun is so good that he can't help but marvel, and the slender Naka River shimmering in the sun is so beautiful that he almost doesn't want to leave Heidelberg.A few sparrows were jumping and singing on the sycamore tree under the window. He looked at them for a long time before he was willing to close the window. When he went downstairs, he saw Wang Hongjun.Wang Hongjun stood in the stairwell, rubbing his hands, as if he had something urgent to resolve, and seemed to be waiting for someone.

"Huh? Why did you carry the big burden?" Wang Hongjun pointed to his rucksack. "I'm leaving, catch the bus after eleven o'clock." "Hey, what are you always busy walking for? Where are you going?" "Who knows where? Probably Paris." "Forget it, don't go, you have no acquaintances in Paris, and you will still be a tramp if you go." "Aren't I a homeless man in Heidelberg?" Liu Weizu threw his rucksack on the ground, and smiled with his lips pulled. "You're a tramp in Heidelberg, and you have friends here."

Liu Weizu laughed even deeper, a mocking smile. "Friends? I still have friends?" He pointed to the tip of his nose. "Why not? Who do you think we are?" "Well—" Liu Weizu was a little speechless. "Come on, come on, poor young man, eat breakfast, and I'll talk to you." Wang Hongjun pushed Liu Weizu into the kitchen, started to make breakfast for him, busy making coffee and boiled eggs, cutting bread and getting butter and jam. "You are as proficient as a cook." Liu Weizu sat in front of the small table, lit a cigarette and smoked slowly. "Where's Elizabeth and the children?"

"Elizabeth's cousin's sister-in-law is celebrating her birthday today, and she took her children to catch up with the fun. I will stay with you specially, and we will go to Baker's house for lunch later." "But I'm leaving after breakfast." "Forget it, forget it, where are you going, you can settle down for a while! Don't rush to say no, wait for me to finish first." Wang Hongjun eagerly stopped Liu Weizu from rushing, and on the one hand, he had already put the hot Coffee was brought to him on the little table. "Guo Xinzhi called early this morning, and he said: 'Old Wang, we can't tell Weizu to wander any longer, we have to find a way to make him settle down.' You see, how can you just leave when your friend cares about you so much? Just slap your ass and leave?"

"Last night, I used the strength of alcohol to tear off the masks of these civilized people. He hated me too late, right? He still recognizes me as a friend?" Liu Weizu said suspiciously, and began to eat breakfast slowly. "Hate? Where do you start? Everyone can have their own ideas, and everyone can have different opinions. You can always hate it." Wang Hongjun sat opposite Liu Weizu, drinking his freshly brewed tea. "Brother, at some point, people have to be lenient, pretend to be stupid, follow the customs, and be what you call 'stupid and happy', like my brother."

"That's why I admire you very much." Liu Weizu looked at Wang Hongjun mockingly. "What you said is not true enough. You don't admire me at all, not only me, but you don't admire anyone at all. But it doesn't matter, the important thing is that you have to learn my attitude towards life." Wang Hong Jun gestured to prevent Liu Weizu from interrupting him. "If you weren't my friend, I wouldn't say anything. If you were my friend, I wouldn't feel uneasy if I didn't speak out what was in my heart. Weizu, you can't demean yourself anymore. You have to go back To turn around and live again—"

"How to live again?" Liu Weizu asked with a smile. "Do something serious! Settle down and return to a normal society to live a normal life. Wei Zu, you have to change your way of life, what are you? Living like a hippie. How can this work? It's a waste of your intelligence and your parents. Think about it-" "Hee hee..." Liu Weizu couldn't stop laughing, until Wang Hongjun couldn't continue.Wang Hongjun rolled his eyes and asked: "why are you laughing?" "I laughed. I already guessed what you said next." Liu Weizu stopped laughing.

"What next?" "I want to go on and tell me to get married and have children." "It's not ridiculous if I say that. You deserve a home." "What crazy woman would follow a tramp?" "So I say you have to settle down." "How?" Liu Weizu wanted to laugh again. "Don't laugh, I have already promised you. I will accompany you to a Mr. Tan later. Lao Guo said that Mr. Tan is going to open a restaurant and asked him to find someone to do the design work. He thought of you now, aren't you Do you also do this business? So tell me to contact Mr. Tan, I just called, you go after eating—"

"You agreed for me?" Liu Weizu blamed a bit. "I seized this opportunity for you. It's up to you to decide whether to do it or not. Go talk about it." Seeing Liu Weizu's expression was unhappy, Wang Hongjun continued to explain: "Weizu, my friends really can't bear to see you go on like this. I hope you make a decision. Our idea is: you might as well open an art and craft club in Heidelberg, everyone can find a way in terms of funds, and I promise to do my best." He patted his chest. "I also hope that you will take off your colored glasses, have a good love, and change your dangerous outlook on life."

"Old Wang, good friend, you have thought too much about me and expected too much of me." Liu Weizu stood up and patted Wang Hongjun on the shoulder several times. "I'm afraid I'll let you down. At least, I know I won't 'have a good love'. I deny love at all. I have only one purpose in dating women—" "Stop talking, I know your purpose." Wang Hongjun's round face was filled with sorrow and helplessness.He took a breath, and said again: "I remember you said that you once loved a woman, but you were cheated and hated her very much. Do you still hate her today?" "I still hate that woman. No matter what the situation is, I will take revenge. I will give her back the pain she gave me." "Then why bother." "That can't be helped. I just can't tolerate deceit and hypocrisy. I will never forgive this kind of person." "Weizu, I think you can forgive others and forgive others." "Old Wang, I can't. We are people living in two worlds." "I want to ask you one more question: what good does it do to yourself and others? What effect does it have?" Wang Hongjun sighed. "The big advantage is nothing, but the small one has a little bit. The advantage is that I don't have to deal with those hypocrites and liars anymore, and I don't have to be restrained. I have finally freed myself from that ridiculous circle. Is it useful? What makes me laugh out loud when I think about it is that I took revenge on a lot of people.” "Who did you take revenge on?" Wang Hongjun frowned in confusion. "Revenge on the ancestors of our Liu family, if you want me to fight, I will not fight for you; revenge on my grandmother, she wants me to marry a noble daughter to be the grandson of the Liu family, so that she can hold a great-grandson. I am even married It doesn’t work, and it delays her great-grandson; of course, I have to take revenge on my father. He expects me to get a Ph.D. to save face for him, and he also expects me to inherit his career. Sorry, I’m not that interested. " "What is this for? Weizu, I really don't understand you. I'm afraid we are people living in two worlds." Wang Hongjun said almost desperately. "Old Wang, you know, I used to be a very well-behaved silly happy, ready to be a fool for the rest of my life. But those people actually smashed my poor silly dreams and ruined my life piece by piece. , it is too despicable, cruel and hateful. My revenge is actually to die with them, which is very pitiful." "Oh—then, are you going to the home of that overseas Chinese surnamed Tan?" "Let's go around!" Liu Weizu lit another cigarette, which was already the third one. "You smoke a lot, how can your lungs take it?" Wang Hongjun sighed vaguely again. "Who cares if the lungs can bear it?" Liu Weizu took a big puff of smoke and raised his eyebrows willfully. "A person like me who can't be stupid and happy anymore has already seen it, and I will never wrong myself just to live two more years. Life is not worth my suffering for him. I'm not like you, either. Life is so lovely." "Life is lovely. Everyone thinks so. If you don't think so, it's because you are abnormal, not others." Wang Hongjun changed his tone as he spoke, as kindly as he was coaxing a child. "So, Wei Zu, you must settle down." "I'm used to wandering here and there, and I can't settle down anymore." "Nonsense, I've never heard of anyone who has the habit of wandering, and you're not a gypsy. Come on! It's almost eleven o'clock." An overseas Chinese surnamed Tan lives on the third floor of an apartment building.Liu Weizu and Wang Hongjun took the elevator up, and before they rang the bell, the door opened. A thin middle-aged man stood in the door, he was wearing a steel gray suit, a white collared shirt, and a plain tie.Seeing them coming up, he smiled and said: "Jiadong has good eyesight. I saw you coming from the window." "This is Mr. Tan Yunliang, this is my old classmate Liu—" "Liu Lang." Liu Weizu solemnly reported his name. "It's such a chic name, it sounds like an artist. But I don't dare to call it this name, I'm afraid of wandering around." Tan Yunliang said humorously. As soon as they sat down in the living room, a tall, slender and handsome boy came in shyly. "Dad, do you want to serve the tremella cooked by Mom to the guests?" "Hey! A boy of fourteen or five years old is still stupid. What do you call a guest? Isn't this Uncle Wang? This is Uncle Liu." "Oh, Uncle Wang, Uncle Liu." The child smiled and scratched his thick and black hair. "Do you like white fungus?" "I like it, please give me a bowl!" Wang Hongjun looked at the child appreciatively for a while, then turned to Liu Weizu and said, "The child in Jiadong is very likable, simple-hearted, obedient, and smart. " Seeing Liu Wei's motherland staring at Jiadong without turning his eyes, he asked again; "You see what I said is right? He can also play the guitar and sing popular songs!" "That's right. But—but why does he look so familiar to me?" Liu Weizu turned his eyes leisurely. "Does he look familiar? I've seen him familiar for a long time. Who do you think he looks like? His facial features are very similar to the American movie star Najie Lihua." Wang Hongjun said. "Uncle Wang, sister Na Lihua is a woman, how can I look like a woman? I'm not like her." Jiadong protested with a blushing face. "Uncle didn't say you look like her, only that your nose and eyes are a bit like her. Uncle really looks like a woman, and Mitch always said that I look like Mrs. Songda." Wang Hongjun's words made everyone laugh, and Jiadong laughed the most. sharp. "Jiadong, is it okay to study?" "Oh—" Jiadong immediately withdrew his smile, worry covering his face. "German is still too difficult, and I can't figure out the grammar. There are also things I don't understand in mathematics." He said a little shyly. "Ask if you don't understand! What's wrong with you? Show me." "Go get white fungus! Then bring out the math and German and ask Uncle Wang to teach you." After Jiadong responded and went out, Tan Yunliang was met again: "It's good for Jiadong to study since he was a child, so we don't need to worry too much. When we arrive in Germany There are many problems, he is good, but the society in Germany is different, all kinds of temptations are great, foreign children are more wild, and Jiadong has no idea, these days he is clamoring to buy a motorcycle! Because his friend Yes, we are afraid of danger, so we dare not buy it for him, and he is not happy!" "Children at such an age are most likely to be influenced by friends." Wang Hongjun said. Just as he was talking about Jiadong, Jiadong came in with a tray.He first put a bowl of white fungus in front of everyone, and then took down the math book under his arm. "What grade are you in?" Liu Weizu picked up white fungus and drank it. "The second grade is the second grade of junior high school." Jiadong said. "Huh! Why didn't you see Mrs. Tan?" Wang Hongjun asked. "She went to church and she came back. She goes every Sunday." "It's so sincere!" Wang Hongjun said. "She became enlightened on the way to escape and became a believer. For her, some faith is better than none. I encourage her to go to church." Tan Yunliang smiled bitterly, with deep depressions on both sides of his mouth. With two big stripes. Wang Hongjun agreed again and again, and finally said: "Mr. Tan, the artist is already here, what's your plan? You might as well talk to Mr. Liu." "Okay, Mr. Liu, wait, I'll go find my sketch." Tan Yunliang said and went out.Before leaving, he said to Wang Hongjun and Jiadong: "If you are afraid of noise, you might as well talk in Jiadong's room." "Uncle Wang, can you come to my room?" Jiadong also said. "Okay, let's go to your room!" Wang Hongjun and Jiadong also went out. Liu Weizu was the only one left in the huge living room.He frowned slightly, staring at the ceiling, resting his chin on one hand, lost in thought.He thought: This boy named Jiadong looks so familiar, he must be like someone he is familiar with.Who does he look like: Could it be? ...!Make him aware of someone walking in, but this person is not Tan Yunliang.Tan Yunliang's behavior is not like this, he can be sure... Liu Weizu turned his head and saw a woman standing about two feet behind him.The woman was staring at his back in a daze, her two dark and deep eyes opened as if they were about to burst out. "Weizu, how could it be you?" She looked at him with surprise written on her face. "This is really an unexpected meeting, Mrs. Tan." Liu Weizu stood up, surprised at first, and then turned into a mischievous joke. "Mrs. Tan, let me introduce myself. My name is Liu Lang. I'm a real tramp, a poor artist with no food. I'm hired by Boss Tan to design a restaurant for you." "Weizu, this...how is this possible? You are an artist, called a vagabond? Design restaurants for us? This...are you joking?" "Mrs. Tan, a tramp like me, how can I tell a joke! Everything I say is the truth, and I don't use sweet words to deceive people." Liu Weizu said sarcastically.He turned his eyes around Zhuang Jing without hesitation, and he saw that she had become too much.She didn't look very healthy, her cheeks were slightly sunken, her complexion was a little pale, and even white hair appeared on her temples.What hasn't changed is the big black mole on her lip and the pair of big black eyes on her face.But the eyes are also different from the past.He remembered that her eyes were full of heat, like a burning fire, people would melt in that fire.Now, these eyes are deep and quiet, peaceful and somewhat sad, gentle without a trace of anger.Time didn't seem to be kind to her, and there were not many traces of her youthful beauty in the past. "Mrs. Tan, you are getting old." He had malicious intentions. "Everyone is going to grow old." Zhuang Jing said calmly. "Strange, my wife doesn't know where to put that picture..." Tan Yunliang walked in while talking. "Ah, you're back! This is—" "I have already introduced myself".Liu Weizu bared his teeth and smiled. "That's great. Ah Jing, where did you put that picture, the sketch we drew the day before yesterday? I can't find it." Tan Yunliang stared at his wife for a while, and asked with concern: " Your complexion is not good, don't you be sick?" "I didn't sleep well last night, and my head hurts." Zhuang Jing gently rubbed her temple with one hand.Liu Weizu noticed: the back of the hand had blue veins, the joints of the fingers appeared thick, and there was no Xu Hongdan on the fingernails.This hand is not what it used to be. "Go and lie down! I'll talk to Mr. Liu." "I'll find it for you first." She said and hurried away, and before leaving, she glanced at Liu Weizu quickly and meaningfully, as if to say: "Will you tell him the secret between the two of us?" ? You won't? That's only for you and me." Under such gaze, Liu Weizu was somewhat moved, and his heart softened a little.He didn't say anything anymore, but silently re-estimated Tan Yunliang.Tan Yunliang never dreamed that the slovenly artist in front of him was his wife's lover before marriage, and he was still humorous and vivid, describing how brilliant his career in Saigon was that day.Seeing that Liu Weizu didn't say a word, and seemed to be listening to his narration attentively, he felt very comforted, and almost thought he had met a bosom friend.Little did he know that the person on the opposite side was studying him with sharper eyes than a detective, wondering why Tan Yunliang took away Liu Weizu's lover? The result of Liu Weizu's research: he thinks that Tan Yunliang has nothing special to attract people, at most he is a good person.It just so happened that this type of person was what he always regarded as a wishful-looking, lacking in personality, and he looked down on the most.It's a shame that a girl as prominent as Zhuang Jing's back then would leave the handsome Liu Weizu who came from an aristocratic family to marry such a businessman. "At that time, I often traveled to Taiwan and knew Taipei very well." "Go to Taiwan often?" This sentence caught Liu Weizu's attention. "For business! I go there two or three times a year." "I met your wife in Taiwan?" "Haha, he was working in XX Bank at that time, and I met him when I went to settle foreign exchange." Tan Yunliang said with a smile. "Oh, that's right. It's really romantic." Liu Weizu seemed very serious.Then make another haha: "Girls in Taiwan are very beautiful!" "Yes! Back then, Ah Jing, I mean my wife—" Zhuang Jing came out with a stack of papers, handed them to Tan Yunliang and said: "Yunliang, talk to Mr. Liu carefully! I'm really uncomfortable and I have to take a rest. Mr. Liu, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." "Mrs. Tan, you're welcome. It's enough to have Mr. Tan with me. Mr. Tan is so talkative!" Liu Weizu deliberately made an exaggerated expression.Hearing Tan Yunliang talk about the acquaintance with Zaijing, his sense of shame increased, and his hatred rose again; it turned out that she deliberately deceived him in this way. After Zhuang Jing went out, Tan Yunliang opened up a bunch of messy pictures he had drawn, compared and compared, talked and talked, drawing on them with a brush for a while, and calculating how much it would cost to buy materials and paints with numbers.Liu Weizu listened absent-mindedly, not understanding what his plan was at all.It wasn't until Tan Yunliang stuffed a few pieces of cold mica into his hand that he was startled suddenly and asked: "What is this going to do?" "This is a piece of mica, a sample I sent to you. How about using it to decorate the walls? Not bad?" "Oh, that's right. You are the boss, as long as you like it, of course you can use it." Liu Weizu perfunctorily played with those small flakes in his hands a few times, and returned them to Tan Yunliang. "I mean, it doesn't matter how much money you spend, the important thing is to be grand and elegant. Our home is gone, and it seems that we have to live here forever. This restaurant is our entire property." Tan Yunliang turned into a sigh after talking about it, and he couldn't help crying. "If there were only me and Ah Jing, maybe I wouldn't bother to run a restaurant, but for the sake of the family building, we have to make a good plan for the future. He should have a good future. Parents should Let him have a better life, don't you?" "yes." "Hey! It's not easy to run a restaurant. We are laymen, so we don't know if we can do it smoothly in the future. Anyway, please Mr. Liu to design it, and the decoration should be more attractive." "Definitely, definitely." Liu Weizu raised his head, saw Wang Hongjun and Jiadong coming in, and said to Wang Hongjun, "Old Wang, I am determined to take this business from Boss Tan. It looks like I'm going to live in Heidelberg for a while." .” "That's great. If you make a name for yourself, foreigners will still come to you, so you can settle down here. I'll be in charge of soliciting business for you." Wang Hongjun was very happy to see that Liu Weizu had settled the matter, repeating the old saying carry. "Where is Mr. Liu's house?" Tan Yunliang suddenly asked. "I can't compare with Boss Tan, I don't have a home! I'm in the vast world, and I'm home everywhere." "Mr. Tan is an honest man, don't talk nonsense with others! We should go." Wang Hongjun said to go and stood up to leave. "If Jiadong has any problems with homework, please call me and make an appointment to come to my house." "Let's go out to eat Chinese food together." Tan Yunliang said. "No, I'm going to take Liu Weizu to my mother-in-law's house for lunch. He's their old tenant. The whole family wants to see this wandering artist!" Wang Hongjun has already automatically opened the door. Liu Weizu followed Wang Hongjun out and saw Zhuang Jing standing in front of the door. "Mr. Liu must first see the interior of the house before making an overall design plan. You should take Mr. Liu to have a look." She said to Tan Yunliang.His expression was quite calm, as if he was gone from any illness. "Okay! We can go this afternoon." Tan Yunliang said.He asked again: "Does your head still hurt? Your complexion is better." "I slept for ten minutes, and I feel much better." Zhuang Jing smiled gently at her husband, and smiled politely at Liu Weizu. "Don't go this afternoon. I invited two ladies to have afternoon tea in the church. You can go tomorrow morning." "Okay, let's go tomorrow morning. Our family is the supremacy of women's rights, and the wife will let it go." After Tan Yunliang finished speaking, he laughed haha. Coming out of Tan's house, Liu Weizu kept smiling and didn't say a word, until Wang Hong only started the car, and the word "interesting" came out from between his teeth. "What's interesting?" Wang Hongjun asked puzzled. "Boss Tan's job is interesting." Liu Weizu said in a concealed manner. "As long as you think it's interesting, I'm relieved." "Hey! Old Wang, quickly find me a place to move out. I really want to live in Heidelberg for a while." "Why look for a place, isn't it more convenient to live with me." "Convenience is convenience. I'm afraid that your family will not be able to tolerate the addiction to smoking. I think it's better to find me a kennel and let me do whatever I want!" "Okay, it's up to you, then look for it." Wang Hongjun drove for a while in silence, and suddenly asked, "Why did you become in such a good mood when you came to Tan's house?" "Of course, the matter is interesting and there is money to be made. Boss Tan promised me a design fee of 20,000 marks. I figured out what you said again, and I really want to settle down. Why are you in a bad mood?" Liu Weizu laughed happily. "Are you familiar with the Tan family?" "I'm not familiar with them. I've only met a few times. They don't usually interact with other people, and they don't seem to move around with other Vietnamese overseas Chinese, and they don't know much about their backgrounds. But I heard that Mr. Tan has a big business in Saigon. It is said that There are even several ships. So! Centipede is dead but not stiff, and he can still open a restaurant on his own. The two of them look like honest people. The lady always speaks softly, and their relationship seems to be very good." "How can you tell if the relationship between husband and wife is good?" "Don't be ridiculous! Hey! Some people say that Mrs. Tan was a beauty when she was young. They seem to have a child who died on the way to escape. I don't know if it's true. I haven't inquired about it, but this house is really theirs. Great hope, both of our hearts are on him..." Liu Weizu listened quietly, without interrupting or missing a single word.He murmured repeatedly in his heart: "This is really a narrow road to Yuanjia, how could I meet her in this place? This is really the arrangement of the heavens, maybe there really is a god in the world who knows everything..."