Chapter 6 6

twenty three We slept until noon the next day, both of us sweated from sleep, got up, took a cold shower, put on clean clothes, and went out.Xiaoyu first went to Today's Department Store in Ximending to buy a lot of Shiseido cosmetics for his mother.He said that although his mother is getting older, she still likes to put on makeup every time, so every time he goes back, he always brings some to her. That bundle was what his mother used to wrap his clothes when he ran out, and he kept it all the time.Xiaoyu's mother lived in an alley full of stalls and crowded behind the Rooftop Theater in Sanchong Town.We arrived at the gate of Xiaoyu's mother's house, but Xiaoyu didn't dare to go in, so she took me quietly to the kitchen at the back door, looked around for a long time, then turned her tongue to me and said:

"The Shandong guy really left. He told my mother: 'I'll grab that little bastard and split his dog's head off!'" Xiaoyu cleared her throat before shouting loudly: "Mum, Yuzai is back." Xiaoyu's mother ran out from the back door. When she saw Xiaoyu, she touched her head and face for a while, then squeezed Xiaoyu's arm firmly, and said: "Why are you losing weight again? What do you eat every day? Is that bitch Liyue mean to you? You must be outside every day and not eat well, right?" She looked at Xiaoyu again and said, "The hair is cut short .”

Xiaoyu's mother is about forty-seven, but she dresses up very richly, her face is covered with a thick layer of makeup, her eyebrows are shaved off, but her two false eyebrows are drawn domineeringly, and her lips are painted brightly with lipstick.She was wearing a burgundy silk dress covered with flying purple butterflies, with plump hoops all over her body, revealing a large white breast in front.In the past, Xiaoyu's mother was probably a very charming red wine girl. Although her bubble eyes had two traces of crow's feet, when she smiled, they were still full of peach blossoms.Xiaoyu's eyes were borrowed from his mother.

"Mom, I'll bring Ah Qing to eat and say goodbye." Xiaoyu led me to meet his mother. "Excellent," Xiaoyu's mother put her arms around Xiaoyu's arms, walked inside, and smiled at me, "Our old neighbor Huo Wangbo's house slaughtered a big pig weighing more than two hundred catties. We'll all be there tonight." "Mother, what kind of perfume are you wearing? It smells terrible." Xiaoyu leaned on his mother's neck and sniffed it with her pointed nose.His mother slapped him on the buttocks, and laughed and cursed: "What kind of perfume does grandma wear, what the hell are you doing?"

Entering the inner hall, Xiaoyu untied the bundle on her hands with a smile, and shook out several bottles of cosmetics on the table: a bottle of perfume, a bottle of cream, a tube of lipstick, and a brush for eyebrows. "This is 'Nocturnal Fragrance'. It smells like mint. It's best to wear in summer. You can smell it." Xiaoyu opened the bottle of perfume in the jade green glass bottle and held it under his mother's nose. "It's not too bad," Xiaoyu's mother said with a smile, but she opened the jar of cream and smelled it. "This bottle of cream is not bad. I'm done with my bottle and I'm going to buy it."

Xiaoyu poured a few drops of the perfume on the palm of her hand, dipped it in with her fingers, and dabbed twice under his mother's ears, and then wiped the rest on her hair. "This is enough for your dead dad!" Xiaoyu's mother looked at him and nodded, "Your dad used to like to make these rouge powders. He left and left nothing but you, Shiseido I threw away 20 or 30 boxes of foundation. I didn’t need them all and took them away. Ah Qing,” Xiaoyu’s mother stroked Xiaoyu’s cheeks and turned to me with a smile, “I just made a mistake and made him a cha Pulang, Yuzai used to draw my eyebrows for me. I always said: "It's good that Yuzai is a Chamou! I'm not going to be mischievous and get into trouble everywhere——"

"Ah Qing, you don't know," Xiaoyu said with a smile, "When my mother was pregnant with me, she went to the temple to worship Mazu, and she begged Mazu: 'Mazu, let me give birth to Chamou.'" Knowing that Mazu had a cold and her ears were not working well that day, she heard 'Cha Mou' as 'Cha Pu', so she gave my mother a boy—” "Damn boy, dead boy—" Xiao Wang's mother laughed tremblingly, gave Xiaoyu a slap on the cheek, and ran in while wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. After a while, she brought out a large bowl of watermelon. , put it on the greasy and blackened dining table, she handed me and Xiaoyu a large piece of bright red watermelon, we were all thirsty, and gnawed.Xiaoyu's mother sat down next to Xiaoyu, holding a big cattail fan in her hand, while fanning Xiaoyu.The living room of Xiaoyu’s mother was dark and narrow, without a single window. There were two candles and a large stick of incense on the desk, offering sacrifices to Emperor Baosheng. Flowing continuously.

"What's wrong with that bitch Liyue? Does she still hang out with those American guys every day?" Xiaoyu's mother asked. "Sister Liyue's business is getting more and more prosperous. She is the most popular in New York bars. Sometimes there are too many customers, and she is too busy. She often complains of low back pain and asks me to massage her." Xiaoyu giggled. "Bah," Xiaoyu's mother spat, "that bastard! She came to see me a few years ago, crying, saying that her American soldier left her and slipped away. At that time, I pulled the thread for her. Here, Yuzai, It’s Huo Wangbo’s big boy, Chunfa, and Liyue’s bitch, who still thinks his parents are ugly, cross-eyed, and pockmarked. Brother Afa’s leather shoe business is getting bigger now! Huo Wangbo’s family is rich Liyue refused to listen to me and told her to get rid of that little bastard, she refused, and now she is dragging something that is neither yellow nor white, exhausting her for the rest of her life!"

"Mother, why didn't you kill me back then, and gave birth to me, a little bastard, who would exhaust you for the rest of your life and make me suffer." Xiaoyu asked his mother with a smile, two red drops of watermelon were stuck on the tip of his nose. water. Xiaoyu's mother slapped the big cattail fan a few times, and sighed helplessly: "It's not your dead father Lin Zhengxiong'Nakajima', that Yelang, I fell for his tricks! He said he would pick me up after returning to Japan in a month-look, you are so old now gone." "Mum," Xiaoyu suddenly tilted her head and called his mother, "I almost found Lin Zhengxiong—your 'Nakajima'!"

"What?" Xiaoyu's mother exclaimed. "I said it was close," Xiaoyu patted his mother's shoulder, "This man is also surnamed Lin, named Lin Maoxiong, and he missed it by one word! That night when he told me his name, my heart almost jumped out. I asked him if he had a Japanese surname, was it Nakajima? He said no. Mom, do you think it’s a pity?” "Who is this?" "He is also an overseas Chinese from Japan. He came from Tokyo and came to Taiwan to open a pharmaceutical factory." "Oh," Xiaoyu's mother shook her head and sighed, "you're going to pay homage to overseas Chinese godfathers again."

"This Lin Maoxiong is different. He treats me very well. He gave me a place in the Taipei office, and he even gave me a place to study at night." "Really?" Xiaoyu's mother said in surprise, "It's your luck now. Yuzai, it's not your mother who told you. You've been messing around in Taipei. How can you make a name for yourself? Now you meet such a kind person. People, you should follow them well, learn some things, and you won’t be hungry in the future!” "But he has gone back to Tokyo," Xiaoyu shrugged, "I don't know when I will come back." "Hey—" Xiaoyu's mother became a little disappointed and sighed. "Mom," Xiaoyu approached his mother, raised his face and asked, "tell me the truth." "tell you what?" "How many men surnamed Lin have you slept with?" "Yaoshou!" Xiaoyu's mother slapped Xiaoyu on the head and scolded with a smile, "Is this kind of thing you can say to your mother? You are still in front of outsiders, and you are not afraid of thunder?" "Ah Qing," Xiaoyu pointed at his mother and smiled, "My mother used to be very popular in Dongyun Pavilion, many men chased her, even more popular than Sister Liyue." "What is Liyue? Comparing her to your aunt, you are not afraid of ruining your aunt's reputation?" Xiaoyu's mother pursed her lips, her face full of disdain, "I used to be a boss in Dongyun Pavilion, and I was not afraid of ruining your aunt's reputation." Guest, I don’t even look at it! How can it be made of cheap materials like Liyue? The black and white ones are all put on the bed.” "But you told me that there were three or four people surnamed Lin who chased you back then!" "Cough." Xiaoyu's mother sighed warmly. "Mum, how many men surnamed Lin have you slept with?" "Damn boy," Xiaoyu's mother said with a downcast face, "Your mother slept with some men named Lin, what's the matter with you?" "You have slept with so many men named Lin, how do you know that Lin Zhengxiong from Shiseido must be my father?" "Silly boy," Xiaoyu's mother touched Xiaoyu's head, looked at him, and said quietly after a while, "Your mother doesn't know, who else knows?" "Mom—" Xiaoyu suddenly grabbed his mother's chest with both hands, crashed into his mother's arms, and burst into tears.His head, like a rolling grapefruit, was pounding back and forth on his mother's plump breasts, and his hands were scratching and tearing, tearing his mother's green silk dress hissingly. Come.His shoulders twitched violently, and there was a sound after another, as if there was a sharp pain somewhere, but he couldn't say it, only a dry cry.Xiaoyu's mother was swayed left and right by Xiaoyu, and she could hardly hug her anymore.The snot, tears, and watermelon water on her chest had been smeared with wet marks by Xiaoyu, and the sweat dripped from her forehead and face, washing her thickly painted face into red and white. .She kept patting Xiaoyu's back in a hurry. After a while, when Xiaoyu stopped for a while, she took off a handkerchief tied in her hair, wiped Xiaoyu's face, and blew his nose for him, coaxing: "Yuzai, listen to my mother. I went to Uncle Huowang early in the morning and said to him: 'Uncle Huowang, we, Yuzai, are coming back to visit grandpa tonight. You must leave those pig ears to him. Huo Wangbo and the others did a good job last year, and they are willing to spend money this year. Huo Wangbo smiled and said: "Sister Xiu, your little boy is willing to come back to see Grandpa, and I will leave ten pairs of pig ears for him!" I will go It seems that the ears of the male pigs are fat and big, and they are so delicious when they are marinated!" Xiaoyu's peach eyes were swollen and red, and his nose was still dripping with snot. When his mother said something to him, he nodded his head, breathed out, sucked in the snot again, and his shoulders twitched freely. At six o'clock in the evening, the streets and alleys of Sanchong Town were already full of people.People who eat and worship come from all over the peak.The people who are doing goodbye, the food and drink are squeezed out of the house, riding (?) downstairs, in the alley, one table after another, large pieces of fat pork, trembling, piled up into small meat mountains, shiny. , Huang Jingjing's pigskin seemed to be sweating from the heat.In some families, the sacred pig that was sacrificed in the temple has just been carried back and rests at the door. A fat male pig weighing several hundred catties is lying comfortably on the animal shelf, covered with a red cloth, with a mouth Holding a bright red tangerine in his mouth, his head was shaved clean, his eyes were squinted, and he seemed to be smiling very complacently.Most of the dishes and wine were prepared the day before, and they were placed on the table. There were large plates of rotten meat, mixed with the strong smell of incense sticks, floating densely.There was no wind at all, and the layer of soot over Sanchong Town was densely covered, and a faint layer of black smoke was smeared on the oily and sweaty faces, but people's appetites were wide open. , chewing and chewing, bowls of rice wine dripped down, and the whole Sanchong town was shouting and jubilant. Uncle Huowang’s worship is really rich, a table full of sixteen pots, and a lot of seafood: roasted flower branches, nine holes in cold salad, there are three whole fish, red red, yellow yellow, lying in the pot with mouth open and eyes upright. .Uncle Huo Wang carried a large piece of braised pig's ear that was so yellowish and oily, put it on a small jade plate, opened his bald mouth that lacked front teeth, and said with a wrinkled smile: "Yuzai, eat quickly, you will grow two pig ears as big as a male pig!" Xiaoyu laughed wildly, grabbed the pig's ear and stuffed it into her mouth, stuffing her mouth full, her cheeks were bulging, and there were still a few bristling pig hairs on the tip of the pig's ear , Xiaoyu also swallowed it.Uncle Huowang pulled the thigh of an angelica duck and put it in my bowl, and put a bottle of Fushou wine in front of us. He patted the heads of Xiaoyu and me, asking us to drink the wine.Xiaoyu's mother had been drunk for a long time, her face turned red, and her hair was tied up with a handkerchief. After looking at the table, she met Huo Wangbo's eldest son, cross-eyed Chunfa, and started guessing fists "Eight Immortals, Eight Immortals".Three punches and two victories, Xiaoyu's mother lost. Three glasses full of Fushou wine were poured down to the last drop. They all cheered.Huowangbo was so happy that his bald mouth opened wide, shaking his head and calling: "hehe--" Xiaoyu and Huo Wangbo's youngest son, Chunfu, who was full of pimples, also fought against each other.They punched a glass of Fushou wine.Xiaoyu asked me to supervise the wine, he said that Ah Fu is the most repugnant.With a punch to the head, Chunfu swallowed Xiaoyu with a "Quan Fushou". Chunfu was so excited that he picked up the cup and wanted to drink it. "Don't worry, wait for me to eat a piece of pig's ear first." Xiaoyu grabbed a piece of pig's ear and swallowed for a long time.Chunfu couldn't wait any longer, and grabbed Xiaoyu's neck to pour him down. Xiaoyu pushed him away and said with a smile: "Drinking is not drinking, what are you afraid of?" In the second round, Xiaoyu was called "Siji Cai" and gave out two fingers, and Chunfa called "Wujinjin" also gave out two fingers. Seeing that he lost, he hurriedly added another one, still yelling. "Xiaoyu lost again! Xiaoyu lost again!" "Yi Niang," Xiao Yu blushed anxiously, "You are a big man, you are so good at lying!" Talking about pouring a glass of wine and going to drink Chunfu, the two of them were twisting into a ball, inseparable, but Chunfu suddenly raised his head and shouted: "Look, Xiaoyu, the Shandong guy is here!" "Where is it?" Xiaoyu suddenly stood up, and the cup in her hand fell to the table with a bang, splashing all the wine on the table, both ends fluttered, with a panicked expression on her face.Xiaoyu's mother rushed over, pushed Chunfu violently, and shouted: "Si Lang, what did you lie to us, Yuzai?" She turned around and patted Xiaoyu on the back and said: "Don't be afraid, Yuzai, what's the matter with him coming? He's not the King of Hades? He dares to touch a hair of yours, and my mother will fight him desperately!" "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter," Uncle Huo Wang also interrupted and called, "Yuzai, drink some wine, and grandpa will give you another piece of pig's ear." Xiaoyu sat down and gnawed on the pig's ear without saying a word.Chunfu kept winking and smiling at him.Xiaoyu pretended not to see it, poured a cup full of Fushou wine, and gulped it down. Bye bye after eating, Xiaoyu's mother was almost drunk.Holding Xiaoyu's shoulders, she staggered home.As soon as she entered the door, she kicked off a pair of lacquered gold sandals from her feet, and also took off her vegetable blue silk skirt, and she only wore a translucent black petticoat underneath, with two knots at the belly band.The handkerchief that tied her hair was loose, and a few strands of messy hair fell to her neck, soaked in sweat, hanging in strands, and the powder on her face had long since melted into red and white.She sat on a bench, spread her legs, and slapped her face twice with her hands.She dragged Xiaoyu over and pressed her to her side, with a pair of bubbly eyes, sleepy, staring at Xiaoyu, after a long while, she wiped the sweat off Xiaoyu's forehead with her hands, put it away, and then sighed In one breath, he said inarticulately: "Yuzai, you know, your mother wants you to come back." "I know." Xiaoyu lowered her head and replied. "That mountain guy has a bad temper. He is good to your mother. He takes home two coins, and there are no women outside. Yuzai, you have to understand that your mother is no older than before. It's useless." Xiaoyu kept her head down, her hands propped on the stool, her shoulders arched high. "Actually, the Shantung guy was kind to you. No wonder you did that kind of thing——" "Mom, I'm leaving." Xiaoyu stood up and said. "Aren't you staying here overnight?" Xiaoyu's mother also stood up. "No, I still have an appointment in Taipei." Xiaoyu picked up the burden on the table and was about to go to the gate, but Xiaoyu's mother snatched the burden away. She ran to the confession side and put the two plates of red turtle screws (??) on the case together. Eight of them were poured into the bundle, and after two knots were tied, they were given to Xiaoyu and hung on his arm.When we walked out of the gate, Xiaoyu's mother took two more steps barefoot and said: "On the 7th of next month, he will go to Taichung for two days. I'll bring you a letter. Ah Qing, you too—get up and play." We got on the bus back to Taipei, and I asked Xiaoyu: "Aren't you going to report to the 'Old Nest' tonight?" "No, I'm going to Tianxing to find Boss Wu." "You're going to eat grass again." I laughed. Boss Wu opened the Skyline Auction House in Ximending. He was Xiaoyu's old friend. After a while, Xiaoyu became fond of Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu thought that Old Wu had rotten teeth and bad breath, so he ignored him. "What does it matter if you turn around?" Xiaoyu sneered, "I'm not a good horse anyway. Old Wu promised to give me a watch before, so I'm going to ask him for it this time." "You know how to beat old men," I said. But Xiaoyu stretched out his left hand, and the stem was bare. He used to wear the Seiko watch that Lao Zhou gave him, and he often raised his hand to show others, saying, "It was given to me by Lao Zhou." "I remember when I was in the sixth grade of primary school, Huo Wangbo bought a Seiko watch for Chunfu. Chunfu brought it to class and threw his hand in my face all day long and said, 'My dad bought it for me.' In physical education class, he took off his watch in the classroom. I stole it and carried it all night. The next day, I threw the watch into the gutter and let the water wash it away. Since then, I have been Always wanted a Seiko watch.” The bus walked to the Taipei Bridge, because there were so many people returning to Taipei, the bridge was full of vehicles, and the bus went very slowly.I stretched my head out of the car window and looked back. The lights in Sanchong Town were dim, and there were little lights flickering in the Danshui River.A crimson moon in the sky hung over the dark sky of Sanchong Town, blurry.I suddenly remembered that time when I took my younger brother to Sanchong Meihua to watch the performance of the Xiaodongbao Song and Dance Troupe, my mother was kicking her legs on the stage, her face covered with makeup was so hard to smile , so painful.That night, my brother and I took the bus back to Taipei. When we walked to the Taipei Bridge, my brother stuck his head out of the bus window and looked towards Sanchong frequently.I held his hand, and his palm was sweating coldly. "What are you looking at, Ah Qing?" Xiaoyu asked me. "Look at the moon." I said. twenty four "Fifty oceans! Who wants fifty oceans?" I walked into the park, surrounded by a lot of people in a corner of the lotus pond, and I could hear our master Yang's indulgent laughter from a long distance away.Coach Yang was wearing a bright purple Hong Kong shirt, with his chest up and his belly folded, and a fan opened and closed.The primitive A Xiongzai stood behind him like a giant spirit, holding a bulging paper bag with his big hands, stuffing handfuls of snacks into his mouth.In the middle of the crowd, it turned out that the old turtle was standing there, yelling in a Hunan dialect, calling for prices.Next to him, there was a little child, he was holding on to the child's hand, holding it high, and smiling lewdly.The child was about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a clean shaved scalp and a blue-white baby face. He was wearing a white coarse sweater with a low round neck, showing his thin neck.He was wearing a pair of loose blue cloth trousers that were washed white, and his feet were bare and barefoot.The child looked around with a bald head, grinning all the way, smiling foolishly at everyone. "You old weasel!" Coach Yang closed his fan and nodded the old glans, "Where did you steal such a little chicken?" He stepped forward and squeezed the boy's arm, touched his thin neck, and cursed with a smile: "Such a little chick doesn't even have any hair, what's the use of it? You old bastard, how dare you go crazy? I don't know where you picked it from a garbage dump, but you have the face to sell it! " The old tortoise pushed Coach Yang away, and said angrily: "Fuck you, I didn't sell your son, why are you so anxious?" Instructor Yang was pushed violently, staggered back twice, and bumped into Ah Xiongzai. Axiongzai became furious and roared. He raised his fist and swung towards the old glans. He quickly piled up a smiling face and begged: "Master Yang, quickly stop that Big Mac of yours and give him a pounding, his old bones will be broken!" Coach Yang stopped Ah Xiongzai and praised him: "My good son, for your sake, please spare his life!" But another fan pointed at the tip of the old glans nose: "Old asshole, did you see it? Next time you dare to offend this coach, my son will kill you!" A Xiongzai raised his head with a look of color on his face, took out a bunch of twisted candies from the bag, stuffed them into his mouth, and chewed them hard. "Fifty oceans!" The old turtle head raised the child's hand again, and he turned to the cornucopia Lu Siwu Lu Fatty, and said with a flattering smile: "Lu Qi, you like to gnaw bones, this is a skinny one, you can take it back and benefit from it!" Fatty Lu approached the child with a smile on his belly, touched his chest and back, smacked his lips and said: "It's a good rib!" Then, he picked up the child's ear and asked with a smile: "Little thing, shall I take you home to sleep?" The child stared at Fatty Lu for a while, then suddenly grinned and pointed at the twisted candies in Ah Xiongzai's hand, and shouted: "Sugar, sugar." Everyone was stunned and laughed. "It turned out to be a fool!" Fatty Lu also shook his head and sighed with a smile. The primitive A Xiongzai took out a bunch of twisted candies from the paper bag, handed it to the child, and said: "for you." The child snatched it up, stuffed it into his mouth three times and twice, his cheeks were stuffed up, he and the primitive man Axiong stared at each other, giggling, both of them were chewing. "I met this stupid thing at the intersection of the park last night," the old man couldn't help laughing, "Guess what he's doing standing at the intersection? It turns out he was peeing naked!" Everyone laughed again. "I took him back, who knows that this stupid thing doesn't understand anything, and he giggled and giggled when he touched him!" The old man scratched the psoriasis on his neck and sighed helplessly. "Sons! Sound the alarm!" Instructor Yang's fan swung open, and on the other side of the tennis court, two night-watching policemen approached us from afar.Their leather boots had been rattling on the gravel path long ago.So we skilfully slipped down the steps one by one and scattered around.The old ghost grabbed the child's wrist, half-dragged, and hurried to the park gate. "I'll take him away." At the gate of the park, I stopped the old glans.I took out two twenty-yuan bills and one ten-yuan bill, and stuffed them into the hands of the old man. 25 I took the child back to Jinzhou Street, Liyue was still off work.I sneaked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, stole a bottle of fresh milk that Little Johnny drank, and a big red mango—this is Liyue’s forbidden fruit, because it is expensive, and Xiaoyu and I usually eat it together. Do not touch.When I returned to the room, I saw that child climbed onto my bed and sat cross-legged there with his bare feet covered in mud. His clean-shaven head reflected light under the lamp.As soon as he saw the bottle of fresh milk in my hand, he jumped up and reached out to grab it. "What's your name?" I held the bottle of fresh milk high. "Little brother." The child replied. "Silly thing," I laughed, "what about your name? You have a name, don't you?" The child stared at me blankly, his mouth opened into an O shape.He has a pair of big, black eyes, staring at people steadily, without blinking. "Little-brother" After a long while, the child murmured again, "They all call me little-brother-" "Okay," I said with a smile, "I'll call you little brother too. You call me Ah Qing, understand? Ah—Qing—" "A—Qing—" he imitated me with a drawn out voice. I opened the cap of the bottle of fresh milk and handed it to him. He picked up the bottle and poured it, gurgling like nectar, and drank half of the bottle in one go.Milk dripped down the corner of his mouth and dripped onto his white denim sweatshirt.He drank up all the fresh milk in a few gulps, then smacked his lips and let out a sigh of relief, but kept holding the empty milk bottle tightly with both hands, refusing to let it go.I sat on the floor, peeled half of the mango, and took two bites. The mango was juicy, sweet, and apple-flavored. I was eating vigorously, but when I looked up, I found my little brother sitting on the bed, looking at me all the time. The mouth is half open, and the eyes follow the movement of the mango in my hand. "Delicious ghost!" I couldn't help laughing. "Just finished drinking milk, why is she still looking so gluttonous!" The younger brother swallowed, and blinked his big eyes twice. "If you want to eat, come down, the mango juice drips on the bed and can't be washed off." I waved to him. The younger brother hesitated for a moment, and finally dropped the empty bottle, got up, jumped on the floor, and crawled to my side. "Where is your home, little brother, where do you live?" I peeled the remaining half of a mango for him and asked him. "Wan—hua—" the younger brother thought for a while, and replied. "What street, what number, do you know?" "Wan-Hua-' "Which street is Wanhua, brother?" "Hey—" He shook his head impatiently. "Is it Yanping North Road?" He chirped at me in a daze, but fell silent. "You don't even know where your home is, what should you do?" Gulu Gulu, the younger brother suddenly laughed, he laughed very strangely, giggling, a series of quick and clear laughter, suddenly stopped, his eyes were wide open, and he was stunned for a long time, looking like he was not When he got in the way, he continued giggling suddenly, leaning forward and backward in laughter, his clean-shaven head shaking wildly for a while. "You're still laughing!" I reprimanded him lightly, "Now you're miserable, you can't go home!" The little brother stopped laughing, but sighed casually: "Ai--" I handed half a mango that had been peeled off to his hand, and he took a bite, dripping, and the tip of his nose and chin were stained with orange-yellow mango juice. Also suck with relish.I went to get his fruit core, but he pushed my hand away and hummed rather displeasedly: "Hey—" I noticed that there was a thin layer of plaster on the back of his neck. He was sitting next to me, and I could smell the acid from his body. He hadn't bathed for several days. "Sloppy, I'll take you to the shower." I couldn't help but pull him up, hold on to his hand, and lead him to the shower room.I filled a bucket of cold water with a lead bucket and helped him take off his clothes.I handed him a gourd ladle and said: "Go ahead, I'll get you a towel." He held the gourd water ladle, looked left and right, and stood there naked. "Rush like this, idiot!" I snatched the ladle from his hand, took a ladle of water, and poured it over his head.He hurriedly covered his head and shrunk his neck, giggling and dodging around.I caught him and poured several spoonfuls of water on him before I brought the piece of Mary's medicated soap I used for bathing and wiped his back. "Little brother, who is in your family?" He thought for a moment and said: "Abba." "What does your daddy do?" I asked him. "Carambola - guava - tomato -" He sang and counted the same. "What carambola and guava, let me ask what your father does?" I couldn't help laughing. "There's also longan!" He suddenly remembered, and added proudly, and then said nonchalantly, "Abba sells fruit." "Who else is in your family, brother?" "Grandma—Aunt Feng—" "Where's your mother?" The little brother was stunned for a while, then looked back at me, his eyes wide open. "Auntie went up the mountain—Aunt Feng said, Auntie went up the mountain—" As he spoke, he grumbled again, his head nodding, and his thin shoulder blades twitched. "Little brother," I pressed his shoulders and said, "If you run out like this, what's wrong with your family not being able to find you?" "Om-om-chicken-" he babbled. "What chicken?" "Red—male—chicken——" he sang again, "Auntie Feng taught me. Red—male—chicken—tail—bas—long—" I couldn't help laughing loudly, scooped up a big ladle of water, and poured it down from the top of his head.After I finished showering my little brother, I took a towel from the rack and handed it to him, asking him to dry himself.I was bending down to pick up the lead bucket and water ladle, but my younger brother dropped the towel and ran out naked. I hurried forward and grabbed him, picked up the towel, and wrapped his lower body around him before letting him go. Get out of the bathroom.I also fetched a bucket of water myself, took a cold shower, and then soaked my younger brother's dirty clothes and my own in a laundry tub, and sprinkled them with soap.Abasan is nice to me, and sometimes she also washes the clothes I change, but it must be soaked overnight, and she doesn't accept the dirty clothes I just changed.When I got back to the room, I saw my little brother was naked, with the towel dropped to the floor, curled up on my bed, asleep, his mouth was half open, and the corner of his mouth was drooling. 26 In the dimness, I reached out and put my arm on his shoulder.His skin was cool and wet, dripping with sweat, his back was facing me, his legs were bent, and his back was arched into a bow.The outside of the window has already started to turn white, and the clear light coming in is reflected on his clean-shaven head.For a moment I thought it was my younger brother lying beside me.In the first year when my mother left, my younger brother slept with me in the same bed, and because I was afraid, I always asked me to hug him.Later, when we grew up, my younger brother would still squeeze into my bed, and we would lie together in a grand formation.At that time, my brother had just become obsessed with martial arts novels—I introduced him to them—the first one I read was the comic strip of the Seven Heroes and the Five Righteousnesses, and I chattered with me all night about the five rats making trouble in Tokyo.He dubbed himself Chinchilla Bai Yutang, and assigned me to be Lu Fang, the squirrel.Bai Yutang is young and beautiful, with high martial arts skills, no wonder his younger brother loves him, and his younger brother's arrogance is somewhat similar to his younger brother.On a cold winter night, the window of our room leaked air, and cold air poured in through the cracks in the window. The more we slept in the middle of the night, the colder it became, and our feet were frozen. So my younger brother got into my bed, and the two of us huddled together to keep each other warm, talking a lot Fanjiang Mouse intelligently captures butterflies.Probably because of my childhood habits, when I fell asleep, I couldn't help but reach out and hold my baby brother in my arms. I picked up the towel on the floor under the bed and wiped the drips from his back. Gently wipe off the sweat.I myself slept hot all over, sweating profusely, and my throat was dry and chapped, and I was angry. I probably drank too much alcohol, and my breast pocket was a little dizzy.I got up, went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, washed my head, drank a big mouthful of cold water, and went back to the room. It was already daylight.The younger brother was still curled up, sleeping soundly.I took a torn shirt to cover his lower body, put on my coat, took the mouthwash bowl, and went downstairs to buy soybean milk.Outside, the sky is full of red hot sun, even the morning wind is hot. I went to the soymilk stand in the alley next door and bought a soymilk for mouthwash and two sets of fried dough sticks.When I got home, I heard a burst of laughter in my room as soon as I went upstairs. It turned out that Xiaoyu, Wu Min, and the mouse had all come, and the three of them stood around the bed.The younger brother sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, naked, grinning at them innocently.The three of Xiaoyu pointed and chattered, as if they were watching monkeys in a zoo. "Ah Qing, where did you find such a fool?" Xiaoyu clapped her hands and bent over laughing when she saw me, "Just now we came in and asked him: 'Who are you? What are you doing here?' Who knows him Standing up on the bed, picked up the little penis and shouted: "Shush." ​​I was so scared that I ran over and picked up your washbasin to catch him!" "Damn it, why don't you take your own washbasin?" I scolded, and half a pot of yellow urine was caught in my enamel basin on the ground. The mouse saw the soy milk in my hand and wanted to rush to drink it, so I pushed him away. "I bought it for that little guy!" I said. "Hey!" Mouse Zhizhi laughed, "Ah Qing is raising a little guy!" But Wu Min went over and touched his younger brother's head, and said with a smile: "Look how funny he has a bald head!" I drove the three of them away, and handed a bowl of soy milk to my younger brother.He picked up the mouthwash and drank two gulps in a row, and let out a long breath as if satisfied.I also gave him a set of Raobing fried dough sticks, and he took it and happily chewed it.I was about to start eating another set, but the mouse grabbed my wrist and bit off a big piece of the sesame seed cake. "Damn rat mouth!" I laughed and cursed, and I told them about the situation of the old ghost auctioning off the younger brother in the park last night. "It's scary, old thief!" Xiaoyu shouted. "That old man!" The mouse's mouth was full of sesame seeds, "Wait until I take a mallet and stab him hard!" "Psoriasis on his neck!" Wu Min frowned. It turned out that Xiaoyu and the others came to ask me to go swimming in the East Gate swimming pool, and the three of them even brought towels.What do I mean when I say that the swimming pool is crowded with people and the water is dirty?不如到萤桥水源地，去河里泡泡，惬意得多。三个人都欢呼了起来，连说怎么早没想到？ “这个小家伙怎么办？”我指着坐在床上的小弟说道，“我本来打算今天把他送回家去的，可是他连家在哪里也说不清楚。” 小玉却走过去，拎起小弟一只耳朵，说道： “小乖乖，哥哥们带你到河里去洗澡，洗鸟鸟，好不好？” 小弟愣愣望着小玉，满面惶惑。吴敏推过小玉，笑道： “小弟，我们带你到河里去游水，这样游好么？”吴敏手划了两划，比给小弟看。 “爱——玉——冰——”小弟一个字一个字念道。 “好、好、好，我们去要爱玉冰给你吃！”吴敏拍着他的肩膀道。 小弟突然咕噜咕噜笑了起来，笑得前俯后仰，一颗青亮的头乱晃一阵。 “伊娘咧！”老鼠骂道，“分明是个小神经郎！” 我们一致决议，把小弟一同带去萤桥。我搜出一套旧衣服来给小弟穿上，一件破白衬衫象外套似的罩在他身上，晃荡晃荡，一条卡叽裤长得拖到地板上，只好将裤管卷起，用两个别针别上。没有鞋子，便让他打赤足。小玉他们是租了三辆脚踏车骑来的，我们五个人，我载小弟，小玉载吴敏，老鼠打单，他的车后夹着我们的毛巾。小弟坐在我车后，我命他搂紧我的腰。小玉的脚踏车骑得歪歪倒倒，差点撞到安全岛上去。吴敏在车后直叫： “小心！小心！” “摔不死的，吴小弟！”小玉喝道，“你割手都不怕，现在鬼叫鬼叫！” 老鼠骑的是一跑车，坐垫耸起老高，他的屁股飞翘。老鼠尖起嘴在吹口哨，一忽儿抢上前去摸小玉一把脸，一忽儿退到后面踢吴敏一下腿子。小玉的车摇晃得更厉害了。小玉一头大汗，嘴里咒声不绝，什么话都骂了出来。小弟坐在我身后也乐得呵呵笑了。我们打着、骂着喊着、笑着，三辆脚踏车，浩浩荡荡，一路呼啸到达萤桥水源地。下车后，大家的衣服都已湿透。 因为久未下雨，水源地一带的新店溪河水很浅，河面窄了许多，又露出了不少沙滩来，沙滩上大大小小星列着一颗颗灰黑的鹅卵石。近水处，却是一片片狗尾草，一从从都在吐着大蓬的絮子，迎风摇曳，在烈日下，白得发亮。新店溪是台北唯—一条尚未遭到严重污染的河了，河水还有些绿意。从前暑假，我总带着弟娃骑脚踏车到水源地来游泳，两个人晒得象烫熟了的虾子，红头赤脸的跑回去。过了两天，弟娃便开始褪皮，总是先从鼻尖起，一张鲜红的脸，露了个白鼻头来。我们趁着台风来临以前，在水源地游个饱，台风一来，河水便混浊了，而且水位涨高，有漩涡，便不能游了。我们几个人推着车子，下到岸边沙滩上，钻进了那片狗尾草里，车比人高，躲在里面，岸上的人看不见我们，我们都脱下了外衣，只穿了一条内裤，一个个从草丛里跑了出来，往河边走去。鹅卵石给太阳晒得滚烫，我们的光脚板踏在上面，灼得刺痛，啊唷啊唷都喊了起来，连跑带跳，急往水边奔去。小玉穿了一条大红尼龙三角裤，跑在最前面，老鼠赶上去，摸了他屁股一把，笑嘻嘻问道： “小玉，你这条内裤是偷你老母的吧？” 小王转身一脚踢到老鼠胯下，老鼠吓得赶忙往后跳了两步。 “耗子精！”小玉喊道：“看小爷把你小卵蛋子踢出来！” 小弟走得慢，落在后面，大概沙滩上的石块太烫了，他走不稳，趔趔趄趄，一跤趺坐在地上，啊啊乱叫。我回转身去，将他一把从地上拉起，拖着他直往水边跑去。 到了岸边，小玉猛不防将老鼠推了个狗趴屎跌落水中。河边浅处都是淤泥，老鼠一头栽下去，手忙脚乱，半天才挣了起来，双手抓满了烂泥，满头满脸糊着污黑的泥浆，嘴里呸呸在吐着口水。我们都拍手哈哈大笑起来。老鼠气息败坏，连跌带爬便要去捉小玉。小玉赶忙三脚两跳往河里跑去，一阵水花，便纵身往河心游去了。小玉会游蛙式，很灵快。老鼠差劲，跟在后面，只会狗扒，头捣蒜一般，一点一点，半天仍旧浮在那里，游不了几呎，没多时，竟落在小玉身后一大截。 “老鼠加油！”我跟吴敏都在岸上大叫道。 游到河心，老鼠看见大势已去，怎么样也赶不上小玉了，只得折了回来。爬上岸，早已累得面红耳赤，嘴都合不拢了。 “这下可真的变成水老鼠了！”吴敏笑嘻嘻说道。 “干你娘！” 老鼠恼羞成怒起来，佝下身去，掬起一捧水便泼到吴敏脸上。吴敏也不甘示弱，脚一扬，踢起了一团泥浆，飞溅到老鼠身上。两个人同时往水里跑去，站在浅水中，双手乱拨打起水仗来。水花洒到空中，映着日光，变成一串串晶亮夺目的珠子。老鼠和吴敏一个手臂上印着一枚枚乌黑的烙泡，一个手腕上刻着一道殷红的刀痕。两个人都抡舞着那只受过创伤的手臂，愈战愈勇，直到后来，两人都精疲力尽了。打着打着，愈打愈近，终于抱成了一团，头搁在对方的肩上，只有喘气的份儿。 我正看得出神，不提防，依偎在我身边的小弟，不知什么时候迳自跑到水中去了，水深齐胸，他高举起两根细瘦的臂膀，左摇右晃，太阳直射到他的青头皮上，反映着亮光。我也赶忙追下水中，河水冽凉，一下去，一身暑热尽消。正当我赶到小弟身后，他却双手噗通噗通划起水来，他的头浸到水中，双腿一阵蹬踢，象只翻身入水的小鸭子，居然浮了起来，而且还不规则地在水面前进着。 “小家伙，你也会浮水呵！” 小弟扒了一阵，头抬出水面，我对他笑道。 “嘻嘻。”小弟咧开嘴，猛喘气。 “过来！”我向他招手道，“我来教你游蛙式。” 我双手在水中划了两下蛙式给他看。 “弟兄们！”小玉在对岸喊道，“快过河来呀！” 小玉站在桥下的石墩上，双手朝着我们挥舞。老鼠和吴敏都哗啦一声纵身入水，往对岸游去。小弟急得朝小玉那边猛指，也要跟着他们往河心划去。 “慢著！”我拉住他道，“你一个人游不过去的！” 他突然变得固执起来，嘴里呜呜啊啊，拖着我就要往外跑。 “小弟，你听着！”我喝道，“你一定要过河，我背着你游过去。这样子：你双手搂住我的腰，腿跟着我一齐夹水。” 我把他双手放在我的腰上，我们在水中试了一试，居然还可以配合。 “老鼠、吴敏，我们也过来了！” 我一面向老鼠吴敏叫道，跟小弟两人，他搂住我的腰，一齐夹着水，缓缓往河心浮去。老鼠和吴敏回转了头，护住我们两侧，四个人，象一小队舰队似的，往对岸慢慢开去。河水淡，很平静，一点浪头也没有。我背着小弟，并不感到十分吃力。我记得从前带了弟娃到水源地来游泳，开始他不会换气，只能游二三十公尺，还不敢过河，后来我把他教会了。第一次渡河，我陪着他一同游过去，游到一半时，弟娃呛了一口水，害怕起来，便要回头。我忙叫住他，不许他回去，命他搂住我的腰，带领着他，游到对岸。那是个七月的黄昏，太阳快下山去，落在萤桥的那边，红红的一团。那天水急风大，我们朝着火红的夕阳，一同奋力地夹着水，游了半天，才到彼岸。因为那是弟娃第一次渡河，他爬上岸时，兴奋得欢呼起来，夕阳照得他一脸金红金红。 "Long live!" 小玉叫道，他伸出手提了我们一把，把我跟小弟两人拉上岸去。老鼠跟吴敏也爬了上来，我们五个人，一身水淋淋的，在岸边的水泥墩上围着坐下来休息。桥上及沿岸街道车声人语喧哗异常，中午下班的人，来往匆匆。桥下有风，吹到身上，非常凉快。小弟坐在墩上，一双腿甩来甩去，嘴里咿咿呀呀，怡然自得地哼起不成曲调的歌来。 “小憨呆！”小玉拍了一巴掌小弟的光脑袋，笑道：“看不出你还会唱歌呢！” “'小老鼠'——凤姨教我的，”小弟歪起头颇为得意地答道．“还有'红公鸡'——” “好、好，小弟，”吴敏怂恿他道，“你那支'小老鼠'，好听，快唱！” “岂有此理！”老鼠低声咕噜道。 “小——老——鼠—— 嘴——巴——一尖—— 偷了鸡蛋——又偷面——” 小弟索性放声唱了起来，一个字一个字，上气不接下气，可是却很起劲，脖子也拉长了。小玉、吴敏，和我老早笑得跌倒在地上，捧着肚子叫哎唷。小玉仰卧在地上指着老鼠叫道： “这只老鼠的嘴巴还要尖，还去偷鸡巴呢！” 老鼠立起身跑过去踢了小玉两脚，又揪起小弟一只耳朵喝道： “小东西，以后对你老鼠哥哥不得无礼！听到么！这支混账歌以后不许再唱！” “那么我唱红公鸡。”小弟说道。 “免啦，免啦，”老鼠皱起眉头十分不耐地斥道，“你那些歌回去唱给你阿青哥哥一个人听。我们不要听，我们要去捉螃蟹去！” 萤桥下面岸坡上有许多洞，洞里有螃蟹。有一次老鼠捉了七八只回来，拿到我们那里，用油炸了，鲜红喷香，小玉、吴敏我们四个人分吃了。我们把小弟一个人留在石墩上，便跑到桥下岸边，去翻石头。老鼠性急，也不等我们围好，一下便把一块大石头翻开，里面赫然跑出一只茶杯口大的青花蟹，横行着飞跑逃掉。老鼠连爬带跌，也没有追上，等我们赶过去，那只青花蟹老早跑入水里，无影无踪。老鼠恨得摔手顿足，呱呱怪叫，到处猛翻石头。我们几个人忙了一大阵，只提到两只铜钱大的软壳蟹。老鼠拎着那两只软壳蟹，一边咒一边骂吐了两泡口水，索性扔到河里去。我们都感到肚子饿了，正打算走回岸上去买糯米饭团吃，却没觉石墩上，小弟不见了，我们一急，同声喊道： "Little brother—" “那个小憨呆，莫不掉进河里去了？”小玉嘀咕道。 “我们到桥上去看看。”吴敏提议道。 有一条石级引到桥上，我们一窝蜂跑了上去，跨上萤桥。桥上撒满了车辆行人，桥着围着一大堆人，指指点点，在哄笑。我们跑过去，发觉原来是小弟站在人堆中央，全身赤稞，内裤不知脱到哪里去了，露出了下体来。他两手交叉护着他那瘦白的胸膛，胸口溅满了红色的汁液，蜿蜓流淌着。他愣愣地望着众人，嘴巴咧开，在痴笑，可是一双眼睛眨巴眨巴充满了惊惶的神色。人群多半是一些好奇的小孩及少年，有几个女学生，前来探了一下头，却赶紧捂住嘴，跑掉了。小弟面前站着两上趿木屐、梳包头横眉怒目的小流氓，其中一个手里正拿了两块吃剩了一半鲜红的西瓜往小弟身上砸去。老鼠先钻进人堆，他—个箭步抢身过去，猛推了那个小流氓一把，喝道： “干你娘，你敢打人么？” “神经郎！”那个小流氓恶声相向道。 “他随地小便。”另外一个理直气壮地帮腔到。 “他随地小便，干你屁事！”老鼠指手划脚，跳骂道：“没小到你嘴巴里就行啦！” 围观的人都哄笑起来，两个流氓擦拳磨掌便要跟老鼠干上了。 “弟兄们，动手了呢！”小玉高声嚷道，我们都挤进了圈内，四个人，一字排开，护住小弟，都摆上了架势。两个小流氓看见我们人多势众，苗头不对，一面开溜，一面喊道： “我们去叫警察，来捉神经郎！” 我们四个人，互相使了一个眼色，我跟小玉一人拉住小弟一只手，老鼠和吴敏在前头开路，五个人拉拉扯扯，跑过去。到了桥尾，我们连爬带滚地从岸坡滑下了河滩。等我们钻进那丛狗尾草，回到找们藏车子衣服的地方，我们都瘫倒在地上，动弹不得了。找们躺在滚热的沙上，喘了半天气，大家才不约而同地笑着迸出了一声： “干---”