Chapter 2 Chapter 1 first meeting

The car body shook a few times and stopped. Wei Jiong opened his eyes, took off his earphones, and reached for his backpack.Others also took action one after another, arranging their clothes and stretching their waists.For a moment, Wei Jiong's eyes were full of swaying human bodies. He just bowed slightly and stayed on the seat. After the carriage was more than half empty, he followed the queue and got off slowly. Everyone gathered in an open space, talking and laughing, while looking around curiously.A tall boy pulled out a piece of red cloth folded into several folds from his backpack, and when he opened it, there was a long banner with the words "C City Normal University Red Candle Volunteer Service Team" printed on it in white.

A girl with a ponytail and a high-pitched voice was holding a camera and calling the volunteers to line up. "Concentrate in the middle...the tall ones stand in the middle...don't drag the banner to the ground...that classmate, look here!" Standing at the edge of the photo group, Wei Jiong was turning his head to look at the three-story building behind him. He didn't realize that he was "that classmate" until the boy next to him patted him. The girl with ponytail gave him a blank look and raised her camera. "one two three!" "eggplant!" It was lunch time at this time, and there was a strange mixed smell in the three-story building.If you look carefully, you will find that there are rice, garlic, potatoes and cabbage in this taste.In addition, there must be something else that blends these ordinary ingredients into a sticky texture, which weighs heavily on the body, making people unhappy.

Wei Jiong didn't know what it was, but he could clearly feel its weight.Even with only a pack of tissues in his hand, he still felt that his hands and feet were getting numb. The ponytail girl is feeding an elderly woman.The old woman may be suffering from Parkinson's disease, and her head keeps shaking, and the girl with ponytails is obviously inexperienced, and most of the food fed to the old woman's mouth falls on her skirt.Therefore, Wei Jiong's task is to keep wiping the old woman's mouth with tissues.Although this task is simple, the frequency of actions is extremely high.The moment he distracted, the girl with the ponytail would urge him impatiently.Finally, when the old woman "eats" the meal, the tissues in Wei Jiong's hands have been exhausted.The girl with the ponytail was very satisfied with her performance. She put the empty bowl aside and said to the old woman who was obviously not full: "Auntie, drink some more water—why are you still standing there?"

"Huh?" Wei Jiong, who was in a daze, woke up, hurried to pour a glass of water, and brought it over carefully. The girl with ponytail brought the water glass to the mouth of the old woman, turned her head to look at Wei Jiong, frowning slightly. "Why don't you go and chat with the old people!" Wei Jiong looked at the water pouring down from the old woman's chest like a stream, and nodded as if relieved. Maple Leaf Nursing Home is a small three-story building with more than 70 rooms, and more than 100 elderly people live here.Lunch time was originally the busiest time in the nursing home. Because of the arrival of the volunteers, the nurses were also happy to have a leisurely time, gathering in twos and threes to chat.The volunteers are very motivated. There are one or two young people in each room, cleaning and chatting with the elderly.

Wei Jiong walked through the open doors, and occasionally stopped at a certain door, listening to volunteers and old people talking about such things as "You live a long life?" "Is it cold in winter?" "Is the food quality good?" gossip.Soon, Wei Jiong discovered that these conversations were almost the same, and after the initial pleasantries, it was difficult for the volunteers to find topics to continue the conversation.On the contrary, the old people are very interested in talking, and every room is full of talking old people and college students who are smiling and listening.

Wei Jiong felt a little bored, and he finally knew what that heavy thing was. Loneliness, and the fear of dying. He walked slowly through the rooms filled with loud chatter and laughter, feeling the weight of his steps more and more.He didn't know what the point of this companionship was.Everyone seems to be trying to prove something: the old people still have clear memory and full of vitality; the volunteers are full of love, kindness and enthusiasm.However, after a few hours, everyone returned to their respective life tracks.The old people continue to count their few remaining lives, and the volunteers continue to squander their youth and rush towards the ignorant future-they are not even considered passers-by.

Thinking about it, Wei Jiong unknowingly walked to the end of the corridor.He subconsciously looked up, only to find that the door of the last room was closed. No one, or no one? He cast his eyes on a male nurse sitting at the door smoking a cigarette. The latter looked indifferent, but only raised his hand to signal him, and then pointed to the door. There are people inside. Ok.Wei Jiong cheers up - this is the person I want to "volunteer service" today. He raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door twice. Soon, a voice came from the door: "Please come in."

What greeted us was the dazzling sunlight and the strong smell of meat. This is a single room, with a single bed on the left side against the wall, a desk on the right side, an open hardcover notebook, and a small electric pot next to it, gurgling. What are you cooking.The interior furnishings are simple, but neat and orderly, completely different from the cramped and messy other rooms. At the window, the afternoon sun poured in without hesitation. In the huge halo, an old man in a wheelchair turned around slowly, lowered his head slightly, and looked at Wei Jiong from above his glasses. Wei Jiong held on to the door frame with his hands, and was at a loss for a while. In the backlight, he couldn't see the old man's face clearly, but he was stabbed by the gaze projected from those eyes.

After muttering for a long time, he avoided the old man's eyes and said in a low voice, "Hello." The old man smiled: "Hello." After that, he lowered his head again, holding the book and continuing to read. Wei Jiong hesitated, stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, and pretended to visit the single room again.At a glance, he first saw a rag hanging by the bed.He breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward to pick up the rag, and began to wipe the table.After wiping it a few times, he realized that the tabletop was already shiny. Looking carefully, the room could already be described as bright and clean.

It seemed that the old man was neither lonely nor lacking company.Wei Jiong secretly felt that he was funny, but since he came in, he couldn't just sit there without saying a word. "Are you... reading a book?" "Hmm." The old man didn't lift his head. Wei Jiong felt more and more embarrassed, scratched his scalp, and asked in a low voice: "What... can I do for you?" "Oh?" The old man raised his eyelids, "What do you think I need?" Wei Jiong was speechless, thought for a while, shook his head, and couldn't help laughing. This smile seemed to infect the old man, he also laughed, closed the book, threw it on the bed, took off his glasses, and pointed to the steaming electric pot.

"Young man, serve me a bowl of soup." Wei Jiong responded with a sigh of relief, quickly ran to the table, and lifted the glass lid of the electric pot.A gust of heat rose up, and Wei Jiong's glasses immediately became foggy, but he could still tell that what was stirring in the pot were chicken, fish maw and mushrooms. "The bowl is in the cupboard below." Wei Jiong knelt down and took out a white porcelain soup bowl and a spoon. "Have you eaten yet?" "Hmph." The old man's tone was quite disdainful, "The things in the cafeteria can still be called food?" The chicken soup was served quickly.Wei Jiong carefully handed the soup bowl to the old man.Holding the bowl, the old man was not in a hurry to eat, and seemed to enjoy the warmth brought by the soup bowl to his hands. "You want a bowl too?" "Oh, no." Wei Jiong was taken aback, then shook his head, "Thank you, I'm not hungry." "You can't live up to the delicious food." The old man's expression was undeniable, and he pointed to the small electric cooker, "Try it." A few minutes later, two men, one old and one young, were holding a bowl and sipping chicken soup in the sunny room. "How does it taste?" Maybe it was because of the hot soup, the old man's face became rosy, and his eyes seemed to be full of moisture, and his eyes softened a lot. "It's delicious." Wei Jiong's face was covered with sweat, and his glasses kept sliding down the bridge of his nose. "Your craftsmanship is really good." Until now, Wei Jiong was able to take a closer look at the old man. About sixty years old, with a square face, strong facial lines, age spots on both cheeks, thick eyebrows, and bright eyes.His gray hair was combed back, dry, dull but unruly.He was wearing a gray woolen cardigan with a black crew neck shirt inside.No legs are visible and the lower body is covered by a brown blanket. "The chicken is not good, it's obviously meat chicken." The old man pouted towards the door, "Zhang Haisheng, an old guy, gave him the money to buy native chicken, but he gave me something like this." "Can I still cook here?" "Just pay." The old man put down the soup bowl, pointed to his bed, "under the pillow." Wei Jiong obediently did so, but when he opened the pillow, he was stunned for a moment—it was a pack of cigarettes. "Nursing Homes—Is Smoking Allowed?" "I'm in my own room, and I won't disturb others." The old man skillfully took out one, lit it, and raised the cigarette case to signal Wei Jiong, "Are you coming?" Wei Jiong waved his hands hastily: "No, I don't smoke." This time the old man did not persist, and concentrated on swallowing clouds and fog.When he finished a cigarette, he threw the butt into a tin can on the windowsill. "what's your name?" "Wei Jiong." "Which university?" "Normal University's...junior year." "What professional?" "Law." "Oh?" The old man raised his eyebrows, "Have you ever studied criminal law?" "I have learned it." Wei Jiong was a little nervous, "When I was a freshman." The old man nodded, pondered for a while, and asked, "Can you explain to me what is the statute of limitations?" "The statute of limitations?" Wei Jiong was puzzled, "Why do you ask this?" "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to test you." The old man laughed, "I just want to know." Wei Jiong thought about it carefully, and found that it was impossible to recite the original text of the criminal law completely, so he explained the general meaning of "statute of limitations" to the old man. The old man listened with great concentration.Seeing him staring intently, for fear of missing any word, Wei Jiong couldn't help thinking of his virtue when he listened to the teacher in class to define the scope of the exam before the final exam. However, after hearing Wei Jiong's stammering speech, the old man's mood suddenly sank down, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.He sat silently for a while, then took out another cigarette and lit it. "Could it be that killing someone..." The old man looked thoughtfully at the misty smoke in front of him, "It will be fine after twenty years?" "No." Wei Jiong waved his hands hastily, "It seems that we can continue to pursue the lawsuit, whether it is the Supreme Court or the Supreme Procuratorate..." "Huh?" The old man's face softened slightly, "Young man, you haven't learned well." Wei Jiong's face turned red suddenly.Seeing his embarrassment, the old man laughed again. "It's okay, it's okay." The old man laughed until he coughed, "Tell me next time you come." Speaking of this, the old man suddenly thought of something, and asked, "Why did you come here, volunteer?" "Yes." Wei Jiong hesitated, "In addition... this is also part of the social practice class - ten hours of social practice." The old man looked at his watch: "So, this time..." "About three hours." Wei Jiong calculated hastily, "I have to come here at least twice." "Okay." The old man smiled, "When you come next time, can I ask you something?" "You say." The old man was not in a hurry to speak, and took out a stack of hundred-yuan bills from his pocket, counted three and handed them to Wei Jiong. "Bring me a pair of Jian brand cigarettes." The old man winked at Wei Jiong, "Put it in the backpack and don't let the nurses see it." "Health card?" Wei Jiong took the banknote, "What kind?" "White box, the trademark is Jian brand." The old man raised the cigarette box in his hand, "Hongtashan, I'm not used to smoking." "Okay... okay." Wei Jiong put the money in his pocket, "I'll bring you the extra money." "No need." The old man waved his hand, "I don't know what the price of the health card is now - if there is any leftover, it will be paid for your hard work." Wei Jiong hastily declined, but the old man persisted. "You do my shopping and I pay you for your hard work, which is fair." Wei Jiong was still talking, when he heard the door being pushed open.A boy rushed in rashly and waved at Wei Jiong. "Classmates, assemble." Wei Jiong responded, stood up and picked up his backpack. "Then... I'll be leaving first." He bowed to the old man, "Go to bed earlier." "Yeah." The old man looked at him calmly, "Don't forget the 'statute of limitations'—and my goods." Wei Jiong smiled embarrassedly, bowed again, and walked towards the door.Opening the door, he suddenly thought of one thing. "correct……" "My surname is Ji, Ji Qiankun." The old man's face remained flat, "You can call me Lao Ji."