Chapter 7 Chapter 6 Friends

Lao Ji was not in the room. Wei Jiong put the rag on the back of the chair, dried his hands on his jeans, and decided whether to wait for Lao Ji in the room.Just as he was thinking about it, Zhang Haisheng pushed the door in with a mop in his hand, and was taken aback when he saw Wei Jiong. "Where's Lao Ji?" "I don't know." Wei Jiong replied honestly, "I just came in." "Old man, why are you wandering around?" Zhang Haisheng squinted at Wei Jiong, "Why are you here again?" "Huh?" Wei Jiong avoided Zhang Haisheng's gaze, "Volunteer service."

"Old Ji asked you to buy something again?" "No." Zhang Haisheng's face softened a little, but his tone was still unceremonious: "Go to another room, I'm going to mop the floor." After finishing speaking, he shook off the mop and started mopping it up.Wei Jiong couldn't dodge in time, was hit by his heels twice, and hurriedly picked up the rag and walked out of the room. This is the last social practice class, and Wei Jiong always feels that it is time to say goodbye to Ji Qiankun. Although it is not too formal, it can be regarded as a beginning and an end.However, after searching the entire floor, Ji Qiankun was still nowhere to be seen.Wei Jiong wondered if he should go back and ask Zhang Haisheng, but after thinking twice, he gave up this idea.First, Zhang Haisheng didn't seem to know where Lao Ji was going; second, judging from Zhang Haisheng's attitude towards him, even if he knew, he wouldn't tell him.

Forget it, Wei Jiong said to himself, the crowd is so vast, he and Lao Ji can only be regarded as meeting by chance.Dependence comes and goes, let nature take its course. Even so, Wei Jiong was still a little disappointed, and had no interest in chatting with anyone anymore.He picked up the rag and planned to help other volunteers clean up. After going up two floors and cleaning several bedrooms, Wei Jiong came to the third floor.Compared with the people coming and going downstairs, it seemed much quieter here.As soon as he turned into the corridor, Wei Jiong saw a person sitting by the door of a certain bedroom, looking into the door.

It's Ji Qiankun. Wei Jiong suddenly became happy and walked towards him quickly. "Old Ji!" Ji Qiankun turned his head when he heard the sound, and when he saw it was him, a smile appeared on his face. "You came?" "Yeah, what are you doing?" Wei Jiong walked to Ji Qiankun's side and looked into that bedroom. This is a single room with the same layout as Ji Qiankun's room, except that because of the curtains being drawn, the room is dimly lit and the temperature is much lower. A person was lying quietly on the bed, covered with a quilt, only his head was exposed.Judging from the gray hair scattered on the quilt, this should be a woman, about sixty years old.

"She is?" "My surname is Qin, I don't know what her name is." Ji Qiankun looked at the woman thoughtfully. "Is she... sleeping?" Wei Jiong lowered his voice. "Yeah, and it's the kind that's hard to wake up from." "Oh?" Wei Jiong opened his eyes wide in surprise, "Then... what are you doing here?" Ji Qiankun smiled, but didn't answer, just moved his chin forward. "Do me a favor and go and draw the curtains." Wei Jiong hesitated.Although the woman is sleeping, this is her private space after all.However, it should not be considered an offense to just draw the curtains.Thinking of this, Wei Jiong looked left and right in the corridor, and walked into the bedroom anyway.

As soon as he entered the door, Wei Jiong smelled a strange smell.Sniffing, he walked to the window and drew the curtains. The afternoon sun suddenly poured in, and the woman's face became clear.It can be seen that she should be regarded as a beauty when she was young, with a round face, regular eyebrows and delicate skin. Wei Jiong looked back at Ji Qiankun, and found that the latter was also looking at him. "You smell it too?" "Hmm." Wei Jiong frowned, the smell was not pleasant, mixed with sesame oil or other things, it would remind people of some evil emotions.

Ji Qiankun shook the wheelchair and slowly entered the room.He looked at the furnishings in the room, fluttering his nostrils from time to time, and then he turned his gaze to the sleeping woman. Wei Jiong was also looking for the source of that smell, but the small room was completely unobstructed, and there was no leftover food or anything like that.Finally, his eyes met Ji Qiankun's. Ji Qiankun smiled, rolled the wheelchair to the side of the bed, and smelled it sideways.Immediately, his face became ugly. "That's right." He pointed to the sleeping woman, "The smell on her body."

Wei Jiong was a little strange, does some kind of treatment need sesame oil? "Go, get me that cup." Wei Jiong looked in the direction of Ji Qiankun's finger. On the wooden table opposite the bed, there was a glass water glass, which still had half a glass of slightly cloudy water. Wei Jiong handed him the water glass.Ji Qiankun held the cup in his hand, first carefully looked at the suspended matter in the water cup against the sun, and then put his nose to the mouth of the cup to smell it.Finally, he dipped his little finger in some water, put it in his mouth, smacked it a few times, and turned his head to spit it out.

"Okay." He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the glass several times, wrapped the water glass with the handkerchief, and handed it to Wei Jiong. "Put it back where it was." Wei Jiong followed his instructions, but the doubts in his heart grew bigger and bigger. "Old Ji, what are you?" "It's okay." Ji Qiankun suddenly raised his head and smiled, but there was a hint of anger in his eyes, "Send me back." Wei Jiong pushed Ji Qiankun and walked slowly in the silent corridor.Wei Jiong looked at the doors that were either concealed or opened, and asked in a low voice, "What kind of people live here?"

"Huh?" Ji Qiankun seemed to be thinking about something, "They are bedridden for a long time. They don't need to come out often, so they are arranged on the third floor." Wei Jiong snorted, looked at the wheelchair handle in his hand, and suddenly thought of something. "Then, how did you get here?" "Think of a way." Ji Qiankun replied lightly, he didn't seem to want to talk, and Wei Jiong closed his mouth wisely. When he reached the stairs, Wei Jiong stopped his wheelchair, looked up and down, and figured out how to get Ji Qiankun to the first floor.Ji Qiankun saw his confusion, smiled, and said, "You carry me down first."

It seems that only so.Wei Jiong turned around, squatted down with his back to Ji Qiankun, Ji Qiankun put his arms around his neck, Wei Jiong put his hands back, supported Ji Qiankun's thighs, and stood up forcefully. Old Ji is heavier than expected.Wei Jiong went down one floor and felt the huge pressure on his waist and knees.Soon, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his breathing became heavy. "Put me down when you're tired." Ji Qiankun's voice came from next to his ear, "Take a break before leaving." "It's okay." Wei Jiong felt a little ashamed of his poor physical strength, gritted his teeth, and walked step by step.When he came to the first floor, he encountered another problem. Where should he put Lao Ji?You can't let him sit on the cold ground, can you? "Put me on the banister." Wei Jiong acted on his word.Ji Qiankun leaned sideways on the handrail of the stairs, clutching the iron railing with both hands, his legs resting limply on the ground. "Okay, go and lift my wheelchair off." Ji Qiankun instructed again, "Be careful, that thing is quite heavy." Wei Jiong didn't dare to stay longer, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and ran up to the third floor quickly, dragging and dragging the wheelchair down. Ji Qiankun still maintained that uncomfortable posture lying on the handrail of the stairs, looking like a pile of discarded old clothes.Hearing Wei Jiong's voice coming downstairs, Ji Qiankun raised his head and looked at him expectantly, with a trace of apology in his eyes. "It's really hard work for you." Wei Jiong knew that he was also persisting.With only his arms to support his body weight, he might slip and fall to the ground at any time.So he didn't have time to rest, so he hurriedly helped Ji Qiankun sit on the wheelchair. After covering him with a blanket, Wei Jiong straightened up, and both of them let out a sigh of relief at the same time.Ji Qiankun patted him on the back: "Take me back to my room, make some tea, let's all have a good rest." Zhang Haisheng was still in the room, bent over and busy on Ji Qiankun's bed. Seeing them coming in, Zhang Haisheng fluffed up the pillows on his hands and placed them on the bedside.Although he looked as if he was making the bed, Wei Jiong was sure that he was rummaging for something. "Are you back?" Zhang Haisheng smiled all over his face, pointing to the single bed, "Do you want to take a rest?" "No need." Ji Qiankun lowered his eyelids, raised his hand to signal Wei Jiong to push him to the window. "Where did you go, Lao Ji? I'm really worried." "Turn around casually." Ji Qiankun didn't look at him, and turned to face Wei Jiong, "Xiao Wei, open that cabinet, there is tea in it. Let's make some tea." Seeing this, Zhang Haisheng could only say "You talk", and opened the door resentfully to go out. Today's tea is Lu'an Guapian, which has a high aroma and a mellow taste.After drinking a cup of hot tea, the breath of the two of them gradually became evenly balanced.Most of the sweat on Wei Jiong's body disappeared, and he leaned comfortably against the table, sipping tea. Ji Qiankun took out Jian brand cigarettes to smoke, and soon, the smoke in the small room was ethereal, mixed with the fragrance of tea, making people quite lazy and comfortable.Wei Jiong sniffed and suddenly remembered the woman on the third floor. "That old lady..." Wei Jiong tried to ask, "Is she your friend?" "It doesn't count." Ji Qiankun shook his head, "I only know her surname is Qin." "then you……" "I'll tell you later." Ji Qiankun smiled, "What time do you leave today?" "Hurry up." Wei Jiong looked at his watch, "I have to go to the dean to write comments or something later." "Comments?" "Yes." Wei Jiong put down his teacup, straightened his body, and looked Ji Qiankun squarely in the eyes, "This is my last social practice class." "That is to say," Ji Qiankun paused and looked away, "You won't come again?" "That's not necessarily true." Wei Jiong saw the deep disappointment on his face, and his heart softened, "I will come to see you when there is no class." "Hey, that's not necessary." Ji Qiankun lowered his head and brushed the dust off the blanket, "You young man, there's no need to waste time for me, a bad old man." "No, Lao Ji." Wei Jiong scratched his hair embarrassingly, "You are very interesting... I also like chatting with you." "Interesting? Hahaha." Ji Qiankun widened his eyes in surprise, and then laughed loudly, "I have lived most of my life, and this is the highest evaluation of me." "Really, I think you are different from other old people." "Hehe." For some reason, Ji Qiankun's expression was a little dark, "Of course it's different." He turned his head and looked out the window, half of his face was dyed golden by the setting sun, while the other half was hidden in the shadows.This made his expression look very complicated, hopeful, but also deeply lonely. Wei Jiong looked at him, feeling a little sad for no reason.The room was very quiet, and the breathing of both of them was clearly discernible.One is strong, the other is soft; one is short, and the other is long; one is preoccupied, and the other is ignorant; one is struggling to grasp something that can be cherished, and the other is curiously facing the slowly unfolding future. After a long time, Ji Qiankun turned around and smiled at Wei Jiong. "Regardless of whether we will meet again or not, I am very glad to meet you, Wei Jiong." "Me too." Wei Jiong also smiled, "Old Ji." "I really wish I could be qualified to write reviews for you." Ji Qiankun raised his eyebrows at him with friendly and sly eyes, "I'll give you a failing grade." "Huh?" Wei Jiong opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Let you go back to the nursing home to rebuild." "Haha!" Wei Jiong laughed, "I will come back to see you." "Really?" Ji Qiankun's expression became serious, "You can't lie to me, old man." "certainly." "To be honest, I really want to ask you for help." "Well, tell me." Wei Jiong glanced at the cigarette case beside the bed, a carton of cigarettes was already half empty, "Should I still buy cigarettes?" "No." Ji Qiankun looked at the door and lowered his voice, "You know my relationship with Zhang Haisheng, right?" "Yeah." Wei Jiong was a little puzzled, "He's your nurse, right?" "Not only that." Ji Qiankun smiled wryly, "Do you want to know why I am here?" Wei Jiong's expression became serious, he stood up straight, and nodded. "I used to be an electronic engineer and married. My wife passed away more than 20 years ago." Ji Qiankun lit a cigarette and smoked slowly, "We have no children. So, for the next few years, I have always been Living alone. Then, I got into a really bad car accident." He patted his legs: "Both legs are useless, and I have been in a coma for a year and a half." Wei Jiong stared at him intently, frowning slightly. "Fortunately, the trade union was not bad at that time," Ji Qiankun said slowly, "the union helped me win the lawsuit, and the other party paid me a lot of money. I have no children, and no other relatives. So, after I woke up , the unit sent me here." "Then, you've been living in a nursing home?" "Yeah." Ji Qiankun dusted off the cigarette ash, "I rented out my house and took early retirement a few years ago. The rent, wages and compensation are more than enough for my life, so in the eyes of others, I am a rich man. old man." Wei Jiong smiled: "Indeed, at least, your tea is pretty good." Ji Qiankun also smiled: "You know, my legs and feet are not convenient, and I don't want my life to be too dull, so I can only entrust Zhang Haisheng to do some shopping. I believe you can also see that this old man The hands and feet of the thing are not very clean." Wei Jiong nodded.He finally knew why Zhang Haisheng had a bad attitude towards him—Ji Qiankun entrusted him to go shopping, so Zhang Haisheng naturally had no chance to make false reports and profit from it. "Besides, I can no longer trust him now." Ji Qiankun threw the cigarette butt into the canning jar, "No matter how rich I am, I can't afford him to take such a plunder. I'm old, and I don't know how many more years I can live , I don’t want to end up as a poor, paralyzed old man.” "Don't worry." Wei Jiong said without hesitation, "I will help you later." "Will it bother you too much?" Ji Qiankun's expression was sincere. "It's okay." Wei Jiong already had the heroic mood of being entrusted with a heavy trust, "Old Ji, you don't have to be polite." "Then I have a request." "you say." "You must accept my payment." "No." Wei Jiong shook his head resolutely, "I just want to help you, and I won't ask for any compensation." "But I will often trouble you..." "It doesn't matter, it really doesn't matter." Wei Jiong leaned down, put his hands on Ji Qiankun's shoulders, and looked into his eyes, "Are we friends, Lao Ji?" "Of course." Ji Qiankun's eyes softened, "As long as you don't dislike me, an old man." "Since we are friends, don't mention any remuneration." "Yeah." Ji Qiankun grabbed his hand, "However, you must at least let me reimburse you for the travel expenses." "No need, I don't have much money." "not necessarily!" Wei Jiong thought for a while, decided to give in, and nodded. A smile appeared on the corner of Ji Qiankun's mouth, he stretched out his hand, and shook Wei Jiong's hand. "Thank you, son." His eyes were filled with steam, "Thank you for your patience and kindness to me, an old man." "Old Ji," Wei Jiong suddenly winked at him, "I don't need to fail now, do I?" Ji Qiankun was taken aback for a moment, and then burst out laughing. The laughter startled the old people who were walking in the yard. They looked inexplicably at the window at the end of the first floor, where two men, one old and one young, were laughing together.