A Heartwarming Decade

Wushui Town can be regarded as a typical water town. After more than a thousand years of history, the flowing water remains the same, and the green color is vivid. The houses on both sides of the river are extremely simple, with black tiles and hollow windows. Strings of red lanterns hanging down from the eaves are dangling in the wind, like tassels in the hair of a Jiangnan woman walking into the alley with an oil paper umbrella. The beauty is ethereal and uncut.

A Heng is familiar with all this, but Yan Xi is like a newborn baby, who is as strange as seeing this world at first sight.

Father Yun gave Aheng some money, smiled very kindly, and asked her to take Yanxi to the market for a good stroll. A Heng took the money. Although I don't know why Abba's attitude towards Yanxi became so fast, he still obediently listened.

There are still two days before Xiao Nian, and the market is very lively.

Yanxi has been restless ever since she walked out of Yun's house. She ran around, holding her camera, and seeing pedestrians like monkeys in the circus.

A Heng ran behind him out of breath, but he felt ashamed in his heart, and buried his head, just as if he didn't know the boy.

You look like a circus, and you look like a zoo!

At the market, people carrying loads of goods walked hurriedly, and the crowd was very lively.

The appearance of the men in the water village is generally very honest and gentle, like water, with few sharp edges and corners; while those girls are beautiful and gentle, with batik skirts gently swinging, and the charming style is not to mention, they are already beautiful to the fixed Jiangnan In terms of posture, most of the children wear tiger-head hats and are held in their arms by their parents, holding sugar cake in their hands, drooling and chubby and cute.

Yanxi also took the white sugar cake at this moment, tore a corner, and threw it into her mouth like a peanut bean, smiling so big that her eyes were almost out of sight.

And Aheng looked at the white sugar cake with the camera in his eyes. Just now, Yanxi asked her to buy two white sugar cakes. But when she ran back, the teenager hung the camera in his hand on her neck. A piece of white sugar cake in one hand, one bite on the left and one bite on the right, without even leaving her scum.

"Me too, want to eat." A Heng sniffed, unhappy.

"You haven't eaten enough after living here for so many years?" The young man did not lift his eyes, his cheeks were bulging, and he still bowed left and right.

Choking to death! Aheng was depressed.

Yanxi was deliberately angry with Aheng, and after eating, she stretched out her tongue and licked her fingers vigorously, glancing at the girl diagonally.

Aheng was speechless.

"Wushui Town, what else is delicious?" The boy asked her with a smile.

A Heng thought for a while and said, "Smelly tofu."

"It's also in City B. It's not uncommon." The boy disagreed.

"Jiangnan's tofu, made." A Heng explained.

Yanxi curled his lips: "Hey! We still make northern tofu there."

A Heng laughed: "You taste it and you'll know."

She took Yanxi into the alley along the bank of the river, turned a few times, and walked to a small shop with a wooden signboard that read: Linjia Tofu Workshop. The five writing brushes are vigorous and powerful, but they are not lost in elegance.

Under the eaves of the small shop is a string of red lanterns with ash, swaying gently with the breeze. There are only a few wooden tables in the shop, and the sparse diners eat quietly, which is completely different from the lively atmosphere of the market, but it is very warm.

"Uncle Sangzi, two bowls of tofu brains and a dish of fried dried seeds!" A Heng shouted.

"Good!" The middle-aged man's simple and powerful voice came from behind the cyan curtain.

Yanxi looked at the cabin, turned around a few times with big eyes, and then smiled: "Here, it's funny."

"what happened?"

"Seams are left on the four corners of the top. Isn't it cold in winter?"

"Leave the seam and air the tofu at night." A Heng explained to the boy, "Boss, don't live here."

Yanxi nodded, took the camera, squinted, and snapped several pictures.

Yanxi is a very casual person. Many things he does don't need reason, but it makes people feel that they should be.

After a while, a small, smiling man came out with a red-lacquered square wooden case on which were several coarse porcelain bowls.

A Heng exchanged a few words with the man.

"Are you here? Is your health better?" The man glanced at Yanxi, and found that he was not familiar with Yun, and greeted him gently.

"I am seeing a doctor in a big hospital now, my grandmother said that the operation was a success." A Heng smiled, his face was gentle and sincere, and his eyes were filled with relief.

The small shop owner who was called by A Heng as Uncle Sangzi heard the girl's words and his face was also very happy: "This is all right, now I can go back to school. Before he dropped out of school, his grades were very good. Both of your brothers and sisters are generally proud ."

A Heng smiled, Yuanshan's eyebrows bend.

The guests at the next table urged, and the boss walked into the kitchen behind the cyan curtain.

A Heng brought a bowl of steaming tofu to Yan Xi. The young boy's slender, white fingers lightly tapped on the table, he raised his eyebrows slightly, but said nothing. Although in his opinion, this Jiangnan tofu brain looks no different from what he drinks every morning.

A Heng said lightly.

Yanxi took a spoon and scooped it into his mouth.

Aheng smiled and looked at the boy: "Is it delicious?"

"Is this... still tofu?" His eyes widened, with a straightforward innocence.

Aheng nodded.

"There is no astringency, it is smooth and tender in the mouth, a bit like egg pudding." The boy squinted slightly, his face was ruddy, and his expression was satisfied.

Egg pudding? Hmm, is it delicious?

A Heng was dumbfounded, but after all he smiled, contented, his thin lips lifted up, and the corners of his lips were small, thin smile lines.

"Try it, this." A Heng handed the fried dried seeds to the boy.

The boy took a piece and chewed it in his mouth, but he frowned and spat out: "How is it bitter?"

Ah Heng frowned, suddenly remembering something, and said embarrassedly: "Uncle Sangzi, I didn't put it, the sauce. I was eating with me before, and I don't like condiments." Then she ran to the kitchen and asked for a dish. The sauce poured on the dried seeds.

Yanxi took another small piece in his mouth and tasted it. The tip of his tongue was the crispy tofu and the sweetness of the sauce, which concealed the bitterness, and the fragrance exuded incisively and vividly with a rich taste.

Seeing the young man stretched his eyebrows, A Heng sighed secretly. She grew up in Wushui since she was a child, and she instinctively protected the land and water, and she didn't want to let others hate it.

If this thought is applied to people, it is usually called: protecting shortcomings.

"Zhendong, in the Chenghuang Temple, there is a sweet well. Tofu is made from well water."

Yanxi nodded slightly, took a small bite, and looked at the food, cherishing her face.

Uncle Sangzi brought out a small dish of dried bamboo shoots from the kitchen for Yanxi to serve. The sweet and sour dried bamboo shoots are very appetizing, and Yanxi ate a lot.

"Aheng, the sign in Uncle Sangzi's shop is old. Your aunt asked me to ask you to write another one." The man looked at the girl honestly.

"Yeah." Aheng smiled and nodded.

Yanxi was surprised: "You wrote the words on the signboard?"

Aheng nodded again in embarrassment.

"The pen is too fast, the intensity is uneven, the ink is unevenly tuned, and the last stroke is paused, not coherent enough." The boy said flatly.

A Heng swallowed.

"We, Aheng, started to practice calligraphy when he was young, and he was one of the best in the town, and he wrote better than Doctor Yun." Uncle Sang Zi said, somewhat disliked the youthful tone.

"This depends on talent." The young man smiled faintly. The implication is that it is useless without talent.

Aheng knew he was telling the truth, but he was still a little disappointed. She has practiced calligraphy with her father since she was a child, regardless of the heat or cold, and now she said "no talent" as a teenager, which really shocked her.

"This child has a good tone. Write a few words and let me see." Uncle Sangzi was a little angry.

The boy shrugged indifferently and looked lazy.

Uncle Sangzi took the paper and pen and placed it in front of Yanxi angrily.

The young boy casually poured ink in the inkstone, sitting upright, holding the pen, the fine hair of the nib was soaked in ink, raised his wrist slightly, turned the nib, and slowly squeezed the excess ink at the end of the inkstone, lifted his hand, and his nails were crystal clear The sleek, bamboo-colored penholder is really beautiful.

"When you write the character'Lin', the character'wood' on the left should be vigorous and the'wood' on the right should have the charm. When you write, you must lift the pen too fast and the ink will be uneven, which is a taboo; the character'home', Although the writing is magnificent, the exquisiteness between the strokes is not taken into account; the word'dou' is written well, but the ink color is unevenly laid out; the word'rot' is more difficult to write, and you write more carefully than before. But you have lost the free and easy before; the word'dian', when you write, probably the ink is dry, so you return to the pen." The young man lowered his head and said flatly while writing.

It's done in one go, the charm is natural, and the edge is revealed.

A picture made A Heng amazed.

Every stroke is free and easy, free and easy to write, but full of heart, full of spiritual energy surging.

"I said, right?" The young man asked her lazily with his chin resting on his pen.

A Heng was dumbfounded.

Uncle Sangzi was stunned, looked at the words, smiled from ear to ear: "This kid is good, there are two brushes."

Yanxi nodded slightly, polite and gentle.

The boss gave a lot of delicious food, the boy pretended to be reserved, but the snickers at the corners of his mouth leaked from time to time.

"How about, I wrote the words to the boss, we don't have to pay, how great! You should have been a little more shocked just now, so as to show the value of the words I wrote, the boss may give us more food Yes." Yanxi said quietly, her mouth full, her big eyes filled with clear autumn water.

A Heng drank tofu brain, almost choked to death: "I didn't pretend just now." Her expression couldn't be more serious.

The young man raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Wen Heng, why bother about it? I learned how to hold a pen before I learned to walk. How can you compare to it because of no talent?"

Aheng stared at the boy and smiled. She thought that she and Yanxi were no strangers, but she knew him a little bit every day, but she felt that she was becoming more and more distant and strange.

"Let's go and take a look at the sweet well you mentioned." Yanxi is full and ready to digest.

Speaking of Wushui Town, in addition to the amorous feelings of the water town, the most lingering tourists is the Chenghuang Temple in the east of Zhendong. The incense in the temple is at its peak. On the fifteenth day of the new year, many people always go to worship for money, peace, and marriage.

And Aheng said that he wanted to go, but to see a well in the temple.

Yanxi looked at the bluestone at the mouth of the well, touched it slightly with her hand, and rubbed a layer of moss with her fingertips. There are many people in the temple, incense lingering, and everyone has a solemn expression with piety.

"It's weird that they don't worship this well for raising people, but a few stone men." The young man sneered.

"You can't disrespect ghosts and gods." A Heng grew up in Wushui, and he still has some respect for the city god.

The boy glanced at the girl, smiled lightly, then bent down, folded his hands together, and bowed to the well.

"What are you doing?" A Heng was curious.

"Thank you for bringing us such delicious food."

A Heng sniffed, and kindly reminded: "The tofu is made by Uncle Sangzi."

"So, I wrote him a sign!" The boy rolled his eyes upward.

"But, you didn't pay for food!" Aheng pointed out.

"One thing is one thing! I wrote him a sign and expressed my gratitude. The table is full of dishes, I don’t eat other people will eat it, whoever eats it is different! It’s not that I don’t pay, but he doesn’t let me pay. Master, I’m actually very embarrassed. It’s hard to be a human being, and it’s even harder to be a good person!"

A Heng grinned, pursed his lips, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"Okay, I'll also bye." Ah Heng also bent over and put it together seriously: Well, Gujing, Gujing, I don't ask too much, you can make the world peaceful, and the children from Asia, Africa and Latin America can eat white sugar cake.

Yanxi stayed at the Yun's house for a few more days, and it was already the end of the lunar calendar. He told his grandfather when he left that he would definitely go home for the New Year.

Therefore, at the twenty-seventh hour of the lunar calendar, the teenager asked to leave.

"Can't you stay for another day? One day is fine." A Heng was a little disappointed, and Wushui Dialect ran out.

"A Heng, don't be ignorant!" Before Yanxi could answer, Father Yun screamed, interrupting A Heng's thoughts.

A Heng closed his mouth and looked at the mica grievously. Mica patted her hand, but never said a word, just went back to the house and helped her pack her luggage. She followed her mother into the room, and when she came out, she bowed her head silently.

Yan hoped that she didn't know what to say, so she looked down and let her bid farewell to her adoptive parents.

The kind-hearted men and women who love Wen Heng again are not her biological parents after all; this house and this land, no matter how warm they are, will not belong to her after all.

So, a great regret.

Before leaving, Mica pulled Yan Xi aside and said something.

Aheng saw from a distance, but couldn't bear to look at his mother again, bid farewell to his father, and walked out of the house.

When Yanxi came out, she looked at her a few times, and said strangely and helplessly: "It's a girl after all." After all, for the little things in the eyes of the boys, she was silent and sad.

Aheng didn't know what his mother said to him, but there is always nothing wrong with not speaking, so he kept silent and followed him silently.

She saw him as a traveler again, with a big backpack, an upright posture, and a cold butterfly bone faintly visible.

It was already afternoon when I arrived at S City Station. They queued for a long time before they bought the tickets, at six o'clock in the evening.

"You sit here and wait for me." The boy handed her the ticket, and conveniently landed and turned and walked out of the waiting room.

A Heng looked a little confused, and she was in a bad mood. After Yanxi left, she sat in the chair and started to daze.

When she condensed her mind and looked at the watch, it was a quarter past five.

Yan Xi has not yet returned.

She stood up, walked back and forth in the crowd, turning around with the seat as the center. Although the check-in time was almost up, she did not move around because of anxiety. The air in the waiting room was too stagnant and dirty, and she walked around, trying to skim off the paralyzed things in her brain.

When the boy came back, it happened to be this scene: the girl frowned and lowered her head, walking around, doing useless work around her seat.

Yanxi was a lazy person and felt the scene was incredible, so he strode over and coughed slightly.

A Heng raised his head, and the first thing he noticed was the backpack on his shoulder, which seemed to bulge a lot. Aheng guessed that he might have bought some local products.

It is still the steps when you come: ticket checking, getting on the bus, and finding a seat.

However, Ah Heng lost his interest when he came, nestled in the carriage and yawned. Looking at the time, it was nine o'clock, and the night outside the car window became thicker.

"I'm sleepy." She looked at Yanxi, sleepy.

The "sleepy" of the Chinese is equivalent to the "good night" of the Westerners.

"No." The boy said flatly.

Aheng yawned, rubbed his eyes, and asked, "Why?"

The boy raised his eyebrows and tapped his fingers on the small table: "How do I know!"

"Oh."

Hey, it's not right, why don't you let me sleep if you don't know! A Heng thought vaguely, his consciousness began to fall apart. She felt like a baby wandering in the mother's body, warm and peaceful.

The white world, the pure world.

Suddenly, the world was spinning so fast that she was dizzy, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a pair of scary eyes.

"Wake up?" The young man let go of his hands and stopped shaking.

A Heng looked out the window dumbfounded, and the night was still so dark that it was not light yet. She looked at Yanxi and sniffed, feeling wronged.

The boy’s big eyes are watery, and he looks more aggrieved than her: "Wen Heng, although I don’t know why you chose to be born today..."

The boy broke the sentence, took it out of his backpack, and took a long time, took out a small and cute butter cake, held it in his hand, and smiled plainly: "But, the young master is reluctant to do it, I wish you a happy birthday."