The years when I was an old man

I was planning in my heart how I should win this round.

Although, there is no good solution yet.

But since this round is unavoidable, it's better to gamble openly.

Win or lose depends on fate!

It was already evening when we parted from Old Wu.

I went out to take a taxi and just told the driver where I was going when my cell phone rang suddenly.

When I took it out, it was an unfamiliar number.

A sentence that Brother Yong said that day suddenly appeared in my mind.

He told me to keep an eye out for strange numbers, maybe someone could help me.

Thinking of this, I immediately picked it up.

I heard a deep man's voice from the opposite side:

"Brother Yong, can I meet you?"

"Yes! Where are you?"

"Second sister's noodle shop on Laolai Street!"

The man didn't say a word of nonsense, and as soon as he finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

I thought that Brother Yong's friend would call me.

I just didn't expect to find me so soon.

Laolai Street is an old street in Fengtian Old Town.

It is similar to the old streets in all cities.

Narrow streets, potholes.

Beside the piled up trash cans on the side of the road, there were a few unattended wild dogs writhing around.

After searching for a long time, I finally found the second sister's noodle shop that Brother Yong's friend mentioned.

Push the door open, and there are a few scattered tables of customers sitting in the noodle restaurant.

Although I don't know the other person's appearance, but after just one glance, I'm sure that the man on the opposite side, who is eating noodles with his head bowed, is Brother Yong's friend.

The reason why I am sure is that this person's sitting posture is a bit strange.

Half of the body, leaning tightly against the wall.

Originally, his back was supposed to be facing the door, but he made a special adjustment so that he faced the door.

This is a typical defensive posture of some people in the rivers and lakes when they are outside.

You can't let your back be exposed to the enemy.

I sat across from him, and this man didn't look at me, just ate his noodles with his head down.

And I looked at him confidently, a very ordinary middle-aged man.

He is of medium height, has a crew cut, and wears a plain undershirt.

It's just that those big pliers-like hands seemed to have been eroded by oil stains, and the texture on the back of the hands showed an indelible oil black.

The most interesting thing to me is that he can eat garlic.

One bite of noodles, one clove of garlic.

I've been here for a while, I think he must have eaten at least two heads of garlic.

Putting down his chopsticks, he picked up a tissue and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Any cigarettes?"

He asked me a question.

I handed one, took out the lighter and lit it for him.

The moment he exhaled the smoke, I smelled a strong smell of garlic.

"Don't ask me who I am, and don't ask me what I do. Brother Yong said, nothing can hurt you!"

The man said in a low voice.

In a simple sentence, I almost guessed who this is.

"Brother Yong didn't say anything about his face this time, and even ran away. He saved my life, and I have to get this face back for him. Otherwise, everyone will think that Brother Yong ran away, and he will stand up for him. My brothers are gone. This is not good, you can't lose your reputation!"

With that said, the man took another deep breath of his cigarette.

"I'm looking for you today for two things. First, I want to find a chance to meet the Qin family, anyone can. Second, help me find a way to escape. Brother Yong said, these are not difficult for you! "

Although he didn't say it clearly, I guessed what he was going to do.

I thought about it, nodded and agreed:

"Okay, I can do it!"

The man nodded.

Then he took a paint-stained pen from his pocket.

Take a tissue and write down a string of numbers.

"Don't call that number just now. After thinking about it, call this number. Remember, we never knew each other!"

As he spoke, he yelled in the direction of the bar:

"Boss, settle the score!"

"A total of nine yuan!"

"Isn't it eight yuan for a bowl of noodles?"

"You eat my three heads of garlic, why don't you add one more?"

"Hold!"

The man muttered, took out a handful of change from his pocket, and counted them one by one.

…………

When we returned to the hotel in Eight Humen, it was already past nine o'clock in the evening.

After getting off the bus, I walked through the small garden at the entrance of the hotel.

I saw He Xiaoshi walking in the garden, talking on the phone at the same time.

When she saw me, she quickly hung up the phone.

I walked over and asked directly:

"It's so late, why haven't you rested yet?"

He Xiaoshi gestured towards me with the mobile phone in her hand.

"Called my dad!"

"homesick?"

He Xiaoshi smiled and shook her head.

"No, it's just that I haven't called him for a long time..."

In fact, I'm also a little surprised. It is said that He Xiaoshi is a returnee student, and at the same time he is He Songbai's favorite.

But when she said that she wanted to see the Jianghu, He Songbai let her follow us and float around.

This point is somewhat unreasonable.

It's just that I can feel that their father and daughter have been sincerely helping me, so I didn't think about it.

Just about to go upstairs, I suddenly remembered a question.

Pointing to a bench in the garden, he said to Xiaoshi:

"If you're not sleepy, can we talk?"

"Okay!"

Sitting on the bench, I took out a cigarette.

Before waiting for the order, He Xiaoshi said to me:

"Give me one."

"You can smoke?"

"No, I just want to try."

After lighting a cigarette, He Xiaoshi imitated my appearance and took a puff.

But just this mouthful made her cough chokingly.

I smiled, and after she recovered, I asked again:

"Xiaoshi, do you think people can control their emotions?"

He Xiaoshi turned to look at me and asked curiously:

"What's wrong with you? Are you broken in love?"

I am dumbfounded.

Never been in love, how can we talk about losing?