Xia Bao

The TV was on, and there was an unknown program on it, chattering cheerfully.

"Do you know why you put salt in sweet bread? Fool, it's to make that bit of salt bring out the sweetness of the sugar..."

Qin Feng tugged at the corner of his mouth, a large piece of cigarette ash in his hand was crumbling.

"Xiaofeng, it's late for dinner." Ma Xiuli came out of the kitchen, and she pretended to be cheerful while taking off her apron: "Hey, you also watch this TV series? Parents are short, hey, that mother-in-law is not a thing..."

After talking for a while, the son sitting in front of the TV didn't know where he was in a daze, and he didn't move.

Looking at the past from Ma Xiuli's point of view, the bleakness makes people feel distressed.

"Xiao Feng, you haven't had a good rest these days, go to bed early after dinner, huh?"

Through the window, firecrackers sounded outside.It's another Spring Festival.The first year Qin Xia left.

Qin Feng extinguished the cigarette butt in the ashtray, stood up and looked at Ma Xiuli.

A woman in her 40s has wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, white hair at her temples, and a forearm exposed by the rolled up sleeves of a sweater, covered with a little flour.The dumplings she made just now were Qin Feng's favorite sauerkraut dumplings.

Almost a year.

"Mom, wait a little longer. My Uncle Du should be back soon. I'll wait for him to have a drink or two together. It's Chinese New Year." Qin Feng looked at Ma Xiuli and smiled slightly: "I'll go buy two packs tomorrow. Hair dye, I'll dye your hair for you."

Ma Xiuli's lips trembled, but she couldn't hold back the red eyes: "What are you doing? I think my mother is old..."

"How can it be." Qin Feng saw that she was uncomfortable, and changed the subject: "Du Qiang doesn't stay home every day, is this? I've been back for almost a week this Chinese New Year, and I haven't seen him three times in total. You little bastard."

"Hi," mentioned Du Qiang, Ma Xiuli was a little worried: "This kid doesn't know where his mind is all day long, and you are going to worry about Uncle Du. One day he said he wanted to open a restaurant, and the other day he said he wanted to partner with a friend." Doing business, and in a few days, they will buy a dump truck to work at the port, and a hundred people will not look down on driving a taxi..."

Ma Xiuli cautiously looked back at the gate, and lowered her voice: "His partner is pregnant, and you, Uncle Du, disagree. It's not like the father and son are making trouble, and seeing each other every day is like an enemy. Let me tell you, that girl really doesn't like it." What the hell. The eyebrows and eyes are drawn, the belly button is exposed from the clothes wrapped around the body, and the high heels on the feet make me panic. The space between the heel and the sole of the shoe," Ma Xiuli raised her foot and gestured: " It can drill two mice through."

"Mom, you are so funny." Qin Feng laughed heartily, his handsome brows and eyes looked so much like Qin Yuan when he was young.

Ma Xiuli looked a little dazed, followed by sadness.Qin Yuan has been away for four years. Xiao Feng, who was a sophomore in high school, was only seventeen.Xiaofeng is a junior this year, 21 years old, young and mature, calm and heartbroken.

"Son, have you lost weight? So thin?"

"It's better to be thinner." Qin Feng looked down: "I haven't lost much weight, I still have more than 160 catties." His mother didn't look at Qin Xia just one month after he left.At that time, Qin Feng was so skinny that he looked skinny. Xia Yuan joked that if he squatted in front of the bar like this, he would definitely be considered a drug addict.

"Mom doesn't even know what to say." Ma Xiuli felt sore, she lowered her head and rubbed the flour on her hands carefully: "Son, please be careful. The two men couldn't be together...Xiao Xia The child said with conscience, besides being a boy and an uneasy mother, I didn’t choose the good one. You two are still young, and you will understand after a few years. If you have the opportunity to meet, you will still be good brothers..."

"Mom, I'm fine." Qin Feng was silent for a while, habitually reached out to touch the cigarette, and quickly retracted: "Qin Xia was not at fault at all, it was my fault. She obviously didn't have the ability to protect herself from this fucking world. Confronting each other, but still stalking him, dragging him so deeply together regardless of his care, thinking that only feelings are enough... It's good for him to go to Australia..."

As soon as the door slammed, Du Xiangnan stomped into the room, bowed his head and brushed off the scattered snowflakes on his body: "It's still falling, and the weather forecast says there will be light snow... Hey, what are you two standing around talking about?" ?Have you eaten?"

"Uncle Du," Qin Feng smiled, "It's still early, why don't I wait for you to come back and have a drink or two?"

Du Xiangnan laughed heartily: "Xiaofeng, good boy, okay, we'll make two cups. We won't be driving at night, it's Chinese New Year."

Ma Xiuli listened, and quickly responded, and walked to the kitchen: "You two drink first, and I will fry some dried fish to accompany the wine."

There was a stove burning in the room, and the raging flames could be seen through the cracks in the grate.

Ma Xiuli is afraid of the cold and is not used to the weather here.The house he bought was in an old community with no heating. Du Xiangnan was stunned to think about it by himself. He went to the market and bought a small briquette stove with an iron sleeve.

Taking a sip of the white wine comfortably, Du Xiangnan narrowed his eyes with an expression of enjoyment: "This wine tastes good."

Qin Feng picked up the little foolish fairy he brought home, and carefully filled the wine glass on behalf of Du Xiangnan: "This year is very popular in City A, buy it for Uncle Du to taste."

Du Xiangnan sighed with emotion: "Xiao Feng should worry less, that little bastard Du Qiang will piss me off sooner or later."

Now that Du Xiangnan brought it up, Qin Feng followed his words: "I'll call Qiangzi tomorrow, and I'll have a family meal when I come back."

"Don't call him." Du Xiangnan frowned: "For an unscrupulous woman, he yelled at me, he is really capable! If you have the ability, don't come back in this life. I don't have him as my son!"

"Uncle Du, tell me about you, you have such a big temper." Qin Feng handed him a cigarette: "We are all a family, how can you be so generous? Let me tell you, find a chance to sit down and talk together. If you want to rush to live, just get things done, and then work and earn money to support your family with peace of mind."

"Xiao Feng, you don't know that woman." Du Xiangnan frowned very disdainfully: "It's not a good family at first glance. When will you, Uncle Du, care whether your younger generation is in the right family? Look at Du I didn’t say anything about the girl from Hu Laizi’s family that Lei was looking for. She’s a child who’s just going through life. That’s fine. Don’t mention them. Come on, Uncle Du's taxi can't drive anymore, so I'm going to take the child for you."

"It's all a matter of disappearing." Qin Feng curled his lips and did not try to defend himself: "Is the Diversified Business Bureau withdrawn just like that? It's too hasty."

Mentioning this aroused Du Xiangnan's depression: "Who said it wasn't? It didn't take two years. What kind of business can make a lot of money quickly without accumulation? Do you really think that I am selling gold?" At this time last year, Du Xiangnan He was still full of ambitions, and planned to do a good job in R City, but the office was only established for a year and a half, and it also involved personnel changes at the top of the Donglin bureau. Du Xiangnan was caught off guard.

In a fit of anger, Du Xiangnan directly took a leave of absence without pay. Not only did he not return to Donglin to reinstate his job, but he also stayed in City R with his wife and children.

The two chatted for a while, and Ma Xiuli came into the room with a plate: "The candied sweet potato syrup is boiled well today, the candied sweet potato is long and translucent, Xiaofeng, eat it while it's hot. I remember Xiaoxia..."

Ma Xiuli slipped her tongue, and quickly swallowed back her words.

Du Xiangnan didn't know, and smiled: "By the way, that classmate of yours, isn't he? He went to our Donglin to play the year before last. He is fair and handsome, and he looks like a child from the south."

Qin Feng didn't answer, and responded in a low voice: "Mom, sit down and eat together, don't do it."

............................................................

Lying on the bed at night, the wall clock in the living room rang eleven times, Qin Feng still couldn't fall asleep with his arm resting on his pillow.

Qin Xia, Xia Bao.

On this day last year, he missed it so much that he bought a ticket like crazy and ran to City S, and the two of them set off fireworks by the river.

On the Huangpu River at night, there are tall buildings on both sides of the river lit up with lights, and the river flows eastward in silence.Those bright fireworks blooming in the night sky, purple, green, red, and blue, Qin Xia raised his head and smiled, his eyes narrowed, obviously he liked it so much but his mouth was stiff.I remember I said something, I used you as a target to coax.

Xia Bao, you are in Australia, okay?

It hurts to think about it.The eye sockets of thinking are sour.

Qin Feng turned over.How long has he missed his Xia Bao?Apart from studying and going to Xia Yuan's place, I let myself go back to my residence and fall asleep, without even thinking about it.

Some things and some people are treasured in the bottom of my heart and cannot be shared.

He remembered that Qin Xia's farewell call came almost on May [-]st.

The two sat on each side, silent for a while, full of thoughts and words, not knowing where to start.

Qin Feng wanted to say, Xia Bao, I miss you so much, I'm going crazy.But what to do, he didn't want him to worry, and he couldn't even express these thoughts.

And what did Qin Xia say?Eight months have passed, and the memory has become blurred in time.Qin Feng sometimes wondered if the phone call had already been tainted by his imagination and processing?Those words are not true, or not all.And when I woke up one day, I somehow lost part of it, especially without knowing it.

Complain?Are you sad?

It was clearly a public phone outside, but Qin Xia only said two things.

First, his visa was completed, and he flew directly to Sydney from S city in three days.Second, he asked Qin Feng to take the time to visit Qin Yi in S City, even once a year.Because he suspected that Qin Yi had mental problems and was suicidal.

Qin Xia's voice on the phone was still the same, clear and gentle, like the wind in May, intoxicating.But he didn't say anything, he didn't say he missed or felt wronged, he didn't even talk about the future or waiting.

The moonlight was very bright, Qin Feng wanted to smoke.Sitting up and staring in a daze for a while, she was still afraid of waking up the young Ma Xiuli, so she lay back down again.

He remembered his humble begging - can I go see you off?

I remember that I was clutching the phone line tightly, tears streaming down my face - Xia Bao, don't you want me?

The two of them don't talk, how can they just forget the sweetness of the past, those days and nights, those pasts that hurt even when they think about them?Just let it go?

When he felt drowsy, Qin Feng thought unconsciously.He shouldn't complain, he wants his Xia Bao to live a good life, no worries and no pain, so he can fly with peace of mind, without worries.

Thinking of this, the strained heart was relieved a lot, and it was not in vain that Xia Yuan teased him as a lover.

He remembered that one day during the summer vacation, he and Xia Yuan had a good drink, one second they were talking normally, and the next second they suddenly collapsed, with tears and snot in their noses, and weeping uncontrollably.That day was Qin Xia's birthday.

It was rare for Xia Yuan not to hate him, so he reached out his hand and touched the back of his head kindly and said, "It's not shameful for the elders to think that their daughter-in-law wants to cry. Cry. After crying, dry up the wine and wipe away the tears and go to work. Make more money." The last word.

The night is so long and the night is so bright.Qin Feng was alone, unable to sleep alone.