famine

Since the snow fell very little the night before, the next day the road was a little wet and there were no snowdrifts waiting to be melted at all. Only sporadic white spots could be seen in the inconspicuous dry grass by the roadside, like The dotted starlight dotted on the withered yellow background cloth only shone brightly in the sunlit places.

It snowed and the temperature dropped significantly.The windbreaker and thin coat I wore a few days ago can no longer be worn.

After Jiang Xuan hung up the second call from Jiang Jianguo, the phone vibrated again, and the caller was still Jiang Jianguo.

The first two times were purely because he didn't want to pick up the phone, so he just turned off the sound, and kept listening to the phone vibrating, staring at the flickering screen in a daze.But Jiang Jianguo thought he had expected such a result a long time ago, and he didn't feel discouraged at all. He persisted until Jiang Xuan got tired of watching and hung up the phone on his own initiative before giving up.

But this time was different from the previous two times. As soon as the phone vibrated, Jiang Xuan reached into his pocket and touched the end button blindly.

Now he is already at Liu's house, sitting in the same position as yesterday afternoon, and together with Cheng Hong, he wrote down the money for those who came late.

Just after noon, the temperature has risen a bit, but the location of the wing room they are in is not very good, and the sun can't shine here.

Sitting in the shadow of the side room at the door, the coolness seems to pass through the thick clothes and reach the skin.

Jiang Xuan looked back at Cheng Hong again.

The latter was sitting upright, holding a brush in his right hand to record in the ledger.

And standing in front of him was a middle-aged woman with a very bloated figure, and the skin on her cheeks was flushed and dry.She couldn't see any sadness on her face, she put her hands in her pockets, and complained about her daughter-in-law to the woman behind her in a very awkward posture.

It was already the second day of the new year, and because it was the second day, all the relatives and neighbors who were supposed to come had almost arrived, and now there were a lot fewer people queuing up. Yesterday they were able to line up to the screen wall, but today they didn’t even get out of the shadow of the wing room.

Seeing Cheng Lang picking up the brush and making a posture of writing, Jiang Xuan was still secretly surprised for a while.

Cheng Lang can also write calligraphy?

Because of the customs of funerals and marriages, what Cheng Lang did seemed easy, but in fact it was old-fashioned and cumbersome.Wooden tables, red cloth, ledgers bound with blue cotton threads, pens, inks, papers and inkstones all have a lot of attention.

Before Jiang Xuan had time to ask his own question, he realized that Cheng Hong himself was engaged in related work. It seemed that writing and painting had a lot in common with being able to use a brush. In addition, he might be influenced by the old man. From this point of view , it is reasonable.

So he couldn't help getting interested, and raised his eyes to look at Cheng Hong's account book.

Looking at it, it was exactly as I thought in my heart, Cheng Lang wrote a good handwriting.

Black and white, several lines of serious regular script, one page is separated from the middle horizontally, the upper half is neatly written with names and family backgrounds, and the second half is the record of money.The straight fonts are not deliberately arranged because of the shape of the characters.The strokes of the pen can be retracted and released freely, and there is a sense of leisure and elegance in the meticulousness.It is written like this with a brush, and a lot of effort has been put into it at a glance.

As a top student, Jiang Xuan's handwriting is not very good-looking, but it is also horizontal and vertical, and there is nothing lacking in it.Now when I look at the row after row of arresting handwriting on the ledger, I suddenly feel admiration.

Amazing.

What else can he not do?

Silently retracting his gaze, Jiang Xuan stood up, his movements were small and he didn't make any sound, so Cheng Hong, who kept his head down and looked serious, didn't notice.

Jiang Xuan walked around the crowd, walked through the many people standing in the yard chatting with a wooden face, walked slowly to the screen wall, and then went out the door.

Liu’s courtyard is very large, and the flowing water mats are placed in the courtyard. When it’s time for meals, folding tables will be filled, and then disposable tablecloths will be spread, and stools will be placed around the table to eat.But because there are too many people, even if seven or eight tables are set up, it often takes two or three turns to eat.

In order to solve the production of the flowing water mat, the Liu family hired a cook long ago, and set up a few green tents on the open space at the door, which was used as a temporary kitchen.

Jiang Xuan walked to the edge of the tent, and there was a boiling water tank half a person's height standing against the wall.There was no one in front of the water tank, and only five steps away was a cook in white clothes squatting by the ditch cleaning the pot.

Jiang Xuan bent down and picked up an empty liquor bottle, unscrewed the lid, and filled it with boiling hot water.

In the end, he switched left and right hands and ran all the way back to the courtyard.

Cheng Hong raised his eyes inadvertently, just in time to see Jiang Xuan running towards him like a fart collapsed, paused his brush, and frowned slightly: "You..."

A hot water bottle was placed on his lap.

"Damn, it's so hot." Cheng Hong took a deep breath and said in a low voice.

At this moment, Jiang Xuan had already sat back, his eyes unconsciously fell on the backs of his hands that were frozen blue and white on the table, and his heart beat a little fast after running all the way, "One-time hand warmer, thank you .”

Cheng Yan was stunned for two seconds, then turned to look at him: "Where did you get it?"

wrong.

He then asked, "Why do you have a bump on your mouth?"

Yesterday...no, not in the morning yet, did you grow a bag after so much effort?

"I'm on fire, I'm strong." Jiang Xuan's face remained unchanged, and the corners of his lips were hot. "There is hot water at the door, and the finished wine bottles are thrown there. You can write quickly, people are waiting."

Cheng Yan tilted his head and smiled: "What's so difficult for you to get so angry."

Mouth is a little swollen.

After eating at noon, the two sat back to their original positions, away from the flowing water mat in the middle of the yard, sitting side by side in a daze.

Because all the notified people who could be there have arrived, and the two of them have nothing else to do, so they can go back after the funeral in the evening.

From thirty nights to the present, Cheng Yan is a bit sluggish. On the other hand, Jiang Xuan is still refreshed and not tired. I have to admit that it is good to be young. After sitting on the cold bench for two days, my waist is not sore and my legs are not hurting. of.

Thinking of this, Cheng Hong was extremely helpless, so he stood up and wanted to take a few steps nearby.

"Where are you going?" Just as he was about to get up, the people around him asked.

"...Where are we going?" Cheng Hong was stunned by his suddenly raised voice, his eyes naturally fell on the blisters at the corner of Jiang Xuan's mouth and then moved away, "Just turn around."

"go outside?"

"No... just go around the yard."

Jiang Xuan looked up at him, Cheng Lang was still holding the wine bottle, the water in it was already cold, but his hands were not as stiff as before.

"Why are you wandering around with so many people?"

"what?"

Cheng Lang sat down and said after two seconds: "Then I won't turn around anymore, can I just sit with you?"

Inexplicable little brat.

As a result, Jiang Xuan's expression suddenly became unnatural, and his eyes were a little erratic. It took a while before he said: "...how about I go out with you?"

"No," Cheng Lang raised his eyebrows, "Sit down for a while, these people are finishing their meal soon, and it's time to make arrangements for the funeral."

Jiang Xuan felt relieved, and suddenly asked in doubt: "So early?"

"It's getting late, didn't you see that the wreaths were placed outside the door just now?"

This time Jiang Xuan replied simply: "It's not like this in the city. To be honest, this is the first time I have not seen wreaths on TV, and it is also the first time I have attended... a funeral." I don't know the person who died yet.

"I know." The urban area is small, and there is no way to hold funerals. The crematorium is all arranged. At most, a group of people will gather together to have a meal and express their condolences, and then it will be over.But Cheng Lang was still surprised: "Have you never seen a wreath?"

"No, the one on the top is really a fake flower?" It looks like the real one...

Cheng Lang suppressed a smile: "It's true, do you want to touch it? It's fine to pick off a flower and put it in a bottle."

Jiang Xuan glanced at him sideways: "No."

Definitely fake.

Cheng Lang laughed for a long time.

Later, Jiang Xuan went out to make a hand warmer, and when he handed it to Cheng Hong, the latter took it very naturally, but obviously his own joke just now made Jiang Xuan unhappy, and the little brat didn't want to talk to him.

Cheng Lang pondered for a while, picked up a brush and dipped it in ink, and then wrote and drew on a piece of white paper.

Jiang Xuan originally turned his head to look at the people chatting around the sofa in the living room of the main room, but was suddenly poked on the shoulder, and only realized regret when he turned around subconsciously.

But I forgot about it in the next second.

A dog's head was drawn with a brush on the paper.

The dog's head was distorted, his teeth were bared and his brows were frowning, his eyes were fierce, and he was losing his temper at someone.

There is an arrow on the right side of the dog's head, pointing to the word "Jiang Xuan".

"You..." After seeing it clearly, Jiang Xuan stared at Cheng Hong the next moment.

"Oh," the latter curled his lips, "it's more similar."

Jiang Thrush was stunned.

"Damn... why are you like this!" Bad!Little buns don't even play!

There is something that an adult should have!

As he said that, he wanted to gather the paintings into a ball.

Cheng Lang hurriedly stopped him: "Don't, I'm serious about painting, I'll give it to you."

Jiang Xuan stopped, then frowned even tighter, "No need."

Cheng Yan stopped again: "Then can you wait until I'm not around?"

Then you have to draw?

Just draw, can't you draw better?

The two stalemate for a while, and finally Jiang Xuan compromised and stuffed the ball of paper into his pocket.

"You are so annoying."

Cheng Lang laughed again for a long time.

The funeral in the afternoon was very lively, starting from the eldest son throwing tiles, the sound of blowing and blowing, the wreaths on both sides of the road were picked up, and the pillows and bedding used by Mrs. Liu before her death were lit and placed directly in the middle of the road. It happened, and there was the sound of mournful whimpering and weeping.

At the same moment, Jiang Xuan's phone suddenly started to vibrate crazily. He didn't know if it was a psychological effect. He felt that the frequency was much faster than usual.

It's like a reminder.

Noticing that the person beside him suddenly shook his body, Cheng Hong immediately turned his head, and his hand had already grabbed his elbow for a second.

"what happened?"

"..."

Jiang Xuan didn't speak, and took out his mobile phone. In such a short time after taking the mobile phone from his pocket to his eyes, he only felt his tiger's mouth go numb from the shock.

When he saw the string of numbers on the screen clearly, his pupils shrank as visible to the naked eye. If it wasn't for Cheng Hong supporting him, he would probably be able to sit on the ground.

In an instant, countless heart-scratching words flooded into his mind.

"I don't want to die either!!!"

"Come with me, okay?"

"Trash! How can there be such a disgusting existence like you!!!"

"Why don't you come back!! Why don't you come back!! Go home!! You go home!!!"

Jiang Xuan didn't know how much perseverance he had to put down the phone.

He didn't notice the concerned gazes and anxious expressions of the people around him at all. He opened WeChat with trembling fingers, and a bunch of messages appeared on the screen after a moment of freezing.

The friend with the most messages sent a total of 98 messages.

"Jiang Thrush?"

The mobile phone suddenly disappeared from the sight, and the next moment, the shoulders were hooped, and the funeral procession hadn't gone far, and the mourning and joy of blowing seemed to hit the heart.

Cheng Lang's voice rang in his ears, making his anxious heart tremble.

"Jiang Xuan... are you there?" the voice asked again.

Why do you ask?

I'm here.

Where else would I go if I wasn't here.

I said I would not answer her call, and I would hang up when she called.

I have to clear her messages so she doesn't exist.

Pretend it never happened.

"...the phone." Give it to me.

Jiang Xuan's voice trembled uncontrollably, and the next moment he grabbed Cheng Hong's arm, he was so strong that he couldn't hold back his gasp.

But he didn't do what he wanted, and when the pain passed, Cheng Yan moved closer to him, stared at his eyes that didn't know where he was looking, and hesitated for a while before asking softly: "Do you want to call? Or send a WeChat message? "

This scene made him involuntarily think of another event that happened not long ago.

Then I heard Jiang Xuan's words still the same: "Mobile phone."

give it to me!

When the funeral procession arrived at the entrance of the village, the crying was almost drowned out by the departing mourning music, making it hard to hear.

Cheng Lang didn't know what was wrong with him, but he also vaguely guessed that it must have something to do with the vibrating phone just now, and he was hesitating between giving and not giving.The eyebrows were wrinkled into Chuan characters inadvertently, and the heart contracted violently, extremely nervous.

Fortunately, most of the people at the scene had already left, so he simply embraced Jiang Xuan, pulled him into his arms, patted the hand behind his back, and comforted him non-stop: "It's okay, it's okay , nothing happened, look, no one is watching you, no one is here, don't be afraid."

He had discovered a long time ago that Jiang Xuan would always start to get nervous for no reason.

This kind of situation doesn't happen much, but if you think about it carefully, it actually shows up in many places that you haven't noticed.

It wasn't just that Jiang Xuan suddenly called his name in panic on the observation deck that day, maybe even a long time ago.

For example, when he passed by the Internet cafe street, he saw the lonely back.

Just now he didn't say anything to let him go, is he also... nervous?

Cheng Hong was very distressed and felt powerless.

He followed Jiang Xuan's back one after another, as if he was stroking a cat as a comfort, but in fact he didn't know what to do in his heart.

If nothing else, Jiang Xuan's spirit...doesn't seem to be in good shape?

But he has always been normal, except for those few occasions that are so strange that they can be explained by his personality, most of the time, Jiang Xuan is a very interesting and attractive child.

What went wrong?

"Cheng Lang."

This sound directly brought Cheng Lang, who was deep in thought, back to reality.

He put these thoughts behind him, and tightened his arms around Jiang Xuan, just like Jiang Xuan comforted him on the cement pipe outside the towel factory that day: "I'm here, are you better?"

He heard Jiang Xuan laugh twice, with a tired voice: "I'm asking you."

Cheng Lang listened quietly.

As a result, Jiang Xuan's next words sounded inconsistent: "Why are these people so happy? They talked and laughed at other people's funerals and in front of the mourning hall. They also played cards, drank melon seeds, and ate their mouths full of oil at the dinner table. I've been watching that stereo for as long as I've been here. The music played in it is not loud. I thought it was a sad music, or a piano piece at worst. But when I listened carefully, it turned out to be a desert camel? Why, dead people…"

Shouldn't be sad?

Although this old lady Liu is going west on a crane.

But you don't have to be so happy, right?

Hearing him say so much in one breath, Cheng Lang felt relieved, and he let out a breath without realizing it.

Pretentiously thinking for a while, then laughed twice: "It's not obvious. You see, the oldest ancestor of this family is parked in the mourning hall. She saw her descendants and neighbors in the neighborhood happy like pigs, sure. I can smile at Jiuquan."

"Pfft..." Jiang Xuan was amused by his metaphor, Cheng Hong felt the body in his arms trembling, and guessed that Jiang Xuan should have almost recovered, "You are so unreasonable."

"I feel that's what she thinks." Cheng Lang let go of him, shrugged, and kowtowed to Mrs. Liu in his heart, "Let's go, let's finish our work and go home."

Jiang Xuan was stunned, then nodded quickly, and the corners of his lips were bent to smile.

The burning foam on his mouth was pulled suddenly, and he pulled his face down the next moment.