a protracted war

July 6 was sunny.

The sun is very strong today, but the rose plant on the windowsill is still dead.

I thought it would last at least one summer, but now it hasn't lasted a third of the summer.

Lao Liu came to patrol in the morning. He pointed at the corpse of the rose plant and reprimanded us, saying that we are all lazy pigs. We can’t even take care of a flower. What big things can we do? The company supports you guys People are raised for nothing, and the only good thing is to pay some taxes to the country.

None of us said a word, we all pretended not to hear.

At noon, Xiaojian told me that Lao Liu and his wife divorced.

I was a little surprised: "Are you really divorced? Where did you hear the gossip?"

Xiao Jian said: "As my colleague told me, I saw it yesterday when I passed by the gate of the Civil Affairs Bureau."

Me: "Oh, I thought it was the hot weather and he was so angry, so it was because of this."

Xiao Jian said: "When I first heard about it, I guessed that there would be one in the morning, and I wanted to be careful so as not to be scolded, but I couldn't figure it out, and the potted flower died suddenly."

I asked Xiaojian: "Doesn't Old Liu have a daughter? With whom?"

Xiaojian opened his eyes dimly, biting the ribs and shaking his head, just like the big yellow dog we often see downstairs in my neighborhood.

"It's not clear," he said.

Divorce is actually not new in this era, but the saying goes, it is the children who hurt the most.

Now I can understand a little bit of the anger that old Liu made.

When I went to work in the afternoon, I saw Lao Liu coming in. The arrogance he had scolded in the morning was gone. He lowered his head, lowered his eyes, and looked tired.

I think that no matter how good-looking a person looks, they are more or less pretending to be troubled.

I walked back from get off work in the afternoon, and suddenly wanted to eat boiled instant noodles, so I went around to a nearby supermarket and bought a pack of instant noodles, eggs and vegetables.

On the way, I ran into an old man selling small musical instruments. He was still playing the erhu, and he was still playing Er Yue Ying Quan, but this time he didn’t wear sunglasses, so he didn’t look like a blind old man at all.

I greeted my uncle, who had a good memory, and asked me: "How is your harmonica learning?"

When the uncle asked such a question, I remembered it. After I brought the harmonica back from Yi Yi's house last time, I kept putting it in the bag and forgot to take it out. It's been a long time since I almost forgot about it.

I smiled awkwardly and said, "I just blow it occasionally, I'm not very familiar with it yet."

The uncle seemed to see it, and after looking at me, he said: "You need to practice more. No matter what you do, practice makes perfect. You can't do anything after fishing for three days and drying the net for two days."

I said: "Yes, yes, you are right. I will practice more when I go back. When I am finished, I will come here and play for you."

The uncle raised his eyebrows: "Okay, I'll wait."

Later, the uncle handed me a small cylindrical box.

I:"???"

The uncle said: "Kazoo, here you go, this thing is easy to learn, you can use it to gain some confidence."

I remembered, and asked, "Is that the thing that looks like a cigarette holder?"

The uncle smiled: "It's quite similar when you say that."

I said, "If I don't have musical talent, don't waste it."

The uncle said: "This thing is very simple, I will show you a demonstration."

I nodded.

The uncle picked up a kazoo from the box at his feet and played it for me.

After listening to it, I said that I really can't appreciate this, just like a duck howling.

The uncle said with a smile: "Actually, many people think it's ugly, so I didn't sell a few."

I said: "Then don't send me off, I really can't appreciate it."

The uncle said: "I only gave it to you because of your close eyesight. This is an anti-interference artifact. If you have noisy neighbors all the time, it should be useful."

I was silent, the uncle is really clever, I thought for a while, and said: "Okay, thank you, this flute costs a few yuan each, I will give you the money, I can't take advantage of the elders."

Uncle He Xiaosha waved his hands: "They said I'd give it to you, but if you sell it, you won't make much money. Don't give me money. Give me money. Next time I see you, I'll chase you to pay back the money. It's so tiring."

I asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

The uncle said, "I came out after eating."

I said, "Okay, I'll be back first, sir, and you collected it earlier in the evening. It's quite chaotic here after ten o'clock."

The uncle said: "I know, let's go, let's practice the harmonica more."

I said: "Okay."

As soon as I got home and plugged in the induction cooker, Yi Yi called me. Apart from getting up early and greeting each other on WeChat at noon, today was our first call.

Yi also asked me: "What are you doing?"

I said, "I'm cooking."

Yi Yi asked me again: "What are you doing?"

Me: "I'm cooking instant noodles."

Yi Yi's voice became louder at once, "How do you cook instant noodles?"

I said, "Suddenly I want to eat."

Yi Yi said: "You are really, really, I don't know what to say."

He said angrily, "You can eat it if you want."

He added, "It would be nice if we lived together."

"If we live together, I can cook for you."

Although what he said is not very realistic, but I digested these few words carefully, it is quite sweet.

Yi Yi also said: "Don't eat instant noodles all the time, it's not nutritious and it's not good for your health."

I said: "I only eat it once in a long time. I usually eat it in the company, and it will not be nutritious. I put some tomatoes and lettuce in it."

Yi Yi was silent.

I was listening to the phone here, secretly smiling.

I said to Yi Yi: "Today I met the man who sold my harmonica last time. He asked me how my harmonica learning is going? It's so embarrassing, I rarely play it recently."

Yi Yi said: "I feel the same way. You don't ask me much about the harmonica anymore, and you don't ask me to play it for you."

I said: "I really forgot, you should remind me and urge me, I really want to learn the harmonica well."

Yi Yi said: "I thought you were just a fad, why do you want to learn the harmonica well?"

I said, "Because of you."

Yi also said, "Because of me?"

I said, "Yeah, because I want to play it for you."