What a beautiful white lotus

At the turn of the millennium, I was doing a column in Wuhan.With the pace of reform and opening up, China is getting richer and richer. A magazine found me and asked me to do a column called happiness, which would tell stories about the happiness of Chinese people.

Everyone has different happiness, but in fact this column is not so easy to do, because everyone also has their own misfortune...

I interviewed a few friends of mine who seemed more like winners in life.Let them talk about their sense of happiness, but it turned out to be a bittersweet activity in the end.

The first friend, Xiao Li, is 32 years old and has a wealthy family. He married a beautiful wife and gave birth to a pair of twins. He has everything that others pursue in his life at a young age.I asked him to talk about his life, and he complained to me that his wife has put all her energy on the child since she gave birth, but doesn't care about his life; the child is just naughty and disobedient Discipline, boys fight with classmates every day, and girls cry at every turn.

I said to him, "Dude, are you really not showing off?"

Xiao Li lit a cigarette with a sad face: "Show off? I really wish I could trade with you. Now I think it's better to live alone. I'm at ease."

The second friend, Xiao Kai, graduated from a prestigious university with a Ph.D. He was a top student since he was a child. He won all the scholarships. After graduation, he was hired by a certain unit with a lot of money.I asked him if his work was going well. I thought that a talented person with a high IQ like him must be as easy to manage a job as it was when he was studying.Unexpectedly, he scolded his leader at me.He said that he had worked so hard for so many years to get the book out, and the students around him who graduated from undergraduates at the same age had been struggling in the workplace for five or six years, and their status was not inferior to him at all.And his immediate leader, who is not much older than him, has a much lower educational background than him, and always criticizes his work.Unfulfilling his ambition, he almost didn't understand this society.

There are also a few friends, which are probably the same.Someone said a word to me that almost convinced me.Don't worry about not being rich, but worry about inequality.There are many injustices in the world, some people are born rich, some people are born beautiful.How can you feel happy when you can't surpass others no matter how hard you try?

The deadline for writing is getting closer and closer, and I am still confused and unable to write, and I am almost forced to adapt a few chicken soup for the soul from "Friends" and "Readers" to cope with the errand.

Bored at home and unable to find inspiration, I decided to go for a walk.

When I was walking in a park in Wuchang District, a car stopped on the side of the road.The young man in the driver's seat got out of the car, opened the door of the back seat, and helped the two gray-haired old men get out of the car.

I stopped, my eyes drawn to them.

The two elderly people looked to be at least 80 years old, and their faces were already covered with wrinkles and age spots.But they look very energetic, and their faces are very kind and kind.One of them was already on crutches, while the other was still on his feet.

The young man asked them: "Grandpa and Grandpa, shall I go with you?"

The old man on crutches waved his hand: "Go and play with your friends, we will take a walk, and you will pick us up when the time comes."

The young man shrugged, got back into the driver's seat and drove off.

The two old men walked towards the park supporting each other.

I found a bench and sat down, watching them quietly.There are many elderly people in this city, and I have grandparents myself, but I rarely pay attention to the elderly.Everyone likes something young, beautiful and full of vigor.But these two old people made me unable to help but want to observe them.It's hard to say exactly what attracted me.Maybe it has something to do with the topic that has been bothering me recently-happiness.These two old people, you just look at them talking and laughing, and you think they must be very happy.

After a few minutes, I decided to go up and accost them.

"Hi, grandpas, can we have a chat?" I walked up to them and greeted them.

The two glanced at me without saying a word, but both smiled at me.I know they agree.

I asked, "How old is grandpa?"

The old man with fairer skin said: "It's almost eighty, I can't remember clearly."

The old man on crutches hissed him: "The year I was born, Lu Jianzhang just died."

The old man with fairer skin had no choice but to say, "I am three years older than him."

"It's three years older than me."

The white old man gave him a supercilious look, but he was only offended, not angry.

I am a little dazed.I know that Lu Jianzhang was a celebrity in the Republic of China, but the history of the Republic of China is far away from us. I really don't know when Lu Jianzhang died.I was too embarrassed to ask again, so I had to write it down in my heart and check the information when I went back.

"Listening to your accent, you don't look like Wuhan people."

"We are from Chongqing."

"What are you doing here?" I talked to them with a Sichuan accent.

"Revisit the old place."

The fair-skinned old man talked a lot, and he answered my questions. The old man on crutches didn't talk much, and when the other old man was talking, he just looked at him.

"Are you brothers?" I asked.I heard the young people just now called them grandpa and grandpa.

The two old men looked at each other and smiled.

"We've been together forever."

"Closer than a brother."

I was at a loss again.Having lived together for a lifetime, this sentence sounds a bit like an old married couple.

We talked while walking, and the two old people walked very lightly. Even the one with the cane was not as rickety as ordinary old people.

I praised from the bottom of my heart: "The grandpas are all in good health."

Both laughed.

"That is, when we were fighting the Japanese back then, seven in and seven out of the devil's position, none of them could stop me."

"Seven in and seven out? Are you confused about telling stories to your little grandson?"

My eyes lit up: "Have you ever participated in the Anti-Japanese War?" In this way, I have a clearer understanding of their ages.Those are really two great old men.

"His leg was injured while beating devils." The old man said.

I was even more surprised: "So...you are comrades-in-arms?"

"It's all, brother, comrade-in-arms...you can say whatever you want."

I am very interested in that period of history, and I am even more entangled with them, unwilling to let go.Old people in their [-]s have fought against Japan and experienced the darkest and most turbulent decades in China. Their lives must be much more exciting than those of our generation.So I kept asking them about their past.

I chatted with them for a long time. The two old people are really kind. I asked them, and they were willing to tell me.

The two of them had no children in their life, and the young man who sent them here was the eldest grandson of the old man Bai.I heard that in the 60s, because their family members were poor, they suffered a lot. His brother and sister-in-law couldn't survive, leaving behind a bunch of children who died.The two of them took his brother's children to him and raised them as if they were their own.Now there are even great-grandchildren.The children are very promising and very filial.

The two of them have gone through nearly a hundred years of ups and downs, which can be said to be living history books.I kept asking them about the past, because there is a lot of history that our generation may not be able to read from books.But they don't seem very interested in these topics.

When I asked them about the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the old man on crutches said flatly: "We retired from the army and went home after fighting the devils, and we didn't fight the next battle."

I asked them about the Gang of Four, the movement that persecuted his brother and sister-in-law to death, the old man Bai shook his head: "It's all over, it's okay. There are always bad people in society, and finally turned over, it shows that there are still many good people."

And they are very interested in talking about their children and grandchildren, but what they talk about the most is actually each other.

"At that time, his lungs were not good. The doctor said he had tuberculosis, and he couldn't cure it. He had to go home and count the days, and asked us to prepare a coffin. Don't look at him now. He used to be very delicate. He coughed up a little blood. He was so frightened that he wrote a suicide note, and even ran to a crop field a few miles away to wait to die, saying that he would not drag me down. I searched for him with a few children for two days before finding him. After a long time, it turned out that he cut his throat by eating fishbone , made blood."

"Don't talk nonsense, did I run away by myself? Who smiled uglier than crying all day long, hugged me and cried after coaxing me to sleep at night, saying that you can't live if I die. I was so scared that I had to run away go out."

"When he was young, he was very fierce, and the children in the city would cry when they saw him. Later, when he got older, his face became loose, but some people said he was handsome."

"My legs and feet are not good now. I used to carry him on the mountain road for a day and a night. If he can walk by himself, he is lazy. He has been lazy all his life."

"Nonsense! You just carried me on your back for a day. Wherever you go, I will help you. How many years have I helped you, do you remember?"

"Did I ask you to help me? I'm just a little lame, and it's not like I have a broken leg. You still have to help me in when I'm going to the bathroom outside. Don't think we're going to do anything!"

I laughed frequently: "You two have such a good relationship."

The white old man waved his hand: "It's good. He knows how to make me angry every day, and he insists on doing whatever I don't ask him to do."

The lame old man said leisurely: "That's because you are unreasonable, so I won't do it. You said that you are afraid of the cold at night. When winter comes, I get up every night in the middle of the night to cover you with the quilt. Have I lifted your quilt? "

"Why am I unreasonable, you are unreasonable, I said I want to eat twice-cooked pork, and you make me mapo tofu."

"That's because the doctor told you to eat less meat."

"Twice-cooked pork has a lot of meat? You still like to draw my needles when you sleep. I put the pillow on it, and you take it off to prevent me from sleeping well."

"You sleep on two pillows. It's also what the doctor said. It's not good to sleep so high, it's not good for your head and neck."

"I like to sleep that high, otherwise I can't sleep well."

"Forget it, you can't sleep well, you didn't wake up even when the thunder struck, you used to be able to sleep on my arm, and you didn't wake up when you spanked your ass. You are out of temper with the young master."

I was amused and embarrassed to hear it from the sidelines.The two of them talked and often forgot about my existence.Even I feel like I'm redundant and I shouldn't bother them.

After finally waiting for the two elderly people to catch their breath, I quickly inserted a question: "Grandpas, do you think your life is happy?"

Both of them were stunned for a moment, and then they both showed suddenly enlightened expressions.It's as if they didn't find the right word to describe their state of life before, but now they do.

"Will your children and grandchildren be disobedient? Do you have unreasonable neighbors who quarrel with you?" It's not that I want to sow discord, and I know it's not kind to ask such a question, but I'm really curious. So much dissatisfaction, don't they?

The two looked at each other and asked each other: "Is there any?" "Yes, last week..." "That's okay, it's nothing." "Then it's gone."

I asked unkindly again: "Are you so satisfied with your life? I've talked with you for so long, and all the bad things have been covered in one sentence. Why don't you talk more about it?"

The old man Bai smiled: "It's not that I don't want to say it, it's that I have nothing to say. When I'm old, I can't remember clearly what happened."

The lame old man said: "He is old and his brain is not working well. I remember it very clearly. I remember it, but I don't think it's anything, and I have nothing to say."

I was surprised: "There is nothing to say?"

The lame old man said: "He is by my side, if we have any difficulties, we will feel that it is a trivial matter after we get over it."

The white old man snorted.He pressed the corners of his mouth down, as if he didn't want to look too happy, but the smile on the corners of his eyes and brows couldn't be stopped.

Even I think I'm a little too much.When others are happy, I should be there to bless them, but they look so beautiful and happy, but I can't help but want to dig out some dark things.I asked my friends the question that had swayed me.People don't suffer from not being rich, but from being uneven. How do we and the others view this issue.

The lame old man asked me: "Young man, how old are you this year?"

I replied: "27."

The lame old man smiled: "When I was 27, I was misunderstood as a traitor. The stone smashed my head and spit on me. At that time, I had nothing, not to mention watching TV, playing computer, and even living It’s hard. But I think it’s good. Your generation is getting better and better, but it’s good for me to go through that.”

I couldn't help asking: "Why?"

The lame old man said: "You just said happiness. Because I have experienced misfortune, so I know what happiness is."

The white old man nodded aside: "My family used to be very rich. When my family was the richest, it was when I hated the country and society the most."

I smiled and said, "The poorer and more miserable, the more you know what happiness is?"

"No." The white old man shook his head solemnly: "It's not that having money is bad, who doesn't want to be rich. I'm just saying that the things you mentioned are not measured by money alone, nor are they measured by any simple thing. It can be measured and defined. I think it’s good for people to experience some setbacks, because after getting through the setbacks, they will definitely become better.”

I froze for a moment.What he said is actually very reasonable. Just like when I write stories, after the crisis, there will inevitably be a sublimation.It's just that many people can't see the future when they are in crisis, give up and move on, and ultimately fail to achieve sublimation in their entire lives.

After talking with the two elderly people, I was suddenly conflicted about writing their stories.I think if I write it down, it will be a story that will benefit me a lot.

The time is almost up, they bid farewell to me, and move on to see more places that they have been to but have been completely different.

I stood back and watched them go.

I saw the lame old man silently holding the old man's hand. The old man seemed to have complained to him, but he held onto his hand tightly.

My vision suddenly blurred for some reason.

If I really write a story for them, then the ending of the story must stop at this scene.Maybe they will leave this world in a few years, but I don't want to think about it, let alone share stories with sad endings.

For the old couple, time has given them the cruelest test, but also the best gift, that is each other.

Stop here, just fine.

The author has something to say: This is the end of the text.This is the first time that I don't want to write anything about the main character after the first story, because I have written everything I want to write.

This is the longest, longest and most heartfelt story I've written in four and a half years, and I'm so excited to share it with you.

Talk about some messy creative experience.At the beginning, I wanted to write the Republic of China because I heard my grandparents talk about the old Shanghai Bund. They were rich young masters and young ladies at that time, and they had experienced many ups and downs in the past few decades.I began to be interested in the Republic of China, which was previously contradictory, and checked the information. I thought of many versions of the story, such as the young master x actor, the national army x the communist army, and so on.Even after it was released, I was still changing it. If it was Chapter 1, people would know that my protagonist at the beginning was actually the little boy picking up cigarette butts.However, earlier than this version, the characters only exist in my hard drive and the protagonist in the beginning is Gu Xiuge.

Gu Xiuge was the first character I created in my mind. I wrote a lot of settings about him. In the end, for various reasons, I gave up on him and used black and white as the protagonist.So Gu Xiuge is a relatively full-fledged character I wrote, because he is a person with a specific image in my mind.

I will write the stories of Gu Liuguo and the three of them, but they will not be posted on the Internet. They will be included in the personal journal as a physical benefit.

Thank you again for reading this story, thank you =3=