Costume Mountains and Rivers

The plane is like a huge and quiet bat, gradually taking off in the night.

Mo Qinghe was pressed against the seat by the forward impact, her forehead was resting on the cold porthole, the lights on the airport runway were getting darker and smaller, her feet trembled slightly, everything was like an unresolved story, slowly from Fade out of his life.

A lot of regrets and a lot of happiness were also thrown far away on the ground with the lights of the airport, becoming a clear word "End" on the bright screen, hidden in the shimmering clutter.

Shen Peinan had business to deal with, and a group of people landed in Chongqing. In the next few days, it seemed that someone suddenly turned the clock forward. In the midst of their busy schedule, they had already stayed for five or six days.

With the shelter of negotiating such major political events, Mo Qinghe's communication with the organization went smoothly, and the command of the regiment headquarters was temporarily handed over to the political commissar. I heard that the candidate for the new regiment leader is already under discussion.Shen Peinan's stall was too big, and both the military and government were involved. The news that he was going to leave the country was like pulling thread out of a mess, and the whole spool jumped wildly.

Shen Peinan was too busy to see anyone, Mo Qinghe and A Yi were placed by him in a big white house built on the mountainside in Chongqing, and were taken care of by two temporarily hired servants, just like Mrs. Yazhai who was snatched by bandits , he solemnly put away the military uniform he had worn for many years, and guarded the newly purchased shirt and trousers, so bored that he couldn't even eat.

The market is so chaotic that people dare not go out. After the victory of the war, people's life returns to daily necessities, and their mood suddenly becomes empty, and they can't find support.At the same time, in order to make up for the huge fiscal deficit during the war, the national government did not hesitate to drink poison to quench thirst, and issued a large amount of legal currency. Senior officials secretly exchanged gold bars, and assets snowballed.

Prices have risen thousands of times, citizens' trust in the government has fallen to the bottom, and the legal currency is on the verge of collapse. Stores are closed, with red, green and green victory leaflets pasted indiscriminately, and they are blown by the cold wind.

The streets were empty, and the only lively places were rice stores and oil stores. The queues lined up hundreds of meters away, and the tall men unloaded bags of goods into the store. , twelve thousand stones!"

Not long after, a new price tag was replaced: "Ten four thousand, fourteen thousand!"

Going down the line, I simply stepped on the door panel, and the clerk slammed his hammer: "I won't sell it, I won't sell it, the selling price is not as high as the purchase price, and I will pay a catty for every catty!"

The door of the store was sealed tightly, and the sallow-faced and emaciated citizens rushed forward like hungry ghosts carrying bundles of banknotes, and dozens of pairs of fists smashed the door panel to the point of collapse.

There are similar formations everywhere, and the family is not very peaceful. The residence looks spacious and luxurious, but it is not human at all when you live in it seriously. The soap in the bathroom is dry and cracked, and the foreign snacks piled up in the kitchen are all expired and expensive. The furniture is crystal clear, and they all put on a cold look of "nothing to do with themselves".

Ah Yi was so homesick, she cried all day and wanted to go back to Yan'an, the hired wet nurse couldn't coax him well, Mo Qinghe was so anxious that she didn't dare to go out casually, she sat in the living room every day waiting for Shen Peinan to come back, almost Incarnate into a husband-seeking stone.

Ah Yi didn't quite approve of Shen Peinan, an uncle who appeared out of nowhere, and was quite afraid of him. Seeing him in military uniform, he shrank behind Mo Qinghe like a bird, not daring to breathe, with tears in his eyes.

Mo Qinghe wanted to find a toy to coax the children, and ran up and down seven or eight times with the nurse, and found a half-person-high porcelain-faced clown from the attic, illuminated by the crystal chandelier, the oil paint on his face looked sinister Inexplicably, A Yi cried in fright when she saw it, and Mo Qinghe yelled at Shen Peinan angrily: "What the hell do you live in?"

As soon as Shen Peinan got home, he handed the windbreaker to Muma, and put his arms around him: "It's been too miserable. I haven't had a wife or son for so many years. I'm an old bachelor. You can take care of it."

Mo Qinghe didn't sympathize with him. From the guest room of the mansion, he collected many women's clothes, hats and jewelry, half-used men's perfume and cream, and love letters with unrecognizable handwriting, and put them all into a snake skin Put it in a bag and throw it to a homeless person on the street.He gritted his teeth and threw the bag into the back seat of the car, sat in the passenger cab and told the driver to drive, Shen Peinan chased after him wearing a bathrobe, his complexion changed, he lost a slipper on his foot, and followed Chase after the car.

When Mo Qinghe came back, it was just when the sun was setting. Shen Peinan was sitting on the white marble steps at the door, still wearing the previous lacquered nightgown, with one bare foot, a cigar in his hand, drinking vodka from a glass, The ice cubes melted until there were two small pieces like rock sugar left. When they saw the car at home, they neither defended nor greeted them. They turned their heads slightly, and there was a green patch on their chin, whether it was a shadow or stubble.

Mo Qinghe sat down next to him, stretched her long legs comfortably, and glanced at him slightly: "Where's the letter I gave you?"

"In the bedside drawer."

"Not those." Mo Qinghe said impatiently: "What about the ones we wrote to you after we separated in Beiping? There are dozens of letters, right?"

Shen Peinan smelled like smoke: "Let Sun Jicheng burn it."

Mo Qinghe was furious: "The one on the left and the one on the right are all kept, but mine will be burned?"

"It hurts to see it." Shen Peinan poured the rest of the wine into his mouth, "Honey, you can't be angry with me, since we made peace last year, I haven't gone out to play, can't you see it in Yan'an? It's as suffocating as when I was 20 years old."

He grabbed Mo Qinghe's hand, stroked the diamond ring on his ring finger repeatedly, and then showed him his own hand: "Look, I also have a wife now, and I won't be like this in the future."

Mo Qinghe ignored him, and Shen Peinan looked back at the western-style building reflected in the sunset: "A British businessman plans to buy this property, and the price is not bad. We will leave tomorrow."

"So urgent?" Mo Qinghe was taken aback, "How much did you order?"

He leisurely quoted a price, which can be called a half sale, half free. Mo Qinghe's face turned dark after hearing this, and just about to scold him, Shen Peinan hugged him into his arms, rubbed his hair vigorously, and said in a low voice: " It’s not bad for those few pennies, I can’t wait anymore, my wife is not lucky in this life, and the wife I marry is more ruthless than a man, and if I find out what’s wrong, I’m going to be a fool for another ten years, damn it, I’m so anxious .”

Shen Peinan did things straightforwardly, and held a farewell dinner at the Guosheng Hotel near the Presidential Palace that night. Due to the trust issue between the two parties, he did not dare to bring Mo Qinghe with him.Early the next morning, there was a row of cars parked in the garden. All his friends from the military and political circles had come over the years. After shaking hands and saying goodbye, the two of them took A Yi and took a special plane to Shanghai.

This time I left the country and made up my mind to take a plane. The journey time was very short, and there were family members in the United States to pick me up. The two of them traveled lightly. They didn't even bring a cook and a follower. They only packed a few pieces of clothing in their suitcases and set off on the road. .

After arriving in Shanghai, things started not to go well.

Since Ah Yi's new nanny did not agree to leave China, Shen and Mo had no choice but to take the child with them. The plane was checked at Hongqiao Airport for equipment across the ocean. The departure time was scheduled for the next morning. The two decided to enjoy their honeymoon time. I found a hotel to stay in, rented a car, and took A Yi to visit the scenery of Shanghai Beach.

The two are experts in horseback riding and shooting, but they have no experience in taking care of children. They obviously overestimated the children's ability to adapt to the journey. Tears, there is no time to cheer for the modern street scene, wearing a pair of brand new small black leather shoes, reluctantly walked around Xiafei Road, suddenly realized that this is a new city, and clutched it tightly in fear Mo Qinghe's hand.

A Yimei is dark and fair, with delicate facial features, wearing new clothes, she is as beautiful as a doll in a shop window.Mo Qinghe ran to buy an ice cream, and when she came back, she saw a blond woman in a low-cut dress bent over A Yi, stretched out a hand in lace gloves, and gently pinched his small face. She clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Sweetheart."

Shen Peinan didn't think there was anything wrong, and Mo Qinghe didn't react, but in A Yi's eyes, this foreign friend looked like a scented ape, he was enveloped by the nausea of ​​motion sickness, staring straight at The woman's eyes, like glass beads, let out a cry.

It was as if the switch was turned on at once, and the candy and ice cream were useless. Ah Yi cried out in grief. Standing in the crowded Shanghai Bund, she finally realized the fact that she was abandoned. Tears flowed down his face, as if all the grievances of the whole world were placed on him alone.

Shen Peinan's brows were furrowed, he had never experienced this kind of battle, and he wished he could call a command to make him quiet, but the small and heavy body in his arms was thrashing about indiscriminately, which didn't give him face at all.

"Hurry up, hurry up..." He didn't know what order to issue. He looked around, but there was no one around him who could obey his order. It was the first time in his 20-year military career that he lost the initiative. , holding the child in his arms stiffly, with a few muddy footprints kicked out of the expensive woolen suit, he was so embarrassed that he almost sweated.

Mo Qinghe was still anxious at first, but suddenly he was amused by Shen Peinan's embarrassment. He coaxed a few words, shook his hands and laughed for a while, holding his stomach out of breath.

Shen Peinan supported A Yi's little butt, with a distorted expression, staring at Mo Qinghe: "Damn it, think of a way!"

Mo Qinghe held up a half-melted ice cream, tried her best to hold back her smile, and faced up to this human tragedy: "A Yi, let's go home, we'll be home right away, stop crying."

He casually pointed to the distance: "Look, mom is here."

Of course, Shen Piaoping would not appear, but suddenly there was a sharp whistle in the direction he was pointing, and the crowd parted. A patrolman in black uniform blew at them with his whistle in his mouth, puffing his cheeks: "Du—— beep--"

Mo Qinghe's expression changed: "It's broken."

Attracted by the whistle, four or five policemen in the same uniform came towards them from different directions. The one who blew the whistle showed suspicion. Dare to offend, and tentatively spoke a bunch of Shanghai dialect.

Mo Qinghe looked at Shen Peinan suspiciously. Shen Peinan was from Hangzhou. He could barely understand most of the words. He was connecting the words to understand the meaning. The policeman lost his patience and changed the official language: "Outsider?"

"Which of you is the father of the child?"

"Neither? What about the mother?"

"What, you are uncle, then who is he? What do you bring your children to Shanghai for?"

"Shut up and let him speak for himself! I want to hear if he knows you as uncle!"

One of them is the Communist Party and the other is the Kuomintang. They are a pair of lovers who quit the battlefield and plan to take their relatives' son away to the United States.

The crowd retreated back into a circle to surround them, and the policeman's attitude was even more unkind, saying that they were human traffickers one after another. After more than ten minutes of entanglement, Shen Peinan finally lost his patience completely.After swearing a foul word, he moved his hand to the back of his waist, neatly took out a Browning pistol, and pointed it directly between the patrolman's eyebrows!

The burnt blue of the gun body was shining coldly, the noise seemed to be suddenly shut down, the crowd was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly there was a burst of screaming, and they fled in all directions in a panic, cars honked, bicycles fell to the ground with a clatter, and the patrolmen in the distance blew their whistles. The whistle came to support, and the scene was chaotic, comparable to the Qinghong gang fighting.

Mo Qinghe held A Yi's little hand tightly, completely dumbfounded.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Xiafei Road was still full of traffic, Mo Qinghe led Ah Yi, and walked out of the police station with Shen Peinan. Director Liu of the police station had a flattering smile on his face, and kept repeating "misunderstanding and misunderstanding", nodding and bowing all the time Send them a few hundred meters.

The order of the street has returned to normal. Gorgeously dressed ladies and gentlemen are arm in arm, walking through the street in a pretentious manner. A boy wearing a crooked hat tucks his checkered shirt into his trouser waist, and walks through the crowd with the dexterity of a fish, shouting: "Newspapers, cigarettes, running fire!"

The hired car was parked on the side of the road. It was an old-fashioned car trimmed with gold. The driver was sitting by the side of the road, smoking dry cigarettes.

After this inexplicable interrogation, the interest in shopping has long been wiped out. Mo Qinghe carefully arranged A Yi's clothes, facing the afternoon sun, and sighed lightly and long.

Shen Peinan stood beside him: "What's wrong?"

Mo Qinghe shook her head: "Get in the car, go back to the hotel and have a rest."

He turned around to leave, but Shen Peinan grabbed his arm: "Say it straight, I'll look aggrieved."

Mo Qinghe placed Ah Yi in the back seat of the car, closed the door again, leaned against the car body, lowered his head to think for a while, and said softly: "Are you really willing to go?"

"I think..." He paused, and glanced at the steeple of a western-style building in the distance from the corner of his eye, "Brother Shen, you can only be at ease in the army. If you really leave, from now on, we can only be ordinary people." People, no privileges, no one shouting and hugging, what happened today may still happen, and I was worried that you would regret your decision now."

It was rare for Shen Peinan to take his family out on a trip. He was offended by the police first, and then interrogated for a long time at the police station. The remaining anger had not subsided. He thought that Mo Qinghe's depression was because he blamed his mistakes in the arrangements, and he was even more unhappy.After hearing what he said, the anger dissipated immediately, he lowered his head, lit a cigarette, and said with a smile: "Beating little devils is the greatest joy in life, and being able to sleep with your baby in your arms is the second, and you won't change it for a group army commander. "

He knew that it would not be good to meet Mo Qinghe head-on, so he wanted to make him happy, so he chose nice words.Unexpectedly, Mo Qinghe regained his energy immediately, reached out and snatched his cigarette, put it to his lips and sucked it, and said with a smile: "I remember what you said, I am afraid that you will regret it later and rely on others. "

The second half of Shen Peinan's sentence was choked back.

After smoking a cigarette, Mo Qinghe wrapped the woolen scarf around her neck twice, tied it in a knot behind her, and squinted her eyes to look at the passers-by on the road. The war never really happened, it was all just a dream of a backstage nap.

Someone played a piece of huqin, the tune has the desolation of the Northland, which is very incompatible with the bustling street scene. Mo Qinghe's eyes wandered across the street, and suddenly saw a big theater not far away, with a large four- to five-meter-long advertisement hanging on the door , starred in "Hongniguan" for three consecutive days.

He couldn't help but become addicted to the theater, and pouted his mouth towards the opposite side: "Want to listen to a show? I heard that the theater in Shanghai is open and bright, and I have always wanted to see it."

Seeing Shen Peinan hesitate, he pointed to the car behind him: "Take Ah Yi, he likes this too."

When making this decision, Mo Qinghe's mood has never been more relaxed. She generously took Shen Peinan's hand and whistled to the entrance of the theater to inquire about the opening time.

The source of the sound of the piano is not in the theater. There is a dirty alley behind the large billboard. There are many beggars sleeping here and there, all of them in ragged clothes, covering their faces with newspapers to take a nap. At first glance, it is impossible to tell whether they are alive or dead.An old man was sitting against the wall, eyes half closed, as if he had just smoked two tubes of big cigarettes, shaking his body, pulling the bow back and forth violently.

The old man swayed his body like a fascination, Mo Qinghe took out a roll of banknotes, not only for this good song, but also a bit of old-fashioned superstition in his bones, there were too many bad luck today, if you want to attract good If you are lucky, you must be willing to spend a little money.

What happened next fully demonstrated that the money he donated was far from enough.

Mo Qinghe divided the money into several shares, and each beggar received a little alms. Just as he raised his head, there was a sudden commotion behind him.

This was the second time he encountered a patrol team on the same day.

The sound of chaotic footsteps approaching from far away, the sharp whistle disrupted the rhythm of the huqin, and someone shouted loudly: "Catch the traitor! Catch the traitor!"

The Anti-Japanese War ended, and the Chinese people's hatred for traitors reached its peak. They caught one and executed the other without mercy. The rumbling crowd flocked like a roaring train. Mo Qinghe watched the excitement with his pockets in his hands. A beggar suddenly lifted the newspaper from his face and jumped up. The man seemed to be a consumptive man, thin as a skeleton, unkempt, and he couldn't see the banknotes in the bowl. He ran two steps with bony legs. Plop fell to the ground all of a sudden, he was too weak to take a step at all.

The crowd arresting traitors roared away again, and there were several gunshots in the distance. Mo Qinghe's face was as pale as paper. He didn't look in the direction of the gunshots, but stared blankly at the twitching people in the alley. youth.

That face was as gray as the dead, with high cheekbones, like a skeleton with hair hanging from it, but Mo Qinghe recognized him the moment they looked at each other, his whole body trembled, and suddenly called out: "Liu Chu! Liu Chu! First senior brother!"

He rushed to Mo Liuchu's side, and was almost stunned by the stench he emitted. He groped and turned his face, only to see the upper and lower teeth clenching morbidly, white froth spit out from the corner of his lips, and Mo Qinghe smacked his nose. Trying, I only felt that the breathing was weak, the intake was not much, and the knees suddenly became soft. He turned his head towards Shen Peinan: "Brother Shen, please, for my sake, save him, I beg you Save him!"

His brain was spinning fast, and he thought of ten thousand ways of showing weakness and begging. Just when he was about to speak, Shen Peinan strode forward and carried the bony skeleton on his back like picking up firewood. His tone was undeniable: " Let's go, let the driver drive and go to the hospital."