Still tide

It was summer when Chen Chao came back here for the first time, and that summer was extremely hot.

Chen Chao sat on an overturned suitcase, with his back against the brick wall, another huge suitcase and three or four handbags beside his legs.

The shaggy dog ​​that was too dirty to see its true colors swayed over from the alley again, sniffing everywhere as it walked.When it swayed to Chen Chao's leg, it seemed to want to come over. Chen Chao retracted his leg, and the puppy thought he was going to kick it, so he jumped a few steps quickly and ran away.

The sun above his head made people dizzy, and there was half a shadow at the base of the wall. Chen Chao shrunk in that half shadow. The shadow could cover his legs but not his head.He took out a piece of clothing from the handbag next to him and put it on his head. The clothes still smelled like mothballs in their closet.

These should be his father's clothes, Chen Chao didn't put them in the closet in his house, he smelled it disgustingly.

His father threw him at the entrance of the alley and left. Chen Chao bumped all the way in the truck, which made him a little motion sick.Sitting in front of grandma's house now, I was too sleepy to keep my eyes open.

There was no one at grandma's house, and Chen Guangda didn't say hello to his grandparents before sending him back. They didn't know that Chen Chao would come back with so much luggage today.

Chen Guangda was unreliable, so it was not surprising that he did anything.

A corner of the clothes on top of his head was gently lifted, and Chen Chao opened his eyes irritably, with fierce double eyelids.

The people outside met his gaze and shrank their shoulders back.

It's a little girl, this little girl Chen Chao met just now on the way here.

At that time, Chen Chao was bouncing on the broken truck all afternoon, and the stale smell in the car made Chen Chao want to vomit.Outside the car window is a continuous stretch of cotton fields, green fields mixed with dots of white, not as beautiful as Chen Guangda said.

Chen Chao opened the car window, and the broken truck passed by in a hurry. Chen Chao met a little girl standing in the cotton field outside for half a moment.

The little girl was not very big, she was wearing a big and long white skirt, she stood with her arms outstretched, like a scarecrow.

"Who are you?" the little girl asked in surprise.

Chen Chao felt uncomfortable and sleepy, his temper came up, he frowned and asked impatiently: "Who are you?"

"I'm Miao Jiayan." The little girl was quite honest, she answered all the questions and gave her name.

Chen Chao didn't bother to talk about it, and closed his eyes again in agitation.

Seeing that he was going to sleep again, Miao Jiayan hesitated for a while, and then called him: "Hey..."

Chen Chao ignored him, pretending he didn't hear him.

It was hot outside, and Miao Jiayan's face and neck were flushed from the sun, so she just bent over and lifted the corner of Chen Chao's clothes, like lifting a hijab.

"Don't sleep here, who are you..." Miao Jiayan was at a loss.

Chen Chao turned his head and leaned against the wall without opening his eyes.

This was a bit tricky, the puppy from the alley came running up and down again, rubbing against Miao Jiayan's ankle.Miao Jiayan touched it with her left hand, and continued to gently slap the corner of her clothes with her right hand: "Don't sleep..."

The two of them just sat one by one and stood in a stalemate, Chen Chao was in a bad mood and Miao Jiayan was at a loss.

He shook Chen Chao's clothes endlessly, and when he shook the clothes, he tore them off.

When Chen Chao opened his eyes, Miao Jiayan hid back in fear.

"It wasn't intentional." Miao Jiayan explained in a low voice.

"Are you sick?" Chen Chao's face was ugly.

Miao Jiayan was so hot that her nose was sweating, she said innocently, "I want to go home...I'm thirsty."

"I won't let you go home?" Chen Chao was so annoyed that he was about to explode, his voice sounded like he was about to hit someone.

Miao Jiayan shrank back a bit, pointed to the pile of things on the ground, and the half door blocked by Chen Chao, finally frowned, and retorted softly: "I let you block it..."

Chen Chao suddenly turned his head to look at the gate, then looked back at Miao Jiayan: "Is this your home?"

"yes……"

Chen Chao stood up suddenly with his arms leaning on the ground, and asked, "Isn't this the Chen family?"

Miao Jiayan pointed to the door next door, and replied, "It's over there."

Chen Chao looked next door, then at the pile of things under his feet, and said after a while, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Miao Jiayan quickly shook her head, "It's okay."

Chen Chao moved the suitcase and made room for Miao Jiayan to go in. Before going in, Miao Jiayan folded the clothes just now and put them in the handbag next to him.Chen Chao was tossing about the remaining things by himself, and after a while Miao Jiayan poked her head out again, and asked softly, "Grandma Chen and Grandpa Chen are both in the field, do you want to come in later?"

Chen Chao's viciousness just now was gone, and the half-grown child still couldn't let go of his face at the moment, and said in a muffled voice, "No, I'll wait."

"Ah good," Miao Jiayan asked after thinking about it, "Then do you drink water?"

"No, I have." Chen Chao said.

Miao Jiayan gave a soft "um" and retracted.

Aside from the quick glance on the road, this is the first time the two of them have met.

At that time, he was still a child. Chen Chao had just graduated from elementary school, and his unreliable father made him lose his home, and he was sent back to his grandma's house with all his bags and parcels.Miao Jiayan is thin and petite, she likes to wear skirts, and her voice hasn't changed yet.

For a long time, Chen Chao thought that Miao Jiayan was a girl.

There has always been a wall between boys and girls, and they can't play together.Chen Chao had just come here, and he couldn't get used to it everywhere, and he was unhappy every day, but Miao Jiayan would say hello to him every time he saw him.

Once Chen Chao was sitting in the yard, Miao Jiayan passed by the door, saw him, and smiled at him.

Grandma Chen came out of the house, saw Miao Jiayan, and called him: "Miao Er, come in."

Miao Jiayan came in and called "Grandma Chen".

"Have you seen him before? This is my grandson, named Chen Chao," grandma said to him, "one year older than you, you have to call him brother."

Miao Jiayan obediently called: "Brother."

Although Chen Chao didn't have the heart to be with the little girl here as a younger brother and younger sister, but because of the embarrassment of meeting on the first day, Chen Chao didn't have the nerve to pull his face and said "um".

"You two will be playing together in the future, both of you will be about the same age, just right." Grandma smiled and patted Miao Jiayan's head.

Miao Jiayan took a cucumber in her hand and asked Chen Chao, "Do you want to eat? Brother."

Chen Chao made his "brother" scream so that his skin got goosebumps, but he couldn't say anything, so he shook his head and said, "Don't eat."

"Oh." Miao Jiayan nodded, and didn't care, she took a bite and chewed it crisply.

After standing for a while, one cucumber was eaten, and the cucumber root that was gnawed cleanly was left, which was thrown to the chick strolling next to him.

Chen Chao hasn't been back to his hometown for a few times, and every time he comes back for a quick stay for a few days during the Chinese New Year and then leaves.He was a real kid from the city. He was raised sweetly since he was a child. Chen Chao had never seen him eating cucumbers like this before, and he couldn't understand him either.His father is the only one in their family who gnaws like this occasionally, and his mother has to hate him.

At that time, Chen Chao listened to Miao Jiayan finish gnawing a cucumber, and was so numb by the children in the countryside. He sat on the steps with a numb face, not knowing how he would spend the next few years. .

Miao Jiayan speaks and walks a little slowly, a very honest child, Grandma Chen said "one year older than you, you have to call me brother", so that he will greet Chen Chao politely every time he sees him in the future." elder brother".Chen Chao felt uncomfortable being called "brother" by the little girl, and once said, "Don't call me that."

Miao Jiayan opened her mouth slightly, and asked after two seconds, "What's that called?"

"Just call me by my name." Chen Chao said.

"Oh." Miao Jiayan nodded, turned and left.

Although Miao Jiayan is sincere, she is not stupid either. Chen Chao doesn't like to play with him, which can still be felt.

So although it was called by name in the future, Miao Jiayan never called her again after that, and she didn't take the initiative to say hello when they met.However, the two families lived close to each other, and they could see each other almost every day. Miao Jiayan was used to being alone, and Chen Chao didn't think it was a problem to ignore him, he was used to it.

Chen Chao has nothing to like or dislike about him, he is out of tune with this place, and the same with the people here.

Many people in my hometown grow cotton, and they were all brought up by Grandpa Miao.

As long as there is heavy rain in summer, every family has to go to the field to dig ditches to drain water.Chen Chao followed him once, and his grandparents were afraid that he would suffer from heatstroke, so they asked him to stand under the shade of a tree without doing anything.As soon as Chen Chao stretched out his hand, they would come to stop him, which actually delayed the matter.

Miao Jiayan didn't go there every time, sometimes she would stay at home to cook and wait for her grandparents to come back to eat.It's too complicated to do. Simple things like cooking noodles and stir-frying are fine, and the Chen family's share will also be brought out.For them, this kind of neighbor relationship is closer than relatives.

Chen Chao was embarrassed to do this, so when Miao Jiayan was cleaning up and preparing to cook in the yard, she took the initiative to go over.

"What can I do for you?" Chen Chao asked.

"You don't have to," Miao Jiayan was surprised when he came over, she froze for a moment and immediately shook her head, and went to move a stool for him, "You can just sit down."

"Let me help you. Is there anything else you haven't done?" Chen Chao asked a little awkwardly.

Miao Jiayan looked around, and then said: "Then, why don't you wash the vegetables for me? After I pick them, you wash them."

Chen Chao said "OK".

A little boy and a little girl wash vegetables and cook together. This scene actually makes Chen Chao very uncomfortable. Children of such age always care more about these gender boundaries.But there was no other way.

It could be seen that Miao Jiayan couldn't let go, her movements were gentle, and she was very careful when putting things into the vegetable sink in front of Chen Chao.

Miao Jiayan went to the chicken coop in a corner of the yard, knelt down and reached into her arm to touch it, not knowing whether she was talking to herself or explaining to Chen Chao, she said, "Take two eggs and make soup."

He was still wearing the white suspender skirt on the day we first met. This skirt didn't fit him well and was a bit long. Chen Chao often saw him wearing it.

At this moment, Miao Jiayan squatted on the ground, her skirt spread out and hung on the ground, forming a round flower.

Chen Chao reminded: "Your clothes are stained with dirt."

It was only then that Miao Jiayan noticed, "Ah", came over and put the eggs in the sink, bent over and started rubbing the hem of her skirt.

The vegetables were splashed with water, and some soil was brought in, so they couldn't be wiped clean.

Miao Jiayan kept rubbing gently, tucking her chin and frowning slightly.He really loves to be clean, and his clothes are always clean every time I see him.

Chen Chao said, "Go and change your clothes."

Miao Jiayan stopped her movements, lowered her head, and said slowly: "I don't have any skirts anymore, I only have this one."