winter past

Lin Midong climbed up to the third floor with a toolbox. He pressed the brim of his peaked cap and looked around. There was no one, and the doors were closed tightly.

He knocked on the door of 304.

After a while, someone asked him through the security door: "Who are you looking for?"

The voice of the question was low, mixed with phlegm.

Lin Midong took off his peaked cap, pulled out a work card hanging around his neck from his collar, and put it in front of the cat on the security door. The man also faced the cat's eyes, smiled, and said, "Hello! , I’m Chunlan, my surname is Xu, and it’s time for the annual inspection of your air conditioner.”

"Annual inspection?"

"Yes, this year's new service, look at your cooling, ventilation, etc. If you don't have enough freon, I'll give you some more." Lin Midong raised the toolbox in his hand and shook it.

"Why didn't anyone come to check before?"

"This year's new service is free. Isn't this an advocacy of humanized services?"

"No money?" the person in the room asked.

"How long will it take? We're going out at two o'clock." The person in the room asked again.

"Soon, it will definitely be done in 10 minutes, and it won't hinder you from going out."

The security door opened.Standing behind the door was an old man leaning to the right, leaning on a cane in his right hand, dressed in gray, with a cautious expression.There was another person standing in the corridor behind the old man. It was an old woman with a newspaper wrapped around her neck and her hands holding her hair high. She was looking at Lin Midong.

From time to time, black drops of water fell on the newspaper.The old woman came towards the entrance, frowning and muttering: "Who is it?"

The old man said: "Annual inspection of the air conditioner."

Lin Midong took down the work card and handed it to the old man: "My work card."

The old man took out a pair of glasses from his coat pocket and put them on, his eyes flicked back and forth between the work card and Lin Midong, and after a long while, he reached out and closed the door and said, "Then check it quickly, we are going out."

Lin Midong just entered the room.He took out a pair of shoe covers and a pair of cotton gloves from his trouser pocket, put them on, and said with a smile, "Don't dirty your house."

At this time, the old woman walked up to the old man and also wanted to see the work card. The old man glared at her, returned the work card to Lin Midong, grabbed the crutches and knocked on the floor, and lost his temper at the old woman. : "Look, look, it's all over the ground! Why are you out!"

The old woman lowered her head and flashed into a room at the end of the corridor holding her hair that was dripping with black water.

The old man pointed to a corner of the living room and said, "There is one in the living room, and there is another in the room."

Lin Midong glanced at the kitchen and said, "Is there something wrong with the refrigeration of your refrigerator?"

He looked at the trademark on the refrigerator door: "It's also from Chunlan? Let me show you, the sound is not right, it's too loud."

The old man looked at the kitchen, thoughtful: "Don't tell me, I also think this refrigerator is noisier than in previous years." He looked at Lin Midong: "It's free too?"

Lin Midong laughed: "Of course."

"You repair the air conditioner, this refrigerator can also look at it?"

"As technicians, we know everything," Lin Midong said.He walked to the kitchen, and the old man limped after him. The TV in the living room was broadcasting a football match, and the sound was turned on very loudly, and the audience cheered wave after wave.Deep in the corridor—the sound of rushing water came from the room where the old woman had entered.

After entering the kitchen, Lin Midong glanced at it, and saw a fruit knife beside the kitchen sink, and a large round cutting board beside the rice cooker with a kitchen knife on it.

Lin Midong walked to the refrigerator, put down the toolbox in his hand, opened the refrigerator, and asked, "Did you hurt your knee?"

"It's an old problem. It was injured during the war."

"That's a meritorious service." Lin Midong turned to look at the old man, and asked, "Then can you please unplug the refrigerator?" He said, "I'll see how the cold air is stored when it's powered off."

The old man went around to the side of the refrigerator, bent down, and put his hand into the gap between the refrigerator and the wall.His back was facing Lin Midong, his limped left leg was stiff, and he was leaning on his right leg, with one hand propping up on the wall and the other on the refrigerator. He put it on the ground.

Lin Midong stood up, walked to the sink, took the fruit knife, walked behind the old man, grabbed his hair, slammed his head against the wall, then covered the old man's mouth, A knife slit his neck.Blood was sprayed on the walls and refrigerator.He wiped the paring knife on his clothes and put it back by the sink.

The football game continues: "Let's see this attack organized by Nigeria..."

The sound of the water continued: "Huahua...huahua..."

Lin Midong walked to the door of the room where the sound of water came from.He gently pushed open the door, this is a bathroom, there is a square window, the window is not open, there is a green bathtub, the old woman is standing by the bathtub, bent over, leaning on the bathtub, Rinse your hair with a shower in one hand.

There was a box of hair dye cream on the floor, and some black newspapers.The old woman turned her back to him.

"Old man?" the old woman called out.

Lin Midong turned on the faucet of the washbasin, and filled the washbasin with water.He handed a towel to the old woman. The old woman wiped her face and turned her head to look over.Lin Midong grabbed her hair, dragged her to the washbasin, and pushed her head into the half-full washbasin.

The old woman's hands fluttered in the air.Her ten fingers were painted with bright red nail polish.There was a whining sound from her mouth, the water level in the washbasin kept rising, and bubbles kept gushing out of the water.

After 5 minutes, she stopped struggling, and the bubbles burst one by one.

Lin Midong turned off the tap, and carried the old woman into the bathtub.He checked her hair, black and white mixed.He sighed, frowned and sat on the floor, picked up the box of hair dye, found the instruction manual, and flipped through it.

"Wrap colored hair in a warm towel for at least half an hour while coloring."

After reading this, Lin Midong checked his watch, it was exactly one o'clock.

He found a comb, squeezed some dark hair dye on it, and combed the old woman's hair until all the old woman's hair became black and shiny. He put some hot water in the sink , soaked a towel, and wrapped the old lady's hair with this warm towel.

He took off the clothes on her body, cut off the wrist of her left hand, hugged her clothes, found the washing machine on the balcony, and stuffed the clothes into it.He carried the old man who had collapsed in the kitchen to the bathroom, put him in the bathtub, took off his clothes, and stuffed his clothes into the washing machine.He also took off his coat and pants, and put them into the washing machine. He studied the washing machine for a while, poured some washing powder into it, and pressed "Start Laundry".

He went to the living room and took off the short-sleeved top that was worn inside, folded it, and put it on the sofa. He only wore underwear, and found a pair of men's plastic slippers in the shoe cabinet at the entrance to put on.The slippers fit well.

He found a lot of plastic bags in the kitchen, he took one, threw the pair of blood-stained cotton gloves into it, took the toolbox to the dining room, took out the contents one by one, and laid them out. on the table.

On the dining table was a wedding invitation card printed with the word Double Happiness, and the wedding banquet started at 06:30 in the evening.

He brought three masks, a pair of black trousers, a T-shirt, a bag of needlework, a piece of plastic cloth folded into a square, a bag of disposable gloves, two stuffed cloth bags, and one full of yellow A liquid wine bottle, a peanut butter bottle filled with a transparent blue liquid, two pairs of scissors—one large and one small, a pair of elbow hemostats, a large bag of cotton, a No. 11 scalpel, and a NO .100 Scalpel, a tape measure, a red, blue and black ballpoint pen, a [-]ml syringe, a small jar of Vaseline, two shower caps, and a sleeve.

He took out the palm-sized notebook in his pocket, put it on the dining table, put on a two-layer mask, and put on disposable gloves.

"Goal! Argentina!" In the TV, cheers came from upstairs and downstairs at the same time.

Lin Midong glanced at the time, it was twelve minutes past one.He took a bottle of white vinegar and a bottle of mature vinegar in the kitchen, took his own measuring tape, a peanut butter bottle, two pairs of scissors, the scalpels, shower cap, drainage tube, cotton, sewing kit, cloth bag, and went back bathroom.

The old woman's wrist was no longer bleeding. He wiped her wound, wiped the knife wound on the old man's neck, and touched his left knee. There was an obvious depression in the old man's left knee.He cut open the skin of the old man's left knee with a No. [-] scalpel, put his hand under his skin, and touched his kneecap.There seemed to be a piece missing in his knee.Lin Midong grabbed some cotton and stuffed it under the skin of the knee. While stuffing it, he kept an eye on the old man's right knee. He didn't stop until the old man's left and right knees looked equally full, and then carefully sewed up the incision.He also stitched up the knife wound on the old man's neck and the cut on the old woman's wrist.

It's 01:30.He untied the towel on the old woman's head, her hair became very black, so he put on shower caps for her and the old man, diluted some of the blue liquid in the washbasin, and stood in slippers in the bathtub.He first used a tape measure to measure the height of the two people. There were already two people lying in the bathtub, and there was almost no place to step down. He stepped on the body of the old man or the old woman several times.The old man is 174 cm tall and the old woman is 151 cm tall.

Then, he picked up the two of them and weighed them; then, he cut open their stomachs, took out the internal organs one by one, threw them into the toilet, rinsed their bodies with clean water, and then wiped them with vinegar. Do a second rinse all over your body, inside and out.After this second wash, he dried their bodies, tore some cotton, squeezed it into balls, blocked their dung doors and vaginas, stuffed dried flowers and hay in their stomachs, and then sewed up work.

After this busy process, Lin Midong was sweating all over, and his breath was a little uneven. He put down the toilet seat, sat on it and rested for a while, then cut open the left neck of the old woman, and inserted a drainage tube , Infuse the blue liquid into her body through the cannula and syringe.

Someone outside said: "It seems that the score of this game will be maintained until the end, maybe we can congratulate Argentina in advance..."

It was very quiet outside the window.

Lin Midong leaned against the wall and yawned.His stomach suddenly growled, and he washed his body, went to the kitchen to find a can of eight-treasure porridge, walked to the living room, turned on the air conditioner, and ate eight-treasure porridge while standing watching TV.

There is a fruit bowl on the coffee table in the living room, with a few peaches and apples piled inside.After eating eight-treasure porridge, Lin Midong washed a peach, and washed the blood on the disposable gloves by the way.The football game was over, he changed the channel, and the TV station's summer theater was broadcasting "Love in the Rain".

A few pigeons landed on the anti-theft window railing outside the balcony, cooing, probably also hungry.He dug out a bag of peanuts from under the coffee table, opened it, grabbed a handful and threw it to the pigeons.

The peanuts landed on the grass on the first floor, and the pigeons flapped their wings and flew towards those peanuts.

In the scorching afternoon sun, no one in the community walked around outside.

Lin Midong burped, found another plastic bag, threw away the canned rice pudding and peach pits, and returned to the bathroom to continue disposing of the corpse.

Babao porridge and peaches were not enough, and at four o'clock, his stomach growled again, very loudly, like a drum.At this time, he was infusing fluid into the old man's body, and about four liters of fluid had been infused. He took a deep breath, poked the old man's protruding eyeballs with the No. 11 scalpel, and touched the blood vessels around his neck. , rubbed his stomach, and stopped for ten minutes before restarting the infusion.

At five o'clock, the bottle of blue liquid he brought almost ran out, so he stopped infusing the old man, put away the cannula, took a shower, and went to the kitchen again.

In the refrigerator he found six eggs, three tomatoes, and a piece of leftover shredded pork that smelled like fish-flavored shredded pork.There are rice, noodles and a pack of hot pot vermicelli in the kitchen.

Lin Midong washed the rice and cooked the rice, washed the tomatoes, and cut them into pieces.While the rice cooker was cooking, he wandered around the house.The house is small, with two bedrooms, one living room and one bathroom. One room is probably for an old couple. There are beds, cabinets, and some black and white or color photos on the wall.The bed was covered with a mat, and under the mat was a flowered bed sheet, and the pillows were also made of flowers, but they did not match the bed sheet.Lin Midong found an old military uniform in the closet. There were two dimly colored medals pinned to the chest of the military uniform. He gesticulated on himself and hung the military uniform back.There are many floral skirts and suits in the cabinet, all of which are very fashionable.

There is also a dressing table in the room with jewelry boxes, perfumes, cosmetics, skin care products and the like.

In another room, there is a flannel sofa, a small wooden bed, and some cardboard boxes. Inside the cardboard boxes are some children's toys, rabbit dolls, story books, and dolls.

The meal was ready, Lin Midong fried a tomato scrambled egg, and warmed up the fish-flavored shredded pork. When it was time for the evening news, he turned to watch the local news. The Three Ring Project was on the agenda, and the Swallow Ditch renovation was on the agenda. , Montenegro fell into panic again due to homicide cases. The police reminded not to travel alone late at night, especially single women.

After eating one pot of rice and two hot dishes, Lin Midong's stomach swelled up.He cleaned the pots, bowls and chopsticks, took the jar of yellow liquid, a small bowl, and the jar of Vaseline to the bathroom.

He dipped the toothbrush into the liquid and brushed the old man and the old woman's body.Face, arms, chest, back, thighs, calves... every finger, every toe, every long and deep wrinkle, every piece of loose skin...

It was still very bright, and the yellow sunlight came in through the small window in the bathroom, and the two bodies in the bathtub were getting more and more yellow.They start to stiffen.Lin Midong would massage their bodies from time to time.Their skin is still elastic to the touch and even warm.He also dabbed their lips and eyelids with Vaseline.He carried them to their bedroom, took off the shower cap, put them on their bed, and let them lie down.

He took a shower and rinsed the tub, the toilet, the bathroom floor, the basin, the sink, his gloves, his eyes, ears, hair, mouth.

The TV station started broadcasting TV dramas, new ones, but the title of the drama couldn't be found on the screen, probably because of the grievances and grievances within the big family, a woman hugged a dead baby and screamed, piercing her heart.Lin Midong went to the balcony, opened the window, and stood in the sunset to blow the air. His body was half dry. He turned off the TV, turned on the radio, and tuned to a music channel.

"Music is with me, hello everyone, I am the host, An An, your fellow on the music road, the first song I want to give you today is from Xu Ruyun's "The Price of Happiness at This Time", which was collected in her 2002 release It is worth mentioning that the composer of this song is Xu Ruyun herself..."

The sound of the piano slowly intervened.

Lin Midong sat at the dining table, took off his gloves, and carefully recorded in his notebook.

174, 7 liters, steady.

151, 5 liters, steady.

Diluted 30.00%, stable.

After writing this, he sat for a while, put his hands on his stomach, looked in the direction of the balcony, and listened to the song quietly.The sunset glow burned a large cloud of fire in the sky.

This evening is purple-pink.

At the end of the song, he packed up the things he had brought, put the garbage bag containing the cotton gloves into the toolbox, put on the jacket that had been folded on the sofa before, put on the black trousers he brought, and put on his shoes Socks, put on the peaked cap, and left with the garbage bag containing the food debris.He randomly found a trash can downstairs and threw the bag of trash.After leaving the community, he returned to the car, opened the window and door to let in a gust of wind, and got into the car.

He still listened to that music program, and the host said: "A listener, Ah Feng, wants to order a piece of "Moonlight in the City" by Xu Meijing for his girlfriend, Ms. Zhou. The moonlight in a city with you is the most beautiful. Listeners who want to order songs for their loved ones, or themselves, can call our hotline 6756282 or 6756283..."

While driving, Lin Midong took out his mobile phone and dialed the number 6756282. It took him several times to get through.

He said to the operator: "I want to order a song, "Flowers and Full Moon", and give it to a friend who asks to eat glutinous rice balls during the winter solstice."

"Okay, so what's your name? Do you have any blessings to say?" the operator asked.

"Anonymous, blessings..." Lin Mindong scratched the tip of his nose, "See you at the old place."