love of life

Gu Ming walked out of the hotel, took out his phone and found an unread message.

—Dinner is ready, where have you been?

The time of sending the letter was 06:30. He looked at his phone, and it was already seven o'clock.He opened the dialog reflexively, hesitated for a few seconds, then threw the phone on the passenger seat and drove home.

As soon as Gu Ming opened the door, the slippers were placed by the door as usual.As soon as he put his schoolbag on the shoe cabinet, Lin Zexi greeted him, "Why is it so late today? Wash your hands and prepare to eat. I'll go and heat up the dishes."

After speaking, Lin Zexi started to work in the kitchen.Gu Ming took a shower and changed his clothes, walked into the living room, his eyes were attracted by a bouquet of red roses placed on the coffee table.Delicate roses make the whole house full of life.Not only that, there are lotus leaf-shaped fruit bowls, sunflower coasters and floral rugs, and several pots of green baskets are placed on the TV cabinet, and the curtains in the living room are also neatly tied with linen ribbons. The tablecloths printed and dyed in cotton and linen were also replaced.Before he knew it, the room was changing little by little, and his living environment gradually became more comfortable.

Gu Ming looked at the steaming three dishes and one soup on the table, squirrel mandarin fish, braised eggplant clips, mashed garlic water spinach and vegetarian cabbage soup.

"The dish is a bit cold. I just took it back to the pot. Maybe the taste is not as good as it was when it was just out of the pot. You can try it." Lin Zexi handed the bowl and chopsticks to Gu Ming, and waited for him to move his chopsticks to give his evaluation.

Gu Ming picked up a piece of squirrel mandarin fish. After returning to the pot, the water vapor was obviously heavier, but at least it didn't have such a strong MSG and seasoning smell, and the umami taste of the fish was still there. "Well, it's okay."

Lin Zexi smiled, then picked up the bowl and started eating. "Next time, if you want to come back late, tell me first. I will cook later so that the taste will not be affected."

Gu Ming responded casually, and the two of them didn't speak any more.

A month later, Gu Ming checked his credit card bill on his mobile phone, and it turned out that he only spent 3000 yuan. He usually eats out alone, asks housekeeping staff to clean the house once a week, and washes clothes by himself. Fruit and so on, not counting water and electricity bills, cost about 5000 yuan a month.His current standard of ordering food is three dishes and one soup every night, and ordinary restaurants cost 200 yuan less. Does this Lin Zexi have magic?

"I don't have to go to school this weekend, I'll go shopping with you later." Gu Ming said to Lin Zexi while eating breakfast.

"Oh, good. It's time to change the flowers in the living room. Go and see what you like."

"Did you buy flowers at the flower shop at the gate of the community?"

"No, his flowers are too expensive and not fresh. I usually go to the morning market to buy them. There are flowers sold by the flower farmers themselves in the morning market. They are very fresh and cheap, but unfortunately there are not many kinds."

"Morning market?"

"Well, go out from the back door of the community, and you will be there in 10 minutes. The dishes there are fresh and cheap, but they are only sold until 10:30 in the morning, so we have to go out after breakfast."

Gu Ming thought about the back door of the community, because it was not on the way, so he never went there, and he didn't know there was a market there. "How did you know there was a market over there?"

"It's very simple. After eight o'clock, the retired aunts and housewives in the community will go out with vegetable baskets, just follow them."

At 08:30 on Saturday morning, Gu Ming followed Lin Zexi and walked to the vegetable market by accident. When he arrived at the entrance, Gu Ming's entire face was wrinkled.The so-called vegetable market is three narrow alleys side by side. The surrounding farmers temporarily put their burdens on the side of the road, blocking the narrow alley only enough for three people to pass side by side. From time to time, there are old women carrying baskets and carts in the alley Walk through the middle, look left and right, and block the crowds.This is not the worst. There is a section dedicated to selling fish and seafood. The water in the basin splashed all over the ground, and the ground was full of water. After being stepped on, half of the alley was full of mud and smelled The strong fishy smell made Gu Ming's nose feel uncomfortable immediately.

"Hey, little brother, why is it so late today? You are so lucky. The crayfish you picked up this morning are still alive and kicking. Would you like two catties? It's cheaper for you, 35 catties." The seafood seller next to him The elder brother smiled and said to Lin Zexi, looking familiar.

"Brother, today's lobster is a bit small. It must have been picked by someone else." Lin Zexi squatted down and skillfully grabbed the back of the lobster, turned over to take a closer look.

"Small ones are easy to taste. Just now someone offered them all for 30 yuan a catty, but I was not willing to sell them. Seeing that you come here frequently, you can count yourself as 32." The peddler opened his mouth, exposing his smoky yellow teeth to the sun. , It made Gu Ming feel disgusted.

"Let's make it cheaper, big brother, business is booming this morning, and there are only two big baskets of goods left. The sun will get bigger and bigger later, and the lobster will not be good if it is left in the sun. You should go back to rest early after you sell it." , let’s say I’m 25 a catty. My family loves aquatic products, so I’ll come to your house to buy them in the future.”

The peddler looked up at the sun, then looked at the remaining dozen or so crayfish in the box, pulled out a plastic bag and handed it to Lin Zexi, "Okay, I see that my brother is also an acquaintance, so I will sell it to you, take the bag away , I'll pour it for you." After speaking, he lifted the basket and poured all the crayfish into the bag, and weighed it on the scale.The total was 52 yuan, and Lin Zexi insisted on asking the hawker to erase the change of two yuan.

Gu Ming stood waiting under the big umbrella opened by the tofu stall next to him, his forehead was so hot that he started to sweat.

"Okay, let's go, go back to make spicy crayfish at noon today." Zexi called Gu Ming, and walked towards the fruit stand next to him.I bought two catties of grapes, a small watermelon, and seven or eight catties of oranges.

"There are a lot of oranges in this season. It's not good to drink canned orange juice all the time. Let's buy it and squeeze the juice ourselves." Lin Zexi paid the money, carrying bags with both hands.Gu Ming silently took the orange and watermelon in his hand, and walked behind him.

"Your wallet is so torn, why don't you change it? How about I give you one." Gu Ming has been staring at his dilapidated wallet today, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't please your eyes.

"No, I'm used to it, and it's very easy. Let's go quickly, the flowers will be sold out in a while." Lin Zexi walked forward quickly.

I finally left the most crowded vegetable market and came to the section where staple food and flowers are sold. "There are quite a variety of flowers today, see what you like." Lin Zexi asked while scanning the flower stalls.

"Whatever." Gu Ming was already extremely irritated by the noisy voices and the crowded crowd, and the smell around him and the sun above his head made him almost on the verge of collapse.

Lin Zexi heard that his tone was not very good, so she looked back at him, his face was gloomy, and his brows and eyes were full of impatience.Zexi quickly picked out a bunch of lilies, a bunch of roses, and a bunch of baby's breath, spending a total of 80 yuan, and took Gu Ming to leave the vegetable market quickly.

Finally out of the noisy environment, Lin Zexi said apologetically, "I'm sorry, the environment in the vegetable market is too bad, I shouldn't have made you wait so long."

"It's okay." Gu Ming felt a little irritable, but he didn't lose his temper.

"That... there is lettuce salad in the recipe tonight. It needs to be made with lemon juice to make it look good and delicious. Let's go to the supermarket to buy lemons."

Gu Ming frowned, do you want to put lemon juice in the lettuce salad?Didn't he remember that what he ate in restaurants were all vinegar and soy sauce? "Cold lettuce should be put in lemon juice? Can't you use white vinegar?"

"White vinegar is also available, but it's not as refreshing and delicious as making it with lemon juice. It's available in the supermarket at the gate of the community. I'll save the things, go in, and come out soon." Zexi said while walking quickly towards the supermarket go.

"You come back. Give me the things in your hand, and come out quickly after shopping." Gu Ming said angrily, and took all the bags in Zexi's hands, and the fresh crayfish were still bouncing around in the bag. down, startled him.

Gu Ming just stood in the shade of the tree at the entrance of the supermarket and waited with both hands busy. All the aunts coming and going by the roadside paid attention to him, and the expressions on their faces clearly said: This guy is not bad, just look at him. Very family friendly.

"Why are you so slow." Gu Ming waited almost 10 minutes before Zexi came out of the supermarket, holding two lemons and a pack of yogurt.

"I'm sorry, there are a lot of people queuing up at the supermarket this morning. Let's go." After speaking, he took a few bags from Gu Ming and walked towards the community one after the other.

"Xiao Lin, are you back from grocery shopping today? Who is this?" As soon as he walked downstairs, an enthusiastic aunt greeted Ze Xi, and even glanced at Gu Ming beside him, feeling a little unfamiliar.

"Aunt Wang, this is... my roommate, who usually attends school." Zexi said with a smile.

"Oh, no wonder, I just said it looks strange." Aunt Wang was going to buy vegetables with a bag in her hand.

"Why did Aunt Wang go at this hour? The morning market is almost over."

"I'll go to the supermarket outside the door to buy something casually. My grandson won't be in kindergarten today, so I'll wait for him to finish his breakfast. Don't talk about it, I'll go shopping first." Aunt Wang hurriedly walked, turning her head to greet Zexi as she walked. .

"Okay, goodbye, Aunt Wang." Lin Zexi turned her head and saw that Gu Ming had already opened the anti-theft door on the first floor, and was waiting for him to enter with his feet.Lin Zexi trotted all the way into the corridor, and found that Gu Ming's face became more and more ugly.

As soon as he opened the door and entered the room, Lin Zexi took the bag in Gu Ming's hand, "Come on, give it all to me, you sit and rest for a while, and I'll wash the fruit for you."

This sentence made Gu Ming inexplicably uncomfortable. Although these are his own jobs, Gu Ming now dislikes this way of getting along more and more.Usually, he goes to school early in the morning and comes back for dinner in the afternoon. He can't see Lin Zexi's busyness all day long, but he can still enjoy this kind of comfortable and considerate life with peace of mind.But today, he suddenly felt that this kind of care was like treating him like a child, and it seemed that his ability to live was very poor, which made him feel a little annoyed.

"No need, I'll do it myself." Gu Ming walked to the kitchen with the fruit plate, put a whole bunch of grapes into the fruit plate, turned on the faucet, and the water rushed out, splashing water all over his body. "Shit!" Gu Ming shook off the water on his hand, reached out and wiped the water droplets on his face, and couldn't help cursing.

"Be careful, there are not many people using water in the morning, and the water pressure is not stable. If you are not careful, you will splash all over your body. You go and change your clothes first, and I will come." After Zexi finished speaking, he turned on the faucet lightly, poof After barking a few times, the water flowed out at a constant speed. He picked up the scissors hanging on the shelf and cut off the grapes in the fruit plate one by one.

Gu Ming stood for a while in frustration, then quietly went back to his room to change his clothes.