All day, Lao Geng was busy sweeping the snow with a broom. The gravel road from the door to the highway has just been swept at night, and less than a cigarette, these rotten chicken excrement-like snowflakes are full.
As soon as it got dark, Lao Geng turned on the cover lamp under the cornice at the door of the store. The white enamel cover on the bulb and lamp holder was wiped with a rag a few days ago, and the light was not bright, yellow and dizzy. Under the cover of snow and fog all over the sky, the light is just a yellow and dizzy beach from a distance, and it is lonely. In this snowy day, it is becoming more and more desolate and cold here.
Once upon a time, it was very lively here. It was dark and crowded with people who played cards and chess all day. Even at night, stars appeared in the sky. I heard a voice in the "snapping" of chess pieces under the eaves: "You stepped on my horse and I ate your car!"
But not now. This place has been abandoned for many years. Sometimes, some old guys from the factory wandered here from the city, saw the head of Lao Geng and shouted from a distance, "Old guy, haven't you been on the yellow list yet?"
"A long way to go. Still alive and well. "
When Lao Geng said this, he grinned and laughed at the old guy who came to see him.
"Yellow list" is the word of their factory. In the past, in the factory, the bulletin board under their office building often posted good news, posters and announcements written in red paper, notices and criticisms written in white paper, and of course warnings written in yellow paper. Now, the factory has been closed for many years, the office building of the factory has long since disappeared, and the bulletin board downstairs has disappeared, but what they used to say in the factory, such as "red list", "white list" and "yellow list", will still pop out of these old guys' mouths from time to time.
Next, Lao Geng took out a box of cigarettes from the counter of the shop, opened it and handed it to the old guy. He put one in his mouth and talked about which old guy was on the "yellow list" recently and which old guy was still lying in the hospital. It seems that it is not far from the "yellow list". Take another cigarette. The old man said it was time to go back. I will come again when I am free. If the old guy doesn't come for half a year, Lao Geng will know that this old guy is likely to be on the "yellow list".
After the old woman died, Lao Geng was taken to the city by his son to live with his son and daughter-in-law. My son has a fruit wholesale shop on the street, so busy that everyone in the house has to be looked after. But gradually, Lao Geng found that his daughter-in-law's face hung up, and when she entered the room, she was gloomy, like who owed her? ! Daughter-in-law sometimes quarrels with her son, and she is sharp-tongued and sharp-tongued, and does not shy away from his stubbornness at all. Old Geng Tou has been guarding the machine for most of his life, but he has been a black and blue person all his life-I'm not old enough for you to pick up shit, and if I pee, I'll eat shit from the corner of your eye? ! Lao Geng finally hugged his son's head and talked to him. I moved out to count the balls! The son muttered, Dad, what's wrong with you? Old Geng snorted at his son and said, I want to be alone.
A few days later, Lao Geng, with a thick head and a long face, told an old man in charge of the factory, and the old man agreed without saying anything. The factory has been closed for many years, and the machines that can be moved and sold have long been dismantled, but the site is still there. Find someone to guard the factory and protect the hospital. Old Geng Tou really moved there later, cleaned up the shop at the factory gate, made the bed, and bought pots and pans and bedding. Old Geng Tou regarded this place as his home.
Wandering around the factory during the day, sometimes opening the rusty iron gate and looking around the factory, the rest of the time, Lao Geng moved a Mazar, sat under the cornice in front of the store, stretched out his head and stared at the distant highway unblinkingly.
This area is a wasteland, two or three miles from the city. Since the city developed westward, this area in the east of the city seems to have been forgotten. Except for the wasteland on both sides of the road, it is an old factory that does not smoke all the year round. On the highway, cars come and go all day, sometimes cars run by, sometimes long-distance buses, and more trucks run freight. Occasionally, a driver stops at the intersection, jumps off the bridge and walks to the roadside grass, then turns around to buy a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of mineral water, and sometimes smokes a cigarette under the cornice in front of the store to catch his breath and chat with Lao Geng.
There are cigarettes, mineral water, instant noodles and some colorful snacks in the counter of Lao Gengtou's shop. He doesn't expect these things to make any money, and Lao Geng only looks for someone to chat with when others come to buy cigarettes. Otherwise, he will stay alone in the wilderness, and he will not die of grief.
It was getting dark, and the snow never stopped. The snowflakes in the sky are out of sight, only the snow on the ground glows white everywhere in the dark. Occasionally, snowflakes are blown under the eaves by the wind, shining in the yellow light of the lampblack machine and then disappearing.
Lao Geng took off the cotton curtain on the shop door. It's time for his shop to close.
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When the young man came in, Lao Geng was burying his head and adding coal to the shell furnace in the corner of the door. As soon as the cotton curtain pricked, a cold wind whizzed in, and then a person's neck stuck in. Lao Geng's head straightened up, and you can see it with a few blinks. The man who entered the door was a tall young man, whose hood and winter clothes were covered with shiny snowflakes. It seems that he has been walking in the snow for hours.
"Buy cigarettes?"
The young man raised his hand, took off the hood on his head, and "hmm".
"It's dark, why go out?"
The young man looked at the old Geng head around him and said, "It's almost the New Year. I'm rushing to the station to go home by car." Immediately, the young man glanced around, and he clearly saw the small shop in front of him-a cannonball stove with a chimney squatting at the door, a counter in the room, a bed by the window behind the counter, and a wardrobe, shelf, washbasin, iron bucket, shovel, broom and mop standing against the wall. The whole room was full of people.
"Is it snowing heavily?"
"hmm."
"Are you alone?"
The young man still "hmm".
While speaking, Lao Geng walked behind the counter, turned around and came over with a broom.
"Quick sweep the snow off you. Look at the snow. Your clothes are wet. " Old Geng handed the pimple broom to the young man and muttered.
The young man hesitated, but still reached for the pimple broom on Lao Geng's head, slapped it on his shoulder a few times, then bent down and pooped up the snow on his trouser legs and vamps.
As soon as his eyes fell on the young man's back, Lao Geng saw a canvas bag on the young man's shoulder, bulging and wondering what was inside.
After sweeping the snow from his shoes, the young man straightened up and raised his hand to stroke his hair back and forth. The light overhead was dim and dizzy, but Lao Geng still saw it clearly. The young man is in his mid-twenties, tall and thin, with hair covering his eyebrows and two thin eyes on his long white face.
"Do you have to work here?"
"hmm."
"Is the factory on holiday for the New Year?"
The young man avoided the old Geng's eyes and didn't respond.
Seeing that the young man was silent, Lao Geng pulled out a folding chair from the corner and pointed to the shell furnace at the door and said, "Go and warm yourself."
After sitting in the chair, he threw the canvas bag behind him into the corner. The young man "creaked" and sat down by the fire. Then his palm was attached to the steel pipe chimney of the shell furnace, and his mouth was sucking.
Old Geng saw it, and the young man looked tired and cold.
Old Geng bent down and wore pants, reaching out and closing the door. With a bang, the flame in the furnace came out, which made the young man's face red and his eyes covered with a hazy fog. Seeing the old Geng head looking at himself, the young man looked up at the counter behind the shop, then tilted his head and asked, "Master, do you have instant noodles?"
"Is there ..." Old Geng asked as he walked. "Master Kong or Hualong?"
"'Master Kong'."
"How many bags?"
"Two bags."
Two bags of instant noodles were brought to the young man. When the young man reached for instant noodles, Lao Geng suddenly saw a thin dragon on the wrist of the young man's right hand, holding his head high and sticking out his tongue. It's terrible to make holes. May be aware of the old geng head is staring at his hand, the young man's hand some unnatural shake, and then hand a shrink, tsing lung slipped into the sleeve is missing. Then, the young man put his hands together and worked hard. Bang, the mouth of the instant noodle bag tore a crack, and the young man was caught between his thumb and forefinger and was about to send it to his mouth.
"Don't eat, don't eat, I have bowls, chopsticks and boiled water here. Let's soak and eat. "
When the old Geng Tou said this, people had turned and walked to the chopping board in the corner, groped for a while on the shelf where bowls, chopsticks, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar were placed, took out a porcelain bowl and said to the young man, "This is for my son, who has never used it once."
The young man looked at Lao Geng's head, coldly, and finally stood up and walked to the chopping board in the corner. Scoop water in the iron bucket under the chopping board, rinse the chopsticks, then put the noodles into the bowl, tear the seasoning bag, put the seasoning bag on the noodles, fill it with boiling water, and finally cover the bowl with a torn paper bag, and then press the two chopsticks side by side on the edge of the bowl.
It seems that the young man has not eaten instant noodles once or twice.
After a while, the bowl was uncovered and a hot air rushed up from the bowl. The young man took the bowl and gave way to the old Geng. Seeing the old Geng Tou waved to himself, the young man put chopsticks into the bowl, opened his mouth, the head of a chopstick went into his mouth, and then the Adam's apple moved up and down, and a pair of chopsticks reached into the bowl again.
Old Geng looked at the young man who was eating noodles with his mouth open. Young people have a good appetite. Lao Geng hasn't eaten like this for many years.
Three or five chopsticks, the young man finished eating noodles, and even the young man in the bowl picked up the bowl and drank it all. "Master Kong" was opened, and the second bag of instant noodles was soaked again.
Old Geng suddenly rubbed his hands and smacked his mouth and said, "You see, I memorize by rote. I chewed meat this morning. Young man, put some. " Old Geng looked at the young man, his small eyes shining.
"No, no, no, no ..." The young man's mouth screeched and saw the old Geng head put down the black jar meat from the shelf on the chopping board. The young man still dug a spoonful with trepidation and put it in the bowl. Then, as soon as the bowl was opened, a fragrant smell went straight to people's nostrils. Old Geng sneezed and grinned.
The young man picked up the bowl and raised his chopsticks.
"Young man, where is your hometown?"
"Zhou Zhi."
"Week to good,' Jinzhou to Yinhu County, unreasonable Dali County'. People here often say this old saying. Zhou Zhi was there when I was young. There are mountains and water, and your place is very good. " Old Geng looked at the young man with a well-informed look.
"Is there a monk at home?"
When the old Geng asked, the young man's eyelids drooped and his head was buried, just sucking the noodles out of the bowl.
The night is getting quieter and quieter. The engine sound of a large truck pulling goods on the distant highway came. After a while, I ran away and couldn't hear clearly. The night in the wilderness is as deep and silent as a dry well.
After eating noodles and soup, the young man scooped water from the iron bucket under the chopping board, washed the bowl, put chopsticks on the chopping board, and took out a dollar from him and handed it to Lao Geng.
Old Geng took the money, just visible picked out some money from a paper box in the counter and handed it to the young man. The young man took the money and put it in his trouser pocket. Then he bent down to pick up the canvas bag in the corner, slung it over his shoulder, smiled at the old Geng tou and turned to go out.
"Do I have to go to the city by car now?" Asked the old Geng head behind him.
"Well, right now." The young man opened the door and raised his hand to open the thick cotton curtain on the door.
A cold wind blew in and Lao Geng shivered.
"Young man, young man, you wait." The young man behind the old Geng head suddenly shouted in a hurry.
The young man turned his head and looked at the old Geng head with some doubts.
Old Geng looked at the young man, opened his mouth, swallowed, and said, "Young man, it's getting late. There are still two or three miles from here to the city. If you stay with me at night, it will be a dance. Look! The bed behind the counter is big and there are bedding. "
With that, Lao Geng pointed to the counter at the back. Young people can see clearly. On a bed behind the counter, the quilt is laid flat and looks very big and wide.
The young man stared blankly for a moment, looked at the old Geng head and saw that the old Geng head was looking at himself eagerly. Finally, he turned and threw the canvas bag on his shoulder on the wall.
Next, the old Geng head is busy in the house. Bring the young man a pair of cotton slippers from under the bed, tell him which basin to wash his face and which basin to wash his feet, and nag him about whether it is convenient to go out.
After going out conveniently, the young man washed his face and feet and put on cotton slippers. Old Geng took the young man to the bed behind the counter.
The bed is very big and wide, supported by the back wall along the east and west, with the window to the east and almost to the wall to the west. The two quilts on the bed are tiled in tandem, and the red sheets and green quilts are very clean.
"The quilt will be warm when it gets dark, and my son will come soon these days." Old Geng pointed to the bed and said to the young man.
As soon as the words were finished, Lao Geng remembered that his son had not come for half a month. My son comes once every ten and a half months, sometimes he drives away when he meets, and sometimes he stays here for one night and leaves the next morning. My son is coming these days. Every day these days, I open the electric mattress to warm the quilt. Lao Geng always remembers to open the quilt for his son.
The young man sat by the bed, took off his winter clothes and put them on the counter in front of the bed. Old Geng took out a flower pillow from behind the bed and threw it at the west end of the bed. He said, "Go to sleep quickly and be warm."
The young man jumped on the bed as soon as he lifted his leg. As soon as his hand reached into the quilt, it became hot. The young man lifted the corner of the quilt behind the bed and put his legs into the quilt.
"Take off your clothes and sleep. Take off your clothes and have a comfortable sleep. " Old Geng looked at the young man behind the bed and said cheerfully.
After Lao Geng said this, the young man took off his clothes, put his trousers on the back of the bed, then leaned on the pillow, half lying on the bed, staring at the roof, as if in a daze.
I turned on the bedside lamp under the window, then closed the door, sealed the shell furnace at the door, pulled out the light on the roof, and Lao Geng went to bed.
The room suddenly became dark, and there was a whistling wind outside the window. It seems that the snow has not stopped. Old Geng went to bed, leaned against the pillow under the window and reached out for a cigarette from the cigarette case on the counter in front of the bed. He caught fire with a click and exhaled a mouthful of smoke. Old Geng looked at the young man in the faintly visible light and said, "Young man, are you married?"
"No."
"Do you have a date?"
"Not yet." The young man said in a nervous voice.
After hearing what the young man said, the old Geng coughed and the chatterbox just opened-
"There are no perfect people in the world. Ten fingers is not equal to neatness. If it suits you, you decide to get married and live. Young people should not be too lofty, but it is not a good result! It turns out that in our factory ... "
When Lao Geng talks to people, the topic goes around in circles, and nine times out of ten, it will fall to "originally, our factory". My son often laughs when he hears Lao Geng's words, "It turns out that our factory". "Dad, why did you go to' Originally, our factory' again?" Old Geng Tou knew that his son didn't like his nagging. Lao Geng replaced his father in the factory when he was a teenager. Now he finds all the dead old women in the factory. Now many years have passed, and the factory has long since stopped smoking. But those people in the factory, once riveted in his heart like rivets, just want to forget.
Old Geng spit out one mouthful smoke and began to "originally, our factory"-
"It turns out that there is a girl named Zhang Meili in our factory, which is more beautiful than her name. She was generous, face to face, eloquent, and a group of young men in the factory fell asleep with admiring eyes. But I don't like anyone. They fell in love with one of her classmates and went to college in a big city. She has a crush on others, but others don't like her. She married someone else as soon as she graduated, which delayed Zhang Meili. She is still a girl in her thirties. "
"What happened later?" The young man asked anxiously.
"Wow, there are things behind!" Old Geng sighed and said with some disappointment, "Later, a man ran to the bridge behind our factory and jumped first. When he was found, his body was swollen ... "
Seeing the young man lost in thought, Lao Geng felt his own strength, pulled out another cigarette from the cigarette case on the counter in front of the bed, lit a fire, and "originally, our factory" began again-
"There was a young man in our factory, about your age. Man can be an elf, learn whatever he sees, just a few years, and his craft is higher than his master's. Later, our director took a fancy to her and wanted to marry her as the director's son-in-law. The girl's eyes are nose to nose, full of flowers and bones, but everyone in our factory is fascinated by her eyes. He owns all the good things in the world! Who knows, get married in the first month, in the twelfth month, let the police car meowed away ... "
"Why?" The young man asked, puzzled.
"Why? The young man is' three hands' and will be in trouble! "
Lao Geng looked at the young man with squeaky teeth and said, "At night, a person sneaked into the warehouse of our factory in the dark and stole the copper plates used as fillers in the factory and sold them for the police station to find out."
Seeing that the young man kept his head down, Lao Geng said, "It is enough for a man to have two hands. Don't take the third hand. Is it a curse or a thief? If you break through the difficulties, you will ruin your life, and it is too late to regret it. "
Seeing that the young man was silent, Lao Geng cleared his throat and went to "Originally, our factory"-
"It turned out that there was a woman in our factory named' Liu rag'. That woman is poor. The man slipped off the tower while overhauling our factory and died on the spot without saying a word. Liu rags later came to our factory from the man's hometown to clean the factory and pick up rags. " Liu Rag brought a son, and Liu Rag also picked up rags together. Niangs are dirty all day and look miserable. After Liu went bankrupt, he sent his son to school. I never thought that this child would be the first in the exam every year, the first in primary school, the first in junior high school and the first in high school. Later, he was admitted to the university and went to Beijing to do something important after graduation. Liu Bao was brought to Beijing by his son a few years ago! "
Old Geng's head was still nagging. When he looked back at the young man, his head was buried in the pillow, and it seemed that he had probably fallen asleep. Old Geng sighed heavily. The factory has been closed for years, and now it is becoming a wasteland. Many people in the factory haven't seen each other for many years, but when it comes to those people in the factory, they seem to be shaking in front of Lao Geng. I'm afraid Lao Geng won't finish talking all day.
Press the light on the bedside, old Geng is going to sleep. But Lao Geng knows that he can't sleep now.
The snow outside the window dimly reflected the bedside, and the night was quiet and empty. The sound of big trucks pulling goods came from far away on the highway, which was frightening. The thunder was getting closer and farther away, and finally I couldn't hear clearly. Every once in a while, another one. Old Geng turned over and still couldn't sleep.
Old Geng Tou is most afraid of night now, especially when it rains and snows. When it rains, it is dark all around, and when it rains, it smells musty, and the eyes are full of shadows of old things. On a snowy night like this, my heart is empty, and I want to catch a shadow but I can't catch it. In this way, the old Geng thought about it at sixes and sevens, and his throat seemed to have a little sweet smell. Old Geng Tou knew he was sleepy.
Old Geng finally closed his eyes.
Old Geng's head was awakened by a voice, which was weak, quiet, light and heavy, as if coming from a distance, and as if coming from a nearby place. Old Geng's head was flying around and he dozed off without a trace.
Old Geng pricked up his ears, listened for a while, and finally heard clearly. The voice came from the young man at the other end of the bed. Old Geng also knows that the young man seems to be crying. It's that kind of depressing cry. He's afraid of being known. He sobbed and choked, and the young man's body seemed to be shaking.
Old Geng has a sour nose. Is this young man haunted by nightmares? Does he want to wake up the young man? On second thought, Lao Geng thought he was really crazy. A big guy secretly cried. Does anyone know? How humiliating and embarrassing would it be if someone saw it? Cry if you want, as long as you don't feel bad after crying, it's better than holding grievances in your heart.
Old Geng cried all his life for shame. When he first saw who was crying, his nose was sour and his eyes were wet, and he felt as if he were crying. Old women often say that Lao Geng's heart is softer than tender tofu, and old women also say that soft-hearted people can't do great things. The old woman is telling the truth. Old Geng spent most of his life by the machine in the factory, and he didn't even work as a monitor or section chief before he retired. Now, Lao Geng's heart is wet, just wet.
Why is this young man crying? Miss mom and dad? Encountered a sad thing? Being bullied? Cheated? Old Geng thought for a long time, but he still couldn't figure it out. He was dizzy, turned over and closed his eyes.
It was dawn when I woke up, and the snow outside the window reflected the bright room. Old Geng glanced at the other end of the bed, and the young man was gone. The quilt covered by the young man last night was folded into a square and placed neatly behind the bed. Old Geng looked around the house again, and the young man had really left. The counter in the room, the wardrobe shelf near the corner, what is it? Everything is the same.
When he got dressed and was ready to go out, Lao Geng suddenly saw an empty cigarette case on the counter, and there seemed to be lines on the back of the cigarette case. Lao Geng took the cigarette case under the window, blinked and saw what was in the cigarette case-
Grandpa:
Thank you! I'm going home ...
Thank your passers-by all your life.
Lao Geng's eyes are moist. Lao Geng raised his hand, stroking the cigarette case, and finally put the cigarette case in a thick book next to the pillow at the head of the bed. Old Geng Tou went out.
Old Geng Tou is going to clean up, and the door is on the gravel road of the expressway.
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By the time my son and daughter-in-law come, it will have cleared up long ago.
Old Geng Tou had already had breakfast, moved to Mazar-e, sat under the cornice in front of the store, squinting in the sun.
The sun rose high, and a bright red mound hung on the snow, dazzling white and shining. The sun shone under the cornice in front of the store, and a bright golden yellow fell to the ground. The sun sets on Lao Geng's body, on his hair, eyebrows, eyes and nose. Lao Geng's head is very comfortable in the sun.
It's still very cold, and the cold wind is blowing from a distance and pouring into the collar, which is chilly. The snow has begun to melt, and the slopes and grasslands in the snow have exposed black. The snow on the highway has melted, and a black belt winds from the snowfield and extends to the distance.
The son parked his car at the intersection and got off with his wife. The two men walked along the road to the gravel road in front of the store with big bags of food in their hands.
When the son walked away, he shouted, "Dad-,Dad-"
My son and daughter-in-law are all on Lao Geng's head. The son said, "Dad, come back with us."
Without saying anything, Lao Geng took the food bag from his son and daughter-in-law and led them into the shop. The son pulled up a chair and sat by the shell stove, warming himself, and asked, "How's Dad recently?"
Lao Geng snorted in his head and throat and said, "Good, good, good."
After listening to the old Geng Tou's words, the son suddenly looked at the old Geng Tou and said, "Dad, last night several shops in our street were broken into, and it's almost the New Year. There have been many thieves and beggars in the city recently. "
When his son said this, Lao Geng didn't answer his son's words.
At that time, Lao Geng was staring at the lampblack machine lamp under the cornice at the door of the store. Cover the bulb and the white enamel cover on the lamp holder. He wiped it with a rag a few days ago. The light bulb is a 60 watt incandescent lamp. In a few days, he changed the light bulb to 200 watts. At that time, he would take off the white cover on the lamp holder and hang a red lantern on it. It seems that when Lao Geng first went to the city a few days ago, he fell in love with the kind called "Poinsettia" here.
At that time, the lights were on at night, and people who were in a hurry to go home at night would shine at the moment from a distance and feel refreshed.
The years are getting closer and closer.