"Never used it?" Ou Renjin noticed his gaze.
He nodded, indeed he had never used it.
"I'll have someone send one to you tomorrow, and you can learn how to use it slowly."
036 opened his eyes slightly, paused for a moment in surprise, and then nodded in agreement.
Ou Renjin seemed to find him cute and put his hands around his neck, squeezing it gently, like teasing a kitten or a puppy.
He did not dodge, nor did he show any discomfort. He just looked straight ahead quietly, and then he saw Aunt Zhou.
Aunt Zhou was almost turning into the kitchen, and finally met his gaze, and immediately gave him a big smile. He recalled the previous instructions, and there was still no paper or pen around, so he directly took Ou Renjin's hand and wrote a few words on his palm stroke by stroke.
Because it was inconvenient, he tried to write as briefly as possible, but even so, Ou Renjin couldn't help curling his fingers because of the itch. 036 When he wrote the third word, he finally clenched his fist.
036 held his wrist and looked at him in confusion.
He let him hold it, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing his palm, and explained: "I'm a little ticklish."
036 looked helplessly towards the kitchen, but Aunt Zhou had already gone in, and no one told him what to do at this moment. He lowered his head and remained silent for a while, then tried to open his mouth and uttered a soft "hmm".
The voice was only a few notes higher than a whisper, but Ou Renjin didn't pay attention to it. He only noticed that the man beside him lowered his head in disappointment, so he adjusted his sitting position and spread his palm in front of him again, "The first two words are 'stay', what else do you want to write?"
This time, 036 successfully wrote the two words "eat" and breathed a sigh of relief as if he had completed the task.
"Okay, I'll leave after I finish my meal." Ou Renjin had nothing to do and was in no hurry to leave. Coincidentally, every move of 036 made him feel very interesting.
He lowered his head and started sending WeChat messages, and told Guan Qijun to bring a new phone immediately, as well as a laptop and e-book reader. Then he habitually opened his mailbox, replied to a few emails, and dealt with some official business for a while.
When Aunt Zhou called them to eat, Ou Renjin realized that 036 was unusually quiet. That kind of quietness was not the quietness of a mute who could not make a sound, but an absolute stillness that made you ignore his existence. He was sitting next to him, and his every move fell into his peripheral vision, but after he put on a focused look, 036 never made any movement, he did not change his posture, and did not even move a finger.
Realizing that Ou Renjin was looking at him, 036 turned his head and saw the rich man slowly smiling, with his palms spread out on his knees. "It seems I haven't had time to ask you yet. What's your name?"
When he smiled, his temperament was completely different from when he wasn't smiling. He was warm and intimate, and all sense of distance disappeared in an instant.
036 grabbed his half fingertip and wanted to write his number on it. He knew that this was not a name, but apart from this, he had no other name that could be called by others. But he just finished drawing half a circle and suddenly stopped there.
He thought that since the rich man was able to bring him out of the laboratory, he must know his background and number, but what he was asking for now was his name, a name that everyone in the outside world has and that sounds so gentle.
He wiped the place where he had just drawn with his fingertips to indicate that it did not count, then shook his head and wrote a few new words.
"Help me up."
This time, Ou Renjin resisted the urge to pull his hand away. After recognizing 036's answer, he raised his eyebrows in surprise, and this time his smile was a little frivolous, "Let me name you? Then why not just take my last name."
036 nodded, with excitement and joy in his eyes.
When I said this it was just a tease and a joke, but when the other party responded with such serious expectation, it couldn't end as a joke.
Ou Renjin was silent for a while. "Names are something that stay with you for your whole life. Are you sure you want me to help you choose one?"
036 responded with a look of great certainty.
"Then let's call him Ou Shaowen." He kneaded 036's fingers and compared them with his own. They were exactly the same length as his. "Originally, this name was intended for my son."
He verbally teased 036 again, but this little black man who came from some unknown mountain village didn't notice his teasing. He felt like he had received a gift he never expected, and happiness and satisfaction were hidden under his calm surface.
"You don't have an ID card, do you?"
Sure enough, there was another puzzled look.
Ou Renjin made a phone call in front of him and asked someone to make some arrangements, planning to take him to get the relevant documents in a few days.
"Okay, let's go eat first." Ou Renjin let go of his hand.
Aunt Zhou had already put the last dish on the table, steaming under the lights. 036 sat at the table, holding the chopsticks in an unskilled position. When he was in the laboratory, he would directly inject nutrient solution during organ transplants for convenience. Sometimes, when there was no surgery for a long time, he would occasionally eat their working meals. He always cherished this opportunity to develop his taste.
After finishing an unusually quiet dinner, Ou Renjin drove away and closed the car door. He looked back at the brightly lit villa, and his guesses were confirmed to some extent, but at the same time some new doubts arose.
The black household had a simple living environment before. They had never used a mobile phone, but they had a basic understanding of them. They had no relatives or friends, and rarely communicated with others, but they would respond rigorously to every communication you wanted to make. They had no name, no identity information, and a vague concept of identity credentials. They lacked some common sense, but they had received basic education.
Under such circumstances, he would most likely live in a poor and remote mountain valley, but it was obvious that he had a strange liking and curiosity for the green plants commonly seen in rural villages.
Ou Renjin reached out and pressed his beating heart, then smiled softly.
Shortly after the rich man left, Ou Shaowen received a bunch of electronic equipment that he had asked someone to send over. The person who came taught him how to use each item very diligently. In fact, he didn't need such detailed teaching. He had watched those researchers use more complex instruments many times and was very familiar with the basic operations of these electronic equipment. However, he didn't say much, just listened quietly, and then expressed his gratitude with his eyes.
After sending the man away, the room returned to peace. Ou Shaowen picked up his phone and began to explore every function inside. This was not difficult. He quickly turned to the contact page, where Ou Renjin's phone number had been properly saved. This time, he tried for a long time before he successfully sent a text message.
"The phone has been received, thank you."
All the knowledge he had now was taught by the laboratory for testing. He quickly completed all the courses up to junior high school, and showed outstanding talents in language, memory, and sports. Although his understanding of subjects such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry was higher than that of ordinary people, it was not good enough in a laboratory dominated by science geniuses. At this point, he lost his added value other than the organ culture dish, and the laboratory stopped teaching him as useless.
Although a long time has passed, fortunately he still remembers how to use pinyin.
He wanted to ask about the transplant surgery, but everything was so good now, and he didn't want his dream to be shattered. Since the rich man himself was not in a hurry, he would steal as long as he could.
He didn't care that he didn't receive a reply to the text message. That night, he walked silently in the yard for a long time, until the night dew was heavy, and then he returned to his room with a calm heart.
The bed was too big and too soft, which made him sleep very uneasily. He woke up early the next day, went downstairs and took a walk. Hearing some noise in the kitchen, he walked over and stood quietly by.
Aunt Zhou was making breakfast. She looked like she was only old enough to make dumplings and noodles, but what she was making was a very delicate Western breakfast. A beautifully fried egg was served on a plate and sprinkled with seasonings. Cherry tomatoes were cut in half and served with parsley. Oatmeal was beaten into fruit smoothie with fruits, honey and milk. A row of blueberries, strawberries and mangoes were carefully arranged on the surface, and a few small flowers and nuts were sprinkled on it, making a colorful design. Next to it was a plate with ready-cut sandwiches, one was sweet with a special jam, and the other was salty with bacon and ham.
"You're here just in time. It's time to have breakfast." Aunt Zhou smiled brightly when she saw him.
Ou Shaowen nodded, took the two plates from her hand, and brought them to the dining table outside.
“I don’t know your taste, so I tried to make something simple. If you can’t get used to it, just tell me. I can make both Western and Chinese style.” As soon as she finished saying this, for some reason Ou Shaowen’s eyes became extremely moved. He just stared at you blankly, and all the words flashed in those beautiful eyes, which could make your heart wet.
Ouch!
Aunt Zhou cried out inwardly, this young master's skills were much more powerful than those of the previous ones. Her old heart almost beat out of control when she was looked at like this, and she wished she could cook him another hundred delicious meals.
When she came to her senses, Ou Shaowen had already held out the screen of his mobile phone in front of her. On the notepad page, there was a line of words - I wanted to tell you yesterday that I have never eaten such delicious food. Thank you.
After one night, he had become much more proficient in typing.
Aunt Zhou laughed even more happily, "Haha, why bother saying such polite words, just do it if you like it."
Ou Shaowen ate up all the rather hearty breakfast, then ran to the kitchen and helped Aunt Zhou wash all the dishes. Aunt Zhou refused several times, but he acted as if she didn't understand and quietly cleaned the blender carefully.
When she met Uncle Li, Aunt Zhou couldn't help but sigh: "This time, this guy is a worry-free person, but sometimes he is a little too pitiful, which makes people feel distressed."