On the 30th day of the new year, it was early in the morning again, and there were basically no people on the street. Liang Xiao's red cloth was speeding on the Fifth Ring Road, and it was less than 8:30 when he arrived at the Xishan Welfare Institute.
The parking lot was built quite a bit, but apart from the bus from the orphanage, there were only a few private cars parked horizontally, and most of them were covered in dust. The security guard stopped at the gate of the fence, Ye Ji'an leaned on the car door to call the dean, Liang Xiao took out the gifts for the children, and the trunk was about to burst. There were several boxes of Lego, dolls that filled two large bags, and a set of more than 30 books of popular science, stacked at his feet. They were all bought when shopping for New Year's goods the afternoon before. At that time, the shopping cart was too full, and the two of them were huddled in the queue in front of the cashier.
I can only buy it on the way home in the afternoon. Liang Xiao planned it like this. He has never purchased such items after returning to China, and he has not developed the habit of online shopping. I wonder if the domestic supermarkets have the brand that he likes to use. . Of course, at this time and place, it doesn't seem appropriate to think about this kind of thing. Ye Ji'an has hung up the phone and walked towards him, picking up the two cardboard boxes of color-printed illustrations, "The dean will come to pick us up immediately," he said. Looking up at the sun, "she said she's here for the two of us."
Liang Xiao picked up the remaining dolls and building blocks, holding them full, "How many children there are."
"About sixty, from one or two to twelve or thirteen years old," Ye Ji'an said with a smile, "How many dumplings does it take."
After speaking, the two came to the fence, the iron gate had opened, and the dean trotted out to meet them. Different from the kind old lady Liang Xiao imagined, she is very young, that is, in her thirties, with a small nose and small eyes, and short ears and short hair, she looks capable, but her smile is sweet and quite friendly.
"The children just got up and just brought them to breakfast." She took a book in Ye Ji'an's hand and walked quickly in front of the two. "It's a long way, thank you so much for coming here."
"Where, you have invited me for several years." Ye Ji'an said, with one hand empty, he took a bag of dolls from Liang Xiao's arms so that he could show his face.
"Yeah, donating 20,000 yuan every year, starting from the year of the World Expo," the dean sighed, "You are still so young, we were very surprised when we found out."
Liang Xiao looked at Ye Ji'an with admiration, "There's more than this one," he said softly, "Senior's salary wasn't much at that time."
"Isn't it necessary to repay the mortgage at that time?" Ye Ji'an was a little embarrassed. "The salary also went up later."
"Haha, this is Xiaoliang, right?" The dean turned around and made fun of them, "Mr. Ye has already introduced it to me. I'm really surprised that you can persuade him to come over."
Liang Xiao also smiled, "Senior just doesn't know how to get along with children."
Ye Ji'an stepped on his shadow, "Hey, can you?"
Liang Xiao deftly avoided him, and looked at him obediently, "Neither would I."
The dean laughed loudly in this empty front yard, "The children are all cute and well-behaved, and they are all looking forward to making dumplings with the big brother. There is nothing to be nervous about." She gave two children without parenting. Experienced man cheers.
There are a total of two buildings in the high fence, both of which are three-story small buildings. The gray walls are so old that they are beginning to fall off. Probably one is used for living, and the other is used for activities. The dean led the two of them into the building on the south side, went through the hall and climbed the stairs. The entrance on the second floor was the large activity room. The lighting was very good. Through the small glass on the wooden door, Liang Xiao saw that many children had already Gather inside, all sitting upright.
"Sixty-three are here. They all changed into new clothes and bought them with Mr. Ye's donation." The dean looked inside with a smile.
"Just be warm." Ye Ji'an said. He still had his usual polite smile on his face, but Liang Xiao could see a trace of embarrassment in it.
"In the beginning, it may be more recognizable," a ponytail teacher came to open the door for them, but the dean was in no hurry to go in, and stopped at the door and explained, "I have already introduced you, they are all universities that engage in securities investment. Ba, they are golden collars at such a young age, and they can be admired. Just say hello, we will divide the gifts, and then start to make dumplings and make dumplings from scratch, the children will feel more involved."
Liang Xiao doesn't think that children of this age will have any sense of admiration for financial farmers. At least he has always been interested in his father's field of work since he was a child. He only likes to spend his father's money. After going to college and meeting a few good teachers , he really discovered the data and the fun in the market, and made up his mind to put all his energy into it. At the same time, he was even less hopeful about how much he could help in making dumplings, but he nodded anyway, and the brim of the peaked hat slid down, and was pushed back by Ye Ji Anyun.
"I can already smell it, stuffed celery," he whispered close to Liang Xiao's ear, "Do you like it?"
Help, it's celery, parsley parsley, parsley, parsley, and cress, I can't eat all of it. Liang Xiao thought.
"Ok," he said.
"I know you're picky eaters, go home and pack what you like." Ye Ji'an glanced at him again, and then followed the dean into the room, Liang Xiao followed, a little unclear. When was it exposed? Obviously, every time he asks Ye Ji'an to eat, he will deliberately avoid dishes that make him seem picky.
The part of the gift distribution was very orderly. Lego blocks and books were shared, so they were placed on the shelf. The children didn't even bother to look around, but stayed motionless on the small bench. More than 80 dolls were Guaranteed to have it for everyone. The two simply greeted each other according to the words they had written in advance. Every child responded enthusiastically. The teacher only stood up to receive the gift after giving an order. Every little face had a sweet smile, which made Liang Xiao feel strange. weird. But he couldn't tell why, so he followed Ye Ji'an honestly, thinking that he would hand them to the children one by one, just like the Santa Claus he saw at the school gate every year in junior high school, but saw that Ye Ji'an just handed the bag to the courtyard Teacher Long and Ponytail sat aside by himself.
"It's just a small toy, there's no need to make it so ceremonial," Ye Ji'an looked at the children who were voluntarily lining up in front of the teacher, and at the slender celery on the low table that had been washed well, "Look at them, Very nice."
"Yeah, I suddenly felt that I was very annoying when I was a child. I would probably fight with others to grab Batman." The small bench was not very comfortable, Liang Xiao bent his long legs and put his elbows on his knees to support his face, "they Just quiet."
Ye Ji'an smiled, "You haven't endured hardship."
Liang Xiao suddenly thought about it, this is really the case. The reason why this group of children is so worry-free is also very easy to explain. Since childhood, they have no one to rely on, and they learn to observe their words and appearances, so as to wrap themselves in a well-behaved and obedient shell, and abandon those common problems that children are used to. It is more like a kind of self-preservation.
Just like he was often praised for "suddenly growing up a lot" for a while, just after he witnessed the tragic death of his own mother.
"I still shouldn't come." Ye Ji'an looked at the two or three-year-old children with braids at the back of the queue, and suddenly rubbed two cheeks to come to this conclusion.
"We will tell jokes to tease them in a while, but we will relax." Liang Xiao shifted his gaze from the toy to Ye Ji'an's face.
Ye Ji'an shook his head, "It's because I'm not very...how to say, I'm not very comfortable."
After that, he pursed his lips and stopped explaining, and his spirit became depressed. Although it was not obvious, Liang Xiao could detect it. He didn't ask any further questions, but just observed silently. Ye Ji'an blended in very well, surrounded by little radish heads. He taught the older children to mix meat stuffing like several other female teachers, and taught the younger children to knead dough, which made his face sweater. It was all white flour, and soon there was a smile again. In contrast, Liang Xiao felt that it was a bit funny that he could only slowly roll the skin.
However, he has a good-looking face and a harmless smile, and there is no shortage of children around him, and he flattens the medicine with a small rolling pin. A kind of careful politeness, they are all asking big brother whether you are super good at making money and so on.
Asking himself, Liang Xiao felt that he would spend more money.
But of course I can't say that, because it's too embarrassing, and it's suspected of mistaking one's children. So he unfathomably confided his personal experience to all the children. You have to study hard and learn math and English well to make money.
His eyes were still chasing Ye Ji'an calmly.
Is it an illusion? He felt that Ye Ji'an was sad, when he smiled and wiped the child's nose with a tissue, when he smiled to avoid the child's flour claws, and when he smiled and taught the child how to curl the edge.
It's still a very sad kind, because it's so deep that it doesn't surface, so he can still laugh.
Thinking about it like this, he saw Ye Ji'an stand up and walk straight towards him. This is to pull him over to learn how to make dumplings. Ye Ji'an still remembered his request. Of course, Liang Xiao put aside his distractions and studied humbly. In the middle of a pile of small radishes, he got the moon first when he was close to the water tower. He should see the clearest and learn the fastest. The collapsed dumplings will soon have the basic crescent shape.
But after all, this apprenticeship is not a matter of a while. When Ye Ji'an packed a drawer, Liang Xiao endured the strange smell of celery, and cooperated with a few children to catch up, and then he staggered and saved a drawer of about the size. I don't know how many will be cooked.
Soon the first wave of finished products could be put into the pot, and Liang Xiao volunteered to participate in the dumpling cooking activity. Because he knew the rationale of overall planning, he decided to use his other advantages to maximize profits and avoid the use of celery. Differential attack. Carrying a large cutting board full of dumplings in one hand, Liang Xiao followed behind the kitchen aunt, went through the corridor and climbed the stairs together, and entered the steamy large kitchen. Unlike at home, the stove and the operating table are all made of iron, and the size is extra large. Liang Xiao took the dumplings back and forth twice, and was assigned the task of placing the dumplings after transporting them.
He was holding a tall stack of stainless steel plates, and placed them one by one on the table top. The table top was also shiny metal, which was dazzlingly reflected by the incandescent light in the kitchen. The kitchen aunt saw that he was diligent and likable. Chat with him casually.
When Liang Xiao was mixing the big bowl of dipping ingredients in strict accordance with the proportion, the aunt started talking again: "That little leaf, I really didn't expect to see you again, so many years have passed, I really thank you, young man, for being able to He brought it here."
Liang Xiao suddenly became alert, "Have you seen it before?"
"Of course, see you every day." The wrinkles on my aunt's face softened a lot, "he was here until he was three years old. At that time, I was a little girl who just started working, so I cooked for him, and my body was very special. Weak and young, I cook all the dishes for him alone. Didn't he tell you?"
Liang Xiao stabilized his mind from the shock. In fact, he thought about this possibility. When he learned about Ye Ji'an and his family's closeness and distance, and saw Ye Ji'an's unusual performance, some kind of conjecture emerged in his heart, and he was immediately dismissed by him. excluded. As for why, it was because he felt distressed when he thought about it. He instinctively didn't want to think about Ye Ji'an's setbacks.
"Before the age of three?" Liang Xiao used the tip of his chopsticks to rub the undissolved lumps of sugar at the bottom of the bowl, lowered his head, and said as calmly as possible, "He later grew up in Nanjing."
"It was brought back by the adoptive parents, it seems that his father was transferred to work." Auntie seemed to be caught in distant memories, and even her voice became soft, "When they came to pick up the child, they fell in love with Xiaoye at a glance, and the long He is cute and smart, and he is weak and they promise to take good care of him. At that time, he only had a nickname, and he was left in the hospital since he was born. There were not so many rules more than 30 years ago. I didn't go. Later, when I had an adoptive family, I followed the surname Ye, and his family treasured him at that time. "
is that so? Liang Xiao did not speak.
I just heard my aunt say again: "I came to pick up the child because I couldn't get pregnant, but it seems that I gave birth to another one? It will hurt even more if I gave birth myself. I remember that Xiaoye came back once later, when he was in his early ten years. The one who came here by train was more than 20 years ago. He didn't say anything, just looked at us and left, begging us not to tell his parents. We also know that the child may not be happy later, that A child of his age, who likes him or not, treats him well or not, is very sensitive, but what can we do? The law has already been handed over to others, and we can't ask for it again."
As she spoke, she began to sigh. After sighing for a while, the dumplings in the pot floated up and shook with the boiling water. Seeing that Liang Xiao was silent, she said again: "You two are good friends? Why don't I tell you more about it? other-"
Liang Xiao interrupted: "Thank you, no need."
With no expression, he said word by word, "I want to hear these private matters, and I also want to wait for the person concerned to tell me about it."
Auntie was a little resentful, and hesitantly expressed her understanding. Liang Xiao looked at her quietly, the sugar cubes at the bottom of the bowl had been crushed.
He knew he wanted to lose his temper.
But I don't know who and what qualifications.
Carrying two large plates of boiled dumplings down the stairs and through the long corridor, Liang Xiao's confusion calmed down a little. Across the glass bar on the wooden door, he observed the interior of the activity room like that again. The first thing he saw was a familiar boy. He was no longer making dumplings. When he got into the dustpan, he squatted down when he couldn't sweep it clean, with the overly long bangs hanging in front of his eyes. He quietly used his fingers to stick the dust and rolled up his sleeves, probably because he didn't want to get his new clothes dirty.
Liang Xiao remembered that he introduced himself when he rolled the skin, and said shyly that he was in fifth grade and was twelve years old this year.
Such a sensible twelve-year-old.
…Senior, are you like this too? Whether trapped in that family, or escaped back here.
Liang Xiao looked for Ye Ji'an from the lively house.
It was soon found, Ye Ji'an was facing his direction, still making dumplings with a group of children, he smiled more naturally and looked better, the sun was shining on him through the large window, like he was glowing, his hair Grayed by flour, but not unkempt, on the contrary, very tender.
It even exudes a mother's feeling, just like the dean and the teacher, the kind of old kindness, the kind of tolerant and overflowing motherhood, who can hold the child in his arms and whisper to sleep at any time.
This is too different from Ye Ji'an at work, and not the same as his usual gentleness. Liang Xiao was stunned. Before pushing the door in, he clearly saw his own body in the furry sunlight. sad. This can only be described as "not the taste", he suddenly wondered and kept thinking, senior, senior, I don't want you to be a tolerant mother, I don't want that, I just want you to be someone who can cry noisy child.
Because being a kid is really cool.
What you are owed, so many, can I pay you back
He took a deep breath, held the dumplings steady, and walked towards Ye Ji'an.