I was woken up by Li Chuan in my sleep. He asked me to take a refreshing bath, making the water cold on purpose, but I sat in the tub, sat up, and fell asleep again. I carried three travel bags, plus a school bag, all small, without a larger bag to hold them all together. Li Chuan said that I am not a person who is used to going out. When you're out and about, the fewer bags you pack, the better. He took out all the contents of three of them and put them in the big suitcase he used for business trips. Lock the combination lock. I packed a lot of useless things in the box: sealed roast duck, salted duck, beef jerky, fish fillets, salted peanuts, new schoolbag, new pencil case...all things my brother likes; five bottles of medicine and a The fine wool sweater was given to my father. Preserved fruit, dried fruit and candy in various packages are given to relatives, friends and classmates.
I watched Li Chuan pack the boxes for me with admiration, and put them into categories.
"Why is there a white 'cross' on your box? Why not a red 'cross'?" I asked, pointing to a trademark.
"I'm from Switzerland."
I looked at him, not understanding.
"Have you ever seen a Swiss Army Knife?"
"never seen it."
"Will you be offended if I criticize you for lacking international common sense?"
"definitely will."
"Forget it then," he sighed, "Anyway, looking at your state, you won't remember it even if you say it."
"Oh, thank you for packing my luggage, I have to sleep a little longer." I leaned on the sofa and dozed off.
"I can't sleep anymore, I'm leaving soon."
"Just ten minutes, okay?"
He thought for a while, then looked at me helplessly, "Go to sleep. If I had known you were so sleepy, I should have bought a plane ticket for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."
I don't know how I got out of Dragon King Garden. Anyway, I fell asleep again in Li Chuan's car, and when we arrived at the airport, he woke me up again: "Xiaoqiu, once you get on the plane, don't care about anything, just fall asleep. Someone will wake you up when you arrive."
"Oh." I yawned vaguely, "Li Chuan, buy me a cup of coffee, I'm sleepy."
"Don't drink coffee," he said. "You just haven't had enough sleep, and nothing will help."
"Really, it's not like I haven't stayed up all night before..."
In a daze, I don't remember what I said to him or how I said goodbye to him. In short, I entered the cabin, found a seat, and the first thing I did was to fasten the safety buckle and then pull up the blanket.
Sitting next door was a middle-aged man in a well-crafted suit, very fat and handsome.
"Miss, is it your first time flying by plane?" He wanted to strike up a conversation with me.
"Yeah." He was very enthusiastic, but I was sleepy, so I didn't answer. Flying first class for the first time may be something worth remembering for many people, but unfortunately I am not sensitive to the environment. Whether it's good or bad, it's pretty much the same for me. There are wide chairs in the cabin for sleeping, and that's enough.
"Alone?" the middle-aged uncle said again.
"yes."
"When we have Chinese food, there will be Haagen-Dazs. Don't forget to ask the flight attendant for it."
"Okay, thank you, uncle."
I originally wanted to ask what Haagen-Dazs is, but after thinking about it, I stopped asking, saving more words. At this time, the plane took off, and everyone was silent. Taking advantage of this moment, I quickly put on the blindfold. When I woke up, my uncle told me that I would arrive in Kunming in five minutes. In the meantime, I missed the following delicacies:
—Lao Huo soup, high-quality cold meats, various fruits, assorted desserts, various cheeses, and patterned breads.
—Wenchang chicken, coconut fish fillets, dried fruit chicken, marinated chicken, coconut rice, Yangzhou fried rice.
-Hot dishes of steak, seafood, poultry.
-Special Cantonese cuisine: old fire soup, stewed pigeon with mushrooms, stewed duck with snails.
- Guangdong wanton noodles, sweet potato noodles.
—Full set of western food, foreign wine.
— Haagen-Dazs.
The uncle said that he and the stewardess tried to wake me up but failed. Now the plane is landing. However, the uncle said again that he asked the stewardess to pack the Chinese food for me. He tried his best to choose cold dishes and snacks, so that I could eat them after I got off the plane.
I was grateful and thanked him again and again.
After getting off the plane and picking up my luggage, I took the airport bus and went straight to the long-distance bus station. After three and a half hours of driving, oh yeah, I'm finally home!
There is no phone at home, and my father only knows that I will go home roughly this week, and the exact date is not very clear. My younger brother Xiaodong is in high school, and now the school is on vacation. When my younger brother saw me, he immediately complained: "Sister, you are back! Dad's cooking is terrible!"
Well, Bai grew up with this kid, so he will remember this advantage of me. In order to save money, Xiaodong rides his bicycle for 20 minutes every day to go home for lunch. I used to get up early and make three lunches in advance, one for my dad, one for my younger brother, and one for myself, and everyone took it to school to heat up. Later, when I was going to take the college entrance examination, my dad resolutely took the job. I thought his food was barely edible, but Xiaodong couldn't take it anymore and kept screaming every day. I had to make a big bowl of smoked fish and spiced tofu on weekends, and let him bring a small bowl at a time. As soon as I left, my younger brother said that my father was in charge of the third year of high school and had great responsibilities and heavy burdens. He always forgot to make lunch ahead of time. After teaching, when he was relieved, he rushed home to cook, so it happened from time to time that he was hungry and full.
"Where's Dad?" I asked.
"I went to correct the test papers. They said I would come back at five o'clock to change the gas."
As soon as I heard this, I stopped doing it and gave him a kick: "You are not too young, Dad is sick, and you still ask him to change the gas?"
"I said I would change him and refused to let him go, saying that I was afraid of losing my waist at such a young age."
"Isn't Dad not at home?" I went to move the gas jar, "Well, I'm not afraid of flashing my waist, I can change it."
"Your waist can't even flash!" Xiaodong yelled, rushed over to snatch the jar, and disappeared on the bike in the blink of an eye.
"Oh, I finally grew up, and I still know how to love your sister." I was very pleased, and praised his back.
I changed my clothes and went to the vegetable market with the vegetables.
"Xiaoqiu is back?"
"Hey, yeah."
"Xiaoqiu is back!"
"Hey, Uncle Qian."
"Xiaoqiu is back, come to your sister-in-law's house for dinner tomorrow! I will cook chestnut chicken and lemon duck. You have to talk to my unpromising second child. He will take the college entrance examination this year. Please!"
"sure!"
This is the advantage of a small town. On the street where I live, all the uncles and aunts know me.
After buying the food, I walked into a canteen and made a long distance call. I didn't bring my mobile phone, because when I got home, I found that the mobile phone had been looking for a signal, and in the process of "finding", the battery ran out quickly.
"Li Chuan, I'm here!"
"Really? Pretty quick," he said on the other end.
"Are you still in Beijing?"
"In Xiamen, I arrived before you."
"Li Chuan, thank you for buying a plane ticket for me, packing my luggage, and lending me a suitcase. And..." Li Chuan helped me so much, I can't thank you enough.
"You're welcome, can your phone work?"
"No, I can't find a signal. I'm calling you from the commissary."
"Is it expensive?"
"It's quite expensive, I won't say much."
"Wait," he said, "I put a bank card for you in a pocket inside the suitcase, the code is 0907. I know you don't want my money, but it's not a lot of money, just in case just in case."
"No, no, really, I don't need it!"
"Xiaoqiu, be obedient."
"Yeah." My voice was a little choked, "I miss you!"
"I miss you as well."
"Why 0907, does it have any meaning?"
"My birthday. Do you still remember that day, you spilled coffee all over me?"
"How could it be that day? Is it such a coincidence?" I don't know why, my mouth is salty, and tears flow down quietly.
"What a coincidence?"
"It's also my birthday."
"You lied to me."
"It's true. I'll show you the ID card when I come back."
I thought that since my mother passed away, no one in this world would take care of me anymore. Even my dad and brother, I've always thought that I'm not so much their daughter and sister as their mother. I only had three birthdays, all while my mother was alive. The death of his mother was a great blow to his father. For more than ten years, he lived in a muddle without knowing who he was. Therefore, Xiaodong and I have never had a birthday, and we are even a bit taboo to talk about our own birthdays. Because Xiaodong's birthday is the anniversary of her mother's death.
"Xiaoqiu...how can I contact you?"
"I will call you from time to time, there is only one way." I held back my tears, because Aunt Zhang in the canteen is very close to my father, and I dare not be emotional in her shop.
"Happy Chinese New Year, goodbye."
"Take care of yourself. Goodbye."
I hid under a small tree, wiped away my tears and recovered my emotions, and then walked home with a basket full of vegetables. When I was almost at the door of the house, I saw my father from a distance. He was standing alone at the door, the slanting light was dazzling, and his face could not be seen clearly.
"dad!"
"I'm back." Strangely, he didn't smile.
"Dad, I bought a lot of vegetables, and I'll cook something delicious for you tonight!" I went up to hug him, feeling his body was very stiff.
"Dad! What's the matter?"
"You came back by plane?" His tone was cold.
My heart suddenly became cold to freezing point.
"First class?" He looked at me as if he didn't recognize me, "Where did you get the money?"
I do not speak. I'm not very good at lying, especially in front of Dad.
"...well... a friend borrowed it. I can't get a train ticket."
"What friend? Boyfriend?" He looked at me coldly, "Did he pay any price for helping you so much?"
"I... I didn't..."
"Follow me." His hands grabbed me like iron tongs, almost dragging me, dragging me to the east end of the street.
Many people looked at our father and son with strange eyes. I pretended to laugh, pretended not to hurt, and pretended to be walking with my father. As I walked, my legs began to shake. Because I know where my dad is taking me.
We entered the health center of the community, where Dr. Zhao was a close friend of my father. I went in and saw Dr. Zhao was about to go out. My father went up and whispered something to him.
Dr. Zhao's face changed, he looked at me in surprise, shook his head, and looked embarrassed: "Old Xie, this is not easy to handle, and it is not easy to check..." After saying that, he pushed my father and me into his own office : "The child is still young, and it is not easy to study abroad. You should listen to what she has to say first. There is nothing unforgivable between father and daughter. If you have something to say, talk it out!"
He closed the door and left quietly.
My father remained silent for a while before he said coldly and word for word: "What on earth did you do in Beijing?!" Immediately afterwards, he took out another thing from his pocket: "This is He bought it for you, right?" - Pink phone. He searched my bag.
I thought my father didn't understand cellphones, but unexpectedly he found Li Chuan's number in just a few seconds. In fact, it's easy. There is only his number in this phone.
He dialed that number, but the signal was not good, so he couldn't get through. He casually picked up the office phone and dialed. After a while, I heard him ask: "Excuse me, XXXXXXXX, is this your number?"
"I'm Xie Xiaoqiu's father. You know Xie Xiaoqiu, right? Who are you? What's your name?" Dad's tone was very severe.
"Listen well, Wang Lichuan," he yelled into the phone, "my daughter is only seventeen years old. Although she is young and ignorant, she doesn't need your care. Please let her go. If I know you dare to continue Contact her, I will go to heaven and earth, and I will never let you go, even if I burn everything together, do you hear me? You bastard, bastard, bastard!"
He threw the phone on the ground, crushed it, and then kicked the table and the chair.
I've never seen my father like this, except for the few days when my mother died.
Dad took all my money.
He broke open my box with great effort and searched carefully for clues. He found the bank card, cut it up with scissors, and threw it into the fire. For half a month, he didn't talk to me, and I ignored him.
We stare at each other all the time.
My younger brother said that my father became suspicious when he saw a luggage check tag tied to my suitcase. Then I searched my carry-on bag and found the ticket.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, we still didn't talk. My younger brother couldn't take it anymore and said to me, "Sister, you should take the initiative to apologize to Dad. Dad is so angry that he goes to the clinic every day for injections."
I thought about it, looked at my father who was standing by the frying pan, walked over and said, "Dad, have you taken the medicine I brought you?"
After a while, he said, "I haven't eaten."
I said, "Dad, do you think I'm only seventeen years old? I'm about fifty-seven years old. Just to the two men in my family who don't know how to take care of themselves, Dad, are you ashamed to say that I am seventeen years old, young and ignorant? "
He looked at me, speechless.
"Dad, Li Chuan, is the one I like. I love him, and no one can stop me."
"Slap!" I slapped him.
"Dad, I am your daughter, and your blood is on my body. What price did you pay to marry my mother?" I continued, "I will pay the same price to pursue the man I like." The price. Take care of yourself!"
After saying this, I got on my brother's bicycle and left without looking back.
I rode for half a mile, and my brother caught up with me on his bike.
"Sister, where are you going?"
I came down, hugged him and cried, "I'm going to Kunming to find my aunt."
"You, you just rode to Kunming like this?"
"What are you afraid of? Do you remember when we were young, we rode together once, which was a two-day journey?"
"Sister, it's not like before, the road is in chaos."
"I'm not afraid."
"I'll go with you! I'm annoyed by Dad too. My brother-in-law buys you first class only because he's nice to you, right? If you change to someone else, why waste the money?"
I had tears all over my face, but I almost laughed when I told him: "What brother-in-law, nonsense!"
"Sister, you know that I have always wanted to apply for medicine, but my father insisted on letting me learn computer science, and said that it is good to be a teacher. I don't want to listen to him."
"Medical tuition fees are high, and teachers are cheaper. Our family has no money to pay tuition fees, alas! Don't worry, my sister will earn the money for you."
"Sister, in fact... there is one thing that Dad has been keeping from you." Xiaodong clenched his fists and said, "Your college entrance examination was changed secretly by Dad at school."
"I guessed it. Prestigious schools are too expensive and we can't afford them. It's not easy for him to earn money alone to support two children." I smiled wryly, "I don't blame him. Dad was a handsome man when he was young, and he was also a college student. Fearing that we would be bullied by our stepmother, we insisted on living alone for more than ten years. It was also difficult for him. Stop following me, go home and watch Dad. Tell him that I will go to my aunt's house for a while, and then I will go back to school. "
Xiaodong looked at me, finally nodded, and took out two fifty-dollar bills from his pocket and gave them to me: "These fifty dollars were sent to me last time. And these fifty dollars were saved by myself."
"Well, you lent it to my sister, and she will pay you back as soon as she returns to school."
I put a hundred dollars in my pocket, bid farewell to Xiaodong, and set off for Kunming alone.
Fortunately, a kind truck driver gave me a ride on a rugged mountain road. Even so, I still rode for ten hours to reach Kunming. In the middle, I only came down to eat a bun and went to the toilet once.
I stopped at the gate of the coach station, looking for a place to make a phone call in a nearby small shopping mall.
Li Chuan has a very strong self-esteem, which can be seen from every little thing in his daily life. I don't know how uncomfortable it will be for him to suffer from my father's thoughtless scolding.
The call was connected quickly.
"Li Chuan!"
"Xiaoqiu!" His voice was surprised, "How are you? Are you okay?"
"It's fine. How about you? Okay?"
"It's okay."
"Listen, my dad has a bad temper..."
"I actually wanted to explain it to him, but he obviously couldn't listen."
"Then you... well, Xiamen is over?"
"It's over, just wait for the result."
"Are you in Beijing now?"
"Not here."
I remembered that Li Chuan said that he would go back to Switzerland every Christmas to reunite with his family.
"Are you in Switzerland?" I found it strange to hear his voice so clearly.
"I'm in Kunming." He said.
"what? What?"
"I'm in Kunming." He said again, "I'm anxious and want to get closer to you, so that I can help you figure out what to do if something happens. But I haven't called you after waiting for so long."
"I just arrived in Kunming." My eyes were wet again.
"What? Now? Isn't it New Year's Eve?" He was anxious, "You and your father fell out?"
"Almost, I rode my bicycle to Kunming to join my aunt." I was still panting, panting heavily.
"What? Riding a bicycle? Isn't it 300 kilometers from Kunming to Gejiu?" It is rare to hear Li Chuan yelling, but this voice is definitely yelling.
"A truck driver gave me a ride, but I still rode for ten hours, amazing! Haha! Admire me!" I laughed, feeling very nervous.
"Where are you? Stay there and don't move, I'll get you," he said.
"Oh, bus terminal, hurry up! Li Chuan, it's so cold outside."
"Oh! Don't talk about your father, I want to talk about you," he sighed at the other end, "You are so courageous, you can really mess around."