The blind man was suddenly enlightened, and some clips appeared in his "eyes". He was distracted, playing the pipa familiarly, and watching the continuous clips, as if watching an old Hong Kong movie of the same era.
···
The dilapidated streets were old and damp, and the crowds of people who were doing business in the streets stepped on the sewage. The man walking against the current knocked on the wooden door outside Mrs. Mei's house.
Mrs. Mei was wearing a floral collarless coat and skirt, with her half-white hair pulled into a bun. She always had a quiet and faint smile on her face. Even if the years etched tiny lines on her face, this smile never faded. Change.
The smell of incense wafted out from Mrs. Mei's home, and the whispers sounded like whispers in a man's ears, or like calls and cries.
Mrs. Mei raised her eyes, and several fleeing silhouettes appeared in the azure smoke hovering in the sky, and then completely disappeared.
"I'm sorry for my ignorance." Mrs. Mei looked at the man quietly and smiled apologetically.
The man's Adam's apple was twitching. When he was a child, Mrs. Mei was like this. She would always apologize to people, saying that the children at home were ignorant, but Mrs. Mei was still very young and the most effective at that time.
Mrs. Mei never made a fuss about things, she didn't have any altar, and she didn't dance to any great gods.
When there was an evil spirit at home, Mrs. Mei spoke softly to Wu Nong, and the evil spirit left.
The child was hit hard, and Mrs. Mei wiped it with her sleeves, and the persistent high fever disappeared.
Later, Mrs. Mei's husband passed away due to illness, and she stopped taking care of others' affairs.
She said: "Isn't retribution coming?"
——
Mrs. Mei was born in a water town and came from a scholarly family. She was talented, virtuous, and had a quiet temperament. Later, when she got married, she was in harmony with her husband, Mr. Gui. The couple respected each other as guests. Even though Mrs. Mei was unable to have children, Mr. Gui never complained. .
Only sometimes Mr. Gui would ask if he wanted to adopt a child.
Mrs. Mei always said: "There are many children in the family. If you add another one, they will be scared."
Mr. Gui always asks: "Why should you be afraid?"
Whenever this happens, Mrs. Mei will smile: "I'm afraid that my mother's love will be taken away."
···
Many people gathered on the street. The naughty children were holding candy figures in their hands and watching the adults smearing cinnabar, chalk, black charcoal, and green jelly on their faces. The old man checked whether the stilts were intact.
Sharp weapons such as axes, guillotines, scissors, chain knives and awls were scattered in the wooden box. The naughty child touched them and said with a smile: "It's soft."
Mrs. Mei followed the man forward and then stopped. She looked at the children playing quietly with a smile on her lips.
"come back."
I don’t know who she was talking to, but after finishing her words, Mrs. Mei left.
the children asked.
"Are you leaving?" "Okay, let's watch Shehuo together later?" "Oh, okay..."
Social fire entertains the gods, and incense entertains people. The immigrants brought this important ceremony to Xiangjiang.
The old man wearing makeup saw it and hurriedly called the children over and smeared the cinnabar on the children's foreheads.
"Cinnabar wards off evil spirits, cinnabar wards off evil spirits." The old man muttered while wiping it.
After all, children can see things that adults cannot. If they are bad, they will be haunted.
Cinnabar can ward off evil spirits. If you put it on your forehead, you will avoid evil spirits.
——
Mrs. Mei likes flowers, so Mr. Gui always picks the flowers in the yard early in the morning. The petals are still wet with dew, and he puts them on Mrs. Mei’s bedside.
After Mrs. Mei wakes up, she will put the flowers into the vase, replace the withered flowers, and then bury the withered flowers in the ground.
Mr. Gui always said that he was the best at growing flowers in his family.
Mrs. Mei would laugh after hearing this: "We are the only ones in this family."
Later, Mrs. Mei became the best flower gardener in the family.
···
Mrs. Mei looked at the rose at the door of the manor. The flowers had few petals and were dull and dull in color. She shook her head secretly.
The man who walked against the current and knocked on the door of Mrs. Mei's house was a servant in a big house. I won't mention his last name. His name was Fengliang. He was bought in the early years. At that time, the owner asked Fengliang why he was called Fengliang.
Fengliang replied: "I hope the harvest at home is good. The teacher wrote two words, saying that "Liang" and "Liang" have the same pronunciation, but my father felt that "Liang" was easier to write than "Liang", so he called it Fengliang. ”
However, after Fengliang was born, his two older sisters starved to death, and the newborn sister was about to be sent to the baby tower. He did have an older brother who was still alive, but it was a pity that he was stupid. The stupid brother watched every year. When it comes to ordering pork shreds, everyone will shout "Zhao Di" or "Pandi".
Those were the names of his two sisters.
When the owner heard this, he said, "Then you will be called A-Liang from now on."
A Liang asked strangely: "Why not call it Fengliang?"
The master sighed: "It's called Fengliang, doesn't it mean you can't keep your girl?"
After that, A Liang no longer called Fengliang.
···
The head of the Aliang family, surnamed Chen, had studied abroad, but he had no foreign ink. In fact, he had no ink in his stomach. After he came back, he inherited the family business and became a wealthy gentleman with four concubines in one room. His wife followed the example of the foreigners and divorced him. He didn't really mind if he got married.
Mr. Chen led four beautiful concubines out of the house, one of whom had a bulging belly.
"Mrs. Mei, you have welcomed me from afar, and you have welcomed me from afar. You have made this humble house shine." Mr. Chen smiled.
Mrs. Mei didn't respond, she just looked at the little girl hiding in the crowd, and the little girl also looked at her steadily.
When Mr. Chen saw it, he called the little girl over.
"Shengping, please call Auntie Mei." Mr. Chen held Shengping's hand and taught Shengping. He also introduced Mrs. Mei, "She is A Liang's daughter."
Mrs. Mei looked at A Liang and Sheng Ping, leaned over and touched Sheng Ping's soft hair, and then took out the longevity lock hanging around Sheng Ping's neck.
"Who hung this lock for her?" Mrs. Mei asked.
"She is an old lady. When she asked for water, she said that Shengping was young and weak and would die young. She said that she could give her a longevity lock so that Shengping could grow up safely."
After hearing this, Mrs. Mei stroked Shengping's forehead lovingly and pulled off the longevity lock.
"The life-paying lock cannot protect you, it will only pay for your life. It's better to worship the bedside mother-in-law at home, she is very kind."
The bedside grandmother is one of the protectors of children.
Mrs. Mei's eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of anger and murderous intent flashed through, then was hidden. She held the longevity lock, wrapped it in a handkerchief and put it away.
She raised her eyes and looked at Mr. Chen.
"Did something happen when you asked Aliang to invite me?" Mrs. Mei asked Mr. Chen.
Mr. Chen's face darkened slightly and he said in a low voice.
"It's... Jiajia said she saw something unclean."
——
When A Liang was a child, he often went with Mr. Chen to Mrs. Mei's house to listen to Mr. Gui play the piano. Mr. Chen didn't understand Western musical instruments, but that didn't stop him from being arty. He heard Mr. Gui say that the piano was a foreign thing, and sometimes something would pop up in the piano. There are many pieces of music that he finds pleasant.
A Liang asked Mr. Gui: "Mr. Gui, can this foreign thing compare to the musical instruments left by our ancestors?"
Mr. Gui replied: "Every musical instrument is equal, but has different personalities and timbres. It doesn't matter where the instrument is from, as long as it can express the beauty of the music."
A Liang seemed to understand: "Then Aunt Mei likes you because of this foreign thing?"
Mr. Gui smiled but did not answer.
Everyone in the neighborhood knew that Mrs. Mei liked children. Every time A Liang came, Mrs. Mei would quietly give him a few candies wrapped in colorful paper.
It's just that when Ah Liang grew up, he didn't dare to approach Mrs. Mei's house.
After Mr. Gui passed away, Mrs. Mei seemed to have... changed a little.
If Mr. Chen hadn't said, "Mrs. Mei has watched you grow up, it's better for you to invite her than for me to invite you." He wouldn't have dared to go.
So he went.
After all, the love between master and servant is deep.
···
Mrs. Mei touched the piano placed in the living room of Mr. Chen's home, and her fingers passed over the keys without pressing them.
It's not that she can't play, it's just that she doesn't have that person around.
Jiajia turned out to be the top singer in the dance hall. She fell in love with Mr. Chen's money and became Mr. Chen's new concubine, that is, the fourth concubine.
Because he hoped for harmony in his family, he hoped that his wife and concubines would be sympathetic to sisters, so they were called concubines.
Mrs. Mei looked at her fourth aunt's swollen belly and gently touched her clothes.
"The borer has a son, and the borer bears it."
Withdrawing her hand, Mrs. Mei said to Mr. Chen.
The fourth aunt's expression changed.
Mr. Chen didn't understand what Mrs. Mei meant by this.
Mrs. Mei just smiled and looked at the fourth concubine.
not talking.
——
No one knew where Mrs. Mei’s abilities came from. When Mr. Gui asked, Mrs. Mei just smiled.
Mrs. Mei said: "When I was a child, I met a man. He patted my head three times, and then I developed this skill."
Mr. Gui thought Mrs. Mei was joking: "Is it so powerful after three shots? Didn't you let him take more shots?"
Mrs. Mei thought about it seriously: "Yes, why didn't I think of that?"
The couple looked at each other and laughed.
···
Mrs. Mei did see a room full of people, but she didn't see the unclean things.
Mr. Chen said that the fourth aunt often went to the Buddhist hall to eat, eat, and pray for Buddha. How could she attract unclean things?
Mrs. Mei said that the Buddha enshrined in the Buddhist hall can only be effective if more people believe in it.
The fourth aunt was a little unhappy and wanted to say something, but there were whispers in her ears.
Knowing that Mrs. Mei was capable, she opened her mouth and stopped talking.
Mrs. Rose listened, but seemed not to be listening to them.
After listening, Mrs. Mei smiled.
Mr. Chen hurriedly asked Mrs. Mei: "Mrs. Mei... do you have an idea?"
Mrs. Mei put her finger in front of her lips, and Mr. Chen couldn't help but keep silent.
But I heard Mrs. Mei speak unhurriedly.
"Is it time for dinner? Prepare five more sets of bowls and chopsticks."
——
Mrs. Mei cooks a lot of dishes and puts five sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table.
Although Mr. Gui didn't understand it at first, he showed tolerance.
Mrs. Mei said: "Those five little red guys are all protecting me."
Mr. Gui couldn't help but laugh: "That's a curse word, you can't say it."
Mrs. Mei put vegetables into five empty bowls and said with a smile: "But they are indeed little red ones."
Because "Red Man" also means "ghost" in Mrs. Mei's hometown.
···
"Yeah, I need to prepare a pair." Mrs. Mei looked at the bowls and chopsticks on the table and said. She then looked at the fourth concubine who was starting to eat, and shook her head, "Forget it, don't prepare it, you can't prepare it." ”
Mr. Chen asked Mrs. Mei: "Mrs. Mei, what do you mean?"
"What you want me to drive out is in her belly."
The chopsticks in Mr. Chen's hand fell to the ground.
The fourth aunt didn't answer, she just kept eating. She raised her head. Before she could swallow the food in her mouth, her cheeks puffed up and she smiled at Mrs. Mei.
Like a child.
Mr. Chen was trembling a little and approached the fourth aunt with concern.
But the fourth aunt pushed Master Chen away angrily and continued to dig at the food in the bowl.
Mrs. Mei only said it was pitiful, and then added another word at the end.
"I haven't eaten anything since I was born, and I starved to death. No wonder I am like a puppy protecting food. A mother can be so cruel. Isn't retribution coming?"
The fourth aunt's face was turning blue and white, and her face was also turning.
Sometimes a woman, sometimes a child.
The child's face was different.
"There's more than one. He's so pitiful and cruel."
Mrs. Mei shook her head and stuck her chopsticks upside down on the largest roast chicken.
she muttered.
"Eat, eat, until you are full, you can go on your way."
——
Qin Xiya came back to his senses, and the scene disappeared. It was really a very fascinating "movie". Although it was not very clear, the gaps in the "fragmentation" were filled with daydreams about the "plot".
He, a blind man, could also read it with great interest, but it was broken. It was broken at a place that was neither up nor down, nor high nor low.
It's like a "broken chapter" in a novel, which makes people hate it with itch.
His teeth were itching, but he was still thinking about it.
"Farewell My Concubine" on the stage was also sung to the last turn until the curtain call.
The blind man held the pipa, the members of the music group around him grinned, and the two "people" discussing in the background were also missing.
The opera ended, the crazy fans threw bouquets, and the girl shouted.
"Boss Chen! Boss Chen! Another discount!" "Boss Duan, we love you!"...
One of the two characters plays the role of the Concubine, and the other plays the role of the Overlord. The fake Overlord and Concubine return the favor one by one.
The band members have already left the stage.
Not many people would notice the conspicuous but inconspicuous band members. Even if they did, they would only see the blind man playing the pipa with his eyes closed. The reason is simply because he is blind.
A mute girl was holding flowers and wanted to give them away, but was too shy to do so.
The blind man noticed the hesitant girl, but didn't pay too much attention. After all, she just didn't speak...oh, and she couldn't speak either.
Qin Xiya got off the stage, wrapped up his pipa, carried it behind his back, and walked out of the theater.
An elderly woman wearing a floral collarless coat and skirt was waiting outside. Her half-white hair was pulled into a bun. She was about sixty or seventy years old. She also had age spots on her face, but it made people think she was only in her forties.
"You'er, it's time to go home." The woman said kindly.
"I know, Aunt Mei." Qin Xiya blurted out unconsciously, "What's for dinner tonight? (What's for dinner)"
He is the 'audience' and also the 'character'. There was a translation just now, so it was in Mandarin, but now in Cantonese, the meaning is clearly known.
"What do you want to eat? Let's drink bone soup first (What do we eat? Let's drink bone soup first)." Mrs. Mei chuckled, then looked behind the blind man and joked, "It's a pretty girl (pronounced "hei"). Generous (she is a pretty little girl)."
The blind man turned around.
The mute girl hugged the flower and chased after her as if she had made up her mind.
He held the flower to the blind man, took Qin Xiya's hand, and started writing stroke by stroke, a little jerky, as if he had learned to write by rote.
"You play the pipa very nicely, I like it very much."
The blind man was stunned.
Immediately,
I burst into tears.
Aunt Mei shook her head, helpless and sad, and Wu Nong whispered softly: "It's because of the past life, alas."
The mute girl was at a loss and wiped the blind man's tears in vain. She anxiously tried to stop the blind man from crying, but she couldn't speak.
When Ling Dang left, the blind man didn't cry, probably because he knew Ling Dang's soul was still there and he firmly believed that he could see her again. He had many reasons to convince himself not to be sad.
However, Bell is indeed dead. She endures the pain of death and also endures loneliness. During the waiting time... how long will she have to wait?
All the things in the past came to mind, and the tears came later. At this moment, he cried out all the sadness that he had not cried out at that time.
"Let him cry. It will feel better if he cries." Aunt Mei smiled slightly and looked at the blind man with distress.
