Every time he stayed in Yu Qingshu's study for a long time, Luo Binhan always ended up looking at the bookcase. The bookcase is not exclusive to Yu Qingshu. In the corner lie more than a dozen books from Malcolm’s collection, many of which are in English, such as "One Hundred Common Flower Knot Embroidery Patterns" and "World Murals". Appreciation", "Identification of Common Forest Trees in Europe", "Hair on the Head: The Complete Series of Barron's Phantom". There are also children's comics and popular science education books that Yu Xiaorong read when he was a child. Most of them have been donated to orphanages or community centers. Only five or six tattered ones are left, leaning or lying on the side of Malcolm in a playful manner. Among the books, it seems to be surrounding Malcolm's book. This kind of unruly joke must not have been done by Yu Qingshu, but another family joke made by Malcolm. But in the end Yu Qingshu allowed him to do this and allowed that messy little corner to stay on the orderly bookshelf.
The remaining books are all by Yu Qingshu. The rows of tomes are packed together. Judging from the monotonous cover and binding, they must be legal works and legal provisions that are boring and obscure to laymen. There are also several Chinese and English books that are familiar to Luo Binhan, such as "The Rain in the Western Window", "The Strange Gum in the Cave", and "Interviews with Federal Judges". When he was very young, he read the Chinese version of "The Strange Gum in the Cave" and regarded it as an interesting story. But now when he looks back, he always feels that Yu Qingshu did not put this book into his extracurricular reading unintentionally. She never told him explicitly, but there may have been a time, when she was away from her familiar job for too long, that she expected her son to become interested in law, or even choose a field where she could provide guidance and help. cause. Then there will be people to talk about everything she has learned, and her achievements will be admired by people who know her stuff, rather than being dismissed as "a well-educated person."
Now it's all over. All expectations and fantasies were dashed, but life was not ruined. Yu Xiaorong's tenacious and competitive personality comes from her mother. Luo Binhan believes that people with their personality will not be defeated by failure other than death.
Yu Qingshu paced back and forth in front of the table. She glanced at Luo Binhan from time to time, but always quickly turned away before Luo Binhan met her eyes. Through the fine wrinkles on her forehead, Luo Binhan seemed to be able to see thoughts surging like waves in her shrewd mind. He didn't know what to say, he just wanted to wait for the other party to ask questions first.
"You should have told me in advance," she said.
"Ah." Luo Binhan said, "I... forgot."
"forget?"
"I haven't thought about what to say. Just, it's time to get on the plane."
Yu Qingshu glared at him, but he wasn't really angry. She finally stopped pacing, indicating that she had recovered from her excitement. The turbulent waves in the mind will soon be reorganized, the framework will be carefully woven, the order will be straightened out, and the ins and outs of everything will be understood.
"Does your dad know?"
"He found out on his own."
"In Lihai City or somewhere else?"
"Lihai. I'll go back there first."
Suddenly, Luo Binhan noticed a look of surprise on his mother's face. He didn't understand what that meant, but the secret quickly disappeared on Yu Qingshu's face. She responded to his cautious prying eyes with professional inscrutability.
"You need to get a full body check-up," she said. "Parasite and fungal infections. I had a former colleague who traveled to Uganda for two months, and he had a pustule on his arm, and a skin fly crawled out of it— —There is also malaria, have you used anti-malarial drugs there?"
"I'm pretty good."
"You just think it's okay now. If you find something hurts in your body, you won't be able to get over it."
Luo Binhan sat crookedly on his chair and nodded honestly. He thought it was best not to argue with Yu Qingshu about this. He will not claim that he has been examined, because Yu Qingshu will definitely ask to see his medical report.
"I'll check it out when I get back," he said.
"when are you going back?"
"Next Sunday night."
Yu Qingshu hesitated for a moment. She must have felt that it was unwise to delay the physical examination for a whole week, but she probably didn't want to rush to the airport immediately after her son showed up at home. And if she made an appointment for a comprehensive physical examination locally now, her family doctor might not be able to spare time. By the time the results came out, Luo Binhan would have already been on the plane. It would just make for a tiring and troublesome week for them all.
"I will have a physical examination when I get back," Luo Binhan reiterated, "I will send you the results of the physical examination."
"If you have any fever or pain, we have to see your family doctor immediately."
"Okay, okay."
Yu Qingshu's face finally relaxed. She began to realize that this did not seem to be a negotiation, and tried to act more like a reunion after a long separation-but it was still far from tender. It was more like she had figured out a major doubt.
"I'm still wondering what's going on," she whispered.
"What?"
Yu Qingshu avoided his question again. Like Yu Xiaorong, she likes to maintain an information advantage.
"What are you going to do next?"
"Physical examination?"
"I mean in the future."
Luo Binhan didn't quite understand what answer his mother wanted. Later, but how soon? A year or two? Or the rest of your life after that? He had no intention of doing anything, no career or achievement that he aspired to pursue - then again, what could be considered a great achievement here?
"Well..." he said tentatively, "from now on, just, life?"
"Can you take care of yourself?"
"almost?"
Yu Xiaorong's lips moved a few times. She will probably talk about topics related to old age, illness, assets and Alzheimer's disease. She's been involved in the murder of a nursing home worker and the asset fraud perpetrated by her fellow lawyers on a demented old man. Every one of these stories is familiar to Luo Binhan and Yu Xiaorong. And she certainly knew that repeating a fact over and over again would not improve the long-term deadlock. She was aware of it, but had not yet grasped the key in her mind.
She changed her strategy and didn't let Luo Binhan guess her next words: "Are you still planning to go to Africa?"
"I can't say for sure." Luo Binhan said. He didn't want to keep his words to death, lest Jing Huang descend from the sky and kidnap him again one day, "Maybe not?"
"Your dad didn't say anything?"
"I haven't met him yet. But I don't think he meant anything."
Luo Binhan thought for a while and added: "He plans to list the group."
"For what? Financing? Cash out?"
"Aren't you optimistic about the next generation's management capabilities?" Luo Binhan said deliberately with a bit of stupidity.
"How far have you come?"
"I just heard some specific plans at noon today. I'm going to find someone to provide financial guidance, I guess."
"He'd better find someone to sort out that bad debt." Yu Qingshu said coldly.
Luo Binhan pretended to be interested in a piece of thread on his sleeve. Yu Qingshu began to sort out the neat stack of document bags on his desk. She rearranged them pointlessly, pushing the top of each bag as low as possible. Finally she sighed and brushed her hair away from her temples. Her hair was darker than Luo Binhan remembered, but still as neat and shiny. But that was just an illusion created by the hair dye and the barber's craftsmanship. It was nothing more than an attempt to leave a good impression on the clients, the judge and the jury, and the wrinkles were gradually deepening at the corners of her eyes.
"Let's not talk about this anymore." She said a little tiredly, "You'd better not talk about this with people outside the plan... How will the schedule be arranged for next week?"
"A few meetings. Nothing more."
A trace of satisfaction finally appeared on Yu Qingshu's face. "I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence." She tried her best to soften her tone, which made Luo Binhan feel that she was coaxing a child. "I will take two or three days off this week... Things have been going well recently. We can go Take a look around the city, or go for a picnic in the park. I still remember that you and Lin Rong always flew kites at Lin Residence. I really don’t know why you like that scary big kite——"
"Dad Legba made the kite." Luo Binhan added, "Maer made it for her. It's a pity that he is not here now."
"That's not necessarily the case," his mother said in a strange tone.
Luo Binhan looked at her doubtfully. After recognizing the mysterious smile on Yu Qingshu's face, he opened his mouth in surprise: "Recently?"
"next week."
"I thought he would be in Spain for at least a few more months."
"He said there was a slight change in the project, but it was a good change. It seems that another team has taken over their affairs, allowing them to rest for a while."
Luo Binhan was speechless for a moment. He felt that life had become too dramatic these days, but it was a surprise that Malcolm came back.
"That's really good news," he said, knowing it the moment the words came out of his mouth. This was one of the news that Yu Qingshu was going to announce when he came in. Of course, it would definitely be the one that Yu Xiaorong would like. He couldn't help but asked curiously: "Are there any other good things?"
"About this..." Yu Qingshu said, "We'll talk about it later - we have to deal with the lobster first, I just remembered."
"lobster?"
"Liu Ling ordered a lot of them and gave me two as gifts. There are also oysters and crabs. I have to check how to get them. If I can't make it tonight, I'd better put them in the water to raise them first."
She walked quickly to the door, and Luo Binhan followed to help. When he walked out of the study, Yu Xiaorong was standing near the stairs, studying the statue of Kou Bo idly. Luo Binhan could tell at a glance that she must have been hiding outside the door and eavesdropping.
"Mom," Yu Xiaorong said, "I have something to talk to you about alone."
"I have to deal with the seafood I brought first, Rongrong, and wait until later——"
"This matter is urgent."
Yu Qingshu glanced hesitantly at the cardboard boxes placed downstairs, but her steps had stopped.
"Do you have a little secret again?" Luo Binhan asked Yu Xiaorong with a smile.
"It's none of your business." Yu Xiaorong said.
Luo Binhan made a strange face at her. "I'm going to look at the lobsters," he said, "and you guys talk about yours."
Yu Xiaorong got into the study from his side. Luo Binhan went to unpack the cardboard boxes downstairs and didn't take it to heart. He didn't feel the need to eavesdrop on Yu Xiaorong and her mother. If Yu Xiaorong had a new suspicious boyfriend or was involved in some bloody murder, she would not take the initiative to tell her mother. It was either something at school, like a theatrical performance or a parent-teacher conference, or some teenage girl confusion that he shouldn't be involved in.
Dealing with Australian lobsters is much easier than dealing with Yu Xiaorong. They lay dumbly between the ice pack and the foam box, their thin legs crawling and waving wildly. Luo Binhan poked these stupid things without pliers with his fingers, but they were unable to fight back. Luo Binhan opened the other two boxes, removed the tapes inside, and saw some fresh clams and oysters. These things must have been stuffed secretly by Liu Ling to Yu Qingshu in the office of the office, so they were wrapped in a sturdy cardboard box used to hold large document boxes. Luo Binhan had never met Liu Ling, or rather, he had never met her when he could remember. He only knew that she was his mother's senior sister. And without the care of such a senior who has already successfully taken root, it would not be that easy to establish a foothold in a foreign country alone.
None of these things was something Luo Binhan was good at cooking. He estimated that Yu Qingshu would not be smarter than him, and Malcolm, who lived by the sea in his childhood, might be able to do it easily. But can these long-distance seafood survive until Malcolm returns? Should I find an old water tank and raise it, or should I kill it and freeze it? He couldn't tell, so he could only check it online. And when he was recalling whether there were fish tanks and air pump equipment in Malcolm's all-encompassing studio, the door to the study room upstairs opened, and the mother and daughter walked out one after another.
Luo Binhan looked up at them and found that the expressions of both of them were intriguing. Yu Qingshu walked into his bedroom a little absent-mindedly, seemingly not as happy as before. Yu Xiaorong came to him as if nothing happened, squatted down and poked the two stupid lobsters.
"Have you told your mother about the painting?" Luo Binhan asked.
Yu Xiaorong didn't answer, which was equivalent to a reluctant denial. Luo Binhan didn't want to rush her, because sooner or later Yu Qingshu would find such a conspicuous object in the living room. On the contrary, he wanted to make her happy now, so he asked another thing: "Did your mother tell you?"
"What?"
"Mal will be back next week."
Yu Xiaorong's fingers poking at the lobster tentacles paused. Luo Binhan glanced at her secretly, feeling funny in his heart. He thought that Yu Xiaorong must have talked to Yu Qingshu about some bad news about his studies. Maybe the teacher at the school asked for a separate parent meeting, so that Yu Qingshu even forgot to tell Yu Xiaorong about Malcolm. He even heard a very immodest conversation coming from the closed bedroom door upstairs. It must be someone Yu Qingshu was talking to on the phone. What was a bit strange was that he could vaguely tell from the intonation and pauses that she was speaking Chinese.
He didn't show curiosity on his face, because it was actually not a sound that a normal person should be able to hear. He couldn't explain to Yu Xiaorong how he could hear Yu Qingshu's whisper from so far away.
"Mar said it will take at least half a year to repair those churches."
Luo Binhan drew his attention away from the commotion upstairs and repeated the answer he heard from Yu Qingshu: "It seems that someone has taken over their project."
He gave no thought to the financial consequences of the affair, since the jobs Malcolm's friends offered him were always hot potatoes (to be fair, Malcolm offered his friends often Pretty much the same). They are all romantic and idealistic people who are very good at protecting cultural relics and creating works of art, but they are almost useless when trying to live a life of economic stability and healthy work and rest. Luo Binhan could sometimes imagine how Yu Qingshu and the others viewed each other: on one side were wandering hippies who did not do their jobs properly, and on the other side were evil accomplices who helped rich people escape punishment. In any case, this friendship project will probably not make Malcolm much money, or he will be lucky enough to have a few wallets stolen.
This was totally good news, but Yu Xiaorong was not as happy as he thought. She just held Leo's head down and sniffed the lobster, and gently pinched its mouth to prevent it from drinking the melted ice water in the foam box.
"Really?" she said a little casually, "What a coincidence."
"What's wrong?" Luo Binhan asked, "What are you unhappy about?"
"It's nothing, I just think it's a coincidence."
"You didn't beat up someone in school again, did you? I saw someone said you were fighting with a classmate, and Hannah Zahn also liked it on your homepage."
Yu Xiaorong frowned and said, "That's not from our school."
"But also a student? I remember it was a male student."
"Nick Yudit." Yu Xiaorong said, "He studies in Windmill Well, but he has a sister in our class."
"Where is the windmill?"
"Linbin Comprehensive Middle School. It has a school gate called Windmill Well, half a street away from us."
"Oh, so he's studying at a pre-vocational college?"
"He is an idiot." Yu Xiaorong said immediately.
"Rongrong," Luo Binhan warned, "you can't use this attitude to talk about people who study vocational education, your mother will be unhappy."
"I didn't talk about his education," Yu Xiaorong argued, but still turned to look upstairs, "I said Nick Judith. He would pinch his sister's arm under his sleeves, and even let the dog scare her. I told him if he gets mad in front of me next time, I will kick him in the crotch and push his face into the urinal."
"Don't be like this." Luo Binhan advised with some insincerity, "Don't always solve problems with violence. He will look for opportunities to retaliate against you. You'd better be careful about him now - does he have a gun at home? At least you have to Bring a handy stick?"
"They have a dog."
"We also have one at home."
Luo Binhan reached out to touch Leo's ears. This time, Leo did not move away. Instead, he meekly lowered his head and allowed Luo Binhan to play with the hair on the top of his head. When it was a child, it liked to be gently picked on the head like this.
"There's something wrong with that dog." Yu Xiaorong said, "It's called Devotee, and Judith said it's a French Dou. You'll recognize it when you see it."
Write a book
"I wish I couldn't see. I'm not here to fight with dogs."
Yu Xiaorong gave him a silent and mysterious glance, then grabbed Leo's collar and left. She must have thought she could dig out a whole set of saltwater tank gear from Malcolm's treasure trove.
