I feel ashamed to say that my relationship with Meng Dongxue has lasted for a long time, but this is the first time I hold hands with her. In that era, most people were more traditional and conservative, and I was no exception. Before this, the closest relationship between Meng Dongxue and I was when she rested her head on my shoulder all night when I was helping Ji Youan and her roommates deal with the bandit ghosts.
Most of the time, Meng Dongxue and I always treated each other with respect and never did anything overbearing. So when she took the initiative to hold my hand, my chest suddenly tightened as if being hit by a cold wind, and my heartbeat suddenly started to beat faster.
That was the first time I came into contact with Meng Dongxue's palm, which was small and soft. The chive-like fingers intertwined with my carrot fingers, making my hands never so sensitive until that day. In any environment, the hand-holding between men and women actually has the shadow of love, and Meng Dongxue just held my hand silently, lowered her head, and walked on the field path without saying a word.
I didn't speak either. Just now I was thinking of finding something to talk about, but now I was so distracted that I completely forgot all the things I had thought about.
If you want to ask me what I was thinking about at that moment, I must answer frankly that I thought a lot, but I can’t remember what I was thinking about. For more than half a year, Meng Dongxue and I had a distant relationship, but now she suddenly held my hand. Was she telling me her feelings and giving me a definite answer?
So I thought about it, and then said softly, Dong...Dongxue, where are we going? Meng Dongxue didn't speak, but walked slowly step by step, at the same speed as a daily walk. Only then did I notice that she was not wearing the green military uniform that she always wore today, and she did not have two braids on her head, one on the left and one on the right. Instead, she was wearing a white dress with a hairband on her head. That outfit was what I brought to her when I came back from her house.
I asked again, why are your hands so cold? Are you feeling poorly recently? Meng Dongxue still didn't speak, but held my hand tighter. I turned my head and looked away, secretly letting out a long sigh of relief, trying to use this method to relieve the tension in my heart, but it was no use. I found that I was getting more and more nervous. When I turned around and was about to ask another boring topic, Meng Dongxue suddenly said while walking, Brother Shan, do you like me?
I like.
My answer was very simple and straightforward, without any hesitation or even nervousness in my tone. The words that I had been unable to speak for so long actually came out after Meng Dongxue asked me.
Meng Dongxue said, do you think the two of us will be together in the future? I thought about it and said, as long as we overcome the difficulties together, I think we can do it. Meng Dongxue sighed and said, I hope so. Meng Dongxue's tone was very gentle, just like her usual character.
When she said this, Meng Dongxue also stretched out her other hand, took my arm, and then put her face on my arm. We continued to walk aimlessly on the road like this. After that sentence, we didn't speak for a long time. Meng Dongxue was because she was sad, while I was so confused that I didn't know what to say.
Just wandering on the road until 12 o'clock at night. This is definitely the latest time I have seen Meng Dongxue come home since she arrived in the mountain village. The mountain road is inherently rugged and the patchwork terrain allows me to see the people around me at a glance. At this point in time, most of them are already asleep, and the rest are waiting in bed to fall asleep. So looking around, there was not a single house with lights on. I began to feel that if I continued walking, I might be even later when I got home. When we went out just now, neither Meng Dongxue nor I brought a flashlight.
So I suggested, how about we go back? You have to work early tomorrow morning, and I have to go to the city early tomorrow morning. It would be bad if I overslept and missed work. I took Meng Dongxue's hand and put it against my face. After the night wind blew, even on a summer night, it would be slightly cold. I told Meng Dongxue that you led me so far today, and Brother Shan understood in his heart that for so long, I have been holding some words in my heart, not because I don't want to say it, but because I don't have the courage to say it. I feel that there is a big gap between me and you. I am a person who many people think is not doing his job properly, but you are so outstanding and so desirable. I worry that I'm not good enough for you.
This may be the case with people. Once someone says something that has been difficult to say for a long time, the rest is like a flood, and it is unpleasant to say it anymore. So what I said to Meng Dongxue that night was actually a question that I had been thinking about for a long time. I have always felt that there is always something hindering the love between me and her, and this thing, it seems at the moment, is my life experience and career. If Meng Dongxue abandons everything and follows me, I don't know whether she will be implicated or looked down upon because of me in the future, and I don't even want to know. But at this moment, I only understand that she led me and said these words, which even solidified our relationship.
Meng Dongxue seemed a little cold, so we walked back. On the way back, I felt much calmer, and even started to get a little excited. I wanted to scream, but I was worried about disturbing the dogs in the village, so I kept it suppressed. When passing by a cornfield about half a mile away from Aunt Xu's house, Meng Dongxue suddenly stopped again, then stood up on tiptoes and hugged me.
Although I am in my twenties, I started learning late. My mind is mature and stable in terms of learning, but I am completely blank in terms of emotions. Meng Dongxue's hug suddenly made my mind go blank. Originally, she held my hand today, which made me extremely happy, but the hug at this moment made me a little confused and infatuated. Unable to control myself, I hugged her tightly and kissed her.
So that night, I lost many of my firsts. The first time holding hands, the first confession, the first hug, the first kiss, the first time of reckless infatuation. Meng Dongxue and I stayed in the cornfield until the first rooster crow.
It was already dawn, and Meng Dongxue and I could both see each other's faces clearly at this moment. After last night, we were all a little shy. Originally, this kind of thing should happen naturally in a good environment. But we are in the cornfield with each other. I can recall every insect cry that night, the brightness and position of every star, and every corn cob that was crushed by us, but no matter what, I cannot recall the feeling at that time. I only know, It was wonderful, so wonderful that I can remember it for a lifetime.
Meng Dongxue told me that she was going home first and asked me to come back later. When she said this, her face was flushed and she looked shy and cute. So I stammered and agreed. After Meng Dongxue left first, I stood there in the cornfield, my heart racing for a long time.
After returning home, Aunt Xu had just gotten up. Seeing the weird expression on my face, she smiled and joked, "The sun is rising in the west today. How come you got up earlier than me, an old woman?" I also said with a silly smile that I went to bed early last night and got up early today. Then I asked Aunt Xu where Meng Dongxue had gone. Aunt Xu said she was in the house, maybe she hadn't gotten up yet. I agreed humbly, and then I ate some breakfast, packed my things, and got ready to go into the city.
Before leaving, it was already three o'clock in the morning. According to the past, Meng Dongxue should be in the publicity team at this moment. But she was still locked in the room, so I walked to her door and said, Dongxue, I'm going to the city first, and I'll be back in a few days. After we come back, the two of us...well, let's have a nice talk, okay?
The door was not opened, but Meng Dongxue replied in the room that it was okay and that I should pay attention to safety on the road and not be too aggressive. I thought to myself why the girl was still shy, so I set foot on the road to the city with joy in my heart.
This commission was sent to me by Dr. Mo. Since I learned that his Chinese medicine shop is an information distribution center for people in the world, I asked Da Mao to send me a message. If my master is not here and someone needs help, If so, you can contact me. Master has been in Hubei for more than half a year, and he sent me two letters on the way, but he asked me not to reply to them because he often changed his address and was afraid that I would miss my reply and not receive it.
The person who entrusted me this time was an old craftsman from Jianghu. He had built his own stage on the roadside to perform puppet shows since before liberation. I had seen his puppet show when I was a child, and I have to say that it was quite a coincidence that he found me this time. The coincidence is for me, who would have thought that the person who would help me many years later would be someone who saw my performance many years ago.
The old craftsman's surname is Xia, and he is nearly seventy years old. The puppet craft is passed down from his ancestors, and it is said that it can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, my ancestor was a well-known puppet theater troupe. At that time, there were branches of time-honored brands throughout Sichuan. It is said that this craft was only passed down within the family and did not recruit external disciples. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, he was specially invited to the capital to perform puppet shows for the queen mother and concubines in the emperor's palace. Until the last years of Wan Qing's life, due to the war, the family became torn apart, and in the end only one branch line remained, that is, Mr. Xia's lineage.
After liberation until 1966, the theater troupe was still relatively active, and it gradually began to recover. However, from 1966 onwards, it no longer dared to perform in public. Because the arias they performed in their puppet shows seemed to be considered by some people as alluding to contemporary times, so after being knocked down once, they have been doing nothing at home until now.
And I was found because one of Mr. Xia's puppets started to grow hair inexplicably.
