The rain in Jiangcheng is getting heavier and heavier. This is my hometown. It is hard to imagine that I have spent my mediocre life in this rainy city.
"Sir, can you sign your name for me?"
A very cute little girl, she probably recognized me from the jade pendant hanging around my neck.
I took the photo she handed me, signed my new name for the past twenty years on it, smiled at her symbolically and said "study hard", then I folded my umbrella and walked into the slightly crowded bus. car.
This is the 4682nd life I have experienced, and the error from the specific time is about two digits.
It shouldn't be three digits. The years when he fell into madness because he lived too long should only be about eight or nine hundred years.
As for me, I should have been an ordinary person in my first life, with an ordinary family, an ordinary life, an ordinary university, and an ordinary job. Like most young people who don’t know how to live their lives, I was in a hurry amidst the demands of my parents. He hurriedly found a wife, got married, and had children. Finally, in the daily life of daily necessities, he gradually bent over and turned his head gray, as if he had completed the task. Finally, he closed his eyes helplessly due to a sudden illness. Meet death in the gray and white corridor.
The second and third life after that was probably an accident?
When I opened my eyes for the second time, I still didn't understand the situation. I just remembered that all the words I wanted to say turned into crying. After waiting for an unknown amount of time, I finally opened my eyes, but what I saw was that I should have been gone for many years. 's parents.
Aging is actually a disease, which lies between psychology and physiology. It is the loneliness caused by the rising sense of powerlessness, the decadence of finding that no matter how hard you try, you cannot change the current situation, and the hesitation after everything begins to fade.
At least in my opinion, the essence of aging is that after humans accept the reality that they are about to die, they subconsciously let themselves no longer miss the world.
To put it another way, he is quite cowardly, no different from the fox who cannot eat the grapes.
At least by the third year after I got my second chance, I was able to shake off this mentality and become the young man who was capable of everything.
The first time I was reborn, because my vision and thoughts were just that of a small citizen in a remote town, I had been studying high school textbooks since I was three years old, learning all kinds of knowledge. It turns out that things like IQ are quite metaphysical. , I worked very hard in my previous life and only got into an ordinary university. This time I actually passed the third college entrance examination, that is, when I was twelve years old, I was admitted to a university in the capital. I was once called the "Maple City Prodigy" by the media.
After that, I went through all kinds of twists and turns. Because I knew the basic direction of the future, after I graduated and became an adult, I made some money by investing.
I lived a life of extravagance and drunkenness.
This kind of life is really boring, but it's a pity that I only discovered this fact when I was in my second thirties.
I started traveling around the world.
It took five years to visit every corner, cross every big river, and swim through every mountain and wilderness, including deep villages that are so poor that they can only drink mountain streams, oasis that are so luxurious that they use champagne instead of water, and seas that cannot reach the ground all year round. Boat.
During the journey, I saw too many things. Sometimes when I got tired, I would meditate in a temple or church for several lifetimes, trying to understand the essence of the world, but the final results were mostly meaningless epiphanies. , Buddhas cannot save themselves, and gods cannot save the world. After discovering that so-called faith is just an addictive drug used by ordinary people with limited lifespans to convince themselves to leave peacefully, I burned the golden body and Luoxiang built by a famous artist. From now on, I will no longer be confused about the celestial phenomena or think about gods and Buddhas.
Facts have proved that if people live too long, they will no longer be human.
Sometimes I would go to war-torn countries and be a great warlord who did all kinds of evil, leading a group of uneducated fanatic believers all the way to the west. During this period, I would slaughter women and children, bully and kill the people, and no grass would grow wherever I went. The final outcome was often None of them are too good. Sometimes they are assassinated by the enemy, and sometimes they are backstabbed by friendly forces.
I have served as a high-ranking official in all countries, and I am aware of the underhand tactics used in every country. I have personally sent away countless cunning careerists, and I have also led a group of knowledgeable people who are full of faith to break the rules. , protect justice.
So, I was actually able to escape those punishments.
But so what?
Anyway, the next second after death, I will wake up from my mother's arms again, and once again let out a sharp and long cry just to breathe.
I am no longer a human being.
People are gears destined to die of illness in mediocrity. They are part of the system of "civilization". Every breath they take is for the continuation of civilization. Every self-righteous heartbeat is a legacy of nature. Every absurd choice. They are all the consequences of the mutual repulsion between animal nature and reason. They are puppets and the cornerstone.
To be honest, as an individual, I am already on the same level of the pyramid as civilization.
I am immortal, immortal, know the past and present, and control the future.
I am considered a "god".
"That... young man, can you give me your seat?"
Looking up, an old lady stood in front of me.
She is the mother-in-law of the shoe shop owner at the corner of Zuo Street. Her husband died in the war. She has two sons and one daughter.
There was a famine that year. She carried her infant daughter on her back and her two sons who had just entered elementary school. She sold all her belongings to get a train ticket, and she relied on other people's leftovers to get on the train. After surviving those hellish two weeks, I came to work in Maple City where it was said that I could have enough to eat.
"sure."
I smiled at her, stood up and offered her my seat.
Her legs got cold after getting off the train, and she would feel a knife-like pain every rainy day like this.
"thanks, thanks."
The old lady nodded to me gratefully and sat down as if relieved.
I didn't talk to her anymore, I knew she was the kind of old woman who couldn't stop once she started talking.
I know everyone in Maple City. I have been their best friend, teacher, and bole. I know their whole lives. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I am almost half of their relatives, even though they have all forgotten me.
Like the old lady in front of me, the reincarnation that I met her was the end that I gave her.
She died of myocardial infarction, and her children were traveling abroad. It was I who sent her to the mourning hall, lit incense, recited the mantra of death, and carved the nanmu coffin.
Her two sons are both famous engineers, and her only daughter happened to be traveling abroad. They were carefree when they left, but they came back in a hurry and full of regrets.
"Chenhua Lane, here we are."
"Young man, remember to watch the road when it rains."
"Got it, thank you."
I said goodbye to her, got out of the car, and held up an umbrella.
This kind of big black umbrella is very comfortable to use. Even though walking to anyone's house with it is like rushing to announce a funeral, when the thick black sky above the head blocks the dark clouds and drizzle, it really gives people a great sense of security. .
I hate rain.
Chenyu Lane is as poetic as its name, with blue bricks and porcelain tiles, old walls and old doors, and a few unknown blue stamens blooming on the light green ivy. You can see the courtyard in the middle from a long distance away. The big locust tree that blocks out the sky and the sun
Every autumn, I would come to visit with two jars of floral wine. When the person smelled the aroma of the wine, he did not come to entertain me. He turned around and went to the kitchen to fry two plates of cashews over a high fire and cut two pounds of beef. At that time, she and I Sitting on the stone table and chairs under the big locust tree, enjoying the autumn wind and sipping strong wine.
The leaves are falling like a painting, the dusk is like a scene, the mulberry leaves are gorgeous, and the cicadas are floating among the clouds.
Song Qingqing at the age of 18, why is it so difficult in this world?
The road is prosperous, who will return to the other side?
The lion ring on the door is still there, so she must have not reached her downfall yet.
I hesitated for a moment and finally knocked on the door.
Knocked thirteen times. It was a bad habit that I developed a long time ago. If I do this in some places, I will be beaten.
"Who?"
A lazy female voice sounded from over there, probably just getting up.
"I."
"Who are you?"
"Old man."
"I do not believe."
"You have met so many people, why don't you believe them?"
"I know so many people, why should I believe them?"
"With the two jars of wine I brought?"
"What wine?"
"Good wine."
"Where's the wine?"
"Under the tree."
"where?"
"East."
"...come in."
The door opened, she held an oil-paper umbrella, wore her hair and yawned.
"The shovel is in the corner, dig it yourself."
She turned around, pointed me in the direction, and then entered the house.
I sighed and followed her into the blue-tiled room.
"You can at least give me a poncho."
This poncho was probably used by her before she was ten years old. When I put it on, I looked like a pink-clad killer on a rainy night.
Let's make a living. I took out the shovel from the coal house and walked to the big locust tree.
Offended.
I apologized in my heart, found the thickest branch, and dug down.
Thanks to the rain, the soil became very soft.
We should have come on a rainy day a long time ago. The soil protected by this tree in the past was hard and sticky.
Now it's just sticky.
Three quarters, four quarters, five quarters.
Finally found it.
I cleared away the soil around the wooden box, then drove the shovel into the bottom of the wooden box and knocked it down, revealing the original appearance of the old thing that had been sealed in the ground for more than 20 years.
This was the plum wine her father buried the year she was born. After her father died, it was sent into the dust of memory. She remembered the existence of this jar of wine, but didn't know where it went.
This wine jar is very heavy, about forty or fifty pounds.
It took a lot of strength for me to carry it into the room and place it in the center of the solid wood round table.
I still kept the hole I dug, and I didn't close the lid of the wooden box.
After drinking this wine, I will use this jar to brew some new wine and bury it in the pit again.
That way, next time I come, I'll have another nice jar of wine.
"hungry."
I took off my poncho and said to the woman next to me who was brushing her teeth.
She probably had a nap just now, but now she was still bleary-eyed and looked bad.
"Wait a minute."
A muffled voice came out of her toothpaste-filled mouth. It was hard to imagine that this kind of guy could talk to me.
She turned back, picked up the cup and rinsed her mouth, then went to the basin and wiped her face symbolically.
"I really found it for you." The woman wiped the water stains on her face, "Do you know my dad?"
I shook my head.
"...Forget it, what do you want to eat? I'll cook it for you."
"Look here." I walked to the wooden table and opened the altar.
The rich aroma of wine hit his face, instantly decorating this simple room with a hazy white mist.
"Greedy."
She sniffed twice, nodded in agreement, immediately took out a bag of cooked meat from the refrigerator, and walked into the kitchen.
After half a quarter of an hour, the meaty aroma dissipates.
I had placed the table and chairs by the window. There was a sparrow hiding from the rain under the eaves. I wanted it to come in and warm itself up. However, the moment I opened the window, it regarded me as a man-eating evil spirit and tried to escape. fly away.
Thick raindrops dripped into the house, but I didn't want to close the window.
"Where are you from?"
She brought the cut beef with soy sauce and handed over a pair of chopsticks.
"Maple City."
"A local?" She tilted her head, "I don't think you look like one."
"I don't think so either."
I skillfully took out the wine utensils from the cabinet, scooped a full pot from the jar, sat down, and poured two glasses.
"How old are you?"
"Quite big."
"Is it big?"
"Quite big."
She shrugged, picked up the wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
The strong alcohol awakened her groggy brain and took away some of her sense.
Most of the time when we first met, she regarded me as a not-so-bad dream. She would not be able to recognize the reality until she woke up and saw the new soil under the tree.
"Are you tired from the journey?"
As she asked, she poured herself a glass of wine and picked up a piece of beef. "Have you ever seen any good scenery?"
"It's okay. I saw a pool of stagnant magma a few years ago, like dyeing cloth. It's quite beautiful."
I really don't look like a person with a lot of experience, but I don't bother to ask her why she can always see it at a glance.
"anything else?"
"A star fell from the sky and fell into the sea and turned into an island. The scene was very spectacular."
"What color stars?"
"Colorful."
"Is the magma in the mountain?"
"In the deep sea."
"Adjacent to that island?"
"Far apart."
"The stars froze and became an island?"
"no."
"Is it a shooting star?"
"no."
Every time we said a few words, we poured wine into the glasses. The rain flowed from early morning to noon, and dripped from noon into the midnight. The wine pot was empty and refilled, and refilled and emptied again. There was an extra plate of peanuts on the table, and after a while more was added. Bag of cashew nuts, the two people at the table cried and laughed, laughed and cried again. After reminiscing, they were filled with empty sorrow, and the sorrow disappeared with the refilling of the wine flask. The stories told by the man became more and more absurd, and the stories told by the woman became more and more absurd. Listening more and more seriously.
It has been raining for a long time, and the green sky is the same scenery that has never changed. The humid air carries a slight smell of sea. The pit under the tree has collapsed, and the muddy water has flooded the wooden box. The two drunk people are completely unaware of it. Sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, the woman in disheveled clothes finished her last glass of plum wine, hummed a childhood song, and lay down on the table comfortably while the man told a story, falling into a deep sleep.
The man was still talking to himself about the children he met in the desert. He subconsciously picked up the wine bottle and stopped when he found that the wine jar was empty.
It’s already here...
I looked at the sky outside the window. The dark clouds had faded a lot. I believed that I would be able to see the pale red sunrise soon.
The people who have fallen asleep snore lightly and occasionally talk in their sleep.
I touched her head, carried her to the bedroom, covered her with a quilt, and took off her shoes.
have a good dream.
With this in mind, I moved the table back to its original position, washed the dishes, and mopped the floor.
Finally, I took out the green plums and koji from the refrigerator, brewed the new wine, and buried the jar in its original position.
When we left, the rain had stopped.
But the dark clouds were still there, so I still held up the black umbrella and left this deserted Chenhua Lane alone.
I have only visited this place twice in my life, once for the first time and once for the rest of my life.
She will always be waiting for me under that big locust tree, even though she doesn’t know my name and probably has forgotten my appearance.
—————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————
"system?"
In a prison in a remote dimension, a girl with a terrible scar on her face knocked on her head, "What are you doing?"
"system?"
Is this a crash?
