Out of the hutong mouth a few steps to the south, is the well nest, here is full of water, some places into thin ice, one-wheeled water trucks come a go a, they twisted the buttocks to push the car, the car squeaking mouth ugly mouth ugly sound, so harsh, I have to plug the ears! There were two men in the well who were pumping water into the deep well, and the water was poured into a big trough, and the man who pushed the water into the big trough received the water and sent it to each house. Next to the well there lived a girl who was my friend and my height. I stopped by the well and said to Song Ma,
"Song Ma, you go buy food, I'll wait for Nyonya."
Niu'er, I first saw her in the oil and salt store. That day, she carried two bowls with two hands, took a large piece, and bought sauce, vinegar, and green onions, and the fellow teased, "Niu'er, sing a song before you are allowed to go!" The girl with tears in her eyes, hand shaking, vinegar are going to spill, I can not say angry, a scurry to the side of the girl, inserted the waist and asked them:
"On what grounds?"
That's how I met Nyonya.
Niu'er only had one braid, yellow and short, like the tail of the puppy Mom bought me at the land temple. The second time I saw Nyonya was when I was watching water being pumped next to a well nest. She came over and stood beside me without a word, and we both smiled at each other, not knowing what to say. When I waited a moment, I couldn't resist touching her little yellow braid, and she smiled at me again, pointed back, and said in a low voice:
"You live in that hutong?"
"Uh-huh." I said.
"How many doors?"
I held out my fingers to count:
"One, two, three, four, fourth door. Come to our house and play."
She shook her head and said, "There are crazy people in your alley, mom doesn't want me to go."
"What are you afraid of, she doesn't eat people."
She still smiled and shook her head.
When Niu'er smiles, there are two little swirls of flesh on either side of her nose under her eyes, which is very pretty, but Song Ma even told the shopkeeper of the oil and salt store,
"This child is handsome, but a bit thin, her eyes are too translucent, and they always look like they are watery; look, there are two puddles of tears under her eyes."
In my heart, I can't tell you how much I like her, I like that she is so gentle, unlike Song Ma who scolded me when I was in a hurry: "Jumping again? And jump again? Little thunderstorm." That day she stood with me at the well for a while and whispered, "I'm going back, my father is waiting for me to hang my voice. See you tomorrow!"
I've met with Niuer several times by the well nest, as long as I see the red cotton jacket and pants flashing from that side, I'm full of joy, but today, I waited a long time and did not see her come out, it's very disappointing, and my flannel lab coat pockets are still hiding a small packet of eight treasures of plums to give to the Niuer to eat. I touched it, it was hot, the paper of the packet was torn and sticky, and I had to take a scolding from Song Ma when she washed the clothes.
I felt very meaningless, toward home, I had thought that if I saw Niuer today, I would tell her a good idea, from the horizontal hutong through to my house, so that you do not have to go through the Hui'an Hall, do not have to be afraid of seeing crazy.
I thought this with my head down as I walked to the door of the Wai On Pavilion.
"Hey!"
Scared me! It was none other than Crazy. Biting her lower lip, she looked at me with a smile. Her eyes were so translucent, and when she smiled, there were two puddles of tears under her eyes, just like Song's mom said, how there were two puddles of tears ah! I wanted to see her clearly, how long ago I wanted to see her clearly. I couldn't help but walk up the steps to her eyes. The sun shone on her face, often pale in color, but today it shone brightly. Her hand, tucked into her short jacket, reached out and took mine, so warm, so soft. I looked into the alley at that moment, there was no one walking by. It's strange, what I'm afraid of now is not crazy, but afraid that people will see me holding hands with a crazy person.
"How old are you?" She asked me.
"Um six."
"Six!" She exclaimed in surprise, lowering her head and suddenly lifting my braid to look at my neck, searching for something. "No." She mumbled to herself, then asked me,
"Seen our little Cinnamon?"
"Cinnamon?" I didn't understand what she was talking about.
Then the madman's mother came out of the gate, frowning with strange urgency, "Xiuzhen, don't scare the little girl!" And turned her face to me and said:
"Don't listen to her, nonsense! Go back! When you turn around your mom is not at ease, eh, do you hear me?" She said, raising her hand in the air and telling me to go back.
I looked up at the madman and realized that her name was Xiuzhen. She took my hand and shook it lightly, not letting go of me. Her smile increased my courage and I said to the old one,
"No!"
"Little southern barbarian child!" Xiuzhen's mother also laughed, gently pointing at my head, which was probably a curse, just as my father used to say to my mother, "They're Northern bastards," in a despising tone of voice!
"It doesn't matter if you're playing here, but if someone comes to your house looking for you, don't say that our girl recruited you."
"I'm not going to say anything!" Why are you telling me this? I know what to say and what not to say. Mom had a gold bracelet, hidden in her little jewelry box, and I never told Dad.
"Come!" Xiuzhen pulled me inside, and I thought I was going to have to go inside to the very deep courtyard to play with my uncles who went to college, but it turned out she took me into the gatehouse where they lived.
The house was not as bright as my home, the glass windows were very small, and there was a big bed in front of the window, in the middle of which there was a low table, on which there were piles of work and needlework boxes. Xiuzhen picked up an unfinished dress from the table and compared it to my body, then said happily to her mother as she walked in:
"Mom, look, I told you, it just fits! Then open the collar." With that, she found another string to measure around my neck, and I was at her mercy to just look at the picture on the wall, which depicted a big fat white doll, with no clothes on, holding a big dollar bill in her hand, riding on a big red fish.
Xiu Zhen turned to me in front of me, see me tilted his head, she also with my eyes to see the painting, full of so said:
"To see the kang look to see how fat our little Guizi, that time only eight months, riding a big goldfish, all around the house, playing with the meal do not eat, so naughty ... ..."
"I'm sorry, I'm not sure if you can do it. ...""Okay, okay! Shame on you!" Xiuzhen was talking happily, I also listened to the confusion, long class old Wang came in, impatiently glared at Xiuzhen said she.
"I don't want to eat, I don't want to wear clothes, I'm always in a hurry to find her father, how many times have I told you not to listen to me, I said I'll make some more clothes and put them on! This year's lining is done first, and the undershirt is almost ready to be sewn with buttons. The jacket will be ready soon after the collar is opened. But what's the hurry? Really make people wonder, in the end how is it a file thing ......" she said not to say, lowered his head in the thought of that boring thing, has been froze. I think, she is playing "house" with me, right? Didn't her mom say she was full of shit? If you are playing house, I do have a set of things, a small watch, a small abacus, a small bell, can be used to play together. So I said:
"It's all right, I'll give the watch to Cinnamon, and she'll be home some time with it." But then I remembered that mom would send Songmom to find me, so I added, "I'm going home too."
Xiuzhen heard me say I was leaving, and she didn't stare, she got out of the bed with me and said, "That's great, thank you in advance! When you see Xiaoguizi tell her to come back, it's cold outside, just tell her I won't scold her, don't be afraid."
I nodded, promised her, really like there is so a small cinnamon, I know.
I thought to myself as I walked, it's so fun to play with Xiuzhen like this; pretending there is a Little Cinnamon, and making clothes for Little Cinnamon. Why do people not allow their little children to play with Xiuzhen? And call her crazy? I thought about it and turned around to look at her, but it turned out that Xiuzhen was still leaning against the wall and looking at me! I was so happy that I ran and jumped home.
Mother Song was exchanging fires with an old woman, and there were paper baskets, old shoes and empty bottles piled up under the eaves.
When I entered the house, I went to the cabinet in front of the crib and found a watch. Little round gold watch, set with a few bright diamonds, the needle on it has been unable to move, mom said to repair, but has been put away, I like this watch, often wear on the hand to play, it came to me. I am standing in front of the three-drawer table to play with, suddenly heard out the window Song mom is talking to the wife in what, I listen carefully, Song mom said:
"Later?"
"Then," said the old woman who was changing the fire, "the student never came back! When he left, he promised that he would go back to his hometown and sell his land, and that he would come back in a month to marry her. Well! It's been six years! What a silly girl, I saw her crazy. ......"
"What's the matter? And had a child?"
"Yeah! When that student left, the girl her mother did not know that the girl had, wait until the present, which rushed to send back to Haidian Yidi to give birth."
"Yidi?"
"It is their Hui'an Yi Di, Hui'an people died in Beijing is buried in their Hui'an Yi Di. The original Wang family is to look at the grave of the righteousness of the land, playing the girl's grandfather to look up, and then let the girl her father to come here as a long class, who knows out of such a file thing."
"This family is related to Huinang, how far away is Huinang from here? How come they never came back?"
"It's a long way away!"
"And what about the child that was born?"
"The child, as soon as it landed, was wrapped up in a bag and sent to the bottom of Qihua Gate while it was still light! It was either eaten by wild dogs or picked up by people."
"The girl hit here crazy?"
"Yes, she's been crazy since here! Poor parents, this is the only girl they've given birth to in their lives, alas!"
The two men spoke no more, and I stood at the door of the house to listen. Song mom is counting the packets of red head of foreign fire, the wife of the ragged paper into her big basket stuffed ah stuffing ah! She was sniffing snot out of her nose.
"Next time, bring some shavings with you. So you're from the same place as the crazy ones?"
"I'm an old relative! The third sister in my aunt's family's second uncle's house is considered the crazy person's second mother, and she's still looking after the grave, so what they said is still wrong?"
Song's mother saw me at once and said:
"You're listening again."
"I know who you're talking about." I said.
"Says who?"
"Cinnamon's mom."
"Cinnamon's her mom?" Mrs. Song laughed out loud, "Are you crazy too? Where did Cinnamon's mom come from?"
I laughed too, I know who Xiao Guizi's mother is!
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Two
The weather is much warmer, the cotton jacket has long been taken off, jacket outside the morning and evening cool on a thin cotton undershirt, light and soft. I wore a new cloth shoes, the front hit a piece of black leather head, the old king mom Xiuzhen her mother, saw my new shoes, said:
"This pair of shoes can be strong, the doorway of our house kicked rotten, you can not break this pair of shoes!"
I'm already familiar with the Huian Pavilion, and the door to the pavilion is always open, so I can sneak in at any time. I say sneak in, because I always sneak in behind my family's back, and all they know is that I often went with Song Ma to buy groceries and look for chicks in the wells, and as soon as I saw Song Ma go into the oil and salt store, I turned back and walked over to the Hui'an Pavilion.
When I entered Hui'an Pavilion today, Xiuzhen was not in the house. There was a large glass tank on the kang table, and in it were several small goldfish, swimming around. I asked Wang Ma:
"Where is Xiuzhen?"
"Across the yard!"
"I'll go find her." I said.
"Don't bother, she'll be right there, you wait here and watch the goldfish!"
I put my nose against the goldfish bowl and looked in, the goldfish were swimming while their mouths were open one by one to drink, and I couldn't help but open my mouth one by one to drink like the fish. Sometimes the goldfish swam in front of me, and through a layer of glass, my nose and the fish's nose were on top of each other! I just watched, my legs kneeling on the edge of the kang, all numb, Xiuzhen is not yet come.
I turned my legs over and sat on the edge of the kang, and waited for a while, but did not see Xiuzhen come, I was anxious, slipped out of the house, and went to the courtyard to look for her. The courtyard, as if it had always been closed, I have never seen anyone go there. I gently pushed open the door of the courtyard to go in, a small courtyard there is an unknown tree, has grown a small green leaves. On the ground in the corner of the yard were dry fallen leaves, some rotten. Xiuzhen was probably cleaning, but when I went in, I saw her leaning on the tree trunk with a broom in one hand, and wiping her eyes with the lapel of her coat, so I quietly walked up to her and looked up at her. She may have seen me, but she paid no attention to me, and suddenly turned her back, and cried as she leaned against the trunk of the tree, saying:
"Cinnamon, Cinnamon, why don't you want your mother?"
How aggrieved and pitiful was that voice! She cried again:
"How will you recognize the way if I don't take you, far away!"
I remembered that my mother had said that we had come from a very, very far away hometown, which was an island with water on all sides, and that we had traveled on a big ship and a big train to get to this Beijing. I had asked my mom when I would go back, and she said it was early, that it was not easy to come here, and that I would stay for a few more years. So that faraway place Xiuzhen talked about, is it as far away as our island? How could Guizi run away alone? I felt sorry for Xiuzhen and missed the little Guizi I didn't know, and my tears fell. In the blurred light of tears, I seemed to see the fat doll riding the big goldfish, was wearing nothing ah!
I held my tears, a big backward breath, in order not to let myself cry out, I grabbed Xiuzhen pants leg called her:
"Xiuzhen! I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
She stopped crying and squatted down with tears on her face, wrapped her arms around me, buried her head in my chest and wiped it away, using my jacket and soft undershirt to dry her tears, and then she tilted her head up to look at me and smiled, and I reached out my hand to smooth out her messy bangs, and couldn't help but say:
"I like you, Xiuzhen. "
Soo-jung didn't say anything, sniffling as she stood up. It was warmer, and she wasn't wearing leg-binding cotton pants anymore, but now wore a pair of fat, loose-legged pants. Are her legs thin? When the wind blew those pants, they looked so wobbly. She is thin all over, when she squatted down and crouched on my chest just now, I saw the back of that piece of backbone, flat like.
Xiu Zhen pulled my hand and said:
"Go to the house, help pick up the pick up."
There are only two small rooms in the small courtyard, the door is pushed squeaky mouth ugly mouth ugly a series of sharp sound, the sound is not good, as if there is a thorn in the heart. From the sun into this gloomy house, strange cold. Outside, neatly arranged desks, chairs, bookshelves, covered with dust, I thought, we should call our mother Song to dust, guaranteed to raise the dust of the house. Dad often said to mom, why don't you use a wet cloth to wipe it, so that a big dusting for a while, wait a while, the dust is not falling back to the original place? But mom always asked dad not to talk too much, she said this is the Beijing rules.
Into the inner room to go, the room is a little smaller, only a bed, a coffee table. There is a suitcase on the bed, Xiuzhen opened the suitcase, from which she took out a big cotton robe, my father also has, is a man's.
The bed is a little smaller, only a bed, a coffee table. Xiuzhen hugged the big cotton robe to her chest and said to herself:
"It's time to turn it over and add some cotton."
She carried the big cotton robe out of the yard to dry, and I followed. She came in and I followed. She told me to carry the box with her out into the yard to dry in the sun, and all that was in it was a pair of gloves, a tweed hat, and a few pieces of old underwear. She spread out the bits and pieces very carefully, and took up a striped coat and said to me:
"I see that this coat can only be used as a lining for Cinnamon's jacket."
"No," I said, turning over my jacket lining and showing it to Xiuzhen, "it was also altered from my father's old clothes."
"You used your father's too? How do you know that the clothes are Xiao Guizi's her father's?" Xiuzhen asked me with a smile and a glare, she looked so happy, I was happy when she was happy, but how did I know it was Xiao Guizi's her father's? I couldn't answer as she asked, I tilted my head and laughed as she teased my chin or asked,
"Say it!"
We were both squatting by the box at this point, and I was looking refreshingly at her face, bangs blown down to one side by the wind, and she seemed like someone who was something, and I couldn't figure it out. I answered her,
"I guessed. Then," I asked her again in a low voice, "What do I call Cinnamon her father?"
"Uncle!"
"I already have an uncle."
"You have too many uncles? Just call him Uncle Sikang, he's the third in line, so it's fine to call him Third Uncle." "Third Uncle Sikang," I mouthed, "What time does he get home?"
"He," Xiuzhen suddenly stood up, frowning and tilting her head in thought, thinking for a while before saying, "Soon. Been gone for a month or so."
Saying this, she walked into the house again, and I followed her in, doing this and that, and then followed her out, moving this and that, and then followed her out, and then followed her in and out, and then followed her out, and then followed her out, and then followed her out, and then followed her out, and then followed her out. Xiuzhen's face is now pink, both sides of the nose is also smeared with dust, the tip of the nose and lips oozing small beads of sweat, such a face looks really good.
Suzhen wiped the sweat on her nose with her sleeve and said to me, "Yingzi, will you fetch me a basin of water? The house needs to be wiped down."
I said hurriedly,
"Yes, yes." The house across the yard and the gatehouse is in a sliver along the original, across the yard more than a door is, the water tank and basin is placed under the eaves of the gatehouse. I lifted the lid of the tank and spooned water into the basin, and heard someone in the house talking to Xiuzhen's mother:
"Is the girl feeling better?"
"I don't know! Don't mention it, this Cheng Zi again, every year after the beginning of spring will have to make some days, these two days is to cry for a while and laugh for a while, how can be good! Really ......"
"This road problem is the spring committed fierce."
I brought a basin of water, even shaking and spilling, splashing myself all over the water, to the cross-yard house, there is not much left. Put the basin on a chair, suddenly I don't know where the fragrance of stir-fried vegetables, I smelled this smell remembered something, so I said to Xiuzhen:
"I'm going home."
Suzhen didn't hear me and just went through the drawers.
I was remembering that I had to go home for dinner and wait for a girl in Yokohutong, which I had a date with yesterday.
Cool, wet pants, sticking to my legs, as soon as I walked in the door mom scolded:
"Just play in the well nest all morning? I thought you fell into the well? See get so full of water!" Mom changed my clothes while adding, "Ask around Beijing which elementary school is good, and it's time to send you to school, I heard that the Normal University Elementary School in Factory Deen is not bad."
Mom said so, I just saw the original father has come back, I got all the water, afraid of dad to scold me, he is very powerful, I shrunk my head and looked at dad, ready to be beaten posture, fortunately he did not pay attention to, sucking a roll of cigarettes in the reading of the newspaper, diffuse responded to say: "It is still early, what's the hurry."
"If you don't send her to school, she'll be running all over the streets, and I won't be able to watch her."
"If you don't listen, beat her!" Dad sounded like he was being mean, but then turned his face to me and smiled, so he was scaring me! He added, "About Yingzi going to school, wait for her uncle to come and then tell him, let him take care of it!"
After dinner I went to the horizontal hutong to pick up the girl to come, the weather is not cold, I and the girl to the vacant west room to play, where there is a pile of demolition of the stove, pipe, unused tables and chairs and beds. A broken rattan box, raised a few recently purchased freshly hatched chickens, the soft yellow fluff is too much fun, I squatted with my girl to play with the box of a few small oil chickens. Watching the chicks peck at the rice and eat it, always eating, always eating, how can they not stop ah!
The chickens do not eat enough, but we have seen enough, cover the rattan box, we stood up to play something else. Take two money wear in a thin rope, hand-held, we play kicking money, every kick, two money hit on the shoe upper "ta-da" sound. When the girl kicks, her waist twists and turns, looking so delicate. This afternoon play so happy, if it is not the girl again to her voice time, we do not know how long to play.
Daddy bought a new pen and ink today, and a stack of red tracing paper. In the evening, under the kerosene lamp, he taught me to trace, first reading the words on there: "One goes two or three miles, four or five smoky villages, six or seven pavilions, eight or nine or ten flowers."
Dad said:
"You need to draw one picture a day, so that you can get into elementary school after summer vacation."
In the morning I went to the Hui'an Pavilion to look for Xiuzhen, in the afternoon Niuer came to me in the west room, and in the evening I traced the red characters, and that's how I lived these days. The little oil chicken's yellow hair on the short wings to grow, I and Niuer feed rice and water and vegetables, Song mother said do not put the chicken belly bad, but also afraid of being wildcats to take it, with a big stone to press the lid of the rattan box, do not allow us to casually lift the lid.
The girl and I play, mouth often humming, the day a happy, she even twisted up, she twisted ah twisted ah than than than than, mouth singing: "...... open sad open door hmmm children, met Zhang Xiu Cai sad sad ... ..."
"What are you singing? Is this just dangling your voice?" I asked
"I'm singing about beating the flower drums." The girl said.
She was in a great mood and just sang and twisted on softly as I watched dumbfounded. She suddenly said to me, "Come! Learn from me, I'll teach you." "I can also sing a kind of song," somehow, I think I should also show my ability, all of a sudden remembered Dad once and guests talk to the number of a song, and later Dad had taught me, Mom also said Dad taught me this kind of song is really no big deal it!
"Then you sing, then you sing."
"I'm embarrassed to sing it, but she wants me to sing it, so I have to stutter and sing it in Hakka:
"I want to think about my heart and my liver, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to think about my heart and my liver!
"Who taught you that? Who taught you that? What heart and liver want heart and liver, heart want heart and liver want, hahaha! What kind of song is this?" The two of us hugged each other and laughed, all the while babbling about hearts and livers and not being able to figure out what it meant.
We are really happy, nonsense, nonsense singing, nonsense play, west room is our happy nest, I even dream about it. The girl every time is also enough to play before looking out the window, suddenly called out: "can have to go back!" Then she ran away, too eager to say "goodbye".
Suddenly a few days in a row, the horizontal hutong can not pick up the girl, I was how disappointed, standing there and so on and so on. I slowly walked towards the well nest to go, hoping to bump into her, but it was no use. In the afternoon, the well is not so busy, because the water delivery cars come in the morning, when only the people in the neighborhood push their own carts with lead buckets to buy water.
I saw the long shift old Wang also pushed a small cart to come, he made a trip several times, see I have been standing there, strangely asked me: "Xiao Yingzi, what are you here stupid?"
I did not say anything, I know what is in my own heart. I said:
"Where is Xiuzhen?" I thought if I couldn't wait for Nyonya, I would go to Xiuzhen, the cross courtyard was cleaned up so well. But Old Wang ignored me; he filled two buckets of water and pushed them away.
I was hesitating what to do, suddenly from the mouth of the west grass factory, turned a familiar shadow, that is exactly Niuer, how happy I am! I ran to meet up, shouting, "Nyonya! Niu'er!" She ignored me, as if she didn't know me, and as if she hadn't heard anyone calling her. I was surprised and walked after her, but she gently shooed me away with her hand, frowning and winking, meaning to tell me to go away. I didn't know what was going on, but a few paces behind her there was a tall man in a blue cloth coat carrying a dirty long cloth pocket with what I saw to be a huqin peeking out of the opening. I thought this must be Nyonya's father. Niuer often say "I'm afraid of my father to beat", "I'm afraid of my father scolding" words, I now look at that look know that I can not talk to Niuer again, then turn around and walk home, heart so hard. I have a piece of fossil in my pocket, can write white characters on the brick, I pulled out, I can not help but follow the wall of the people have been painted down to the wall of my house. In the back of my mind, I thought about how meaningless it would be if I didn't have a chick to play with!