The hall on the first floor of the Jiangcheng Hotel in Qinghe County was brightly lit, with five tables filled with people, and hot dishes already laid out on the tables. The big screen on the stage played a slide show made for this party, on which were the photos of each classmate when they went to school, and the background music was the popular school songs of that year. The photos of the lovely classmates at the beginning were so green and simple, but now the classmates have gone through the baptism of the years, less young and green, more mature flavor. Male students have become more handsome, female students have become more beautiful. The old classmates who haven't seen each other for many years are chatting happily, talking about the past unforgettable youthful years and friendship, chatting about the experience of these years, chatting about the realization of life.
Class president Li Dawei walked onto the stage, picked up the microphone: "Classmates, be quiet, the party ceremony will begin soon." The stage immediately quieted down. The class president began to preside over the ceremony with a loud voice. "Time flies, the years are like a song, in the blink of an eye it has been twenty years since we graduated. Twenty years is only a moment in the river of time, but it is a very long period of time in our lives. Twenty years can change many people and many things. Those of us who were youthful teenagers are now nearly middle-aged. Twenty years of our youthful era of the precious bond of classmates and teachers and students did not fade with the passage of time, but become more and more thick. When we are tired and weary of working in society, we will often think of our youthful years, remembering the unforgettable good times we spent in the second class, it will give us a warm comfort on the soul. At that time, we were simple, uninhibited and brave, the sky was always blue, the wind was always light, and we were always happy. Now no matter where you and I are in the status of how, here we are the purest classmate relationship. Today, let us raise a glass of wine and talk freely, *** with the memory of our wonderful youth, renew our precious love of classmates. I declare the Qinghe Middle School ninety-five three years two classes twenty years party now officially began. The following let us use a warm applause to welcome our class teacher Mr. Qi speech."
The following thunderous applause, Mr. Qi walked onto the stage. Mr. Qi's body is a little blonde, smiling. The second class is the first class that Mr. Qi took after work, so Mr. Qi and his classmates are of similar age, not older than a few years, so now it looks like he can't tell whether he is a teacher-student or a classmate relationship with his classmates. Mr. Qi is now the head of the Academic Affairs Department of the Second Middle School. Mr. Qi cleared his throat: ''Hello classmates, I'll see you again after twenty years, you are still so young and energetic. Twenty years ago you were students full of ideals, twenty years later you have become pillars of society with successful careers and happy families. Twenty years ago, the scene of your class is still vivid in my mind, you are all excellent and hard-working students. Twenty years later, I see that you have a successful career, I am happy to have spent three years in high school with you, and I am proud to have such good students as you. Today we gather here to relive the unforgettable high school years, and I hope that students can recapture the good memories. I hope that our classmates will drink openly and renew their old days, and I hope that we will meet again in ten or twenty years!''
The students broke out into a warm applause, and the party dinner officially began. The students have to toast to the teacher, to express their gratitude to the teacher's cultivation. The students also clinked glasses with each other, talking to each other, exchanging the life experience of these years and the feeling of missing their classmates. A few students went up to the stage to sing, using their voices to reminisce about their youth and the past. "If we go back to the old days, and everything repeats itself, will I understand the focus of life." "If we go back to the past, I will not waste my precious youth, I will cherish family, friendship and love. I would have insisted on doing the things I love and following the people I love. But life has no ifs and buts, time can't start over, the reason why youth is nostalgic is because of its ignorance, its recklessness, its uninhibited. Youth is constantly making mistakes, constantly missing. Youth only understands its preciousness and beauty when it gradually fades away." Liu Yanjun meditated on the song until he was woken up by a classmate's bottle.
The students at the dinner party drank, cheered, sang, laughed, and put all these years on the youth of the passing of the sentimental, on the road of hardship and bittersweet, on the pure youth nostalgia, all into the wine, song, and conversation. The end of the dinner students are not yet finished, came to the practice square to continue to party. You a song she a song, you a cup of him a bottle, the reunion will be pushed to a climax one after another.
Liu Yanjun sat on the sofa with a bottle of beer, while drinking frequently with the students next to him, while intoxicated in this wonderful reunion. "Youth is like a running river, a go not back too late to say goodbye, only left numb I did not have the blood of the year. When the wish was realized, things have come to the present day have to pay tribute to it...." Fu Yulong hissed loudly. The river of youth is gone, when the teenagers have changed their appearance. Some students have a smooth career, some students shopping malls, some students live an ordinary happy life. Some of them may have realized the original dream, into the shape they want, some lost their dreams living another life, perhaps gladly accept, perhaps unwillingly, but they are trying to change their lives and try to adapt to life. And their own, when the dream is not also the reality of the impact of the fragmentation, their future will be what look like, will not have been in the regret and regret to spend the rest of his life?
Youth Festival Chapter 15
Back to the hotel, wash up, Liu Yanjun and Wang Xiaogang lying in their respective beds, no sleep.
Liu Yanjun: "Classmates have changed a lot."
Wang Xiaogang: "Yes, after all, it's been twenty years, we are all about forty years old, the years have changed, youth is no longer, we are all old."
"Oh, you're too sentimental, according to the latest age standards of the United Nations, we are still all considered young people, and there are still some days from old age."
"I heard that Feng Zhongcai's assets are tens of millions of dollars, the light of the luxury car on several, what Land Rover ah, BMW ah, look at the people mixed, really bully!"
"What kind of business does he do?" Liu Yanjun asked curiously.
"Seems to be doing drugs and health products, and hospitals and pharmacies to deal with."
"It's also true that he was eloquent when he was in school, and his mind was alive, it's not unreasonable for him to mix like this."
"And Lu Weiguo, also mixed well, I heard that a large state-owned enterprises of the local vice president, when the big official is busy, this party did not come."
"The most unfortunate is Jiang Zhihua, promising but died young, really life is unpredictable ah!"
"Yes, if it wasn't for that business trip, if it wasn't for that car accident, he might have been the vice mayor by now." Wang Xiaogang said with a sigh.
"Yes, things are unpredictable, cherish the present day, cherish the person in front of you." Liu Yanjun also had a feeling.
"The last ten-year gathering seems like yesterday. This twenty-year gathering, the classmates who didn't come ten years ago also came. We, these classmates can only see each other during the gathering, we usually don't have the chance to see each other at all, I think we should get together more often, after all, we get together once less, we see each other once less. Should get together at least once every five years."
"What you say is so scary, should say get together more than once, see more than once, haha. You are okay, in Harbin, there are a few classmates. I, old brother a in Shenyang, want to find a classmate to chat, drink wine are not, poor ah!"
"Yes, you return to Harbin that time the year before last, we drink how happy ah. Class president are drunk, and Fu Yulong drink are asleep. You kid when you go to school also only drink a bottle of beer, I did not expect that time you actually drank three or four bottles of beer, still very sober it, singing, and then drank a lot. But when I sent you back to the hotel, you threw up in the toilet, I heard it, haha."
"Let's not talk about the shameful things, I really hope that we can meet more often, classmates together is happy, can remember the past, can forget the troubles, and unrestrained, there is nothing more fortunate in life than this."
"Let's talk about Zhimin, the last time we met was the time we went to his home to see him. What a great opportunity this time, but unfortunately he went and didn't come back."
"Yes, I also called him before I came, he said nothing willing to come back, he also said that we have time for us to go to his place to play it."
Ritual of Youth Chapter 16
The scene of going to Zhimin's house fifteen years ago reappeared in front of our eyes.
After getting off the bus at the train station in Qinghe County, Liu Yanjun and Wang Xiaogang came to the bus station, ready to take the bus to Chen Zhimin's house. The time is already noon, two people intend to eat some noon meal. In a noodle shop in front of the passenger station, the two people sat down and asked for two bowls of noodles.
"I went to see Zhimin in prison during the summer vacation of my sophomore year. It was especially hard for me to see Zhimin thin and dark in prison. But the mental state looks good and optimistic. He also said that at first some people bullied him in prison, but because of his integrity and kindness, he gradually stopped being bullied, and many people gathered around him, making him very cohesive and authoritative. The correctional officers also liked him and let him plan and organize any activities. He often reviewed his high school textbooks in prison and prepared to take the self-study exam, which he later gave up, and he didn't tell me the reason why he gave it up. Then I was busy with graduation and work, and slowly ignored his news. Only recently did I hear that he had been commuted and released from prison early." Liu Yanjun recalled.
"Yes, Zhimin has been out for more than half a year now, and because of his good behavior in prison, he was granted a sentence reduction from five years to four."
"Oh, has he been staying home since he got out?"
"Yes, I heard that he wouldn't go anywhere or leave the house, just stayed home and helped his parents with some farm work."
"By the way, what happened to that Meng San?"
"Wake is awake, is to become a fool, every day shirtless in the street, see the female rushed to giggle, and sometimes make indecent gestures, the girls see him are hiding far away. His family was not in good condition, and now he is relying on his parents to do odd jobs to collect garbage to support him, hey, think about it is really miserable ah, let a person pity and sympathy ah!"
"Ai...." Liu Yanjun also sighed.
"The noodles are coming." A waitress in her thirties with heavy makeup brought up two bowls of noodles, and a few long blackened fingernails had been inserted into the noodle soup. Liu Yanjun gagged for a while, but there was no way, so he better force himself to eat. There was almost no oil in the noodles, only a salty flavor. The two finished the noodles in three bites and hurried out of the noodle shop.
The bus is traveling for more than an hour, and is about to arrive at the home of Chen Zhimin. In late winter, the earth is a solemn, covered by a piece of snow, looking around a pale, only some corn stalks in the field stubble exposed to the snow surface. Came to the village two people got out of the car, in accordance with the impression of the school came that time, the two groped to Chen Zhimin home in front of the door. The door was open, a tractor was parked in the yard, and a large pile of golden corn was piled on the ground. The big yellow dog chained to the door saw someone come in, barking wildly. Zhimin's father walked out and immediately shouted when he saw the two, "Zhimin, come out, Yanjun and Xiaogang are here."
Chen Zhimin rushed out and hugged Liu Yanjun and Wang Xiaogang tightly. "Quickly enter the house, it's cold outside." Zhimin's mother said. There was a fireplace burning in the house, and sitting on the hot fire kang, it didn't take long to drive away the cold from earlier. "You haven't eaten yet, right, his father, you go quickly put the fish in the barn ah chicken ah slow up, later let them brothers drink a little." Zhimin's mother said.
"Aunt, there is no need to rush, we both ate before we got on the car, and now we are still full." Wang Xiaogang grabbed and said.
"To this don't be polite, Zhimin can miss you guys, often take out the photos you took to see, this time you have to catch up." Zhimin's mother said smilingly.
Zhimin's parents were busy in the kitchen, and Liu Yanjun, Wang Xiaogang and Chen Zhimin were chatting in the inner room. Liu Yanjun said to Chen Zhimin: "Zhimin, these years you suffered in prison, you and I for all that I will never forget, I can not repay. I just want to say that whatever difficulties you encounter in the future, I am willing to do my best to help you, even life."
"Hikune, don't think like that, I think what I did was worth it. Think about it, if you couldn't take the college entrance exam back then, there would have been one less excellent college student in society, one less pillar of society. As for me, I'm not good at studying, so it doesn't matter if I can't take the college entrance exam anywhere. Besides, prison is also a university, and I have learned a lot of things that I will use in the future. Besides we are best friends, doing anything for a best friend is worth it." Zhimin said with a smile. Liu Yanjun could no longer hold back her tears.
"What are your plans for the future? Won't stay in the countryside all the time, right?" Wang Xiaogang asked Chen Zhimin.
"No, I'm leaving soon. I have a junior high school classmate working in Shenzhen, not bad, I will go to him after the New Year to find a job." Chen Zhimin replied.
"Oh, it's good to go out and break into the world, it's better than staying at home. But no matter where you go, be sure to contact us ah."
"That's for sure. Forget anyone, but not you guys."
But in a few hours, the steaming hot meal was brought to the table. Chicken stewed mushrooms, pork stewed vermicelli, braised carp, fried peanuts 。。。。。。 It was really scrumptious. Zhimin's father took a bottle of bulk wine and several wine glasses were filled. "Although this wine doesn't look good, this is the pure grain small burnt from the village's Old Li Family Winery that just came out of the pot, it's much better than those blended wines you sell in the city. Come come come, take a sip together, it's really nice to see you little brothers have gotten together!" Liu Yanjun picked up the wine cup and took a sip, has been spicy to the throat, from top to bottom flooded with a burst of heat, aftertaste there is a mellow smell of wine dense mouth and throat.
A few people drinking and chatting with Chen's father and mother to talk about family life, old classmates chatting about school those unforgettable embarrassing anecdotes, the more they talk about the happier, the more they drink the happier, I do not know the day has been very late, a few people also drank the face of the heart of the hot mouth, but they kept saying. The next morning has been almost nine o'clock, Liu Yanjun and Wang Xiao just woke up, yesterday when to sleep how to sleep can not remember, feel a burst of dizziness. Simply drink some porridge in the morning, and Zhimin's parents to say goodbye, Zhimin sent them to the site waiting for the return of the county car. The weather is very cold, waiting for the car when the three people and rubbing hands and feet.
"Zhimin, when are you going to Shenzhen, go to my place to play for two days when you leave." Liu Yanjun said to Chen Zhimin.
"Yes, yes, also to my place, first to Harbin, then to Shenyang, all pass by." Wang Xiaogang agreed.
"Oh, let's see then, we will definitely go if we have enough time." Zhimin replied. Not long after, the car came, squeezed into the bus, Liu Yanjun and Wang Xiaogang and Chen Zhimin waved goodbye, reluctant to part.
On the bus Wang Xiaogang asked Liu Yanjun: "You really do not go to see Xiaomin?"
Liu Yanjun: "Do not go, whether she is now living happily or not, I can not go to bother her. I can only give her more pain. I will be in the heart for her silent blessing, I hope she is all right!"
Ritual of Youth Chapter 17
"I've asked around, Guo Xiaomin's neighbors said that she took her child and her parents and moved away for a few years, exactly where they went they're not too sure." Liu Yanjun said to Wang Xiaogang.
Oh really, how can we figure out how to find them. Female classmates do not know where she is, you asked Li Li, they are both deskmates relationship so good can not not not know?" Wang Xiaogang said.
"I asked her a long time ago, she really does not know. She said she also thought of all kinds of ways, just can not find Xiaomin. Li Li said that from her family neighbors that they heard that it seems to have moved to Shandong, where exactly is not too clear."
"Hey, now the network and communication is so developed, did not expect to want to find a person is also so difficult." Wang Xiaogang sighed.
"Yes, slowly and then think of a way, no matter with any method, by what time, I must find Xiaomin." Liu Yanjun said firmly. "Xiaogang, do you know what happened to Shi Qiang?"
"After graduation, Shi Qiang his father arranged for him to work in the county's Bureau of Industry and Commerce, but Shi Qiang is not down-to-earth work, every day and the gang of misfits and punks together bubble concert halls nightclubs, drinking and gambling fights, drink too much and go home to beat Xiaomin. In 2010, Shi Qiang and another group of gangsters fought, Shi Qiang fend off one of the boys a knife, the boy was hanging. Shi Qiang thought of his father support has not taken it seriously, did not think that the boy is the city, his father is the city's big official. Later, Shi Qiang his father took out almost all the family assets to save his son's life and his own official position, Shi Qiang sentenced to ten years. When Shi Qiang went in, his and Xiaomin's daughter was just three years old, really suffering Xiaomin ah!"
"Then what happened, how did Shi Qiang die?"
"A few years after Shi Qiang went in, Zhao Laoliu, the boss of the Qinghe County triad, was arrested, and Shi Qiang's father followed him in. Zhao Laoliu and Shi Qiang's father's relationship who do not know ah, he went in he certainly can not escape. The situation is like dominoes collapsing, Shi Qiang wanted to slowly through his father to ease the relationship to his own vision of reducing the sentence is completely hopeless, Xiaomin's job was also dismissed. Originally Xiaomin rather was arranged to be a substitute teacher, soon to be turned into a formal, the results 。。。。。。" Wang Xiaogang drank a mouthful of water and then said: "Shi Qiang out of prison, but also wanted to reform and Xiaomin good life, and Xiaomin together to take care of the kiosk, they also want to find something to do. Shi Qiang also looked for his father's former friends, but unfortunately the world is cold, no one is willing to help him, they all hide far away. Slowly, Shi Qiang and self-loathing, and the former friends of the fox together, every day do not work alcohol and gambling. I heard that he died at that time especially tragic, in the middle of the night in the middle of the winter drunk unconscious, lying in the snow ditch on the side of the road a few meters away from their own homes, the morning was found when it has long been frozen hard."
"Hey, this may be the so-called life. What causes what fruits, out to mix sooner or later is to return. If he was not born in that kind of family, without that kind of superior conditions, but just a child of an ordinary family, perhaps there will not be later results." Liu Yanjun sighed.
"Yeah, it's really hard to predict the world!" Wang Xiaogang also sighed. "It's not early, let's just rest, we have to get up early tomorrow."
"Uh." Liu Yanjun responded. Not long after Wang Xiaogang passed out like thunderous cries, while Liu Yanjun had no sleep at all. Excessive alcohol made him feel headache and dizziness unable to sleep, while the past years like a frame by frame of an old movie played continuously from his mind.