If you sell dry wine, the Hokkien word "Are there any wine bottles for sale?" is a hawking slogan for collecting wine bottles. This is an old song that has been around for a long time, but it seems to last forever. It has been sung to this day. In fact, it is a very touching song, but it has gradually become more original as the singers cover it. First up was Su Rui, who sang pretty well. And now Dick Cowboy has become more and more like a simple rock song, without the tear-jerking feeling. Men, women, old and young in southern Fujian and Taiwan will all sing a few lines at the top of their lungs, "If the dried wine is sold for nothing, if the dried wine is sold for nothing...". This is a Hokkien phrase, which probably means "Do you have any wine bottles to sell?". People in southern Fujian and Taiwan buy discarded empty wine bottles and sell them to recycling bins to make a little money. They walk around the streets while shouting "If you sell dried wine, you can't sell it." If anyone has empty wine bottles for sale at home, they will stop the waste collector. When I was very young, I often shouted this song - "If the dried wine is sold for nothing, if the dried wine is sold for nothing...". I never knew who the original singer was, I just thought it was a popular folk song; I never knew how to sing the complete song, I only knew this most popular line. When I get a little older, I go to elementary school, I can listen to songs, I know the lyrics, and I know that the person singing this song is a female singer. But I have never been able to figure out what the vague lyrics in my impression have to do with the phrase "If the wine is dry, it will be sold without". Just listening to this sentence, I always thought it was just a powerful rock song, but I didn't expect that there was such a sad story hidden behind it. I don’t know if that story is true or false, but after reading that story, I couldn’t help crying every time I listened to this song. That is a movie about "If the Wine Is Sold Without". The title of the film is "The Wrong Ride" - maybe I am stupid, but until now I still don't understand the connection between this title and the content of the story. But what is touching is the film, regardless of its name. At that time, it was more than ten years ago. At that time, there were few VCDs and all I watched were rented video tapes. At that time, I was still in elementary school. So regarding that film, I can only pick up the fragments that remain in my memory. The protagonist of the story, Uncle Mute, is a veteran who participated in the Anti-Japanese War. During a charge, his vocal cords were cut with a bayonet by the enemy and he became mute. He later came to Taiwan and made a living by picking up broken bottles. The walls of his home were made of a Another stack of empty wine bottles. Because he couldn't speak, he could only use the suona to play the sound of "If the wine is dry, it will be sold for nothing." The poor dumb uncle picked up an abandoned baby one day when he went to pick up broken bottles. It's a girl. There was a letter on the girl's body, which read: "Her name is A Mei. I hope that kind people can raise her and bring peace to her life." Uncle Dumb smiled happily and took her home happily. After returning home, the dumb uncle and his wife quarreled because the wife really couldn't bear the fact that the already impoverished family had to support one more person. The next day, she wrote a letter, put it on the table, and left Uncle Dumb. A single and impoverished mute uncle raised a baby under one year old. He was busy every day, but he was very happy watching her grow up little by little. When her daughter was one year old, she finally called out "Daddy", which made Uncle Mute very excited, and the hard work turned into joy on his face. A few years later, one day, Uncle Dumb's neighbor caught a puppy and discussed with Uncle Dumb, planning to kill it for meat. He just beat the puppy half to death. While they were talking, the puppy ran to Next to A Mei who was doing her homework, A Mei saw the injured puppy and felt very pitiful, so she asked Uncle Mute to keep the puppy and raise it, naming it Laifu. What hasn’t changed is that Uncle Dumb is still kind and loving, the family is still not rich, and the walls are still covered with wine bottles. Uncle Dumb raised A Mei with the little money he earned every day. Time passes day by day, the stars move, time flies, and the old man's temples are already as frosty. A Mei also grew up and became a beautiful, well-behaved, filial, cheerful and graceful girl. Uncle Dumb is finally old. Wrinkles, gray hair, thinness, age. The little puppy that survived that day has become a mighty big wolfdog. Ami loves to sing and has a good voice. She later met a young man who was handsome and talented. However, his talent was not recognized and he was just an unknown songwriter. They are like-minded and like each other, and they often get together, talk music, and sing together. Ami’s singing became better and better. Later, she finally became famous. From poverty and simplicity, it becomes bright and dazzling.
But he was so busy that he had no time to go home, no time to accompany his dumb uncle, and no time to spend time with young people. Ami and the young man even had a quarrel. The distance between them is getting farther and farther. Until the end, Ami became a popular female singer, while the young man was still scribbling some lyrics and music anonymously. A Mei became famous, but lost her freedom. Her agent did not allow her to go home, not allow her to interact with young people, and not allow her to meet her mute uncle. Because, how can a big star have a poor family, a boyfriend with no future, and a disabled old father? That would affect her image in the minds of fans. One day, Ami held a press conference. Uncle Mute and his neighbor Amin tried their best to go to the press conference wearing the most decent attire. After not seeing her for a long time, the old man looked at his daughter with a trembling and excited smile, eager to see her call him dad again. Ami's manager was standing by to prevent the girl from getting to know the shabby old man. With the spotlight shining brightly, Ami walked to hug the old man but was stopped by her manager. There was a commotion at the scene, and Uncle Mute's neighbor A Ming began to scream why the girl didn't recognize her father. Uncle Mute was afraid of affecting his daughter's future, so he pushed his neighbor to leave. The dilapidated home suddenly became silent. Without the girl's laughter, there was only an endless void. Uncle Mute's lonely figure, like the Laifu that he had raised for many years, also lowered his head, as if he knew the owner's heartache. One day, when Uncle Mute was taking a walk, a motorcycle came speeding over. Uncle Mute did not pay attention to the roaring sound of the motor because he was thinking about his daughter all the time. Laifu ran quickly, threw himself behind Uncle Mute, pushed his owner to the roadside, and was hit by the motorcycle, ran over him, and was crushed from his stomach. He turned over and lay on the roadside with his belly heaving and full of pain. The earth is blood. I still wonder whether that shot was real and whether a motorcycle really ran over the dog's belly during the filming. That shot was so real, it really made me worried. Uncle Dumb took Laifu home. The veterinarian shook his head, meaning there was no hope. Laifu was lying on the table, covered in blood. His body was rising and falling, breathing rapidly. His eyes looked at his master sadly and painfully. The dumb uncle burst into tears. It is going to die after all, and it is better to let it die happily than to let it endure the pain. Uncle Mute raised a stick in pain, hesitated, and then hit Laifu hard on the head... Laifu, who was dependent on Uncle Mute, also passed away, making Uncle Mute's situation even more miserable. On one side, there is the coldness of the ending; on the other side, there is the hustle and bustle on the stage. On the one hand, it is the desolation of the end of the song and the departure of people; on the other hand, it is the excitement of the opening of the show. On one side, there is the sadness of loss; on the other side, there is the joy of success. Ami finally became a popular singer in Taiwan. Ami asked her agent to bring 200,000 (200,000 in the 1970s should be a lot of money now) to Uncle Mute, hoping that Uncle Mute could buy a new house and live a better life than before. Comfortable. Ami is not cold-blooded, she is also struggling and contradictory in helplessness. After that, the father and daughter never saw each other again. Ami's success blocked their contact. As a result, Ami knew nothing about her father's illness. Ami is going to have a concert. In order to wake up Ami, the young man wrote a song for her. The title of the song is "If the wine is dry and sold for nothing". The young man gave the song to her before the concert. Ami read the lyrics and burst into tears. She kept learning and singing that song, and all the scenes of her father's hard work raising her came to her eyes. The concert started. When Ami finished singing the first song, Uncle Mute's neighbor Aman's wife came and told Ame that Uncle Mute had a heart attack and was about to die. Ami immediately rushed to the hospital, but the concert was not yet complete. It wasn't over yet, so the manager had no choice but to find other singers in the company to replace him. A Mei rushed to the hospital and finally saw her father. A Mei kept calling "Dad, Dad," but at this time, Uncle Dumb had already stopped his heartbeat before A Mei stepped through the door. When Uncle Dumb passed away, he could not see his daughter for the last time, and Ami also cried bitterly and was heartbroken. At the end of the concert, Ami sang "If the Wine Is Dry and Sold Without" with tears in her eyes... The audience had never heard such a touching song. The entire audience was moved to tears and responded with thunderous applause. After that, I was finally able to understand the plot of the film and the lyrics of the song bit by bit, and finally understood the meaning expressed in the lyrics. That's the story. Although these fragments in memory are incomplete, they are unforgettable. After writing these words, I actually shed two lines of tears. Because I didn’t fully understand the film from more than ten years ago when I was a child, I have always wanted to watch it again, but I can’t find any trace of it.
If you have seen "The Wrong Ride" somewhere, just borrow it home and read it. After watching it, you will feel moved and have tears lingering in your eyes when you listen to "If the Wine Is Sold for Nothing". And I will continue to pursue its traces, hoping that one day I will have the opportunity to be moved and cry again.