74 Dream (End)

When I was a child, my teacher asked me, what is your dream?

I replied, running to the moon.

The teacher smiled and said, "That's great, even though it sounds a bit far-fetched."

I laughed too. How could this be so out of the blue? The moon is so close to us, sometimes so close that I can see the pits left by acne on its face.

Later, as I grew up, I realized that the moon is really, really far away from us.

Later, I read in a travel magazine that the country on Earth closest to the moon is in South America.

It has a beautiful name: Ecuador.

So, I thought, one day, I'm going to move to Ecuador so I can be closer to the moon.

…

In Ecuador, I would hold hands with my lover and climb the highest peak there, Mount Chimborazo. When we passed a wild rose bush, my lover would pick a dewy rose, carefully remove the thorns on the stem, and then pin it to my ear.

"You're so beautiful."

Just like in countless ordinary days, he would not hesitate to show me his love and praise.

Then, hand in hand, we marched toward the summit of Mount Chimborazo.

Running to the moon with my love.

This is my dream.

Ni Yue choked out the last word and raised her eyes with tears in her eyes. She saw Zhang Chenling, Chen Yuang, and Xu Zhiqian sitting side by side in front of her, all of whom were so moved that they were speechless.

This essay, titled "Dream," comes from a collection of essays of the same name published by Sister Paoqiu many years ago. Due to the subject matter, this book has not received much attention from readers. Among Sister Paoqiu's many works, it is a less popular work.

Ni Yue was not a fan of prose either, but out of love for the book, she bought it anyway, glanced through it, and then put it away in her collection.

Thus, this text about dreams, the moon, Ecuador, and roses has been buried deep in her memory until today.

However, B Wang, the least attentive reader in the eyes of Running Ball Sister, always remembers this article "Dream".

After Sister Paoqiu was diagnosed with ALS, B Wang spent countless sleepless nights tossing and turning. He hid in his bed and secretly looked at his phone, searching for Ecuador on the map and measuring the distance between that small equatorial country and Shanghai with his eyes.

It was not until Sister Running Ball developed an eye disease and had a mental breakdown that he realized that her precious life could not be wasted like this any longer.

So he made up his mind to take her away.

He tentatively proposed this living abroad plan, but he didn't expect that Sister Paoqiu was so excited that she burst into tears, even more enthusiastic than when he knelt down to propose to her.

So the couple began to quietly prepare to leave.

However, a few days before leaving, King B regretted his decision.

Although he had made sufficient preparations, he was still worried about the medical conditions, food safety, unfamiliar high-altitude environment, and tropical climate there. When he thought that his impulsiveness would put the running sister in great risk, he hesitated.

"No!" Sister Ball Run was firm and didn't want to talk too much. She used the eye tracking device to talk to him:

We'd already discussed this, how could you back out at this moment?! You knew I wanted to move to Ecuador the day I found out I was sick! Later, because of the endless rehab, I never mentioned it again!

Honey, let's go and experience it. If we really can't adapt, we can move back to Shanghai! But I believe, apart from a little bit of acclimatization, we'll adapt quickly. My eyes will probably return to normal soon after seeing the green mountains and clear waters every day. And, that's Ecuador! The closest place on Earth to the moon! Just thinking about it makes me so happy! You know, the moon is my second favorite thing, after you, that jerk.

Besides, Ecuador is so close to the United States, we can always learn about the latest ALS treatment trends in North America. If there is an opportunity, I can also participate in the new drug testing there, right?

After reading the last paragraph, King B made up his mind. In fact, this was one of the reasons why he wanted to move to the Western Hemisphere. Their ten-year US visas were still valid, and it was much more convenient to travel from Ecuador to the United States.

So, at an unknown midnight, he boarded a red-eye flight to the Western Hemisphere with his running sister, dozens of pieces of luggage and medical equipment.

Thanks to the publicity of official media, the bathing difficulties of the elderly, the weak and the disabled have received widespread attention from all walks of life, and have also attracted the attention of civil affairs departments and local governments. Support policies for elderly care and assisted bathing have been introduced one after another.

A community neighborhood committee took the initiative to contact Shangshanruoshui, wanting to cooperate with them to explore the feasibility of community-based elderly care and bathing assistance.

So, following Ni Yue, Sister Shuang and Brother Xiao Ma also retreated to the second line and focused on marketing and community bathing assistance business.

Zhang Chenling has several duties. In addition to daily management work, she still spends half of her time every week helping the team with bathing. In her own words, this is to prevent them from getting "unlearned".

In fact, she was reluctant to leave her old customers. She was used to hearing them calling her "Chen Ling".

Unexpectedly, one day, an old customer who had not been in touch for a long time suddenly called. The familiar voice of "Chen Ling~" quickly pulled Zhang Chenling's memory back to a few months ago. It seemed as if she had been away for a lifetime. "Mr. Wang?"

…

"Chen Ling, long time no see!"

The next time we met was at Mr. Wang's large villa in the western suburbs. He looked in good spirits and had dyed his hair brown to look younger.

"Mr. Wang is in such good condition, it seems that he has fully recovered!" Zhang Chenling greeted with a smile.

In the empty living room, there were only her and Mr. Wang. He said on the phone that he didn't need help with bathing, he just wanted to see her.

"It's okay, everything is back to normal!" he replied, looking slightly embarrassed. At this age, abnormality is normal.

He controlled the wheelchair and brought Zhang Chenling to the large floor-to-ceiling window in the living room.

The afterglow of the setting sun cast a layer of gold on his face, but the wrinkles on his face seemed to be intensified by the light, and the shadows of the ravines intertwined, making his aging visible.

At his signal, Zhang Chenling sat on the sofa by the window. "So, what instructions did you ask me to come here today?"

He smiled faintly. "I dare not tell you what I ordered. Last time, my eldest son inexplicably drove you away and completely deleted your contact information from my phone and Uncle Zhong's phone. I was so angry. Later, I accidentally saw your program on TV, so I asked Uncle Zhong to find your number online. However, I thought about it for a long time before deciding to ask you to come over."

Seeing that Zhang Chenling only smiled and said nothing, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "You may be curious why I don't get along well with my two sons, and why they don't get along well with each other either?"

Zhang Chenling was stunned and frankly said, "Actually, I'm not very interested in other people's family affairs, especially my clients'."

Mr. Wang, however, acted as if he hadn't heard her and continued to talk. "Actually, after my ex-wife passed away, I set up a trust for most of my assets, including more than a dozen properties. After my death, those properties would officially be transferred to my two sons. But, as you know, real estate values ​​are constantly changing. Over the years, the value of the properties my eldest son could get has gradually surpassed that of my second son. So, my second son was a little unhappy. Later, I invested in his startup as a disguised compensation. Later, my eldest son found out about this, and he wasn't happy either..."

Zhang Chenling felt a little uncomfortable. She really had no interest in the feuds between wealthy families, so she could only perfunctorily say, "I understand, it's not fair to treat everyone equally..."

Mr. Wang didn't respond. He spoke anxiously, "Besides that, there's another reason they're unhappy: the villa I live in is still in my name. They previously prevented me from remarrying because of this house. Although I wasn't happy that time, I still listened to them. However, after this illness and surgery, I realized that I don't have much time left and should boldly pursue my own happiness. So, I've decided to make this villa my joint property with my next wife. After I'm gone, I'll leave it to her..."

The look he gave Zhang Chenling became meaningful.

Zhang Chenling took a deep breath. Could it be that... Mr. Wang was hinting at her?

But his slightly raised chin revealed the superiority of a superior, making people feel that he was not sending out a signal of love, nor was he looking for a hostess for his mansion, but was using high salary as bait to find a nanny.

After thinking for a moment, he raised his voice and asked, "Chen Ling, are you willing to..."

His tone was very firm, and it was obvious that he was determined to win.

"Lao Deng!" Zhang Chenling interrupted him hastily.

"Oh no, Uncle Wang! Oh no, Mr. Wang..." She was a little flustered and spoke without thinking. After denying herself twice in a row, she apologized with a red face, "Oh, I'm sorry, I accidentally said something wrong just now. Hehe, Mr. Wang, please don't be angry..."

The sense of superiority on Mr. Wang's face was instantly replaced by embarrassment, and his Adam's apple rolled twice with difficulty. It was indeed not as smooth as when he was young.

Calling him Lao Deng seems to be right. Calling him Uncle Wang also seems to be right.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right and that it was not appropriate to stay here for long, Zhang Chenling smiled and said goodbye to him in an official tone: "Mr. Wang, it was a pleasure meeting you today. Thank you for your appreciation of me. If you have any bathing needs in the future, please feel free to contact me. I have other things to do later. My colleagues are waiting outside, so I won't disturb you!"

After saying that, she turned and left under Mr. Wang's gaze.

Uncle Zhong had just disappeared to avoid suspicion, so no one saw her off.

Walking out of the long corridor alone, a voice in her heart kept questioning her: Was I stupid just now? Did I miss my only chance for class advancement and financial freedom? ...

It was not until she walked out of the villa gate and saw Xu Zhiqian waiting at the door that Zhang Chenling calmed down and confirmed that her choice was right.

If she had to choose again between a pie worth hundreds of millions and a young and healthy prostate, she would still choose the latter.

This is cruel, but also true.

"Why did you come out so soon?" Xu Zhiqian came over, took her hand and asked, "What did you talk about? Do you have any new stories?"

Zhang Chenling blinked, "Maybe I missed a 100 million story."

"Huh?" Xu Zhiqian was curious.

"It's a long story!" Zhang Chenling said mysteriously, "I'll tell you more later. Let's take a taxi to the next show."

The next event, at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was a new book salon seminar organized by the institute for Professor Xu.

Yes, after Xu Zhiqian's continuous efforts for several months, Professor Xu's work was finally endorsed by the school and successfully published.

Tonight, Professor Xu will share his writing experience at the seminar and sign and sell books on site.

Now, she was at home, looking in the mirror, putting on her favorite light yellow cashmere coat.

The greatest fairness in the world is that everyone will die.

The greatest injustice in the world is that the quality of life of each person before death is so different.

Some people live healthy lives their entire lives, only to pass away in their sleep. Some suffer from illness for months and years, unable to live or die. Some people are constantly immersed in sweat and urine, and even a bath before their death is a luxury.

In recent years, we often hear major media outlets calling out: China lacks death education!

This has almost become a social consensus.

As a result, there are more and more discussions about death in various books and film and television works, and many works on funeral themes have appeared. This is a good thing, indicating that death education is becoming popular.

But I would like to ask, if death is so solemn and heavy, then how should we view the process of dying?

Do we get any education about aging?

Before the end of life, facing a process that may be longer, more painful, and more cruel than death, what should we do for ourselves and others?

…

"Oh my god, why is my face so big? I've gained a lot of weight since I started working in an office!"

Ni Yue was soaking in the bathtub, enjoying the latest interview program she was doing on behalf of Shangshanruoshui. Staring at the big round face on the screen, she kept complaining.

Chen Yuang walked over and pinched her cheeks, which were rosy from the heat. "I think you look neither fat nor thin, just the right size! Besides, your speech was very profound, even more touching than those Oscar acceptance speeches!"

"Really?" Ni Yue pouted, not believing his sweet words.

"Of course!" Chen Yuang pulled an N95 mask from his pocket and put it on. Through the clean, fresh non-woven fabric, he gently kissed her as a token of his love and encouragement. Well, her syphilis prevention observation period hadn't ended yet.

Then he handed over a bottle of craft beer with water droplets hanging on it.

The label on it says "Da Lou BB".

After B Wang and Sister Paoqiu left, his shop was bought by a competitor who had been eyeing it. They named it "Daisy BB," capitalizing on the popularity of the place. While it still specializes in craft beer, the taste is far inferior. Chen Yuang often jokes that there are other ingredients in the beer, so be careful not to end up in the hospital.

However, out of sentiment, they still occasionally buy wine from this store.

Looking at the fake wine bottle in his hand, Ni Yue thought of Sister Paoqiu again. Her novel had been on hiatus for a month.

Although she missed them very much, Ni Yue did not ask King B about their recent situation. She firmly believed that no matter what, Sister Running Ball must be getting closer and closer to the moon.

As the midnight bell rang, Ni Yue wrote in his memo:

...On New Year's Eve, Chen Yuang and I drank a lot of blended wine and talked a lot about future plans.

We were chatting when Wu Xia suddenly sent me a WeChat message, transferring 30,000 to 5,000 yuan, saying that she had borrowed this from me before and was returning it to me with interest.

I didn't argue with her and accepted it.

2020 has passed just like that. I think that when I grow old, when I recall this bustling year, I will definitely miss it very much.

The full text is over.