Chapter 48
◎ The fog was heavy, and before six o'clock, Bei Bitang opened her eyes.
She didn't
The fog was heavy, and before six o'clock, Bei Bitang opened her eyes.
She didn't think about sleeping in until it was time to go out.
Bei Bitang walked on the bluestone road carrying the toilet, joined the crowd of people emptying toilets, and sighed silently.
In fact, she was quite uneasy. She tossed and turned and couldn't sleep well last night. She probably fell asleep at one or two o'clock. But this morning, she woke up on her own without anyone waking her up.
She wasn't afraid of Xu Zeli, she was afraid of Zeng Linlin. The last time Zeng Linlin came to the small vegetable market to make things difficult for her, she cleverly resolved the situation. Hopefully, Zeng Linlin would figure it out when she got back, realizing that, apart from the thousand yuan, she and Xu Zeli had nothing in common.
There are sparkling golden dots floating in the morning mist.
Bei Bitang had almost finished taking care of the household chores. She picked up her clothes from the day before, changed into them, checked the IOU in her trouser pocket twice, and then went out.
Bei Bitang arrived at a delicious breakfast shop on the corner of the street. She said to the chef standing in front of the hot pot, "Comrade, I want a bowl of chicken soup wontons. Please give me more soup."
The chef, who was scalding the wontons with a strainer, answered loudly and without hesitation, "Okay!"
The people who came here to eat were all old neighbors. Besides, the restaurant was not privately owned, but state-owned. At that time, the food portions in state-owned restaurants were very generous, even if you didn't know the waiters.
Bei Bitang paid the bill, heated up the dishes and chopsticks, and soon after she sat down, a bowl of fragrant wonton soup with chicken was brought to her.
On the top of the small bowl, there are golden oil stars floating, white shrimps swimming, dark seaweed stretching, and a few crispy mustard greens.
This bowl of chicken soup with wontons was exactly what Bei Bitang wanted. The wontons were tiny, but the meat filling was chewy and popped in her mouth. The chicken soup was made with several whole hens, simmered overnight until the chicken flesh had melted into a paste.
Bei Bitang ate one small wonton at a time and drank a mouthful of chicken soup.
After finishing her meal, Bei Bitang stood up and prepared to walk towards the bus stop. As she walked out of the store, two familiar people came towards her.
When she got up, Huang Dashan was still asleep.
At this time, Huang Dashan, wearing shorts and a white coat, walked into the breakfast shop yawning.
Xue Guizhi was wearing a floral pajamas, and her face was slightly rosy and her lips were dabbed with something. She walked with a poised posture, as if she were not in a Shikumen building, but in the International Building Complex.
The two did not walk together, but were separated by a distance of more than half a meter.
When Huang Dashan saw Bei Bitang, he was startled at first, then he nodded at Bei Bitang in a natural manner.
On the contrary, Xue Guizhi touched the end of her hair and said with a smile: "Bitang, what a coincidence."
Bei Bitang didn't know what to say, and her mood became even more depressed.
She simply ignored Xue Guizhi and stepped out of the store.
When Bei Bitang arrived at People's Square by tram, it was already very lively.
A group of energetic old men and women placed their radios on the ground or hung them on treetops, playing music. Some of them danced with swords, some with fans, some practiced Tai Chi, and some practiced Wing Chun.
There were people sitting on benches and stone steps, eating a variety of breakfasts. There was also a large group of people who looked like students, perhaps high school students, perhaps college students, holding textbooks and reading aloud. There were also painters setting up and painting on paper.
A group of young men and women in their twenties and thirties were jogging in the morning, including one or two blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners.
Not just people, but small animals as well.
In the tall trees, familiar little squirrels hopped between branches, chirping, their broad tails barely visible. On the ground, pigeons, like spirits, circled the people eating breakfast, as if sharing their food with them. People also brought bird cages, filled with thrushes, cuckoos, and even unassuming little sparrows, all nestling in their wooden cages, lowering their heads to drink clean, clear water.
Xu Zeli got up even earlier, but he couldn't sleep either. He woke up groggily at five o'clock.
He got up and turned on the desk lamp. Feeling upset, he simply took out his college English textbook and looked at two pages of words.
When it was almost six o'clock, he looked at the sky outside the window, hoping that Zeng Linlin had overslept and did not wake up.
Unfortunately, the reality was not as he wished.
After a while, the aunt who answered the phone at the street level called for someone downstairs. Zeng Linlin called to ask if he had woken up and asked Xu Zeli to come and pick her up.
Xu Zeli and Zeng Linlin were not in the mood to eat breakfast. They pretended to be happy and affectionate and came to the People's Square.
Xu Zeli took Zeng Linlin with ease and found Bei Bitang in People's Square.
Zeng Linlin didn't say anything, but she was dissatisfied in her heart. It seemed that the two of them did not agree to meet at People's Square.
Zeng Linlin's dissatisfaction was not reduced until she saw Bei Bitang dressed in ordinary clothes, which had obviously been washed many times.
When the three met for the first time, no one spoke first.
Bei Bitang was also holding back her energy, as if whoever spoke first would lose.
Xu Zeli didn't dare to look at Bei Bitang directly, his forehead was sweating.
Passersby cast curious glances at the three strange people.
Xu Zeli was the first to break the silence. He handed the large black bag to Bei Bitang and said, "Here's the money. One thousand yuan."
Bei Bitang took it without hesitation, her face flushed slightly because she was excited about the money.
Bei Bitang opened the bag and saw a file bag inside. Apparently, the thousand yuan was in the file bag.
She turned her back, put the bag on the stone steps, opened the file bag, and counted the documents one by one.
Seeing Bei Bitang being so cautious, Zeng Linlin, who was sitting with her hands folded in silence, sneered in disdain.
Xu Zeli's expression was gloomy, as he thought to himself that, now that things had come to this, he and Bei Bitang could no longer be friends. He could only sacrifice Bei Bitang to please Zeng Linlin.
Xu Zeli also showed a look of contempt, and said in a condescending tone, "Linlin and I have already counted the money, not a cent more or less. We have no reason to cheat you. Why bother? Why not just give us the IOU and we'll be even."
Bei Bitang turned a deaf ear and counted the great unity carefully.
The amount matched, exactly one thousand yuan. Bei Bitang folded the money neatly and put it back into the file bag.
She turned around, took out the IOU from her trouser pocket, handed it to Zeng Linlin, and said, "Here's the IOU."
Even if Xu Zeli was trying to hide it, she knew who took out the thousand yuan.
Zeng Linlin didn't want to answer the call, but she also didn't want Xu Zeli to have any contact with Bei Bitang.
She turned her eyes away as if there was something dirty on Bei Bitang, picked up the IOU with two fingers, took it, and without even looking at it, tore it up and threw it on the ground.
Anyway, she and Bei Bitang had a falling out, so there was no need for her to pretend to be approachable, friendly and enthusiastic in front of Bei Bitang.
Bei Bitang's expression remained unchanged. She looked at the aunt with a red armband patrolling behind Zeng Linlin and smiled.
Zeng Linlin couldn't help but turn her head. The aunt with the red armband was staring at her fiercely and was about to rush over.
Zeng Linlin looked at Xu Zeli, and Xu Zeli glanced at Bei Bitang. Bei Bitang didn't look away, and Xu Zeli gritted his teeth and bent down to pick up the scraps of paper on the ground.
The red armband stopped walking and shouted, "Be more careful next time! Young people should have a sense of public morality!"
Everyone around looked over here, with contemptuous and accusing eyes falling on Xu Zeli.
Zeng Linlin felt guilty and her face turned red.
Bei Bitang said calmly, "You two, I'm leaving first."
Zeng Linlin said in a weak tone, "Since you've already got the money, please don't bother me anymore."
Bei Bitang chuckled and said calmly, "It's the same for everyone. I also hope that you two will stop bothering me."
Xu Zeli stood up straight and looked at Zeng Linlin with a puzzled look on his face.
Zeng Linlin bit her lip and said nothing.
Xu Zeli patted his pants in a nonchalant manner, walked forward, and put his hand on Zeng Linlin's shoulder, as if he was protecting Zeng Linlin firmly.
He looked at Bei Bitang and said angrily, "Comrade Bei, we've already paid off the debt. Can't we just part ways amicably? This is all my fault. It has nothing to do with Linlin. She's innocent. Could you please stop being so aggressive?"
Bei Bitang glanced at the aggrieved Zeng Linlin with a half-smile in her eyes and asked softly, "Xu Zeli, you're the biggest culprit, but are you sure Comrade Zeng is innocent? Of the three of us, I'm the only one who can truly be called innocent. What are you two? You're acting like you're wronged in front of me, one after another. You're worthy of being a match made in heaven, sleeping in the same bed in the future."
The last sentence was indescribably sarcastic.
Xu Zeli frowned, blushing as he said, "Bei Bitang, you..."
At this time, a few gray pigeons flew over his head. They stayed very close to Xu Zeli, flapping their wings.
Summer is the molting season for pigeons, and feathers fluttered down on Xu Zeli's head.
This is not over yet.
When Xu Zeli couldn't help but look up, a few puddles of grayish-white, dripping pigeon droppings fell on his face, hitting his facial features.
Zeng Linlin screamed.
The pigeons in People's Square actually live in a comfortable environment, with dedicated people feeding them. They have few natural enemies, and humans even help them eliminate their enemies. Therefore, they are actually very timid and easily frightened.
When Zeng Linlin called, the pigeons began to panic and swooped down towards Xu Zeli and Zeng Linlin's heads and faces.
Xu Zeli is worthy of being the Xu Zeli who is always scheming. He protected Zeng Linlin in a flash.
Bei Bitang stood still and calmly watched the two of them being attacked by the fat pigeons.
After a long time, the pigeons were probably tired, they flapped their wings and flew away.
Xu Zeli was in a state of disarray, covered in feathers and pigeon droppings, and his face was covered in scratches. Zeng Linlin wasn't much better off; it was hard to tell she'd dressed up before coming.
Her hair was messy, her makeup was smudged, and her lip balm had spread to her chin.
The two men glared fiercely at Bei Bitang, who was safe and sound, and walked away supporting each other.
Bei Bitang originally planned to hide the money after getting it, and then quickly go to work in the small vegetable market.
But the pigeons in People's Square helped her vent her anger, and she couldn't just leave and treat them badly.
Bei Bitang went to the nearest breakfast shop and bought five big white steamed buns.
He came back, squatted on the steps, tore the steamed buns bit by bit, and fed the steamed bun crumbs to the pigeons.
Looking at the fat pigeons in front of her making happy gurgling sounds, Bei Bitang was lost in thought and couldn't help but think of the young man who gave her half a bag of rice.
At that sad moment, the young man's actions gave her great comfort. But she couldn't even see his face clearly.
Bei Bitang felt a strange sense of melancholy. She thought again of the dark blue silk handkerchief she had washed with clean water, ironed with a hot teapot, and then neatly folded and placed in an aluminum lunch box.
Silk items are not cheap. In order not to damage the silk, she even asked her mother how to wash silk clothes before washing them.
When her mother asked her why, she evaded the question, saying she was just curious and wanted to know more.
Although she kept thinking about returning the handkerchief to the owner, Bei Bitang didn't have the leisure time to come to People's Square to wait for people.
Ever since her last breakup with Xu Zeli at People's Square, she has never been to this place again.
Bei Bitang clapped her hands and sighed dejectedly. With so many people in Shanghai, the handkerchief might never return to its real owner.
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