Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Section Chief He of the factory security department calls you...
Su Yan sat aside and watched Mrs. Song skillfully light the fire and cook noodles. She didn't dare to say much, for fear that she would make more mistakes. After all, she had no household registration, and her speech, behavior and living habits were very different from those of people of this generation. Once she revealed any flaws, it would arouse suspicion. At least for now, Su Yan could not give a satisfactory answer.
Mrs. Song spoke casually, "Sister, your noodles are really good. Did you make them yourself?"
Su Yan shook her head: "No, it was done by my family!"
Mrs. Song smiled and said, "That must have been made by your mother, or your grandmother. Her craftsmanship is really good. The noodles look beautiful." She then asked Su Yan what she was doing in the city and what she wanted to buy. If the supply and marketing cooperative couldn't buy it, she could go and ask around.
Those were just lies Su Yan made up. She said a few perfunctory words and then made an excuse that she felt a little unwell, went outside the kitchen to get some water, and left.
The kids had already finished their homework. One suggested going outside to play hoop rolling, while another said, "You're silly! We have guests over today, and Mom's going to make something delicious. If you want to go out, go ahead by yourself. I'll be waiting for dinner at home."
One of them leaned against the kitchen window, looking at the steaming food inside, and turned around: "Noodles, it's noodles, brother, mom is putting noodles down."
The four children were all excited and gathered at the kitchen door: "Mom, do you want to go call Dad back?"
Mrs. Song uttered a hollow sound and cursed, "What are you yelling about? Keep your voice down. Third brother, go call your dad back and tell him something's wrong at home. Don't mention eating noodles."
The third child made a face and said, "I know, Mom. Am I that stupid?" Then he opened the door and jumped away.
Mrs. Song was reluctant to finish the noodles in one meal, so she only ate half of it, which was about one pound. According to Su Yan's appetite, she usually felt full after eating two ounces of beef noodles. This pound of noodles was more than five Su Yans could not finish.
Besides, when Sister Song cooked the noodles, she didn't add any other seasonings, just a little salt and soy sauce, just plain water. In the past, Su Yan would rather starve than eat noodles like this. For some reason, when Sister Song scooped up the noodles, Su Yan gulped and her stomach growled inappropriately. When she poured the soy sauce on them, Su Yan couldn't help but think, "The soy sauce is so fragrant! It must be homemade, definitely not produced on a modern assembly line."
Mrs. Song asked the children to bring the noodles to the table, and the third child came running back: "Mom, Dad just came back from a mission. He said he was busy and couldn't come back now."
Mrs. Song quickly picked up a large bowl of noodles and put it in the window: "What mission is this? Are we going to catch speculators and cut off the capitalist tail again?" There was a complaint in her words, and even Su Yan could feel it intuitively.
The third child sat down, quickly picked up a bowl of noodles, shoveled a big mouthful into his mouth, and shouted, "Mom, these noodles are delicious." At the same time, he said, "Mom, Dad is not going to catch the speculators this time, he is going to catch the spies."
Mrs. Song laughed and said, "We're a small county town in the mountains. Why would the spies have nothing better to do than come here?"
The third child shook his head and said, "Mom, it's really a spy. They found a four-wheeled car halfway up the mountain in Shuipu Tou, and there are foreign English letters on it."
Mrs. Song was surprised. "What? Foreign English letters? How did you get up to Shuiputou halfway up the mountain? Isn't there a section of the road that can only be accessed by bicycle?"
Su Yan was so frightened by their questions and answers that she broke out in a cold sweat. She had been eating with great relish, but suddenly she felt that the noodles in her mouth were not tasty anymore. The car halfway up the mountain in Shuipu Tou was most likely hers.
Su Yan stirred the noodles with her chopsticks when she heard the third child say, "Maybe it was dropped from an American plane. Mom, have you seen that movie? I saw it in the square last month. The American plane in the movie could fit on a tractor, let alone a car."
Mrs. Song hit him on the head with chopsticks: "Don't talk nonsense, don't say these things outside."
In just a few minutes, the four children finished the noodles in their bowls and looked at Mrs. Song eagerly: "Mom, is there any more?"
Mrs. Song stood up and cleared the dishes: "Why eat so much in one meal? Be careful not to overeat at night and get a stomachache."
The second and third children pouted and quickly picked up their bowls, drinking up all the noodle soup. Seeing that Su Yan hadn't touched the half bowl of noodles in her bowl, they stared at her intently. After hearing what she said, Su Yan couldn't eat at all. She picked up a piece of noodles for each of the four children with her chopsticks and smiled, "Eat!"
Although the children had been hungry for a long time, they could not move their eyes or walk when they saw the food. However, due to their family education, they did not dare to snatch food from other people's bowls. Mrs. Song did not speak and did not dare to pick up her chopsticks.
Su Yan smiled: "Sister Song, I usually eat little, it's okay."
Mrs. Song waved her hands: "No, that won't do. It's just a bowl of noodles, you eat it by yourself..." She was about to persuade him when she heard someone outside shouting: "Mrs. Song, is Chief He from your factory's security department calling you?"
Mrs. Song agreed: "What's the matter?"
The man said, "He didn't say what it was, but it's urgent and he wants you to go right away."
Mrs. Song said, "Okay, I'll be right there." She took off her apron and told the children to wash the dishes and clear the table, while also telling them to entertain Su Yan and not neglect the guest. In residential areas these days, if you need anything, just shout outside the door and the neighbors will come to help. Furthermore, public security is very strict, so Mrs. Song didn't worry about Su Yan, a stranger, staying in her house.
As soon as Mrs. Song left, the children stopped being polite and started eating the noodles with chopsticks. They finished them in two or three bites and looked at Su Yan with embarrassed smiles.
After dinner, the children washed dishes and swept the floor. When they were done, they took out their books. Even the youngest was taught word by word by his sister, using flash cards. There was a map under the glass of the desk. Su Yan feigned interest. "Is this a map? There's a color map, too?"
The third brother was a chatterbox: "Of course there are colored maps. This is a map of China."
Su Yan pointed and looked for a long time: "Where is Qing Yuan? Why can't I see him for a long time?"
The third brother shook his head: "How stupid." He pointed to a small red dot and said: "Here, this is Qingyuan, this is Jiangzhou, Jiangzhou is the provincial capital."
Su Yan pointed at the line and asked, "What railway is this?"
The third brother looked at me like I was an idiot and said disdainfully, "Can't you see this is the railway connecting Shanghai and Jiangzhou?"
Su Yan nodded: "Okay!"
Su Yan's biggest problem right now was that she had no identity. She'd just dropped out of nowhere. Even if she went insane and told the police she was from the 21st century, they'd probably just think she was mentally ill or a spy trying to quibble. If nothing else, driving that kind of car was pure capitalist behavior. Therefore, Su Yan absolutely couldn't tell the truth. Not only could she not tell the truth, she also had to find an identity for herself.
She had just seen a torn calendar in this house, confirming that it was July 12, 1961. She had once heard her math teacher say that Su Yan looked very similar to a college classmate. That classmate's surname was Lu, and her name was Yingzi. She was from Jiangzhou and was attending university in Shanghai. In her junior year, she received a telegram from home on June 2, 1961, announcing that her father had passed away unexpectedly and urging her to return home to attend the funeral.
The female classmate hurriedly asked for leave and left school. Two months later, she did not return. At that time, it was common for students to skip classes due to family matters, so no one suspected anything.
Six months later, her mother came to the school, saying that Lu Yingzi hadn't returned home at all. The school then called the police, but there was no further news. More than 20 years later, a perpetrator was apprehended and confessed that he had killed a female college student named Lu Yingzi in Shanghai many years ago. He looked at Lu Yingzi's photo and said, "It was her, this girl. I didn't intend to kill her, but she refused to comply and said she was a college student and wanted to go to the police station to report him." The perpetrator said nonchalantly, "Then I had no choice but to kill her! That day was my birthday, June 4th. She was just trying to bring bad luck on me!"
Lu Yingzi's mother cried herself blind. She hadn't moved for decades and still lived in the dormitory where she worked. Su Yan went to visit her with her teacher and brought some fruit. The old lady sat alone at the door, dazed. The teacher spoke to her, but she ignored him. The neighbors said that the policy was better now and they wanted to send the old lady to a nursing home where she would be taken care of. However, the old lady looked confused and refused to move. Su Yan asked, "Does she have any other relatives?"
The neighbor shook his head. She originally had two grandchildren, but they both passed away in the 1960s. Since then, the old lady has been in poor spirits, and it is the neighbors who help her with meals and other things.
Su Yan's teacher sighed, unable to bear seeing such a miserable sight, so he left some money and hurried away.
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