"I forgot, but he was the first real friend I made after coming to Dali... He was very loyal. Although we weren't close at first, he took care of my food and drink for half a year... Later, I managed to get some money from home and opened the Fengrenyuan Inn."
"Oh, this is a debt of gratitude for raising us!"
It was a joke, but Tie Nan nodded and replied, "Back then, bars in Dali weren't as popular as they are now. Coach Ma couldn't find a place to sing, so he would go to Erhai Gate every day to busk. He relied entirely on people's moods for his livelihood, so the earnings varied. At the worst time, the two of us ate nothing but steamed buns for a month..."
"You're got hands and feet, can't you find some work to do yourself?"
"That was a period of depression, I couldn't muster any interest in anything... Coach Ma is a man of few words, but he's a smart guy... So every night, the last song he sang was 'Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies,' I knew he was singing it for me... because he always said I had betrayed my ideals."
"Did I finally wake you up with my singing?"
Tie Nan took a drag of his cigarette and replied, "It's not that bad... I just felt too embarrassed to keep tagging along and mooching off him, so I set up an inn."
I smiled, but didn't call him out... I think his change stemmed entirely from Coach Ma's indomitable spirit. In terms of suffering, Coach Ma's was probably no less painful than his. Since Coach Ma could survive on his skills, what reason did he have to keep going down this path? So, it was Coach Ma who changed him, not because he was embarrassed to freeload as he claimed.
Tie Nan flicked away his cigarette ash and hummed: "Tonight I watch the snow fall in the cold night, my heart, now cold, drifts far away, chasing after something in the wind and rain, its shadow indistinguishable in the fog, the sky and sea are vast, will you and I change... Forgive me for my unruly and unrestrained love of freedom in this life, I am also afraid that one day I will fall, anyone can betray their ideals, why should I be afraid that one day you and I will..."
He stopped halfway through the song, then chuckled and said, "Back then, I listened to this song every day until I was sick of it; but now, when I'm feeling lost, I listen to it, and it really works..."
"Yes, I like this song too. It's a memory of our generation... Listening to it occasionally really gives you the strength not to give up."
As I spoke, I lit a cigarette for myself, and the melody of the song echoed in my mind... My heart slowly warmed up, and I felt that it would be a sign of incompetence to actually return to this small mountain town with a sum of money. As men, our pursuit of life should never be limited to this...
I just kept smoking and tapping my foot to the rhythm in my head...
After a moment, I finally spoke and asked Tie Nan, "Who framed Coach Ma and sent him to jail? ... I have a feeling this is related to Bai Lu."
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