25 Erhu Erhu
Li Wei, swaying back and forth on the bus with her erhu in hand, reminisced about the handsome young man. Sigh, she wondered when she'd see him again. Opportunities to buy an erhu were rare; it seemed she could only hope Li Lin would break it and then come to repair it. Yes, Li Lin needed to practice diligently.
Li Wei returned home with a heart full of spring fever.
The time spent out was not very long. Apart from taking a car, buying a piano, walking, and being a little hungry after buying the piano at noon, I went to a decent restaurant and had a bowl of wontons. In total, it was only a little over three hours but less than four hours.
So, when Li Wei nervously entered the house and saw her mother and grandfather busy in the workshop, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If her mother asked later, she would just say she'd been back for half a day; anyway, they hadn't seen her come in, yeah, that's what she'd say.
Li Wei had just put her bottom on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) when her mother Cheng Min's voice came from the doorway: "You went to the moon to give acupuncture, why did it take you so long to come back? Didn't you say you were going to buy canned food? Where is it?"
Li Wei hurriedly stood up, not expecting to be discovered so quickly. Caught off guard, she said, "What am I going to do? If I tell the truth, I might get beaten up: I waited for Uncle Lin at the clinic for ages, and then I ran into a street performer playing the erhu. Oh my god, he was so pitiful! His hair and beard were so long, his vest had so many pockets, and his pants were all torn with holes. There were only a few coins in his bowl. He was so thin and hungry..."
It's basically a composite of an artist, a director, a hippie, and a beggar.
Her mother grew impatient: "So what? What he does is none of your business. How many times have I told you to stay away from beggars and street singers? What if you get robbed by a money collector? What happened in the end? You didn't go begging for them all this time, did you?"
"No, I just felt sorry for him, and then he said his erhu could produce a beautiful sound like Grandpa Wu next door, and asked if I wanted to buy it, so I bought it."
So it was a scam to fool a child. Cheng Min glanced at the erhu case but couldn't tell anything, so she asked, "How much money did he ask you for?" Looking at the little bag the girl was carrying, she wondered if he had tricked her out of all the money she got from selling those rags yesterday.
How much should I ask for? Sigh, one lie leads to countless more to cover it up. It's no job for a human being.
"Twenty-five yuan." A lie only works if it's mixed with a bit of truth. Who said that again?
"So much? That's alright, at least they didn't swindle you out of even a single penny. Be careful in the future. Don't get too close to strangers, especially those who are selling you things or giving you things as gifts. Understand?" Mom admonished.
Li Wei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. It seemed she had passed the test. She quickly and obediently replied, "I know, Mom. I promise I won't buy another erhu." Surely buying something else would be alright?
Cheng Min didn't have time to waste with her daughter. She was about to get to work. But she still glanced at the zither: "It looks pretty new. Let me open it and see what's inside."
Li Wei was a little smug. She opened the violin case with a touch of boastfulness and said, "Mom, look! Why would I buy it if it wasn't new? I'm not a junk collector. Actually, I'm quite shrewd."
"Oh. The box is quite new. But the instrument looks quite old. It looks like it's been used for several years." Cheng Min said while touching the erhu.
Li Wei glanced at her mother and wondered what kind of look she was giving her. She argued, "That's how they make it. That's how it looks artistic. That's how musical instruments are made."
"What do kids know? What do you know about art and 'artistic spirit'? It's just an old instrument, something to fool a kid like you. Do you think I'd actually give you a good instrument?"
Li Wei was a little unhappy. Could a respectable music store and a handsome young man really lie to people? "How is it not a good piano? I saw her take a brand new piano out of the warehouse. If you don't believe me, look at the label. It's right here..."
Li Wei pointed angrily at the trademark and looked up at her mother. Noticing her mother's strange expression, she suddenly realized what was happening, screamed, and ran out: "Grandpa, Grandpa—, my mom hit me—!"
Wow! Cheng Min was both amused and exasperated. She hadn't even said a word, and this girl had already accused her of hitting someone.
Finally, with her grandfather in charge, Li Wei told her mother the truth. She didn't get a beating, but she was bound to get a long and stern lecture for going to the city without permission and buying such expensive things!
I don't understand how such a young child can be so enthusiastic about buying and selling things. Is this what they call a middleman?
The important thing is, what if it gets kidnapped by a bad guy on the street!
Regardless, Li Wei passed the test. As for the fact that the piano was bought for Li Lin and that Li Lin was learning to play the piano, she didn't dare mention it at all. If she did, it would just be another charge: making excuses to shirk responsibility!
However, selling the instrument to Li Lin wasn't so easy. Li Wei guessed that Li Lin's interest would only last a short time; to get her to stick with learning, she would have to use both carrots and sticks.
Everything is difficult at the beginning. She must ask to learn it herself before Li Wei can properly manage her and get her to keep going.
Before Li Wei could figure out how to deal with Li Lin, Li Lin ran back just before school ended, threw down her schoolbag, and went to her mother: "Mom, the teacher wants you to go to school."
Cheng Min asked, somewhat puzzled, "What are you doing at school? Where's your brother? Why didn't he come back with you?"
Li Lin said with some concern, "Xiao Hui and Luo Jianzhong broke the office window."
Cheng Min sighed. Why are they all so troublesome?
I took off my apron and white coat, changed my clothes, and reluctantly headed to school.
Li Lin followed behind, and after thinking for a moment, Li Wei followed as well.
She only had one day off, and yet she caused trouble again. A broken glass can be replaced, but it would be bad if the kids were demoted, and even worse if she were implicated.
When Cheng Min arrived at the school, she saw a window in the teachers' office area with a grid pattern on the playground. Two panes of glass were broken. Without even asking, she went straight into that office.
A row of children stood against the wall in the office.
Cheng Min glanced around and recognized quite a few people, including her beloved son, Erpangzi, Luo Da and Luo Er, but she didn't recognize the others who were a bit older.
Cheng Min awkwardly went up to greet and chat with the homeroom teacher, Ms. Li, and inevitably received a scolding from her. "Why is your child skipping grades at such a young age? She's always daydreaming and fidgeting in class, and she's too naughty after class—she doesn't listen to anyone and just won't listen..."
Although Cheng Min didn't have much formal education, she was a very strong-willed person and always strived to be the best in everything she did. Now in her thirties, she managed a dozen or twenty employees, and being scolded by her teacher like a primary school student must have been incredibly frustrating for her. It was pure torture; all she wanted to do was go home and give her son a good beating to vent her anger.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to them, Li Wei secretly asked Li Lianhui what had happened. She then realized that the four people being punished could basically be divided into two small criminal gangs. One was Li Lianhui, Luo Er, and Erpangzi; the three of them had a brick-throwing contest and accidentally broke the office window. Luo Er, who was more articulate, even defended the three, saying it wasn't intentional. The other two nodded vigorously in agreement. Li Wei was speechless.
As for Luo Da's filthy gang, Li Wei recognized two of them. Judging from their hair and skin color, they seemed to be Huang Mao and Er Hei, who had robbed and bullied them on the mountain before, or Xiao Huang and Xiao Hei for short. Li Wei didn't recognize the remaining boys, but they seemed to be older students based on their build.
Given Luo Da's barbaric behavior yesterday, Li Wei originally didn't want to pay him any attention. But thinking that he was probably someone who could catch up with the long arm of the law, she showed him some "concern." However, the little brat probably realized that she had ill intentions and dared to ignore her!
Li Wei generously let him off the hook, then turned to Luo Er, whose stance was debatable, and asked, "What did your brother do wrong?"
Judging from his overall condition, it's definitely related to violence.
Luo Er didn't know much about the situation either, but he was good at summarizing: "They were fighting."
Oh, the reason wasn't what she cared about; as for the result: "So who won and who lost?"
Luo Er seemed to have a keen political sense, and after only glancing at the group of people, he said, "My brother is really something."
Li Wei wanted to remind Luo Er that blindly engaging in personality cults was unacceptable. However, judging from the extent of their tattered and unkempt clothes, it seemed that Luo Da and Xiao Hei and Xiao Huang's group had the upper hand, while the other four were in a rather pitiful state.
Alas, evil deeds can last for millennia!
While Li Wei was whispering with Luo Er and the others, several more parents arrived. Seeing that Teacher Li didn't have anything new to say and that the meeting would probably last for a while, Li Wei took Li Lin and hurried to the local dealership to have the glass replaced.
We'd better make up for the school's losses quickly, otherwise it would be terrible if Teacher Li sent them all back to first grade in a fit of rage.
When Li Wei got home that evening, her mother, Cheng Min, indeed tried to beat Li Lianhui up. Li Wei didn't object to this, but she was very upset that her mother dragged her into it.
Cheng Min was angered by her son and daughter both days, so she punished them for their crimes by making Li Wei and Li Lianhui stand in a line while she held a broom upside down to carry out family discipline.
Li Wei originally thought her mother was just going to give her a lecture, but now that she saw the situation, the conflict had escalated. She wanted to run away, but her mother was blocking the door. What should she do?
Looking up, I saw that the window on the kang (a heated brick bed) was open. I quickly climbed onto the kang, took a few steps, jumped through the window, and went outside. The whole process was smooth and seamless. If the situation hadn't been so critical, I would have cheered. It was simply too dashing.
Seeing his sister run away, Li Lianhui tried to do the same, but before he could even get on the bed, his mother grabbed him by the collar and caught him, thwarting his attempt. However, he wasn't so scared anymore, thinking that his sister would definitely come back to save him.
"You little brats, you've gone too far!" Cheng Min was furious, scolding her children. How could there be such a bold and reckless child, daring to run away right under her nose, and even faster than a monkey? Her hands weren't idle either; she smacked Li Lianhui on the bottom with a broom handle, and was about to strike him a second time when her father walked in.
Li Wei really didn't disappoint her brother; she went out to get reinforcements and followed her grandfather in through the front door.
Grandpa Cheng, this treasure of the house, once again fulfilled his important task of saving the flowers of the motherland, and his noble and glorious image was deeply imprinted in the hearts of the children.
Of course, the children were unusually well-behaved all night, including Li Lin, who didn't dare to breathe loudly because their mother's face was so gloomy.
While being cautious, Li Wei secretly considered having her younger sister learn the erhu. She had already shown the instrument to Li Lin, who said it was prettier than Grandpa Wu's, though it looked a bit like the big iron sledgehammer in their pile of junk. As for learning it, no, she was afraid people would laugh at her; only old men played that kind of instrument.
Li Wei was furious. All her hard work had been for nothing; this girl showed absolutely no interest! What kind of taste did she have? What did she mean by saying only old men played this kind of violin? This old man had been playing since he was a teenager! Maybe even a handsome young man! She had no taste at all!
Actually, there is another important reason for learning the piano. As far as Li Wei knows, there is a folk music band at the No. 1 High School in the city. If a student with this talent can join the band, they will get extra points when applying to the No. 1 High School. As the saying goes, "He who does not plan for the future will have trouble in the present." It is better to plan ahead.
But Li Lin showed absolutely no interest, leaving Li Wei in a bit of a dilemma, which was entirely expected. She thought about it; the power of role models is immense. She decided to learn first, and once she could play the songs fluently, perhaps she could attract Li Lin's attention. However, before that, she absolutely couldn't let her touch the instrument; she needed to maintain a sense of mystery. This was called playing hard to get.
Li Wei thought the idea was better and better. She never realized how smart she was. Hehe.
The next day after school, Li Wei supervised several students to finish their homework before letting them go. She then took her violin case and ran to Grandpa Wu's hut to become his student.
Wu Feng's grandmother passed away less than two years ago, and now the old man lives alone in a small house in the backyard of Wu Feng's house. The old man has nothing to do by himself, so he is sitting in the house listening to the radio and smoking.
Li Wei came in and chatted with the old man for a few minutes before explaining her purpose. The old man, having nothing better to do and quite fond of this well-behaved girl known throughout the neighborhood, agreed to teach Li Wei to play the erhu. Li Wei didn't waste any time and immediately asked Grandpa Wu to teach her to play scales.
However, Li Wei found that the sound of this practice was so unpleasant; anyone who didn't know better would think that Grandpa Wu was sawing wood in the house.
While practicing, Li Wei thought to herself that if she practiced at home, her mother would definitely be unhappy, thinking she had killed the hen again. As for Li Lin, she found that she hated the erhu even more when there was no chicken to eat. It seemed that she mustn't let Li Lin see her wailing and howling during practice, or she would be doomed.
It seems I can only practice at Grandpa Wu's house for now. Anyone who doesn't know better would think it's Grandpa Wu practicing. I'm sorry, Grandpa Wu, I've brought shame upon you. I'll go get you a bottle of wine tomorrow.
Sigh, is it easy for her? Not only does she do good deeds anonymously, but she also has to do it secretly. When will she ever get a reward for her efforts?
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