Telephone line
"You're so grown up, and you're still walking without looking. You sprained your ankle." Du Yunyan applied an ice pack through a towel to Lin Luo's ankle. Lin Luo sat on the sofa flipping through her notebook. She saw the boxes of milk and wine Du Yunyan had bought for relatives during the New Year in the living room. She took the notebook down and asked, "Mom, do I have to go to Uncle Tang's hometown too?"
"What else can I do? It's New Year's Day, and if the news gets out that I'm leaving you alone at home, people will blame me." Du Yunyan curled her lips.
"Oh." Lin Luo pursed her lips.
"Sister, sister." Tang Muchen hurriedly ran in, "Look, it's snowflakes."
It's snowing. Lin looked out the window. The sky was clear, so where did the snowflakes come from?
Tang Muchen opened his palm to show Lin Luo as if he was presenting a treasure. There was a snowflake pattern on the palm of his hand, which should be a stamp.
She recognized it as the Winter Time band's seal, and even though she knew it, she still asked him, "Who stamped it for you?"
Du Yunyan went into the kitchen, and Tang Muchen smiled and said, "It's Brother Xingchuan."
He touched the snowflakes with a look of boasting and regret. "He was even saying he'd set off fireworks for me! It's a pity I have to go to grandma's house and can't play with him."
"Did he say anything else?" Lin Luo asked casually.
Tang Muchen shook his head.
Lin Luo's feet ached slightly, so she simply lay down on the sofa and said, "I really want to see snow!"
"It hasn't snowed in Nan'an in recent years. I remember there was a heavy snowfall in the winter of 2008." Du Yunyan brought out a plate of winter dates and handed it to Lin Luo.
Tang Muchen held a date in one hand, took a bite of one, and murmured, "Why don't I remember it?"
"You were only two years old at that time and you didn't remember anything!" Du Yunyan sat on the balcony and counted the goods.
Lin Luo looked at the plate of winter dates and remembered that Tong Yun loved to eat them. Du Yunyan seemed to share her thoughts, "Tong Yun will be spending the New Year alone this year."
"Yeah." But Fu Xingchuan stayed in Nan'an, so he should be with her! Lin Luo took a bite of the date in her hand. It was crisp and sweet, but the bitterness in her heart was not suppressed.
"Give her a call! I haven't seen her in a long time."
"Oh, okay." Lin Luo took out his cell phone and pressed the call button.
The first time I called, no one answered.
She typed it again.
The beep-beep-beep sound lasted for a long time before the other party picked up the phone. "Tong Yun"
"It's me." Her voice was a little hoarse.
"What are you doing right now?"
"At home...doing the test."
“How many have you made?”
"half."
“Amazing!”
Tang Muchen put his head close to the phone and rushed to say, "Sister Tong Yun, do you want to see snowflakes? I have snowflakes in my hands."
Tong Yun remained silent. Fu Xingchuan should have shown her the seal, but she didn't know if he had ever taken her to see his performance at the Zhong.
Lin Luo didn't hold the plate firmly, and all the dates fell onto the sofa and rolled around. Tang Muchen helped her pick them up and put his phone aside, without making any sound for a long time.
Du Yunyan came over, picked up the scarf and said to her, "Tong Yun, it's Auntie. The New Year is coming soon, and Auntie wants to knit you a scarf. What color do you like?"
As Lin Qiao picked up dates, she remembered that Zhu Changyu had once given Tong Yun a scarf. Although she had rarely seen her wear it, she guessed that Tong Yun would say, "No thanks, Auntie."
But she guessed wrong. "Auntie, I'm not used to wearing scarves. Can you knit me a hat? I like red."
"Okay. It will probably be ready after the New Year. The temperature won't rise so quickly, so you can still wear it for a while."
"Well, thank you, Auntie."
"Then do your homework! We won't disturb you." Du Yunyan glanced at Lin Luo. She had just picked all the dates and was clumsy all day long.
"Okay." Tong Yun quickly hung up the phone.
Du Yunyan felt strange: "Her voice seems a little strange, does she have a cold?"
"Maybe. I'll remind her to take her medicine." Lin Luo opened QQ and sent a message to Tong Yun saying "take a rest."
After exiting the chat interface, she saw Lin Dayong's pinned account. The last time she sent him a message was five months ago. During this period, she turned off her phone and locked it in a drawer in order to concentrate on her studies, and she had rarely used it.
She raised her eyes and glanced at Du Yunyan, her face expressionless. "Still can't contact him?"
"Um."
"Who knows if he's having a good time abroad!" Du Yunyan said unhappily as she walked towards the balcony. "It's New Year's! Let's send him a message! Let him remember that his daughter on the other side of the ocean is about to take the college entrance exam."
Tang Muchen blinked and looked at her, "Where is my sister's father?"
"I don't know either." Lin Luo shook her head. "Go play!"
Tang Muchen ran away, and Lin Luo held the phone and scrolled through the chat history one by one.
[Dad, it's 2013 now, and Spring Festival is just a few days away. This is probably the first time I can't celebrate the New Year with you.]
I'll be eighteen soon, and I'll be an adult. Time flies by, and I've grown so much. I really want you to witness it with your own eyes.
【Dad, I miss you so much.】
[You don't have to worry about me. I will do my best for the college entrance examination.]
I hope everything goes well for you.
Lin Xiao turned off her phone. When the screen came back on, it was Xu Yangyang calling, "Xiao Xiao, are you in the car?"
"Yeah." Tang Heng borrowed a car and took them back to their hometown.
"I have a problem with a question, can you teach me?"
"Okay, send it to me and let me take a look."
"good."
During the more than one-hour drive, Lin Luo taught Xu Yangyang five questions. The mountain road was bumpy and she felt a little dizzy when she got off the car. Tang Muchen was carsick and vomited all her breakfast.
His grandmother came out to greet him. She was heartbroken when she saw him. The old woman held him and coaxed him into the house, pretending not to see Lin Luo. Du Yunyan couldn't even get a word in.
Tang Heng said nothing and took out milk and wine from the trunk. Lin Luo wanted to help, but he refused, "It's cold outside, come inside and sit down!"
"Okay." Lin Luo walked into the house slowly. Just as she crossed the threshold, a chicken suddenly jumped out and flew past her, flapping its wings. She almost sprained her ankle again.
The self-built houses in the countryside all have yards, and in them the old woman's chickens ran around everywhere. Lin Luo was afraid of chickens, and every step she took was filled with trepidation. When she saw them, her grandmother spoke something in dialect, which Lin Luo could not understand.
"Fairy?" A sweet female voice fell into Lin Luo's ears, and the girl's hand helped her drive the chicken away.
Lin Luo didn't recognize her. Du Yunyan came in carrying two cartons of milk. "This is Tang Zhihua. She's a few months older than you, so she's your cousin, right? She's also in her third year of high school this year."
"Hello, cousin." Lin Luo greeted politely.
Tang Zhihua looked her up and down. The grandmother beside her was speaking in dialect again. Du Yunyan put the milk box down heavily on the ground. Lin Luo guessed that what she said was not good, so she asked Tang Zhihua, "What is grandma saying?"
She didn't answer and pulled her outside to play.
Outside the house was a ditch, its water crystal clear. Not far away were fields, where straw was burning, smoke rising from the air, and the quacking of cows and ducks could be heard. Further away were mountains, their peaks shrouded in mist. Lin Luo found the scenery quite novel.
"There must be a lot of people in your school who like you!" Tang Zhihua picked a leaf and held it in his hand.
"No." Lin Luo squatted down and looked at the water flowing in the ditch.
"Why, you're so white." Tang Zhihua threw the leaf into the ditch, and it floated away like a small boat. Lin Qiao looked at her and said, "It's just white. I'm not good-looking."
She is not as stunningly beautiful as Tong Yun, nor is she smart or outstanding, so no boy should like her.
Tang Zhihua pinched the sallow skin on her hand and said, "You are too modest. Even if I were white, I could never be like you."
"You look beautiful when you smile." Lin Luo said seriously, and Tang Zhihua curled her lips.
Someone passed by, and Tang Zhihua greeted that person in dialect. Lin Luo thought it was cool that they spoke in dialect.
She is from Nan'an, and her parents and relatives are also from Nan'an, but she was born in Shanghai and has lived there for so many years without learning any dialect.
"Can you teach me to speak Nan'an dialect?"
Without even thinking, she said, "No."
Lin Luo followed her gaze and saw her grandmother coming out to pour water. "Did she say something harsh?"
"Just like talking to it." Tang Zhihua pointed to a big yellow dog lying and sleeping next to him.
Lin Qiao curled her eyes.
Tang Zhihua told her: "It's a good thing not to understand some things, and it's even better not to know some things."
The leaves in the ditch were blocked by stones, and Lin Luo's attention was focused on them and she didn't hear what she said.
They played until dinner time in the evening. Du Yunyan and a group of female elders prepared the meal together. Many relatives and friends came in one after another carrying gift boxes. Tang Muchen called them sweetly, and the other party would usually take out a red envelope and put it in his hand.
Lin Luo didn't know anyone, so she and Tang Zhihua hid in the kitchen to warm their hands by the fire, "Why don't you go and accept the red envelope?"
"If I go there, I will definitely ask about my grades first." Tang Zhihua shrugged, but she couldn't escape it after all. Her mother was calling her everywhere, and if she didn't go out, she would find her here.
So she had to go out first. Lin Qiao was bored and threw firewood into the stove. The fire burned more and more vigorously, but she did not feel warm.
She took out her cell phone and called Lin Dayong, but the call kept saying that the other party's phone was turned off, but she still stubbornly called him again and again.
Someone came, Lin Luo turned off her cell phone, and then she heard the conversation between Tang Heng and her grandmother, which she still didn't understand.
Later, Du Yunyan asked her to go out to eat, so she left the kitchen. The adults sat at one table, while Lin Luo and Tang Zhihua sat at another with the children. She had a sad face, and the edge of a red envelope was sticking out of her pocket.
Each child also had a red envelope in hand. Lin Luo blinked and used chopsticks to pick up rice into her mouth.
She had no appetite and only ate one bowl of food before putting down her chopsticks and sitting there. However, she was not idle either. She took care of the children, wiping the table and sweeping up the broken bowls on the floor.
The adults were chatting animatedly. The men were sharing their gains of the year: one family had built a new house and bought a car, and another family had a good harvest from their orchard. The women were gossiping about who was getting married and who was about to have a baby.
Lin Luo and Tang Zhihua looked at each other, she winked, and Lin Luo went out with her.
As soon as she walked out of the house, Lin Luo saw her grandmother chasing Tang Muchen to feed him. He was spoiled and relying on someone's support, he ate while playing.
Lin Luo was pulling Tang Zhihua away when her grandmother stopped her and handed her a red envelope without saying anything.
"Thank you... Grandma."
She still didn't say anything. I don't know if he couldn't understand what she said, but she continued to chase Tang Muchen.
Lin Luo looked at the red envelope in her hand and found that it was exactly the same as the one Tang Heng bought at the convenience store in the service area.
She knew it in her mind and put the red envelope in her pocket.
Tang Zhihua took her to the small square. Everyone was having the New Year's Eve dinner and there were not many people in the square. Tang Zhihua walked aside to answer a friend's call, and Lin Luo's phone started vibrating.
The seven of them created a group where everyone wished each other well.
Xu Yangyang: [Happy New Year!]
The accompanying picture was a blooming firework, and then she posted a video in which Zhu Changyu covered his ears and timidly used a lighter to light the fuse.
Zhu Zhu Xia: [Happy New Year to everyone, except you @Xu Yangyang]
Xu Yangyang: [Puppy covering ears.jpg]
Happy New Year! Happy New Year!
Ruan Ye: [@Year after year of peace]
Peace and prosperity: [Kitten looking shy.jpg]
Tong Yun: [May everyone be well in the new year.]
Lin Qi continued: [Happy New Year! May the new year bring us all the best.]
Suddenly, there was a flash of light in front of her eyes. Lin Luo looked up and saw a boy walking towards her with a bundle of fairy wands in his left hand and a lit spark in his right hand.
Tang Zhihua walked up to her first, and Lin Qi asked, "Do you know him?"
She nodded slightly.
As she got closer, Lin Luo saw that the boy was wearing glasses and looked very gentle and good-looking. She took the initiative to say, "Hello, my name is Lin Luo, and I'm her cousin."
"Hello." The boy looked at Tang Zhihua and gave her the fairy wand.
The atmosphere between them was very subtle. After Tang Zhihua gave her half of the fairy wand, she quietly stepped aside.
Lin Luo looked at her phone. Fu Xingchuan didn't send any message. She was waiting for him to send a blessing in the group.
After waiting for a long time, he didn't move, and no one in the group chat stopped talking. Instead, more people came to the square. Everyone came out after dinner to set off fireworks, especially the children, who occupied a large area.
When Lin Luo saw Tang Muchen running towards her, an idea suddenly occurred to her. She squatted down and said to him, "You are already in the first grade. Has the teacher ever taught us about the customs of the Spring Festival?"
Tang Muchen thought she was testing him, so he answered obediently: "Get red envelopes, eat New Year's Eve dinner, set off fireworks, and pay New Year's greetings..."
"There's only one thing you haven't done yet!"
"I did it! I told all my uncles and aunts that they would be prosperous and wealthy." Tang Muchen shook the fairy wand.
He also said, "Give me the red envelopes!" "What about your friends in Nan'an? Aren't you going to wish them a happy new year?" Lin Luo asked him gently.
"That's right!" Lin Qi reminded him, "Then sister, lend me your phone, I'll call my little brother!"
"You already have younger brothers!" Lin Luo pretended to be surprised.
"Yes, I want to say Happy New Year to him, my desk mate, the class monitor, the physical education representative..." Tang Muchen took Lin Luo's phone and pretended to be an adult and wished his classmates a happy new year.
Lin Luo waited patiently for him to finish. Tang Zhihua and the boys next to her were setting off sparklers, and everyone else was setting off fireworks. The square was lit up with patches of fire here and there.
Lin Luo stood behind Tang Zhihua and heard her ask the boy, "How about we take the entrance exam to Nanjing University together?"
"OK!"
The two smiled at each other, and Lin Luo pursed her lips.
"Sister, I'll give it back to you."
Lin Qi didn't answer the phone and asked him, "What about the neighbors? Do you want to wish them a happy new year?"
"I want it too." Tang Muchen looked at the screen and suddenly remembered, "Oh, and Brother Xingchuan, I want to tell him that there are fireworks here too."
"Yeah." Lin Luo had no expression on her face, but she thought to herself that she had finally hit the point.
Tang Muchen found out the numbers of his friends from the parents' group or the neighbors' group. He didn't know Fu Xingchuan's phone number. Lin Luo didn't record it in his phone, but he remembered it firmly in his mind.
She entered a string of numbers, took the phone in her hand, placed it between her and Tang Muchen, and waited for the other party to answer.
A "beep" sound was heard, and Lin Luo felt uneasy, but fortunately he picked up the phone after a while.
"Hello." The voice was very low.
"Brother Xingchuan." Tang Muchen shouted excitedly. Just then, a rotating firework went off nearby. "Did you hear that? It's the sound of fireworks."
"Well, kid, did you receive the red envelope?"
"I got it. I have a lot!" Tang Muchen gestured with his hands and glanced at Lin Luo, "Much more than what my sister received."
When Lin Luo heard Tang Muchen mention her, her heart began to hang in the air.
"Really? You didn't count wrong." Tang Muchen is not good at math, so he should be a little skeptical.
Tang Muchen pouted, "No, I have thirteen, and my sister only has one."
He spoke too quickly and Lin Luo didn't have time to cover his mouth. Why tell him this?
Perhaps because he was back at his grandparents' house, Tang Muchen was a bit too proud of himself today. He raised his chin and looked at Lin Luo, saying proudly, "I won."
"I'm not competing with you." Lin Luo said softly. Even though the environment was so noisy, Fu Xingchuan actually heard it.
"Lin Luo." His voice became louder. Lin Luo's hands trembled and she almost dropped the phone.
"Chenchen, it's time to set off the fireworks."
"Brother Xingchuan, I'm done talking to you. Bye." He said and ran away. Lin Luo put the phone to her ear. "He gave me the phone."
"I know."
Lin Xiao's heart tingled for a moment, and he asked, "Are they setting off fireworks?"
"Yes, Nan'an too?"
"Well...you only have one red envelope."
Lin Xiao reached into her pocket and touched the hard shell of the red envelope. "Actually, just one sincere gift is enough."
"Want to win?" he asked again. "Swish, swish, swish—" Bunches of fireworks shot up into the sky, exploding into a blaze of fireworks. Lin Luo glanced at them, paused, and said to him, "Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year, I hope you win."
"Win what?"
"Whatever."
"Thanks!"
"Okay, come here quickly, we want to take a picture." It was grandma's voice.
"You go ahead...I'm hanging up."
"good."
Lin Luo walked to Tang Zhihua and looked up at the fireworks with her. Tang Zhihua smiled brightly, but she was not interested. The fireworks were beautiful, but she still didn't like watching them.
Lin Xiao's phone vibrated frequently. She took it out and saw that it was a group message. She clicked it and found that Fu Xingchuan had sent thirteen red envelopes in a row. The first note read: "Happy New Year, everyone gets a share."
The last note is: [Sincerely. 】
Did he want her to win?
His red envelopes blew people away.
Zhu Zhu Xia: [Oh my god, you didn't say anything all night, and now you just come in and use your ultimate move. You have no martial ethics.]
Xu Yangyang: [@朱朱侠, you're pretty quick at collecting payments.]
Xu Yangyang: [@Okay, handsome guy is really generous. I wish you become more and more handsome. ]
OK: [Yes.]
Peace and happiness forever: [Can’t you take the photo before posting it]
OK: [Can’t you take the photo and then make the phone call?]
Zhu Zhu Xia: [Why thirteen?]
Line: [I don’t know, I just clicked randomly.]
…
Was it really a random thing? After the fireworks burned out, Lin Luo didn't feel so empty this time.
Because she had fourteen red envelopes.
They were all given by the one she loved.
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