"Comrade, come and try it. This is a special snack I bought in Beijing. You know what, it tastes really good." The gentleman took out a bag of snacks and entertained warmly.
Gu Mingjing didn't refuse. He pushed the fried soybeans in front of him to the center of the table and said, "Then I won't be polite with you. This is the fried soybeans made by my friend. It tastes really good. You should try it too."
The friend he was talking about was Lao Tan. Jianshu specifically asked Lao Tan to stir-fry the soybeans. The soybeans were produced in his own space. He stir-fried a large pot, left some for Lu Qing, gave some to Ding Ming, and gave him the rest.
In the words of Jianshu, it means that the journey lasts for dozens of hours. If you don’t make something to kill time and not eat too much, how boring it will be on the way. In addition to soybeans, there are also melon seeds and peanuts, which are essential for the journey.
The gentleman was also a generous person and agreed as well. "Okay, I'll try it too. Let's eat together."
There was no need to be too particular when going out. He simply grabbed two and threw them into his mouth. As he chewed, his eyes became brighter and brighter. "Comrade, your fried soybeans are really good. They are the best I have ever eaten."
"My friend is a chef, and his cooking skills are pretty good." Gu Mingjing also took a piece of dessert and ate it.
"This skill requires a great chef." The gentleman grabbed a few more soybeans and threw them into his mouth. "The more you chew, the more delicious it becomes. If you add a little wine, the taste will be..."
"I'll give you a bag of soybeans later. It'll be nice to eat with wine when you get home." Gu Mingjing said generously after taking a sip of water.
Of course, he wasn't so generous to everyone, but he had a good impression of this person, and a bag of soybeans was nothing. If you really want to calculate the price, the bag of snacks on the table is more than a little expensive.
"That's not a good idea. Your friend made it for you. It's not right for me to take it." The gentleman was a little tempted, but still refused. It would be bad if he took it away before the other person even ate it.
Gu Mingjing put down the kettle and said, "Just take it if I tell you to. Don't worry, I have another pack." In fact, there was more than one pack, but there was no need to say that.
"In that case, I'd be honored to refuse." The gentleman stopped hesitating and simply agreed.
"Okay, okay." Gu Mingjing said.
"My last name is Kong, and my given name is Qi. What's your name, comrade?" The gentleman, Kong Qi, introduced himself.
"Gu Mingjing, Ming means tomorrow, Jing means scenery." Gu Mingjing said.
After exchanging names, the two felt closer.
While eating cakes, chewing soybeans, and drinking water instead of wine, the two chatted about all sorts of things.
The two of them get along happily here, but Jianshu on the other side is a completely different story.
-
Let’s go back to the time when the train had just started.
Jian Shu gave up chasing Gu Mingjing as the distance between them grew farther and farther, and she could hardly see the expression on his face. Due to inertia, she did not stop immediately, but slowly reduced her speed until she came to a safe stop.
The intense exercise in a short period of time made Jianshu's heart beat faster and she was breathless. She was exhausted and supported her knees with her hands, her eyes still looking forward.
I watched the long train slowly go away, becoming a tiny dot before slowly disappearing from my sight. Meanwhile, the figure waving goodbye by the window vanished even faster and earlier.
Jianshu stood there alone, staring blankly into the distance, as if she could see the man laughing.
It wasn't until this moment that she truly knew he was gone, no longer by her side. From now on, when she got home from get off work, she wouldn't see that man on his bicycle at the entrance of the department store anymore; from now on, when she got home from work, there wouldn't be food prepared on the table anymore; from now on, when she opened the door every morning, there wouldn't be someone sitting on the doorstep waiting leisurely; there wouldn't be...
It turned out that in just a few days, she had become accustomed to that person's presence. Such a quick familiarity made Jianshu a little confused.
There were many other people near Jianshu who came to see her off like her, and they also ran for a distance following the train.
Some were in front of Jianshu, and some were behind. They watched the train getting faster and faster. Those who were left behind all shed tears as they watched the train go away.
Suddenly, there was a cry of grief at the scene, some were howling loudly, some were sobbing softly. The atmosphere of sadness spread, and many people were infected. Their feet seemed to be nailed to the spot, and they were reluctant to move even a step, staring blankly at the distant railway tracks.
The person closest to Jianshu was a woman in her thirties. As she watched the departing train taking away the person she missed, she couldn't help but break down. The complex emotions of grievance, regret, self-blame, and regret in her crying were heartbreaking.
Many people around cast sympathetic glances at her, but Jian Shu, who was closest to her, seemed to pay no attention at all. He didn't even glance at her, still staring blankly into the distance, his thoughts having long since flown away.
After a long time, the people around slowly calmed down and walked back the way they came in twos and threes.
So because we are all wanderers in the world, have similar experiences, and have people we are reluctant to see leave, even if we don’t know each other today, we can still walk together because of a comforting smile and a word of understanding.
"My boy is only sixteen years old this year, and he has already gone to the countryside. How can I bear to let him go?"
"He's only sixteen, why would you let him go?"
"In the past few years, no one in my family went to the countryside because the children were young. This time, the Youth League Office came directly to my house and said that every family must send someone to the countryside. My eldest daughter is 18 years old this year, so she should have gone. But in the past two years, there have been many news reports about girls who went to the countryside and got into trouble. A girl died near my house. This boy was scared, worried that his sister would get into trouble too, so he took the initiative to stand up and said he would go to the countryside."
"And you agreed to change people?"
"Of course not. His dad and I haven't even spoken yet, but his sister is refusing to agree. After all, few people who go to the countryside these days can come back with their hands and feet intact. How could his sister agree? No matter what I say, she won't agree."
This guy kept pestering her at home every day, saying that he was still young and a grown man, and he could afford to wait a few more years. But his sister was different. She was eighteen years old and a grown girl, and it was time for her to get married.
If I go to the countryside, I can't keep putting off getting married. If I get married, it will be either with a local or with an educated youth. No matter which one, the possibility of returning to Beijing in this life is slim. We only have this one daughter, so how can we bear to let her go?
But we are both human beings. If we can't bear to give up our daughter, can we bear to give up our son? So when they came to ask me and his father for our opinions, we didn't say anything and let them discuss it on their own.
Later, the boy threw a tantrum at home every day and tried to reason with him, using both soft and hard tactics. The two siblings finally reached a consensus and let him go to the countryside. You don't know, but the day his name was filled in, his sister burst into tears at home, almost fainting from crying. She had a high fever and kept saying she was sorry for him even when she was half asleep.
"Alas, these days, it's not easy."
"Yes, she came to see him off today. His sister chased him for a long distance. Look, that figure at the back is her."
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