Childhood
Guanzi looked over and saw a little girl about the same age as them sitting on the lap of a middle-aged man on the steps under the altar at the temple entrance. The middle-aged man's hand was constantly moving in the little girl's pants.
Behind them is a Buddha statue with a kind face and slightly upturned red lips. It stands tall on the altar, overlooking the lewd scene below.
At this time, Guanzi still couldn't understand what they were doing, but he could see from the little girl's expression that she was in pain, with tears in her eyes, but she didn't make a sound.
Guanzi hesitated for a while, picked up a small stone at his feet, and said to Luoyu, "Xiaoyu, just stay here and don't move." After that, he trotted to a small building in front, took aim, waved his hand, and threw it at the Buddha statue behind them.
With a bang, the small stone hit the round and protruding belly of the Buddha statue accurately, making a harsh metallic impact sound.
The middle-aged man was startled and pulled his hand away suddenly. He turned around and looked around in panic. After a moment, no one knew what was going on in his mind, but he turned around and knelt down in front of the Buddha statue behind him. He kowtowed at least ten times before pulling the little girl away.
"Boy." Luo Yu called softly.
Guanzi kept looking at their backs and didn't hear Luo Yu calling him. He just saw that the little girl was uncomfortable and thought that she was uncomfortable because the middle-aged man had his hand in her pants, and he threw the stone just to make the middle-aged man let go.
But now, the little girl was taken away by him without any resistance. It seemed that they knew each other and he was just being wishful thinking.
"Boy." Luo Yu called again.
Guanzi came back to his senses, "Ah? What happened?"
Luo Yu ran towards him and asked, "Why did you throw stones just now?"
Guanzi saw that the two men had gone far away and said, "I thought that ugly man was bullying the little girl, so I wanted to scare him away."
Luo Yu gently patted the back of Guanzi's hand twice and said, "Boy, you're not doing this right. Throwing stones is very dangerous. If you throw it at someone, they'll bleed, and bleeding is very painful."
Guanzi said, "I know. I won't do that again."
Luo Yu smiled and nodded: "Yeah, then let's go buy some spicy noodles."
When they were almost at the store, the boss saw Guanzi. As usual, he put a bundle of cardboard boxes at the door and waited for Guanzi to come back and take them away.
Guanzi greeted the boss: "Hello, Uncle Li."
Luo Yu also greeted him: "Hello, Uncle Li."
Uncle Li smiled and nodded twice. Seeing that it was Zhang Sheng's face, he asked, "Boy, is this your relative? I've never seen you bring him here before."
Guanzi hummed, and was about to introduce Luo Yu when Luo Yu spoke up: "I am a good friend of the kid, and I came from Lingcheng. My parents are going to teach in the elementary school here."
Uncle Li asked thoughtfully, "Which province is Lingcheng in?"
Luo Yu said: "Jiangsu."
Uncle Li let out a long "oh"; he knew it was that place. He smiled and said, "Then can you speak Lingcheng dialect to me?"
Luo Yu has been speaking Mandarin since he was a child and rarely speaks Lingcheng dialect, but his grandmother often speaks it. He thought about it and told Uncle Li the words that his grandmother often said.
He said, "Fuck you, fuck you."
Uncle Li frowned and asked, "What does this mean?"
Luo Yu shook his head. "I don't know either. This is the Lingcheng dialect my grandma often speaks."
When Guanzi heard Luo Yu's words "good friend", his face started to itch again, and this time it felt tingling. He went into the store and took out three bags of spicy strips at 30 cents each and two candies at 1 cent each, and then took out two bottles of Pleasant Goat juice drinks at 50 cents each, and finally gave the two dollars in his pocket to Uncle Li.
Uncle Li was still thinking about the meaning of those two sentences. When he saw Guanzi suddenly give him money, he took it and put it in the money bucket.
Guanzi opened the drink and handed it to Luoyu. After taking a sip, Luoyu kept saying it was delicious.
The two of them started eating and drinking while sitting at the entrance of the convenience store, completely unaware that a man was watching them in a distant corner.
Luo Yu chewed the spicy strips and said, "Boy, spicy strips are delicious. Can you bring me here to eat more often in the future?"
Guanzi was a little embarrassed. He had spent the only two dollars he had left today and was now penniless.
But he still had to agree to Luo Yu: "Okay, but you can't eat spicy noodles too often. Can I take you to eat them once a week?"
If you pick up a few more bottles every day in a week, you can still save up two dollars.
Luo Yu replied with her lips full of red oil: "Okay, I'll eat it once a week, and I can't let Mom find out."
Guanzi took out a tissue and wiped the red oil off Luoyu's mouth, saying, "Well, we're the only ones who know about this."
Luo Yu pointed at the bundle of cartons and asked, "Boy, are those cartons for us?"
Guanzi took a sip of the Pleasant Goat drink and said, "Well, these can be sold for money."
Luo Yu was surprised: "Wow, that's amazing, these cardboard boxes can actually be sold for money. In this case, isn't the boss giving us money?"
Guanzi nodded: "Yes, the boss is super nice."
The owner of the convenience store was sitting inside and heard their conversation. He laughed twice and continued playing parkour on his phone.
Guanzi sent Luoyu home and then went home. Before leaving, they agreed to brush their teeth with cantaloupe-flavored toothpaste together the next day, write letters together and put them in a bottle, and then in the evening Xu Xiaoxia took them to the beach to deliver the letter.
Guanzi did not break his promise today. He got up early, cooked and served the porridge, and then ran to Luoyu's house.
Maybe today was an especially important day, Xu Xiaoxia didn't wake up before Luo Yu did. After he woke up, he stood by the pool at the door waiting for Guanzi to come.
"Xiao Yu." Guanzi trotted over.
Luo Yu heard the sound and cheered excitedly: "Brush your teeth, brush your teeth, brush your teeth! Hami melon, Hami melon, Hami melon!"
Seeing that he was excited, Guanzi also became excited. So the two children were cheering excitedly early in the morning, and kept shouting "brushing teeth with cantaloupe", which made the neighbors stick their heads out to look.
Everyone wondered what was wrong with these two kids so early in the morning.
Xu Xiaoxia was also woken up by their shouting. She said, "Where are you practicing square dancing? Be quiet! You've woken up the neighbors."
Guan Ziluo retreated into his shell like a frightened turtle and remained silent.
Xu Xiaoxia said, "Hurry up and brush your teeth. Mom will go buy breakfast now. After you finish breakfast, you can start preparing to write the letter."
Luo Yushentou said: "Okay, then mom, please go and come back soon."
Xu Xiaoxia warned: "Stop making noise."
Luo Yu stuck out his tongue: "I know."
After Xu Xiaoxia left, Guan Ziluo started brushing his teeth with cantaloupe-flavored toothpaste. The cantaloupe-flavored toothpaste had a fresh fragrance that made people want to brush their teeth for an hour.
After breakfast, Xu Xiaoxia moved Luo Yu's desk from the room to the living room and let them communicate and write letters there.
Luo Yu kept tapping his chin with a pencil and asked, "Boy, do you have anything to say to the people across the sea?"
Guanzi looked at the blank white paper and said, "I was wondering, what do you think the people on the other side of the sea are like?"
Luo Yu said, "Mom said there's a country called the Philippines across the sea from where we're going."
Guanzi had never heard of this country. He had only heard of the United States and Japan. He had heard of Japan the most. The uncles on the street often talked about it when they had nothing to do, and they would spit out saliva and have murderous looks on their faces while talking.
We occasionally hear in the United States that they look different from us, and the older guys call it "foreign look-alikes."
Guanzi asked, "Do Filipinos also look like foreigners?"
Luo Yu said, "Yes, Mom said that most people over there have brown skin."
"Brown..." Guanzi kept muttering the word. After a moment, he said, "Is it natural?"
Luo Yu stroked his chin and thought for a while, then he said, "It seems so."
"Then I know what to write!" Guanzi said excitedly, and his sealed head seemed to be suddenly split open!
Luo Yu blinked, curious, and asked, "What are you writing?"
Guanzi said: "Let's write Filipinos. Hello, our skin is yellow and white. If you want to be like us, you can move to our country and become a citizen of our country."
"How about it?"
Luo Yu said: "In that case, will they become Chinese like us?"
"Oh, then we can just go to the other side of the sea. I heard that going to those countries requires a lot of conditions and is very troublesome. Boy, your idea is great. Let's write this."
Xu Xiaoxia, who was cutting fruit in the kitchen, listened to their conversation, shook her head, and thought to herself: Kids are good, they dare to have such wishful thinking.
Both of them had clumsy and crooked handwriting. It took them most of the day to finish writing, and the wastebasket was full of waste drafts.
After writing the letter, they stuffed it into the bottle and watched TV for a while. Not long after, Xu Xiaoxia drove an electric car to take them to the beach.
When winter comes and the tide is low, many people go to the beach to pick up small crabs and small snails, and then pickle them into raw pickles.
This was Guanzi's first time seeing the sea. He had heard that there were many sea areas near his home, but he had never set foot there because he didn't know the way.
At this moment, stepping on the soft cotton-like beach and looking at the endless blue ocean, I feel a sense of unreality.
He exclaimed: "Xiao Yu, the sea is so beautiful! Look, there are boats over there!"
Luo Yu also saw it: "Are the people on the boat catching fish?"
Xu Xiaoxia said, "Those are fishermen out at sea. Okay, I'll take you to a less crowded place to throw a message in a bottle."
The two of them followed Xu Xiaoxia, skipping and jumping, happy all the way.
Xu Xiaoxia led them to climb a huge reef.
Standing on the reef, the view is wider, but you still can't see the end of the sea.
Guanzi said, "The sea is so vast. Can the message in the bottle reach the land on the other side of the sea?"
Luo Yu's hair was messed up by the wind. He said, "Yes, it's just a matter of time. As long as we do it, we will receive a reply one day."
Xu Xiaoxia laughed and said, "That's right, kid, don't worry. Just like Xiaoyu said, as long as we carry out this matter, we will always be able to wait for the day of response."
"But I want to teach you now. No matter what you do in the future, you must not be nervous. Just do it. The results will appear one day."
Guanzi hummed, looked at Luoyu, and said, "Then let's throw the message in the bottle together."
Luo Yu handed the drift bottle in his hand to Guan Zi. The sea breeze was whistling. He said, "You throw it. I'm not strong enough. You throw it far away with force. That way it will drift to the other side of the sea faster."
Guanzi smiled and took it: "Okay."
"I'll count down with you from three to two to one." Xu Xiaoxia said.
Luo Yu said, "Boy, get ready. I'm going to start counting."
Guanzi exerted force in his hands: "Let's start."
"Three, two, one!"
With a whoosh, the bottle flew straight out of Guanzi's hand and fell into the waves. The next second, the bottle was washed away by the waves until it disappeared from their sight.
Luo Yu said: "The message in the bottle has set off to a distant place. Boy, we will soon have friends from the Philippines."
Guanzi said, "Well, we are waiting to hear from our friends in the Philippines."
After throwing the message in the bottle, Xu Xiaoxia took them to play at the beach and pick up shells.
When they got home, everyone had finished dinner and were out digesting the food, but the three of them were soaked from the waist down and had not eaten anything.
For the next few days, Luo Yu would follow Guanzi to pick up bottles. They would still pass by Xiangba Road every day. The ugly man was always on the steps in front of the small temple. Every time they passed by, there was always a little girl sitting on his lap.
But today, Guanzi got lucky and found a bicycle without tires in the garbage dump.
He took great effort to pull the bicycle out of the garbage dump, and then rode it home in a twisting, tilting and creaking manner. He almost slipped several times on the way. Fortunately, he was born to be a good rider, and he could straighten himself up steadily even if the bicycle tilted 80 degrees.
"Wow, boy, this bike is so cool! It doesn't even have a tire!" Luo Yu squatted in front of Guanzi's house and kept looking at the tireless bike, as if he saw a piece of golden dog shit.
Guanzi got on the bicycle again and said proudly, "It's quite exciting to ride. Come on, Xiaoyou, I'll take you for a ride."
"Okay!" Luo Yu sat in the back seat and hugged Guanzi's waist tightly.
The creaking sound echoed throughout the West Alley. Luo Yu said uncomfortably, "Hey, why is this bicycle so loud? Also, why do you always ride it so crookedly? I, I feel dizzy."
Guanzi braked the car, turned around, put his hand on Luoyu's forehead, and asked worriedly, "Are you sick? Why are you dizzy? Otherwise, let's go home now."
Luo Yu said, "No, I'm fine now."
Guanzi said, "Ah? Really?"
Luo Yu said, "Really? I don't feel dizzy at all now. Is it because I'm not used to your cycling skills?"
Guanzi touched his head and said nothing. He thought his cycling skills were pretty good.
At this moment, Luo Yu suddenly tightened his grip around Guanzi's waist, pressed his face against Guanzi's back, and said, "Boy, I'm not dizzy anymore. I think I've gotten used to it. You can continue riding."
Guanzi said: "Have you really adapted to it? If not, then we shouldn't ride it anymore."
Luo Yu nodded: "I've adapted to it, I've adapted to it. How about this, kid, if you ride faster, will it not be so crooked?"
Guanzi thought about it and said, "Okay, then I'll speed up and see."
Guanzi kicked up with all his strength with his legs, and it really didn't tilt anymore, but the squeaking sound became even more piercing. Even the dogs on the roadside would be scared and bark at them to show their dignity as a dog. How could they allow a little brat like you to be so presumptuous!
After winding around and around, they ended up on Shangba Road. The ugly man was still the same, sitting on the steps in front of the temple. But today, the little girl on his lap was different, but she was still about the same age as Guanzi and the others, and the scene remained the same.
Disasters always come silently. They are ignorant. Even if they don’t like this behavior, they can cry to their parents, but their parents don’t take it seriously and think it’s just children making trouble. After all, in their eyes, the children are so young, who would be so beastly?
Parents say they are busy and have to go to work every day to support the family. They just want their children to have enough food to eat and not get sick.
The poor little girls are innocent, with no one to cry to and no one to save them.
Will the bad guys be punished?
Are they afraid of retribution?
Yes, but are they afraid?
I think they should not be afraid. If they were afraid, why would they dare to do such dirty things in front of the gods and Buddhas?
They are not afraid. Some people are born bad and like to do things that go against human nature. They randomly choose their targets to harm and take action once they determine the target.
Enjoying blood is their pleasure, they take pleasure in it and make a living from it.
Without blood, they feel uncomfortable all over.
But why did God create such people? What is his purpose?
Although the country is strong now, such people still exist. They can never be completely eliminated and there will always be people who suffer from them.
"Damn it! Wang Sanpao, when did you come to sleep here?"
Wang Sanpao was so startled by Luo Yu's voice that he rolled off the end of the bed. He rubbed his butt and said, "Why are you so stingy? You won't even let me sleep at the end of the bed?"
By this time the sky was already getting light.
It's daytime.
Luo Yu sat up and stretched. He had a very comfortable sleep. He smiled and said, "No, I didn't know you were sleeping here. If I had known, I could have retracted my legs and let you sleep more comfortably."
Wang Sanpao was touched and felt warm inside. He said, "Hey, it's okay, it's okay. I can handle anything."
"Okay. You can continue to sleep at the end of the bed." Luo Yu looked at Luo Zhi.
He took off his gold-rimmed glasses and his eyes looked a little dazed, as if he had not yet fully woken up from his sleep.
Luo Yu raised his hand and fanned his eyes twice, saying, "What are you thinking about? Why do you look so dazed? This is not like you, Master Luo Zhi."
Luo Zhi raised his eyes to look at him, then retracted them and said calmly, "It's time to set off into Chishan."
Luo Zhi got out of bed and prepared to put the bed back into the bag, but Luo Yu on the bed stared at him, not moving, with no intention of getting out of bed.
Luo Zhi felt something was wrong: "What's wrong?"
Luo Yu still stared at him. Two minutes later, he got out of bed without saying a word, like a child having a tantrum.
Luo Zhi was sure there was something wrong, so he asked again, this time in a soft tone, as if coaxing a child: "What's wrong?"
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