Chapter 10 seven

The Yeren Cafe in Ximending is also one of our contact stations. Sometimes Xiaoyu, Mouse, and Wu Min want to exchange news, so we leave a note at the Yeren: Eight o'clock at the gate of Xinnanyang.Wu Chaoshou on the second floor of the Zhonghua Road shopping mall at 9:30.At four o'clock in the afternoon, Taipei was already dying under the August sun. I went into the savage's basement, and every table was already full of people, in twos and threes, all of which were teenagers' heads.They are dressed in bright red and rhubarb, gathered in a pile, and became a blossoming sunflower.The lights inside are dim, and the milky white air-conditioning smoke is swimming, and the air-conditioning is full of acrid smoke.The jukebox was blasting rock and roll.The Beatles shouted presumptuously:

YaYaYa I watched for a long time, and found that there was only a table in the corner next to the air conditioner, and it was sitting alone. I walked over and asked: Is there anyone sitting here?There were several empty glasses of cold drinks on the table. He raised his head and shook it.I took off my sunglasses and sat down opposite him. He pointed to the two empty glasses and said: They just left. He was a boy of about fourteen or five years old, wearing a scout uniform that had been washed white. His jacket was pulled out of his trousers and was not buttoned properly, revealing his belly.Of the two shoulder straps of the uniform, one button had come off and turned up.His back was leaning against the air conditioner, his legs were slung on a chair, and he was wearing a pair of sandals, with his big toes sticking out and moving up and down.The cold drink glass in front of him was empty, and the straw inside was bitten off.He had a cigarette in his hand, and when he saw me sitting down, he quickly stuffed it into his mouth and smoked it twice, but the way he held the cigarette showed that he was a young man just learning to smoke.

The two guys who left just now stole a beautiful car last night.He told me he was very excited. What brand of car? Mercedes! Oh, a luxury car. They drove for a ride, drove to the fourth section of Ren'ai Road, and hit a utility pole as soon as they collided.The two boys climbed out of the car and slipped away like ghosts.They said that the brand new Mercedes crashed like a toad with its mouth deflated! He said, laughing happily.I couldn't help laughing at the thought of that Yankee car crashing into a toad.He giggled non-stop, with two big white front teeth grinning on his bright red round face.His hair probably just grew during the summer vacation, only inches long, and covered his forehead in curls.I saw the student number 593 of Hengyi Middle School embroidered on the left breast of his uniform.

Those two boys belong to the Ximending Brothers Gang. Are you one of them too?I asked him. certainly not!He curled his mouth, very disdainful, those fellows of Brother Gang are the dirtiest! I ordered a glass of guava juice and took two sips through a straw.I noticed he was staring at me, smoking like hell, and I said to him: Give you half. He was a little embarrassed at first, hesitated for a moment, and finally pushed the empty glass over with a smile, and I poured half of the guava juice for him. I drank a glass of pineapple juice, a glass of mango juice, but not guava juice.I soaked here for an afternoon, more than four hours, and drank all the money.I had planned to go to the movies.He sipped the guava juice and laughed.

What are you doing here alone? Where are you going?It's blindingly hot outside!He clicked his tongue. Go swimming! I just went to the Dongmen swimming pool yesterday, it was crowded like sardines, the water is smelly!Originally, I planned to stay at home and read martial arts novels.Hey, do you also practice martial arts? My Duan is only high, I have been watching "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" since elementary school! Ha, ha, I also just finished watching "Shooting the Condors", he clapped his hands and shouted, I live in Hengyi, every night I hide under the quilt and watch it with a flashlight, it's so enjoyable!One day, he was caught by Wu Dapuppet and all "Shooting the Condors" were confiscated.Wu Dagutou is our dormitory supervisor, he weighs 200 pounds, and when he speaks, he gasps, points at me and curses: You little brat, don't obey the rules!

Are you a Shanghai pussy? He giggled again and again. Don't be!Don't be!He shook his head violently, speaking with a Shanghai accent, my stepmother is a Shanghai woman, she pointed at my forehead and scolded me all day long: Little red guy!Little red guy!She said that if Heng Yi fired me, she would send me to the middle school above Alishan.Have you ever heard of Shanghai women swearing?Their voices are as sharp as scratching glass!When my stepmother yelled, my dad covered his ears and ran away.He used to be a pilot, even jets are not as piercing as my stepmother's voice! What kind of plane did your dad fly?

Bomber, B-25, Boom He made a plane dive gesture with his hands, and now he raises chickens at home. What?There was a Tom Jones song playing on the record player so loud I couldn't make out. He raises chickens!He exclaimed that we have more than five hundred Leghorn chickens in our house. I burst out laughing, thinking there's nothing funnier than a bomber pilot raising Leghorn chickens. Our house stinks, chicken shit stinks!My dad picks up eggs in the chicken coop every day, and my stepmother plays mahjong in the house.Rub from morning to midnight, from midnight to dawn.Why do you think my stepmother doesn't like me staying at home?

You are mischievous. Don't be!Don't be!He smiled and shook his head again, she lost money when I was at home.Because I love to read martial arts novels, I lost her when I read books.She said I was a wretch. What's your name, wretch? Zhao Ying, Zhao Zilong's Zhao, hero's Ying. They all call me Ah Qing. What time is it, Ah Qing.He checked my watch, then sighed again, and said: Miserably, it was only half past four, and my stepmother was playing mahjong again, asking me to come home after eight o'clock. Let's go to the movies.I suggested. He took a long time out of his pocket and took out a five-dollar bill.

When I came out, I brought fifty yuan with me. I lost twenty at billiards, and he stuck out his tongue again. I invite you.I said. Really? Let's go to see "The One-armed Sword" in the new world. Excellent!He exclaimed, "Wang Yu's martial arts movies are my favorite, they are really fun to play." Come on, I get up, we're going to catch the 4:30 show. We got out of the savages, ran and jumped, passed through several busy streets in Ximending, and rushed to the New World. The One Armed Swordsman is the last day, it's Sunday again, and the good seats are all sold out.We only got two tickets for the third row in front.Sitting on a chair, with our heads raised high, the heads on the screen are extremely large, slashing and killing, blood and flesh flying everywhere, as if those swords and swords are about to fly over our heads.I went to buy a pack of spiced beef jerky, and while I ate it with Zhao Ying, I watched Wang Yu somersault all over the sky.

There should be a sequel.After we finished the play and walked out of the theater, Zhao Ying said with a lot of meaning: I will make up the sequel.I said. How do you make it up? Make up an armless knife and cut off Wang Yu's arm. How can you hold a knife without hands? Fool, can't luck work?I laughed. Zhao Ying also grinned with two front teeth and giggled.When we crossed the zebra crossing, a taxi came over and stopped abruptly, just beside Zhao Ying. With Wang Yu's posture in the movie, he pointed at the taxi driver and shouted: Hey!Xiaoxia is here, don't be rude! We ran across the street, only to hear the taxi driver yelling and cursing behind us.After six o'clock, the crowds in Ximending began to surge. We walked through some streets and alleys, which were always crowded and warm, all of which were popular.We ate too much beef jerky, and my mouth was thirsty. I touched my pocket and found that there was only about 20 yuan left, so I bought two red bean popsicles at an ice and fruit shop, one for each person, and walked along Wuchang Street all the way. Chewing, strolled to the embankment of the Tamsui River in Ximending.The setting sun on the Danshui River was as red as a big fireball, burning blazingly on the river.

The area around the No. 5 water gate of the Danshui River embankment is the edge of the downtown area of ​​Ximending.Those high-rise buildings lined up here, suddenly collapsed a lot, and turned into a row of dilapidated bungalows, in a mess, as if they were crowded by those high-rise buildings and were about to collapse into the river.The hustle and bustle of Ximending suddenly subsides here and becomes desolate.Most of the residents living in these dilapidated low houses are in the timber business. The nearby embankment is full of long strips of rolling logs. These rolling logs have been soaked in water and mold has grown on them.Zhao Ying and I climbed over the pile of rolling logs and onto the embankment.There was no one on the embankment, and the Danshui River below seemed to be ablaze by the setting sun like a ball of fire, rolling turbid waves and sparks flying.In Sanchong Town on the other side of the river, the sky is covered with black soot, and the houses are blurred, as if a large group of dirty garbage is piled on the other side of the river.In the distance, the Zhongxing Bridge leading to Sanchong Town stretches across the middle of the river. Vehicles on the bridge come and go like a team of black ants connecting end to end.On the river was a machine sail, full of coal dung, beeping, and a huge black sail was slowly crashing towards the big fireball in the sky. What a red sun! Zhao Ying climbed up the embankment and shouted, and ran towards the sunset. The wind blew his clothes up. On the long embankment, his figure reflected the fiery red sunset, jumping nimbly.He ran to the end of the long embankment, stopped, turned his head and waved at me with open arms, I hurriedly followed, Zhao Ying still gasped for breath, and said with a smile: You see, someone is fishing. On the shore of the beach not far below the embankment, there were two fishing rods stuck in the ground. The fisherman had disappeared, and the fishing rods were bent by the fishing line. There are a lot of fish here, and I have also fished here.I said. Is it?What fish? Crucian carp, carp, silver carp, all of them. Have you caught any fish yet? Of course, I caught a lot of them. Really? Once I came with my brother and caught two palm-sized carp. Oh, the watercress carp is delicious!Zhao Ying laughed. Carp is the easiest to catch. The water here is dirty and there are many carp. What do you use for bait? Earthworms can be dug by the river. The earthworms here are very fat, as thick as a finger. great!Zhao Ying clapped his hands and said, he sat down on the embankment, one day we will dig earthworms and fish, shall we? OKI replied, and I sat down too, and I felt something hard stuck in the back pocket of my trousers.I reached for it, and it was the harmonica. What brand?Zhao Ying saw the harmonica in my hand and asked. Butterfly card.I handed him the harmonica. It's a famous brand.Zhao Ying took the harmonica and looked at it for a moment. Can you play the harmonica too?I asked. Of course, Zhao Ying raised her head high, triumphant, I am a member of our school's harmonica club, I represented our school in competitions on Youth Day, and I won second place! Then you brag about it.I said. What do you want to hear? What song have you learned recently? there is an english songHave you heard of it? Hey, you can sing foreign songs too! You are my sunshine My only sunshine You make me happy When skies are gray Zhao Ying grinned and sang a few lines. It was taught to us by American priests in our school. Zhao Ying held the harmonica in both hands, tried it a few times, and then started to play. He played it very skillfully and smoothly, and the harmony time was also very accurate. It's hard to get it.After Zhao Ying finished playing, I clapped my hands and laughed. This harmonica sounds simply amazing!Zhao Ying said with a smile, I used to have a tube of Guoguang brand, which was also very good.But in the dormitory, someone stole it, and I was so angry that I fainted!I can't eat for a few days.I'm off to buy a new tube, and guess what my stepmother said?It’s just right to lose it, but with that thing, you don’t even need to read!Are you angry? Zhao Ying played with the harmonica upside down in his hands, held it to his mouth to blow it, and then wiped it with the corner of his clothes. This harmonica is for you.I said. real?Zhao Ying raised her head, her eyes widened, and she smiled incredulously. If you play another song to listen to, this harmonica will really be given to you. No problem, what else do you want to hear? <Treading Snow and Looking for Plum Blossoms> Can you play? of course! Zhao Ying hurriedly picked up the corner of her clothes again, wiped the harmonica vigorously, tried to blow it twice, and played "Treading the Snow to Find Plum Blossoms".He sat cross-legged on the ground, with his head tilted, holding the harmonica, sliding it back and forth sensitively around his mouth, opening and closing his hands.The setting sun shone on him, making his round face red and bright. The harmonica in his hand shone with golden red light. A gust of evening warm wind blew up from the Danshui River, playing the resonant harmonica. The sound, blowing melodiously. "Treading the Snow and Looking for Plum Blossoms", my brother and I have learned it in school, and it was taught by Teacher Wu Nuanyu.My younger brother has a very good voice, and loves to sing the most. When she takes a bath, she also sings happily all by herself, probably from her mother.Wu Nuanyu liked Diwa very much, saying that he had a musical talent, and recommended him to sing hymns in the choir of Huailing Hall.On Sunday, Tiandiwa wore a white robe, and when she sang poems, she opened her mouth round and round, looking very funny.At the junior high school graduation party, Wu Nuanyu asked her younger brother to go on stage to sing "Treading the Snow and Looking for Plum Blossoms", accompanied by her piano.The younger brother was wearing a scout uniform, with a white scarf around it, and a silver brass ring was locked on the scarf. Her snow-white baby face was flushed with excitement.He was so nervous that his voice trembled a little.After singing, he kept chasing after me and asked: Ah Qing, how is my singing?Not much, I said.My younger brother was sweating from anxiety, but Teacher Wu said it was not bad.You are so nervous that your throat is shaking.Ai, ai, my younger brother stamped his feet anxiously.good!good!Singing very emotionally, like singer Caruso, I patted my brother on the shoulder and smiled.Really?The younger brother chased after me and asked.Really, Ah Qing.Don't worry, brother, I said.Brother, let me find a way for you.Ah Qing, I don't want to go to Datong Gong, my brother is sitting on the river bank, holding the harmonica in his hand, I want to go to the National Academy of Arts.It doesn't matter, brother, I'll figure it out slowly.But Dad said that learning music was useless, and the younger brother lowered his head, arched his shoulders, and held the harmonica tightly in his hand.I'll find a way for you, I said, brother, wait for another two years, and when I do something, I'll pay for your education.But my father said that learning music requires hunger, my younger brother's head hangs low, and the setting sun shines on the harmonica in his hand, shining red.Brother, don't worry, I said.My father said that after studying in Datong, he could go to work in the factory immediately.Wait another two years, my brother.I don't want to go to the factory, Diwa's voice trembled.When I do something, I'll come for you.I'm going to art school.Wait another two years, my brother.The harmonica in Diwa's hand is jumping sparks.brother baby.brother baby.The back of the younger brother's neck was glowing red from the setting sun.Brother, don't worry.brother baby.brother baby.younger brother ah he screamed, struggling with his hands.My hands went from behind him to his front, wrapping his body tightly.My cheek is against the nape of his neck.My arms were straining so hard that my shoulders ached.One of his elbows slammed into my side, and with a sharp pain, I let go.He jumped away, turned around, his face was panicked, and he kept panting.After a while, with a bang, he threw the harmonica to my feet and said with a trembling voice: you man, what do you want to do The fiery red sunset made it hard for me to open my eyes. I felt that the blood in my whole body rushed into my forehead. My head was swollen and painful, my temples throbbed, and my ears kept buzzing.In the shadow of the setting sun, I saw Zhao Ying's body jumping eagerly, and in an instant, it turned into a small black dot and disappeared at the other end of the embankment.The embankment was empty, and the harmonica was lying on the ground, still shining red.I bent down, picked up the harmonica, and walked along the embankment towards the Zhongxing Bridge.The fluorescent lights on the bridge have been turned on, like a white rainbow, spanning the Danshui River far away.I turned my head sharply, and saw the neon lights had stretched out over Ximending, like a colorful forest towering into the sky.