Chapter 4 Chapter Four

They took the morning train to Nanjing.There was a bus from Xiaguan Station to Shijun's home, and it was only around two o'clock in the afternoon when we got home. Every time Shijun comes home, he always feels a little surprised when he walks in the door. He feels that this place is much smaller than the home he remembers, probably because the impression he keeps in his mind is still the impression of his childhood, when he himself Small in stature, it can be seen from his eyes, of course everything is magnified in a circle. His family owned a fur shop, and he lived above the shop.The Shen family is rich now, originally they didn't rely on the income from this leather goods store, but the family is used to frugality, they have been living upstairs of this store for these years, and never thought of moving.The inside of the shop is dark and spacious, and the floor is paved with azurite square bricks.There is a chartered car parked in the back of the store, and there is a square table and two chairs, which are for the store accountant and two older guys to sit and entertain guests there.There are teapots and teacups on the table, and there are two small caps with melon skins covering the table, which seems to have a sense of leisure.When I looked up, there was a skylight above my head, the roof was very high, and it was a two-story house.Surrounded by a walking horse building, the windows of the building are all made of sapphire blue stained glass.

Shijun's mother must have been watching from the window facing the street, and she saw the rickshaw pulled up to the door.As soon as he walked through the door, his mother shouted down from the walking horse building: "A Gen, the second young master is back!"Help with the box!Agen was the chartered driver, and he appeared immediately, taking the luggage from their hands.Shijun led Shuhui upstairs together.Mrs. Shen greeted her with a smile, asked some questions, and asked the maid to fetch water to wash her face. The food was already prepared and served hot immediately.Mrs. Shen called Shuhui the young master of the Xu family.Shuhui is beautiful and can speak with one mouth, so old ladies will naturally like it when they see her.

Shijun's sister-in-law also came out to meet with her child.Not seen for a year, his sister-in-law has aged a lot.He had heard that she had kidney disease before, Shijun asked her how she was doing recently, and his sister-in-law said she was fine.His mother said: The eldest young mistress has always been fat.On the other hand, Xiaojian is always uncomfortable, and the rash happened in the past two days.His nephew has always been weak, so he was named Xiaojian because he was not healthy enough.When he saw Shijun, he was a little suspicious, and the young lady saw him as if he was about to cry, and hurriedly said: "Don't cry, if you cry, grandma will lose her temper!"Mrs. Shen laughed and said, "What does grandma look like when she loses her temper?"Xiaojian then made a whining sound, like a dog's roar.Mrs. Shen said again: "What does it look like when Mom loses her temper?"He made that whining growl again.Everyone laughed.Shijun thought to himself, now there are only mother and sister-in-law in the family, living with such a child, the elder brother is dead, and the father doesn't come home very often, which means two generations of widowhood, which is desolate enough, and even Rely on this child to add a little life to this family.

Xiaojian only appeared in front of people for a few minutes, and Mrs. Shen asked Shuhui, Master Xu, have you ever had a rash?Shuhui said: "It's gone."Mrs. Shen said: We, Shijun, have also been out, but it is better to be careful.Although Xiaojian has recovered, he will still be extraordinary.Nurse, you should take him away. Mrs. Shen sat and watched her son eat, and asked them what time they usually go to work, what time they leave work, how they eat, and their daily life.He also asked if there was a fire in the house in winter, and tried hard to persuade Shijun to make a leather robe to wear, and immediately took out all kinds of fine-haired furs for him to choose.After picking it, I still put it away and asked the young lady to help put it in the box.The eldest grandma said: This kind of squirrel is just right to make a leather cloak for Xiaojian.Mrs. Shen said: It is too angry for a child not to wear skins for him.The rules in our family have always been like this, like when Shijun and the others were young, they were not even given silk cotton clothes.The eldest young lady was very upset when she heard this.

Mrs. Shen may have been overexcited today because her son rarely came back, and she was in a trance. She was also smiling when she saw the servant. Like a servant who is not used to it, he doesn't know how to show extravagance and send people around.The eldest young mistress couldn't intervene if she wanted to help.When Shijun saw her mother like this, he didn't know that it was all because of him, he was just a little sad, and felt that his mother was gradually showing signs of aging. Shijun and Shuhui were discussing which places to visit first today, and Mrs. Shen said, "Go with Cuizhi. Cuizhi is also on vacation for the next two days."Cuizhi is the eldest grandma's cousin, surnamed Shi.Shijun immediately said: No, I have to accompany Shuhui to a place today. Someone asked him to bring two things to Nanjing, and they had to be delivered to others.Being blocked by him like this, Mrs. Shen didn't say anything, she just told them to come back early and wait for them to eat.

Shuhui opened the box and took out the two carrying items, and Mrs. Shen found paper and rope and rewrapped it for him.Shijun was waiting by the side. He was standing in front of the window, and he saw his nephew, who was leaning over the window and waving to him as Second Uncle, across from the walking horse building.Seeing Xiaojian reminded him very much of his childhood.So I think of Shi Cuizhi.Cuizhi and him have known each other since childhood, although they are not childhood sweethearts, he still remembers her very much.On the contrary, happy memories tend to be blurred, but heart-stinging things, especially those that hurt when I was a child, are always remembered, and often come to my mind for no reason.

Now he thinks about Cuizhi again.The first time he and Cuizhi met was when his brother got married.When his elder brother got married, he was called the boy holding the ring, and he walked in the front of the wedding procession.Cuizhi was one of two little girls pulling the yarn for the bride.During the practice ceremony, Cuizhi's mother was present to supervise, and she was always picky, thinking that Shijun was walking too fast.Shijun's mother sees Cuizhi, but treats her like a treasure, and drives her to scream, wanting to recognize her as her goddaughter.Shijun didn't know that this was a social strategy, what do children know, seeing his mother love the little girl so much, he couldn't help feeling a little jealous.His mother asked him to take her to play, saying that he was much older than her and should let her go and not bully her.Shijun taught her how to play chess.She was only seven years old at that time, and when I taught her to play chess, she just climbed up and down on the chair, absent-minded.After a while, he lay down on the table again, propped his elbows on the chessboard, rested his cheeks on his hands, stared at him with a pair of dark eyes, and said suddenly: "My mother said that your father is an upstart."Ai!Shijun froze for a moment, then continued to move the chess pieces: I will eat your horse.Why, just hit me with a cannon, Cuizhi said again: My mother said that your grandfather is a woolen craftsman.Shijun said, "Eat your elephant."Well, you can get out of the car.Hit your generals!

Later that day when he came home, he asked his mother: Mom, what did grandpa do in the past?His mother said: Grandpa runs a fur shop.Isn't he the one who opened this shop?Shijun remained silent for a long time, and said again: Mom, did grandpa ever work as a woolen craftsman?His mother glanced at him and said: Grandpa was originally a craftsman when he didn't open a shop. This is not something embarrassing, and he is not afraid of what people say.However, she suddenly asked sharply: Who did you hear?Shijun didn't tell her.Although she said it was nothing embarrassing, her expression and voice had already made him feel deeply ashamed.But what was even more shameful was his mother's flattering attitude towards Cuizhi's mother and daughter.

On the day of Shijun's elder brother's wedding, he went to take wedding photos. The children who pulled the gauze and the children holding the rings had been taken care of by their mothers in advance. When the spotlight came on, he had to be careful not to close his eyes.Later when Shijun saw the wedding photo, Cuizhi's eyes were tightly closed.He felt very happy. He didn't know why in those two years, he didn't grow taller at all, it seemed to have stopped completely.Adults often laugh at him: Why, you must be holding an umbrella in the house?Because there is such a taboo, children hold umbrellas in the room and never grow taller.Cuizhi also laughed at him for being short, and said: You are older than me, why are you about the same height as me?Still a man.He must be a dwarf when he grows up in the future.When we met again a few years later, he was already a head and a half taller than her, but Cuizhi said again: Why are you so thin?Almost as thin as a grasshopper.This is probably what her mother said behind her back.

Mrs. Shi has never paid attention to Shijun, but in recent years, because she has seen Cuizhi grow up year by year, her scope of choosing a husband for her daughter was originally limited to the children of their families, but the older The ones are too big, the small ones are too small, and most of these young masters are absurd. It seems that Shijun is the most honest and reliable.Ever since Mrs. Shi had this idea, she often sent Cuizhi to see her cousin, who is Shijun's sister-in-law. Shijun's mother used to say that she would accept Cuizhi as her goddaughter, but it didn't turn out to be true. Now Shijun I heard the words of admitting to be a daughter again, and this time I don't know which side took the initiative.Probably initiated by his sister-in-law.Brothers and sisters are good relatives. Shijun thought that his mother and sister-in-law might be happy to imagine the possibility of this marriage in their lonely lives.

On this day, he and Shuhui went out together, and they didn't come back until dark.As soon as his mother saw him, she yelled, "Oh, you've been waiting so desperately!"Shijun laughed and said: We wouldn't have come back if it wasn't for the rain.His mother said: Is it raining?Fortunately, not too much.Cuizhi is coming for dinner.Shijun said: Oh?He was feeling full of displeasure, but at this time Xiaojian walked by the door, clapping his hands and singing: My girlfriend is here!Second uncle's girlfriend is coming!After hearing this, Shijun couldn't help frowning his eyebrows together tightly, and said: How did you become my girlfriend?joke!Who taught him to say that?In fact, what Shijun doesn't know is of course always taught by his sister-in-law.Shijun spent the past two years hanging around outside, and he is much more sophisticated than before, but for some reason, as soon as he came home, he became childish again, completely throwing away the little self-cultivation he had honed. . After a few words like this, he ran to his room angrily.His mother didn't bother, and just said: "Mother Chen, send two basins of washing water to wipe the faces of the second young master and the Xu family's young master."Shuhui strikes up a conversation and goes back to the room.Mrs. Shen then whispered to the young mistress: "When Cui Zhi comes, let's not be too explicit, and you don't want to make fun of them, it's better to let them take it easy, otherwise they will become stiff and flustered."Her exhortations were superfluous in the first place, the young mistress was already full of anger, would she still go to make fun of them?The young lady sneered and said: Of course.If nothing else, Cuizhi couldn't stand it.Our lady is also a curmudgeon.This time she heard that Shijun was back, and she came as soon as she invited her, because she always played together when she was a child; if she knew that she was a matchmaker, she might not be willing to come.Mrs. Shen knew that she was trying to save face for her cousin, so she also echoed: Yes, these young people have such a temper now!Just let them go.Alas, this is also everyone's fate! Shuhui and Shijun were in their own room, and Shuhui asked him who Cuizhi was.Shijun said: "It's my sister-in-law's cousin."Shuhui laughed and said, "They want to make coal for you, don't they?"Shijun said: That's my sister-in-law's wishful thinking.Shuhui smiled and said: "Isn't she pretty?"Shijun said: "You can take care of yourself later."It's really annoying, it's rare to come back for two days, and it doesn't make people quiet for a while!Shu Hui looked at him and said with a smile: Drink!Look at your vigor!Shijun was still angry there, so he couldn't help laughing, and said: "What am I, you haven't seen his strength, it's really impressive!"The eldest lady in the small town, shut the door and do what the emperor is used to!Shuhui smiled and said: Miss in a small town, Nanjing is not a small town.Shijun smiled and said: I am talking about the psychology of you Shanghainese.In the eyes of Shanghainese, the mainland is either a countryside or a small town.Is there such a mentality? Just at this point, the maid came to treat me to dinner: she said that Miss Shi had come.With some curiosity, Shuhui and Shijun came to the front room.Shijun's sister-in-law was serving food there, and Shijun's mother sat on the sofa with Shi Cuizhi and talked.Shuhui couldn't help but look at her twice.That Shi Cuizhi was only eighteen or nineteen years old, with a small narrow face, she looked very beautiful, with a high nose, a pair of big bright eyes, but the eyeballs were slightly swollen.He wears very long front bangs on his forehead, covering his eyebrows, but has a lot of curly hair behind his head.She was wearing a green and blue bamboo cloth gown, and the apricot-yellow silver flower satin cheongsam was slightly exposed from the fork of the gown.She came to the banquet wearing such a blue cloth burqa, and everyone felt a little surprised in their eyes.In fact, it was precisely because she knew that she had a purpose in inviting her here today, and she felt that if she came here in full makeup, she would feel even more embarrassed. She was sitting there with her arms folded, and when Shi Jun walked in, the two just smiled and nodded.Shijun smiled and said: Long time no see, how is Auntie?Then I introduced it to Shuhui.The eldest grandma smiled and said, "Come and eat."Mrs. Shen was very polite and insisted that Cuizhi and Shuhui should sit at the front, and Mrs. Shen sat on the other side of Cuizhi.Cuizhi and the old ladies have never had much to say, among the few people present, she can only talk to her cousin, but today it happened that the young mistress was angry and she was unwilling to speak, so the conversation on the table The air felt very still.Although Shuhui is talkative, he feels that in such a conservative family, it is certainly not appropriate to strike up a conversation with a strange lady.Chen Ma stood waiting at the door of the room, and Xiao Jian hid behind her and poked his head, asking, "Why isn't Second Uncle's girlfriend here yet?"When the eldest grandma heard this, she became angry, but Chen's mother was ignorant, so she bent over with a playful smile and said softly to the child: Isn't that what it is?Xiaojian said: That's my cousin!Where's Uncle's girlfriend?The young mistress couldn't bear it any longer, she put away her job and ran out to drive Xiao Jian away, saying: "Don't go to bed yet!"what time is itI personally escorted him back to the room. Cuizhi said: "Our dog recently gave birth to a litter of puppies, and we can give one to Xiaojian."Mrs. Shen smiled and said: By the way, you should answer him.Cuizhi smiled and said: If Shijun lived at home, I wouldn't be able to give you dogs.Shijun hates seeing dogs!Shijun smiled and said: Oh?I didn't say that.Cuizhi said: Of course you won't say that you are always so polite and never say a word from the bottom of your heart.Shijun paused, and after a while, he asked Shuhui with a smile: Shuhui, am I so fake?Shuhui smiled and said, "Don't ask me."Ms. Shi has known you for more years than me, so of course she knows you better.Everyone laughed. The sound of the rain gradually stopped, and Cuizhi stood up to leave, but Mrs. Shen said: "It doesn't matter if you go back later, I will ask Shijun to take you back later."Cuizhi said: No need.Shijun said: It doesn't matter.Shuhui, let's go together, and you can also see what the night in Nanjing looks like.Cuizhi asked Shijun with a smile: Is it the first time for Mr. Xu to come to Nanjing?She didn't ask Shuhui, but Shijun.Shuhui laughed and said, "Ah."In fact, Nanjing is so close to Shanghai, but I have never been here before.Cuizhi had never spoken to him directly, and when he answered, she blushed for no reason, and stopped talking. After sitting for a while, she said she wanted to leave again, and Mrs. Shen ordered the servant to call a car.Cuizhi went to her cousin's room to say goodbye.As soon as I entered the door, I saw a small stove with a pot of stuff cooking on it.Cuizhi smiled and said: Hmph, I caught it!Is this your own homemade dish?The young lady said: "What kind of private dish, this is Xiaojian's beef juice."Xiaojian just happened to be sick, and he needed to eat some nourishing food, which was what our old lady said, and asked Mama Wang to stew chicken soup or beef juice every day.In the past two days, because of Shijun's coming back, the servants were so busy that they left everything at home anyway, who still remembered to stew beef juice for Xiaojian.So I got angry and bought a piece of beef and simmered it myself.This group of servants are also snobbish, they are certain that they will eat the second young master's meal in the future!Like us orphans and widows, who takes you as a person!When she said this, she couldn't help but shed tears.In fact, she has been a daughter-in-law in an old family for more than ten years, so why is she so impatient.It was because of the two words Shijun said today that offended her, and she became more determined since then, no matter what the sesame seed was, it became a series of stimuli to her. Cuizhi couldn't help persuading her: All servants are like that, just ignore them and it's over.Your old lady loves Xiaojian very much.The eldest young mistress snorted and said: Don't look at her loving the child so much, it's all fake, she's just using him to amuse herself.Once you see your son, you forget your grandson.Xiaojian's rash has long since healed, so he is not allowed to come out to see the world for fear of contagion!His life is extremely valuable!This afternoon, I was sent to the pharmacy again, and I bought more than a dozen kinds of tonic and supplementary injections, and brought them to Shanghai for Shijun.It was I who said that these medicines are also available in Shanghai, and there was an explosion: If you can buy them, he must be willing to buy them!Just like this, I don’t know if he will eat or not. Young people are like this, and I don’t know how to be careful with my body!Cuizhi said: Is Shijun in poor health?The young lady said: "He's fine, he's not sick at all."A sick person like me never says to ask a doctor to take medicine for you.My waist is sick, my face is swollen, and I've always been fat!Are you saying that you are angry or not?Cough, it is really hard to be their daughter-in-law!Her last words were obviously addressed to Cui Zhi, implying that the matter would not succeed, but it would be fine if it did not succeed.Of course, it was inconvenient for Cuizhi to express anything, so she could only ask her about her illness and ask her what medicine she was taking. The maid said the carriage was ready, so Cuizhi put on her raincoat to bid farewell to Mrs. Shen, and Shijun and Shuhui accompanied her into the carriage.The horseshoes are good, walking on the gravel road in the rainy night, the cobblestones are shining like fish scales.Shuhui kept opening the oilcloth curtain to peek outside, saying: I can't see anything, I'm going to sit next to the carriage.After walking for a while, he really stopped the coachman, jumped out of the carriage, climbed up to sit side by side with the coachman, and he didn't care about the rain.The driver thought it was weird, but Cuizhi just laughed. Cuizhi and Shijun were the only people left in the carriage, the air immediately became dull, and the seat felt hard and bumpy.In their silence, they often heard Shu Hui and the carriage driver asking and answering, not knowing what to say.Cuizhi suddenly said: You live in Mr. Xu's house in Shanghai?Shijun said: Yes.After a long time, Cuizhi said again: Are you going back on Monday?Shijun said: "Hey."Cuizhi's question sounded very familiar because Manzhen asked it twice.Thinking of Manzhen, he suddenly felt lonely. In this rainy night, sitting on this bumpy, wet carriage, his hometown seemed to have become a foreign land. He suddenly noticed that Cuizhi was talking there again, he hurriedly said with a smile: Huh?What did you say?Cuizhi said: Nothing.I asked whether Mr. Xu is also an engineer like you.It was a very common question at first, but he made her repeat it, and she suddenly felt a little embarrassed, and before he could answer, she climbed the oilcloth curtain and looked outside, saying, "It's almost there, isn't it?"Shijun didn't know which question to answer her.After a while, he smiled and said: "Shu Hui also studied engineering, and now he has achieved the position of assistant engineer in our factory. Like me, he is still a trainee engineer, which is equivalent to a trainee."After all, Cuizhi felt embarrassed, he was still explaining here, but she just opened the curtain and looked outside, as if she had lost interest in his answer, she just murmured: Oh, don’t walk past my house up!Shijun thought to himself: Cuizhi is like this.Really annoying. Drizzle, like fog.Shu Hui sat next to the carriage driver, watching the lights of the ancient city along the way, he thought of Shijun and Cuizhi, a young couple who grew up in this ancient city.Perhaps because he was perched on top of the carriage, a position similar to God, he actually felt a little compassionate.Especially young ladies like Cuizhi, who will always live in a small circle, and the only way out is to find a family with equal status. It is also a sad fate to marry and become a young mistress.And Cuizhi seems to be a person with a strong personality, it is really a pity to bury her in such a fate. Shijun stretched out his head from inside and shouted: We're here, we're here.The carriage stopped, Shijun jumped off first, and Cuizhi also got off. She put a raincoat on her head and went around to say goodbye to Shuhui, looking up in the rain and the light of the headlights to say goodbye.Shuhui also said goodbye, thinking in her heart that she might not see her again.He was a little melancholy.Although she has no destiny with Shijun, she also has no destiny with him because the environment is too different. Shijun sent her to the gate and waited for someone to open the door after she rang the bell before leaving.Here Shuhui has already jumped down and sat in the carriage.There is still a faint smell of hair in the carriage.He was sitting alone in the dark, when Shijun came back, he didn't get in the car, he only leaned half of his body in, and hurriedly said: "Shall we go in and sit for a while, Yipeng is here too, this is his aunt's house."Shu Hui was taken aback for a moment, and said: "Yipeng?Oh, Fang Yipeng!It turns out that Shijun’s sister-in-law’s maiden name is Fang. She has two younger brothers, the older one is Yiming and the younger one is Yipeng. Yipeng and Shijun went to Shanghai to study at university together. The smell is not congenial, so it is not very cooked.Because Yipeng heard that Shuhui’s family was poor, once he was willing to pay for Shuhui to write a paper for him, but Shuhui refused. Yipeng was very angry. He said something to Shijun behind his back. Jun didn't tell Shuhui, but Shuhui also knew something.Now, of course, the past has long since passed. Shijun didn't intend to visit the Yipeng brothers because he came back to Nanjing this time. He happened to meet them at Shi's house today, so he seemed embarrassed if he didn't go in and sit for a while.I couldn't let Shuhui wait in the car alone, so I asked him to go in together, and Shuhui jumped out of the car, and then two servants came out to greet him with umbrellas.They walked into the gate together, Cuizhi was still waiting for them in the concierge, and led the way in front. When they entered, there was a big garden, which could not be clearly seen in the dark rainy night.Although the rain did not fall very heavily, the accumulated water on the leaves fell on people's heads in big drops.The scent of sweet-scented osmanthus is very strong.The Shi family’s house is an old-fashioned bungalow. From a distance, you can see a row of glass doors. Inside the glass doors is the living room. A cluster of five-star lamps holding the moon are brightly lit. Before they could take a closer look, Cuizhi led them in through the main entrance and into the guest room. Cuizhi's mother, Mrs. Shi, bowed slowly at the poker table and greeted Shijun. Mrs. Shi was short and very fat.Yipeng was also playing cards there, and when he saw Shijun, he exclaimed: Hey, I don't even know when you came to Nanjing!Shuhui is here too!We haven't seen each other in years!Shuhui also exchanged pleasantries with him.Yipeng's elder brother Yiming and sister-in-law Amy are also on the poker table.That Amy is an outstanding modern figure among their relatives. Regardless of her elders or peers, she is always called Amy, but everyone still stubbornly calls her Young Mistress Yiming or Sister-in-law Yiming.At that moment, Shijun called her sister-in-law, and Amy turned to him and said: Ah, you are here, and you are hiding it from us!Shijun smiled and said: I just arrived this afternoon.Amy smiled and said, "Oh, I'll find Sister Cui as soon as I arrive, and she won't look for us!"Yiming laughed and said: What are you?How can you compare with Sister Cui!Shijun never expected that they would make such a big joke in front of Mrs. Shi.Of course Mrs. Shi was inconvenient to say anything, she just smiled.Cuizhi put her face so hard that she didn't even have a smile on her face, and said: "What's wrong with you today, you only came to me!"Amy smiled and said: "Okay, don't make trouble, let's be serious, Shijun, you come to our place for dinner tomorrow, and sister Cui will come too."Before Shijun could answer, Cuizhi laughed first and said: I don't have time tomorrow.She was standing behind Amy, looking at the cards, and Amy turned her back to grab her arm, and said with a smile: "I'll treat you well, but you're just putting on airs!"Cuizhi said seriously: I really have something to do.Amy ignored her, grabbed a card, and shuffled the cards in front of her again, because she said: You can lend us this deck of cards tomorrow, we have several tables of mahjong tomorrow, and there are not enough cards.Sister Cui, bring it when you come.Shijun, you come earlier too.Shijun smiled and said: I will come some other day if I have time, don't bother tomorrow, I plan to go out with Shuhui tomorrow.Yipeng then said, "Come together, and Shuhui will also come."Shijun still declined, and it happened that Yiming had won a pair of big cards at this time, and everyone was busy calculating the deal, and it was over as soon as they got mixed up. Cuizhi went upstairs to take a look around, then came downstairs again, and stood by the side to read the cards.Yipeng happened to drop a card on the ground, bent down to pick it up, saw Cuizhi was wearing a pair of brand-new taupe-colored satin money embroidered shoes on her feet, and said with a smile: drink!These shoes are so beautiful!He said casually that he didn't pay much attention to whether Cuizhi still treated her like a child.When he was studying in Shanghai, he was chasing girls from the Queen's school. Naturally, he looked down on a mainland lady like Cuizhi, thinking it was too dull and not interesting.But after what he said, Shuhui couldn't help but glanced at Cuizhi's feet. He remembered that she was not wearing the same pair of shoes just now, probably because the leather shoes got wet in the rain, so he changed them as soon as he got home. a pair. Shijun guessed that he had been sitting for more than half an hour, so he bid farewell to Mrs. Shi.Mrs. Shi was probably also a little unhappy with him, so she only left a short note, and then said to Cuizhi: "Send it off."Cuizhi sent them out, only to the steps.They were still led through the garden by the two footmen under umbrellas.When we were approaching the gate of the garden, suddenly there was a barking dog, which came straight out from the shadows. It turned out to be a big wolfhound. The two servants kept scolding, but the dog kept barking.At the same time, Cuizhi's voice was heard calling the dog's name from a distance, and she ran across the garden quickly.Shijun hurriedly said: Oh, it’s raining, don’t come out!Cuizhi was running out of breath, and without answering, she first bent down and grabbed the dog by the collar.Shijun said again: It doesn't matter, it knows me.Cuizhi said coldly: "It knows you, but it doesn't know Mr. Xu!"She bent over and pulled the dog, turned around and left without saying goodbye to them.At this time, it was raining heavily, so Shijun and Shuhui turned around and walked out in a hurry. In the darkness, one foot was raised and the other was lowered, and water also entered the leather shoes. One ring.Shuhui couldn't help thinking that Cuizhi's pair of light-colored embroidered shoes must have been ruined. They went out of the garden gate and got into the carriage.On the way home, Shuhui suddenly said to Shijun: Miss Shi seems to be very out of harmony with her environment.Shijun smiled and said: You mean: Although she is a rich lady, she is wearing a blue cloth coat.After being annotated by him like this, Shu Hui laughed.Shijun laughed again and said: This lady, even if she wears a blue cloth coat, she should be more particular than others.They all wear blue cloth uniforms in school, but none of them are as emerald as hers. Her blue cloth gown has to be dyed every time it is washed.The old lady who washes clothes in her house has blue hands when she stretches out her hands.Shuhui laughed and said, "How do you know these things?"Shijun said: I also heard what my sister-in-law said.Shuhui said: "Isn't your sister-in-law very enthusiastic about being a matchmaker for you?"Why are you willing to say these words to you?Shijun said: That was in the past, when she hadn't thought of being a matchmaker.Shuhui laughed and said: These grandmas and wives really know how to criticize people, huh?Especially for other women.Even the relatives of my mother's family are no exception.Although what he said was referring to Shijun's sister-in-law, it was also somewhat reflected on Shijun, as if he felt that he was a mother-in-law.Shijun was also blaming himself there; he often complained about Cuizhi, and his motive was self-defense, lest others think he and her were on good terms. Talking about people behind their backs is not like his usual behavior.When he thought of this, he became silent.Shuhui also felt a little bit, so he led him to talk again, talked about Yipeng with him, and said: "Yipeng isn't going out to work now, is he?"I didn't have a chance to ask him just now.Shijun said: He probably has nothing to do now, his family won't let him go out.Shuhui laughed and said, "Why?"He's not a big girl.Shijun smiled and said: You don't know, this gentleman, every time he finds a job in Shanghai, he always doesn't make enough money to spend, and as a result he makes a lot of losses, and instead asks his family to pay off his debts more than once, so Now confine him at home and never let him go out again.These words were told by Mrs. Shen to Shijun behind his back, and the youngest mistress has always been taboo to say such things about her brother. Shijun and Shuhui chatted all the way, but they had already arrived home.They planned to get up early tomorrow morning to visit Niu Shou Mountain, so they went back to bed as soon as they got home, but Mrs. Shen sent someone to deliver two bowls of wontons. Shu Hui smiled and said, "It's only been dinner for a while, where can I eat?"Shijun asked the maid to bring a bowl to his sister-in-law's room, and he himself took the other bowl to ask his mother if she wanted to eat it.His mother was very happy and felt that her son was really filial.As soon as the son is filial, the mother will make an inch of it, and take the opportunity to say: "Sit down, I have something to tell you."Unknowingly, Shijun frowned again, thinking in his heart that it must be related to Cuizhi.But no. Mrs. Shen was afraid that she might offend him if she said something wrong, so she prepared a draft in advance and said carefully, "It's rare for you to come back. It's not that I will say you as soon as I see you. I think your two words today are too reckless. Your sister-in-law is very angry and you can tell.Shijun said: I'm not talking about her, who told her to be overhearted?Mrs. Shen sighed: If you talk about you, you will be unhappy again.It doesn't matter if you lose your temper with me, just be careful with others.Such a big man, your brother already had a young mistress at your age, even a child! Speaking of this, Shijun already expected that Cuizhi would be mentioned sooner or later.He laughed and said: Mom is coming again!I'm going to bed, I have to get up early tomorrow.Mrs. Shen smiled and said: I know you are most afraid of hearing these words.I'm not asking you to get married right away, but you can also think about it.When you meet the right person, you might as well make friends.For example, like Cuizhi, Shijun, who has been used to playing with you since childhood, had to interrupt her and say: Mom, Shi Cuizhi really doesn't have the right temper with her.I don't want to get married now, even if I have this intention, I don't want to marry her.This time he made up his mind to make his words clearer than ever.After receiving such a blow, his mother remained calm and said with a smile: I don't necessarily mean her.Anyway, it's about the same as her! After some conversation, Shijun felt very happy.With regard to Cuizhi, he finally clarified his attitude, and also got his mother's understanding, and there will never be any more troubles in the future. They originally planned to go for a mountain tour the next morning, but unexpectedly the rain continued all night and they couldn't go out. They were feeling anxious, but the Fang family sent a servant to say: "Second young master and that young master Xu must be together today." Come on, later on later.Invite Mrs. Shen and our aunt to play cards too.Mrs. Shen said to Shijun: I don't want to go out this rainy day, you go.Shijun said: I don't want to go either, I've already gone back to them.Mrs. Shen said: "Just go there. Isn't Yipeng still your old classmate? He also knows Young Master Xu, right?"Shijun said: Shuhui can't talk to him.Mrs. Shen said in a low voice: I think you just go there, and you will save face for your sister-in-law.Then, he pointed to the eldest young lady's room, and said softly: "I'm still angry there, I feel uncomfortable when I got up early, and I didn't get up."Today her natal family treats guests, and none of us will go, it seems not very good.Shijun said, "Okay, okay, I'll go tell Shuhui." Originally, the reason why he didn't want to go was also because they invited him and Cuizhi together, but yesterday he heard with his own ears that Cuizhi refused to go, so it doesn't matter if he just goes.He didn't expect Cuizhi to think the same way, because he heard him categorically say no to go yesterday, and thought he would never go, and Amy called Shi's house again this morning, and she must be torturing her to ask her to go to dinner, so As a result, Cuizhi also went.When Shijun came there, Cuizhi was already there, and the two of them were startled when they met, thinking it was a trap.Shijun came with Shuhui, there are quite a lot of guests in Fang's house today, there are already three tables of mahjong playing there.None of these young people knew how to play mahjong, so Amy said to Shijun: It's not interesting for you to watch them play cards here, please watch a movie.I can't leave here, so you can be my host and accompany Sister Cui.Cuizhi frowned and said to Amy, "You don't have to entertain me, it's good for me to stay here, I don't want to watch movies."Amy ignored her, and was busy inquiring which movie theater had the new movie on her own, and said: It's just right to go to see a movie and come back for dinner.世鈞只得笑道：叔惠也一塊兒去！愛咪便也笑道：對了，許先生也一塊兒去。叔惠不免躊躇了一下，他也知道在愛咪的眼光中他是一個多餘的人，因此就笑著向世鈞說：還是你陪著石小姐去吧，這兩張片子我都看過了。世鈞道：別瞎說了，你幾時看過的？一塊兒去！於是愛咪吩咐僕人給他們僱車，翠芝雖然仍舊抗議著，也不生效力，終於一同去了。 翠芝今天裝束得十分艷麗，烏絨闊滾的豆綠軟鍛長旗袍，直垂到腳面上。他們買的是樓廳的票，翠芝在上樓的時候一個不留神，高跟鞋踏在旗袍角上，差點沒摔跤，幸而世鈞攙了她一把，笑道：怎麼了？沒摔著吧？翠芝道：沒什麼。噯呀，該死，我這鞋跟斷了！她鞋上的高跟別斷了一隻，變成一腳高一腳低。世鈞道：能走麼？翠芝道：行，行。她當著叔惠，很不願意讓世鈞攙著她，所以寧可一蹺一拐地一個人走在前面，很快地走進劇場。好在這時候電影已經開映了，裏面一片漆黑，也不怕人看見。 這張片子是個轟動一時的名片，世鈞在上海錯過了沒看到，沒想到在南京倒又趕上了。他們坐定下來，銀幕上的演員表剛剛映完，世鈞便向叔惠低聲笑道：還好，我們來得還不算晚。他是坐在叔惠和翠芝中間，翠芝一面看著戲，不由得心中焦灼，便悄悄地和世鈞說道：真糟極了，等會兒出去怎麼辦呢？只好勞你駕給我跑一趟吧，到我家去給我拿雙鞋來。世鈞頓了一頓，道：要不，等一會你勉強走到門口，我叫部汽車來，上了車到了家就好辦了。翠芝道：不行哪，這樣一腳高一腳低怎麼走，給人看見還當我是瘸子呢。世鈞心裏想著：你踮著腳走不行嗎？但是並沒有說出口來，默然了一會，便站起身來道：我去給你拿去。他在叔惠跟前擠了過去，也沒跟叔惠說什麼。 他急急地走出去，出了電影院，這時候因為不是散場的時間，戲院門口冷清清的，一輛黃包車也沒有。雨仍舊在那裏下著，世鈞冒雨走著，好容易才叫到一輛黃包車。到了石家，他昨天才來過，今天倒又來了，那門房一開門看見是他，僕人們向來消息是最靈通的，本就知道這位沈少爺很有作他們家姑爺的希望，因此對他特別慇勤，一面招呼著，一面就含笑說：我們小姐出去了，到方公館去了。世鈞想道：怎麼一看見我就說小姐出去了，就準知道我是來找他們小姐的。可見連他們都是這樣想。當下也不便怎樣，只點了點頭，微笑道：我知道，我看見你們小姐的。她一隻鞋子壞了，你另外拿一雙給我帶去。那門房聽他這樣說，還當他是直接從方家來的，心裏想方家那麼些個傭人，倒不差個傭人來拿，偏要差他來，便望著他笑道：噯喲，怎麼還要沈少爺特為跑一趟！世鈞見他這一副笑嘻嘻的樣子，知道一定是笑他給他們小姐當差，心裏越發添了幾分不快。 那聽差又請他進去坐一會，世鈞恐怕石太太又要出來應酬他一番，他倒有點怕看見她，便道：不用了，我就在這兒等著好了。他在門房裏等了一會，那聽差拿了一隻鞋盒出來，笑道：可不要我給送去吧？世鈞道：不用了，我拿去好了。那聽差又出去給他僱了一輛車。 世鈞回到戲院裏，在黑暗中摸索著坐了下來，便把那鞋盒遞給了翠芝，說了一聲：鞋子拿來了。翠芝道：謝謝你。世鈞估計著他去了總不止一個鐘頭，電影都已經快映完了，正到了緊張萬分的時候，這是一個悲劇，樓上樓下許多觀眾都在窸窸窣窣掏手帕擤鼻子擦眼淚。世鈞因為沒看見前半部，只能專憑猜測，好容易才摸出點頭緒來，他以為那少女一定是那男人的女兒，但是再看下去，又證明他是錯誤的，一直看到劇終，始終有點迷迷糊糊，似懂非懂的。燈光大明，大家站起身來，翠芝把眼圈揉得紅紅的，似乎也被劇情所感動了。她已經把鞋子換上了，換下來的那雙裝在鞋盒裏拿著，三個人一同下樓，她很興奮地和叔惠討論著片中情節。世鈞在旁邊一直不作聲。已經走到戲院門口了，世鈞忽然笑道：看了後頭沒看見前頭，真憋悶，你們先回去，我下一場再去看一遍。說著，也不等他們回答，便掉過身來又往裏走，擠到賣票處去買票。他一半也是因為賭氣，同時也因為他實在懶得再陪著翠芝到東到西，一同回到方家去，又要被愛咪他們調笑一番。不如讓叔惠送她去，叔惠反正是沒有關係的，跟她又不熟，只要把她送回去就可以脫身了。 但是無論如何，他這樣扔下就走，這種舉動究竟近於幼稚，叔惠倒覺得有點窘。翠芝也沒說什麼。走出電影院，忽然滿眼陽光，地下差不多全乾了，翠芝不禁咦了一聲，笑道：現在天倒晴了！叔惠笑道：這天真可惡，今天早上下那麼大雨，我們要到牛首山去也沒有去成。翠芝笑道：你這次來真冤枉。叔惠笑道：可不是麼，哪兒也沒去。翠芝略頓了一頓，便道：其實現在還早，你願上哪兒去玩，我們一塊兒去。叔惠笑道：好呀，我這兒不熟悉，你說什麼地方好？翠芝道：到玄武湖去好不好？叔惠當然說好，於是就叫了兩部黃包車，直奔玄武湖。 到了玄武湖，先到五洲公園去兜了個圈子。那五洲公園本來沒有什麼可看的，和任何公園也沒有什麼兩樣，不過草坪上面不是藍天，而是淡青色的茫茫的湖水。有個小型的動物園，裏面有猴子；又有一處鐵絲欄裏面，有一隻貓頭鷹迎著斜陽站在樹椏枝上，兩隻金燦燦的大眼睛，像兩塊金黃色的寶石一樣。他們站在那裏看了一會。 從五洲公園出來，就叫了一隻船。翠芝起初約他來的時候，倒是一鼓作氣的，彷彿很大膽，可是到了這裏，不知怎麼倒又拘束起來，很少說話。上了船，她索性把剛才一張電影說明書拿了出來，攤在膝上看著。叔惠不禁想道：她老遠的陪著我跑到這裏來，究竟也不知是一時高興呢，還是在那兒跟世鈞賭氣。玄武湖上的晚晴，自是十分可愛，湖上的遊船也相當多。在一般人的眼光中，像他們這樣一男一女在湖上泛舟，那不用說，一定是一對情侶。所以不坐船還好，一坐到船上，就更加感覺到這一點。叔惠心裏不由得想著，今天這些遊客裏面不知道有沒有翠芝的熟人，要是剛巧碰見熟人，那一定要引起許多閒話，甚至於世鈞與翠芝的婚事不成功，都要歸咎於他，也未可知。這時候正有一隻小船和他們擦身而過，兩邊的船家互打招呼，他們這邊的划船的是一個剪髮女子，穿著一身格子布襖褲，額前斜飄著幾根前劉海，上窄下寬的紫棠臉，卻是一口糯米銀牙。那邊的船家稱她為大姑娘，南京人把大念作奪，叔惠就也跟著人家叫她奪姑娘，捲著舌頭和她說南京話，說的又不像，引得翠芝和那奪姑娘都笑不可抑。叔惠又要學划船，坐到船頭上去扳槳，一槳打下去，水花濺了翠芝一身，她那軟緞旗袍因為光滑的緣故，倒是不吸水，水珠骨碌碌亂滾著落了下去，翠芝拿手絹子隨便擦了擦，叔惠十分不過意，她只是笑著，把臉上也擦了擦，又取出粉鏡子來，對著鏡子把前劉海撥撥勻。叔惠想道：至少她在我面前是一點小姐脾氣也沒有的。可是這話要是對世鈞說了，他一定說她不過是對我比較客氣，所以不露出來。他總覺得世鈞對她是有成見的，世鈞所說的關於她的話也不盡可信，但是先入之言為主，他多少也有點受影響。他也覺得像翠芝這樣的千金小姐無論如何不是一個理想的妻子。當然交交朋友是無所謂，可是內地的風氣比較守舊，尤其是像翠芝這樣的小姐，恐怕是不交朋友則已，一做朋友，馬上就要談到婚姻。若是談到婚姻的話，他這樣一個窮小子，她家裏固然是絕對不會答應，他卻也不想高攀，因為他也是一個驕傲的人。 他這樣想著的時候，只管默默地扳著槳。翠芝也不說話，船上擺著幾色現成的果碟，她抓了一把瓜子，靠在籐椅上嗑瓜子，人一動也不動，偶爾抬起一隻手來，將衣服上的瓜子殼撣撣掉。隔著水，遠遠望見一帶蒼紫的城牆，映著那淡青的天，叔惠這是第一次感覺到南京的美麗。 他們坐了一會船，到天黑方才回去。上了岸，叔惠便問道：你還回方家去吧？翠芝道：我不想去了，他們那兒人多，太亂。可是她也沒說回家去的話，彷彿一時還不想回去。叔惠沉默了一會，便道：那麼我請你去吃飯吧，好不好？翠芝笑道：應該我請你，你到南京來算客。叔惠笑道：這個以後再說吧，你先說我們上哪兒去吃。翠芝想了一想，說她記得離這兒不遠有一個川菜館，就又僱車前去。 他們去吃飯，卻沒有想到方家那邊老等他們不來，到了吃晚飯的時候，就打了個電話到翠芝家裏去問，以為她或者已經回去了。石太太聽見說翠芝是和世鈞一同出去的，還不十分著急，可是心裏也有點嘀咕。等到八九點鐘的時候，僕人報說小姐回來了，石太太就一直迎到大門口，叫道：你們跑到哪兒去了？方家打電話來找你，說你們看完電影也沒回去。她一看翠芝後面還跟著一個人，可是並不是世鈞，而是昨天跟世鈞一同來的，他那個朋友，昨天他們走後，一鵬曾經談起他們從前都是同學，他說叔惠那時候是一面讀書一面教書，因為家裏窮。石太太當時聽了，也不在意，可是這回又見到叔惠，就非常地看不起他，他向她鞠躬，她也好像沒看見似的，只道：咦，世鈞呢？翠芝道：世鈞因為給我拿鞋子，電影只看了一半，所以又去看第二場了。石太太道：那你看完電影上哪兒去了？怎麼到這時候才回來？飯吃過沒有？翠芝道：吃過了，跟許先生一塊兒在外頭吃的。石太太把臉一沉，道：你這個孩子，怎麼這樣，也不言語一聲，一個人在外頭亂跑！她所謂一個人，分明是不拿叔惠當人，他在旁邊聽著，臉上實在有點下不去，他真後悔送翠芝回來不該進來的，既然進來了，卻也不好馬上就走。翠芝便道：媽也是愛著急，我這麼大的人，又不是個小孩子，還怕丟了嗎？一面說著，就徑直地走了進去，道：許先生進來坐！王媽，倒茶！她氣烘烘地走進客廳，將手裏的一隻鞋盒向沙發上一摜。叔惠在進退兩難的情形下，只得也跟了進來。石太太不放心，也夾腳跟了進來，和他們品字式坐下，密切注意著他們兩人之間的神情。僕人送上茶來，石太太自己在香煙筒裏拿了一支煙抽，也讓了叔惠一聲，叔惠欠身道：噯，不客氣不客氣。石太太搭拉著眼皮吸了一會煙，便也隨便敷衍了他幾句，問他幾時回上海。叔惠勉強又坐了幾分鐘，便站起來告辭。 翠芝送他出去，叔惠再三叫她回去，她還是一直送到外面，在微明的星光下在花園裏走著。翠芝起初一直默然，半晌方道：你明天就要走了？我不來送你了。說話間偶然一回頭，卻看見一個女傭不聲不響跟在後面。翠芝明明沒有什麼心虛的事，然而也漲紅了臉，問道：幹什麼？鬼鬼祟祟的，嚇我一跳！那女傭笑道：太太叫我來給這位先生僱車子。叔惠笑道：不用了，我一邊走一邊叫。那女傭也沒說什麼，但是依舊含著微笑一路跟隨著。已經快到花園門口了，翠芝忽道：王媽，你去看看那隻狗拴好沒有，不要又像昨天那樣，忽然蹦出來，嚇死人的。那女傭似乎還有些遲疑，笑道：拴著在那兒吧？翠芝不由得火起來了，道：叫你去看看！那女傭見她真生了氣，也不敢作聲，只好去了。 翠芝也是因為賭這口氣，所以硬把那女傭支開了，其實那女傭走後，她也並沒有什麼話可說。又走了兩步路，她突然站住了，道：我要回去了。叔惠笑道：好，再見再見！他還在那裏說著，她倒已經一扭身，就快步走了。叔惠倒站在那裏怔了一會。忽然在眼角裏看見一個人影子一閃，原來那女傭並沒有真的走開，還掩在樹叢裏窺探著呢，他覺得又好氣又好笑。由這上面卻又想起，那女傭剛才說要給他僱車，他說他自己僱，但是僱到什麼地方去呢？世鈞的住址他只記得路名，幾號門牌記不清楚了。在南京人生地不熟的，這又是個晚上，不見得再回到石家來問翠芝，人家已經拿他當個拆白黨看待，要是半夜三更再跑來找他們小姐，簡直要給人打出去了。他一方面覺得是一個笑話，同時也真有點著急，那門牌號碼越急倒越想不起來了。幸而翠芝還沒有去遠，他立刻趕上去叫道：石小姐！石小姐！翠芝覺得很意外，猛然回過身來向他呆望著。叔惠見她臉上竟是淚痕狼藉，也呆住了，一時竟忘了他要說些什麼話。翠芝卻本能地往後退了一步，站在暗影裏，拿手帕捂著臉擤鼻子。叔惠見她來不及遮掩的樣子，也只有索性裝不看見，便微笑道：看我這人多糊塗，世鈞家門牌是多少號，我倒忘了！翠芝道：是王府街四十一號。叔惠笑道：哦，四十一號。真幸虧想起來問你，要不然簡直沒法回去了，要流落在外頭了！一面笑著，就又向她道了再會，然後他頭也不回地走了。 他回到世鈞家裏，他們才吃完晚飯沒有多少時候，世鈞正在和小健玩，他昨天從雨花台撿了些石子回來，便和小健玩撾子兒的遊戲，扔起一個，抓起一個，再扔起一個，抓起兩個，把抓起的數目逐次增加，或者倒過來依次遞減。他們一個大人，一個孩子，嘻嘻哈哈地玩得很有興致，叔惠見了，不禁有一種迷惘之感，他彷彿從黑暗中乍走到燈光下，人有點呆呆的。世鈞問道：你怎麼這時候才回來？我母親說你準是迷了路，找不到家了，罵我不應該扔下你，自己去看電影。你上哪兒去了？叔惠道：上玄武湖去的。世鈞道：跟石翠芝一塊兒去的？叔惠道：噯。世鈞頓了一頓，因笑道：今天真是對不起你。又問知他還請石翠芝在外面吃了飯，更覺得抱歉。他雖然抱歉，可是再也沒想到，叔惠今天陪翠芝出去玩這麼一趟，又還引起這許多煩惱。