Chapter 6 Chapter Six

Shijun's mother asked him to write a letter as soon as he arrived in Shanghai, so he wrote a short letter that night. He didn't have any stamps at hand, and planned to give it to Shuhui to post in the office.The next morning he specially sent him to Shuhui's office so that he could see Manzhen again. Manzhen hasn't come yet.Shijun took the letter out of his pocket, put it in front of Shuhui and said: Here, I forgot to hand it to you just now.Then lean on the desk and chat. Manzhen came and said: Good morning.She was wearing a light pink cheongsam with a very narrow black and white braided lace on the cuffs.Shi Jun didn't seem to have seen her dress before.She had a half-smile on her face, and she didn't look at him very much, as if he wasn't in the room.Yet her joy cannot be concealed.The overflowing joy of life has transformed into all kinds of amorous feelings in her body.When Shuhui saw her, he was startled, and said, "Why is Manzhen so beautiful today?"It was an unintentional remark, but Manzhen didn't know why, but he stopped and couldn't answer, and blushed.Shijun beside him also became nervous.Fortunately, Manzhen only paused for a moment, then smiled and said: Judging from your tone, it seems that I am always ugly.Shuhui smiled and said: Don't distort my meaning.Manzhen smiled and said: You obviously mean that.

The matter between the two of them was not something to hide from others, let alone Shuhui, but Shijun never told him.He didn't have the desire to talk about Manzhen with anyone, because he felt that people always said things that were too scratchy.But his psychology is so contradictory, and he hopes that others will know.Shuhui was with them all day long, yet he was so confused and didn't feel it at all.If love is blind, it seems that the person next to you is even more blind. In their factory, the personnel aspect is quite complicated.It was the Mr. Ye who held his birthday last time. He has always planted the party for personal gain, and many traces have fallen into the eyes of everyone.Relying on the fact that he is the factory manager's personal person, he is getting bolder and bolder, and those who refuse to join forces with him will naturally be squeezed out by him.Shijun works downstairs, so he is not very affected, unlike Shuhui who works upstairs, and has a relatively high position and heavy responsibilities.So Shuhui always wanted to leave.By chance, a friend introduced him to work in another factory, where he immediately resigned.When he was about to leave, Shijun saw him off, and there was also Manzhen.The period when the three of them eat together every day is about to come to an end.

When the three of them are together, there is a special atmosphere. Shijun likes to sit on the sidelines and listen to what Shuhui and Manzhen say to each other, and what they say is just superficial words, but Shijun is listening beside him. But deeply happy.That kind of happiness can only be compared with the mood of childhood.In fact, Shijun's childhood was not very happy, so when people think back to his childhood, he can only think back to the time when he and Uncle Hui Manzhen were together. Shijun's farewell party for Shuhui was at a well-known old Zhengxing restaurant. Later, I heard other colleagues say: You don't know how to order food, and you didn't eat the two most outstanding dishes.Shu Hui clamored to go again, Manzhen said: Then this time you treat me.Shuhui said: "Why do you want me to invite you?"This time it's your turn to farewell for me!The two pushed back and forth, and remained at loggerheads.When it was time to pay the bill, Shuhui said that he didn't bring any money, and Manzhen said, "Then I'll pay for you."Pay me back later.Shuhui never let go of this sentence.Walking out after eating, Shuhui bowed to Manzhen and said with a smile: Thank you!Thanks!Manzhen also bowed to him with a smile: Thank you!Thanks!Shijun beside him couldn't help laughing.

Shu Hui changed his job to another place, the factory was in Yangshupu, so he lived in the dormitory and only came home every weekend.One day, the Xu family received a letter addressed to Shu Hui, and he was not at home, so Mrs. Xu put the letter on his desk.Shijun saw it, but didn't pay attention. He happened to see the postmark of Nanjing on the envelope, but he was a little surprised, because when Shuhui went to Nanjing last time, he once said that he didn't have any acquaintances in Nanjing. He brought something to Mrs. Ling, who was also completely stranger to him.There was no signature on the envelope of this letter, only the inside details. Of course, Shijun would never guess that it was from Cuizhi.Although he and Cuizhi have known each other since childhood, they don't know her handwriting.His mother once tried to ask him to communicate with Cuizhi, but the result was unsuccessful.

When Shuhui came back on Saturday, Shijun had already forgotten about it, and didn't think to ask him.Shu Hui read the letter, the content of the letter was very simple, but said that she wanted to go to Shanghai to take the university entrance examination, and asked him to ask for two regulations for her.Shuhui thought in her heart that if Shijun asked, she would just say that it was written by Cuizhi, and it didn't matter. She wanted to ask someone to get the charter. Because it was inconvenient to ask Shijun to avoid suspicion, she asked him. It's also a natural thing.But Shijun didn't ask about it, and of course he didn't mention it.After a few days, I took the time to go to the two universities she designated to ask for two articles of association, and sent them to her with a letter attached.Her reply came quickly, but this time Shuhui took a long time to reply. The time interval was very long, and the letter was very short. Cuizhi did not write any more letters.In fact, since Shu Hui came back from Nanjing, he often thought of her.Thinking of her affection for him, he could only feel melancholy.

In the first month of the second year, Cuizhi sent another letter. This letter was left unopened on Shuhui’s desk. It had been almost a week. Shijun saw it every time he walked in and out. Postmark, I thought to myself, I didn't know that Shu Hui had such a friend in Nanjing.Or maybe it's a friend from Shanghai who just went to Nanjing recently.Ask him when he comes back.But after all, it has nothing to do with me, and I forgot again as soon as I turned my back.On Saturday, when Shijun was in the factory in the morning, someone called him. It turned out to be Yipeng, who had come to Shanghai.Ask him out to dinner.It happened that Shijun and Manzhen had already made an appointment to meet in a restaurant, so he said to Yipeng: I have already invited a friend to eat out, if you are happy, come together.Yipeng said: Boyfriend or girlfriend?Shijun said: It's a female colleague, not a girlfriend.Don't talk nonsense later, you will offend others.Yipeng said: Oh, female colleague.Is it your female staff?No wonder you stay in Shanghai and don't want to go back. I said, what are you busy with in Shanghai and you are so busy eating restaurants with Hua Vase?Hey hey, look, I won't say anything when I go back!Shijun was already very regretful at this time, he shouldn't have invited him to go with him, so he could only say: "Don't talk nonsense!"This Miss Gu is not that kind of person, you will know it when you see her.Yipeng said with a smile: Hey, Shijun, why don't you just ask Miss Gu to bring another girlfriend, otherwise I won't be lonely alone?Shijun frowned and said: "Why are you always talking nonsense, what do you think of others?"Yipeng smiled and said, "Okay, stop talking, don't take it seriously."

Although Yipeng was soft-spoken behind his back, and when he met Manzhen, he was still a gentleman and polite, but his attitude towards such self-reliant women was somewhat different from his attitude towards rich ladies.Manzhen didn't know, she thought this man was always so slippery.Shijun could see the sense of proportion and felt very angry. Yipeng drank two more glasses of wine, got a little tipsy, and suddenly said with a smile: "Amy remembered somehow, let's be a matchmaker for us!"Shijun smiled and said: Who is the matchmaker for?Yipeng said with a smile: Cuizhi and I.Shijun smiled and said: Oh, that's great!Nothing could be better!Yipeng hurriedly said: Uh, don't shout out loud, you don't know if it will work or not!He sighed slightly again with a smile, and said, "It's both Yiming and Amy, but I really don't want to get married!"When a person gets married, he loses his freedom, don't you think?Shijun smiled and said: Forget it, you should have someone take care of you!As he spoke, he patted him on the shoulder.Yipeng seemed to be very proud, and Shijun also felt very happy, but it was not out of selfishness, thinking that it would be best for Cuizhi to marry, so that his mother and sister-in-law would die.He didn't think of this layer.He has always been very happy, it seems that the whole world has changed, even Cuizhi, he thinks she is a very cute girl, Yipeng must be very happy to marry her.

Seeing that they were talking about these private matters, Manzhen didn't intervene, just smiled from the sidelines.After dinner, because his sister-in-law entrusted him to buy a piece of clothing, Shijun wanted to take this opportunity to give it to Yipeng to take back, so he asked Yipeng to go home with him to get it.Manzhen went back alone.Here, Shijun brought Yipeng to Xu's house. Because it was Saturday, Shuhui also came back in the afternoon, and he only arrived home not long ago. Seeing Yipeng coming was unexpected.Shuhui looked down on Yipeng the most, and thought he was very boring. Although he talked to him a few words, he was just lazy.Fortunately, Yipeng has no inferiority complex, so he never feels that others look down on him.

At that moment, Shijun took out the cloth material and handed it to him. Yipeng opened it and saw that it was a piece of tile-gray glittering flower silk, with small plum piles flashing out.When Yipeng saw it, he couldn't help but gasped, and said with a smile: "It's the same as Miss Gu's dress!"I'm thinking there, she's dressed like a little widow.It turned out that you sent her!Shijun was a little embarrassed, and said with a smile: Stop talking nonsense!Yipeng said with a smile: Then how could such a coincidence happen!Shijun said: "What's so strange about that, because my sister-in-law asked me to buy materials, and I didn't understand these things, so I asked Ms. Gu to go shopping with me that day, and she also bought one at the same time."Yipeng said with a smile: Then what else do you want?I have already seen that you have a good friendship.When did you get married?Shijun smiled and said: Probably your mind has always been full of marriage, so you talk about marriage every now and then.If you continue to make trouble, I will announce it to you!Yipeng hurriedly said: No, no, no!Shuhui laughed and said, "What, Yipeng is getting married?"Yipeng said: Listen to his nonsense!After talking and laughing a few more words, he got up and left.Shijun and Shuhui sent him out, but they saw snowflakes floating outside the door, and they didn't know when it started.

The two of them went back upstairs together. Because of Yipeng's teasing of him just now, saying that he and Manzhen are good friends, Shijun heard about it. He must be thinking about how they are such close friends, why they kept hiding it from him. Now it's blunt. , I feel very embarrassed.Shijun originally made an appointment with Manzhen today, and later he will go to her house to go to the movies together, but because Shuhui rarely comes back, it is not easy to leave as soon as they meet, so he can't help but sit down and prepare to talk for a while.When he had nothing to say, he told him that Yipeng might marry Cuizhi.In fact, this news is not an unexpected blow to Shuhui, because Shuhui saw Cuizhi's letter as soon as she came home today. She is engaged.But she didn't say who the object was. Shuhui always thought it was someone he didn't know, but he didn't think it was Yipeng.

She wrote to him, as if hoping that he would show something, but what could he do?He wasn't lacking in courage, but he felt the problem wasn't entirely on her family's side.He couldn't help thinking about her, she was used to enjoyment, she never knew what hardships and hardships were, if she was acting emotionally now, she would definitely regret it in the future.Maybe he is over-concerned, but he has a lot of ambition, so maybe he will encounter a stumbling block just as he is on the road? And now she is going to marry Yipeng.It would be fine if he married a better person, he wouldn't be so sad.He lay on the bed, turned his hands and put his hands under his head, and looked out the window silently, and there was heavy snow outside the window.Shijun smiled and said: Let's go to the movies together, shall we?Shuhui said: "It's snowing so hard, why go out?"As he said that, he simply shrank his feet and slept on the bed with his leather shoes attached. He dragged a quilt over his body and put it on his body.Mrs. Xu came into the room and washed the teacups that the guests had just used. Seeing Shuhui lying on the bed in broad daylight, she said, "Why are you lying down?"Are you uncomfortable?Shu Hui answered angrily: No.To say he was unwell was as if he were lovesick, and he was very angry. Mrs. Xu looked at his face, and then came over to touch his head, because she said: "You don't look like this, don't catch the cold, drink a glass of wine to relieve the cold, I'll bring it for you."Shuhui didn't say a word.Mrs. Xu fetched a bottle of wine from her own home made with mandarin oranges.Shu Hui said impatiently: "I told you there is nothing!"Just let me sleep for a while.Mrs. Xu said: "Okay, I'll leave it here and drink it as you like!"After saying that, he left in a fit of anger, walked to the door, and said, "Take off your shoes if you want to sleep, and sleep well for a while."Shuhui didn't answer either. After she left, he just sat up and took off his shoes. He was untying the shoelaces. When he looked up and saw the wine on the table, he poured a glass of wine to relieve his boredom.But the wine is in the stomach, and the matter is in the heart, there always seems to be a layer between, no matter how much wine you drink, you can't drown your heart.The thing in my heart wanted to be soaked and scalded with shochu, but I couldn't. Unknowingly, he drank one cup after another. Shijun went downstairs to make a phone call. He called Manzhen and asked her if she still wanted to go to the movies because of the snow.In the end, I gave up watching the movie, but I still had to go to her home to see her.When they made a phone call, they couldn't end it with just a few words. When he hung up the phone and came back upstairs, as soon as he entered the door, he could smell the smell of alcohol in the room. Run out of wine?Mrs. Xu was walking by the door, and she shouted to Shu Hui: "What's wrong with you today?"Let you drink a cup to avoid the cold, why do you drink it stupidly?I can't keep the wine every year, and I drink it up within a few months!Shuhui didn't pay any attention, and fell down on the bed with a flushed face. Seeing Shijun put on his coat and seemed to be going out again, he said, "You still want to go out?"Shijun smiled and said: I agreed to go to Manzhen's place.Seeing that he seemed a little shy, Shuhui remembered what Yipeng said to make fun of him and Manzhen, which must be true.Seeing him happily go out through the snow, Shu Hui suddenly felt a sense of desolation, turned over, covered his head and fell asleep. Shijun arrived at Manzhen's house, and the two chatted around the fire.The stove is a very small fire oil stove, which was originally used for cooking, but now it is moved into the room, where it is used to stew water and keep warm.Manzhen rubbed a match, and lit them one by one, just like lighting a small circle of small candles on a birthday cake. Since it was Saturday afternoon, her younger siblings were at home.Shijun is quite familiar with them now.Shijun never liked children. He used to live in his own home. Even though he had only one nephew, he often found it annoying. Manzhen's younger brothers and sisters were like this, but he had a good impression of them. The children ran like horses, running upstairs to downstairs.Dendenden rushed over, opened a sheet at the door of the room, and fled away again.Later they went to build a snowman in the alley, and the house suddenly fell silent.The kerosene stove has been burning for a long time, and the flame gradually turns into a beautiful blue. The blue fire is as blue as water. Shijun said: Manzhen, when will we get married?The last time I went back, my mother also said that she wanted me to get married early.Manzhen said: But I think it's better not to rely on family help.Shijun originally thought so too.In the past, he clashed with his father for the freedom of career choice, and went outside to do things. After a fight, he still asked his father to pay for him to beg his wife, which was a bit discouraged.Shijun said: But if we continue like this, how long will we have to wait?Manzhen said: Let's wait and see.Now my family needs me too.Shijun frowned and said: Your family is too tired, I can't see it.For example, after getting married, two people are better than one.Manzhen smiled and said: I am afraid of this.I don't want to push you in too.Shijun said: "Why?"Manzhen said: Your career is just beginning, supporting one family is already troublesome enough, but if you support two families, it will ruin your future.Shijun looked at her with a smile, and said: I know you are doing this for my own good, but I don't know why, but I hate you a little bit. She didn't say anything at that time, but when he kissed her, she asked in a very small voice: Do you still hate me?A pot of water was boiling on the stove, and they didn't know it.It was Mrs. Gu in the next room who heard the lid of the kettle gurgling under the heat, and she couldn't help shouting outside: Manzhen, is the water boiling?Open to make tea.Manzhen agreed, stood up quickly, brushed her hair in front of the mirror, then ran out to get tea, and made a cup of tea for her mother. Mrs. Gu was standing at the door of the room with her tea in her hand, sipping one sip, and said with a smile: "The tea sticks are standing, there must be visitors!"Manzhen pouted at Shijun with a smile, and said: Here, haven't you come already?What she said seemed to be too explicit, and Shijun felt a little embarrassed.Mrs. Gu took the boiling water to rinse the thermos, and Manzhen said: I'll rinse it.Mom sits here and talks.Mrs. Gu said: No, once you sit down, you won't be able to stand up.I have to cook again in a while.She strikes up a conversation and walks away. It was getting dark.Every evening, there is always a seller of dried mushrooms and tofu, who comes to this alley to sell.Must come every day.Now I hear that old voice again: Dougan!Spiced Mushroom Dried Tofu!Shijun laughed and said: This man is really rain or shine.Manzhen said: Well, there is never a day when you don't come.But his dried tofu is not very tasty.We ate it once. They listened in silence to the old voice fading away.The hour of the day passed away with that cry.This dried tofu seller is simply an old man of time.