"Yes, we met the chairman''s aunt..." I looked at Lao Li in confusion and said, "Uncle Li, what''s the matter with you?"
The sudden change of Lao Li makes me feel very strange.
Lao Li suddenly held out his hand and grabbed my wrist. The grip was firm and strong.
Lao Li''s hand holding my wrist was shaking all the time. It was shaking badly.
I didn''t try to break free. Ren Lao Li held my wrist and looked at Lao Li with wide eyes. He was very surprised. What happened to Comrade Li? How could a chairman''s aunt make him so impolite? Isn''t it a South Korean billionaire? As for it?
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. Looking at Lao Li, I called out in a calm tone as much as possible: "Uncle Li -"
my call seemed to remind Lao Li of something. He released my hand in a panic, his eyes were a little confused, his lips were shaking, and then he began to smoke, and his fingers were shaking
Although I seemed very calm at this time, I was shocked. Why did Lao Li, who had always been calm, feel so impolite when he heard that I mentioned seeing the chairman''s aunt? Why on earth?
Intuition tells me that there must be something in it.
But I know nothing about the secret. Although I am very curious at this time, I can''t ask Lao Li.
Lao Li was smoking hard, mouthfuls after mouthfuls. His facial muscles twitched from time to time, and his fingers were shaking
It can be seen that at this time, his heart was extremely restless, and he seemed to be greatly shocked and stimulated.
It seems that he came to me for stimulation today.
It seemed to stimulate his desire and fear.
I took a drink from my glass and looked directly at Lao Li.
Lao Li also took up his glass, dried up, and then put it down, his mouth twitching from time to time
I didn''t speak. I picked up the bottle and poured it for him. He began to smoke again
After a while, Lao Li seemed to be a little quiet. He took a deep breath and took a long breath. Then he looked at me and gave me a sad smile: "Xiaoyi, I was very impolite just now, didn''t I?"
"Yes I said, look at Lao Li.
"Do you know why?" Lao Li said.
"I don''t know!" I said.
"In fact, you know that I didn''t come by you by chance today. You know that I have a purpose in asking you out for dinner, don''t you?" Lao Li said again.
"Yes I said.
"Do you know why I came to invite you to dinner?" Lao Li said.
"I don''t know!" I said.
"Want to know?" Lao Li said.
"Do you want to tell me?" I said.
Lao Li stopped talking and looked at me quietly with a deep melancholy in his eyes.
I looked at Lao Li quietly. Although my eyes were calm, my heart was extremely curious.
Lao Li then looked out of the window, looking out of the window at the heavy autumn night.
I don''t know when, outside began to rain, autumn rain pattering underground, raindrops hit the glass, make a slight sound.
"It''s raining." Lao Li murmured, his eyes were heavy, and his eyes seemed to have memories of the past
"Yes, it''s raining." I said, light a cigarette and smoke slowly.
Lao Li was silent and seemed to fall into a long memory
I was also silent, with ignorant curiosity and expectation.
After a while, Lao Li turned around and finally said, "Xiaoyi, I''m going to invite you to dinner tonight. My main purpose is to know if you''ve met the chairman''s aunt Jin Jingze when you''re traveling to Korea."
"Oh..." I frowned and looked at Lao Li.
"Before you go to Korea, Qiu Tong told me that in addition to the itinerary arranged by the travel agency, you may also visit Jin Jingze, President of today media, and visit today media Hearing this news, I began to pay attention to your trip to Korea, so as soon as you came back, I found time to come to you. " Lao Li said.
"You focus on our trip to Korea because of the chairman''s aunt, not the others, right?" I said.
"Yes." Lao Li nodded and his voice trembled.
"Why?" Finally, I couldn''t help looking at Lao Li: "Uncle Li, do you know the chairman''s aunt? You and her What''s the origin of this? "
Lao Li didn''t answer my question directly. After a moment''s silence, he said, "ever since I saw the brochure of today''s media in Qiutong''s hand, I began to pay attention to Jin Jingze''s chairman''s aunt I keep that album all the time. I often open it to see it. "
I looked at Lao Li, did not speak, but there was some excitement and tension in my heart, and there was expectation. It seemed that Lao Li was going to solve a secret that had settled in his heart for many years for me.
Lao Li was silent again, smoking silently and looking out of the window.Look at me. He doesn''t talk.
"The first time I saw her picture in the album, I immediately recognized her, who had been buried in my heart for many years The one who has haunted me for more than 30 years. " Lao Li said slowly.
My heart beat so fast that I seemed to realize something, but I didn''t seem to know anything. I looked straight at Lao Li.
Lao Li suddenly a smile, smile some desolate and miserable, and a bit guilty and sorry.
"Uncle Li, are you going to continue to talk?" I said.
Lao Li looked at me: "Xiaoyi, do you want to hear me tell a story?"
"Think -" I nodded.
"This story has been buried in my heart. For decades, only I have tasted it over and over, and no one has ever shared it with me." Lao Li said.
"It''s very painful to have been repressed in my heart. If you say it, you may be free and released." I encourage Lao Li.
Lao Li grinned bitterly: "Liberation Release It''s impossible However, although it is impossible, I would like to tell you this story You''ve been the only one to hear that story for more than 30 years. "
"Why would you like to tell me?" I said.
"Because..." Lao Li hesitated for a moment and then said, "maybe some things don''t have to have a reason If you have to, I can only say that you and I are predestined friends with our family Or it''s because of my trust in you, or it''s because you may be the one to hear this story
Lao Li''s reason seems reasonable. I nodded: "well Uncle Li, tell me. I''ll listen carefully. "
"The story is very simple, the plot is even bloody, but it''s a real story The story takes place in Dandong in the late 1970s, along the Yalu River on the border between China and North Korea. " Lao Li''s voice was in a trance.
By the Yalu River? Dandong? As soon as I heard these two names, I was very sensitive and couldn''t help pulling them tightly.
I watched Lao Li intently and listened to him go on.
"It was a crazy age, it was an age of blood boiling, it was an age of ideals melting into heaven, it was an age of blind worship In those days, a group of educated youths from the city lived in a small mountain village 30 kilometers north of Dandong by the Yalu River.
"They used to be red guards who were domineering in the city. After enough trouble, they were assigned to this remote border village by a great leader to receive education from the poor and the lower middle peasants, and to transform their outlook on life, world outlook and values in the vast and promising world of the countryside
"They work and live together with the members of the production team in the village every day, rising at sunrise and returning at sunset, practicing their loyalty and love to the great leader with their own labor and sweat
"In the past few years, the hard living conditions and boring living environment have made these students who were full of fantasy and ideals gradually calm down. Their confusion and confusion about the future have filled their hearts with agitation and uneasiness. They don''t know where their future is, they don''t know what their future will be, and they are not willing to die in this small mountain village, However, they can''t do anything except for the long-term waiting and loneliness
"In this group of educated youth, there is an unknown ordinary youth. He is the most silent one in this group. The reason why he is silent is because of his background. His grandfather is a capitalist and his parents are rotten old nine. He was beaten as a rightist and went to the cowshed. Because of his background, he is not qualified to be equal to other educated youth. He is the ugly duckling in this group and does the most work The dirtiest and most tiring work is often ridiculed and ridiculed by everyone
"In this group, he has no intimate friends, no good partners, and no one is willing to talk to him. He is arranged to herd cattle by the Yalu River every day So, on the quiet side of the Yalu River, he keeps company with Lao Niu every day. When he''s free, he talks to Lao Niu. Although Lao Niu has no reaction, he still wants to say it, because his heart is so depressed that he hopes that someone can listen to him
"Later, as the country put things right, more and more educated youth began to return to the city through various channels. Some of them even got through their joints and were recommended to go to university. But there was no one who could have this opportunity, because he had no relationship, no background and no backstage. Watching the educated youth around him leave one after another, his heart became more and more silent. He knew that maybe he would be the last to leave The one I opened may never leave here again. "
Listening to Lao Li''s narration, my heart can''t help but rise and fall.
"At noon one summer day, he was herding cattle by the Yalu River, lying on the grass by the river, staring at the blue sky in a daze. On the other side of the river was the socialist country. There were children playing in the water by the river. On the river not far from him, there was a small fishing boat fishing. The fisherman was a girl in red, which was across the country
"He lies on the grass in a daze, and the educated youth in the village are almost gone, but he has not any hope to stay here, herding cattle here every day He was thinking that he might stay here all his life, and he would never get out of this small mountain village"I was thinking in despair. Suddenly, the weather suddenly changed and a strong wind blew. Then I heard a cry for help from the river. He got up and saw that the boat had been overturned by the wind and the girl in red had fallen into the river. Obviously, she was not good at water and was struggling in the water to call for help
"He got up in a hurry. He dived into the river and swam to the drowning man. With good water quality, he lifted the girl to the surface of the water and swam back. The girl had been choked and fainted. He put the girl''s body flat and gave her artificial respiration After some efforts, the girl was finally saved. At this time, he realized that the girl was so handsome and beautiful.
"The Korean girl can speak fluent Chinese. After a simple conversation, she learned that although she was from that country, she had relatives on Jiang side. When she was a child, she often went to Jiang side with her family, so she spoke Chinese very well. She has just graduated from high school and is idle at home. At ordinary times, her father is the one who comes to the river to fish for the collective. But today, her father is not well, but the steward still wants her father to work. She has no choice but to fish instead of her father. Unexpectedly, she falls into the water in a strong wind. Fortunately, he helps her... "
Lao Li''s voice was slow and heavy. I watched him intently.