Fool Qi

Chapter 31
When Du Yuan came home, Ah Qi had fallen asleep on the sofa, still spitting bubbles.

Obviously tired.

Du Yuan brought a blanket to cover him.

Sitting on the edge of the sofa, he looked around the old house where he had lived in for many years, thinking that it was the Chinese New Year, and the house had to be cleaned.He brought a bucket of water and began to wipe the windows, wash the stools, and sweep the walls... He patiently cleaned every corner, every floor tile, and even the corners of every table.

If the ceiling wasn't too high, he really wanted to climb up and wipe it.

There was only one room, and he didn't move.

That was his father's room.

Standing in the living room, looking at the room, he felt that his father's voice and smile were still there, and he really didn't want to move the tables and stools in that room.But he knew in his heart that time and dust would bury it all.

He finally went into his father's room.

Taking the key returned by Sister Li, he opened the closet.

At a glance, I saw the box containing the peony bottle.

He had seen his father take the box before, and knew what was in it, so he carefully carried it out.

The lock is still the same lock, still bright, and I don't know how many times my father has touched it.

Du Yuan didn't open the lock, he hugged the box, buried his head against it, and cried in a low voice.

The relics of the old man, every inch is full of tears.

After a while, he put away the box, arranged his father's clothes, and cleaned up the inside and outside of the room with tears in his eyes.

……

New Year's Eve is here.

The street was much more lively, full of voices and pitch black, like crucian carp crossing a river.

Du Yuan took Ah Qi and walked forward cautiously.When he was a child, his favorite thing was to follow behind his father, hold his hand, and go shopping for New Year's goods everywhere.

At that time, there were a lot of delicious food on both sides of the road. In order to attract customers, the hawkers would always let passers-by taste it for free.The father just grabbed a handful and put it in his hand, and waited until the peddler's face was in pain like cutting flesh, and then he readily weighed a catty or two.

The hawkers turned from anger to joy, laughing and boasting that the children are cute.

Du Yuan can't remember what his father said, but he still can't forget the sweet and sour words.

It was a tasteful memory.

Looking at Ah Qi beside him, he couldn't help imitating his father's action, grabbing the black sesame candy and stuffing it into Ah Qi's hand.

Ah Qi took it with a smile, bit it down and swallowed it.

Du Yuan smiled and asked the peddler to weigh two catties.

Keep going.

In front is a stall selling Spring Festival couplets.

Red and red copybooks, one on top of the other, are neatly placed.An old man, wearing presbyopic glasses and holding a yellow brush in his hand, is writing Spring Festival couplets selflessly.The characters are round and round, and the strokes at the end of the hook are full of strength, which looks vigorous and magnificent.Obviously practiced for many years.

Du Yuan already liked calligraphy, so he stood by the booth, refusing to leave for a long time.

"That's a good word!"

After watching for a long time, he couldn't help but sigh.

The old man stopped writing and carefully put it on the shelf beside him.Glancing at Du Yuan, he said, "Congratulations, congratulations. I haven't written for a long time. I took advantage of the Chinese New Year and came here to show my hands. I'll make you laugh."

Du Yuan pulled Ah Qi to the other side of the table, pointed to the wet ink and said: "Your writing is really good. Don't worry about the lack of strokes, it takes a lot of effort to write well. I can't help but look at what you wrote. Itchy hands."

The old man made a "head" and continued: "Everyone is rushing to make money these days. Few people are willing to spend time on it. It's rare that you like calligraphy at such a young age. Come, here's this for you. You come Write a copy and let me see."

"Isn't that good? It's a waste of writing. You still have to sell it for money." Du Yuan said.

The old man laughed and said, "I'm old, and I'm idle at home. I'm not short of these two money, so don't worry, just come and write."

Du Yuan couldn't shirk it, so he had to take the pen.

"Ah Qi, don't wander around." Du Yuan put down the sesame candy on the table, and pulled Ah Qi inside.

Ah Qi licked her fingers and stood quietly.

Only then did Du Yuan pick up his pen, and began to write seriously on the two blank red stickers that the old man had given him.

When the pen and ink fell on the paper, all he had in mind was the pen in his hand.

Write down as much as you can.

He didn't take a deep breath until the last word was finished.

The old man picked up the copybook, looked at it for a long time, and kept shouting "good, good, good"!
"Your calligraphy looks very powerful. Who did you learn it from?"

the old man asked.

"My dad!" Du Yuan said proudly.

"Not bad, not bad, I accept this post. If you don't mind, you can pick any Spring Festival couplets, and I will replace them with you." Holding the copybook, the old man couldn't put it down, and kept nodding his head: "Young people are awesome."

Du Yuan touched his head in embarrassment.

Just about to say a few words modestly, when I turned around, I found that Ah Qi was gone.

"Where's my brother?" Du Yuan asked anxiously.

The old man was numb. He was also engrossed just now, so he didn't notice Ah Qi.

"Ah Qi! Ah Qi!" Du Yuan pushed aside the walking crowd and walked forward quickly.

After walking for only 2 minutes, Ah Qi was sitting on the ground crying, with a tricycle parked next to him, and oranges scattered all over the place.

A group of people are picking up in a hurry.

Du Yuan hurried over, pulled Ah Qi up, and patted Ah Qi's clothes clean.

It is estimated that Ah Qi crashed into a car and knocked off the oranges on other people's cars.

Du Yuan also bent down to pick it up.

It's good to have more people. After a while, I put all the oranges back into the bag and put them in the car.

A 30-year-old man bowed slightly to the helper and nodded, saying: "Thank you, I thank you all."

Du Yuan thought that that person should be the owner of the orange, and he was so strong, he would definitely trouble Ah Qi later.

He took the initiative to walk over and said, "Sorry, my brother has caused you trouble."

The smiling face of the car owner selling oranges disappeared in an instant, and his face sank. He pointed at Ah Qi and said, "I didn't mean you. Look at him. There are so many people here, and you don't care. It's fine if you hit my orange. Get out of the car, and someone else is injured, you must not settle accounts with me."

Du Yuan accompanied him with a smiling face: "Yes, yes. I just bought Spring Festival couplets there and didn't notice him. I'm really sorry."

The owner of the car waved his hand and said, "Forget it, it's fine if nothing happens. I'm still in a hurry to grab a good booth, so let's go." Then, he stepped into the car with both feet.

"Okay, thank you." After Du Yuan finished speaking, he turned around and walked back.

"Wait!" The car owner shouted from behind.

Du Yuan turned his head, but saw the owner got out of the car, and took out a bag from the car to put some oranges.

"Hey, I see that he wants to eat it. Here are the oranges for you. Just treat it as my first business today!" The car owner put the oranges in Du Yuan's hands.

Du Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then quickly came back to his senses, reached out and took out his wallet, and said, "How much is it? I'll just treat it as if I bought it from you."

The owner of the car stopped and went back: "Good luck, good start. Just accept it." After speaking, he drove away regardless of Du Yuan's reaction.

Du Yuan hugged the orange, not knowing what to say.

After a while, I took Ah Qi back to the Spring Festival couplet booth and picked out a few couplets.

The old man didn't dare to keep him, told him to take care of Ah Qi, and let him go away with a sigh.

Du Yuan thanked him a few words, walked out of the stall, and conveniently put the Spring Festival couplets and oranges into a big bag.

There are still many things to buy.

The two walked together and ate together!

Suddenly, there was a long shout in front: "Firecrackers are set off..."

People dispersed.

Then, a person upstairs poked his head out, holding incense in his hand, and lit the long firecrackers hanging beside the building.

Crackling, ringing non-stop.

After a while, the sound of firecrackers disappeared.

The ground was covered with red firecracker paper, and there was a faint smell of sulfur in the slight wind.

Ah Qi excitedly grabbed the firecracker paper and laughed.

Seeing Ah Qi's happy look, Du Yuan secretly encouraged him: the days to come will definitely be as prosperous as these firecrackers.

(End of this chapter)