nursery rhymes

Chapter 24 Is it Black or White?

The smell of mutton kebabs diffused into the nostrils with the wind, evoking a gurgle from the hungry belly.

Zhuge Yang picked up the milk tea and took a sip, and there was a gurgling sound coming from the straw that echoed that of his belly.Unknowingly, the two of them sat facing each other without saying a word, but the milk tea had already reached the bottom.

"Here you go, ten meat skewers, two chicken wings, bean curd, coriander and roasted garlic." The boss, wearing a red apron with Haitian soy sauce, placed an iron plate on the table.

"Thank you." Zhuge Yang said.

The boss smiled and asked the two of them: "Would you like some draft beer?"

Zhuge Yang spoke almost at the same time as Yao Xin. "No thanks." "Thank you for a glass of draft beer."

"Okay, a cup of draft beer, coming soon." The boss ran quickly as if he was afraid that Yao Xin would regret it.

The two stared at the kebabs on the table in silence for a while.

In the end, Zhuge Yang spoke first. "We haven't seen each other for ten years. It seems that he has a good drinking habit."

"Tonight, you should have a lot to ask me. I'm sorry, I didn't tell the truth at the police station that day. I have to drink some wine to tell you today." Yao Xin picked up a bunch of roasted garlic, looked at it and laughed.

Zhuge Yang also looked at the bunch of roasted garlic, knowing what she was thinking of, and waited quietly to hear it.

The boss put a cup of draft beer on the table and went back to grilling skewers.Yao Xin picked it up and drank half the glass, and then burped without any image.

"Zhuge Yang, do you still remember. During the holiday before the college entrance examination, you took me to eat barbecue. I saw roasted garlic on the menu at that time, so what did I say?"

"You said that garlic can still be sold roasted, only fools spend money to eat garlic, and eat meat if they want to eat."

"After so many years, you still remember it quite clearly." Yao Xin pinched the tail of the garlic and pulled it, and the whole garlic skin fell off.She put the garlic clove in her mouth and chewed it, enjoying it with her eyes closed.

"So, have you forgotten all about it? Ideals, promises, and original intentions."

Yao Xin opened his eyes and put down the uneaten roasted garlic in his hand.She put her arms on the table and leaned forward. "Zhuge Yang, haven't you always wanted to know why I didn't go to college or put on a police uniform? Now, I'll tell you."

"You should know that my parents are away from home all year round and have not come back to see me and grandma for several years. On the eve of the college entrance examination, grandma became seriously ill, and they came back with a three-year-old brother."

"After the college entrance examination, my grandma also passed away. I didn't think about anything at that time, and didn't even check my scores. But my parents went out to work again. Not only did they not care about my future development prospects, but they also took away my three-year-old brother. Leave it to me to take care of."

"When they come back, my brother will go to school at the age of six. They will enroll him in school and find my in-laws."

"You asked me why I couldn't put on the police uniform. Tell me, did I have a choice?"

Yao Xin picked up the cup and drank the remaining half cup of beer.When she said these words, her expression was relaxed and her tone was soothing, as if she was telling a story that had nothing to do with her.

Before Zhuge Yang could say anything, she spoke again. "My husband, Cao Gang, is not good to me at all. After drinking, he either beats me or the children."

At this point, the chicken gizzard skewers and grilled steamed bun slices they asked for were also served.Xu Shi boss heard a few words and glanced at Yao Xin several times with strange eyes.

Yao Xin waited for the boss who brought the kebabs to walk away before whispering. "My son is only six months old. He is white, fat, pink and tender. When I gave birth to him at home, I didn't go to the hospital. Cao Gang was not at home and couldn't get through the phone, so no one took me there. My child and I managed to survive, but he was drunk and fell to death. A six-month-old child, he fell to death."

Zhuge Yang crushed the empty milk tea cup in his hand with a click. "Why didn't you call the police? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

What made Zhuge Yang even more angry was that Yao Xin only told the truth after he learned from the fruit shop that she had been domestically abused.

Yao Xindun drank the cup in his hand and asked the boss to serve another glass of draft beer.

After she took a few sips of the second glass of beer, she explained with foam at the corner of her mouth: "What's the use of calling the police? My son was born at home, he didn't register, and no one would know if he died. Call the police, Cao We just got in, what should Cao Ying do? Yingying still has to go to school and live. She can't have a murderer's father."

Zhuge Yang's brows twitched twice, and he stretched out his hand to hold down Yao Xin's attempt to drink. "Do you really think about your children?"

"Isn't that the truth? When Cao comes in, Yingying is affected. I'm just thinking about Yingying." Yao Xin broke away and drank a few more sips of beer. "Then tell me, where is Cao Gang? Where has he gone?"

"After the child fell to his death, he left and never came back. Perhaps, he was killed by Shang Lili. I wanted to call the police to find Cao Gang. The reason why I hesitated was because I was afraid that you would find out that the child was killed by Cao Gang. Something. If you ask me, why not ask Shang Lili."

"Why did Shang Lili kill Cao Gang?"

"Then why did Shang Lili kill the other two people?"

Zhuge Yang and Yao Xin looked at each other, neither dodged.

The plastic cup of milk tea made a clicking sound, and Zhuge Yang asked her word for word: "I went to the supermarket today and saw that the freezer at your door has been replaced with a new one?"

Yao Xin looked away, picked up a bunch of chicken gizzards and ate them.He said vaguely: "It turns out that the one is broken and is not cooling."

"Oh, it's not refrigerated. By the way, I called the police for something at around ten o'clock in the evening on April 4th, and I happened to see you riding an electric bike and carrying a bag of black things to the beach. In the middle of the night, you left Cao Ying alone. What were you doing at home?"

After Yao Xin finished chewing a bunch of chicken gizzards, he picked up a bunch of tofu skin and coriander to eat. "You're talking about that. I've been to the beach for several nights. The freezer is broken and won't cool down, and the pork inside is smelly. I thought not to waste it, so I took it to the beach to make a nest and catch crabs."

Maybe because he drank a lot of wine, Yao Xin spoke very quickly.

"Have you caught it?"

"What are you grabbing? It's all white and blind, not a single crab."

The two of them didn't speak anymore, and they were silent.

Zhuge Yang ate a few skewers like a fool, but he didn't care at all about what he ate.

The old classmate sitting across from him told the truth about the disappearance of Cao Gang and his child with the help of wine.She explained everything very logically.

Looking at Yao Xin who took the last sip of his second cup of draft beer, Zhuge Yang put down the iron pick in his hand. "Yao Xin, have you ever visited grandma's grave over the years?"

Yao Xin's eyelashes trembled. "In our side, girls are not qualified to visit their ancestors' graves. That's why my parents hid and insisted on having a son."

"I remember you once said that part of the reason why you wanted to go to the police academy came from your grandma."

Yao Xin looked at the night sky in the distance with blurred eyes, blew out a breath of alcohol from his mouth, and smiled. "Yes, the baggage where grandma hid the money was stolen by a thief, and more than 1000 yuan was gone. I patted my chest and said that I would wear a police uniform and catch all the thieves." Yao Xin withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhuge Yang. , the tone changed. "But Zhuge Yang, do you know that the 1000 yuan was not stolen by a thief?"

"Who is that?"

"My aunt took it."

Zhuge Yang tapped his fingertips on the table. "If you don't ask for it, it's just stealing."

"But my grandma doesn't want to pursue it, so she just gave it to my aunt as a flower." The hazy white mist in Yao Xin's eyes seemed to disperse.Under the illumination of the light, tiny spots of light shone.

"My aunt took the money to perform surgery on the child who broke his arm. She didn't let grandma know because she was afraid that grandma would be frightened when she heard the news about the child's broken arm. Do you think it was right or wrong for my aunt to steal the money? ?”

Zhuge Yang stared at Yao Xin's eyes without saying a word.

Yao Xin threw his head back and laughed, tears of laughter squeezing out of his eyes.She held her stomach to stop laughing, and continued: "When I was a child, I thought the world was black and white. When I grew up, I realized that it was just like that." She looked really drunk.

Yao Xin stood up unsteadily, pointed to the boss who was busy grilling skewers, and said the last words to Zhuge Yang: You pay the bill.

She just walked left and right in an S shape, returned to the supermarket door, took out her key and opened the door.

Zhuge Yang sat there and looked at her. He didn't look away until she opened the door and walked in.

(End of this chapter)