The children of the Qiao family

Chapter 36

6
It’s really hot in the sky. It’s already thirty degrees Celsius in early summer. Just after a thunderstorm, a big sun came out. The heat on the ground was blown up by the raindrops the size of soybeans. The stagnant water reflected the sunlight brightly, like a broken mirror, pieces here and there.

Qiao Simei often thought afterwards that it was a lifelong regret that her love at first sight happened in such a damp season that made her heart grow hairy.

That day, Simei invited her little sisters to go shopping, and was blocked by a rain in the department store in Xinjiekou. The rain finally stopped. Not long after she walked out, Simei's skirt was picked up by a speeding car. The point was ruined, Simei was so angry that she forgot to pretend to be a lady, she scolded sharply at the shadow of the car going away, then turned her head to look for the little sisters again, but I don't know which shop they went into.

Simei muttered and walked forward, and then she saw a person.

a man.

A handsome young man.

The young man was wearing a summer military uniform, his face was tanned, his eyes were covered by the brim of his hat, and he could only see a well-defined chin with a small dimple in the middle, like a Westerner.

Qiao Simei has made up her mind since she was 14 years old that she will marry a man who is as handsome as a prince in the future. This girlhood dream fixed her thinking in a narrow pattern, as stubborn as if it was welded into her brain.

For some reason, whenever Qiao Simei imagined her future lover, the person in her dream was always wearing a green military uniform, with broad shoulders and thin waist, tall and strong.

The fiancé or husband is guarding the motherland at the frontier, while he is watching at home without complaint, just like the song sings: the military medal is half of you and half of me.Every year when the new year is approaching, I get a New Year picture presented by the government. It is tightly rolled up and has a long and thin strip. It is glued with a narrow strip of red paper. When I open it, there is a golden lettering on it: Glorious Military Dependents.This is the most beautiful and purest dream in the heart of Qiao Simei, a girl of that era.

The man stopped in front of a shop, took off his hat and fanned himself.

Qiao Simei called out: Qi Chenggang?Are you Qi Chenggang?
The young man looked at Qiao Simei, struggled to identify her for a while, and then laughed: Qiao Simei.

Simei walked over briskly, raised her face slightly to look at him.

As he got closer, the man's eyebrows became more and more handsome, almost a bit compelling, and Qiao Simei could almost hear the delicate and joyful voice of her heart blooming.

do you remember meSimei asked.

Oh, remember, you, not much.Qi Chenggang said.

But you have become so much, Simei slightly turned to her side, trying to hide the mud on half of her skirt, but Qi Chenggang didn't notice it.

He is a classmate of Qiao Simei's elementary school and junior high school.

However, at that time, Qiao Simei didn't pay attention to him at all.

At that time, Qi Chenggang was dirty and thin. Although he looked upright, his uprightness was completely covered by sloppy shabbiness, his grades were not very good, and he was a bit silly.At noon, his mother brought him a "cat sigh" to bring him meals. The mother and son wore the same old clothes and trousers, and had the same yellow, thin and depressed face. No one paid attention to him, and no little girl liked him. .

But in the third year of junior high school, Qi Chenggang began to grow taller, and his face became more and more handsome, like a radish pulled out of the mud. After washing the mud, he suddenly appeared fresh.It's a pity that the girls don't have enough time to appreciate his handsomeness because they graduated.

This difference is so many years.

Qiao Simei chatted softly with Qi Chenggang on the streets in the sweltering heat of June.

Are you a soldier?she asked.

Been a few years.

So where to serve as a soldier?Simei pointed her chin with her pointed index finger, tilted her head, and became naive involuntarily: I guess it's Northwest?Let's see how well you tan.

Qi Chenggang smiled when he heard the words, showing his white and strong teeth: No, in Tibet.

Qiao Simi's eyes widened, and she was really surprised this time: Are you on the border of the motherland?
Qi Chenggang said: There is still a little distance from the border, but the altitude is high, so I got tanned.

It's very dark, and I hate the creampie the most.Qiao Simi nodded and touched the ground with her feet.Suddenly raised his head again, blinked his eyes, asked many questions one after another, and began to recall the past in elementary school and junior high school.

She said brokenly, smiling from the bottom of her heart.

Qi Chenggang looked at her, listened to her, and didn't talk to her much.

The girl smiled so much that her gums were exposed, and Qi Chenggang felt a subtle joy and self-satisfaction in his heart.He knew exactly why the girl was suddenly so warm to him, as if there had never been a long, years-long indifference between them.

Qi Chenggang didn't start to grow until he was in high school, and his appearance became more and more handsome and upright every day, just like a piece of tea leaf, stretching out little by little in the warm water of time, becoming a complete verdant and attractive shape.He began to get pleasure from the opposite sex's, adoring, and scrutinizing eyes. The pleasure was like a dormant bug waking up in the warm sunshine, slowly crawling around him.After he became a soldier, he enjoyed less of this kind of happiness. There was almost no one of the opposite sex around him, and they were all half-children, with the same sweaty body and dark face as himself.

Qi Chenggang grinned.

The words were almost finished, but Simei was reluctant to say goodbye, she suddenly said: Hey, just wait for me.

Said she ran away quickly, Qi Chenggang looked at her brisk, jumping back in surprise.

But within three to two minutes, she ran back again, gasping for breath, and stuffed the thing she was pinching into his hand.

It is a newly bought pen.

Well, Simei said, here it is for you, let's write.Are you going back the day after tomorrow?
Yes, oh well.Qi Chenggang said.

You leave me a contact address, and I will leave one for you.

However, there is no paper.

Simei was very annoyed, why didn't she think about buying some letter paper just now.

Then we can write it by hand.

Simei took a newly purchased pen filled with ink and wrote down the address of the unit in Qi Chenggang's hand, and checked it several times.

Qi Chenggang looked at the girl holding his hand and carefully read the written words. He was a little strange and excited, and he also wrote the address in Simei's hand.

However, he said, there is only one letter from us in a month.

It doesn't matter, Simei suddenly became shy, so I'll write you two more letters, and you can save it up and read it slowly.

The two finally said goodbye to each other. Simei actually wanted to say that she would send him off the day after tomorrow, but she still didn't say anything.

It's not good to be too hot, right, Simei thought.

Simei clenched her hands tightly, as if she was holding all the happiness, luck and hope in her life from now on.

When Qi Chenggang returned home, it was too hot, so he washed his face, and when he thought of it with an "ouch", he realized that the two rows of small characters in the palm of his hand were all blurred.

Qi Chenggang let out a regretful "嗐".

But it doesn't matter, after he returned to the station at the end of his vacation, only one month later, the courier sent three letters from Qiao Simei.

The small pink envelope, pulled out to see, is a page with a very complicated folding method, and it is easy to unfold it to read, Simei wrote:

Qi Chenggang, hello.I really didn't expect to meet you on the street that day.I simply feel that it is the kindness of fate that allows our old classmates to meet again after such a long time.

In the following days, Qiao Simi wrote three letters to Qi Chenggang every month.

Qiao Simi had never written so many words in her entire life.

It took a long time for Qi Chenggang's first reply to arrive, so long that Simei was almost desperate.

Simei became thin and silent because of the long-awaited reply.

This kind of silence disappeared on the day when the letter was received, and Qiao Simei was that talkative and laughing girl again, who was so enthusiastic that she was a little bit thirteen o'clock.

Qi Chenggang's letter said:

When you receive this letter, it may have been a long time since I wrote to you, because the journey is far away and the conditions are not very good.

What's the matter?Simei thought, what is this?The ends of the earth are also willing to go with you!

Simei was moved to tears by her own thoughts.

Even though his letter didn't contain any overly intimate words, let alone any clues to express his feelings, Qiao Simei was satisfied.

As a matter of course, she regarded herself as Qi Chenggang's girlfriend, and also, his fiancee.

She told the little sisters in the hotel: I have a boyfriend, and my fiancé is a soldier guarding the frontier.

The little sister said: Is your brain broken?Now everyone is looking for a Chinese American, or a businessman, or even a college student who has the opportunity to go abroad.Are you looking for a Tibetan soldier?There is even a shortage of air.Are you acting in a movie?
Qiao Si whitened her eyes.No, no, she doesn't understand herself, Qiao Simei thought, such a handsome person, so good, what does it matter if the air is short?Even if there is only one breath of air left, he must save it to let her breathe.

Qiao Simi firmly believed in her choice.

Because those letters were all sent to her work unit, the brothers and sisters never found out about her.

Until one time, by accident, Er Qiang knew her secret.

Qiao Simei has been corresponding with Qi Chenggang for half a year.

She suddenly remembered that she didn't have a photo of Qi Chenggang in her hand. She missed him so much that she could hardly remember his appearance, which made her a little anxious. What did he look like?

Simei decided to ask Qi Chenggang for a photo, but before asking, she sent her own photo.

It was actually the first time Qiao Simi took a color photo. She was wearing white clothes and standing by the lake of Mochou, with the statue of Mochou girl behind her.

But Qi Chenggang's photo didn't come as expected, and he didn't mention the photo at all.

Simei thought, maybe the letter was lost.

The letter was indeed in Qi Chenggang's hands. Before he could take a closer look, his comrades jokingly came to snatch the photo, but Qi Chenggang didn't take it. The photo was blown away by the wind and drifted away, never to be found again.

The beautiful photo of Qiao Simi, a girl from Nanjing, lies forever and quietly in the valley of Tibet.In winter, it is covered with thick snow.

Qi Chenggang was embarrassed to mention this matter, and passed it vaguely.

Simei is anxious because of his unclear attitude.

It was the autumn of [-], and several people broke into Qi Weimin's house.

Qiao Qiqi had ignored Yang Lingzi for a long time, but it was actually Yang Lingzi who ignored him first.

After that night, they suddenly became estranged, and they didn't even want to look at each other.

They, a young couple, separated quietly.

In the evening class, during recess, Yang Lingzi sat far away from Qiao Qiqi, the little girl asked strangely: Where are you Qiqi?
Yang Lingzi said with a smile: Don't talk nonsense, which one is my Qiqi?I have no one, no one.My mother said, girls are in a hurry, and they have to choose carefully.

Qi Qi lowered his head and flicked through a book. Hearing Yang Lingzi's words, he felt relieved but sad for some reason.

These two incompatible feelings stained his young and handsome face with a strange and sad color. Yang Lingzi peeked at him and suddenly felt that he was still in love with Qi Qi.

But what if it weren't for that one night, and there was this awkward one in between that ruined everything.

If the lives of these two children can really intersect in this way, and then each stretch to their own future like a fork in the road, that would be fine.

Unfortunately not.

On the last day of summer vacation, Yang Lingzi's mother and several aunts broke into Qi Weimin's house, and asked sharply, "Where is Qiao Qiqi?"

Qi Qi was stunned by the situation.

The second child of the Qi family stepped forward and asked: Which one are you?
Lingzi's mother looked him up and down, and after confirming that he wasn't Qiao Qiqi, she stretched out her hand and pushed him away: I'll ask Qiao Qiqi to argue.

Qi Qi rubbed out from the corner.

Are you Qiao Qiqi?Suzuko's mother asked, surprised by the good looks of this child, his soft and smooth hair and sad black eyes like a person in a painting can't help but feel soft-hearted.

But Mama Lingzi knew that this was not the time to be soft-hearted, she took a step forward, and slapped Qiao Qiqi to the ground with an extremely sharp, well-measured, and well-aimed slap.

7
Lingzi's mother and several aunts surrounded Qiao Qiqi in a semicircle, Qiqi was dizzy, warm liquid slowly flowed down from her mouth and nose, and a group of flies flew into her ears buzzing.

Suzuko's mother asked: You did a good job!It doesn't matter that you are not yet a man, someone will kill you long ago!Say, what are you going to do?
Qiqi slowly got up from the ground, stood staggeringly, her face was blank, but in Lingzi's mother's eyes, she was just so indifferent.

Say it!Are you playing dead?Lingzi's mother slapped her again, Qiqi didn't hide, and slapped again, her cheeks were already swollen, showing him a very immature look.

Are you still not convinced?Are you reasonable?Ma Suzuko asked.

Only then did Qiqi know how to reply: I didn't...

The next half of the sentence was cut off by Ling Zi's mother's slap again, this time the slap was on Qi Qi's head.

The second son of the Qi family really couldn't stand it anymore. After all, he was a child who grew up in his own family. He was slapped and slapped like a pillow. The woman with shifted brows and eyes pushed hard, causing her to stagger two steps.

Suzuko's mother jumped up violently: Are you still reasonable?Let me tell you, it really pissed us off, and we broke up after a while. I will call the police and arrest you little red guy to eat in prison.

The second son of the Qi family heard something was wrong, and asked: If you have something to say, why beat someone?
What to say?A woman younger than Suzuko's mother stepped forward: What can I say?Let Qiao Qiqi have the ability to stand up and take care of the matter, don't be a coward, dare to do it or not!
What the hell did he do?the second child asked.

You ask him!You ask him!Suzuko's mother's fingers pointed directly at the tip of Qiqi's nose.

The second child of the Qi family turned around and asked Qi Qi: What are you doing?

Qi Qi looked at his second brother blankly, vaguely, he knew that probably that incident had been brought to light.

A child who has done something wrong, can't find an excuse, and stands there, terrified as if the end of the world is coming.

What did he do wrong?You tell me, we'll deal with it, see if it's an apology or...

What are you paying for?How to pay!Suzuko's mother finally couldn't hold it anymore, she sat down on the ground, patted her legs and wailed: My daughter was ruined by him all her life!You little bastard who can't die!
The second child of the Qi family finally knew that something was wrong.

Seeing her sister crying, Lingzi's aunt also burst into tears: He made our Lingzi's belly bigger!You say how old you are, and you are a disaster before your hair grows!
The second child of the Qi family turned around and asked Qiqi: Did you do it?Yes or no?
Qiqi only knew that she looked at her second brother with her dark eyes wide open, the eyeballs were soaked with tears, and it became darker and darker, making people's hearts sink.

I don't know... Qiqi said.

This time, even the second child of the Qi family slapped him: Look at what you did!go to hell!

Qi Qi looked at the second cousin who was furious, and then at Lingzi's mother and aunts, then fell straight backwards, and fell heavily on the ground.

The second child of the Qi family had no choice but to find his mother.

The second aunt and Suzuko's mother and aunts sat at the negotiating table.

The second aunt said: How about I compensate you some money and take the little girl to kill the child.

Suzuko's mother cried: "If you can do it, you have to say it?"The piece of meat was removed a long time ago, but the doctor said that the position of our daughter's baby is not good, and the operation is very dangerous, and it may be fatal!

The second aunt was in trouble, and after thinking for a while, she said: Actually, to tell you the truth, this child Qiao Qiqi was not born to me. You can hit anything.In fact, he is my sister's child. I feel sorry for my sister's bad luck. He died after giving birth. This child, alas, is also a child. I feel sorry for him as a child without a mother, so I brought him up to such a big age.Now that something like this has happened, our Qi family really can't bear the responsibility.Why don't you go to their old Qiao's house to argue?There is also an elder brother in charge of his family. His elder brother still works in the TV station. He is an intellectual and will not be unreasonable.He lives not far away, and his father is also there. Although he is not in Nanjing now, it is not impossible for him to come back after thousands of miles.

(End of this chapter)