National Tide 1980

Washington time in the United States is thirteen hours behind the capital of China.

Therefore, every traveler from the United States to the Republic will inevitably face the problem of jet lag.

This is the same for Mi Xiaoran and Zhao Hanyu who came back in economy class, or for the mother and son who were on the same flight as them and were traveling in first class.

So they all had a hard time in the first day or two after returning to the capital.

Even if you yawn during the day, you have to endure it as long as possible. If you really can't endure it, you have to take a nap, and you have to set the alarm clock to control the time so as not to affect your rest at night.

In comparison, the elderly's adaptability is of course worse after changing environments.

In addition, after all, the old American lady had been gone for decades. Nowadays, even the environment and service model of the Beijing hotel have changed.

Although the hardware of the Beijing Hotel is very good, even the faucets are gilded, and except that the heating cannot adjust the temperature, other aspects are no worse than those in the United States, but the old lady is still not used to living there.

So don't look at the next day, Mi Xiaoran took Zhao Hanyu and rode the family bicycle in high spirits to see Tiananmen Square and visit the Forbidden City.

The mother and son, who had returned from visiting the United States, still couldn't go out.

The most they could do was wander around the external store of the Capital Hotel, and then wander around the ballroom where the old lady had attended a dance when she was young.

Look at the mirrors arranged according to the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, and finally leave a shadow on the red carpet on the large steps, that's it.

In fact, they had one day more rest than the two young men, and the old lady was almost adjusted.

In addition, during the two days she stayed in the Beijing Hotel, there was no one to chat with, and the old lady felt really depressed.

For this reason, even if we know that January 28 is New Year's Eve, there won't be too many people on the streets of Beijing. Most businesses will have to close today. There are even no taxis waiting in front of hotels in Beijing.

On the morning of this day, the old lady felt that she couldn't stay any longer.

I can't wait to get out for some air and wander around the streets and alleys.

So he urged his son to call the taxi driver Xiao Hao who left his phone number.

This is not surprising. After all, Jingcheng Hotel has special attributes and its requirements for communicating with guests are too strict.

The old lady looked at the young and beautiful service girls. Although she liked them very much and wanted to chat with these young people, she found it difficult to do so.

Those young ladies are all bound by rules and disciplines and must treat her with utmost respect.

It was because she wanted to get close to her, so she used a standard Beijing accent and repeatedly explained that she was also from Beijing, but she had just lived in the United States and now she was back.

But the ladies just smiled at her and stood far in front of and behind her, watching her at all times.

Serve her attentively.

Not to mention the restaurant lady, even the doorman who opened the door and the ladies standing in front of the elevator were all polite to her and kept a respectful distance from her.

Her elegance and elegance have aroused the envy of some people. When she eats a meal, she can be served by several people around her.

But her American passport was like an invisible pair of scissors, cutting her off from the people in her hometown.

This can't help but make people feel a little sad and regretful.

Fortunately, the taxi driver I met when I first arrived in Beijing was still a bit old-fashioned.

Although the Chinese New Year is coming today, after asking the old lady that she was only using the car during the day, the driver Xiao Hao drove over quickly.

The mother and son, who had already packed up neatly, got into his car.

Xiao Hao immediately started chatting with his humorous words and enthusiastically asked the old lady how her days were.

And took them to the place that the old lady had been thinking about day and night for thirty years, and the place she wanted to go the most in her heart - Weijia Hutong.

And when the old lady sitting in the taxi found that the buildings and trees on the street were becoming more and more familiar to her, she couldn't help but feel a deep joy in her heart.

Decades of expectations, decades of crazy dreams.

Human feelings cherish the soil, and birds miss their hometown.

It was only now that she felt that she had truly returned to the capital.

…………

Some people say that there are always many inexplicable and wonderful moments in a person's life.

This kind of moment is destined to happen on a certain day, a certain hour, a certain second, but its decisive impact transcends time.

This is absolutely true.

On New Year's Eve in 1987, Kang Shude encountered such an important moment.

In fact, just as the old American lady was taking her son in a taxi, they were approaching Weijia Hutong step by step.

Kang Shude, who was in the Weijia Hutong, was also cramming. He took Xiaotao, who had come to help early in the morning, to hang up couplets and the word "blessing" at the gate of the Majia Garden with stools and pulp.

Of course, Kang Shude originally didn't want to go through such trouble.

He thought that if he wanted to stick it on the small courtyard door in the garden, that would be enough.

As long as he could hear the banging of fireworks on the streets of the capital, he would feel that the world was peaceful and everyone was happy.

This is the garden I found with great difficulty.

He did not repair the outer courtyard wall, and the sealed Ma's gate was not restored to its original appearance.

Even the gate of the "Institute of Ancient and Modern Culture", which was later taken back to the theater and the place where the Jiang family originally lived, was locked with an iron chain, just to deliberately keep a low profile.

He knew very well that the area around this courtyard was not an ordinary place. There were more than a dozen alleys nearby, where many big shots lived.

If you don't know how to behave with your tail between your legs, you may not be able to tell when it will be in someone's eyes, and that is called disaster.

But Xiao Tao didn't think so.

From a young man's point of view, of course he likes excitement and good looks.

I think that even if there are no lanterns and decorations outside the courtyard gate, we still have to post a word "Fu" to invite a door god, otherwise it won't be like celebrating the New Year.

He urged Kang Shude to decorate his appearance no matter what.

He claimed that Ning Weimin was probably bringing his Japanese fiancée back. This deserted appearance made his Japanese friends look disgraceful.

Originally, the courtyard wall was old enough, and it reminded me of the opening of the TV series "Liao Zhai".

If this wasn't a bit festive, it would really make people think it was a place where ghosts and fox fairies lived.

In the end, these words convinced the old man.

Of course, it's not that Ning Weimin really has such a great reputation.

In fact, no matter how much he is valued by outsiders, to the master, the old man, he is just a rat going to the Golden Palace.

The real reason was that Kang Shude suddenly realized that on this special day, every household had to do this.

If you don't follow the crowd, you will look dazzling.

Thinking about it again, whether it is Zhang Dashao, Xiao Tao, or Luo Guangliang, they have all helped him a lot in tidying up the garden recently.

Moreover, these people came here today to wait for Ning Weimin and help him wash away his dust.

Originally we were just trying to be happy, so we have to take care of everyone's emotions.

Okay, let’s do it then.

Just like that, the old man followed suit and changed his mind.

So next, Kang Shude personally found red paper, poured ink, and wrote a couplet and several words of blessing.

Then he grabbed Xiaotao's young man and asked him to make paste, and then he took his belongings and followed him.

This is how the father and son "framed the facade" in front of the big iron gate of Ma's Garden.

Otherwise, this big iron gate, which is the only one that leads to Ma's garden, must be clean, extremely cold, and not even a little red.

Moreover, it was impossible for Kang Shude himself to come out. There was no reason to stand outside the courtyard gate and in the alley.

In the end, things in this world are just such coincidences.

It was exactly when Kang Shude and Xiao Tao, the father and son, worked together to paste the Spring Festival couplets and the word "Fu" on the door one by one, which represented their best wishes for the coming year.

The taxi driver, Xiao Hao, also followed the instructions of the old American lady.

I drove slowly along the old site of Ma's Garden, from the theater to the westernmost motor house.

Little by little, step by step, they were looking for the entrance to Ma's garden.

But because they couldn't get in, driver Xiao Hao slowly brought the mother and son here.

Finally, the taxi stopped just behind Kang Shude and Xiao Tao across the alley.

Looking from the car, we can only see the backs of the old and the young.

"Master, let me ask you, who are the people living in this courtyard now?"

Not long after, the driver, Xiao Hao, opened the door and walked out. Assigned by the old lady in the car, he came to inquire about the relevant situation.

But as everyone knows, these words met Kang Shude's objection.

What the old man didn't like the most was someone asking about his garden, so he didn't even look at the driver.

Not even interested in knowing what he wanted to do, he replied dryly, "This is not a home. Go away now."

Leave people alone.

If you are a thin-skinned person who can understand a few colors, you should stop at this point.

Leave when it's time to leave to avoid embarrassment to each other.

However, I didn't expect that the driver, Xiao Hao, was quite persistent.

Probably because he thought it was not easy for the old lady to come here, he felt that he had to let the old lady come into the courtyard to have a look. He could not let the old lady down like he did last time when he was looking for bean juice.

Xiao Hao took out the cigarette again, handed it to Kang Shude, and continued to try to trap the smoke.

"Master, are you the janitor of your unit? What kind of unit are you in? It looks like you are on vacation, right?"

Kang Shude was really unhappy at this time and could only refuse more clearly.

"It's an important place for the company, so I can't comment. Why don't you take a look at where this place is? You shouldn't have asked less."

However, the old man didn't expect that he would actually come across a piece of brown candy. The driver couldn't even see the cigarette.

He rolled his eyes and just took out the money.

"Master, I'll tell you the truth, this customer I brought here is from the United States. He just wants to go in and have a look. Look, let's do this. I'll give you two dollars and treat it as yours. You have to pay the ticket. You can be accommodating. For the Chinese New Year, you can use the money to buy two bottles of wine..."

This time Kang Shude was really angry, and his angular face showed uncontrollable displeasure.

He turned around and broke away the driver's hand that was pushing money into his hand.

"You don't understand me, do you? I've told you so much, why aren't you done yet!"

And when he was so angry, of course Xiao Tao wouldn't do it anymore. Could he let the old man still be angry at home?

Immediately he stopped posting Spring Festival couplets, got off the stool, and bumped into the driver with his arms crossed.

This kid is a bastard with a great body.

Without even getting started, he used his chest to push Xiao Hao forward a big step.

At this moment, the driver, Xiao Hao, was stunned.

However, Xiao Tao refused to give up, and then scolded the old man for

"Grandson, you don't understand human language, do you? Just leave if I ask you to leave, what nonsense. For two dollars, I will change it to a steel hammer and smash you to death, believe it or not! This place is a park! Get out of here!"

But just when the driver was disgraced and looking at the end of the road in embarrassment because he was asking for trouble and had no words to explain, the back door of the taxi opened.

"If you have something to say, don't do anything!"

An old American lady wearing a mink coat got out of the car and walked out. Accompanied by her son, she kept shouting stop.

"What did you say? It's such a big deal, and it's the Chinese New Year, so why bother!"

This time, both Kang Shude and Xiao Tao were attracted.

The old American lady came over and made eye contact with Kang Shude.

Then, the most unexpected moment in life happened!

On the spot, not only Kang Shude was stunned, but the old American lady was also completely motionless.

Immediately afterwards, her body swayed and she almost fell.

Fortunately, the old lady's son was with me, otherwise I might have really fallen this time.

But even so, the son was frightened and kept shouting, "Mom, Mom, what's wrong with you?"

But what was even more surprising was that the old lady calmed down and actually ignored her son. Instead, with trembling lips, she called out Kang Shude's last name.

"Xiaokang...Xiaokang...is...is it you?"

Similarly, Kang Shude's reaction and the words in his mouth were even more shocking.

"Miss Fourth...are you Miss Fourth?"

This was so good that everyone present was dizzy and stunned.

Okay? Why is this starting to get into a quarrel, and you actually find out that the other person is an acquaintance?

Especially the driver, Xiao Hao, and the attendant, Xiao Tao, both knew that this old lady was American.

How did she meet Kang Shude?

The scene in front of me is really like a "story", it is quite bizarre. But this is clearly happening around us, happening right now...

But no matter how hard they think about it, they won't really understand how the two parties involved feel at this moment.

Because in the eyes of the old American lady, Kang Shude was not a bad old man with wrinkles on his face.

He stood there as energetic as a poplar tree, upright and steady.

Just like that handsome young man back then, standing at the gate of Ma's garden to see her off.

This made her heart beat wildly, and a kind of excitement and heat that only young people could feel suddenly surged throughout her body.

There was something cold on his face, it was tears.

It had been countless years, and she had not shed tears again.

The experiences in the future will change again and again, and the situations in the future will change again and again. After spring and autumn, time takes away everything, leaving only the dullness.

She thought she would never cry again, but she didn't expect that she would cry again today...

As for Kang Shude, his mind went blank, and what he saw in his eyes was not an old lady, but the fourth young lady of the Jiang family who was in her prime.

Although the years have worn away her face, which is like a red plum covered with snow, and her eyes are like autumn water with waves, her dark hair has already seen silver strands.

But his demeanor is even better, and he is still so elegant.

This made Kang Shude's mind flood with past events, and he could only stare at him for a long time.

This is a kind of understanding that is different from the past, a feeling that once spanned the sea.

After a while, two lines of cold tears fell down his face.

At this moment, the two of them seemed to have the same song in their hearts, and the same song "Dream in the Dream" sounded.

...The sky is facing Shanshan, and the moon is shining brightly. The trees are desolate, the cicadas are swallowing the leaves, the cold leaves are falling, and the eyes are looking at each other with tears. Li Chou and Li Chou meet You Huan today. (End of chapter)