The Twelve Years: Song of the Unsung Friends

After dark, she returned to the alley and saw that only the kitchen was turned on in the apartment.

Usually when she and Fu Dongwen are not there, Tan Qingxiang turns off all the lights upstairs and takes Peide around between the stove and the dining table. Wan An likes to move a small bench in the daytime and watch him drying clothes and bedding on the roof. When it gets dark, he cleans up the roof, and he will go back to his room on the third floor and listen to the radio. Turn on the lights.

Sure enough, as she had guessed, as soon as she entered the door, she could hear radio singing echoing in the stairwell. At the door of the kitchen, there were two figures, Tan Qingxiang and Peide sitting opposite each other at the dining table, chatting softly.

Two newspapers were spread on the kitchen table, and a stack of anatomical sketches were thrown on top.

"Is this yours?" Shen Xi became interested and saw a cross-sectional sketch of the human brain at the top.

Previously, medical anatomy was not popular in Europe. After the pandemic began this year, Europeans began systematic medical anatomy research to find the cause. She didn't expect Tan Qingxiang to dabble on this so early.

"It was left by Dong Ming," Tan Qingxiang said. "He painted it himself when he was in England."

Shen Xi sat down and watched one by one.

Excluding the cross section of the brain, the rest are sketches of the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels. Full color.

"You and Si Ye were classmates? Why did you go to Yale again?"

Cardiology is developing fastest in Europe, and it makes no sense to go to the United States for a PhD.

Tan Qingxiang was silent for a while, and said, "As soon as Dongfang left that year, I just wanted to leave Beijing and go to any place, but I can't go back to London. London is the place where Dongfang and I know each other."

It was because of the Fourth Master, she knew everything.

Tan Qingxiang said: "Later, I communicated with Dong Wen and knew that he had a bad heart, so I thought that I should take care of him for Dong Wen, so he returned after graduation."

Tan Qingxiang seemed unwilling to talk any more, got up and put on an apron and said, "I have reserved dinner for you, so you can clean up the table."

"Is it rice cake?" This is Tan Qingxiang's best dish.

"I want to be beautiful." Tan Qingxiang opened the steamer and poured soup.

Okay, soup dumplings are also delicious.

After the meal, Shen Xi waited until after eleven o'clock, and Fu Dongwen did not see anyone.

After taking a shower, she reads in bed.

This bedroom is more and more like the Fu family’s old house. Wan'an is a nostalgic. According to his impression, he changed the lamp today and the vase tomorrow. By now, he has hung up the bed nets...

The door was suddenly pushed open.

She immediately hugged the pillow, slid down, and pretended to sleep on the bed.

The sound of footsteps in the ears was very quiet, and the bed net was lifted. The brass hook hit the head of the bed and clinked.

At the end of the nose, there is a fragrance.

"If you want to sleep, the ribs and rice cake will be gone." He said softly.

Shen Xi immediately opened his eyes and saw him squatting down beside the bed with a plate of pork ribs rice cake in his right hand. When he was pleasantly surprised, he turned over and sat upright and took the plate of chopsticks in his hand: "Did you buy it specially?"

"I heard that you want to eat it at night, so I bought it," he said. "It's also a coincidence. My fourth brother loves this, and you love it too."

"The best thing to eat in Shanghai is it," Shen Xi said quietly. "Sometimes there are hawkers downstairs who sell late night snacks. The fried ones are the best, even better than the ones in the restaurant."

Fu Tongwen smiled and tapped her forehead: "It's even more coincidental, he said so too."

The two chatted with a smile, sharing this pork ribs rice cake, and when they finished eating, they went to the bathroom to brush their teeth and wash their faces together, as if they couldn't bear to separate for a moment. When he came back, Fu Dongwen didn't plan to sleep either, and chatted softly with her leaning on the bedside.

Slowly, I talked to Mr. Yang who had been invited by the Fu family in the past. It was originally intended to let the husband teach the young masters to learn foreign language, but later discovered that these young masters can neither be offended nor disciplined. In the end, they became a living decoration of the Fu family. "Foreign Myna". Fu Dongwen had a lot of contacts with adults from consulates of various countries since he was a child, and learned early. Later, he learned the foreign language of Si Ye. After Si Ye left, he taught Wu Ye again.

"The textbooks of the late Qing Dynasty are very strange. There are twelve grids on a page, three horizontally and four vertically," he gestured with his index finger in his palm. "Each grid teaches a sentence. The first line in the grid is Chinese and the second line is English. The third line is the Chinese translation."

"Chinese translation?" Shen Xi learned English in New York and has never seen such a textbook.

"For an analogy," he said, "TomorrowIgiveyou answer, this sentence in the textbook is "Tomorrow Six, Om, Jifu, You, Om Five History"."

"Huh?" Shen Xi couldn't help but laugh, "It doesn't look like this."

He sighed: "Later, I wrote all the textbooks by myself."

"It's really hard for you," Shen Xi laughed, "being a brother and a teacher of foreign language."

"Little four and little five are considered to be upright." He said.

Before long, he said again: "Yang Yang is also striving, studying hard, and never inferior to men."

She was blushing with praise: "My second brother used to say that he would spend 90,000 miles on the road to Deyun and have been exposed to the snow and fireflies for 20 years."

Fu Dongwen said softly "Oh?"

"My second brother also likes to listen to drama," she looked at him under the wall light, "the temperament is very similar to yours."

"Second son of the Shen family," he whispered softly, "it's a pity that I missed it."

"Before leaving home, he was the last I saw." She added.

At that time, next to the carriage, the second brother told her not to cry, and told her that from now on she would live alone in the world, and that she should keep homesick in her heart, forget her surname, her home, and her family Brother and younger sister.

The young Shen Xi didn't know what happened to the Shen family, and he was ignorant of what the second brother said.

Later, whenever she thought of that night, she couldn't figure out why the second brother knew that the disaster was imminent, but didn't run away with her?

"Spare ribs rice cake...camel wonton." The young man selling late-night snacks outside the window yelled, as if for the occasion, he came tonight. She closed her heart and glanced at the grandfather clock. It was two o'clock.

Yelling from far to near, and then gradually away. When she returned to her senses, Fu Dongwen had already put her palm on her back and closed her eyes.

about to sleep? Sleep so fast?

Shen Xi withdrew his hand and quietly hooked up the bed tent, so that the night wind could blow into the tent. Even though it's not midsummer, you still need to ventilate to sleep. Qiuhuo is also very powerful. If you don't pay attention, you will be sweaty.

The mosquitoes buzzed. After listening for a while, she was afraid of mosquitoes biting him, so she hurriedly found the folding fan, opened it gently, and fanned it down.

The breeze was blowing, and Fu Dongwen was more and more comfortable being taken care of by her. He was a noble boy who lay heavily on the lawn and ate the tripods. He laid his hand on her thigh lazily, tapping the beat.

I don't know which fold in my heart.

...

As soon as the days flew to early September, the flu spread throughout the country.

The Times reported in the village where the flu broke out: “In a village, there are nine houses and nine families, with ten people and nine deaths. The poorest households are the majority, and the crying is correspondingly terrible.” The coffins were sold out, and the corpses waiting to be loaded were not counted. It can only be kept at home temporarily.

In response to the epidemic, the Red Cross established temporary hospitals around Shanghai. The doctors at Shen Xi Hospital took turns to visit the free clinic. Shen Xi was also one of them, so he was naturally busy.

By the end of the day, it was the seven or seven of Fu Dongwen's father.

Fu Dongwen’s father is the head of the Fu family, and the funeral is to be done in a big way.

It's just that now the Fu family has been defeated, and his sons are living in Shanghai, and they can't follow the rules of their ancestors. In the end, Fu Dongwen had the idea and arranged for the Fu family who came to Shanghai to go to Xuyuan to listen to the opera on July 7th.

She thought she was going, and she also prepared clothes in advance.

But later Fu Tongwen said that he was not close to his family, and the marriage between the two had not been made public. Naturally, Shen Xi could not appear on such an occasion. Shen Xi didn't realize there was anything wrong with his words, so on this day, he personally prepared a suit and shirt for him. Send him out.

"Even if you are listening to a one-night show, don't hold on to it." She held the glass with both hands, sipped the tea, stretched out her hand, and naturally straightened his tie. "It's best to sleep in secret for a while."

This is a silly remark, Fu Dongwen smiled and lightly scratched the bridge of her nose.

"Don't worry," Tan Qingxiang said behind him, "the third grandma has me here."

It's just listening to the scene, what's not to worry about.

Shen Xi didn't care about Tan Qingxiang's words, so naturally he didn't notice the eye contact between the two of them.

Just before leaving, the middle-aged man guarding the door came in and whispered to Fu Dongwen. Fu Tongwen frowned: "Did you stop?" "Don't dare to stop."

"What's the matter?" Shen Xi asked anxiously.

"My mother is here, outside the door," he whispered, "I want to see you."

"Now?" She was completely out of the situation.

When the Fu family were all gathered in the theater, his mother came to this small alley and wanted to see herself? Shen Xi couldn't understand this logic, but he definitely couldn't avoid it. Fu Dongwen knew that he couldn't hide, so he let the door open, and he helped the old lady into the apartment himself. He asked all his servants to wait outside the door, and helped his mother to the sofa in the living room on the first floor. After Shen Xi entered the house, he closed the door.

Shen Xi was going to send him out, wearing only his daily clothes and standing quietly beside the sofa.

"Miss Shen," the old lady beckoned to her, "Come, come to me."

Still called "Miss Shen"?

Shen Xi was held by the old lady and sat down next to her.

"Your marriage should also be put on the agenda," the old lady smiled slightly, "Don't mention it in Dong language, my mother will do it for him."

For a moment of surprise, Shen Xi, Fu Dongwen shook his head slightly, suggesting that she had concealed the fact of marriage first.

"Well, this matter..." She paused and said with a smile, "We are also discussing it."

"That's good, that's good."

The old lady took off the jade bracelet from her wrist and put it directly on her wrist. She smiled all the time, but she tried hard with her hands and insisted on not allowing her to dodge.

Shen Xi felt the strength of the old lady, so he did not refuse.

"This is my dowry when I married into the Fu's family. I will give you a meeting gift," the old lady said with comfort and joy when she saw that she didn't dodge, "It's not a betrothal gift, it's just a gift from my old mother to my future daughter-in-law."

"Thank you old lady."

She regretted as soon as she finished speaking, as if her words were thin.

It's just that she has never learned how to be a daughter-in-law, how to talk to her mother-in-law.

The old lady didn't care about her words.

Fu Dongwen said on the side: "If my mother just wants to see her, I can take her to the mansion tomorrow. Today is July 7th, and Fu's parents are all gathered in Xuyuan, so it's not easy to delay."

"I'm going," the old lady said slowly, "Miss Shen, let's go together. It's a rare opportunity to see the Fu family reunion."

Shen Xi said nothing, pretending to look at him hesitantly.

Since Fu Dongwen said she should not go, there is a reason why it is not good to go. But regardless of whether the old lady's words are true or not, at least it means that she is good for her, and wants her to show up in public at Fu's house and give her a name.

She had no stand to refute, so she threw the stubbornness to him.

"It's better not to take her," Fu Tongwen said. "After all, I didn't marry into Fu's family, because my name is not right."

The old lady shook her head: "Miss Shen is already famous in her mother's eyes."

The mother and son are at odds with each other.

Fu Tongwen was silent for a while, and said to Shen Xi indifferently: "Go and change into plain clothes. Just follow, don't talk too much."

Shen Xi knew that he was pretending to be indifferent and didn't say much, so he went upstairs.

Mother and son are left in the living room, but there is no communication.

Fu Dongwen was silent, standing in front of the window.

He expected all the emergencies, but he didn't expect his mother would come forward and take Shen Xi to Xu Yuan.

After the death of his father, the head of the Fu family should naturally belong to the uncle of the Fu family. Therefore, Fu Dongwen knew that the eldest brother would definitely appear in Xuyuan tonight. He arranged the finale tonight, waiting for his eldest brother.

If Shen Xi goes or does not go, there will be no impact.

But Fu Dongwen always wanted to be more careful, and it would be best for her to avoid such scenes. But his mother was too persistent, and the reason was very good. If he kept arguing, he would appear guilty...

I can only let her go.

"There are many rooms in the mansion, and the place is spacious," the old lady interrupted his thoughts and asked him, "Why live here? I wronged Miss Shen." "Ms. Shen and I are not accustomed to being served by many people. It is too restrictive. "He replied.

It was suffocatingly quiet again.

The heart of a mother and child are not connected, and they can't find a topic after seeing each other for a long time.

Soon, Fu Dongwen heard the footsteps of Shen Xi coming downstairs, opened the door, and called the maid to take the old lady out.

He had originally arranged four cars, plus the two when the old lady came, a total of six black cars drove off Xiafei Road and crossed by oncoming trams.

There was thunder on the road, which was a sign of rain, but when the convoy arrived at Xuyuan, there was no raindrops.

Today's Xu Yuan was booked by Fu Dongwen, and he did not pick up individual guests all night, so the grand occasion of the last visit was naturally gone. The Ming opera did not start, but inexplicably gave Shen Xi an illusion of loneliness and romantic dispersal.

Their motorcade stopped outside the main entrance, and Fu Dongwen asked the old lady to **** the old lady into the garden.

As soon as the old lady left, someone immediately came to Fu Dongwen and whispered: "San Ye, are you going to close the garden?"

He nodded.

The man stopped talking, and retreated out of the iron fence. From the outside, it was locked.

From this moment on, outside the brick walls of Xu Yuan, every ten meters there will be members of the Green Gang to watch the night, all with guns. No one can get in or out.

Shen Xi felt uneasy when he saw the scene of falling locks.

Suddenly, a blue and white lightning tore through the dark clouds, illuminating the bluestone road in front of me.

The middle-aged people on both sides held up the ink-colored umbrellas, and she and Fu Dongwen did not take a few steps. There were already showers of raindrops falling on the umbrella cloth, like a hammer beating a drum, the movement was loud and the raindrops were also loud.

Fu Dongwen walked in silence until he entered the theater, raising his eyes to the sky.

"What am I going to do later? Say something?"

He shook his head and whispered: "Speak less and watch the changes."

"it is good."

There were no other people outside, and it was very deserted. The scene was littered with lights and laughed constantly.

The men sitting under the stage are still the same old ones many years ago, in long gowns and satin. Women are also old-fashioned gowns. She glanced over, as if she had returned to the theater where the birthday banquet was back then, where Xu Yuan's usual appearance was.

When they arrived, the Fu family was surrounded by older generations.

When everyone saw Fu Dongwen, they were silent for a moment.

The two of them are very different from the men and women here. A gentleman in a dark suit and a lady in a one-piece dress seem to have added a bright color to the late Qing painting scroll, which is very abrupt and unsuitable.

"Dong Wen," the old man with white beard saw them and immediately called him, "You are here."

Uncle Fu is a fancy, and he is the third child of the Fu family who is responsible for the funeral. Everyone understands this account. Seeing Fu San, who is truly powerful, I feel enthusiastic and greet him one after another.

The younger generations in the family were all urged to come up to share with his third brother and third uncle.

Fu Dongwen smiled at the corner of his mouth, and after having dealt with it hastily, he leisurely moved his right finger up the stairs and said to the uncle Fu in the crowd: "Brother, you and my brother went upstairs."

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Hahahaha said that it must be a relatively new reader.

When I serialized beautiful human bones, I started out in more than a dozen chapters hahahahaha. The plot needs the plot.

ps. I have studied this sentence in English for a long time, and it is a bit different from now, but it is on the photo of the English textbook in the late Qing Dynasty. I have compared both Chinese and English. I guess? Is there a difference between the grammar a hundred years ago and the present? ? Shrugged, looking blank hahaha