i was my mistake

"Almost none, just pretend it's gone."

"That's still there." Ye Chen insisted.

"Okay, okay, let's take it as it is, let's develop the photos...then go home and drink water." Wan Qing rubbed her smoldering throat, "I'm exhausted..."

……

(three)

"This time it's over, let's not do this kind of thing, shall we? Last time."

"Whatever, I don't bother arguing with others if there is no need." Wan Qing yawned without a ladylike image, and wiped the dust on her trousers casually.

"Then just settle down and try to change our lives."

"Oh." Wan Qing didn't seem to be bothered arguing with him, so she just said lightly, "Just remember that good people are bullied, that's fine."

"what?"

"Good people deserve to be pointed at by guns, because others dare not bully ruthless and bad people, so they can only bully good people."

"Good people are not as bad as you said, right? According to what you said, our truth, kindness and beauty are gone."

"This is the truth of the world."

"What kind of truth is this, it's just a small piece you see." Ye Chen was not persuaded by Wan Qing, "You can't be blinded by one leaf."

"Hey, you've educated me now. Don't you know that I'm just you who walked through decades of life step by step? Do you really think I've never done this before? Naive!"

"Even if I'm naive, I still believe that there are still many good people in this world, and there are still many capable people above. If someone bullies a good person on the road, there will definitely be someone to help."

"Will you help?"

"Of course I will, punish the evil and promote the good, and act bravely in righteousness."

"Okay, okay, whatever you want." Wan Qing waved her hand, not wanting to continue talking to him, she took out the cigarette she had only smoked last time from her pocket, didn't light it, just put it in her mouth , as if getting used to its taste.

……

(four)

I ate dinner outside, because I was busy today, and I had to sell the leftovers at home—it was agreed to be collected at six o’clock tonight, so I had to rush there after eating, and I didn’t have time to cook by myself.

"Dad likes... likes uh..."

"He likes waist noodles." Wan Qing squinted at him, "You don't even know that?"

"Really? I think he likes quite a lot."

"This is what he likes the most." Wan Qing cleared her hoarse throat and took another big sip of water, "Go ahead and talk about it, I have a sore throat."

"It shouldn't be so loud, it hurts your throat...?"

"Why are you so much...cough huh—nonsense?" She glared at him, kicked his calf lightly with the back of her foot, and made him stand up quickly.

"Ah, Boss, I want a piece of pork noodles, a piece of pork liver noodles, eat here, and then I want a piece of kidney fried noodles, take it away."

"okay!"

……

3. Old stuff

(One)

Another autumn leaf fell outside the window, and the blue sky looked pale even at night.

This is the house where Wan Qing has lived for more than ten years, and she seems to have been here since she was born.

Although it is only a staff dormitory in name, it is a real home for her.

The mottled walls had peeled off some of the walls, and there were traces of my own childhood on them.

——Those messy graffiti, although I can't remember what kind of mood I drew, but when I saw it, I still felt a little nostalgic.

The autumn of 1996 was particularly bleak.

My father sat in his favorite chair, watching the furniture and scrap collectors remove what could be sold for money.

There was no expression on his face, and his cloudy eyes looked into the distance where he didn't know where.

Wan Qing squatted, ignoring the fact that her skirt was dragging on the ground, and the edge became a little black——she was carefully wiping the box in her hand, as if she was wiping the dust in her heart.

This is a wooden box for red wine, so exquisite that it doesn't look like it was produced more than ten years ago. After dusting off, the wood is even brand new as if it just left the factory.

——The brand name in English is the same as it was just printed.

She opened the box carefully, and there were nothing rare in it, just a few marbles, a few cards, and some odds and ends that were removed from nowhere.

In that era of poor supplies, this was her favorite toy that accompanied her through her childhood.

She raised the corners of her mouth slightly, shook her head lightly, closed the box again, and put it back in its original place, as if she didn't intend to take it away.

"Ah! Isn't this the toy box I had when I was a child? I searched for a long time but couldn't find it. Where did I find it?" Ye Chen who had just walked into the room was full of surprise.

"under the bed."

"It's actually placed under the bed, but I couldn't find it after looking for it for a long time..." Wan Qing couldn't help but sneer at the smile on his face, "There are some broken things inside, nothing unusual , you don’t want to take it back, do you?”

"Of course." He looked at her blankly, "Aren't you going to take it back? This is our childhood memory."

"So what, the things in the past are in the past, and they are no longer useful, just throw them away."

"...Is it necessary to find a meaning to do things in this world?" Ye Chen was a little dissatisfied, "Wan Qing, are we...really alone?"

"Maybe I'm not alone anymore." She waved her hands, stuffed her hands into the pockets of her skirt, and stood up slowly.

Ye Chen glanced at her skirt that was stained with dust on the ground, and slowly closed her mouth that was just opened, and the slightly sullen expression on her face became gentle.

It seems that because he didn't argue with her, she even looked back with some doubts.

"Ah."

"Okay, okay." On the contrary, the younger self patted her on the shoulder, "See if there is anything else you want to take back, we almost have to go back, right?"

"...you can see for yourself."

……

(two)

Everything that can be sold for money has been sold, except for the chair that my father sat on.

At his feet, there was a box of fried noodles with kidney flowers that had been eaten.

But when Wan Qing walked over, he still didn't react, as if he didn't eat the dinner just now.

"It's meaningless to be indulging in grief all day long." She seemed to be talking to herself, but she could clearly make her father hear clearly, "You can't escape the real reality by pretending to be crazy."

He still didn't move, and what his cloudy eyes seemed to see was a reality completely different from what she saw.

"Get up, I'm selling chairs." She snorted coldly, with a look of contempt for him, and a lot of dissatisfaction in her tone.

"Forget it if dad sits? Since he likes it, he can take it back..."

"There is no shortage of chairs at home." Wan Qing glared at Ye Chen, "And how do you want to take it back? It's a waste of energy."

"but……"

"Forget it, sell it. It's useless to keep these things. You can pay back the money after selling them."

Ye Chen scratched his head vigorously, and looked at his father, who looked like a walking corpse, as if asking for help.

He didn't say anything, just stood up silently and leaned against the wall beside him.

"Is it really for sale?"

"Sell." Wan Qing glanced at him and took the chair out.

Everything that was left in the house was sold off.

Everything seems to be back to when I first moved in.

Of course, Wan Qing has no memories of that time.

I just saw that my father's expression finally changed.

But just for a moment, the stagnant chaos was restored.

All the remaining old things were sold for a total of more than 300, which is quite a lot compared to the prices of this era.

But prices will rise rapidly soon. In this era of rising prices, the money in your hands will only become less and less valuable.

Fortunately, before that, the 300 yuan must have been used up.

"Wait a minute, I'll pack these old things!" Ye Chen was struggling to pack those old things into a woven bag.

"Waste of effort." She still evaluated indifferently.

"No matter what, we have to... take away some things that carry our memories." Ye Chen didn't get angry with her, but just raised his head and showed a flattering smile.

"Don't make that look, like a begging pug."

"Eh?" Ye Chen looked blank, not knowing what he did wrong.

"Pack up and go, with your old things and people."

"Who is the old man?"

"What do you think?" Wan Qing squinted at her father who was standing there in a daze.

……

(three)

Father descended the stairs slowly, very slowly, and his body was so stiff that he seemed unable to bend his knees.

Ye Chen walked behind, carrying two big bags in his hand.

Wan Qing stood coldly at the bottom of the stairs and looked back at her father.

In fact, he has just reached middle age, but his black hair has been mixed with a lot of gray hair.

The white hairs looked like dried rice noodles that had been broken into small pieces and were randomly poked on his scalp.

She took a deep breath, turned her face away and remained silent for a few seconds, then pressed her lips tightly, and supported her father.

"Walk slowly and watch out for the stairs."

But the father still didn't answer.

……

(four)

The street lights on the street are connected together, looking from a distance, they look like light strips hanging in the void.

They illuminated the front of themselves, but they couldn't reach the dark light pole supporting them—some lights were directly hung on the poles, and they didn't even have their own light poles.

There were weights hanging from the handlebars on both sides of the bike, and my father sat in the back seat, silent as a corpse.

Ye Chen pushed the cart slowly: "Ah, I really want to go home and take a shower soon."

"Ah."

"The night market is ahead, I've heard the sound!" He suddenly became excited again, perhaps looking forward to seeing some new things in the night market again.

The two walked slowly, but they still walked into the night market.

Walking in here, I immediately feel that the loneliness of the night has been dispelled, and life seems to have just begun from this moment.

A small stall has a bunch of toy dogs that don’t use batteries and can shake their heads for a long time as long as they are lightly touched. In the middle of the water basin is a toy fish that will continue to swim back and forth after the battery is installed.

Next to it is a small stall selling train toys. The locomotive and the warehouse behind it circle the small track over and over again, attracting the attention of many children.

Occasionally someone asks about the price, but after hearing it, they will leave immediately with their children.

Next to it is a tricycle with balloons.

There are always people who claim to have been soldiers for a few years and come to try it out, but they are quickly defeated by the bad guns that the boss deliberately adjusted.

In addition, the boss has a side job, which is the height and weight scale on the side.

After standing up and inserting coins, the measuring rod on the top will come down to automatically detect the height, and the place where you are standing is a weighing scale. Finally, the height and weight will be reported by voice, and a sheet with personal data will be spit out from it. small ticket.