Text/Bo Bonnie
Source/Reader Magazine, Issue 14, 2018
I have a quirk: I especially love to talk to strangers.
I don't like to take the subway very much, because it is not convenient to chat, and it is much better to take a taxi.
After the sharing economy became popular, I was happier - the probability of taking a "hitchhiker" to meet "human quality" was greater.
A few days ago, I met a handsome guy, "shun" on my way back, I heard a "croaking" noise coming from him.
When waiting for the red light, the handsome man took out a small cylinder from his arms with great pity, and with a thumb, poured out a grasshopper from it.
It was already a big winter, and the handsome man pulled a small piece of cabbage to feed the grasshoppers while listening to Guo Degang's cross-talk.
The two of us listened to the little half-out together, and I felt like I was really in Beijing.
The handsome man told me that he didn't have any hobbies, he liked to listen to crosstalk, raise some flowers, birds and grass worms, or a "foodie", and the food in old Beijing loved.
His girlfriend is also a "foodie".
They went to high school together, and at that time, they brought lunch boxes every day, she only brought vermicelli cabbage, he brought fried fish and beef stew, and he got his girlfriend.
Image source: Panorama Vision
Beijing is a huge container, the individual is too small, even if the riveting is strong, want to smash a sound, often still silent, let people feel that life is not easy.
For example, on rainy and snowy days, you may not even find a car to go home.
I remember one snowy night last winter, when heavy snow was falling in the sky and the whistles of vehicles on the ground sounded.
Calling a car, waiting for a car, tossing and turning for almost an hour, freezing and hungry, and a bunch of things that can't be dealt with, I am irritable, but the owner of the car who "shun" me is happy and talks very warmly.
He is in his forties and says that there is water in the car, charging lines, and small snacks, and he is not afraid of blocking, "We don't block the heart."
He chatted with me all the way, witty, and without exaggeration, I was like a spring breeze.
It is said that when Beijing is the most congested, you run out of the car to buy lamb kebabs, bake it, and the car is still squatting steadily.
That day, I simply ran down and bought a few buns.
The uncle opened the door without hurry, got out of the car and dusted the snow on the roof of the car.
When I came back, the long dragon did not move at all, and the uncle smiled, that leisurely energy, let people relax.
I turned on the computer and took care of a few urgent matters first.
The way home, normal, only 40 minutes, that day walked for nearly 3 hours.
Fortunately, thanks to the uncle, it didn't feel like there was really any delay.
It turns out that traffic jams can really not be blocked.
The saddest part of the road is when love is lost.
Like everyone who has lost love, during that time, I didn't want to do anything, I just wanted to lie in bed.
However, there is always work that has to be faced, there is always something that must be done.
Early that morning, I forced myself into the car, but I couldn't stop my emotions and tears.
"Shun" My owner is a great uncle, he handed me a tissue and asked me a few words.
I didn't say a few words, and I couldn't say any more.
Uncle opened the car window, a little cool breeze came in, and then he reassured me in a serious tone: "Girl, don't cry, it's not worth it." Every bit of life is precious and cannot be wasted. ”
Uncle Also said, "I have two girls, both of whom are pure Beijing big girls." Beijing big girl, that is not squinting, not ashamed, squeezing out the grandfather's strength between the teeth. When you come to Beijing, you have to go with the flow. The southern girl's gentleness had to be put away, and she wanted to take out the wild spirit of the Beijing big girl. ”
I can't remember exactly what this uncle looked like, but I remember what he said.
Strangely, after being forcibly beaten by him with "chicken blood", I felt an inexplicable comfort.
Sobbing, I pulled out my little notebook and wrote down these golden sentences.
Sometimes, strangers are the best psychologists.
Not because of how professional he is, but because he happens to show up at the moment you need it most.
The longest stretch I remember was when I came home for the Chinese New Year this year.
The old cat was sick and could not stay in Beijing. I was not at ease with the plane consignment, and I was not allowed to bring it on the train.
The friend came up with an idea: "See if there is anyone driving home by yourself, you rub one." ”
I really met a "post-90s" couple.
My cat and I sat in the back seat of the car, which was more than 1,400 kilometres and a full 15 hours.
The cat is very sensible, does not struggle at all, does not make a fuss.
As soon as the car drove through Shandong, I smelled a pungent stench: cats solved their physiological needs.
I'm embarrassed that this has to be handled by the next service area. The little couple was very calm and did not complain at all.
When I arrived at the service area, I hurriedly released the cat and sorted out the cat toilet, and the little girl helped to wipe the cat's whole body with paper, which made me very moved.
Driving on the highway for a long time, the most feared thing is boredom and drowsiness.
The little girl slept in the passenger seat and nodded her head, and I saw that the young man also began to yawn, and quickly shook his spirits and chatted with him.
For the first time in my life, I felt that being able to nag was an advantage.
The two of us talked about life philosophy from poetry and songs, including their love story, from acquaintance to crush to farewell, and finally they met from a long distance to Beijing to start their own little life.
The young man said that he was originally holding a fluke mentality and wanted to "shun" a companion who helped drive.
For him, sharing the high-speed fee is secondary, because long-distance driving is too tiring, fortunately I can chat, can relieve boredom, and the more everyone talks, the more energetic.
I also told the truth: in fact, I have never sat in a stranger's car for so long, and I was still a little worried at first, and I shared the itinerary with friends and family as soon as I got on the bus.
For the first half hour of the trip, I kept clutching the armrests, my palms sweating.
Thankfully, it was a particularly pleasant choice.
When I arrived at home, it was already 11 o'clock at night, and the young man parked the car downstairs of my house and helped me carry two large boxes of luggage upstairs.
I was really touched, this is not actually a service, but a heart.
When saying goodbye, the little girl pulled me aside and said, "When we return to Beijing in the next year, we still want to go together, okay?" ”
Although I also know that this may just be a polite remark, it is the impulse of the moment.
This long road, exaggerated to say, has experienced a small life and death, so randomly participating in each other's lives is like adding a small section of life.
You meet someone you wouldn't otherwise know, and you go on a journey.
When I got out of the car, the people dispersed, and I probably never saw them again, but it seemed that something had left.
What stayed? fate.
Life is fate, living together for a lifetime, is fate; walking together for a while is fate; the same boat, a ride, a rain, a snow, are all fate.
What is fate?
I think it is a kind of involuntary thing that makes people who are constantly gathering and dispersing deeply and shallowly, sadly and joyfully have entanglements, involvements, or continuations or interruptions.
What matters is what is left behind in this limited ten or ten minutes of this limited journey.
It was a smiling face with a vivid look and a vivid expression;
It is a life of individual efforts, perhaps plain, but there is no lack of shining points;
It is a period of relaxed, warm, undefended companionship;
It is the slightest understanding and consideration in this huge city that often makes people confused, feel indifferent, and not easy to live;
It is the life we have never given up on no matter what the world has given us— the hustle and bustle or the loneliness and loneliness, the ups and downs of prices or the storm.
We have not left, but have moved forward with difficulty, open-mindedness and optimism.
Because of a short period of companionship, people who did not know each other had a connection.
The kindness from strangers, the simple little warmth, became the most precious gift in the world.
Thank you, all the way, dear stranger.
After 10 years of fire, it was finally time for her to give way
Verdict! Qu Wanting's singing was filled with the blood and tears of 566 families
Author: Bo Bonnie. Source: Reader Magazine, No. 14, 2018, original titled "Dear Stranger".