Xue Zhaoping
One
The lame old Du died.
After the death of the lame old Du, Liu Yu'e truly felt for the first time that she was alone, although she was in the old house where the two had lived together for three years, she could look around and really feel homeless. Liu Yu'e is now very afraid of this feeling, very helpless, very confused, very nothing, very heartbreaking. Today, it's really homeless.
Liu Yu'e curled up in the quilt, tightly wrapped around the quilt, but still felt the chill invading every pore, and couldn't help but shiver. On the quilt, you can faintly smell the oil and sweat on the lame old Du's body, mixed with the spicy smell of cigarettes. Liu Yu'e realized that the tastes she used to hate were now slowly fading away. That is to say, in the days to come, the breath of lao Du that remains in the nest will quietly fade until it disappears. Thinking so delicately, Liu Yu'e wanted to cry again. It was the feeling of tearing a piece hard from the soul.
Liu Yu'e's nose twitched a few times, and finally there was no tear. She lifted her eyes and looked around, the simple and thick furniture, silently surrounding the walls around the low room, curled up in the corner, looking blankly at her mistress. The room seemed a little bigger than ever. And this emptiness forms an inexplicable suffocation. The air seemed to freeze, and only the sunlight that shot in through the half-drawn curtain window could see the dust suspended in the air. The dust was fine, dim, melancholy, fine and dense, swirling, floating. That's the breath of Lao Du. Yes, the remaining breath of Lao Du turned into those tiny dusts, crawling out of the window along the sunlight of the window and dissipating in the outside world.
Old Du is really dead. Liu Yu'e's gaze followed the beam of light at the window and looked out, and she suddenly heard Lao Du shouting in the courtyard: Yu'e, see what I brought you? Nowadays, Liu Yu'e often heard the lame old Du shouting in the void. But Liu Yu'e understood that it was the voice of the lame old Du remnant in her life. Later, it is impossible to really hear it again. However, Liu Yu'e still got up, put on the cotton shoes that Lao Du bought, waddled to the door and looked out, she really did not dare to be sure, that shout, in the end, is not true, although it is clear in her heart, it is just her own fantasy, but she is not willing, maybe, Lao Du is really as usual, lame but very happy, came in from the gate, held up something in her hand, shouted: Yu'e, you see what I brought you?
Liu Yu'e stood at the door for a while, naturally she did not find her old Du. The season is already a small year in the lunar calendar. Outside, there was the sound of firecrackers, as well as the running and cheering of children. The sun hung abruptly in the somewhat foul sky, not at all warm. The surrounding area is gray with a decadent hue. A few old elm trees with fallen leaves were curling old branches around the yard, their trunks pitch black, and the branches were whizzed by the small north wind and whispered.
Several chickens in the courtyard stretched their necks to feed on the ground, occasionally raising their necks high and rotating their small heads to look at the hostess in a down jacket tightly wrapped in the doorway, and they looked frightened. In this and Lao Du's home, this is the only living thing. In the past, Lao Du watched the gate in the factory and received a monthly salary of 900 yuan, Liu Yu'e had nothing to do, but she would never farm the land, nor would she go out to work, only bringing back materials from the town's manufacturing factory, processing at home, and earning two handmade money. It was three years. Liu Yu'e spent more than three years trying to fulfill one of her wishes, wanting to have a healthy child with the lame old Du, not six fingers, not lame, not squinting eyes, not open mouth, not an idiot child. She had to prove to the whole village that she could do it. But before the cause was completed, Lao Du disappeared. Lao Du turned into a fine dust and drifted out of the window leisurely.
Liu Yu'e felt that her heart was empty. In fact, her pain was not only because of the old Du who died, but to be precise, most of it was because the old Du did not complete the great cause with himself. How to say death, to die? You nest old Du! Damn Du!
Liu Yu'e staggered around the yard a few times, and the few reed chickens also tentatively followed a few circles, but they did not see any rice sprinkled down, so they were disappointed and went to the corner of the yard to forage for food. Liu Yu'e opened the door that had been closed for many days, and looked at the winding and deep and long dirt alley, and several half-sized children ran madly, and there was a muffled sound behind them, and a firecracker exploded into the alley even more silent. Liu Yu'e's heart was shocked, and her eyes went to look for those children, but they had already disappeared. A faint smell of gunpowder spread out and finally dissipated again.
Now Liu Yu'e can't understand, how can she be particularly concerned about the existence and demise of smoke, fog, and dust? She stood at the gate of her house, unconsciously using her nose to look for the fading smell of gunpowder, until the smell disappeared completely, and she could only smell the decaying smell of firewood in the alley and the cold and wet cold in the backlit corner.
Yu'e, won't you go?
A sharp female voice awakened Liu Yu'e from the fascination of pursuing the fading smell of gunpowder, and her MuRan eyes saw a fat and a thin woman walking over. One is the sister-in-law of locust flowers, and the other is the grandmother of the third year of high school.
oh. Where to go?
Liu Yu'e replied. Only then did she see that Grandma Gao's grandmother had a small embankment on her arm, which contained three plates of small dishes, a wine jug, and a crossed fire paper and a tube of incense, while the sister-in-law of the locust flower had a dozen uncut fire paper in her hand, and a tube of incense was also rolled inside, half of which was exposed. Liu Yu'e was a little dazed, with these things, where to go?
Sister-in-law Huaihua came closely, pulled Liu Yu'e's hand, cool, and said: Yu'e, don't always be bored at home. I see you've been closing the door these days. Get out and walk around. The days are yet to come. yes. By the way, the Dragon King Temple in our village opened today, and we are going to incense...
Let's go!
Grandma, the third year of high school, seemed impatient, and did not even look at Liu Yu'e with squinting eyes. She impatiently urged her sister-in-law to go quickly, she had already taken two or three steps forward heroically, and a humming sound was obviously emitted from her mouth.
Sister-in-law Huaihua was helpless, so she had to follow her serious mother-in-law forward, took a few steps, and looked back at Liu Yu'e with pity and apology, and finally folded into the corner of the alley with her little foot mother-in-law and disappeared.
In the distance of the alley, there was a crackling sound, and another firecracker sounded.