This long day | Lu Ming

Gangnam Town (watermark woodcut) ancient Yuan

That was in the eighties. My mother works at the town's health center, there is an ambulance in the hospital, and when she encounters a critically ill patient, she will send it to the county people's hospital, and if it is heavier, it will be sent directly to Shanghai. The driver's surname is Yao, like my mother, he is also a Shanghai Zhiqing, and everyone calls him Master Yao. At the beginning, Master Yao drove alone, which meant that there was no time to leave work. In the middle of the night, the patient came and said that he had to leave. Several times, my family was eating dinner, I heard the long whistle of the ambulance, my mother said, I don't know what kind of patient it is, after a while, I said that Master Yao probably can't eat.

A few years later, the health center bought an ambulance and added a driver, and Master Yao's job was a little easier. Since then, the hospital has had one more benefit – ambulances to take employees (and their families) to Shanghai. Under normal circumstances, to go to Shanghai, you have to change three or four buses, wind and rain, very hard. Ambulance direct, but also save the ticket money, everyone said, thank you dean, dean has a conscience.

The first time I enjoyed being in an ambulance was when I was seven years old. The train is irregular, about two or three weeks. Departures are usually made on Sunday mornings and back in the afternoon (there were no weekends at the time). My mom and I got up early that day and went out with a big bag. It was dark, the ambulance was parked on the side of the road, and several people were already waiting. Remove the stretcher in the rear compartment, and eight people can sit on either side, and the co-pilot can also sit one. As he was driving, my dad caught up with him and stuffed a large white goose that he had just bought from the vegetable market. Some people laughed and said, Teacher Lu does not accompany his wife? My dad waved, got in the car and left.

Driving, the ambulance pulled onto the national highway. In my impression, at that time, it seemed that this national highway was always being repaired, and it could never be repaired well. Outside the window are farmland and factories, and cooking smoke rises in the distance. Gradually, there were more pedestrians in shops and on the road. When I saw the dense workshops in Caoyang New Village, I knew that my grandmother's house was not far away.

Not only do Shanghainese sit, but local workers also take a ride from time to time to go to Shanghai to go around the road and buy something. Xiao Lamei sat across from my mother. Soon after she got married, she often asked a few little sisters to go to Shanghai to buy clothes and snacks. Along the way, everyone talked and laughed, and the time passed quickly. The car is parked on Nanhui Road, to the west is Jing'an Temple, to the east is the People's Square, where to go is convenient. Master Yao turned off the ignition and said the departure time, usually at four o'clock in the afternoon. Everyone thanked each other and dispersed.

Grandma's house is not far from Nanhui Road, and it takes a few minutes to walk. As I passed the stove, I saw my grandmother bending over to stir-fry vegetables, and the air was filled with the aroma of fried fish. My name is Grandma. Grandma turned around and said, "Well, let's go upstairs and sit down, and we'll eat in a moment."

After lunch, I took a nap, and my mother chatted with my grandparents and two uncles outside. When the weather is good, everyone will visit Jing'an Park together. After half past three, it was time to prepare for the return trip. Within a day, the scenery changes, like a daydream. For my mom, Shanghai was a dream. At the age of 16, she joined the team and went to the countryside of Huaibei to "fight in the sky". Countless times, she wanted to go back to that dream. Grandma grabbed the luggage and said with a straight face, "Okay, it's not coming, crying through Ulla (crying and mourning face) what to do." As he spoke, his eye circles turned red.

Xiao Lamei said that Shanghai is nothing remarkable, is not that the street is a little wider, and the clothes in the store are a little more. Everyone laughed and knew that there might be her next time with the car. It was many years later that I learned that people are always like this, and when they are familiar, they feel nothing unusual. To get along a little longer, a little longer, will give birth to intimacy and dependence. Ambulances drove out of the city, and a cartload of people was silent, snoozing, or looking out the window at the scenery, thinking about their minds. I think this long day is finally over. I can't wait to go home and watch cartoons.

One year Chinese New Year's Eve, I sat in Master Yao's ambulance with my father and my mother. Xiao Lamei did not come, and all the people in the car returned to Shanghai for the New Year. I heard that yesterday the day before yesterday I walked twice, and we were the last. When the car drove to the place, my father handed over a cigarette and said, Master Yao, it's hard. Master Yao took the cigarette, smiled and said, Nothing, get used to it. It occurred to me that Master Yao would have to drive the empty car back and then transfer to the bus back. A person. Every year.

Author: Lu Ming Editor: Shu Ming [Out of town] is Lu Ming's column in pen