<h1>—Mitchell Ender's fantasy novel Mao Mao Quick Read (Part 1</h1>).
One day, in the ruins of the amphitheater on the outskirts of the city, a wandering little girl appeared out of thin air.
She was thin, her clothes ragged, her hair sticking together like asphalt.
Although she looked only seven or eight years old, she said that she was almost 102 years old.
She has a magical ability – good at listening. Even a stutterer, looking into her eyes like a cold star, will become articulate.
It is this ability that allows her to discover a great secret about the fate of mankind, which is the secret of time...
Mitchell Ender became Germany's finest writer of fantasy literature because of his "Mao Mao".
In Japan and other countries, this book has become the most basic basis for discussing time.
Mitchell famously said, "He who forgets his inner world also forgets his own value of existence." ”
Let's use half a cup of coffee time to uncover the secrets of each of us with Mitchell and his hair.
In the ta pine forest on the southern outskirts of a city, the ruins of an amphitheater are hidden, and only the people nearby know about it.
One day, they suddenly discovered: a wandering little girl appeared in the ruins.
She was thin and short, looking like she was seven or eight years old, wearing a skirt full of patches, wrapped in a worn-out and wide men's jacket, and her hair was sticky like asphalt.
People who cared about her asked what her name was, how old she was, and where she came from.
She only said that her name was Mao Mao, almost 102 years old, and she had been here since the time she could recall.
Mao Mao's appearance is not amazing, but there is a pair of dark eyes, shining like a cold star.
The kind residents carefully cleaned up the small stone house where she lived in the ruins.
After that, "Go find Mao Mao!" "It became a mantra for people. Why?
Although the hair is weak and short, it has an incredible ability to listen.
There are only a very few people in the world who will really listen. There is no one like Mao Mao who listens like this.
When looking at her cold star-like eyes, even people who stutter will suddenly become articulate.
People who are listened to by Mao Mao will unconsciously discover the true thoughts in their hearts, and their confusion will disappear.
Kids loved going to the ruins. Curiously, as long as there is hair, simple games become endlessly fun.
Mao Mao has two best friends, and their personalities are diametrically opposed.
A man named Bebo, who sweeps the streets, is a rickety little old man whose profession is a scavenger.
When someone asks him a question, he doesn't answer right away. It turned out that he was thinking, and sometimes this thinking was exactly two hours. When he answered again, the person who asked the question had long forgotten what he had asked!
Therefore, in the eyes of others, Bebo is an eccentric old man.
Mao Mao's other friend was a young and handsome young man.
He had big eyes like he was dreaming, and his articulation was unbelievably sharp.
He always had a mouth full of hanging water, and in his stomach were endless stories, all of which he made up.
His name is Girolamo, and people used to call him tour guide Gigi.
Gigi is an amateur tour guide, and if occasional tourists come to the ruins, he will put on a baseball cap and tell the stories he has made up. He spoke so brilliantly that he occasionally got a few coins.
He always dreamed of his future, wrapped in the glory of glory.
At this time, the sky over the city began to be shadowed, and the gray gentlemen wandered like ghosts.
These grey gentlemen know how to hide their eyes and ears in a devious way, so that people will not notice at all, or forget them in the blink of an eye after seeing them.
They wore cobweb-like gray dresses, hard top hats, gray briefcases, thin gray cigars in their mouths, and drove dark gray limousines in and out of all the streets.
One night, Mao Mao observed these gray figures and felt an unprecedented chill. And the elder Bebo seems to have discovered their existence as well.
Gigi didn't notice anything, he just knew he was deeply in love with this scruffy little girl. In the past, his stories always traveled on foot, and after getting to know Mao Mao, his stories seemed to have grown wings, and novel plots kept popping up in his mind.
Once a group of tourists came, Gigi's imagination could not stop the brakes, he actually told a very absurd story -
He told everyone that the ruins of the amphitheater were the pedestal for the construction of the New Earth, and many tourists believed it. A lady asked incomprehensibly, "So where is the New Earth?" ”
Gigi said, "The earth we have now is the new earth!" ”
The lady was so frightened that she fled with a scream...
In fact, Ji Ji likes to tell Stories to Mao Mao alone. At that time, the stories he told were specially for them, which was completely different from what he usually told.
Immersed in joy and happiness, Gigi naturally did not notice the invasion of the Grey Gentleman.
In order to seize people's time, they developed secret plans and quietly settled in the city.
On this day, The Barber Fors was in a daze at the door of the store.
He thought: "My days are like this, all day long with the sound of chirping scissors and hands full of soap foam, and having to argue with customers." What the hell am I getting? Isn't it like I've never lived when I'm dead one day? ”
In fact, Mr. Firth likes to chat with customers, listen to their ideas, and love his work. It was only because of the gloomy weather that he let out this sigh.
At this time, a gray gentleman got out of the car and walked into the store, smoking a gray cigar in his mouth.
Firth suddenly felt unusually cold, and looking at the guest again, he didn't even have a hair on his head.
Grey Gentleman spoke, "I'm from time savings bank, I'm an account manager at XYQ/384/B, and you're our prospect." ”
Seeing The confused look in Firth's eyes, the account manager continued: "You've been chattering all day and soap foaming all day, and you've had to argue with customers. Someday, you'll die as if you never lived, right? ”
Mr. Firth gave a chill, he actually knew what he was thinking.
The Grey Gentleman went on to enlighten: "If you have time to live a real life, you will become a completely different person." All you need now is time, and time is saved. ”
The Grey Gentleman begins to settle the accounts:
1 minute and 60 seconds, a day has 86400 seconds, a year has 365 days, each year is 31536000 seconds.
The account manager then asked, "How old are you this year?" ”
"42 years old." Mr. Firth swallowed a mouthful of saliva and felt somewhat ashamed.
The account manager went on to calculate:
You sleep 8 hours a night, spend two hours a day with three meals, and work 8 hours a day.
You spend at least 1 hour a day chatting with your mother and spending time doing housework.
You have a little parrot and spend 15 minutes a day taking care of it.
You have a little secret: visit Miss Dalia every week, even though she's crippled and can't marry you.
There are also movies, songs, parties, books...
Every night before going to bed, spend 15 minutes thinking about what you did that day...
All of this, in your 42 years, has been spent:
1324512000 seconds!
The Grey Gentleman went on to calculate:
You live for 42 years, for a total of 1324512000 seconds, and subtracting the 1324512000 seconds spent, your 42-year time balance is:
0000000000 seconds!
Looking at this big string of zeros, Mr. Firth was disheartened! In fact, he did not know that this was one of the tricks of the grey gentlemen to deceive.
While Mr. Firth was remorseful, the account manager advised him:
"Save time and it's never too late to start now. Time Savings Bank not only saves you time for safekeeping, but also pays interest. Triple in five years, quadruple in ten years... Flip it over like this, which is a considerable amount. ”
Mr. Firth was busy asking himself what to do. The Grey Gentleman smiled lightly and said, "You have to work faster and get rid of all the extra links." ”
Before leaving, the Grey Gentleman told him that time savings were based entirely on trust, that his promises were enough, and that promises could not be recovered.
After grey gentleman left, Firth forgot that he had been there and made that "promise" his own decision.
Later, Forth stopped chatting with customers and cut a haircut in 15 minutes; sent his mother to a nursing home; disposed of the parrot; and wrote a dry letter to Dalia saying he didn't have time to see her.
He no longer gathers, no longer reads, no longer sings...
He became a working machine and lost all pleasure...
And as the Grey Gentleman Program unfolded, there were more and more people like Mr. Firth in the city.
In shopping malls, parks, schools and even kindergartens, you can see such slogans everywhere:
Time is money!
The future belongs to people who save time!
The big city itself has quietly changed its face: the old city has been demolished and new buildings have been built.
In order to improve efficiency, buildings are built in the same way, like eggs and eggs.
People's lives are becoming poorer and poorer, and their hearts are becoming more and more indifferent. The children clearly feel this – their parents spend less and less time with them.
On this day, Ji Ji taught Mao Mao to read and write on the ruins, and they talked to Old BeiBo about the recent changes.
Old Bebo said meaningfully: "'He' is getting closer and closer, I have already found out." ”
At the same time, they found that more and more children were coming to play in the ruins. Mao Mao asked Old Bebo, "What the hell happened?" ”
Old Bebo thought about it for a long time and replied, "The children are not here because of us, but to find a shelter." ”
Gigi talked about the change in the barber Forth, he said: "Now you can see such people everywhere around, is this a kind of madness?" ”
Old Beibo nodded, "There must be such an infectious disease." ”
The guess of the friend made Mao Mao extremely frightened: "I must help them!" ”
Over the next few days, Mao Mao went into town to visit her old friends, and found that they had changed a lot: Nikola, a former mason who had been working for a large construction site, but in order to improve efficiency, he mixed sand in the mud.
And the tavern owner, Nino, is planning to kick the old people out, thinking that this will attract rich customers...
Unbeknownst to Mao Mao, however, she had disrupted grey gentleman's plans by doing so.
One particularly hot noon, Mao Mao picked up a beautiful doll on the stone of the ruins.
Mao Mao was immediately fascinated by her and couldn't help but touch her.
Her mouth closed and she began to speak, "Hello, my name is Miss Qianqian, and I am a flawless doll." ”
Mao Mao couldn't help but reply, "Hello, my name is Mao Mao." ”
The doll then said, "With me, everyone will be jealous of you." ”
Mao Mao picked her up, and she spoke again: "I want more things." ”
Mao Mao busied himself from the small stone house and pulled out his own treasures: colorful feathers, patterned stones, beautiful buttons...
The doll was silent. Mao Mao touched her, and she said again, "Hello, my name is Miss Qian qian, and I am a flawless doll." ”
Mao Mao asked her what she wanted, but she replied mechanically: "With me, everyone will be jealous of you." ”
Then she said, "I want more." ”
The doll always repeats those few words, which makes Mao Mao have a feeling that she has never had before, that is, boredom.
A gray car had been parked here for a long time, and a gray gentleman got out of the car with a cigar in his mouth.
Mao Mao couldn't help but shiver, feeling something warning her.
The Grey Gentleman said, "You don't seem to know how to play with this magical doll, I'll tell you." ”
The doll suddenly spoke, "I want more." ”
"Lo and behold, she said to you with her own mouth," said the Grey Gentleman, "remember, she needs many clothes first. ”
As he spoke, he pulled out pieces of clothing from the trunk: mink coats, silk nightgowns, tennis sweatshirts, riders' costumes, dresses...
The Grey Gentleman smiled faintly, "With these things, you can play with him for a while." But after a few days it gets boring, so you have to prepare more. ”
He continued to pull things out of the trunk: python skin bags, designer lipsticks, pocket cameras... Mao Mao sat in the middle of a large pile of things as if paralyzed.
"Someday, your miss qianqian will be bored again, it doesn't matter, she still has a boyfriend, his boyfriend and friends, her boyfriend's friends and friends..."
As he spoke, he pulled out one doll after another, as if he could not take it inexhaustible.
Mao Mao was motionless, and only panic appeared in his eyes.
Seeing MaoMao's serious expression, the gray gentleman hurriedly said, "You will no longer need your friends in the future." ”
Mao Mao felt like he was facing a war. Eventually, she shook her head: "Kids don't like that. ”
The grey gentleman was a little anxious, and he simply sat down and prepared to talk to Mao Mao.
Although Mao Mao is very good at listening, it is more difficult to listen to this person than to listen to anyone.
The Grey Gentleman gushed, "What good have your friends received from your existence?" Did you help them earn more money? Did you support them to save time? On the contrary, you became a stumbling block for them..."
The Grey Gentleman went on to say, "We want to protect your friends and make a difference. ”
Mao Mao's lips pursed and asked, "Who are you talking about 'us'?" ”
Grey Gentleman said, "We are time savings bank, I am BLM/553/C account manager. ”
At that moment, Mao Mao suddenly remembered the words of Bebo and Gigi about saving time and infectious diseases, and a terrible premonition suddenly arose in her heart. She tried her best, and finally rushed into the hidden heart of the Grey Gentleman!
Mao Mao asked softly, "Isn't anyone ever in love with you?" ”
The gray gentleman's body suddenly shrunk.
He stared at Mao Mao, his face getting darker and darker, and some words seemed to pour out of his heart involuntarily:
"We must not be recognized so that we can do business. We want to grab human time minute by minute, and we need more and more time, because we have more and more people..."
The Grey Gentleman covered his mouth, and he realized that he had leaked a secret.
Seeing Mao Mao's deep eyes, he panicked and grabbed his briefcase, jumped into the car and ran away with a cigarette. And the dolls, clothes, etc. that were full of ground also flew back to the car at once, without a trace.
It took a long time for the hair to warm up. She heard the grey gentleman's true voice, and she didn't forget a word.
In the afternoon, Gigi and Old Bebo came, and Mao Mao told the two friends about it.
Gigi was so excited that he said, "We want to save the whole city!" ”
He suggested revealing the true face of the Grey Gentleman with great fanfare.
Old Bebo was afraid that doing so would put Maomao in danger, and Gigi thought that Old Bebo's worries were superfluous.
The three finally decided to hold a great demonstration a few days later, holding a sign to warn the world, walking through the streets and inviting people to come to the ruins to expose this terrible secret.
At six o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday, the demonstrations began.
Mao Mao, Ji Ji and Old Bei Bo led the children, holding high placards and banners, and marched into the city.
The sign reads:
note! Someone is stealing our time!
The Thieves of Time syndicate has invaded!
etcetera.
However, after the parade, none of the invitees came. The children went home dejected.
Finally, old Bebo also got up and left. He was suddenly assigned to unload the garbage today.
Gigi also had to leave, and he got a new job looking at the storeroom.
In the huge ruins, only Mao Mao was left.
On the outskirts of the city, next to a huge garbage dump, old Bebo is unloading garbage from a truck. Near midnight, the work was finally done. Old Bebo was exhausted and left there alone to rest, unconsciously falling asleep.
Suddenly, he was awakened by a cold wind and found a shocking scene-
On a huge hill of garbage, there was a judgment table.
A gray boss behind the table said, "Bring the BL M/553/C account manager here!" ”
Then a gray gentleman slowly climbed to the top of the garbage heap.
It turned out that this gray gentleman was the one who accidentally leaked secrets in front of Mao Mao.
He gave Mao Mao's name and address, but he was still severely sentenced by The Gray Boss.
The two gray bosses took his gray cigar and briefcase. As soon as he left the cigar, the gray gentleman became more and more transparent, and finally disappeared...
At this time, Mao Mao was still sitting in the empty ruins. Suddenly something touched her ankle – it was a turtle!
The turtle was raising its head, and a pair of clever black eyes shone with a friendly light.
Mao Mao lowered his head and found several flashing words appear on the shell of the turtle: "Follow me!" ”
She couldn't help but get up and follow the turtle in small steps toward the big city.
As soon as Mao Mao left, countless gray cars surrounded the place, and dozens of gray gentlemen searched everywhere, but found nothing, so they had to retreat.
At the same time, led by a turtle, Mao Mao is slowly walking through the city.
They never had to avoid anyone, nor were they hit by anyone, as if the turtle knew in advance that no car had passed and no pedestrians had passed by.
Old Bebo hurriedly pedaled his bicycle toward the amphitheater, but found no figure of Mao Mao. He whispered sadly, "They took my little girl away, I'm late..."
Old BeiBo rushed to the front door of the warehouse and told Ji Ji that something had happened to Mao Mao!
The two men were impatient, but there was nothing they could do, and the only thing they could do was to wait.
At this time, the streets of the city were crowded with gray gentlemen. They were ordered from headquarters to devote themselves fully to the search for Maomao.
However, the turtle walked with fur and did not hurry. Often their front feet had just left, and the gray gentlemen's back feet arrived, as if the turtle had the ability to foresee the future.
At this time, a gray gentleman finally caught Mao Mao's whereabouts and immediately reported to the headquarters: "She is in a completely unfamiliar area, and this area seems to be on the edge of time." ”
The headquarters boss lost his voice and exclaimed, "Hurry up and chase!" Whatever it takes! ”
At this time, Mao Mao followed the turtle to a strange neighborhood, where all the houses were dazzlingly white.
A few gray gentlemen who found hairy hair rushed here by car, but they could not travel as soon as they turned into the white block.
The turtle, furry, turned into a street corner, a completely different scene: the houses resembled tiny glass palaces, covered with shells, corals and seaweed, as if they had floated out of the sea.
Mao Mao glanced up at the street name sign: Wuyou Lane.
Mao Mao felt as if he was going against the wind, struggling. At this time, a few words appeared on the shell of the turtle: walk backwards.
Mao Mao obediently turned around and could really move forward effortlessly! At this time, there was a grotesque change in her body: thinking backwards, breathing backwards...
Finally, they came to the front of the building at the end of the alley, and the door of the building read: Wu you lou.
The gate automatically parted to the sides, and Mao Mao followed the turtle inside...
Where exactly is the turtle going to take the fur, and what secrets will it find there? Can Mao Mao eliminate the tricks of the Grey Gentlemen?
(Some quadratic images are from the animated film Time Ambassador: Momo)
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