vernacular

In summer, Nanjing is as hot as a stove, and the sun is scorching the earth, making it difficult for people to live in peace.Mr. Lin was lying on the bed with a mat and taking a nap, and when he woke up at two o'clock in the afternoon, he was still hot and sweaty.

It's not that his nephew Wei Xueyi doesn't care about him.Professor Wei tried hard to persuade him to allow him to install an air conditioner at his own expense, but he refused to say anything. Later, he said that he would move out of this small building and live with his family in a big house, but he still refused.

There is no way, Wei Xueyi thought, anyway, he is retired and has a lot of free time, so he simply buys watermelon for him every day.

Mr. Lin Zhanyu had just washed his face with cold water, and before he could wipe it off, he heard the doorbell ring.

"Here we come!" He put down the towel and shouted angrily.

As soon as Mr. Lin opened the door, he saw Wei Xueyi standing in the not-so-spacious corridor, holding a bag in his hand, which contained half a watermelon.

"Uncle Lin, it's really hot today." Wei Xueyi entered the room and grabbed a towel to wipe off his sweat.

"That's right." Mr. Lin walked towards the thermometer hanging on the wall: "It's 35 degrees."

After wiping off his sweat and washing his hands, Wei Xueyi took the watermelon to the kitchen.He took out an enamel vegetable sink from the cabinet with ease, filled a small half of the basin with cold water, and put the watermelon in it.

"Uncle, is your liquefied petroleum gas enough?" He looked around.

"Enough." The old man turned on the small fan in the living room: "Don't be busy, come and sit for a while."

The days flowed by like water. At this time, Wei Qingjun had passed away for more than seven years. It was the midsummer of 1999, and the new millennium was just around the corner.

In fact, Lin Zhanyu never expected how old he would live.He was in poor health when he was young, and it was a great blessing for him to be able to grow up safely. He didn't realize that if he didn't pay attention, old friends of his age passed away one after another, but he himself had to live into the 21st century.

"Xueyi, come here, I have something to tell you." Seeing that Wei Xueyi was still busy in the kitchen, Lin Zhanyu continued to shout.

"Come on." Wei Xueyi wiped his hands, walked over and sat on the sofa.

"It will be your father's death day in two days." Lin Zhanyu lowered his eyes: "As usual in previous years, let's go and see him together."

"Of course." When mentioning his father, Wei Xueyi's expression suddenly became serious: "Uncle, don't worry, the funeral for my father and my mother is indispensable every year."

Lin Zhanyu raised his eyes and looked at the person in front of him, only to see that the old Professor Wei, who had already retired, had lost a few black hairs on his head.

He sighed and waved his hand lightly: "Come and pick me up then."

"Hey." Wei Xueyi nodded heavily.

According to Wei Qingyun's will, the affairs of this person's death are very simple.Wei Xueyi buried him in a corner of the cemetery, and buried his ashes with Lu Jiang's remains.

In fact, Wei Qingyun mentioned this matter to Lin Zhanyu a few months before his death.The spring was just right at that time, and it was difficult for him to sit up and look at the newly blooming flowers downstairs in the ward.The flowers are pink, and they bloom in clusters, covering a whole tree.

"Zhanyu, I want to discuss with you, there are some things we can't avoid." He turned his head to look at Lin Zhanyu who was walking towards him with a glass of warm water: "One day if I disappear..."

"I know what you want to say." Lin Zhanyu handed him the water glass: "You have to be buried with Lu Jiang's sister-in-law, she is Xueyi's mother."

"But……"

"Senior brother, don't worry about me." Lin Zhanyu smiled warmly: "When you get to the Nine Springs, if you can meet Lu Jiang's sister-in-law, remember to say a few good things about me in front of her."

He opened the window of the ward, and the gentle breeze blew in.He whispered slowly: "Let her find another spouse in the next life, and give you to me."

Mr. Lin's life in his later years was actually very lively. Apart from Wei Xueyi who always went to his house, many of his and Wei Qingyun's former apprentices would also come over.

Most of those disciples are benevolent and righteous people, especially his first disciple Qin Yu.Seeing that he has no children under his knees, Qin Yu treats him like his own father.

Over time, Lin Zhanyu also treated Qin Yu as his own son.There are three keys to his house, except for the one he kept for himself, the rest were given to Wei Xueyi and Qin Yu respectively.

"Master, wake up." Spring went to autumn, and it was another afternoon. This time, Mr. Lin fell into a heavy sleep, and it was Qin Yu who woke him up.

As soon as Lin Zhanyu opened his eyes, he saw Qin Yu who was full of smiles. He heard the other party say: "Master, we agreed yesterday. I will shave your head today. Do you remember?"

"Oh, yes." Mr. Lin smiled helplessly: "I'm old and my memory is not good, thank you for your hard work."

Qin Yu smiled and said, "Why are you telling me this? It's more of an outsider." He shook the fader in his hand: "Come here quickly, and see if I'm good at my craft."

Qin Yu is dexterous and likes to study some manual work when he is not working.Since he learned how to cut hair, Lin Zhanyu hasn't been to a barbershop for many years.

"Yesterday I heard from Xueyi that you accepted another apprentice two days ago?" After finishing his work, Mr. Lin sat on the sofa and looked at Qin Yu who was bending over to sweep the floor.

"Yes." Qin Yu replied, "That kid just graduated from Quyi School, he is smart and motivated, he is a good student."

"Okay, it's good." Lin Zhanyu leaned back contentedly, leaning on the soft pillow, thinking: Brother Shi and I are now full of peaches and plums.

Thinking like this, he suddenly remembered the appearance when Wei Qingyun asked him to accept Wei Xueyi as his apprentice, and many feelings came to his heart for a while.

Brother.

Mr. Lin took out an old yellowed photo from the drawer of his coffee table. It was a group photo taken by the three of them in the photo studio before Wei Xueyi went to Nanjing Institute of Technology to study.At that time, Wei Qingyun was in his early forties, just in his prime, while Wei Xueyi was still a childish boy, far less calm than later.

To him, what exactly is Wei Qingyun?

Lin Zhanyu thought that in his whole life, he and his elder brother had achieved each other, and no one would succeed without the other.

He gently stroked the portrait on the photo with his hand, and said in his heart:

I miss you.

In the calm and tranquility of the day after day, 2008 came in a flash.

Wei Xueyi was videotaping when he received a call from his daughter Wei Hua.It was the [-]th anniversary of the completion and opening of the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. As one of the old engineers who participated in the design and construction, he was invited to do a talk show on the TV station.

Before leaving the house in the morning, he had told Wei Hua not to call him unless it was related to Uncle Lin.Therefore, at the moment when he saw the caller ID, Wei Xueyi's heart sank suddenly.

At that time, it was time to rest, and Mr. Wei found a place with few people to sit down, and tremblingly pressed the on button of the elderly machine.

"Dad," Wei Hua's anxious voice sounded from the phone: "Grandpa Lin's condition is not very good. The doctor said that he might die soon. When will you come over?"

Wei Xueyi's hand holding the elderly phone trembled even more, and he said, "Hua, I'll be there right away, have you prepared everything over there?"

"Don't worry." Wei Hua should have gone back outside the ward, and there were more noisy voices around.She added: "Many grandpas and grandpa Lin's apprentices and grandchildren came today."

Fortunately, the part that requires Wei Xueyi to appear on camera has already been recorded.He told the program team that his old man was dying in the hospital. The director immediately expressed his understanding and asked him if he needed help finding a car to take him to the hospital.

Wei Xueyi wanted to refuse at first, but he glanced at his hand, which was almost unsteady in holding the elderly phone, and said helplessly, "I'm sorry for your inconvenience."

As Wei Hua said, there were many people outside the ward.Qin Yu sat in a corner not far away with his head down, unable to see his expression clearly.

When Wei Qingyun passed away, many apprentices also came. After more than ten years, the apprentices accepted apprentices again, so there seemed to be more people.

Seeing him coming, everyone made way for him.Wei Hua walked up to him with red eyes and said, "Dad, Grandpa Lin has always said that he wants to see you."

He went in, and saw that Lin Zhanyu was covered with tubes, apparently on the verge of dying.

"Uncle Lin, Wei Xueyi knelt by the hospital bed and suppressed crying: "If you can hear me, just move your finger and tell me. "

Mr. Lin's right index finger tapped the hospital bed several times rhythmically, very lightly.

Wei Xueyi nodded, and took half a minute to organize his words: "Uncle Lin, you used to say that my family was not well-off when I was a child and treated me badly. But I always feel that in those years when our family of three depended on each other, I lived a very solid life. You and my father treat me sincerely, and I know it all."

He lowered his voice: "You two have lied to me for the rest of your life, but I have to tell you the truth. I have known about your relationship for a long time. I saw it when I was fifteen or sixteen. Uncle Lin, As long as you don't dislike me, I'm your own son. People are always parents and elders, and I'm very lucky in this life. I have three people who miss me."

Hearing this, Lin Zhanyu's lips moved slightly.Wei Xueyi knew that he wanted to talk, so he quickly got up and put his ear to it, but he didn't hear anything.

Wei Xueyi shook his head regretfully, and continued: "There is something you don't know, and my father won't let me tell you, but now, I think I should tell you."

He held Lin Zhanyu's hand tightly: "At the beginning, my father secretly told me that he asked me to divide his ashes into two shares, one to be buried with my mother, and the other to be buried with my mother." He moved closer and said word by word: " To be buried with you."

Mr. Lin's hand twitched, Wei Xueyi knew it, he heard it.

"My father also said that I must take good care of you. He whispered this to me many times. Uncle, you have always said that I have worked hard these years, but you don't know, this is what I should do."

The machine beeped sharply, and Wei Xueyi's eyes were blurred with tears.

讣告：著名曲艺表演艺术家林占愚先生于2008年3月31日上午十点43分因器官衰竭逝于江苏省人民医院，享年89岁。林先生与其搭档魏青筠先生一生致力于地方曲艺事业的发展和传承，是当之无愧的人民艺术家。老人家一路走好！

Wei Xueyi, the son of Mr. Wei Qingjun and a well-known road and bridge expert, said that in accordance with Mr. Lin's last wish, he would bury Mr. Lin in Liyushan Cemetery in Nanjing.