【Lou Cheng】 How easy is another day

Weisha rang the doorbell of the apartment.

The already familiar voice sounded quickly, and after hearing that it was Wei Xia, the door opened.

He entered the gate, boarded the elevator, and arrived at the third floor in the blink of an eye.

Mingcheng was waiting for him at the door, raised his eyebrows when he saw the flowers, and laughed: "It's not good to say that people come, why do you still bring things?"

Wei Xia said: "My father said that you must never go to someone else's house as a guest empty-handed. But nothing else seemed suitable, so I picked a pot of flowers... Uncle Lou doesn't hate flowers, does he?"

"Phalaenopsis is not easy to raise, it's a pity to give it to him."

Wei Xia scratched his hair: "Then... give it to you?"

"Who said I could grow flowers?"

"The last time I met you at the museum, I saw that you were very interested in the potted plants in the entrance hall. Am I wrong?"

Mingcheng's eyes flickered, and instead of answering his question, he turned sideways to let him in: "Come in quickly. Your Uncle Lou has bought crabs and said he will teach you how to eat them."

Wei Xia said in surprise: "I have forgotten about it. Uncle Lou has a really good memory."

Mingcheng just smiled, took the flowers in his hand, and told him: "Next time you come, you must not bring anything. In our house, your father's words don't count."

Wei Xia also smiled: "Oh, I see."

After Resolution 2758 was passed, most of Wei Xia’s working group returned to China, leaving only him and another colleague from the US-European Bureau of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to stay temporarily for Minister Qiao to lead a delegation to visit the United States in November. Do a lot of preparation.He is good at French—this is learned at home, and his English is not bad. He has served as a consecutive interpreter since he was engaged in foreign affairs work, and he has passed the test of his writing skills. If he stays here, he can not only handle a lot of clerical affairs, but also write press releases. The most suitable left-behind personnel.

When Wei Xia received the order to suspend his return to China, he was reluctant - his father was old and was alone at home. Although the diplomatic relations had not been seriously affected, everyone knew the people and things around him. It's just sooner or later.He knows his old man's temper well, and it's not that nothing happened before, if something happened, Jia Huiyuan was farming and digging canals in Mount Wutai, so he had to be by his side no matter what.

But his father, who was far away in China, seemed to have guessed his thoughts, and sent him a special telegram, asking him to stay in the United States and work with peace of mind, and return with the delegation after the UNGA delegation's visit to the United States is over.In the telegram, a sentence was added specifically to visit relatives more.

Wei Xia looked at these three words over and over for a long time, and after a long time of elimination in his mind, he was sure that his father wanted him to visit these two uncles in New York more often.

Despite the instructions, Wei Xia had too many things to do, so he didn't contact them immediately.Until last weekend, he finally sneaked into the museum and happened to bump into them in the lobby, so today's visit came about.

He wanted to take off his shoes after entering the door, but Mingcheng refused to let him, saying that there was no need to bother, and then called Minglou: "Wei Xia is here. Stop messing around in the kitchen."

As soon as the words were finished, Ming Lou came out shaking his hands, with water on his fingertips, his eyes lit up when he saw Wei Xia, and he said after seeing the flowers Ming Cheng was holding: "You are not allowed to bring anything in the future."

Minglou was wearing a black turtleneck sweater. He had become much thinner as he got older, and this style made him look thinner.His tone was full of pretended seriousness, and his eyes were full of smiles. Wei Xia had been told by Ming Cheng once, and he still said at this time: "My father taught me that when you go to someone's house as a guest, you can't go empty-handed."

Ming Lou shook his head and smiled: "What your father said doesn't count in my house. If you are a guest, you have to come empty-handed, and you have to take things away, that's what you call a guest."

It is not the first time that Wei Xia has heard the first half of these words, but the latter is unheard of. He could only smile, and turned to look at Mingcheng: "Then who is in charge of your family?"

"He and I."

The one who said "I" glanced at Mingcheng approvingly, and then said to Weixia: "You sit down. I'll pour you some water. What do you want to drink?"

"No, no, no. I'm not thirsty... take your time."

"Not busy. Everything is packed, just waiting for your dinner."

"Uncle Lou, you can't just eat every time I come to see you."

Minglou asked strangely: Why not?You are young and still growing, what do you do if you don’t eat? "

Wei Xia said dumbfoundedly: "I'm almost 30 years old..."

"Young man under 26, what are you talking about?" Ming Lou frowned, "Are you staying tonight? The room has been packed for you."

Wei Xia was taken aback: "I didn't say hello to my colleagues..."

"Then call one now. It's a rare weekend, and it's time to be busy next week. You may not have the opportunity to come. When you return to China, if your father knows that we won't entertain you for a night, he will definitely scold me for being stingy." up."

"No!" Wei Xia retorted very seriously, "...well, thank you Uncle Lou, I'll make a call."

Staying outside during a foreign visit is a violation of regulations. When you go back, you can write an inspection, report criticism, or even suspend your job. However, Wei Xia is not going to talk about this with the two elders.After making the phone call, the colleague heard that he would not come back, he was taken aback for a while, and said after a while: "That's good. I will come back later at night too. If you can come back in time, leave a door for me."

"understood."

Wei Xia hung up the phone, feeling a strange sense of relief.

While he was on the phone, Mingcheng went back to the kitchen, leaving Minglou in the living room to arrange drinks for Wei Xia.Minglou first poured water for him, and then poured three more glasses of wine after thinking about it. Weixia refused at first, saying that he could not drink, so Minglou said: "The first time I heard your name from your father back then, I just thought, when will I have a chance to have a drink with you. In a blink of an eye, you are already older than when your father separated from us. "

Wei Xia didn't say any more, took the cup and drank it all in one gulp, but was choked so hard that he couldn't speak, and burst into a series of earth-shattering coughs.Seeing this, Minglou patted him on the back with a smile, and called Mingcheng: "Ah Cheng, come out first, this idiot drank the wine before you came."

Then, without pouring another glass for Wei Xia, he said with a smile: "In this case, let's have another glass."

Because Minglou insisted on eating at home, Mingcheng could only cook by himself.Hearing Minglou yelling from the pots and pans, he could only turn off the fire, and went to the living room without taking off his apron.

When he arrived at the living room, he saw Wei Xia's face was flushed, and Ming Lou was laughing endlessly, so he hurried over to take Wei Xia's wine glass, poured most of the wine into Ming Lou's glass, and said, "What's the matter with you? Drinking children?"

Wei Xia's throat was hot, and he couldn't speak for a while, but was anxious to speak, so he could only wave his hands.Ming Lou spread his hands and said, "I didn't feed him. If you don't believe me, you can ask Wei Xia."

Wei Xia nodded, thought it was wrong, then shook his head again, the feeling was still wrong, he swallowed heavily, and opened his mouth in a hoarse voice: "No. Uncle Lou didn't pour me..."

Mingcheng took another look at Minglou, seeing that the latter was still smiling very contentedly, he was too lazy to talk to him, and turned around to change a glass of water for Wei Xia.

A glass of warm water poured into his throat, and the burning sensation caused by the alcohol subsided. Wei Xia finally regained his composure, and said to Mingcheng, "I'm just impatient, not Uncle Lou..."

Mingcheng looked at the two people in front of him, with very similar smiles, he also smiled: "Okay, it's still early, drink slowly. Drinking on an empty stomach makes you easy to get drunk."

After speaking, he took another extra look at Minglou: "It's not good for the stomach either."

After all, he still raised his glass, and the three of them had a drink together.

Usually Minglou and Mingcheng eat very simple food, but today it is quite different because of Weixia.Except for the after-dinner snacks and fruits, Mingcheng personally prepares other dishes from buying to cooking. In order to buy crabs that Minglou is satisfied with, the two of them made a special trip across the city early in the morning. , drove to the seafood market far away.

Needless to say, the dishes that took a lot of effort are rich. The only regret is that there are too few people, so there are not many dishes that can be cooked, but there are plenty of fancy dishes. , and was afraid that Weixia would feel that eating seafood would smell fishy, ​​so he cooked braised pork ribs and kept steaks in the refrigerator for emergencies.

Wei Xia still ate up such a table of hard dishes.

At the beginning, he was a bit concerned about etiquette. After all, he was a guest at the home of an elder he didn’t know very well, and he was in a strange country. However, Minglou and Mingcheng quickly noticed his restraint. , Minglou put his arms around his shoulders and said, "Weixia, let me tell you a secret."

Wei Xia blinked in confusion: "What secret?"

"Your father used to be a picky eater, but I cured him."

Wei Xia was greatly shocked: "Uncle Lou, don't fool me, my dad is really not picky."

Minglou laughed: "Really. After arriving in France, he didn't eat this or that. I asked him to cook for three days by himself, and he wasn't allowed to waste it. From then on, he ate everything."

Wei Xia felt that this was completely different from what the old man himself said.But Uncle Lou in front of him looked very reliable, and he didn't seem to be talking nonsense.But his old man has been a role model for Weisha since he was a child, so he still subconsciously defended him: "My dad was born in a poor family, and he has been in France for a long time. How can he be picky?"

At this time Mingcheng also joined the topic: "Weixia, what do you think your dad is best at?"

Wei Xia thought about it carefully: "... Serious work, no, please make others happy... Jiahui was in poor health when she was a child, and it was useless for other uncles and aunts to help her. She always cried, but my dad could make people happy. She laughed. No matter how difficult it is to bring up a child, there is no one that my father can't coax well."

Speaking of which, he suddenly thought, oh, I really drank too much wine and talked too much, so what are you talking about.

But the other two here are very interested in this topic now.Mingcheng asked again: "Why are you coaxing so well?"

"He is very good at telling stories and doing magic tricks. We all liked him when we were in Yan'an." It's strange to say, maybe it's alcohol, maybe it's food, or it's just this house, where the magic power is hidden, making him gossip Once opened, it can never be closed again.

"Oh, I can tell stories." Mingcheng repeated with a smile.

Wei Xia was taken aback, and smiled, but it's not that his old man is the best at telling lies as if they were true.

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered what his father had said to him, so he asked: "Uncle Lou, Uncle Cheng, my father said before that he learned his storytelling skills from someone he knew. That person is very good. The ability to tell nonsense with eyes is first-class, and the lies are as true as the truth. Sometimes it is obviously false, but as long as he tells it, it can become true. Don't you know this person?"

Minglou smiled and shook his head: "Never heard of it."

Wei Xia sighed regretfully: "My dad still admires that man, and he is very proud of it every time he talks about it. Jiahui and I used to always think that it would be great if we had the chance to meet each other."

Ming Lou asked: "What good is it to tell lies? If telling the truth and telling lies can achieve the same purpose, what good is a lie? A lie has no power. It can only be said barely as a strategy. Besides, nothing."

"That was not what I meant……"

But it’s nothing, for a while, Wei Xia couldn’t tell clearly.

Mingcheng just added porridge to Weixia's bowl, and said something here: "So Weixia, eat as much as you can. Your Uncle Lou means that in our family, we can't waste it."

Wei Xia felt that he was really drunk, so he felt that Uncle Cheng's words made sense, picky eaters are not good, and waste is not good, so let's eat.

Mingcheng looked at Weixia buried in hard work, very satisfied.

After eating all the hard vegetables, it was the turn of the crabs.Everything in the United States is big, the cars are big and the houses are big, and the flowers, birds, insects and fish seem to be a circle bigger.Wei Xia has never seen a crab bigger than his own face, but his Uncle Lou just said calmly: "Your face is like your father, with a slap face, so it's not as big as a crab. Those two that can be eaten are both is yours."

He taught Wei Xia how to eat crabs, and he regretted that the sea crabs were still too thick, which was not on the same level as the difficulty of removing hairy crabs.After lifting the back cover, Minglou said: "If this is a hairy crab, ask Ah Cheng to find you a crab monk. He is dexterous, and he is the only one who can peel off a whole one every time. Your father is the most impatient, and he doesn't even eat crab legs." ...Do you know what a crab monk is?"

Weixia hurriedly swallowed the fresh and sweet crab meat, and answered him: "I know. I read it in Mr. Lu Xun's "On the Fall of Leifeng Pagoda". But I haven't seen it."

"Then when you go back, if you have the opportunity to go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, ask someone to come and have a look for you." Ming Lou wiped his hands with a towel and continued to pour wine for Wei Xia.

After eating this meal, Wei Xia could no longer describe his current state as "satisfied with wine and food", and even "too hungry to walk" seemed to be a little less meaningful.But Minglou didn't care about him, and just said that he would digest it after another drink.

He pulled Wei Xia to sit on the sofa, with his legs resting on the coffee table, looking very comfortable; Wei Xia was dizzy after drinking, and forgot the restraint for a while, as if he was really in his own home, sitting So, I can't help but imitate it.Later Mingcheng came out with fruit, seeing them like this, couldn't help laughing, and then happily joined in.

So the three of them sat in a row like this, with their legs crossed in the same way, with wine in their hands. They didn't ask about Weixia's domestic affairs, and Weixia didn't mention it tacitly, but just gossiped about it. , Talking about Shanghai in the past, Beijing in the past, Paris where Wei Xia's father lived, Vietnam where Wei Xia was stationed briefly, odds and ends, obviously didn't say anything, but I don't know why, just a word Can make them laugh.Minglou taught Weixia to smoke cigars and distinguish different wines. Weixia drank and fell asleep happily.

In his sleep, he went back to when he was a child, Beiping had just been liberated, and their home was in a small quadrangle in the Nanchizi generation. There were lotus and goldfish in the large water tank in the center of the yard.The neighbors in the same hospital are all my father’s colleagues. We work and study together. These little children are the children of everyone. Their parents are also the parents of other children. During the long winter nights, they are always cheered by their parents. Amidst laughter or high-spirited talk, fall asleep peacefully in their arms...

Weisha once thought that such years had passed, but now, in this strange country, in the capitalist camp, he slept peacefully in a strange home he visited for the first time.

When I woke up again, I was awakened by a very low voice of conversation.

There are blankets on the body, and the sofa is spacious and soft, so it is not cold.Wei Xia didn't intend to eavesdrop on anything - he was still very sleepy when he just woke up, and he always felt that he could fall asleep again at any time, but although the conversation was soft, the tone of the speaker was soothing and gentle, which made him sleepy It faded away slowly.

He heard Uncle Lou saying, "It's six o'clock, or else don't call him. Let him sleep."

"I think so too. You didn't ask him before you bought the ticket, and not everyone likes operas like you." It was Uncle Cheng's voice.

"Not Wagner."

"It's not Wagner, and it may not be liked by others. Would you like to sleep? Also, tell me, the wine bottle was all empty when I didn't pay attention."

"Visha is here. It's rare."

"That didn't get the kid drunk either."

"I didn't drink much..."

Wei Xia opened his eyes, the living room was not turned on, and the curtains were thoughtfully closed.

He rolled over and the conversation stopped.

Wei Xia was embarrassed, and sat up: "...I'm really sorry, I drank too much and just fell asleep."

The two people in the conversation looked at him together.Minglou smiled and said, "It's best to sleep after drinking alcohol. Does your headache hurt?"

Wei Xia shook his head, then shook his head: "It doesn't hurt."

"Oh, drink well, this looks like your aunt. Do you still want to sleep?"

"I don't want to." Wei Xia lifted the blanket, and it turned out that the coat was also taken off

Minglou went to turn on the light: "Wanna go to the opera with us that night? The opera house is very close. Or do you want to go to the movies?"

Wei Xia actually wanted to go to the movies—watching a movie in the United States is simply unthinkable—but he looked at Minglou, then at Mingcheng, and said with a smile: “Opera is good. I Haven't seen the opera yet, only read it in books. So what?"

"It's an opera by Verdi. If it's translated into Chinese... oh, it's called "Force of Destiny"."

"Okay, everything will be arranged by Uncle Lou."

Minglou cast a smug look at Mingcheng.

Mingcheng ignored him, and only said to Weixia: "Then let's go to the movies another day. Recently, they said that there was a movie, and it had something to do with France. It should be interesting for you to learn French."

Wei Xia also agreed.

Since it was agreed to go to the opera, Wei Xia's clothes were naturally unacceptable.Minglou found a suit of his own for him to wear.When Wei Xia changed his clothes and came out, the two people who were waiting were silent for a while, which made Wei Xia who was already feeling restrained even more awkward: "...the collar is too hard."

Minglou smiled, pointed to Weixia and said to Mingcheng, "It looks like his father."

Seeing that Mingcheng was still wearing a sweater, Wei Xia couldn't help asking: "Uncle Cheng, where do you live? Is there still time to go back and change? Or can we meet at the Opera House?"

Mingcheng smiled: "I live here too."

"Oh. This is convenient." Wei Xiaquan answered casually without thinking too much.

On the way there, Ming Lou heard that Wei Xia couldn't drive, so he said that if he could stay a little longer, even if he had more free time, they could teach him.Wei Xia listened one by one, just laughed.

He accompanied them to the opera, and on the way home from the opera, Weixia's previous alcohol was turned up, Mingcheng stopped the car, and the three of them walked home.Minglou asked him if it looked good, and he answered honestly, it was very novel.it's OK.

Minglou stroked his chest, feeling: "Fortunately it's not Wagner."

There must be some secret to this sentence.Wei Xia thought, otherwise, why would Uncle Cheng laugh after Uncle Lou finished saying this.

They were on the streets of New York, it was late at night, and the street lights were very bright. He looked at Minglou, then at Mingcheng, Weixia suddenly didn't feel that this was a strange place anymore.

"Uncle Lou."

He called Minglou.

Minglou and Mingcheng walked a little ahead and turned their heads when they heard Wei Xia's voice: "Huh?"

Wei Xia looked into his eyes and summoned up his courage to ask him, "Who are you?"

Minglou glanced at Mingcheng first, and there were gentle smiles in the eyes of both of them: "Chinese."

Weisha laughed.The last stone in my heart fell to the ground.

"Then we are all the same."

END