In the silent place

Bai Yutang was busy in the kitchen when he suddenly heard the phone ringing in the living room.

"Oh, auntie...well, okay...understand...OK, then I'll hang up." It was Zhan Zhao who answered intermittently.Bai Yutang knocked on the glass window and asked, "Your aunt?"

"Well, she said she'll be home soon." Zhan Zhao walked to the kitchen door and looked inside.Sliced ​​green peppers are on the chopping board. "Don't do it, they bought takeaway."

"It's half done. Vegetarian fried green pepper and eggplant, very simple." Bai Yutang picked up a head of garlic and threw it to Zhan Zhao.Zhan Zhao quickly reached out and grabbed it. "Peel some cloves of garlic for me."

"This dish, my uncle taught you?"

"No, it's so simple that you need to teach it? Can you understand it by self-taught?" Seeing Zhan Zhao peeling the garlic and pursing his lips in joy, Bai Yutang couldn't help but feel good. "If you want to learn from your uncle, you have to learn the tricks, as well as the difficult cuisine. By the way, the tofu cooked in Lu's Cantonese Restaurant is golden on both sides, crispy and tender. I have to ask your uncle how to cook it later. "

Zhan Zhao washed the peeled garlic cloves and put them on the counter.Shaking the drops of water off his hands, he asked, "What are you doing now?"

Bai Yutang picked up the medicine pot on the gas stove, not knowing where to put it. "Is the medicine in it still useful?"

"It's useless, isn't it? It's over." Zhan Zhao took it casually, pressed the lid, decanted the medicinal juice in the sink, and then poured the medicinal materials in the pot into the garbage bag.In fact, he didn't know much about it. Since he knocked over the noodle bowl last time, Liu Rong never let him approach the kitchen again.

"The taste is really strong, cat, you really can drink it." Bai Yutang grinned.

"Just get used to it. And this folk remedy is quite effective. It's better than not taking medicine." Zhan Zhao said, showing a slight smile.

"What a good boy." Bai Yutang said as he lit the gas stove, put the wok on it, and poured some oil into it.

"Better than you anyway." Zhan Zhao retorted.Take out a dry rag from the cupboard and wipe the washed medicine pot.

There was a sound of rustling footsteps in the corridor, and then someone opened the door with a key.Zhan Zhao wiped the handle indiscriminately, and ran out to open the door.

Jiang Yewan came back with Liu Rong with a takeaway bag in his hand.

"Auntie, what did you buy here?" Zhan Zhao asked with a smile, seeing his aunt's hands full of big and small bags, and hurried over to help.

"Isn't this the second son of your uncle's old comrade-in-arms who is getting married? Buy some of our specialties and bring them over."

Bai Yutang poked his head out from the kitchen and greeted the second elder.

"Boy Bai is here, bring out some dishes and bowls." Jiang Yewan said, raising the takeaway box in his hand to show Bai Yutang: "I just bought a takeaway, let's eat together."

"Okay, I've cooked a dish here, and I'll have it right away."

Zhan Zhao carried the bag and put it in the living room, and when he came back, he went to the kitchen to help with the dishes.

"You go in, this place is small, how can it accommodate so many people. Just let the two of them make up." Seeing her nephew running to join in the fun, Liu Rong pushed him into the restaurant.

"Where's your dad?" Liu Rong went to the bathroom to wash her hands, then came out and asked her nephew.

"He said he wanted to buy something for his colleagues, so he probably will be back soon."

"Lao Jiang, Lao Zhan hasn't come back yet, let's have dinner later."

"Don't wait for him." Jiang Yewan walked in with a boxed lunch and put it on the dining table. "Xiao Zhao, you're hungry. Let's drive first."

Touching the back of his head, Zhan Zhao couldn't bear to refuse his uncle's kindness, and wanted to wait for his father. "How about I call my dad and ask?"

"Your dad's brain is straight, and he won't tell you if he doesn't come back." Jiang Yewan muttered.

Liu Rong tugged at the hem of his wife's clothes and said to her nephew with a smile. "Xiao Zhao, go ahead and ask your dad if he comes back to eat." Seeing Zhan Zhao walking out of the restaurant, Liu Rong glared at his wife. "What are you complaining about? Isn't this making it difficult for children to do? You also say that people's brains are straight, but yours is turning around?"

If Jiang Ye heard this, he also felt that he was a little unreasonable, so he smiled stupidly.Just as he was about to argue with his wife, Bai Yutang came in with a dish and put it on the dining table. "Stir fry whatever you want, your elder brother will try it later."

"Okay." Liu Rong replied with a smile.

"I'm going to get the bowls and chopsticks." Bai Yutang turned around as he spoke, almost bumping into Zhan Zhao who walked in.

"My dad said he's having lunch with friends and there's no need to wait for him."

In case Jiang Ye saw that he was taking advantage of it, he quickly turned his head and said to his wife. "What did I say?"

"It's all right, don't say a few words. Go wash your hands." Liu Rong rolled her eyes at her wife, stood up and took out the lunch box and placed it on the table. "Then let's not wait for him, let's have dinner."

The four of them had lunch, and Bai Yutang wanted to help clean up, but Liu Rong waved at him. "Go, talk to Xiao Zhao."

"That's good." Bai Yutang smiled, turned around and went to Zhan Zhao.Liu Rong looked at his back, and let out a sigh of relief with the corners of her lips bent.Ever since her nephew was seriously ill, she had never seen him go out with any friends. Now that Bai Yutang appeared, he could be said to be his only friend. Seeing the two young people talking and laughing, she also felt happy.

When Bai Yutang walked into Zhan Zhao's room, he saw Zhan Zhao sitting on the bedside and flipping through the magazine in his hand.Walking over to him, he lifted his wrist and tilted his head to look at the cover. "Did your dad buy it this morning?"

"Well, how many more are there, do you want to read them?" Zhan Zhao said while taking the other magazines from the side of the bed and handing them to him.

Lie down on the empty bed next to Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang looked at him with his cheeks on his hands, and said with a smile, "Your dad is quite a cute little old man."

Zhan Zhao picked up the magazine and threw it on his head, saying bitterly, "Is your dad just a little old man?"

Touching the top of his head, Bai Yutang smiled and said, "Isn't that a little old man? An old man?"

Putting the magazine aside, Zhan Zhao picked up a cushion and placed it on his crossed legs, propped his arms up, and stared at the opposite wall in a daze.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Bai Yutang stretched out his hand and shook Zhan Zhao's eyes twice. "Don't get sleepy when you're full. There's a living person talking to you here."

"No, I just thought, you said my dad is an old man."

Seeing Zhan Zhao's silly expression, Bai Yutang smiled and said, "Those are people in their 50s and [-]s, what if they aren't old? My dad is also an old man."

"I always thought my dad was quite young. Let me just say that..." Zhan Zhao said with a sigh.

"Everyone gets old, and so do you and me. Sooner or later, your hair will also turn gray." Bai Yutang touched Zhan Zhao's thigh with his elbow as he spoke. "Don't tell me, your father is energetic enough. Your body really suits him. It's just carved out of the same mold."

"My dad is handsome." Zhan Zhao's slightly proud tone made him look a bit childish. "When I was a child, I looked at photo albums. I liked the wedding photo of him wearing a military uniform and my mother the most. At that time, the photo was still in black and white."

"I compare with your father, who is more handsome?"

Seeing Bai Yutang's serious expression, Zhan Zhao suddenly couldn't help but want to laugh, the more he laughed, the more he couldn't stop, and he didn't dare to laugh out loud for fear of disturbing his uncle and aunt, so he finally lay down on the cushion, laughing so hard that he couldn't stop laughing. Trembling and trembling.

"Is it that funny?" Bai Yutang asked seriously.

"What are you arguing with an old man?" Zhan Zhao couldn't help laughing as he spoke.

Bai Yutang's face darkened, his brows were all knit together.Seeing that he was really on fire, Zhan Zhao picked up the cushion and touched his head. "No matter how handsome my father is, he's still not your powdered sugar."

"That's different."

"Okay, you're handsome." As soon as this man's childish air came up, Zhan Zhao was really a bit confused.How old is he, and he is still the same as when he was in the first year of high school, nothing has changed.Seeing that there was finally a smile on Bai Yutang's face, he thought about laughing again just now, but suppressed it with his lips pursed.

"Cat, come and see me later?"

Zhan Zhao looked at his phone, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Wait until 01:30, and see if my dad will come back by then."

"You need your father's permission to go out?"

"No." Zhan Zhao smiled lightly. "My dad will go back in two days, and I don't know when he will come back next time. I want to spend more time with him."

"Cat, you are really filial to your father, much better than me." Bai Yutang said sincerely. "Actually, I haven't seen my dad for a while. This time I went back to catch up with him on a business trip, but I didn't meet him."

"Then wait for the opportunity to go back and see him."

"Ah."

The two were chatting, time passed quickly, and it was almost two o'clock in the afternoon, and Zhan Huaiyi hadn't come back yet.

"Cat, it's almost two o'clock. When will your dad come back?"

Zhan Zhao thought for a while and said, "Don't wait, I'll go talk to my aunt."

"Okay." Bai Yutang said happily, and followed Zhan Zhao out of the room.

When she heard that Zhan Zhao was going to go out, Liu Rong felt a little worried, she took her nephew's arm and said in a low voice, "Don't go too long."

"Well, I'll be back after a shake."

Bai Yutang saw that Liu Rong instructed Zhan Zhao like a child, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I promise to pack him up and bring him back to you."

Liu Rong was amused by him and patted his nephew on the arm. "Go, I will tell your dad when he comes back."

"Thank you, auntie." After Zhan Zhao finished speaking, he went back to his room, changed his clothes, and walked out of the house with Bai Yutang.

Sitting in the car, Zhan Zhao watched the street scene outside the window from time to time.For this city, most of the lots are unfamiliar to him.The courtyard of his grandmother's house when he was a child only left some vague pictures in his mind.He opened the window a tiny slit, and in the early spring afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. On the trees planted on both sides of the street, small green shoots climbed all over the branches, and the breeze blew through, bringing in a fragrance.The car slowly drove out of the commercial area, and the road gradually became wider.Looking at the high-rise buildings rising from the ground and the high-end western-style villas, and then recalling the alleys, old houses and houses in the past, I suddenly felt an inexplicable feeling in my heart.The development of the city is certainly encouraging, but the old streets and alleys that have passed away also make him heartbroken.Every street name in the old city has a history of hundreds of years, and every courtyard has its moving story. How many people's memories have been carried there, but now it is hard to find their traces.

Sitting in the car and watching for a long time, Zhan Zhao felt a little dizzy when he couldn't stop going backwards.He withdrew his gaze and leaned his head back on the chair back. "You came here to develop after graduation?"

"No, I stayed at home for a year, and I didn't come here until Muguan was established. My dad always wanted me to take over the management of the company, but you know, I have my plan."

"En." Zhan Zhao responded softly.

"My brother is quite capable, and now that Yunrui is older, my sister-in-law has also returned to the company to help him. It doesn't matter if I'm there or not."

"It's not bad for a son to inherit his father's business."

"I'm not interested." Bai Yutang turned his face to look at Zhan Zhao, he always thought that Zhan Zhao understood him. "Why did you say that suddenly? Why did you..." Sighing, Bai Yutang frowned and stopped talking.He didn't want to spoil the atmosphere.

"I just think that your father also has his reasons."

There was a moment of silence in the car, and when they were approaching the apartment, Bai Yutang saw Zhan Zhao with his eyes closed, stretched out his left hand and pushed him. "Don't sleep, it's almost here."

"En." Zhan Zhao responded, but did not open his eyes.

"What's the matter?" Bai Yutang saw that his expression was a bit uneasy, and hurriedly asked, "Are you motion sick?"

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly and opened his eyes. "Blame me, I just looked sideways for too long."

"Why don't you say anything, do you want to stop and go out to get some fresh air?"

"It's okay, didn't you say you're coming soon?"

"Well, just in front." Bai Yutang said, pointing out through the car window. "The tallest one on the right."

Looking at Bai Yutang's fingers, in the bustling neighborhood, a tall building soared into the sky, which looked particularly conspicuous. "You live on a high floor?"

"Hmm. Didn't expect that." Bai Yutang said with a smile.

"I didn't expect that. Didn't you always like houses made of wood?"

"It's not that it's temporary now. Besides, I can't afford that kind of villa right now."

As the two talked, the car had already entered the community and headed towards the underground parking lot.After parking the car, Zhan Zhao opened the door and slowly got out of the car.The parking lot was empty and cold.He put his hand in his coat pocket, turned his head and asked, "How tall is this building? Thirty floors?"

"Counting the second basement parking lot, there are a total of 32 floors."

"What floor do you live on?"

"The twelfth floor." Bai Yutang said, leading Zhan Zhao to the elevator.Press the button, but the waiting light does not come on.Frowning, he pressed twice more, but still no response. "What happened?" He muttered, and walked towards the stairs of the side door.Zhan Zhao followed him up two floors to the lobby on the first floor.A piece of paper was pasted on the iron door of the elevator, and a line of bold characters was printed on it: "The elevator is malfunctioning and temporarily suspended. Please forgive me from the owner."

"Damn it." Bai Yutang felt irritable and couldn't help but swear.Turning his head, he rubbed his hands, and said with a little embarrassment: "Cat, it seems that I can only wrong you to follow me up the stairs."

Zhan Zhao showed a slight smile, and said, "Fortunately, you don't live on the 22nd floor."

When Bai Yutang heard this, he burst out laughing.Raising his eyebrows, he said provocatively: "You are definitely not as good as me when you climb the stairs." Seeing Zhan Zhao glance at him with a contemptuous expression, he laughed even more arrogantly. "If you don't believe me, let's compare and see who goes up first?"

Seeing Bai Yutang's slightly childish expression, Zhan Zhao smiled helplessly, and walked straight to the stairs.

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