Old Chinese medicine and small vendors

It will be New Year's Eve in five days, and it is only two days away from the scheduled final day of running.

The temperature dropped again and again, and it snowed three times in a row. The surrounding scene was desolate, but children's laughter could be heard from time to time.

The Spring Festival holiday is the busiest day in Gaodong Street.

The juniors who usually go out to work and study all go home to pay New Year's greetings, which is festive and peaceful.

Wen Cheng deliberately closed the store an hour earlier today. He tightened the scarf around his neck, let out a breath of hot air into the air, and walked back slowly after it liquefied and disappeared.

There are few people in the vegetable market during the Chinese New Year.

He went around the stall twice, but the dishes were scarce and expensive, and finally had to stop at the sausage noodle stall.

"Doctor Wen!" Sister He wore pink rabbit earmuffs, rubbing her hands and smiling at him, lively and lovely.

Wen Cheng also laughed: "Pack three copies for me."

"Okay!" Sister He put away the comic book beside her, and neatly drew out two large bowls of rice rolls.

Wen Cheng took it and thanked her.

Sister He waved her hand quickly, and asked with a smile, "Is the kid coming today?"

"En." Wen Cheng remembered that it was Hu San who sent Gu Ke over, and maybe he would stay for dinner, so he bought another one.

On the way home, he made a detour to Sister Liu's barber shop, and when he came out, the rice rolls were a little cold.

"Wow woof woof!" Wu Zui heard his footsteps from a long distance away, and jumped out the door in a rush, and hugged his thigh with a lunge!

"Ouch!" Wen Cheng was pushed back a step, he looked at the growing ugly dog, and matted his hair, "Yes, it's very good, a new year, a new ugly way."

"Wang." Wu Zui sniffled, and looked back rather aggrieved.

Wen Cheng also looked up and found that Gu Ke was showing half of his head, smiling at him nervously and flatteringly.

Wen Cheng raised her eyebrows: "Come?"

Gu Ke nodded vigorously, but was pushed back by Ying Yanyu halfway through.

"Orange!"

Wen Cheng was hugged, and the scarves of the same style on both of them were entangled together, making them warm and intimate.

"Let me help you." Ying Yanyu took the plastic bag in his hand, and put his cold hand into his clothes, "I just discussed with the third child, and I will go to the foot of the mountain tomorrow morning to step on the spot. The final four group, let’s spend money to hire a skilled person.”

After talking for a long time, he realized that Wen Cheng hadn't answered, so he shut up and looked over.

"No need." Wen Cheng said.

Ying Yanyu was quiet for a moment, put the plastic bag on the dining table, and then asked him, "Why?"

Wen Cheng suddenly looked sideways at Hu San who was sitting on the sofa.

Hu San shook his hand holding the teacup, and smiled guiltyly: "What's the matter?"

Wen Cheng raised her eyes, looked at Ying Yanyu who was a little taller than herself, and the corners of her mouth twitched: "You should have known earlier than me."

Ying Yanyu's eyes moved, and he wanted to explain.

But Wen Cheng didn't give him a chance: "During the preliminary competition last time, there were policemen mixed in. It's not surprising. This kind of competition will end sooner or later. I just didn't expect that you are cooperating with the police."

"..." Ying Yanyu pursed his chapped lips, and took Wen Cheng's hand, "I'm sorry, when we were talking about cooperation, I just separated from you, and I didn't know about my father-in-law and mother-in-law, but Don't worry, Hu San and I are ready, as long as we find them, we can take them away no matter what..."

"It's really unnecessary." Wen Cheng sighed wearily, "Maybe it's a good thing, they may not be hiding in there, if they really are there, it's so cold in winter...it's not as good as a prison, at least for me Can entrust someone to take care of them.”

"I'm sorry." Ying Yanyu took a step forward, lowered his head and pressed against the other's forehead, "I will take care of them too."

Wen Cheng wanted to laugh, but couldn't.

Over the years, he has asked many people to help investigate the news of his parents, and finally the clue points to Gaodong Houshan. If there is no one here, then... maybe they can't be found.

"Hu San, I'm hungry." Gu Ke didn't dare to disturb Wen Cheng and the others, so he could only call Hu San.

"Why are you neither old nor young?" Hu San was a little depressed, even a child could overwhelm him.

Gu Ke just looked at him like this and stopped talking.

"You see, I'm useless. Didn't you just eat a bowl of Malatang?" Hu San was surprised. Couldn't this baby be full?

"Let's eat rice rolls." Wen Cheng adjusted his mood and handed the disposable lunch box to the child.

Gu Ke held it obediently, and thanked him politely with a boyish voice that hadn't changed.

Hu San rolled his eyes again.

Ying Yanyu also distributed the chopsticks to them, and ate them after sitting down, and asked by the way: "Have the adoption procedures been completed?"

"Okay," Hu San said pouting, "I beg you, hurry up and take this little ancestor here."

"Why, didn't you still clamor to recognize him as your son?" Wen Cheng laughed.

"Damn it! He's so polite and obedient in front of others, but when he gets in front of me, his tail goes up to the sky," Hu San said unwillingly, "I'm telling you, don't look at him like this, he will be very annoying. The old man is happy, and I am afraid that my dad will not be able to think about it one day, so I will give him some of the family property..."

"So powerful?" Wen Cheng looked at the child who was working hard, and suddenly said in a low voice, "You can really get a share of the family property? Look at how hard your brother Yan Yu is drawing manuscripts..."

Gu Ke chewed for a while, then nodded very seriously: "Okay, I understand."

"Fuck! What are you doing!" Hu San almost spit out a mouthful of rice rolls.

He was still moaning when he left at the end, and insisted on taking Gu Ke back to raise him for another two days.

Wen Cheng didn't object either, he just patted Gu Ke on the head.

A helpless child seems to have a talent for knowing how to please others, just like when he was adopted, he almost put his life on the line.

"Chengcheng," Ying Yanyu worried that he would mind, "How do you know?"

Wen Cheng: "I asked Sister Liu."

In response to Yan Yu's "ah", he had forgotten how many Buddhas lived in Gaodong Street.

"It's okay for you to cooperate with the police, but I have a condition."

"Well, anything is fine."

"You can't go the day after tomorrow."

"......how about you?"

"I'll go to the foot of the mountain and wait." Wen Cheng blinked, as if restraining herself, "You can't have any accidents, Ying Yan Yu, the rest of your life, from now on, nothing can happen to you."

"......it is good."

However, when the new year is approaching, firecrackers are resounding everywhere, and the booming confetti stretches to the back mountain of Gaodong, making it even colder.

Ying Yanyu opened his down jacket, wrapped the frozen Wen Cheng, and waited with him until the end.

The police wailed from the deep mountain and descended several times. Wen Cheng didn't know anyone sitting inside.

"It's okay," Ying Yanyu hesitated for a long time before whispering in his ear, "I'll always be here."

......

Two years later.

"Orange Papa's Little Tadpole" is over, and it has been put on the big screen as a cute animation.

Ying Yanyu finally bought a car, but it was useless, and the two still lived in that small rural villa.

In the midsummer of this year, the lotus leaves on the roof of the building are full of ponds again.

Blossoming heads held high, shyly covering the lotus pods.

Gu Ke was carrying his schoolbag and was watering the loofah on the roof of the building. Wu Zui was lying at his feet, and the fur on his body was a little white.

"Wuzui! You bastard! You two come down to have breakfast!" Ying Yanyu rushed up from the courtyard on the first floor and shouted.

Gu Ke said "Hey".

Wu Zui shook his tail, but did not move.

Gu Ke glanced at it, and crouched in front of him in a panic: "Zi'er, come with me."

"Woo..." Wu Zui let out a low bark from his throat, and stood up with difficulty.

Seeing this, Gu Ke immediately picked it up and walked downstairs cautiously.

After breakfast.

Gu Ke went to school.

Wen Cheng was not in a hurry to go to work today, he was sitting in the courtyard with Ying Yanyu, the willow tree outside was already higher than the wall, shaking his head in the morning breeze.

The sun rises.

They were sitting on the bench with the rocking chair beside them, and Wuzui lay quietly in front of their feet, its tail flicked and stopped, and it brought a small wind and slapped them on their calves.

"Orange," Ying Yanyu tilted his head and raised one corner of his mouth, "What color do you see the willow leaves outside?"

Wen Cheng answered without thinking, "Green."

Ying Yanyu grinned, still like the kid who begged for spanking back then: "That's because you didn't look at it carefully, it's golden."

When Wen Cheng looked again, the morning sun shone on the bamboo leaves, and they were indeed golden.

He looked at Ying Yan Yu seriously again, and suddenly laughed: "Then you just like me."

"...I like it, I still love it."

"I am very honored."

The author has something to say: over.

I wanted to write a short story of about [-] words, but I was reluctant, and it exceeded my expectations.

Thank you for accompanying Wen Cheng and Ying Ge through a short period of their lives.