Port City, August 2018.

August is still hot, and much of the north is still hot. The port city is also scorched by the bright sun, but as soon as the sun sets, the wet monsoon breeze slowly comes from the sea, taking away the tiredness of the small town and bringing the freshness of the night.

The World Cup is over, but the habits of Hong Kong people drinking beer and eating skewers have not changed. The scale of "Sun Kee Barbecue" has expanded a lot compared to before, merging two surrounding shops and setting up a stall outside.

When night falls, it's hard to find one. The waiters are constantly busy, and the "young grandmother" is holding her big belly and serving the diners with a smile. However, the smell of tobacco and alcohol was full of inside and outside the store, and everyone advised her to sit and collect money with peace of mind, so as not to be dangerous when walking around, and the smell of tobacco and alcohol was not good for the baby.

This is her second child, and two years ago, she gave birth to a strong boy, so she earnestly hopes that this time it will be a baby girl. She is very rich, hardworking and capable, although she has not read any books, but she is very attentive to her children's learning. Even if she sits and collects money, she watches her child read picture books and doesn't let him watch cartoons.

People from all over the world want to eat roast birds, and this kind of skewer can only be grilled by Sun Chengcai, the "young owner". Grilled shellfish has more stringent requirements for heat, but Sun Chengcai has a very precise grasp of it. The birds he grilled were juicy and chewy, and gradually became the signature of Sun Kee's barbecue.

smokes every day, especially in the summer, but thinking of his lovely wife and children, as well as the baby who is about to be born, Sun Chengcai is full of energy. He was fatter than he had been seven years ago, and his face had turned black. In his spare time, he sat on his horse with one leg crossed and squinted and smoked. There are still traces of youth on his face, but if he is in his thirties, no one will doubt it.

He called his wife "Ami". Originally from the far south, Ami used to be a waitress at Sun Kee's barbecue. Even before she had children, Ami was not slim and not very beautiful, but she was very diligent in her hands and feet, and she worked almost non-stop, which was very attractive. She was reluctant to spend the money she saved, except for sending it to her family, she went to the bank to save it, and her ability to be diligent and thrifty was the same as that of her father's generation.

Therefore, Sun Chengcai's mother said that if she could marry such a girl home, it would also be a blessing for the Sun family.

Before the age of twenty, Sun Chengcai never thought about lifelong events at all, except for helping in the store, he was playing games at home. After the college entrance examination, he wandered for half a year, and his parents disciplined him all day long, and he didn't take it seriously. At that time, Ami raised her head from a large pile of meat skewers and defended him with a smile: "He is still young, and he will be sensible when he is about twenty years old!"

Mother Sun looked disgusted: "Just like this bear, you won't be sensible at the age of thirty!"

"Then I'll do more for him. Ami pursed her lips and smiled: "Sooner or later, he will always be sensible anyway." ”

Ami's younger brother is the same age as Sun Chengcai, so she has always regarded him as a younger brother. Sun Chengcai's care for her was neither painful nor itchy, but he was still confused, so he was twenty years old. That year, Grandpa was hospitalized for cerebral hemorrhage, and the family suddenly became a mess. During his father's serious illness, Sun Chengcai was in a hurry to prepare for succession, and it was Ami who gave him the most help.

His father lives in the ICU, and he spends more than 10,000 yuan a day, and his mother is taking care of him in the hospital, and Sun Chengcai has to work hard to make money. I get up at three o'clock every day to go to the vegetable market to buy, and when I come back to take a nap, I have to skewer skewers, make seasonings, and clean up...... Several times I was so tired that I fell asleep, but it didn't affect the night business, because while he was asleep, Ami had taken his share of everything.

Won't she get tired?

She said she wasn't tired. But Sun Chengcai pondered, how much hardship did she have to endure to practice such a skill?

Sun Chengcai looked at her differently, and gradually had the willingness to associate with her. By the age of twenty-two, everything was on track in the family, and business was booming. Sun Chengcai did not have a holiday for more than a year, and in that winter, he expressed to his parents that he wanted to travel.

His parents gladly agreed, gave him plenty of money, and let him go out and relax. Sun Chengcai went home and sorted out his luggage, turned back to the barbecue restaurant, and said to Ami in front of his parents: "I want to take you with me." ”

......

No matter how long her parents have been petrified, and whether Ami wants to or not, Sun Chengcai pulled her away with courage. They went to N City, and Ami came out for the first time to travel, and she was very happy. But compared to her, Sun Chengcai's reaction was too bland.

"Chengcai, aren't you happy?"

"No upset. ”

"Then why are you sullen and frowning when you take pictures?"

Sun Chengcai looked at the lake and mountains, and sighed leisurely: "I heard that my good friend is studying in college here. ”

"Your best friend, isn't your best friend surnamed Chen? He has been discharged from the army and returned to Hong Kong City!"

Sun Chengcai smiled bitterly and shook his head: "There is also a good friend, before the college entrance examination, we were inseparable. Later, he said that he was going to go to university and would stop playing with us...... We thought he was just talking, but we didn't expect him to be admitted to university. ”

Ami pursed her lips and said, "I won't play with you when I'm admitted to college?"

"It's not ......" Sun Chengcai looked embarrassed: "It's my fault first, he is angry with me, I can understand it." ”

N City is a large city with a lot of tourism resources and many universities. Sun Chengcai only knew that he went to college there, but he didn't know which school it was. If you really inquire, you can probably find out. But he was timid, and even if he knew where he was, he probably wouldn't have the courage to go to him.

Even so, whenever he passed by a university, he would stop and look inside. Ami asked, "Is it four years of college?"

"Well, he should have been on it for four years. ”

"Then he should graduate, right? My brother will graduate this summer. ”

Sun Chengcai nodded: "I know, it's very likely that he has left the university, I'll just take a look." ”

In that era when roaming fees were expensive, he must have changed his mobile phone number as soon as he left Hong Kong City, so Sun Chengcai could only contact him through QQ. He used to use Alsace's avatar, but later changed to the Manchester United team crest, presumably quitting the game and shifting his interest to football.

Judging from his behavior of changing his avatar, he is probably still using this QQ number, but Sun Chengcai still did not contact him.

That time, they stayed in N City for five days, and after returning to Hong Kong City, Sun's mother's brows were always covered with a faint worry. And this anxiety turned into half joy and half worry after Ami began to vomit.

She was worried that something would happen to the two, and she also told her son to be measured. As a result, the two really got into trouble, but she was very happy to be able to marry a girl like Ami home.

Everything in the back is logical, Sun Chengcai traveled thousands of miles to propose, held a wedding in style, and was upgraded to be a father in 2016, everything went smoothly.

It is said that life after marriage is a mess, but the Sun family is happy and prosperous. Ami is still diligent and thrifty, honoring her in-laws and teaching her son. And she is not the rumored "brother demon", she provides her younger brother with education, and after her younger brother works, she also knows how to repay her sister, and never reaches out to ask for money until she has to, so the relationship between the two families is very harmonious.

became a father at a young age, and Sun Chengcai is more stable than his peers. Looking at his lovely wife and children, he also has the motivation to make money. When he was younger, he didn't like his family's business and didn't want to spend his whole life in the stuffy kitchen, but now he is actively developing new dishes, getting up early and working late at night, and he doesn't feel hard at all.

Sun Chengcai's life is so beautiful, so beautiful that he doesn't believe it's true. Only occasionally thinking of the friend who had lost contact, he would still feel sad for a while.

Back in 2018, it was the Midyear Festival, and after nine o'clock, the barbecue restaurant was much more deserted. Mother Sun specially told her daughter-in-law to take the child back early, "Today's Halloween, big night, don't let the children wander outside, so as not to bump into unclean things." ”

Ami didn't believe in these superstitions, but she didn't refute her mother-in-law, but said softly: "When Dad and Chengcai finish burning the paper, I'll take the little stone back." ”

Ami has one more thing to worry about. Every fifteenth, there is always a group of people who come to the store to make the Sun family unhappy. The leader surnamed Xia said that no one dared to mess with him in Hong Kong City, he came four or five times, and every time he picked up expensive points, but he never paid the bill.

According to the current financial resources of the Sun family, these thousands of yuan are nothing at all, but this kind of behavior is very embarrassing, and Ami is so angry that her stomach hurts when she thinks about it. Maybe he's just a bully who is afraid of the hard, if Sun Chengcai rises up to resist, maybe he won't come. But the father and son of the Sun family are very kind people, and they never cause trouble, but they are afraid that the group surnamed Xia will only get worse.

There were still guests shouting, but Little Stone was already asleep on the bench, and Ami covered him with a garment and touched his bulging belly. She hoped that the guests would leave early so that the door could close early and let the group surnamed Xia eat the closed door.

According to the customs of the port city, on the day of the Midyear Festival, they have to find a crossroads and burn paper for their deceased relatives. I don't know if it's a bad habit, but after so many years, they've all come over like this, and it's not easy to change.

Father Sun counted the paper piers, and after ordering them, Sun Chengcai took another one. After burning for so many years, Father Sun knew that his son's stack of paper was burned to his high school teacher who died young.

Father Sun said: "It stands to reason that it is enough to burn it once or twice, so why burn it every year......?

"Let's go, Dad, it won't cost much anyway. Besides, Mr. Meng was very good to me back then. ”

Father Sun stopped talking. The teacher passed away back then, and they were very sorry for the parents, but he didn't expect that Tong Tong actually fell out with his son because of this incident, and directly cut off contact, and he didn't show up all these years.

Father Sun nagged as he walked: "Everyone has their own fate, life and death are determined, that Teacher Meng's life is not good, Tong Tong can really blame you for not being able to do it for a lifetime?"

"If I hadn't taken Tong Tong's phone, even if Tong Tong couldn't save her, at least I could hear her voice...... Alas, it's all my fault for being playful and making him miss his last call with her. I really shouldn't have taken his phone, I really shouldn't have ......."

"Well, I don't know what to say. Father Sun looked up at the bright moon and sighed: "It's only been seven years, Tong Tong's anger should be gone, right? I don't know where this kid went, can he know that you have been feeling guilty?"