The pre-dinner soup is served, the creamy pumpkin soup is rich in milky aroma, golden in color, and the milky flavor and pumpkin fragrance are mixed together, making people look appetizing and salivating.

However, Jiang Lai and Lin Chuyi didn't mean to taste it. Let the aroma swirl in front of your eyes, making the person in front of you even more blurry and invisible.

"Let's call that handsome man an old ghost, and it is said that close friends at the time called him an old ghost, saying that he had a pair of all-powerful ghost hands. In fact, at that time, the old ghost had already found a job in Bihai, working as a restorer in a porcelain museum, although the salary was scarce and life was difficult, but at least he could ensure that the family lived in peace and stability. Later, the old ghost received a phone call, the Dunhuang grottoes were seriously damaged, and a large number of professionals were urgently needed for rescue restoration, the old ghost resolutely quit his job, returned to Dunhuang with his wife and children, and returned to his hometown where he was born and raised. ”

"The old ghost's wife is from the blue sea, and the wife's parents do not agree with their daughter being separated from themselves, and they can't bear to let their daughter and grandson go to that desolate and barren place where there is nothing but the desert and the wind and sand. The parents hugged their grandson and refused to let go. The wife ostensibly agreed to her parents' request that she wanted to stay in Bihai, but she packed her luggage and caught up with her husband's departure when her parents were unprepared. ”

"The family met in Dunhuang, and they lived in a small dilapidated courtyard, which was as cold as an ice cave in winter and as hot as a furnace in summer. However, because the family is together, it seems that there are no difficulties that cannot be overcome. ”

"The old ghost repaired murals, calligraphy and paintings, and porcelain in Dunhuang, and everything that could be repaired. The wife opened a barren land behind the small courtyard and planted greens, peppers, eggplants, leeks, pumpkins, and cantaloupe...... Because the summer in Dunhuang is long and hot, and the sunshine is particularly abundant, the watermelon and cantaloupe there are also exceptionally sweet. By the way, the wife also raised two chicks, originally the neighbor gave them three, but one died, only two grew up to be chickens, at that time to be able to eat eggs once, it was a happy moment for the family to improve their lives. If you can accumulate eggs, then ride a bicycle to the market dozens of miles away to exchange them for mutton, stew potatoes and mutton or eat mutton and green onion dumplings, it will be happier for the family than the Chinese New Year. ”

"That angelic child....... Let's call him a little ghost, that's what the neighbors' kids called him back then. Why did you call him that? Maybe it's because his father was called an old ghost. The father is Lao Wang, and the son is Xiao Wang. The father is an old ghost, and the child is naturally a little ghost. When the little ghost left Bihai, he was still in swaddling clothes and couldn't speak, but by the time he began to speak and began to remember, he had already adapted to life in Dunhuang. Therefore, he didn't know what the difference was between Dunhuang and Bihai, he only knew that his grandparents were in Bihai, and his grandparents would occasionally send him some delicious food or fun from Bihai. ”

"When I was a child, my life was carefree, except for when I couldn't memorize ancient Chinese or couldn't write big characters well, of course, there were times when my fingers were blistered by the horn knife. I don't feel pain when I grind, but when I pick up a blister, it hurts. However, when the calluses on the palms of the hands get thicker and thicker, no new blisters will grow. ”

"When did the imp feel unhappy? Because of long-term malnutrition, and eating a lot of food with stones, and exhaling too much air with dust, my mother's lungs had problems, and she just started coughing, and everyone didn't care about it at all. After all, Dunhuang at that time would cough a few times even if he was not sick. When a sandstorm passes, adults and children cough for a long time. You can't imagine what Dunhuang was like at that time. ”

Later, he began to have blood in his phlegm, and the old ghost asked his wife to check her body, but her wife was reluctant to go. I don't have money, so I can't afford to be treated. By the time he started vomiting blood, the situation was already very serious. Money is needed for treatment, but the old ghost only repairs antiques and cultural relics for the country all his life, and does not accept private work, so he has no income at all, let alone the huge amount of money for his wife's treatment. ”

Jiang Lai raised his head, looked at Lin Chuyi, who was sitting opposite, and said with a smile: "At the critical moment, a well-wisher appeared. He took a pen holder to Dunhuang and found the old ghost, saying that as long as you help to imitate an identical pen holder, I can give you a fee, which is enough for you to pay for your wife's surgery. ”

"The old ghost has never faked, never done it in his life. The ancestors of the old ghost have never faked it, saying that it is a hurtful thing. The old ghost considered it for a day and a night, and in order to treat his wife, he agreed to accept the commission, but on the condition that the imitations could only be used for exhibitions and private collections, and could not be sold as genuine works..... Fakes should be fakes, and they cannot be used as genuine works to flow to the market, deceive others of money, and change the history of cultural relics. The client agreed to the old ghost's request, and paid the imitation fee of 17,000 yuan proposed by the old ghost on the spot. Of course, the money was settled by check, and the day of delivery was the time to get the money. ”

"The old ghost's craftsmanship is indeed very good, and he made an identical pen holder according to the cracked pen holder. The client was very satisfied with this pen holder, and praised the old ghost and said that it was exactly the same as the real one, and even the connoisseur could not tell the truth at all. The client left, taking the two pen holders with him. The hospital finally invited experts from Beijing to make an appointment to operate on the old ghost's wife in three days. ”

"The day before the operation, the old ghost saw a newspaper in the research institute, and the newspaper published the news that a mysterious buyer had bought a pen holder for 370,000 yuan...... There is also a picture on the newspaper, which is the pen holder that the old ghost imitated himself. The old ghost almost fell to the ground at that time, he knew that he had been deceived, and in a hurry, he remembered that the client had left a phone number when he left, so he immediately borrowed the phone and dialed it...... The client did not hide his behavior of selling fakes, and threatened the old ghost that the fakes were made by you, and if you dare to report or make it public, your family's century-old reputation and the glory that generations have worked hard for will be dusted..... I'll just say I'm writing off the accounts for you, and you're the one behind the scenes. Yes, that pen holder is indeed made by an old ghost. Even if you can deceive others, you will never be able to deceive yourself. ”

The old ghost is in a dilemma, he does not dare to bear the infamy of counterfeiting and smuggling, which is inconsistent with his style of dealing with people all his life, and it will make the family suffer the humiliation that can never be washed. However, he desperately needed the 17,000 yuan...... The expert from Beijing was coming the next day, and he had to convert the check into a banknote and send him to the hospital. ”

"That night, the old ghost, who never drank alcohol, was very drunk. Perhaps perceiving her husband's pain, the old ghost's wife suddenly deteriorated that night, vomited a lot of blood, took the old ghost's hand and said: When I first came to Dunhuang, they told me that there is a kind of poplar tree in Dunhuang, which lives for a thousand years and does not die, does not fall down after death, and is immortal for a thousand years after falling...... I want my husband to be like that poplar tree. ”

Jiang Lai looked directly into Lin Chuyi's eyes, and his voice calmly told the story that was extremely distant but seemed to be within reach, but I don't know when it started, tears had already flowed across his face, dripping one after another on the white tablecloth at the neckline.

The white tablecloth was already soaked, spreading out wider.

He kept his smile as always, the smile was elegant and gentle, but it made people feel a strong pathos that could not be dissolved, looked at Lin Chuyi and said softly: "My wife is gone, and the old ghost will also die of depression after a year." The check for 17,000 yuan was torn into pieces by him and spit into his stomach one by one. When the old ghost left, he said to the little ghost: There is a poplar tree in Dunhuang, which will not die if it lives for a thousand years, does not fall down for a thousand years after death, and is immortal for a thousand years after it falls...... I want my son to be like that poplar tree. ”

Jiang came to look at Lin Chuyi, grinned, and said, "My story is finished, isn't it very good?"

"Yes. It's nice to listen to, it's very touching. Lin Chu's eyes were moist, and he had already cried into tears. She looked at Jiang Lai, wiped a handful of tears, and at the same time wiped away the snot that came out of the nose that she didn't know when, and tried to laugh, but she cried even more sadly, and said in a choked voice: "Jiang Lai, I'm sorry, I was too reckless." I shouldn't ...... I shouldn't have confessed to you. ”