Painting the Soul (short story) Zhang Baotong

That day, Ding Shaoguang felt a little uncomfortable when he woke up in the morning, his whole body was weak, his breath was weak, and he found several bright red bumps on his waist. He thought www.biquge.info it was caused by skin allergies. Therefore, I thought that it might be a cold at night and had rheumatism. Yujuan saw that he was in high spirits, so she told him not to work. However, he felt that it didn't matter, so he insisted on going down to the field with everyone. When I got home from work at noon, the feeling of discomfort did not disappear, but worsened. He began to rest, and fell asleep on the bed in the corner of the living room.

It wasn't until Yujuan came back to see him during a break in the afternoon that she found that not only did he not get better, but also that his forehead was still a little hot. Yujuan was going to take him to the commune health center. However, Ding Shaoguang insisted that it didn't matter, he would be fine after a good night's sleep. Because he has never been seriously ill. In the evening, when Yujuan returned home from work and came to see Ding Shaoguang again, Ding Shaoguang's condition worsened, his whole body was hot, and he was already in a semi-coma. Yujuan was very angry and blamed Abba for staying at home and not doing anything, so that Ding Shaoguang became ill like this. Grandma was also furious with Abba. Abba hurriedly went to the village and called a few strong men to carry Ding Shaoguang to the commune health center with a door panel.

Ding Shaoguang stayed in the health center for three days in a row. In the past three days, Yujuan has been by his side day and night, taking care of him carefully. At noon that day, he felt much better, so he opened his eyes, only to see Yujuan lying on the side of his bed asleep. Seeing Yujuan sleeping soundly, I thought that she had been sitting on the edge of the bed with him for the past three days, giving him medicine, feeding him, and looking at him with worried and anxious eyes. I couldn't help but be moved, and tears couldn't help but roll down my eyes. He grabbed her hand and put it on his face. Her hands were so small and soft, yet so strong. He felt that she was as kind and lovely as his dear sister.

At this time, she opened her eyes and saw that her hand was pressed against his face, and the feeling was very, very touching and beautiful. So, she leaned her face against his, and smiled happily at him with her reddened eyes. Then he put his arms around her neck and said, "My dear little peacock." Then he kissed her.

Just then, Yujuan's Abba pushed the door and came in. He's bringing them food. They hurriedly let go of their hands and sat upright. Yujuan's father asked Ding Shaoguang, "How do you feel now?"

Ding Shaoguang said, "I feel much better. ”

Abba Yujuan said, "You're so sick, you're so scary." ”

Ding Shaoguang said, "Thank you, uncle, it's really troublesome for your whole family." ”

Yujuan's Abba said, "Don't say this, as long as you are well, we will be relieved." As he spoke, he put the food on the bedside table and opened it for Ding Shaoguang to eat. The rice that was delivered was rice, and there was sauerkraut stewed chicken. But the only thing in the rice sent to Yujuan was water spinach.

Ding Shaoguang asked Yujuan to eat chicken with him. However, Yujuan shook her head and said, "You are a patient, and I am not a patient. ”

Ding Shaoguang said in a joking tone, "Doesn't your Dai family have a saying that eating together is fragrant, and lifting together is light, and if we eat together, the chicken will be more fragrant." ”

Yujuan's father thought he was joking, so he didn't pay much attention to it. And although Yujuan knew that he was sincere, she knew that this chicken was specially made for Ding Shaoguang, so she just shook her head with a smile. Because he had already kissed her just now, the taste was sweeter than her eating chicken.

But Ding Shaoguang had to ask Yujuan to eat with him, or he wouldn't eat either. Because he wants Yujuan's Abba to watch, he really loves Yujuan. Yujuan had no choice, so she picked up a small piece of chicken with chopsticks and ate it slowly.

At this time, Ding Shaoguang said to Yujuan, "Why don't you let go of eating? Don't you Dai family also have a saying that only when you let go is fragrant when you let go, and only when you let go can you be profitable?"

Yujuan was amused by him. But Yujuan's father was a little embarrassed and hurriedly left under the pretext.

In the evening, Ding Shaoguang invited Yujuan out of the hospital and came to the market together. At this time, the sky was a little overcast, and the bazaar was empty and very silent. A drizzle of rain fell silently across the sky. The two walked side by side on the smooth bluestone slabs of the street until they came under the big tree in the street where they had met that day.

Ding Shaoguang pointed to the dense grove not far away and said to Yujuan, "It's still early, let's go play in the grove in front?"

Yujuan knew that this was what she had said to him that day, but unfortunately, he was called away by someone else. So, she felt very frustrated and disappointed at that time. Now that he invited her with the words she had said, she felt that he had a good sense of humor, and of course, she knew that he wanted her to make up for that shortcoming. She smiled and nodded.

So they came to the grove. It had just rained, and the woods were wet, and you could see patches of mist slowly dissipating from the edge of the forest with the wind.

After they walked in the forest for a while, Yujuan shrunk up and said, "It's so cold." ”

Ding Shaoguang hugged Yujuan tightly and asked, "Is it still cold?"

Yujuan nodded and said, "This way it won't be cold." ”

So, Ding Shaoguang hugged Yujuan tightly for a long time, and then began to kiss her. Kissing and kissing, he said to her, "My beloved little peacock, shall we get married?"

Yujuan thought she had misheard, so she said, "Say it again." ”

Ding Shaoguang said, "I said we got married, right?"

Yujuan was surprised and delighted, but she was afraid that it was just his impulse, so she said, "You really want to marry me?"

Ding Shaoguang said, "Yes. ”

Yujuan said, "Don't you want to go back to school in Kunming?"

Ding Shaoguang said, "Even if I go back, I will take you with me." I won't let you leave me. ”

Hearing this, Yujuan smiled happily on her face, and then, jumping up, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and kissed him desperately.

That night, the two of them slept all night in their hospital beds cuddled tightly.

The next morning, they returned home from the hospital hand in hand. After dinner, Ding Shaoguang called Yujuan's parents together, and said to the two old men, "Uncle, aunt, I want to marry Yujuan." ”

Yujuan's parents were taken aback, because this was too unexpected for them. They didn't know what to say. After a while, Aunt Yujuan asked, "Didn't you say that you were going back to school in Kunming sooner or later?"

Ding Shaoguang said, "Even if I go back, I will take Yujuan with me." I won't let her leave me. ”

Yujuan's aunt and father immediately looked surprised. In fact, they have long seen the scene of two young people getting along day and night and secretly falling in love with each other, but they pretended to turn a blind eye and never asked. Because they didn't know what would happen to their daughter and the young man. They hope that the two of them can become a loving couple, but they are afraid that their hopes will come to naught. Seeing that Ding Shaoguang was proposing to them, Yujuan's aunt said happily, "Okay, we'll have a banquet in two days." ”

Setting up a banquet is actually a "small wine" for the Dai people, which is a formal occasion for men and women to get engaged. Ding Shaoguang didn't know much about these customs, so according to Yujuan's aunt's arrangement, he bought some chicken, fish, pork, bitter bamboo shoots and some other dishes in the market, and also bought some wine. Then he invited Yurong to his original residence and helped him cook. After all the dishes were cooked, Ding Shaoguang put the wine and vegetables in two baskets and came to Yujuan's house to entertain them.

Two Eight Immortal Tables were set up in Yujuan's living room, and some relatives and neighbors were invited. When the guests have finished eating, it's time to have a little wine. The reason for drinking is to invite the man and the woman to have three companions together for a meal. Ding Shaoguang invited Xie Guangrui, Yurong's brother Yan Hong and the team's vice captain Yan Long. And the three girls invited by Yujuan are Yurong, Yujuan's cousin Yuxian and cousin Yuhan. The young men were all dressed in the clothes of Dai youth, and they were very energetic. And the girls dressed themselves up like fairies. And Yujuan is dressed up especially beautifully today, not only wearing her favorite dress, but also carefully putting on light makeup, and putting on the silverware and silver belt that her mother treasured for her. Plus her temperament itself is good, so she looks like a beautiful princess. Ding Shaoguang, on the other hand, was wearing a half-new Mao suit. for he had no other good clothes. However, he is willing to be a foil for his beloved Yujuan girl.

On the four sides of a table of eight immortals, there were exactly eight people sitting, and four men and four women sat opposite each other. As soon as the wine and food were placed on the table, everyone began to drink and eat, talking and laughing, and it was very lively.

This table is also very particular about serving food. The first dish is all hot, and the word "hot" is emphasized. So the dishes served are sauerkraut chicken and stewed pork knuckle. The second course is deep, and the dishes should be served with more salt, which has a more obvious salty taste. There are roasted bitter bamboo shoots, braised fish and fried eggplant with chili. The third dish should reflect the "sweetness", and the dishes served are mainly some glutinous rice and glutinous rice cakes, eight-treasure rice and some sweets.

The girls and the boys ate and drank and quarreled. The girls kept praising how beautiful and clever Yujuan was, and how many diligent and handsome young men were watching her and loving her.

And the guys kept listing Ding Shaoguang's ingenuity, and he will definitely become a capable and promising person in the future. The final ending, of course, is to achieve the effect of being talented and beautiful, and the combination of heaven and earth, so that everyone is happy.

As soon as the wine ended, the guests were just sent away, and they didn't care about cleaning up. Ding Shaoguang pulled Yujuan to the window and wanted to paint a picture for her, because he thought that Yujuan was so beautiful today. (To be continued.) )