The next morning, Anna went out, and Aunt Li Mei prepared a big bag of food for her on the road, and wanted to take her to the station, but Anna politely refused. My aunt took out two hundred dollars for her to carry.

Anna didn't.

"Take it, in case it's not enough!" said my aunt, "besides, the money was not from me, but was given to me for safekeeping when you came." ”

"I really don't need it," said Anna, "I had more than a hundred with me at first, and I had saved two months' salary, which was enough to spend." ”

Aunt Li Mei calculated it, and felt that it was about the same, and when she saw that she didn't take it, she took back the money and repeatedly told her to come back before the end of the year. Anna agreed, said goodbye to a few neighbors who had seen the inquiry, and went out with her simple luggage. When I walked out of Xinhua South Street, where Aunt Li Mei lived, I met Qiu Gaohe at the corner of the street, who was riding a bicycle, probably going to the police station to work, and saw Anna carrying a piece of luggage in her hand, so she quickly stopped and asked, "Li Mei, where are you going?"

"Back to Shanghai. Anna answered.

"Hey, it's a bit of a walk from the station, take my bike and I'll give you a ride!"

"No, no," Anna rejected, "thank you, I don't want to delay you from going to work." ”

This will be the general object of the children's conversation will sit in the back seat of the man's bicycle to swagger through the city, Qiu Gaohe also understands this reason, and did not dare to call again, so he had to watch her go in the direction of the station.

"When are you coming back, Li Mei?" he shouted again.

Anna looked back at him and smiled, "It depends." ”

……

Anna arrived at the station and took the first bus to the small railway station in Luoping County.

S City is a small city, not far from Shanghai, that is, far from here. Anna was reluctant to buy a sleeper ticket, and she didn't have the capital to buy it, so she spent more than 30 to buy a hard-seat ticket and boarded the green train.

After a long and difficult journey of dozens of hours, she arrived at the train station in S City at six o'clock in the morning that day.

Winter dawns in the south earlier than in the north, but at this point, it is still dark outside.

She lived here until she was eight years old.

As soon as she set foot in this city, which is very special to her, she has all kinds of memories of living with her parents and grandmother in the past few years as a child. Familiar and unfamiliar feelings instantly filled her chest, making her can't help but feel the urge to cry.

No. 12 Baihua Lane, this is the address of her home where hibiscus and vines are planted in the yard.

……

The day soon dawned, and the old southern town, which had not yet seen any signs of demolition, slowly woke up with the morning light and began its new day at a leisurely pace.

While inquiring from memory, Anna passed through the specious town at seven o'clock, and finally found the neighborhood of her home.

Baihua Hutong is just under the moss-covered old arch bridge in front of it.

In Anna's memory, there was a stall selling breakfast at the head of the arch bridge, and the stall owners were local couples, and the Suzhou-style breakfast was very authentic. Leek omelet, scallion pancake, soy milk, tofu flowers, small wontons, and gnocchi. Before her grandmother died, she often took her to Qiaotou for breakfast. Anna's favorite thing is to eat the sweet gnocchi that are freshly packed. The skin is sticky and sticky, and when you bite it, the black sesame filling will flow out, full of sweetness, and the fresh meat filling is also full of soup, and it is more expensive, five cents a piece. But she didn't like minced meat, and sometimes her grandmother would sigh gloomily and say to herself, "If only your brother were here, he likes to eat ......."

Although the family never talked about the unexpected death of her brother named Xiaoguang, as Anna grew up, she gradually knew what happened at that time. It was September of this year, the first week of Xiaoguang's middle class, and the street kindergarten where he was located caused a fire due to aging wires. At the time of the fire, the kindergarten was taking a nap, and Xiaoguang and a dozen other children could not escape and unfortunately suffered.

This incident was a huge blow to the whole family. My grandmother was sick for a long time, and Anna's mother, who was a teacher at the time, also washed her face with tears for a long time, even to the point of having to leave her job without pay. Anna's father was originally stationed abroad all the year round, and it was rare to go home a few times a year, but after this incident, he felt guilty and blamed himself, and finally decided to spend more time with his family, which led to his later job change.

……

Anna had already seen the breakfast stall across the river. As she remembers, in the fog, the stall owner and his wife are busy, seven or eight diners are sitting at a low table on the side of the road, a cake in front of them, a bowl of tofu flowers, and the air is filled with the sweet taste of mellow soy milk that Anna has not seen for a long time.

Anna suppressed the sudden acceleration of her heartbeat, got off the bridge, looked at the stall owner couple she remembered, and walked slowly towards the alley of her house.

Suddenly, her steps froze.

She saw an old lady walking out of the alley with a vegetable basket in one hand and a little boy in the other.

The old lady was kind and neatly dressed, and the little boy was five or six years old, wearing a beanie hat and a blue coat, and carrying a small school bag on his back.

"Grandma, grandma, I want to eat meat gnocchi!"

The little boy went straight to the breakfast stall.

"Okay, okay," the grandmother behind her followed to the stall.

"Old Tang's family, a bowl of small wontons, two meat soup balls!"

"Wait a minute!"

Old Tang's wife was quick with her hands and feet, and quickly cooked the things and served them, "Be careful of scalding, I'll bring it to your grandson." ”

"Auntie, I heard that your son came home yesterday?"

The old lady nodded happily while giving the money: "Yes, my son came home yesterday!"

"When are you leaving?"

"Just say it's a day, and I'll leave tomorrow!"

"Yo, then I'm going to cook a good meal today!"

"Yes, yes, when I send my grandson to kindergarten, I'll go grocery shopping!"

……

Anna hid behind a telephone pole, staring intently at her deceased grandmother and her brother Xiaoguang, whom she had only seen in photos, and did not have the courage to take a step.

Xiaoguang is a very beautiful little boy, even better looking than in the photo. The forehead hair is slightly curly and has a pair of bright and large black and white eyes.

The gnocchi was a little hot, he took a bite, immediately spit it back into the spoon, pulled out a strand of saliva, and then puffed up his cheeks and blew vigorously, suddenly as if he felt something, and turned his head to look in Anna's direction.

He saw Anna hidden behind a telephone pole at a glance and met Anna's gaze.

Anna looked at the little boy who was related to her, her eyes suddenly soured, and she couldn't help but smile at him.

Xiaoguang seemed to be a little shy, and immediately turned his head and continued to blow the gnocchi, and after a while, he couldn't help but quietly turn around again and look at Anna again.

"What are you looking at? If you don't eat it, it's going to get cold. ”

After chatting with a few neighbors on the side, Grandma turned around and saw that the contents of the small light bowl had not been eaten, so she urged.

Xiaoguang swallowed what was in his mouth, turned his head and pointed to the telephone pole, and said vaguely: "Grandma, there is a sister over there who smiled at me just now......

"Who-"

Grandma followed Xiaoguang's finger and looked over.

Anna's heart was pounding, and she hurriedly turned her back and hid behind a telephone pole again.

"I don't know you!" Grandma looked at it and said indifferently, "Okay, okay, wipe your mouth yourself, grandma will send you to school!"

Xiaoguang picked up a handkerchief pinned to the chest of his clothes with a pin and wiped his mouth seriously.

"Goodbye, Auntie!"

He picked up his schoolbag and jumped off the stool, waving goodbye to the stall owner Lao Tang's family.

"Hey, goodbye Xiaoguang!

The old Tang family said happily.

Xiaoguang was led by his grandmother to the bridge, and when he passed by the edge of the telephone pole, he couldn't help but turn his head and look at Anna who was still standing there, with curiosity in his eyes.

Anna watched the small figure gradually disappear from sight, and an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.

When she was young, she always wished that she could have an older brother like other girls, and he would protect her.

Now, Xiaoguang really appeared in front of her like this.

There is such a little brother Zhengtai who has exactly the same blood in her body and asks her to guard, isn't it another wish to be fulfilled?

……

Anna bought a bowl of small wontons at the breakfast stall, ate it slowly, and then sat there, looking at the entrance of Baihua Lane, and didn't move for a long time.

It's almost eight o'clock at this time, and there are not many people eating breakfast, and the old Tang family didn't drive her away, but they just thought she was a little strange, and while cleaning up, they accosted her in a soft-sounding local dialect: "Girl, what's the matter with someone from out of town?"

Anna naturally spoke a local soft language, and when she opened her mouth to answer, she suddenly stopped, and her blood coagulated.

A man is pushing a triangle bar bicycle out of the alleyway.

The man was in his early thirties, with thick eyebrows and a tall nose, and he exuded a capable and heroic spirit, and next to him was a young woman of twenty-five or sixteen years old. The woman is petite, fair-skinned and beautiful, dressed in fashion, perms the popular delphinium-style short hair, carries a bag on her body, and walks side by side with the man.

Although the two didn't hold hands, they looked at it with a sticky taste of affection.

"Guoqiang, personally send your wife to work? Xiao Yu went out a lot later than usual today!"

The old Tang family saw it and greeted them with a smile.

Although the woman who walked with him was a young woman, there was still a little girlish charm in her eyebrows and eyes. Hearing the good-natured joke in the words of the old Tang sister-in-law, she was a little shy, and quietly reached out and pinched her husband's arm on the side.

The husband's expression remained unchanged at all, and he said with a smile: "Yes, sister-in-law Tang! Xiao Yu said in the morning that her feet hurt a little and she was delayed when she went out." I'm fine anyway, send her over. ”

"Yes, yes, you are rarely at home, you should be good to Xiao Yu when you come back!" the old Tang family nodded with a smile, "Your mother just went to buy vegetables." Xiao Yu also gets off work early in the evening, you family have a good meal!"

"Thanks!

The man pushed his bicycle and passed by Anna with his wife, and finally they both got on the bridge and left.

From the moment they appeared at the entrance of the alley, Anna recognized them at first sight, they were her parents An Guoqiang and Xiao Yu.

Thirty years ago, before she was born, she was in the prime of her parents!