Chapter 7: The Second Mystery (1)

There are two mysteries about Cao Li's strange friendship, the first is related to the strange man, and the second is related to the landlord Cai Yansheng. As is customary, I should have narrated another mystery first, but I can't help it, I have to narrate the actual development of the situation in time, and I must tell you that although the first mystery came into my field of vision before the second, the second mystery unfolded in more detail than the first.

According to Cai Yansheng's law of action, the second mystery could have been hidden for a long time. Now we all know that being exposed prematurely in front of people is entirely because of Uncle Zheng. Uncle Zheng was carried back to the rental house that day, and soon the whole compound knew about it, and they also learned that he was angry like this because of the friendship between Cao Li and Cai Yansheng.

All the tenants agree that Cai Yansheng is a snob, and they think that snobbery and unprofitable people are brothers, which means that people like Cai Yansheng will not go to places without interests. Cao Li's interests in Cai Yansheng can't help but become a mystery to the entire compound.

As with many mysteries, the mystery is often unfolded not all at once, but layer by layer. The first silk that people drew was Cao Li's daughter Zhang Wen. Strictly speaking, this statement is wrong, strictly speaking, no one can pull out Zhang Wen's silk, but Zhang Wen's silk appeared in front of us by herself.

When I saw a woman with long flowing hair smoking on the balcony at noon that day, my memory immediately went back to the day when I played a dangerous game with Liu Weijian and them, and I mistakenly thought that the Chen father and daughter had come back and shouted at the door. It was this woman who answered me in a thin and nice voice. Later, I forgot about this scene, and I forgot to trace the relationship between her and Cao Li, let alone anything that happened in the compound with her.

Uncle Zheng died, and on the night I saw the smoking woman, my parents had just finished work, and they heard that Uncle Zheng had died before they could get home. Uncle Zheng's rental room, which is less than 20 square meters, is full of people, all kinds of faces, and all kinds of expressions. Compared with the two mysteries in front of him, Uncle Zheng's death is not a mystery, and the reason for his death is clear, which is caused by the previous mystery.

That night, my parents watched the excitement until late, and we didn't even eat dinner, as if the surprising thing could be used as food to fill our stomachs. My father came back relatively early, and he was the first few to see Uncle Zheng die. At that time, Uncle Zheng's dead body had not been touched, and in his father's words, the death of Uncle Zheng he saw was natural.

He described Uncle Zheng's hair as messy, and the wrinkles on his face were deeply reflected by death. His eyes are wide open, and although he is dead, he still has God, and it seems that when he dies, he will look for light, just like his father who chases after him day by day, and suddenly falls down and dies. At the time of his death, his arms were in some sort of combination, his right arm stretched straight and his left arm curled up in front of his chest. That's what I do when I see characters on TV who have a strong resistance to life.

Many years later, I recalled the details of Uncle Zheng's death again, and finally realized it. He opened his eyes wide, looking for not some ethereal light, but only the time when everyone confessed his innocence. What he repels with his arms is Cao Li's friendship with anyone, including the landlord.

Before Uncle Zheng pulled Zhao Qiuhong and kicked open the door of Cao Li's house before his death, there was another important detail that I did not explain, I said that Uncle Zheng was very emotional that day, he did not take the wrong medicine, nor did he get a bad injection. That sentence is actually a foreshadowing of the plot, but it is not deliberately set out of skill, but the incident has developed to this point, and as the narrator, I really don't know that Uncle Zheng once liked it, and for her to nail the soles of her feet into a hornet's nest Widow Zhou returned to the compound.

How could Uncle Zheng let people's misunderstanding of him become a stain on Widow Zhou's heart? His excesses are understandable to all who have liked and been liked. Widow Zhou's relationship with Uncle Zheng's death is passive, which means that he did not do anything related to it.

The old residents in the compound all knew about the hasty relationship between Uncle Zheng and Widow Zhou that did not end in the end. Some nosy people said to Widow Zhou: "You are the closest person in Uncle Zheng's heart, closer than relatives, if you can participate in his posthumous affairs, he will be happy." ”

Uncle Zheng had no children, only one nephew came to the funeral. The funeral was very simple, during the whole process, Widow Zhou enthusiastically participated and helped a lot, and her behavior according to us is in her mind.

After the funeral, Widow Zhou said to people as soon as she had the right opportunity: "There is more to the funeral than the funeral, what are the other things after the funeral?" ”

What "other" is, "other" is a general reference, there are many possibilities, and it can only be finally clarified after it happens. Later, we finally learned that the "other" in Widow Zhou's mouth was to ask Cao Li for an explanation on behalf of Uncle Zheng. After the incident, I realized that Widow Zhou had made full preparations that day, and she asked a few people one by one: "Am I qualified to care about Lao Zheng's death?" ”

They all said, "Yes." ”

She asked, "The aftermath should not only refer to the funeral?" ”

They said, "Yes." ”

It was precisely because of this encouragement that her hesitant steps all day long finally clarified the direction of Cao Li's rental house. After Uncle Zheng's death, the door of Cao Li's house has been closed, and the reason is self-evident.

Closed for so many days, a room smells of mold. The sun loomed behind the clouds that day, and the gusts of wind from the eastern sky blew the pressure high. The courtyard was very quiet, and I couldn't hear half a human voice, only the rustle of leaves. Between the fear of getting herself in trouble and breathing in the fresh air outside, she chose the latter. That day, Cao Li not only opened the front door, but also opened the back window. Doors and windows opened more than ever.

No one saw the scene of Widow Zhou coming to the door with their own eyes. In view of Widow Zhou's usual hesitation, they guessed that Widow Zhou must have been extremely slow after walking onto the balcony on the third floor, and they guessed that even if the door of Cao Li's house was wide open, Widow Zhou would not be able to enter the house immediately. She must have leaned against the doorframe and stuck her head out. So that she can see inside, and the people inside can't easily see her. She stuck her head out two or three times, maybe more, but she couldn't see anything.

Since the beginning of living in Chen Jia's woman, the layout style of the small rental house separated by the exception of the curtain has never changed, so she can't see people, only the curtain. Several times, hesitation lost to impatience, and when the latter gained the upper hand, she shouted at the door: "Is Cao Li at home?" ”

Of course Cao Li is at home, in my impression, Cao Li is always at home, and the farthest place I have ever seen her from home is the balcony. Cao Li's gaze poked out from behind the curtain, during Uncle Zheng's funeral, she stood on the balcony on the third floor and vaguely saw Widow Zhou, that face appeared with an ominous premonition, but he still pretended to be polite and unclear on the surface: "Is there something?" ”

They said that Widow Zhou also asked Cao Li those two questions, and Cao Li thought of answering them every time, and finally answered the same two words as others: "Yes." "Yes."

"That's good." Widow Zhou continued: "Lao Zheng has an aftermath called compensation, he can't just die for no reason, you should show some sense of responsibility for everyone to see." ”

Cao Li said: "No matter what my sense of responsibility is. ”

"I understand, I understand, it's not good to take it out casually, that's the heart, if you don't take it well, you will die, so I think you can come up with something else instead of the meaning of responsibility."

"Anything else?"

Widow Zhou was half angry, she didn't expect to meet someone who didn't understand what she said. She really didn't want to do that action, and that action would make things vulgar, but he couldn't help it, so he could only pinch his thumb and index finger to do that.

Cao Li seemed to understand and asked, "Are you asking for money?" ”

Widow Zhou shook her head and said, "It's not that I want money, it's for Lao Zheng." ”

As soon as the words fell, Widow Zhou couldn't help but be frightened by the shrill scolding from behind the curtain: "**, Old Man Zheng sleeps in your bed, or do you sleep in Old Man Zheng's bed?" I want money to pick up in the crack of the bed, and I have to pay us some of the money I picked out, damn old man Zheng kicked our door badly! ”

It was Cao Li's daughter Zhang Wen who made a sharp angry scolding. She first opened the curtain and scolded, Widow Zhou was scolded and retreated, and she chased after the balcony to scold.

The scolding was continuous, alarming the entire compound. What is surprising is not that they have long been accustomed to quarrels, they look at the excitement, and they talk more about where did the young woman who came out of Cao Li come from, and what does it have to do with Cao Li?

This is not surprising, it was the first time Zhang Wen was exposed to public view. Previously, I was the only person in the compound who had seen her. Good performance is a child's mentality, although my personality is more introverted, most of the time I think more than I say, but it does not mean that there is a lack of that common law. I mean, when it's time to perform, I still don't want to miss my chance. For example, after that, when my parents talked about Zhang Wen, I always reminded on the side: "I didn't do it that day, but I had seen Zhang Wen a long time ago." ”

Unfortunately, my parents were indifferent to my rare performance.