The sun was particularly bright at noon, Xiao Ai stood at the door of the gas station and waited for me, I paid, and then tied the inflated gas tank back to the bicycle, I came to Xiao Ai and motioned for her to get on the bus.

But she refused to sit anymore, thinking about it, there is only one horizontal bar in front of the bicycle, can it be comfortable to sit

I just pushed the cart and walked with her on the way back, not caring how fast or slow, or how time slipped through the gaps in the sun, all the way accompanied by the fresh air when the snow melted, and the sky was blue.

"Jiang Qiao, do you have to come by yourself to inflate, isn't there a special person to send it?"

I smiled and replied, "You don't understand, those people basically don't have enough gas, so be more steady." ”

"Is it necessary to be so careful in life?"

"Of course, calculating is also the joy of life, you see, when we survive, we can't choose the appearance and height of the family, if we are still deprived of the fun of bargaining with life, then we have to live a passive ah"

"You have a lot of crooked reasoning"

"I'm just enjoying life in a way that no one else understands."

Xiao Ai looked at me and continued to walk forward. I slowed down and walked behind her, and the sun was shining on her, but she wasn't as sunny as she used to be. In the past, she would have kicked the unmelted snow on the ground with her foot, and perhaps this was also a way for her to enjoy life. In this way, we are a kind of people, and we are all good at creating a zào in this patterned world to find happiness in life.

She is fireworks, I am damp rainwater; She was hot and gloomy, but we both kept our desire for the world.

Locking the car at the door of the vegetable market, I took Xiao Ai to buy cold vegetables to eat during the New Year, and you can also buy some vegetables, anyway, it will not deteriorate quickly.

Because it was a year ago, the vegetable market was very busy, so that Xiao Ai, who was following me, was almost crowded several times, so I asked her to hold my clothes, and she stood with me in front of a stall selling cold vegetables.

I picked and chosen, after choosing a bunch, I handed it over to the boss, the boss calculated a total of 192 yuan, just when I was about to pay, Xiao Ai stopped me, she smiled and said to the boss: "Boss, it's almost the New Year, you give us an auspicious number of 188 yuan, and I wish you to send it next year."

"This girl is really good at speaking, and she will give you 188." The owner said as he smiled and gave us 12 yuan.

Xiao Ai took the change for me, then took out the 4 yuan he got after the counteroffer and said to me: "Jiangqiao, let's keep the windfall of these four yuan to buy something to eat." ”

I smiled and replied, "Just enough for two corns." ”

"Buy it that night."

Xiao Ai and I chatted all the way back to the alley, and after the corner in front of the coffee shop, Xiao Ai and I both stopped, and Yuan Zhen was standing in front of my house, he was wearing a black jacket, his expression was as cold as ever, as rebellious as ever, he threw several cigarette butts on the ground, all of them stuck in the snow.

I was surprised by his sudden appearance, but after thinking about it, it was reasonable that Xiao Ai's family had changed so much, it was impossible for him not to come back.

Xiao Ai looked at me, and then walked towards Yuan Zhen, and in her steps, I wondered why Yuan Zhen came directly to me to find her, and why did Xiao Ai think that Xiao Ai would be with me

"Senior brother, how did you find here?"

Yuan Zhen threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, and finally there was a hint of softness on his face, and he replied: "No one answered your call, Xiaowei told me, you should be with Jiang Qiao, I will find it." ”

Xiao Ai looked back at me, and I also pushed my bicycle to the two of them, and said, "It's noon, let's have a meal together with me." ”

"No need." Yuan Zhen replied, and then said to Xiao Ai: "Do you have time at night, I want to talk to you." ”

"Senior brother, I know you want to take me to Japan for development, but I have already decided to live in Taiwan with my mother."

Yuan Zhen had a look of surprise on his face, and he asked, "Did you decide to go by yourself, or did the teacher take you away?"

"Mom is going to take me away."

Yuan Zhen lowered his head and sighed softly, and after being silent for a long time, he raised his head and said to Xiao Ai: "Let's have a meal together that night, even if I give you practice." ”

"Well, you can call me in the evening."

Yuan Zhen didn't say much, and loneliness seemed to be something engraved in his bones. The next moment he walked away from us with silence, and I never had any hostility towards this man, because he was so proud, so proud that all words were open, so proud that he disdained to do a dirty thing in this world of fame and fortune.

After lunch, Xiao Ai and I rested for a while, and then cleaned up the house together, and after some busyness, this old house ushered in the cleanest day in a year, and we became very dirty, especially Xiao Ai, who dragged and dragged a lot of cobwebs on the originally clean down jacket.

Dusk came, I was in the kitchen with a kitchen knife in each hand chopping the minced meat, Xiao Ai sat quietly at the stone table in the small courtyard, and when I came out of the busy work, she was already sitting on the courtyard wall with a cup of hot tea in her hand

I remember she said that sitting here, you will see the most beautiful scenery in this alley. I smiled, wiped the grease off my hands with my apron, stepped on the pyre and climbed the courtyard wall, and sat down beside her.

I didn't even smoke, just sat so calmly, looking up at the sunset in the sky with her, the sound of firecrackers in my ears, who cooked the braised hooves, and the air was full of the smell of the New Year.

I finally asked her, "In the past few years, did you spend the New Year in Nanjing?"

Xiao Ai didn't look at me, she recalled, and said to me: "Last year was in South Korea, the year before was in Mauritius, and the year before last was in Provence"

"Why don't you spend time in Nanjing?"

Xiao Ai turned his head to look at me, and I realized what a stupid question I had asked, how could she stay in Nanjing to celebrate the New Year with Li Zishan, the woman who made her feel so disgusted, and the reason why she wanted to go abroad was just to be out of sight and out of mind.

She didn't get angry because of the stupidity of this question, but smiled and said to me: "I want to know you earlier, just celebrate the New Year in your house, this alley has the most taste of the New Year when I was a child, and the city outside is too cold."

I also smiled: "It's not too late to spend this year together." ”

"Hmm." She nodded, then gazed at the sunset sky again until her phone rang in her pocket.

This call was made to her by Yuan Zhen, and after she answered the phone, she stretched out her hand and said to me: "Jiang Qiao, I'm going to find Yuan Zhen, give me your car to use." ”

I took out the car keys from my pocket and gave her them, and then watched her jump off the courtyard wall, and the sadness in my heart suddenly faded, because before going to Taiwan, she was not the only one who wanted to say goodbye to me, and Yuan Zhen had a longer and deeper friendship with her than me.

After Xiao Ai left, the night seemed to come in an instant, I sat alone on the courtyard wall, and lit a cigarette for myself in a mood of enjoyment, which was the first cigarette I smoked all afternoon, and I was blown so awake by the cold wind that I saw through the world and the gathering and dispersion.

There was another sound of confident and powerful footsteps in the alley. The next moment, Jin Qiu appeared in front of me with a convenient bag, she looked at me sitting on the courtyard wall and smoking, and said, "Jiang Qiao, what are you doing sitting on the courtyard wall, do you feel that the world is sorry for you again?"

"Grandson has such an idea," I said and jumped off the courtyard wall, but without Xiao Ai's flexibility, I staggered and almost sat on the ground, and the cigarette in my hand was poked in the pocket of my coat, and a smell of burnt came with it.

I was so frightened that I hurriedly took off my coat, then threw it on the ground, trampled on the spark on my clothes with my foot, and muttered a curse in my mouth: "I. "

Jin Qiu looked at me gloatingly.

"Look at what to see, this is a good sign, the coming year will be prosperous"

"Then why do you let it burn, why do you step on it?"

I ignored Jin Qiu's squeeze, picked up the coat that had been burned out of a hole from the ground and put it on my body again, and then changed the subject and asked Jin Qiu, "What are you doing with me?"

"My dad went hunting with his friends a few days ago, caught a few hares, and gave you two to keep for the New Year."

I happily took the convenience bag from Jin Qiu's hand, because the hare meat was really delicious, and then went to the small courtyard to pick a few garlic I had planted and gave it to Jin Qiu, so that she could take it back. It's a pity that I don't raise chickens and ducks, otherwise I would have given her a few, because there are too many small favors I have received from Lao Jin's family over the years, but I have nothing to give away.

"I don't want it, the smell is too big, and it's all over the car."

"Put it in the trunk and put it in the trunk for the New Year, vegetables are expensive, what do you do with that unjust money," I said, stuffing the bundled garlic into Jin Qiu's hand.

Jin Qiu carried the garlic and asked me again: "Jiangqiao, does the coffee shop want to get better?"

I replied impatiently, "No." ”

"Listen to my advice, hurry up, this coffee shop won't be open for long, why waste your precious time, by the way, I have an idea, next year I want to separate the wedding execution and outsource it to other companies, are you interested?"

I glanced at Jin Qiu and replied: "Your wishful thinking is really good, who doesn't know that the execution part is the most tiring, and when the time comes, your upstream company will strictly control the cost, and I won't be able to make any money."

Jin Qiu was a little unhappy: "Jiang Qiao, do you subconsciously think that I Jin Qiu is a person who will pit you, I want to cooperate with you, just want to reduce your entrepreneurial risk, after all, there is a stable business volume to support, and I will outsource the most cumbersome execution, and I also have more energy to develop new projects, this is obviously a win-win thing, why don't you have a sense of cooperation."

"Hehe, the shortcomings of my small life pattern are advantages in your father's eyes, and I am suitable to be a family man."

"You don't use this stalk to disgust me."

Jin Qiu was so angry with me again that she threw the garlic I gave them on the ground, and then walked out of the alley, but I looked at her back and smiled a little smugly. I think that Jin Qiu can use her wisdom to bully the world, but I, who was bullied by the world, dared to bully her, what a great fun

As night fell, the sound of firecrackers began to intensify. Because Xiao Ai went to Yuan Zhen's appointment, I didn't feel too much for dinner, I just fried the leftover rice at noon, and then sat on the steps at the entrance of the courtyard to eat. I don't know what started to like seeing people in the alley in this way

This evening, Zhao Mu also came back, and he brought me some imported fruits. I also judged that Mr. Xiao's accident did not affect the daily operation of "Jinding Real Estate", as long as he got a commercial loan next year and kept a few projects in hand, there is still hope for the revival of Jinding Real Estate.

"Brother Qiao, I won't come back on Chinese New Year's Eve this year, tomorrow I will go to Singapore with the research team to investigate a few projects, and now there is not much time left for the group"

"Well, work is the priority, is the group's operation okay now?"

Zhao Mu replied: "The board of directors decided to transfer a few projects at a loss, and sell a few pieces of land that were saved, in addition, the group will have large-scale layoffs next year, and after shrinking, it should still be able to maintain its operation."

I nodded, and I didn't know whether to be sad or happy, but it was indeed a blessing in misfortune that Jinding Real Estate could keep it, after all, this is Mr. Xiao's life's hard work.

This time, Zhao Mu didn't talk to me about Xiao Ai, he sat for a while and then left, and I became idle again, I seem to have become accustomed to the time when Xiao Ai is by my side, she is not there, I am easy to become bored.

This is not a good omen, because she is going to Taiwan, and our contact will come to an abrupt end after the Chinese New Year, so I have to grit my teeth to adapt, and this is where the human suffering comes from.

Some people are destined not to stay, because she will have a better life after leaving, and I am used to this feeling of powerlessness, I have experienced it in Chen Yi before.

When it was almost ten o'clock, the mobile phone rang in my hand, it was Xiao Ai calling, her tone was a little confused: "Jiangqiao, you come to Xinjiekou to pick me up, Yuan Zhen and I have drunk too much, you help him book a hotel." ”

"Well, do you want to book a hotel too?"

"I don't."

I answered, and Xiao Ai had already hung up the phone. She and Yuan Zhen drank too much this night, and I seemed to see the situation when they were together: two wandering people in the world, throwing all the strength of farewell into the wine glass, neither of them was bad and full of talent, but in the face of the pain of parting, they were not more advanced than me, an ordinary person.

Drunkenness is a price and a release