"Brother has a headache again, mother, why does my brother become so smart every time he has a headache, and he will tell a lot of beautiful stories?"

"Maybe your brother dreamed of it in his dream, remember my mother's words, the story my brother told you, don't tell the people in the village, remember?"

"Well, Cao'er remembered, my mother can rest assured."

The sun has been setting for a long time, and the heavy night is squeezed into this thatched house made of earth and stones, there is no extra furniture in the thatched house, two bluestone strips that are more than one person long and placed side by side, spread with thick hay even if it is chuang, the quilt woven of five layers of linen is heavy and not warm, and under the linen quilt is a young man with a thin face, his eyes are tightly closed, and the thumbs of both hands are pressed on his temples on both sides.

In front of the young man stood a middle-aged woman, in her forties, dressed in cloth and hairpins, and looking very difficult in life, looking at the young man with some concern; There was also a girl beside her, not old enough to reach her age, her hair combed on the sides, pulled into two large knots that were not very symmetrical, and she wore them with two randomly straightened branches.

The girl took off the hand towel covering the door of the boy's head, washed it in the hot water basin, wrung it out and put it on the boy's head, muttering: "Brother, hurry up, Cao'er really wants to hear your story"

The hot hand towel made the boy moan comfortably~ and let go of the hands that held his temples gradually.

The middle-aged woman's face was pale, she smiled and turned on the oil lamp, and approached and whispered the name of her son.

"Mother, my head doesn't hurt anymore. It's late at night, go and rest your old man, it's all your son's unfilial piety, let you work. ”

Eighteen years of entanglement between the two lives, the memories belonging to different periods are always at war in Bai Dong's mind, often after the headache, the memories of the past will be vivid, so that he always has a lot of beautiful stories to tell his sister, but unfortunately it will be forgotten after a few days, and it will not be remembered until the next headache. But the memories that belong to this era are extremely clear, the childhood era, the boyhood, the mother's face when she was young, and the only piece of meat in her rice bowl during the New Year

The deceased is like Sifu, the past is the past, the former relatives, lovers, and friends are already in the past, and today's Bai Dong only belongs to this vague era, this small thatched hut that may be broken by the autumn wind at any time and the warm embrace of the mother.

I love this home, there is no more hustle and bustle of the city, no more hectic life, no more pressure of mortgage and car loan, although the life is poorer, but it is warm. Bai Dong has no regrets, he is safe when he comes, and he does not seek excitement in this life, but he wants his family to be safe and healthy.

The middle-aged woman kissed her son's forehead and turned away, her son's filial piety is her greatest wealth, she should enjoy the aftertaste, how can she waste it? Cao'er didn't mean to leave, and when she saw her mother leaving, she immediately took off her straw sandals, revealing a pair of crystal small feet, obviously not washing her feet and going to bed again, and cheered to Bai Dong's side: "Brother, I want to listen to the story, what did you say happened to Alibaba?" ”

"Have you washed your feet? Didn't my brother tell you that girls should pay attention to personal hygiene, there is a lack of everything at home, that is, there is no shortage of water, why don't you wash it? ”

"It really doesn't stink, why don't you smell it, brother?"

The grass cocked its little feet proudly, and it was very white in the dim light, and it really didn't smell. As if to prove it, she curled up, leaned over to her feet like a kitten and sniffed it, and then prepared to send it to Bai Dong's mouth.

"You are a broken woman, you are about to become a big girl, you can't have no rules like this, if you don't obey my brother, I won't tell you a story, you will regret it." Bai Dong smiled and pushed away the grass's feet, and his brother smelled his sister's feet, what did this say?

"He's only thirteen years old."

Cao'er's body twisted, and she didn't mean to leave, but stuck closer, her head drilled under Bai Dong's ribs, and she said: "The last time, good brother." ”

"Okay, you little devil."

In Bai Dong's story, Ali Baba is a happy young man who gets a treasure, marries a beautiful wife, and destroys his enemies, which is a very complete story in the eyes of men. But in Cao'er's view, Alibaba's life behind is the key, such as a happy life after marriage, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, does he often chat with his wife, and how many children did he have? A girl is a girl, even if the time spans a thousand years, the attention is still paid to the shortcomings of these parents.

Bai Dong understands that Cao'er has the ambition to turn "One Thousand and One Pages" into a kimchi Korean drama. This thought must be extinguished, otherwise he will have to make up stories in the future, and it will be a story that stinks longer than a footwrap, so divert his attention!

"Alibaba's story is wonderful, but my brother has an even more exciting story. There was a navigator named Sinbad, and he would have many, many wonderful stories on his journey; There is also a story about Aladdin and the magic lamp, that magic lamp is a good thing, what do you want, just say it to it, don't you want to hear it? ”

Cao'er narrowed her eyes and quickly forgot about Alibaba. My brother always has a lot of novel stories and fresh words, and the more she listens to it, the more uncomfortable she will become, and she really wants to tell it to her friends in the village, but her mother won't let her or her brother allow it; But she still wanted to hear it, just like the king in the story, because she was so obsessed with listening to the story that she was reluctant to cut off the queen's head.

"Do you really want anything? Then I want to hear the story of the magic lamp, brother, tell it quickly. ”

The story did not disappoint Cao'er, lying next to her brother, counting the stars through the tattered roof, hearing that Aladdin defeated evil after the worst and lived happily with the princess, Cao'er laughed happily, suddenly touched her stomach, looked up at Bai Dong stupidly: "Brother, it would be nice if Cao'er also had a magic lamp, we can eat bread every day, and we can eat all-you-can-eat every time"

Bai Dong didn't answer. He suddenly felt a little sad, compared with Cao'er, Aladdin in the story is really greedy, he wants good wine and food, and he wants the magic lamp to conjure up a palace for him; But Cao'er's request is so simple, she just hopes to eat bread every day

Reflexively hugged Cao'er and rubbed her into his arms, Bai Dong said softly: "My brother also wants to find a magic lamp for Cao'er, Cao'er said okay?" ”

***

Spring has arrived, but the wind knife is still cold in my arms. Which historian said that in ancient China, there was no distinction between north and south, and the climate was temperate? It's! Cao'er stood by the stream, she said that she wanted to catch two fish for her brother to make up for her body, but the pair of little feet were frozen to dark blue, Bai Dong really wanted to catch her back, put her little feet in his arms to warm her for a lifetime.

But Cao'er was very persistent, and every time Bai Dong had the intention of approaching, she would purse her lips and dance her fists demonstratively, as if to defend her sovereignty. Every time her brother had a headache, she would run into the water to catch fish, this was her sovereign domain, and even her brother who loved her the most could not be violated.

Bai Dong could only retreat, and according to Cao'er's requirements, he lay on the bluestone slab by the stream to bask in the sun. The spring sun is warm but not scorching, shining on the body warm, like a mother's embrace, but also like the grass hot little mouth.

Lying on the stone slab, looking at the happy grass, Bai Dong's heart was hot. The headache disappeared for three days, and according to the previous experience, I would forget the things of the previous life again, but this time it was completely different, the invisible barrier in my head seemed to be completely broken, and the experience of the previous life was still very clear. The memories of the two lives are no longer entangled, no longer fighting, but perfectly blended and integrated. This gave Bai Dong a feeling of being reborn, and confidence and hope filled his chest.

"Brother, Cao'er caught two fish, so big."

With a cheer, the grass jumped ashore, and caught a fish in each hand, both of which were more than a foot long, and shone golden in the sun.

It's still a carp.