Chapter Ninety-Six: Someone Else's Country
There were obviously more American goods on the street, and bundles of fiat money could buy fewer and fewer things, and Shen Mengxi's slightly melancholy expression attracted an American photographer who was shooting at the corner of the street, and his lens was aimed at this Chinese woman who was over 40 years old. She was well-dressed and looked at ease, frowning slightly, looking at the people coming and going on the street, as if out of place.
Shen Mengxi felt that she was being watched, turned her head, and found that it was the camera, she was slightly stunned, then returned to her nature, and nodded politely at the camera.
The photographer recently photographed countless Shanghai customs, and it was the first time he saw such a calm woman facing the camera, and he chased after him, shouting "Hi, ma'am!" ”
Shen Mengxi stopped, "What's the matter with you?" ”
"Are you Chinese?" The man asked curiously.
"Huh!" Shen Mengxi smiled, "Don't you know where you are?" Do you live well in someone else's country? She especially emphasized the word "others".
Sensing Shen Mengxi's unfriendliness, the photographer smiled, his face was sunny, and his beard followed the muscles of his face to both sides, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I offended you, I'm very, very interested in China, this is really a magical country!" I want to go everywhere, the first is the Oriental Paris and Shanghai, Shanghai is very prosperous, now there is no war, very good, I want to go everywhere. ”
"Good. I also want to visit your country. ”
"Really? Welcome, welcome! I'm Andrew, Andrew Williams. He stretched out his furry hand, Shen Mengxi shook it lightly, and said, "You can call me Mrs. Wang, I want to buy a domestic shirt for my husband, but I can't find it, you see, there are American goods everywhere, it's really distressing." ”
"Made in the United States are all high-quality goods, Chinese will like it!" Andrew said excitedly and proudly.
"Yes, the quality of the American-made gun atomic bomb is also very good, a 'little boy' falls, hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded, can the quality be bad?" Shen Mengxi looked at this slightly innocent man with sarcasm in his eyes.
Andrew was a little gloomy, "You know, our country doesn't know much about the power of the atomic bomb, and even the pilot who dropped the bomb almost didn't come back. Of course, this is the most effective way to end the war and avoid casualties among soldiers"
"I'm sorry, I'm still going shopping." Shen Mengxi didn't want to listen to this tune of American supremacy, so he turned around and left.
"Hey! Madam! The man shouted twice in vain from behind.
Shen Mengxi didn't take pictures, she looked at it with her eyes all the way.
There were many American GIs and beautiful women on the street, and they were laughing loudly on the street as if no one was there, as if they were at ease in their own country.
The city god temple is full of green smoke, many men and women kowtow to incense, praying with a pious face or a face of numbness, a group of people in a big circle, two people each holding two big knives brandishing to fight, some people applauded, there is a high pole not far away, a person climbs to the top of the pole, hangs upside down the golden bell head down, drums and drinks a large glass of milk, a well-dressed young man shouted, handed over a bottle of Coca-Cola, asked the person to drink, Shen Mengxi turned his head and walked away.
On the side of the road, there were two children lying on the table eating hairy crabs, the table was in a mess, and the little one was crying and shouting Mom, still hungry! Shen Mengxi took out a few biscuits from his bag and gave them to the child, and a woman said thank you to Mrs. Xie gratefully from behind her! Thank you, Mrs.
met Mrs. Weng in the department store, she was thin and dry, and she was looking at an American fabric, or her eldest daughter saw Shen Mengxi first and reminded her, she only found out.
Greeted warmly, the two sat down under a parasol outside the department store and drank coffee.
"As soon as I see you, I think of drinking coffee in your clothing store, like yesterday. But thinking of these hard days, it is clear that they have survived minute by minute, and it is as long as a hundred years. ”
Shen Mengxi smiled and looked at the melancholy and emotional Mrs. Weng, "No, these years have not been easy." ”
"I think you're doing well, you see we're the same age, I'm just like your aunt, oh no, I'm old."
"Don't think about the past, don't be afraid of the future. Mrs. Weng, let's encourage each other, although we are not the worst, but we are much better than most people. ”
"Makes sense." Mrs. Weng also laughed. She was no longer anxious to babble and complain about Lu Xiaomei as before, but quietly watched the people coming and going on the street. Shen Mengxi sighed that time will eventually change everything.
"How good, Shanghai will soon be prosperous again, but people will not, old is old."
"Fortunately, you have a beautiful daughter, she is your continuation, how good!"
Mrs. Weng's eyes lit up and she looked at her daughter with satisfaction.
"I heard that you and General Wang are married, you should have gotten married a long time ago, what a couple you are!"
Shen Mengxi smiled, "After a few peaks and turns, we are still together." ”
"Yes, the people who are old enough to pull the strings will come together no matter what." Mrs. Weng said with emotion. In the end, I couldn't help but say a few words, "Brother Wen and I were also pulled by Yue Lao, but on his other foot, another one was also tied, which was thicker than mine." You don't know, in such a chaotic era, the price is so high, Brother Wen still invited a famous teacher to the surname Lu to open an art exhibition, the two of them have twice as many servants than our six mothers, pitiful, the collection left by his father-in-law has been sold out by him, and the cuffs of his own shirt are all mended, as long as the surname Lu says that there is a shortage of paint paper, he immediately shouts 'I'm coming, I'm coming!' Right now, right now! It seems that he is particularly rich, but he is pitiful for working three jobs, giving massage to others, and the money he earns, only leaving us some food, is spent on the other side of the house, and people are collecting articles and letters from his ex-husband everywhere, and they want to give him a complete collection, but Brother Wen stupidly added that bottomless pit to it" Mrs. Weng's calmness only lasted for three minutes, and she returned to the mode of resentful woman.
For a woman like Mrs. Weng who has no financial ability and endures humiliation for her livelihood and children, Shen Mengxi has nothing to do except sympathy, this kind of woman, if you encourage her to divorce, it is undoubtedly forcing her to die, she has no ability to make money, and this society does not give women many opportunities to make money, she is not even qualified to be a lover at her age, and she is obviously incapable of doing laundry and cooking for others.
"Mrs. Weng, change what you can change, accept what you can't, maybe you will be happier."
"Yes. Tomorrow I'm going to church for a service, let's go together, for if it weren't for the Lord's blessing, I'd probably have died eight times over the years. Really, let's go along! ”
"No, there's a lot going on at home."
"Oh, that's a pity, I'll have time to go with us next time!" Mrs. Weng said with great regret.
Shen Mengxi smiled and nodded, and the two said goodbye.
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