Wushui Town can be regarded as a typical water town. After thousands of years of history, the flowing water is still green. The houses on both sides of the river are extremely quaint, with tiled green bricks and hollow windows. The strings of red lanterns hanging under the eaves are swaying in the wind, like the tassels in the hair of a Jiangnan woman who walks into the alley with an oil-paper umbrella, which is so beautiful that it is ethereal and unpolished.

Ah Heng is used to all this, but Yan Xi is like a newborn baby, feeling as new as this earthly world at first sight.

Father Yun gave Ah Heng some money, smiled very kindly, and asked her to take Yanxi to the market for a good visit. Ah Heng took the money, although he didn't know why Abba's attitude towards Yan Xi had changed so quickly, but he still obediently listened.

There are still two days left before the New Year, and the market is bustling with activity.

Yan Xi has been restless since he walked out of Yun's house, running around, holding the camera, seeing pedestrians as if he were seeing monkeys in the circus, filming back and forth, and he was terrified.

Ah Heng ran breathlessly after him, but he felt embarrassed in his heart, buried his head, and just thought that he didn't know the young man.

You look like a circus, people look like a zoo!

In the bazaar, the people carrying the goods walked in a hurry, and the crowd was very lively.

The appearance of men in the water town is generally very gentle and gentle, like water, and there are very few sharp edges and corners; And those girls are beautiful and gentle, the batik skirts swing gently, and the charming style is needless to say, it is already beautiful to the fixed Jiangnan posture; Most of the children wore tiger hats and were held in the arms of their parents, holding white sugar cakes in their hands, saliva and nose falling together, and the chubby dundun was very cute.

Yan Xi was also holding the white sugar cake at the moment, tore a corner, threw peanuts and beans, raised his neck and threw it into his mouth, smiling so big that his eyes were almost out of sight.

And Ah Heng held the camera and looked at the white sugar cake, just now Yan Xi asked her to buy two pieces of white sugar cake, but when she ran back, the young man hung the camera in his hand on her neck, and one white sugar cake in one hand with both hands, one bite on the left and one bite on the right, and he didn't even leave her the scum.

"I want to eat too." Ah Heng sniffed, unhappy.

"You haven't eaten enough after living here for so many years?" The young man didn't raise his eyes, his cheeks were bulging, and he still opened his bow left and right.

Choke to death! Ah Heng was depressed.

Yan Xi deliberately angered Ah Heng, finished eating, stretched out his tongue and licked his fingers vigorously, his eyes squinting at the girl.

Ah Heng was speechless.

"Wushui Town, what else is delicious?" The boy asked her with a smile.

Ah Heng thought for a while and said, "Stinky tofu." ”

"There are also in City B, which is not uncommon." The teenager was unimpressed.

"Gangnam's tofu, made." Ah Heng explained.

Yan Xi pouted: "Huh! We still make tofu from the north. ”

Ah Heng smiled: "You taste it, you will know." ”

She took Yan Xi along the riverbank into the alley, turned a few corners, and walked to a small shop with a wooden signboard that read: Lin Family Tofu Workshop. Five brush words, vigorous and powerful, but not delicate.

Under the eaves of the small shop was a string of gray red lanterns, swaying gently in the breeze. There are only a few wooden tables in the shop, and the sparse diners eat quietly, which is completely different from the lively atmosphere of the market, but it is very warm.

"Uncle Sangzi, two bowls of tofu brains, a plate of fried dried seeds!" Ah Heng shouted.

"Okay!" Behind the cyan curtain came the honest and loud voice of a middle-aged man.

Yan Xi looked at the hut, his big eyes rolled a few times, and then he smiled: "Here, it's funny." ”

"What's wrong?"

"The four corners of the top are left with seams, isn't it cold in winter?"

"Leave the seams, and at night, dry the tofu." Ah Heng explained to the teenager, "Boss, don't live here. ”

Yan Xi nodded, took the camera, squinted, and took several photos.

Yan Xi is a very casual person, and many things he does don't need a reason, but it makes people feel that they should be so.

After a while, a short, smiling man walked out with a square wooden table with red lacquer, on which were several coarse porcelain bowls.

Ah Heng exchanged a few words with the man.

"Where are you? Are you feeling better? The man glanced at Yan Xi and found that it was not the familiar cloud, so he greeted the other party gently.

"At the big hospital now, my grandmother said that the operation was successful." Ah Heng smiled, his face was gentle and sincere, and his eyes were full of relief.

The owner of the small shop, who was called Uncle Sang Zi by Ah Heng, heard the girl's words, and his face was also very happy: "It's okay now, I can go back to school." His grades were very good before he took a leave of absence, and you two brothers and sisters are generally competitive. ”

Ah Heng smiled, and the distant mountain eyebrows were bent.

The guest at the adjacent table urged, and the boss went into the kitchen behind the cyan curtain.

Ah Heng brought a bowl of steaming tofu brains to Yan Xi. The young man's slender white fingers tapped lightly on the table, and he raised his eyebrows slightly, but he didn't say anything. Although in his opinion, this Jiangnan tofu brain does not look different from what he drinks every morning.

Ah Heng snorted.

Yan Xi took the spoon and scooped it up and put it in his mouth.

Ah Heng looked at the boy with a smile: "Is it delicious?" ”

"This ...... Is it still tofu? His eyes widened with a direct naivety.

Heng nodded.

"There's no astringency, and when you get to the mouth, it's slippery and tender, and it's a bit like egg pudding." The young man squinted slightly, his face was ruddy, and his expression was satisfied.

Egg pudding? Well, is it delicious?

Ah Heng was stunned, but he smiled after all, with a satisfied look, his thin lips rose up, and the corners of his lips were small and thin laugh lines.

"Taste this." Ah Heng handed the fried dried chicken to the young man.

The young man took a piece and put it in his mouth and chewed it, but frowned and spit it out: "How is it bitter?" ”

Ah Heng also frowned, suddenly remembered something, and said embarrassedly: "Uncle Sangzi, I didn't put it, sauce." I used to eat and I don't love condiments. Then she ran to the kitchen and asked for a plate of sauce and poured it on the dried seeds.

Yan Xi sandwiched a small piece and tasted it in his mouth, the tip of the tongue is the crispiness of the tofu and the lusciousness of the sauce, covering up the bitterness, and the fragrance is vividly exuded, with a rich taste.

Ah Heng saw the young man stretch his eyebrows and secretly sighed. She grew up in Wushui since she was a child, and instinctively protected this side of the water and soil, unwilling to let others hate it with a trace of hatred.

This thought, if applied to people, is usually called: protecting the short.

"In the east of the town, in the Chenghuang Temple, there is a sweet well. Tofu is made with well water. ”

Yan Xi bowed slightly, took a small bite, looked at the food, and cherished his face.

Uncle Sang Zi brought out a small plate of dried bamboo shoots from the kitchen and asked Yan Xi to serve it with the meal. The dried bamboo shoots are sweet and sour and very appetizing, and Yan Xi has eaten a lot.

"Ah Heng, the signboard in Uncle Sangzi's shop is old, your aunt asked me to ask you to write another one." The man looked at the girl honestly.

"Hmm." Ah Heng smiled and nodded.

Yan Xi was surprised: "You wrote the words on the signboard?" ”

Ah Heng nodded again embarrassedly.

"The pen is too fast, the intensity is uneven, the ink is uneven, and the last stroke is paused, not coherent enough." The boy spoke flatly.

Ah Heng swallowed his saliva.

"Our Ah Heng has been practicing calligraphy since he was a child, and he is one of the best in the town, and his handwriting is better than that of Dr. Yun." Uncle Sang Zi spoke, a little disliked the young man's tone.

"This, it depends on talent." The boy smiled faintly. The implication is that no matter how many years you have practiced, it is useless if you have no talent.

Ah Heng knew that he was telling the truth, but he was still a little disappointed in his heart. She has been practicing calligraphy with her father since she was a child, regardless of cold and summer, and now the teenager's sentence "no talent" really hit her.

"This kid has a lot of tone, you write a few words, let me see it." Uncle Sang Zi was a little angry.

The boy shrugged his shoulders disapprehantly, lazy look.

Uncle Sang Zi took a pen and paper and put it in front of Yan Xi angrily.

The young man casually poured ink in the inkstone, sat upright, held the pen, the fine hair of the tip of the pen was soaked in ink, raised his wrist slightly, turned the tip of the pen, slowly sipped off the excess ink at the end of the inkstone, lifted his hand, the nails were crystal round, reflecting the bamboo-colored pen shaft, which was very good-looking.

"When writing the word 'forest', the 'wood' on the left should see the wind bones, and the 'wood' on the right should see the charm, when you write, the pen is too fast, and the ink is uneven, which is a big taboo; the word 'home', although written in an atmospheric manner, but the delicacy between a stroke and a painting is not taken into account; the word 'bean' is written well, but the ink color is uneven; the word 'rot' is more difficult to write, you write more carefully than the previous word, but you lose the previous free and easy; the word 'shop', when you write, probably the ink is dry, so you return to the pen." As the boy wrote, he lowered his head and spoke flatly.

In one go, the charm is natural, and the edge is revealed.

A word amazed Ah Heng.

Every stroke, free and easy, written at will, but the heart is full, and the eyes are full of aura.

"Am I right?" The young man put his pen down, held his chin, and asked her lazily.

Ah Heng was dumbfounded.

Uncle Sang Zi was stunned, looked at the words, and smiled from ear to ear: "This kid is good, he has two brushes." ”

Yan Xi bowed slightly, polite and gentle.

The boss gave a lot of delicious food, and the young man pretended to be reserved, but the snickering at the corner of his mouth leaked from time to time.

"How about it, I wrote to the boss, we don't have to pay for it, how good! You should have pretended to be a little more shocked, so that the value of my writing could be revealed, and the boss might give us more food. Yan Xi opened his mouth quietly, his mouth was full, and his big eyes were a pool of clear autumn water.

Ah Heng drank tofu brain and almost choked to death: "I didn't pretend to be just now." Her expression couldn't have been more serious.

The young man raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Wen Heng, why are you obsessed?" Before I could walk, I learned to hold a pen. If you don't have talent, how can you compare? ”

Ah Heng stared at the boy and smiled. She thought that she and Yan Xi were not strangers, but every day she got to know him, she felt more and more distant and unfamiliar, not as good as the perception when she first met, at least a direct and complete fragment.

"Let's go to the sweet well you mentioned." Yan Xi was full and ready to eat.

When it comes to Wushui Town, in addition to the style of the water town, the most popular thing for tourists is the City God Temple in the east of the town. The incense in the temple is prosperous, on the fifteenth day of the first month, there are always many people who go to worship and ask for wealth, peace, and marriage.

And Ah Heng said that he wanted to go, but it was to see a well in the temple.

Yan Xi looked at the bluestone at the mouth of the well, touched it slightly with his hand, it was cold, and his fingertips rubbed a layer of moss. There were many people in the temple, incense was filled, and all of them had solemn faces and devotion.

"It's strange that they don't worship this well that nourishes people, but they go to worship a few stone men." The boy scoffed.

"You can't be disrespectful to ghosts and gods." Ah Heng grew up in Wushui since he was a child, and he still has some respect for Chenghuang.

The boy glanced at the girl, smiled lightly, then bent down, folded his hands, and bowed to the well.

"What are you doing?" Ah Heng was curious.

"Thank you for bringing us such delicious food."

Ah Heng sniffed and kindly reminded: "Tofu is made by Uncle Sangzi." ”

"So, I wrote him a sign!" The boy's eyes rolled upward.

"But, you didn't pay for your meal!" Ah Heng pointed out.

"One thing to one thing! I have written him a signboard to express my gratitude. The table is full of dishes, I don't eat others, others will eat, who eats differently! It's not that I don't pay, it's that he won't let me pay. Master, I'm actually very embarrassed. It's hard to be a man, and it's even harder to be a good person! "The words are strict, and the heart is painful.

Ah Heng chuckled, pursed his lips, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"Well, I'll say goodbye too." Ah Heng also bent down and folded his hands seriously: Well, Gujing, Gujing, I don't ask for much, you can make the world peaceful, and the children of Asia, Africa and Latin America can eat white sugar cakes.

Yan Xi stayed in the Yun family for a few more days, and it was already the end of the lunar calendar, and it was a little too much to say if he didn't go home again. When he left, he told his grandfather that he would definitely go home for the New Year.

Therefore, on the twenty-seventh day of the lunar calendar, the boy asked to leave.

"Can't you stay another day? One day is good. Ah Heng was a little disappointed, and Wu Shui ran out.

"Ah Heng, don't be ignorant!" Without waiting for Yan Xi to answer, Father Yun scolded and interrupted Ah Heng's thoughts.

Ah Heng closed his mouth and looked at the mica aggrievedly. Mica patted her hands, but never spoke, just went back to the house and helped her pack her luggage. She followed her mother into the room, and when she came out, she kept her head down and was silent.

Yan hoped that she didn't know what to say, so she faded her expression and said goodbye to her adoptive parents.

No matter how kind the man and woman in front of him hurt Wen Heng, they were not her biological parents after all; This house, this land, no matter how warm it is, is not her home after all.

That's a big pity.

Before leaving, Mica pulled Yan Xi aside and said something.

Ah Heng saw it from afar, but he couldn't bear to look at his mother again, said goodbye to his father, and walked out of the house.

When Yan Xi came out, he glanced at her a few times, and said a little strangely and helplessly: "It's a girl in the end." "After all, for the little things in the eyes of the boys, I was silently sad.

Ah Heng didn't know what his mother said to him, but it was always wrong not to speak, so he kept silent and silently followed him.

She also saw his back as a traveler, with a large backpack, a tall figure, and a cold butterfly bone faintly visible.

It was already afternoon when I arrived at S City Station. They waited in line for a long time to get a ticket, and it was six o'clock in the evening.

"You sit here and wait for me." The boy handed her the ticket, and conveniently turned around and walked out of the waiting room.

Ah Heng's expression was a little aggrieved, and she was already in a bad mood, and after Yan Xi left, she sat on the chair and was stunned.

By the time she gathered her mind and looked at her watch, it was already a quarter past five.

Yan Xi has not yet returned.

She stood up and walked back and forth in the crowd, centering her chair in a circle. Although the time for the check-in was approaching, she was not walking around because she was anxious. The air in the waiting room was too sturdy and foul, and she walked around, trying to get rid of something that had been paralyzed in her brain.

And when the boy returned, he saw exactly this scene: the girl frowned and lowered her head, walking non-stop, doing useless work around the seat.

Yan Xi was a lazy man, and he thought this scene was incredible, so he strode over and coughed slightly.

Ah Heng raised his head, and the first thing he noticed was the backpack on his shoulder, which seemed to be bulging a lot. Ah Heng guessed that he might have bought some souvenirs.

It's still the same as when you came: check in the ticket, get on the bus, and find your seat.

However, Ah Heng lost the interest when he came, nested in the carriage, yawned, looked at the time, it was already nine o'clock, and the night outside the car window was getting thicker and thicker.

"I'm sleepy." She looked at Yan Xi and fell asleep.

The "sleepy" of the Chinese is equal to the "good night" of the Westerners.

"Nope." The boy spoke flatly.

Ah Heng yawned, rubbed his eyes, and asked, "Why?" ”

The young man raised his eyebrows, and his fingers tapped lightly on the small table: "How do I know!" ”

"Oh."

Oh, no, why don't you know why you won't let me sleep! Ah Heng thought in a daze, and his consciousness began to drift. She felt like a baby in her mother's womb, warm and serene.

The world of white, the world of purity.

Suddenly, the world spun so rapidly that she was dizzy, and when she opened her eyes again, she saw a pair of frighteningly large eyes.

"Awake?" The boy let go of his hands and stopped shaking.

Ah Heng looked out the window in a daze, it was still dark at night, and the sky was not yet bright. She looked at Yan Xi, sniffed, and was aggrieved.

The young man's big eyes were watery, and he looked even more aggrieved than her: "Wen Heng, although I don't know why you chose to be born today......"

The young man broke off his sentence, took it out of his backpack, and after digging it for a long time, he took out a cute cream cake, held it in the palm of his hand, and smiled flatly: "However, the young master is reluctant to make it difficult, I wish you a happy birthday." ”