Friday. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The man tightened his cotton coat, pushed the door and got out of the car. He fastened the hat attached to the cotton jacket on his head, fastened the strap, and crossed the Mitsubishi jeep in three or two steps, and was in the blind spot of the rearview mirror. The Mitsubishi Jeep's rear windshield was covered with frost, and even if the occupants of the car twisted the rearview mirror, they could not see him.

A gust of north wind blew the snow off the plaque, swept it away, and burrowed into the crewneck sweater along the gap between his hat and face, making him shiver. He looked up at the ice under the plaque, and at the tepid winter sun, squinting his eyes and beginning to miss the sand and sunshine of Lipe. A week ago he was living a semi-secluded life on the warm equator, spending half of his day on the little white fishing boat, and the rest of the day either lying on a beach chair basking in the sun or arguing with his sturdy Punjabi wife.

Isn't that what life is all about? He never got bored of it, and if he could, he would be happy to stay on the island for the rest of his life until his body became moldy and rotten. But the damned financial crisis ruined everything, the baht in his hand was depreciating sharply, and sometimes he doubted that he could buy two kilograms of beef today and the same weight of eggs tomorrow morning.

Yes, like the chaotic, decaying country of Thailand, which is in comfort, he has a midlife crisis. He couldn't remember who said that, and the money was never too much. Before that he scoffed at that sentence, but now he had to pay attention to it. He was forty-three years old, his wife was still very young, and he had two crazy children under his knees.

If it were just himself, he would never watch his two children grow up to be like the other children on the island, either to go to construction sites in the big city or to become fishermen all their lives. They must have the best education, their frail wives need the best medical care, and the only thing that can provide for it is money.

So, when Joey's miser contacted him ten days ago, after only thinking about it for a day, he agreed without hesitation. Four days later, he arrived in Bangkok and boarded a flight to Tokyo. As usual, he got his employer information from Joey, and he transferred to All Nippon Airways to enter China, and three days ago he arrived in the third-tier city of Qibei.

As a spy who is not protected by the law, he gets into the groove quickly, despite being lazy for a few years. Although his physical strength is not as good as before, he still maintains the care and caution he deserves. After confirming the employer himself, he quietly followed the employer for two days. The employer's itinerary was simple, with only two trips in two days. Once to the hospital, the other to the hotel, in his opinion, the employer is definitely a boring person, who does not know how to enjoy life at all.

Of course, he is familiar with Qibei, once he will stay in Qibei every once in a while, according to his understanding, Qibei's winter is boring and tight, so Qibei people are also very boring, it seems that the only entertainment is to play mahjong. He didn't like this kind of boring entertainment, and the four of them huddled into a small space, spitting nicotine at each other, just to put the little money in each other's pockets. It's a complete waste of life!

After only two follow-ups, he discovered something interesting. Although there was no evidence and he didn't find anything, he instinctively sensed as if someone was following his employer.

Those people were very clever, and they kept alternating cover in the process of tracking, but they were still crappy in his eyes. After the next day's stalking, he began to make a plan to get rid of the crappy stalkers without alerting his employers.

So he sneaked into his employer's car in the stalker's blind spot, ended the conversation at the predetermined location, and then the young couple who accepted the hire deliberately got into the employer's car again. He tightened his hat, snickering inwardly. The stalkers must have been racking their brains at this point, wondering whether they were doing it on purpose, or if, like the young couple, they were merely passers-by with the sympathy of their employers.

Of course, after today, he will never wear this suit again, and he will no longer be wrapped in those sponges that make him look bloated, let alone appear in his current form.

He caught a glimpse of two young men in front of him, laughing, and walking towards a small restaurant on the side of the road. So he quickened his pace, and took advantage of the two young men to open the glass door, lift the cotton curtain, and glance at it through the reflection of the glass door. Then he narrowed his eyes, and behind him more than twenty meters, there was a guy in a blue down jacket.

"Got you, crappy idiot." He smiled and muttered, and continued to walk ahead as if nothing had happened. Two hundred meters away from the corner of the street is a fruit shop, the south and east sides of the fruit store have doors, through the east gate will enter the alley, unless the guy behind him does not hesitate to expose, otherwise the distance of more than 20 meters is the moat.

As he expected, the stalker was unfamiliar with the geography. After buying apples, he lit a cigarette as if he were waiting for someone. Taking advantage of the stalker's turn, he quickly walked through the east gate and into the alley with the apple. He didn't even need to run, he went into the corridor unhurriedly, stood at the staircase between the first and second floors, then took out an apple, wiped it, and ate it in a big gulp. He changed his clothes, and by the time he came out again, the stalker had disappeared without a trace, perhaps giving up, or perhaps chasing somewhere else.

Twenty minutes later, he stepped off the bus, looked at the street scene that hadn't changed much from a few years ago, and easily found the garage. He crossed the crossing, entered the oil-stained garage, and watched without saying a word as the shopkeeper in a Castrol lube jacket adjusted the engine.

After a few minutes, the shopkeeper wiped his hands with a towel and said, "This car is old, and there is too much carbon in the engine, so it will shiver in low gear." In addition, the brake pads are almost worn out, and no accidents are fortune-telling. ”

The apprentice next to the shopkeeper agreed, and at this time, the shopkeeper seemed to feel that someone was blocking the sunlight behind him, turned his head to look at it, and suddenly became happy: "Oh, Brother Geriletu, why are you here?" ”

Geriletu smiled and said in the stiff Mandarin characteristic of the pastoral area: "What's the matter, you're not welcome?" ”

"What do you say? No one is welcome, no one can fail to welcome you, big brother. Hurry in, it's windy at the door. When he let him go inside, the shopkeeper said, "Well, I'll wash my hands first." What was made on this day is almost inhuman. The shopkeeper went out with a smile and shouted, "Xiao Zhou, you go home early, don't do it today." ”

The apprentice said yes and quickly left. After a while, the shopkeeper washed his hands and returned to the room with a warm smile on his face. The room was still very shabby, with hardly visible colors on the plastered walls, all kinds of parts and tools hanging on the walls, a dilapidated folding bed on the floor, and a box unique to the Northeast that was placed on the kang head.

The shopkeeper enthusiastically grabbed Geriletu's hand, shook it a few times and said, "Big brother, where have you been in the past few years?" The last time we saw each other was four years ago, and you were gone, and there was no news. ”

Geriletu said: "When it comes to business, you can't count where you will settle down. Baoguo, you haven't changed much in the past few years. ”

"I'm like this, what can I do?"

"How are daughters-in-law and children?"

"Don't mention it, the old ladies are menopausal, and they will quarrel with me when they go home. My son is even more uneasy, he is in junior high school, he hasn't learned anything else, and he brought back a little girl in less than half a year. Oh, who do you say your hand is so special? ”

Griletu laughed: "That's great, maybe you can hold your grandson sooner." ”

Baoguo scratched his head and smiled, and then said, "Big brother, how long can you stay this time?" ”

"It's hard to say. I came here this time to collect grain in partnership with others, and the price of bud rice is too high this year, so let's see if it's profitable. Maybe I'll leave in a week, maybe I'll be able to stay until the beginning of spring next year. ”

Baoguo frowned: "This year, there is a big flood, and many places are out of production, I know several grain dealers, and they all lost money this year." ”

"You can take care of my business, you can't make a lot of money, you can always make a living, starvation and death."

Baoguo nodded and said, "Brother, why don't you go to my house this time." I sold the bungalow and bought a third floor in Dahua Factory. ”

Griletu waved his hand: "Pull it down, your house is at most two rooms." You can't squeeze a bed with your wife and children, and I'll live in a room by myself, right? Inconvenience. I'm still living where I was. ”

Baoguo didn't force it, nodded and said, "That's okay." I went over to clean up your house every once in a while, but now I guess the tap water pipe is frozen, and even if it is a stove, it will have to be baked for a few days. Can you do it without water? ”

"Isn't there a well in the courtyard?" Gřiltu said: "My brother doesn't fire a single one, he can just boil water and wash his face." ”

Bao Guo should accept it, get up and open the box, dig out a small iron box from it, take out two keys, hand them to Geriletu, and say, "Big brother, this is the key to the house." This year, it rained heavily, and the lock was rusty, so I replaced it with a new one. This is the car key, there is nothing wrong with your car, the oil that was just changed in October. ”

Geriletu took it and straightened up: "Okay, I'm not polite to you." Then I'll go first. ”

"Don't, let's have dinner together at night, we have to catch the wind anyway."

Gřiletu shook his head and said, "Another day." I've been on the train for a night, and I'm falling apart, so I'll rest for a day. ”

Saying goodbye to the reluctant Zhang Baoguo, Geriletu drove the old Santana and left the car repair shop. In just ten minutes, he parked Santana in the alley, locked the car, and unlocked it into the yard. Four years have passed, and the house is as good as ever, and there are no weeds in the yard. Baoguo didn't lie, he did come over every once in a while to pick up.

Gřiletu opened the door and entered the house, and walked into the kitchen on the north side. He pulled a folding dagger out of his bag, carefully pried open the tiles on the ground, removed the planks underneath, dusted off with his hands, and pulled out the box hidden inside. The box was opened, and on the first floor were two stacks of renminbi, some passports, and two ID cards.

He picked it up and pulled out one of his IDs. The ID card featured a black-and-white photograph of himself, the ethnic group that read Mongol, and whose name was Tari Geriltu. (To be continued.) )