Chapter 2 The Past of Jiaxiang

The hardships I have endured over the years, the sins I have suffered,

The arduous road that has been walked,

The ups and downs that have been experienced have all turned into tears.

The next day, Bao Chu woke up with a splitting headache and didn't even know where he was. After looking at it for a long time, I found that I had returned to Baojia Village and was lying on the bed in my old house.

Yesterday, the village party secretary drank too much, and he actually competed with Director Hao, who said that he had arranged a room in the hotel, so that the drunk Bao Chop could have a good rest.

Bao Zhishu said: "Why does Xiao Baozi want to stay in a hotel, where is this, he is home, let him go home to live!" ”

The hen outside the window cooed, the shadows of the trees swayed, the old house had not been inhabited for a long time, although after some hasty cleaning, the house still had a dull atmosphere, the bedding was new, it should have been brought from home by Bao Zhishu, and the other things were so old, old boxes, old cabinets, old chairs, everything remained the same as when they left home.

The old house is a part of the past.

If a person can go back to his childhood home, there will be a feeling of time travel, seeing the old wall calendar pasted on the wall, the page of the Chinese textbook on the table is "Juvenile Leap Earth", the old-fashioned TV is still in its original position, the old clothes he loved to wear back then are hung behind the door, the door, he used to go in and out many years ago, he feels a little trance, fresh and dazed, strange and familiar.

Bao Chop was born and raised here.

His parents died when he was a child, and he never saw his parents look like or had any memory of his family.

The old days of the pomegranate courtyard are filled with memories. Over the years, the pomegranate tree planted by my father and uncle has grown luxuriantly. Although it was summer at this time, Bao Chu was impressed by this tree in the winter, the snow flew over the village, the pomegranate tree was lonely, and he was also standing alone in the snowy yard, he and the tree were silent.

From a very young age, Bao Chop washed and cooked alone, read and wrote alone, and fell asleep alone. Despite the care of his close relatives, he always felt lonely, as if the whole world had abandoned him.

The child's early experience of life's hardships made him extremely strong.

There is a three-wheeled stroller in the corner, on which the young Bao Chop often rides, playing alone in the yard, looking up at the sky, staring at the birds flying by, the falling yellow leaves, and now the stroller has long been rusted, which looks sad. engulf

The place where I used to play is now covered with moss.

Bao Chu has become accustomed to the bustling and indifferent city life, and when he returned to his hometown, he immediately felt a strong human touch.

When all the close relatives of the village heard that Bao had returned, they came to visit, and the whole village belonged to one family, and the house was soon crowded with relatives. One by one, there is no politeness, only sincerity.

A simple middle-aged woman said: "Xiaobao, I know that you are busy, take the time to eat at home, my sister-in-law will give you fried crispy meat, you liked to eat it when you were a child." ”

Bao Shu shouted the second sister-in-law, and then agreed.

Two childhood friends stepped forward to give them a cigarette, and Bao Qi said that he would not smoke. The children who caught loaches together back then have now become men in their old age, smiling innocently, with traces of life on their faces, and Bao Chu recognized them for a long time before calling out their names in surprise.

A silver-haired old lady and a hunchbacked old man on crutches walked into the house, and everyone got out of the way, the old man was the old patriarch of Baojia Village.

Bao Shu stepped forward and called out to the fourth grandfather, the fourth grandmother.

Bao Chu is a little wooden, afraid of interpersonal interactions, he is an introverted man. In the face of enthusiastic relatives, he was at a loss, just took out the prepared gifts and distributed them to the elders, the fourth grandmother held Bao Chop's head, old tears, and said vigorously that Bao Chop was a bitter child since he was a child, and he had suffered a lot of sins. The fourth grandfather was babbling something, this old man was inarticulate, and Bao Qi only heard a few words: Shanglin, burn paper.

The sound of car horns came from the courtyard, and the public security bureau sent a police car to pick up Bao Qi, who took the opportunity to escape from the encirclement of the villagers as if he had been granted amnesty.

The policeman who drove the car was named Sun Dayue, and he was responsible for serving as a driver for Bao Shu during the case. Although Da Yue is a civil servant, he has not married in his thirties, he has an old lady who is paralyzed in bed, bedridden for many years, in order to treat his old mother, the family is already poor, and he owes a lot of money, he is a filial son, and he is unwilling to send his mother to a welfare home, so no girl is willing to marry him.

He was accompanied by female reporters and photographers from the county television station, who planned to make a follow-up report on the "human centipede" case.

The car drove out of the village and onto the country road

On both sides of the road are straight poplar trees, every leaf is dazzlingly green in the sun, the sound of cicadas comes from the trees, the breeze gently blows through the surrounding golden wheat fields, the old shepherd rests on the grass under the trees, and in the distance, a harvester cuts wheat in the field.

Bao Chu remembered what the fourth grandfather said, and when he passed by a small town, he bought some memorial supplies, incense, dark coins, fire paper, and a bottle of wine. He found his parents' grave from memory, knelt down and kowtowed a few times, and then wept bitterly.

The hardships I have endured, the sins I have suffered, the arduous road I have walked, and the ups and downs I have gone through have all turned into tears.

The female reporter, named Zhang Lei, conducted a brief interview with Bao in the car.

Female reporter Zhang Lei said: "I also watched the surveillance video, it's a bit like the corpse in the movie, do you believe in the corpse?" ”

"Of course I don't believe it, corpses can't walk or crawl," Bao said. ”

Zhang Lei, a female journalist, said: "If the person carrying the fishing rod in front of you is a suspect, and the four victims crawling behind, why don't they run?" ”

"They probably won't be able to run," Bao said. ”

Sun Dayue said: "Now, the suspect has not been arrested, and the case needs to be kept secret. ”

Female reporter Zhang Lei said: "Don't worry, I'm just curious, just ask, there is such a big case in our county, everyone is very concerned, and these will not be broadcast until the case is solved." ”

Sun Dayue said: "Let Xiaobao take a rest, he was drunk last night, I guess he still has a headache now, you leave me a phone, and I can ask me anything." ”

Female reporter Zhang Lei said: "Okay, you provide me with some revelations, and I will invite you to dinner." Where do we go next, back to the Public Security Bureau? ”

"Let's go find an eyewitness. ”

In that surveillance video, five people lined up and walked slowly, the person in the front was wearing a raincoat, medium stature, and a fishing rod on his shoulder, and the four people behind him were also wearing raincoats, crawling on the ground like centipedes, the posture was slow and peculiar, and the group passed through the intersection of the county No. 1 Middle School, it was raining at the time, and the surveillance camera was wet with rain, and the picture captured was a little blurry.

The video shows the time is three o'clock in the morning and the streets are empty.

Bao Chu thought of a person, this person's name was Lao Yang, who ran a morning shop at the intersection and got up at three o'clock every day to do business, and he probably witnessed the scene at that time.

There is a snack street at the entrance of every school, the street is often chaotic, the sewage flows sideways when it rains, the dumpling restaurant is next to the steamed bun shop, and next to the Shaxian snack is Lanzhou ramen, the spicy aroma and the smell of stinky tofu are permeated together, and the sizzling sound of the sizzling squid is mixed with the sizzling sound of the chicken chops entering the oil pot. The machine for roasting sausages was still spinning, the shovel had just turned up the pancakes, and the bubble tea shop was plastered with pieces of paper with students' messages written on them.

It is no exaggeration to say that the school gate gathers the most memorable and delicious snacks of a person's life.

Because, after graduation, you will never be able to eat again.

Because, these all contain the memories of youth.

Students graduating from Ka Cheung No. 1 High School should not forget the local snack: grits soup.

Grits soup, originated in Jining City, Shandong Province, is popular along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the land of Qilu, and is said to be a famous food, but outsiders don't know it. The soup is made from beef bones or lamb bones, with spices, green onions, and ginger, and needs to be boiled for several hours on high heat to make the soup milky white. Break an egg in a bowl, pour hot bone broth and boil, put a thin slice of cooked meat, sprinkle coriander, and drizzle with sesame oil, all the colors and flavors are available.

This kind of bone broth has nurtured the hard-working, kind, simple and strong sons and daughters of southwest Lu.

Lao Yang Grits Soup was originally a wooden shed that could not be more simple, which belonged to illegal buildings. There used to be a sign hanging above the shed, which had long been smoked by smoke and fire to make it difficult to make out the original color, and one year, the winter wind swept away half of the sign, and now only the word "Lao Yang" remains.

Later, Lao Yang rented a small shop, there was a big pot in front of the store, there were a few shabby wooden square tables, and small horses were scattered all over the place, Lao Yang was the earliest person to get up on this snack street, and he had to get up at three o'clock every day to boil bone broth.

Ten years ago, this kind of soup was sold for a bowl for one dollar without meat, and ten years later, Lao Yang still sells it for one dollar.

In the past ten years, the rent has risen dozens of times, the price of meat has increased several times, and Lao Yang's grits soup has never increased in price.

Someone asked Lao Yang: "Why don't you increase the price, isn't it stupid?" ”

Lao Yang replied: "What's the price increase, the people who come to me for breakfast are all coolie people, all poor students, what do you say the price is going up?" ”

Regardless of spring or summer

In autumn and winter, Lao Yang gets up at three o'clock in the morning every day to make soup on the stove. Many years ago, Lao Yang was still Xiao Yang, and the first people to eat here were a group of coolies, who were loading and unloading at Dongguan Railway Station, working on construction sites, and traffickers who drove horse-drawn carriages and donkey carts to pull goods from long distances, shouting at donkeys and horses to park their vehicles. This group of people don't need to talk to Lao Yang at all, they just need to sit down at the small table, Lao Yang will serve a bowl of hot grits soup, if the sky is full of snowflakes and the north wind is howling, after drinking this bowl of grits soup, they will sweat profusely and be full of strength. Then hit the road and run into their lives.

In addition to selling soup, Lao Yang also makes oil cakes. This kind of bread is called Zhuang Bao, which is very hungry and eats a full day.

The oil cake should be rolled with green onions and pickles, the pickles are pickled by Lao Yang's daughter-in-law, and there is a large vat in the store, which is full of pickled radish strips and pickled cucumbers, which are all grown in his vegetable field and provided free of charge.

Lao Yang was very indifferent to money, his grits soup shop only sold for one morning, and after noon he closed his door to play chess.

During the college entrance examination that year, Lao Yang made a major decision: all students who took the college entrance examination went to the store to eat for free, and each person had a bowl of oil cake and a bowl of grits soup.

During the two days of the college entrance examination, Lao Yang's store was crowded with students eating, and Lao Yang's kindness relieved the huge pressure of the college entrance examination. The student thanked Lao Yang, and Lao Yang said: "Child, don't care if you are admitted to Peking University or Tsinghua University, go home more in the future." ”

Lao Yang's daughter-in-law muttered and complained beside her: "I have eaten and drunk for free in the past two days, how much money have I lost, and I am a fool." ”

Lao Yang yelled at his daughter-in-law: "Get out of the bear, don't be disobedient (don't be disobedient), go aside, you are down (what kind of mess are you adding)." ”

Over time, this has become a traditional habit of the small shop, and for many years, every time the college entrance examination is held, Lao Yang's shop will be full of students. It is said that on the day of the college entrance examination, after drinking Lao Yang's grits soup, he can perform more than usual and achieve better results, so many parents want to be lucky and come to line up for the students.

One year, the chengguan wanted to confiscate Lao Yang's tables and chairs, forbade him to set up a stall in front of the door, and beat Lao Yang.

This can be regarded as a hornet's nest, almost every student who graduated from Jiaxiang No. 1 Middle School remembered Lao Yang's old kindness, some have been in important positions, the municipal party committee and provincial party committee have asked about this matter, the captain of the city management team was forced to bow and apologize in front of Lao Yang's shop in person.

The police car stopped in front of Lao Yang's store, Bao Chop got out of the car, and said hello to Lao Yang with a smile.

When Bao Chu was in high school, he worked as an apprentice in Lao Yang's shop and worked part-time, so he was very familiar with Lao Yang and didn't have to be polite.

Lao Yang said: "Little bun, I heard that you are a big detective, I will talk to you after I am busy, you sit for a while, you haven't eaten, right?" ”

Bao Shu said: "Don't be in a hurry to eat, I'll help you first." He expertly tied his apron, picked up the rolling pin and began to roll out the cakes, picked them up and put them on the pan, brushed them with some oil, turned them over, and soon the last few oil cakes were baked.

The customers in the store gradually dispersed, and Lao Yang brought each person a bowl of grits soup and a cake.

Bao Chop is not polite, pick up the cake, smear the hot sauce, this kind of hot sauce is very spicy, is a local Shandong called "Wangtian Monkey" Chaotian pepper pickled, and then rolled with pickled cabbage, sandwiched a shallot, took a big bite, and then took another sip of soup, praised: "This meal is much better than yesterday's big banquet." ”

Lao Yang asked, "Is it a taste?" ”

Bao Chu said: "It's really a taste, it's still the same taste as before." ”

After eating, Sun Dayue timidly asked Lao Yang: "Can you issue an invoice here, you can't be reimbursed without a ticket." "Da Yue is a grassroots policeman, the salary is not much, in order to save the old lady medical expenses, he usually picks the door, for this meal, he is a little hesitant whether to rush to pay the bill.

Lao Yang said: "How can I have an invoice in this small shop, Xiao Baozi is my apprentice, and I still need to spend money to eat here?" ”

After eating, Bao Chu began to talk about business, asking Lao Yang if he had seen anything unusual on the day of the crime.

Lao Yang thought carefully for a while and said: "It was raining that day, and I did see a few people in raincoats, whether they were men or women I couldn't see clearly, but they were walking past my door, not crawling, what you said was too scary, how could they crawl on the street?" ”

Bao Chu thought for a moment and said to Da Yue: "It seems that when they arrived at the intersection, those four people knelt down and crawled. ”

Sun Dayue said: "What is the motivation for doing this? ”

Female reporter Zhang Lei said: "At three o'clock in the morning, they walked in front of Lao Yang's door, why didn't those people call for help? ”

Bao Chu said: "If you call for help, your life will be in danger." When you get to the intersection and crawl again, it is possible that you deliberately want to let the surveillance take pictures. ”