Mrs. Lin and Ansheng

The 79-year-old Mrs. Lin was lying on her back in bed, with the children standing beside her, and the oblique sunshine in the afternoon squeezed in through the gap. The liquid medicine in the infusion bottle sparkles when dripping, as if time is pouring in and gathering. Mrs. Lin woke up from her sleep and dreamt that she met Mr. Lin for the first time on the university campus.

2

It rained heavily in Hualien for several days in the summer when Chen Ansheng was born. Many mining areas were flooded, so my father stopped work to accompany his pregnant mother. He was nearly two months premature, but fortunately his father was there. At birth, Chen Ansheng weighed less than 5 kilograms. His father later named him "An Sheng" to please him, hoping that he would "be safe and naturally raised" in the future.

At that time, my father worked hard in the serpentine mine team in Hualien, and his salary was not bad. On his first birthday, his parents took him to town to take a family photo-this family photo later became his only memory of his father's appearance. Many times, he looked at the photo and asked his mother:

"Was my dad handsome when he was young?"

"handsome!"

Mother gently echoed, saying nothing more. He wiped his photo frame. The man in the picture is tall, straight and angry, supporting all his childhood hopes for his family.

three

Milan Kundera said: Leaving is a popular world, but we are not good at saying goodbye.

Mrs. Lin never thought that Mr. Lin would walk in front of her. As early as 10 years ago, Mrs. Lin had inconvenient legs and feet. Mr. Lin has been in good health since he retired from the newspaper office, and occasionally writes essays for the column. During the day, as long as the weather is suitable, Mr. Lin will push Mrs. Lin in a wheelchair and take the tram in Taipei to go around.

"They are all familiar streets and billboards." Mrs. Lin in a wheelchair often can't help thinking, "I'm as familiar as wrinkles and spots on my face."

But she likes the process. Mr. Lin seldom talks, and occasionally asks her if she is cold and drinks hot water. Sometimes they take the escalator. When going up, Mr. Lin stood behind the wheelchair, holding the handle tightly and leaning against the wheelchair. When going down, he will turn the wheelchair upside down and stand under himself, still leaning against the wheelchair.

"He always stands in the direction of possible accidents."

Mrs. Lin often thinks, what a cautious person. At this time, she will deliberately want to say that she wants to drink water. In fact, she is not really thirsty. She just wants him to stop, catch his breath and have a rest.

four

My father died when Chen Ansheng was 2 years old. In the same summer, the same rainstorm, the mine was flooded.

The name "An Sheng" became the most precious gift left by my father.

Mother had to work as a short-term worker in a cotton mill with little salary, and occasionally she had to make some "rice cakes" to supplement her family. The impression of the old house is often filled with the sound of my mother shoveling fried glutinous rice and the aroma of steamed meat strips. An Sheng often steals peanut powder and sweet and spicy sauce with rice cakes when her mother is not looking. At that time, he had grown very strong and soon reached the age of primary school.

Mother later remarried to a colleague who worked as a locksmith in a cotton mill. How old is the man's mother, dark and thin, short and quiet. Occasionally, she would make a few words with Ansheng, which was very casual, like charity. An Sheng doesn't like him, and the ABBA in his memory is much more handsome than him, so An Sheng seldom has his turn. At this time, there will be an icebreaker on the dining table. My mother sometimes brings food to Ansheng, and sometimes gives it to the man, telling him to eat more to cope with the scene.

The happiest day is to go to my mother's cotton mill after the holiday. In the summer vacation of the fourth grade of primary school, the accountant of the yarn factory took her daughter who was in the first grade of primary school. The girl wore a fashionable floral skirt, neat short hair, freckles scattered on her face, and a smooth smile, like a cup of foamed tea. Milk tea can already speak a lot of English. She knows that the smallest dog in the world is a chihuahua. She can point out the exact positions of New Zealand and Fei Lengcui on the globe, and can jump out of a stunning "cha-cha" at any time with the music.

Of course, her knowledge and manners do not prevent them from becoming real good friends. An Sheng took her sister with milk tea to the back warehouse of the cotton mill, which was filled with square cotton bags. An Sheng said that this is his snow country. They made a long snow trail out of cotton. Sister Milk Tea closed her eyes, clutched Ansheng's lower back tightly, screamed excitedly, and slid into the depths of that summer with him.

My mother was very happy to see Ansheng in those days. One day, after work, she took the opportunity to say to Ansheng, "Why don't you call him ABBA in the future?"

An Sheng Nuo Nuo answered calmly, but at dinner, she cried out awkwardly: "Uncle Lin".

That winter vacation, An Sheng saw her sister with milk tea again. She doesn't seem to have grown up, but she has a lot of courage. She stopped closing her eyes when the slide show was playing. She pointed to the glacier-like cotton bag and said:

"Maybe I will immigrate to Australia with my father in the future, and I will become a blind date lady when I grow up."

Her tone of voice has always been very light, even when she says such boastful words as "Miss Blind Date", she exudes elegant composure. Without saying anything, Ansheng took out two pieces of rice cakes from her pocket and quickly conquered her.

"You don't look like a blind date when you are greedy!"

An Sheng thought to herself.

five

Before the second daughter was born, Mrs. Lin and Mr. Lin had a big fight.

In fact, Mr. Lin was not very happy when he got the pregnancy test report. At that time, he was an assistant professor at National Taiwan University, and his salary was not much. Apart from working and taking care of children, he spent almost all his energy on writing papers. Of course, occasionally he writes novels and contributes articles, and sometimes he is as happy as a child when he wins a column.

"How can I afford to have another one?"

"Many colleagues have started companies in the sea. Why don't you try? "

"I like being a teacher, and not everyone wants to do business."

"Are you selfish? ! "

"Stop complaining!"

Mr. Lin stopped talking and took out a cigarette to light. Mrs. Lin moved a little, grabbed the cigarette and fell into the trash can.

"Smoking is bad for the fetus!"

Mr. Lin slammed the door and left. Soon, several muffled thunder rolled in the sky, and raindrops the size of soybeans hit the tree crown like shotguns. Mrs. Lin cursed the "dead pig" and pulled an umbrella out to find Mr. Lin.

I didn't know Mr. Lin was standing outside the corridor, and there was a cigarette butt under the street lamp. Mrs. Lin walked over, and Mr. Lin took a deep breath, then stamped out the cigarette end and said, "Last one, quit after smoking."

That night, Mr. Lin took Mrs. Lin home Mrs. Lin looked at the bulging pocket of his jeans and reached for it. It turned out to be a bottle of folic acid.

After that, Mr. Lin left school to work in a newspaper. When the second daughter was full moon, he had obtained the official press card and never touched a cigarette again.

six

An Sheng learned the news of milk tea sister's immigration through her mother's mouth.

He is a little depressed, repeatedly asked:

"Is there really no contact address over there?"

At that time, he got good grades and was admitted to a key junior high school. Mother said that she and his "black father" both hope that he will become a postman after graduation and earn money to support his family as soon as possible, but his ideal is to be a teacher.

After the mother gave birth to the second sister, she stopped making snacks to support her family. Black dad built a pigsty in the backyard and raised five piglets at home. Second sister is very cute. He likes her very much, but he doesn't like milk tea. After the holiday, he stopped playing in his mother's cotton mill. Sometimes he will write to his sister with milk tea, and write many silly letters one after another, but he just doesn't know where to send them.

After the birth of the second sister, the relationship between Ansheng and Black Dad eased a lot. An Sheng thinks he is not a bad guy, and sometimes he will talk to him at the dinner table. When it was dark, Dad specially bought a rice cake from Tung Tree. He grabbed a piece, dipped it in peanut butter and handed it to Ansheng. An Sheng took the rice cake and took a bite. Suddenly, he remembered the "miss blind date" in Snow Country, and for a moment, tears flowed out. Afraid that his mother would see him, he suddenly ran to the backyard and cried at the five little pigs.

seven

When he graduated from Lintai University, Mr. Lin stayed at school as a teacher. The eldest son was not born yet, which was the most free and happy time in their lives.

But at that time, it was completely different. Because her mother always opposed their marriage, Mrs. Lin almost cut off contact with her parents in the first few years of marriage. At first, Mr. Lin lived in a single dormitory for teachers. After they got married, they rented a small apartment near the school.

Although they have plenty of spare time, they are not so free. Mr Lin is very filial. As long as there is a suitable holiday, he will take her back to her hometown by tram. From Taipei to Ruifang, from Ruifang to Yilan, and then transfer to Hualien via Yilan. She stubbornly loved him and watched him stare at the scenery outside the window. The setting sun slides down from the top of the distant mountain, and the clouds drag them around like a desert. He opened the window and let the night wind blow away his long hair, revealing a bright forehead without wrinkles of years. The tram stopped and stopped all the way, bumping for several hours, so the dusk was boundless, and the cold came and the summer went.

The travel expenses are very expensive, and you can't save any money in those years. It will be very difficult to have children. In-laws came to Taipei to see them boat by boat. Mrs. Lin was lying in the bedroom and saw the man and his father-in-law outside the window, pushing "red envelopes" all the time. She was a little unhappy, but after eating some rural snacks brought by her mother-in-law, she soon became happy.

eight

An Sheng has learned to speak a lot of English and can skillfully find the Great Barrier Reef and Polynesian Islands on the map.

He no longer likes talking to pigs in the backyard, and finally realizes that writing letters is a silly thing. He made great efforts to persuade his mother to send him to high school. Finally, he vowed that as long as he finished the joint exam, he would feel at ease to take the exam for the postman of Chunghwa Post. Mother relented and agreed with him.

At that time, the benefits of cotton mills were already bad, and there were many layoffs, leaving only one mother and father. Later, my mother moved into the supermarket in the town and didn't read much. She can't be a cashier or a shopping guide, but she can only be a cleaning aunt in the back warehouse. Black dad's locksmith skills are not bad, and he finally saved his job. Life is so bumpy that I can hardly hold on.

Many boys in high school are chasing girls, and some girls have chased him. He occasionally feels glad when opening love letters, but most of the time he still feels inferior. Falling in love costs money. He can't afford to talk, and he doesn't want to talk. He thought he would never be a teacher again and left school forever. Every minute he spent in the classroom became extremely precious.

nine

Mrs. Lin's first love was not Mr. Lin.

When she was in a private high school, she always liked a Chinese-Australian mixed-race named Henry. Fancy boy's grades are poor, but he fights badly. I forget when Mrs. Lin had a heroic dream in her heart, imagining that her dream lover should have the courage to take her across Qian Shan and fly to the ends of the earth.

Henry satisfied her imagination of "heroic dream". Because everyone can speak Mandarin, it will be all right soon. He took her for a motorcycle ride, took her to a bar to drink, threw darts, took her to see his little brother, and witnessed a nightclub fight. Mrs. Lin felt very happy when she was proud of her chic days. If she is not satisfied, it shows that Henry is a little selfish, and he is not very good at taking care of girls' feelings-but this will not pose a fatal threat to girls in love: handsome is enough.

During that time, Mrs. Lin's grades dropped sharply, and her parents soon discovered her problems, forcing her to break up with Henry and move to another district. At first, Mrs. Lin cooperated helplessly, but later, while her parents were not paying attention, she slipped out of the house to ask Henry for a date, only to find that he had already found another lover-not surprisingly, a boy of his style never lacked girls around him.

When Mrs. Lin found them on the street corner, Henry was pushing his motorcycle and the girl jumped on it skillfully. Henry gently kissed the girl's forehead and pinched her ass-he had done the same thing to Mrs. Lin before, but the blonde didn't smile shyly like Mrs. Lin, but stretched out her arms and slapped Henry on the back of the neck at will. Henry smiled and rode away.

"Obviously, they are more suitable." Mrs. Lin flashed a leisurely thought that the truth didn't make people feel depressed.

Simply lost for a while, Mrs. Lin began to study with peace of mind, and took her parents' wishes to take the joint exam in Taiwan Province Province, which finally reassured her parents.

10

Anson didn't feel a little satisfied when she received the admission notice from National Taiwan University. After the second sister learned it, she also sold five black pigs. There is no money to support him at home.

He insisted on going to the post office in the town to check the exam of the courier and didn't come back until dark. That night, his mother handed him a pile of money and whispered to him that his family "Black Dad" found a part-time job in equipment installation in serpentine mine factory, and his income was not bad. Dad told him, don't worry, he will study, as long as his waist can bear it, he will definitely finish college.

"But working underground is too dangerous."

"Your father said he would be careful."

1 1

Mrs. Lin will never forget the first time she met her husband in college. It was at the orientation ball. He came from a distance, tall and straight, and seemed to catch her eye at once. In fact, it was her husband who recognized her first.

He flashed an unreal secretly pleased, as if he didn't know how to use words to open the situation.

-"Hey, do I look familiar to you?"

Hey, did you grow up in Australia?

Or: "Classmate, are you from Hualien?"

He let his thoughts churn in his head, smiled shyly at her and said, "Hey! Do you know that the smallest dog in the world is a chihuahua? "

This opening speech was so bad that Mrs. Lin was caught off guard by his question and whispered back, "What's your name?"

He paused, obviously paused, and said word for word: "My name is Lin Ansheng."