The year before last, the scene of the old man pushing open the glass door appeared in Cai Gen's mind.
A pair of torn labor protection cotton shoes, a green army coat with exposed cotton, and a wrinkled face covered with frostbite.
The hand holding the bean bag was also full of holes from work, so I didn't dare to hand it forward, as if I was afraid of being snatched. I just raised it to my chest to show it, as if I was holding some treasure.
"Boss, the bean bags I made myself cost 5 yuan for 10 pieces."
The old man's eyes at the beginning were shy, shy, and helpless, which Cai Gen could relate to.
So, I bought a series of bean bags.
Last year, the old man came again, his military coat had been replaced by a black cotton-padded jacket, and the price of bean bags had increased from 5 yuan to 10 yuan.
In the old man's eyes, he could still see the look of embarrassment because of the price increase. Cai Gen did not buy it, but agreed to give it to the old man in exchange for a meal.
This year, the old man's brand-new mask, snow-white gloves, and sturdy woolen cotton shoes show that his life has improved.
Cai Gen saw nothing in the old man's eyes. If anything, it was only resentment at being rejected.
The old man on the ground saw that Cai Gen didn't seem to be paying attention to himself, and his pride was hurt.
He stood up stubbornly, dragged his twisted thighs, took a step forward, stretched out his bloody gloves across the bar, grabbed Cai Gen's neck, and yelled angrily,
"It's all your fault, you have to take responsibility, you have to"
Cai Gen was wandering in his mind, but he didn't move away from the old man's extended hand because he was distracted.
The neck was grabbed. The white gloves were sticky and the force was very strong. The pinch was very painful.
After reacting, he instinctively grabbed the old man's wrist. The moment he grabbed the old man's wrist.
Cai Gen's consciousness was suddenly taken away from his body, and he suddenly appeared in the body of a young man without letting go of his hand.
His eyes were full of darkness, he couldn't speak, he couldn't move, and he was completely experiencing the feelings of a young man.
Moreover, that kind of empathy is not beautiful, very unpleasant.
Even every minute and every second made Cai Gen want to die.
The quartz clock on the wall was running fast and slow, letting time flow continuously. It did not wait for Cai Gen, who was motionless in the store, and even ignored the old man selling bean buns who was also motionless.
I don’t know how long it took, but Cai Gen came back with a memory that didn’t belong to him.
Of course, the old man who came back with him was the old man selling bean buns.
After the old man came to his senses, he quickly released his grip on Cai Gen's neck and began to step back desperately.
Because my thighs couldn't control the balance well, I fell to the ground.
He didn't even care about the bean bags in his hands. He quickly put his hands on the ground and stepped back hard. He didn't stop until his back was against the glass door and there was no way to retreat.
The eyes that had turned blood red from excitement just now were no longer angry, but were filled with fear. He asked tremblingly,
"Who was that just now? Where did I go?"
Cai Gen wiped the blood on his neck. It was very sticky. He rubbed his neck several times before he was relieved from the pain. Looking at the old man's expression, he felt more and more depressed.
I am not a dead person, who among us is afraid of whom?
Seeing that the old man was far away from me, which was already the farthest distance, I had calmed down from the panic of seeing a dead person for the first time, so I lit another cigarette and said calmly.
"The young man just died last month. He was only 24 years old. The gas in the mine exploded and he was trapped inside. The gas boiled the groundwater. He was soaked in the water for 9 hours."
The narrow space, the stones on his body, the scalding boiling water, and howling desperately, every minute and every second was torture. Cai Gen experienced it for 9 hours.
He took a puff of cigarette and continued to recall,
"The young man was an orphan since he was a child. He suffered a lot in the past. My wife was eight months pregnant. I didn't want my child to suffer the same hardships as me, so I worked overtime to save money for the confinement nanny, but the result was not born."
The tenacious desire to live, the expectation for the unborn child, and the concern for his wife, along with the tremendous pain, tortured Cai Gen for nine full hours.
He took another puff of cigarette and continued with a bit of sadness,
"The child was born prematurely this month. It's a son. The father and I haven't seen each other for a month."
It's such a pity that a young life is lost just like that and has not yet been won.
Not daring to approach the bar anymore, the old man started to want to leave. He didn't want to be in the same space as Cai Gen, so he said tentatively,
"Boss, am I leaving then?"
Cai Gen seemed to be still thinking about what he had just said, immersed in the regret of a young life that died so early, and he did not lose his mind and answered,
"Well, let's go."
The old man opened the glass door and crawled out through the crack of the opened door as if he was running for his life. He climbed through the lights at the restaurant entrance and disappeared into the night.
The bell on the glass door was clear and sweet, which also disturbed Cai Gen's thoughts. He touched his face, and it turned out to be full of tears.
Were you scared to tears by the old man?
No, I should feel sorry for that young man's experience. He was only a month away from meeting his son.
What’s wrong with working hard to live? What’s wrong with working hard to make money? What’s wrong with trying to make your son’s life better?
That's right, why should you endure that kind of pain?
The young man persisted for 9 hours, and Cai Gen also experienced those 9 hours. In addition to a lot of whys in his heart, there were only tears on his face.
Although he had not taken 9 puffs, Cai Gen still extinguished the cigarette butt impatiently. Was he experiencing a supernatural event?
The moment I grabbed the old man's wrist, I felt the same as the old man and saw the same scene.
Stretch out your hand, what's going on?
Everything happened just like that, without knowing why, even the explanation given to the old man and the young man's experience seemed to have been prepared in his mind in advance.
Was he being possessed?
Looking again at the ground where the old man had been sitting just now, the blood stain from his thigh was no longer there, and the milky white floor was neat and clean.
Look at the quartz clock on the door. It's 2:10. Two hours have passed. Could it be that what I just experienced was an illusion? It must be.
However, the black spot burned by cigarette butts on the bar shattered Cai Gen's rationalization fantasy. He wiped the black spot with his hand again, but he was still stubborn.
Follow the black dots and look at the two gods of wealth. Are you just pretending not to see them?
Cai Gen lit another cigarette to calm his mood.
I'd better call my wife over tomorrow to have a look. This incident is a bit scary.
"You have a new takeout order, please process it immediately. You have a new takeout order, please process it immediately."
The sudden sound of harsh music scared Cai Gen, and he hurriedly took orders on the computer next to the bar.
Looking at the address, I saw the Red Romance Hotel, room 8804, two Taiwanese braised pork rice, and two cans of beer.
I looked at the quartz clock again, it was 2:30, well, it was time to replenish my energy.
Cai Gen came to the kitchen with a cigarette in his mouth, skillfully turned on the gas, boiled water, put two bags of Taiwanese braised pork ingredients in the pot, and closed the lid.
Open the refrigerator, take out two portions of rice, put them in two microwave ovens, turn them on for 3 minutes, and start waiting.
I took a puff of cigarette and started to think about what happened just now. It shouldn't be a hallucination.
Although Cai Gen is timid by nature, he has been running a 24-hour store for 5 years. Ordinary bizarre things can also be resolved with strong psychological quality.
But this time, it was a bit scary, not an ordinary thing.
The two "ding ding" reminders from the microwave interrupted Cai Gen's random thoughts again, and he put the cigarette on the ashtray.
Quickly take out the rice, take out the packet of ingredients from the pot, open it with scissors, and pour it evenly on the rice.
Cover the lunch box, put it in a plastic bag, and grab chopsticks, napkins, and spoons.
I tied the bag and put the takeout bag in. When I saw that the cigarette had burned out, I took the takeout bag to the bar.
This chapter has been completed!