The layout of Huang's house is the same as that of her own house upstairs. He Xin sleeps on Huang Damao's bed, who has not been home for two years. Aunt Huang specially laid out this year's newly made cotton blankets, thick quilts, and the
The heating in the room was very strong, and He Xin slept very soundly.
Early the next morning, He Xin put on a pair of woolen pants and a sweater. Before the office opened, he borrowed the Huang family's bicycle and went to the cemetery in the back mountain to pay homage to his dead parents.
After the car accident that year, although the hit-and-run driver was caught quickly, the driver was a bachelor, the truck was bought with a loan, and he still owed a lot of debt, so the compensation was never received.
He Xin, who had just turned sixteen at the time, took out all his family's savings to buy a cemetery for his parents to be buried together. Then he packed his bedroll and went south to the capital to work alone.
Due to the wind and rain, the words on the tombstone had gradually become blurry. He Xin found a brush and paint and traced it again, then knelt down and kowtowed three times in front of the tomb sincerely.
He Xin originally had a good idea. When applying for a passport, he begged the staff for help. If it didn't work, he would apply for an expedited application. He must get the passport before the Chinese New Year. Then the visa would be simple. Although he was on holiday during the Spring Festival, he was an ambassador for foreigners.
The consulate is still open, and all procedures for leaving the country can be completed before the end of the month.
But the ideal is plump, and the reality is skinny.
"Comrade, please help me. I'm leaving in February, and I have to get this passport before the Spring Festival no matter what. Can I apply for an expedited application at the head office?" He Xin bent over and looked at the window.
The middle-aged policewoman begged bitterly.
"No, not even expedited. Didn't I tell you, there's a holiday for the Spring Festival, and your passport won't be available until February 15th at the earliest." The policewoman said impatiently, and then she muttered to him.
: "If you're in such a hurry, why did you go so early?"
"No, I just received the notice, otherwise I wouldn't be so anxious and angry to come back to do it. Comrade, please help..."
He Xin was really anxious. He really had to wait until February 15th to get his passport. Then the day lily would be cold. Not to mention going abroad by then, even the Berlin Film Festival would be closing.
"Hey, buddy, are you in a hurry to go abroad?" At this time, a yellow man wrapped in a military coat came over and patted him on the shoulder.
"yes!"
He Xin turned around and glanced at him, wanting to continue pleading with the police inside.
Huang Mao patted him again and whispered: "It's useless for you to beg like this. There are regulations here. It takes thirty working days to apply for a passport."
"Then I'll do it urgently!" He Xin said without turning around, annoyed by Huang Mao's inexplicable conversation.
"We don't do expedited services here."
"What?"
He Xin immediately turned around, and saw Huang Mao smiling vaguely at him, and whispered: "I have a way to help you expedite it, and I will ensure that your passport will come out before the New Year holiday."
He Xin looked at him warily, and finally understood in his heart that Ganqing had encountered a scalper.
Huang Mao pursed his lips and motioned for him to come to the side to talk.
"Can you do it? How much does it cost?" He Xin asked straight to the point.
Huang Mao stretched out a finger and said with a smile: "One thousand, I will help you handle it as a team."
The handling fee for a passport is 200, the production fee is 20, and the express fee adds up to about 250. Huang Mao actually costs 1,000.
He bargained without hesitation: "It's too expensive, make it cheaper."
Huang Mao still smiled and said: "My price is definitely not expensive. If you don't believe me, go out and ask around. If you want to rush it, you can get your passport within two weeks. If you don't have one thousand and fifty, you don't even have to think about it."
He Xin looked at it suspiciously, and then said: "I gave you the money, how can you guarantee that you can help me do it?"
"Receipt!"
Huang Mao said: "When you apply for a passport, you will receive a passport receipt. There is a date of collection on it, which has legal effect."
"real?"
"Of course it's true!" Huang Mao said firmly, looked at He Xin, and said: "You are He Xin, I know you."
"Hey! Do you know me?" He Xin looked at him carefully, but he really didn't have any impression.
Huang Mao smiled and said: "We were in the same grade in junior high school, just in different classes. You were very famous at that time, and no one in the school didn't know you."
As he said that, he introduced himself: "My name is He Dazhu, and I am from Class 3. If you are still worried, you can ask someone you know to find out."
He Xin looked at He Dazhu's sworn look, and it didn't look like he was trying to fool him. Thinking about it, there was really no good way to do it now, so he pretended to be surprised and said: "So, we can be considered classmates."
As he spoke, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed him one.
"That's right!"
He Dazhu quickly took out his lighter and helped light it, and said with a smile: "He Xin, I haven't seen you for many years. It seems that now that I'm done with it, I've gone abroad."
"No." He Xin said modestly, "It's mainly due to work needs."
Then he said with a bitter look on his face: "This is also my first time going abroad. I just received a notice a few days ago that I have to leave early next month. I have no choice but to come back and apply for a passport. I didn't expect it would be so troublesome here."
"So you have to find me!"
He Dazhu glanced at the visa application window, pretending to be mysterious and said: "I am just a breadwinner now. As long as you look for me, I will not delay your departure abroad. We are all related to it."
Although He Dazhu's words were vague, He Xin still understood clearly what kind of collusion and common profit the situation was.
He Xin thought about it for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded: "Okay, I'll leave this to you."
He Dazhu was indeed reliable. After He Xin filled out the form, checked his ID card, household register, and took a photo, and then handed him all the materials and a thousand yuan, he saw him wandering around upstairs.
It didn't take much time to get a receipt with the date of collection being January 20th.
He Xin got on the train back to the capital that night. The twists and turns of applying for a passport wiped out his last good impression of this small town.
When he went to the Huang family to say goodbye, he specially left a key for Aunt Huang and asked her to help clean the house when the weather warmed up. When she was free, she could go upstairs and open the windows for ventilation. Of course, if the Huang family needed it, the house could be used.
No matter how much you use it, it's still empty anyway, just take it as a reward.
Although he made up his mind never to come back again, he still felt insecure in his heart and subconsciously regarded this place as his last escape route in the future. He just hoped that he would not be in such a bad situation in the future.
…
"!"
Li Mengnan poured the whole plate of mutton into the pot. The soup splashed onto the smoke column of the copper hot pot, and a wisp of white smoke rose up, which instantly mixed with the rising heat.
"Hey, why are you always like this! Put less in it, otherwise the meat will be old." Hao Rong on the side saw this and immediately said dissatisfied.
"That's because you eat slowly." Li Mengnan asked back.
He Xin ignored their bickering, stirred the pot a few times with chopsticks, waited for the meat to change color, picked up a chopstick, dipped it in the dipping sauce mixed with sesame sauce and chili oil, and stuffed a large mouthful directly into his mouth.
That's a great feeling.
The same was true for Li Mengnan. The head of his chopsticks was bigger than him. He took one bite and said with a satisfied look on his face: "I have been thinking about this bite for a long time."
As he spoke, he clicked his chopsticks and turned to He Xin and said: "I think back when I was in school, what I and my brothers wanted most was to come to this restaurant to eat mutton, but they were all so poor that they only had to order it for eight or ten yuan each.
Two plates of mutton will make your mouth swell, but only a few chopsticks will be gone."
"Eight yuan and ten yuan. When did you raise money and take it out? How often did you shamelessly eat and drink and eat the most every time?" Hao Rong said with a look of disdain.
He ate very elegantly, picking up one or two pieces of meat from the hot pot, dipping them evenly, then eating them in his mouth and chewing them slowly.
"At that time, weren't you all richer than me? Yes, yes, I'll treat you to today's meal. Hey, the waiter will bring two more plates of mutton." Li Mengnan said with a grand expression.
When Hao Rong heard this, he was happy. He picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "Hey, it's rare to have a meal from you, Mr. Li. Xiao He, come on, let's toast Mr. Li with a drink to thank him for this meal.
"
"Okay, okay!"
He Xin quickly stuffed a chopstick of meat into his mouth, grinning from the heat, picked up the cup and said vaguely: "Brother, Teacher Hao and I respect you."
"Hey! I dare you, teachers and students, to unite to deal with me today, right? Xiaohe, you are just burning bridges by crossing the river! Let me tell you, I haven't settled the accounts with you yet for what happened last time!"
"Brother, I was wrong. Can I make amends to you?" He Xin begged for mercy.
The last time the play Li Mengnan played as the second male lead was performed, he specially reserved a seat for He Xin to see it. But at that time, he was competing with the role of Lan Yu and couldn't spare the time. He was waiting for the movie to be filmed.
That’s it, the performance over there is also over.
It is said that Li Mengnan performed particularly brilliantly that time. The three of us gathered today to congratulate him on his success.