Zhang Li, Yanhua, Li Shuang, and Yingzi all invited Lao Tan to their homes to celebrate the New Year, but Lao Tan didn't go.
During the Chinese New Year, families gather together, so what's the point of having an outsider do the math? That's what Lao Tan thought. So he celebrated the New Year's Eve alone.
He cooked four dishes for himself, cooked dumplings and warmed up the wine. He ate and drank while watching TV. It was not pleasant but it was okay.
But it is the Chinese New Year after all, and days are different. Especially when you are alone, it is inevitable that you have to think of many things.
When I get tipsy, some scenes from the past New Year celebrations involuntarily come to mind.
That was the scene when he came home to celebrate the New Year in his first year of working. It was the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, and it was snowing lightly. He first took the train, then the car, and returned home when it was completely dark and the lights were on.
When he entered the house, his mother was sitting by the kang. After Lao Tan called her mother, he couldn't help but feel a sore nose and tears welling up in his eyes. I haven't seen my mother in a year, think about it.
When the mother saw that her old son had come back, she was stunned for a moment, and then a kind and joyful smile appeared on her face.
Mother said: "Think about it, it's time for you to come back today. It's already 28 years old - did you come back on the Black Sky Train?"
"Yeah." Lao Tan said, "I took the train from the provincial capital in the morning, arrived at Beipiao at 2:30 in the afternoon, and then took the shuttle bus at 4:20."
"You must be hungry after a long day of driving. The noodles I rolled out are not yet cooked on the floor of the outhouse. I will cook them for you."
Mother went down to put on her shoes to cook noodles, but Lao Tan refused to let her go and went to the outhouse by herself.
The board is on the pickle vat against the north wall, with rolled noodles on it. The cutting board on the sauerkraut vat is chopped braised sauerkraut, diced tofu, and chopped green onions.
The water in the pot is hot and the wood in the stove is red.
Looking at the noodles and the water that had been boiled several times in the pot, Lao Tan couldn't bear it anymore and burst into tears. His mother was waiting for him to come back. Although she didn't know if he would be able to come back today, she
You have to wait, you have to prepare, you have to roll the noodles in advance------
Oh, mother, mom.
Thinking of this, Old Tan's eyes were filled with tears, and the wine glass in his hand could not be brought to his mouth. Finally, he had to put down the wine glass, light a cigarette to calm his excitement, and wipe the tears from his face.
People, it’s not that they miss home as they get older, it’s that they don’t dare to go home.
It was the fourth Spring Festival since he started working. Lao Tan did not go home because the hotel was open. He spent that Spring Festival with Yanhua. Yanhua worked as a waiter in a small restaurant owned by her boss and did not go home to celebrate the New Year.
Speaking of Yanhua, we have to talk about Yaru and Lin Yan. The three of them met Lao Tan at the Rose Hotel on Taishan Road. The first was Yaru, then Lin Yan, and then Yanhua.
In the first part, we know that Yaru is Lao Tan's first love, but for various reasons the two of them only composed a soul-stirring and bitter love song, which is bragging.
Then Lin Yan came. The same destiny and the same origin brought the two together, and there was almost no love. But love was still blocked. Lin Yan's mother did not agree with the marriage, so Lao Tan decided not to go home in frustration.
During the Chinese New Year, stick to your post at the hotel.
At that time, Yanhua and Lao Tan were colleagues and friends. She liked Lao Tan, but she stopped thinking about her own experience and the relationship between Lao Tan and Lin Yan. When she learned that Lao Tan would not go home for the New Year because of love, she stopped.
I decided not to go home and stay with Lao Tan in the hotel.
Lao Tan clearly remembers that New Year's Eve scene.
After drinking, Yanhua told him with a rosy face that if she didn't mind, she could go home with him during the first month of the year. The meaning of her words couldn't be more obvious, but Lao Tan declined because she was thinking about Lin Yan.
.
The reason why I declined was because I already had skin-to-skin contact with Lin Yan, and I still had one last fantasy before I completely despaired.
At that time, he also knew that Yanhua was better than Lin Yan, a pure and virtuous wife and loving mother, and she would definitely be a perfect match for her. It would be a lie to say that she is not attracted to her, but you can't just fall in love with someone who is attracted to you. What's the point?
?
When he thought of this, he couldn't help but cursed himself. His mind was still young and relatively pure at that time. If he had stopped thinking about it now, it would be weird if he didn't take it down on the spot.
This is just a psychological activity. If that were the case, I still wouldn’t dare to move—I didn’t dare to do it when I was young, but now? Only a ghost would believe it.
But this memory is undoubtedly worthy of joy, and it has washed away the sadness just now.
Lao Tan took a sip of wine and ate a dumpling, while his thoughts continued.
He thought about the first Spring Festival after getting married.
According to rural etiquette, a new daughter-in-law must spend the first year of her marriage at her husband's house, and then return to her parents' house on the second day of the first lunar month. But that year, Lin Yan did not go back to her hometown with Lao Tan, but went back to her parents' house.
When Lao Tan saw Lin Yan packed up and got on the bus back to her parents' home, no matter what he said, the first thing he thought of was to get divorced after the Chinese New Year without saying anything.
This woman has passed; the second thing that comes to her mind is what should she tell her mother when she goes home alone for the New Year, and what should her mother think when she sees that her daughter-in-law has not come back------
In fact, it would be better to get divorced at that time.
He talked to himself.
But can we get divorced at that time? No, because Lin Yan is already pregnant.
Alas, it seems that everything is destined. People can't fight for their fate.
Lao Tan drank the wine in his glass and then filled it again.