After the management meeting, Gu Yi, Sister Wang and Qiao Shan planned to take Lao Tan to Shanghai to eat braised pork. They said that a restaurant's braised pork was very good and everyone had to queue up to eat.
Lao Tan didn't want to go, and he didn't want to disturb the interest of the three of them, so he was a little embarrassed.
At this time, the cell phone rang, and a piece of bad news came - Wang Shulan was in a car accident and was dying.
So the four of them changed their itinerary and boarded a passenger plane bound for Beijing.
But the car accident was so serious that even twelve hours of rescue efforts could not save her, and Wang Shulan still left.
The night after the funeral, Lao Tan went to a tavern alone, ordered four dishes and a bottle of wine and drank it himself.
The sudden departure of his old friend, confidante, and business partner made him sad. He seemed to have grown older all of a sudden, and he felt even more the impermanence of life.
Lao Tan was drinking wine, his expression was calm, neither sad nor happy, but his heart was extremely miserable. Scenes with Wang Shulan flashed in front of his eyes in a chaotic manner, leaving him as stunned as a statue.
No one wants to recall everything about a person after his death, but everything in the past is like a movie uncontrollably in the mind, bursting out from the depths of memory, just like the voice, appearance, and smile of the past seem to be in front of you.
The pain of separation and separation can only be understood by those who have experienced it.
The cigarette in his hand went out, and he added another one. After the smoke rose, he took a sip of wine and the wine was gone. The four dishes on the table were almost untouched.
"Waiter, another bottle of wine."
The waiter came over and looked at the dishes on the table and the drinkers with suspicious eyes, and asked tentatively: "Would you like another bottle?"
"Well, let's have a bottle and settle the bill by the way."
I heard that the waiter was relieved after the bill was settled. She was really afraid that Lao Tan would not pay the bill because he drank too much, or that he had no money to pay. This might happen to Lao Tan's image - all the stubble on his head is white.
Yes, his beard was erected, his face was full of sorrow and his whole body was depressed.
Front desk service always depends on people ordering dishes, and it is common to judge people based on their appearance.
After paying the bill, the waiter left. Lao Tan opened the wine and filled the glass.
The door of the tavern was pushed open, and a cold wind blew in. It was Yanhua. After she came in, she walked straight to Lao Tan's table and sat down.
"The door of your house is locked. Think about it since you came out." Yanhua said.
"Come out and have a drink." Lao Tan said.
Yanhua picked up the wine bottle, poured herself a glass, and said, "I want to drink some too. I can find you."
Lao Tan picked up the cup to signal, and Yanhua picked up the cup immediately. They each took a sip without touching or making a sound.
"I've booked a flight for tomorrow," Yanhua said.
"Oh, okay."
"At noon, we will arrive in the provincial capital at three o'clock in the afternoon."
"good."
Yanhua picked up the cigarette case from the table, took out a cigarette and lit it. After taking a puff, she looked at Lao Tan's head and said, "It's time to shave your head."
"Well------" Lao Tan touched his head, "It's all white------"
"My hair is also gray, I always dye it--"
"You're doing okay and you're not getting old."
"You've aged these past two days------"
"It's so noisy, and I feel bad---Xiaomei and the others are leaving, right?"
"Let's go. Mulan, Yanzi, Huang Lijuan and the others left in the afternoon. Cao Jiadong has just been discharged from the hospital and cannot live without people. Zhang Li, Li Shuang, Zhongqing and the others left in the morning. I told you when they left."
"Well, you told me------"
Lao Tan took a sip of wine, and Yanhua followed suit.
"I'm fine. I'm just in a bad mood. I went out to drink some wine. It doesn't look like that when I look decadent. You should know."
"I know." Yanhua took a puff of cigarette and said, "I had a talk with Sister Wang's son in the afternoon. He meant to continue doing it and had no plans to stop doing it. The main reason was that his father asked him to cash out the store.
It’s done, but it’s not profitable to talk about the epidemic.”
"Oh, they are free to come and go as they please."
"This has been the case years ago."
The two of them finished the bottle of wine one by one, then got up and walked out of the pub.
The night is very cold, the body is very hot, and the cold air makes people wake up involuntarily.
But his stomach was not good, he didn't eat anything, and the alcohol was flooding inside. Lao Tan vomited before he could take a few steps. He vomited violently, and his stomach contracted and spasmed, squeezing out the only contents inside until there was nothing left to vomit.
He straightened up with runny nose and tears, took the tissue handed over by Yanhua, wiped his nose and threw it away. Yanhua handed over another one, and he wiped away the choked tears.
Yanhua helped him walk, but he pushed away, staggered two steps, and then continued to vomit while holding on to a tree.
Nothing came out, just gastric juice.
This time he took the initiative to put his arm on Yanhua's shoulder, half-leaning on it, stumbling, and returned to the hotel talking nonsense. When he arrived at the hotel, he drank a lot of water first, and his head was slightly awake. He washed his face and took off his clothes while he was awake.
, then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
He was sleeping like a child, maybe he was dreaming, murmuring, clutching the corners of the quilt with both hands, and tears streaming down his face.
Yanhua used her hand to wipe away the tears on his face. He grabbed Yanhua's hand, as if holding it for support, and held it tightly------
After a while, he fell asleep. Yanhua gently took out his hand, then turned off the light and walked out of the room.
In the morning, Yanhua ordered breakfast and went to Lao Tan's room after washing up.
Old Tan woke up and was leaning on the bedside, smoking. There was brewed tea on the bedside table, his head was shining, and his untidy beard was gone.
"Get up." Yanhua said.
"Um."
"I ordered breakfast and it will be delivered shortly."
"Okay, I'm a little hungry."
"Yesterday you didn't eat anything and drank a lot of wine."
Lao Tan squeezed his lips, put out his cigarette and said, "The film is broken. I know if you go, how you came out, and I don't know how you came back ------"
"Drink less from now on."
"Um------"
Someone knocked on the door, and the waiter brought breakfast. Lao Tan and Yanhua had breakfast, and there was still some time before noon. They drank tea and chatted, both deliberately avoiding Wang Shulan.
Yanhua said: "Xiaofeng is living a good life now and is younger than before."
Lao Tan said: "Yes."
"Zhang Yu is honest."
"How can I be dishonest by offering a million to buy me a lesson?"
"The main reason is that there is no profit this year, and the salary is too small. I want to earn more."
"How much is too much? It's enough to spend. If you don't take it with you in life, you won't take it with you in death ------"
"I think it's pretty good. I'm back to my part-time job, earning wages, and I'm looking forward to the day when my capital is opened in the next month."
"When people are contented, they will always be happy -" Old Tan took a long breath and continued: "No one knows when he will die. You have to find happiness while you are alive, otherwise your life will be in vain.
It’s useless to think too much. Eat one more bite and you won’t be full. Eat one less bite and you won’t be hungry. It’s enough to have more than enough.”
"Listening to Erdun's mumbling, you picked up another mother and son?"
"Well, at first glance, she looks like Xiaohui and her mother, and looks pitiful------multiple bowls and multiple pairs of fast children------"
"It's all caused by the epidemic."
"Well, not anymore. People have to be able to support themselves at some point. They have to support themselves. Life is inherently full of hardships and joys. There are good conditions and poor conditions. The good ones are easier to live, and the poor ones are more difficult.
.
But you have to live if you don’t want to die, my mother often says this.”