"A new nine-story building has been built in the house next door to Dong Zi." My mother called me and said.
"Well, I see." Outside is bright sunshine, plus the wet hair inside, my heart is not clear in an instant.
1
Dong Zi dropped out of school at the age of 16. Even though his parents beat him several times, his stubbornness did not waver. At that time, all the neighbors thought that Dong Zi was nothing. What can he do if he doesn't go to school at a young age? When Tungse first went to school, everyone looked at him contemptuously. My aunts often point my head in the direction of Dong Zi's family and warn me to study hard, otherwise I will be as worthless as Dong Zi when I grow up. As an old neighbor of Dong Zi's family for many years, my mother who watched us grow up uncharacteristically warned me not to associate with Dong Zi again.
That year, Dong Zi lived in a shabby two-story building.
On the day I entered the county key middle school, Dong Zi secretly found me avoiding adults. At the school gate, he clenched his fist and swore to me, "Tiger, I'm going to the big city. I'll call you when I earn money to buy a mobile phone. You go to school well, and I'll treat you to a big meal when I get into college. "
Since then, I have completely lost contact with Dong Zi.
In fact, after he dropped out of school, we have become strangers. I listened to the warnings of the adults and alienated him. I met him head-on, and he came up to say hello. I bowed my head and pretended not to see him, and turned away.
Some people say that he went to work in a factory in the south, while others say that he joined the northeast underworld. I don't know, and I don't care much. I only remember his triumphant smile and resolute expression when he skillfully recited my home phone number on the day he asked me.
2
When I entered high school, I, like all the children who received the exam-oriented education, plunged into the life of studying hard in order to set foot on the wooden bridge leading to the university, and had no time to take care of other things. I am overwhelmed by the pressure of entering a higher school in key high schools. In order not to fall behind, I no longer play guitar and read novels, and my life is tense and mechanical. Only in the middle of the night, long-lost images will emerge: the field paths are dyed golden by the sun, the children sing vertically on the piled grain piles, and the weiyang songs of the years float gently with the breeze.
It's probably the second semester of senior two. I got a call from Dong Zi. I think he hurt his heart by sharpening his knife. My mother got my dormitory phone number. His voice was so noisy that the roar of the machine ran over him, but he still felt his ears buzzing in the receiver. Dong Zi shouted at the top of his lungs on the phone, his voice was intermittent because of the noise, to the effect that he came to this strange city and soon found a job on the construction site, moving bricks and blowing sand, starting from the bottom, and his salary was very low. Now, he finally saved money to buy Samsung's latest model, and there is still a balance every month. He wants to tell me the good news first, because I am his most trusted brother.
Finally, I said: Come and visit me next summer vacation. I will live in a bigger house then, and it should be no problem to eat seafood dinner!
I silently hold the receiver. In silence, I was moved and jealous. A childhood playmate who almost faded out of my memory suddenly made a sensational comeback, telling me that he had been thinking about me and was practicing his promise step by step, leaving me wondering how to go. Jealous, he has started to make money, and he has already made money. Even though I am full of disdain for his education and cognition, I vaguely feel that my advantage is disintegrating in front of him, and he is going to my next stop without stopping, leaving me in the new world.
At the end of the semester, I changed my dormitory. I asked my mother not to tell Dong Zi my new phone number. I curled myself up with inferiority and just wanted to escape.
It doesn't matter if you don't know. I thought to myself.
three
I successfully entered the university, graduated, found a job, stepped into the society and became an office worker. Dealing with Party A, entangled with all kinds of complicated interpersonal relationships in the company, worked hard, and got only a little salary. Parents no longer have proud capital to show off their sons who have been admitted to key middle schools to their neighbors, and they don't want everyone to know that their once favored sons are now bowing to boss. Get up early every morning to squeeze the subway, and take Dai Yue's tired dog home at night. At that time, I didn't know what the meaning of living was.
When I got a call from my mother, I felt that what had begun to rot inside me began to collapse.
After many years, I have no face to return to my hometown. I'm afraid people will ask me where I work. How much do you earn every month? Did you buy a house? Do you have a girlfriend? When are you getting married?
I have nothing.
My perfunctory answer left the questioner with a rebuff. Why are you putting so much pressure on me? There is no law that says that if you are good as a child, you must be good all your life.
Fortunately, the protagonist this time is not me, but Dong Zi, who has newly built nine floors and got married today.
I didn't want to go, and I couldn't stand the rules of my parents persuading the villagers to act according to the ceremony.
I deliberately sat in the back table, hiding behind the crowd and watching all this.
four
Dong Zi has gained a lot of weight. His face is shiny and his abdomen bulges slightly. Maybe it's because of this big day. I felt his eyes glowing. It is said that he soon became a contractor on the construction site. After two years, I resigned and went home to open a hot pot restaurant, and the business was booming. His wife also met when she opened a hot pot restaurant. Now they run the same business, and now they have expanded their scale and have chain stores. Dong Zi speaks more than before, and moves freely from table to table. The bride with red lips and white teeth, who looks quiet and refined, is being toasted by Dong Zi.
The husband sings with the woman, and the winner in life is probably the same.
Here's to my table. Dong Zi, nice to meet me. Asked me why I sat so far back, and dragged me to introduce it to her wife. I smiled awkwardly and only said: Congratulations.
five
Life is still neither light nor salty. A year later, I finally got a promotion, and finally I had a reason to buffer my mother and let me find someone quickly.
When I came home this Spring Festival, I learned that Dongzi had just given birth to a child, and my parents dragged me to pay a New Year call.
"Nothing, you are the most knowledgeable of the big brothers since childhood. You have to help me think about my baby's name. " Dong Zi held the baby in her arms and smiled lovingly. He looked at me with bright eyes, as clear as when he was a teenager.
I looked at the chubby baby in his arms, and my eyes were red for no reason.
Text/East Forty Lord Whip Adult
Figure/None