Chapter 21: The Wild Song
Ye Mao and Wang You wanted to stay in Yuncheng, so Ye Zhenzhen accompanied them to look for jobs. After several days of hard work, they finally found a job in a big hotel. Ye Mao worked as an apprentice in the kitchen, and Wang You worked as a cashier at the front desk.
Although it wasn't a good job, at least they were settled down. They worked in the same place and could take care of each other. The hotel didn't provide accommodation, so Ye Zhenzhen planned to rent a separate house for them in a few days. The small attic was too small for two people to live in, and she couldn't always squeeze in with Lin Xiaoxi.
The sun was scorching outside. Sitting in the small restaurant, the three of them had smiles on their faces. Everything was slowly getting better.
The waiter brought the dish. The dry pot shrimps were smelling fragrant and the flames at the bottom of the pot were emitting a bright yellow glow.
"Xiao Mao, Xiao You, congratulations on finding a job!" Ye Zhen Zhen picked up the coconut juice and smiled, "Work hard at work."
"Thank you, sister. From now on, the three of us will be in Yuncheng, and things will be better and better!" Ye Mao put his arm around Wang You's shoulders, his voice excited.
"Sister, we will work hard in the future and not let you worry." Wang You echoed.
The three of them clinked their glasses happily, and Ye Zhenzhen's depressed mood of the past few days was swept away at this moment.
The restaurant was noisy and the air conditioning was not very strong. Beads of sweat appeared on Ye Zhenzhen's forehead and she kept taking a tissue to wipe it off.
"Sister, don't move." Wang You stretched out his hand in front of Ye Zhenzhen, frightening her so much that she froze for a moment. Wang You stretched out his hand to remove the tiny pieces of paper on Ye Zhenzhen's forehead, "Sister, the paper is stuck on your forehead."
"Thank you!"
Ye Zhenzhen felt a little embarrassed. The first time she saw Wang You, she didn't like him because of his appearance. At this moment, Ye Zhenzhen felt a little guilty.
"Sister, we are a family, don't be so polite." Ye Mao was very happy that his girlfriend and sister got along well, "Xiaoyou is a very nice person."
"Yes, we're a family!" Ye Zhenzhen was very pleased. Although her brother was disobedient, he was still somewhat sensible.
"Xiaoyou, you have to keep an eye on Ye Mao. He has a bad temper and is always causing trouble."
Wang You smiled brightly, "Sister, don't worry! I will take good care of him."
Ye Mao and Wang You held hands while eating, and they fed each other food from time to time. You wiped the oil stains for me, and I unscrewed the bottle cap for you. Even when eating, I couldn't hold back my smile, and every time I looked at each other, pink bubbles appeared.
Wang You straightened his afro, dyed it back to black, and removed the exaggerated diamonds on his teeth. He looked much better.
"Sister, you have been with us to look for a job these past two days." Ye Mao was peeling shrimps in his hands. "Has it affected your work?"
"No...I took a leave of absence."
Ye Zhenzhen was a little stuck. She had done countless psychological preparations and was always on edge. But when Ye Mao asked about work, Ye Zhenzhen still couldn't help but get nervous.
"Well, that's good." Ye Mao handed Ye Zhenzhen a shrimp and fed the other one to Wang You.
The three of them ate and chatted in the restaurant, and their laughter floated out of the window.
From the paulownia tree, bursts of clear cicada chirping were heard.
Back in the small attic, they turned on the small fan and the window, and the three of them squeezed together beside the bed, chatting excitedly.
Ye Zhenzhen told the two again and again that they should be serious at work, put aside their pride and ask questions if they don't understand, and not to argue with others.
Ye Mao and Wang You nodded repeatedly.
"Sister, are you still in touch with Yu Hui?" Ye Mao rested his chin on Wang You's shoulder.
Ye Zhenzhen leaned against the wall, her eyes blank for a few seconds, "No, why are you asking this!"
"Sister, Yuhui contacted me..." Ye Mao said in a low voice.
Ye Zhenzhen folded her arms and lowered her thick eyelashes. She would still feel sad when she mentioned this person. The person she had truly loved once brought her happiness, but also brought her scars.
"Sister, he cares about you a lot. He told you to take care of yourself..." Seeing that Ye Zhenzhen looked unhappy, Ye Mao did not continue.
Ye Zhenzhen didn't say anything, just closed her eyes and leaned against the wall in a daze.
Wang You raised his shoulder and bumped into Ye Mao. Ye Mao sat up straight, pursed his lips, and glanced at Ye Zhenzhen.
"Ye Mao, you and Xiao You need to be fine." Ye Zhenzhen slowly opened her eyes, "Sister hopes you are fine."
"Yes, don't worry, sister!" Ye Mao and Wang You said in unison.
Ye Mao and Ye Zhenzhen talked about their childhood, when the siblings would fight and then make up.
Hometown and childhood slowly begin.
There is a small desert not far from my home, which is about 30 to 40 meters high and about 3,000 meters long. It is said that it was the place where prisoners were shot after liberation.
The small desert under the sun looks like a golden mountain with twinkling stars.
The two siblings often went there to play with the children nearby. The children ran barefoot on the fine sand, rolled over on the top of the sandbags, and the soft sand slid down with the people and laughter. When they were tired of playing, they scooped up a handful of fine sand and watched the wind blow the sand to the horizon.
There is a kind of sandworm in the desert, and it is very easy to catch it. If you see a small conical sand pit, put your hands along the sand pit, grab a handful of sand, and wait for the fine sand to slip through your fingers, you can see it wriggling in the palm of your hand.
In the hot summer, the brother and sister skipped their afternoon naps and sneaked out, sweating all over their bodies as they rode their bicycles to pick mulberries. Their hands and mouths were stained black, and their clothes were also stained with black mulberry juice. The two dirty black kids rubbed their round bellies, revealing a row of white teeth as their parents scolded them.
In winter, the water in the cotton fields freezes into thick ice, and the brother and sister skate hand in hand. Ye Zhenzhen couldn't learn how to skate, and she hit the back of her head on the ice, grimacing in pain but not daring to cry. The cold wind was so strong that her face would crack if she cried.
There were no ponds, banyan trees, or pastoral songs about cattle in my childhood. There were vast deserts, immortal poplar trees, and the northern scenery of thousands of miles of ice and snow.
Ye Zhenzhen took out a thousand yuan from her bag and handed it to Ye Mao, "Here! Buy some daily necessities."
"Sister, no need. We provide meals at work." Ye Mao rejected Ye Zhenzhen verbally, his eyes fixed on the money.
"Save it for breakfast! I don't have too much. In a few days, when your work becomes more stable, I will rent a house for you. You can just squeeze in here first." After saying this, Ye Zhenzhen stuffed the money into Ye Mao's hand.
"Sister, I will pay you back." Ye Mao's eyes were firm and he held the money tightly in his hand.
"Xiao Mao, work hard and take good care of Wang You." Ye Zhenzhen tried to touch Ye Mao's head, only to find that Ye Mao was much taller than her and she could no longer reach Ye Mao's head.
Ye Zhenzhen also told Ye Mao and Wang You to avoid going downstairs late at night. There were many night snack stalls downstairs, and drunk people eating night snacks could easily cause trouble, so they should avoid them if possible.
Ye Mao and Wang You accompanied Ye Zhenzhen downstairs and watched her leave on her electric scooter.
The summer wind brings heat waves, the cicadas chirp one after another, and occasionally when passing by the shaded streets, the wind is also cool.
Ye Zhenzhen unknowingly came to the Lotus Community and stood at the door of the unit. She felt as if she was in another world. She couldn't remember the room number she had lived in, but her memory of Yuhui was still clear.
"Have you moved?" a middle-aged man asked Ye Zhenzhen with a smile.
Ye Zhenzhen looked at him carefully, and it took her a while to remember that he was the owner of a nearby restaurant where she and Yu Hui used to eat often.
"Yeah, we moved." Ye Zhenzhen forced a smile.
"Long time no see, I guess you guys moved away." The restaurant owner showed his big teeth, "Come often when you have time, I'm leaving first."
At 4:30 in the afternoon, Ye Zhenzhen returned to Lin Xiaoxi's rental house in a low mood and exhausted.
These days, she accompanied Ye Mao to look for a job during the day and got off work around 12 o'clock at night, and she didn't get enough sleep every day. Finally, she settled Ye Mao and her husband down, and now she just wanted to have a good sleep.
"Xiaoxi, I set the alarm for 6:30. If I'm not awake by then, remember to wake me up."
Perhaps it was because she was too tired from running around in her childhood, or because life was too stressful, or perhaps it was because the wound of being cruelly abandoned was still painful. Ye Zhenzhen collapsed on the bed, and soon she was breathing evenly and fell into a deep sleep.