twenty-eighth
1
In a few months, Abu would be undergoing a year of preparatory training. In the hospital, he performed well and was praised by the doctors. Soon, he would be able to get an official license for Western medicine. If he wanted to work, he would need another year of preparatory training.
He planned to return to China this summer. Eight years had passed. He didn't know how things were going in the country. He wanted to return to the country to understand the situation in the country before bringing Aren to the Ying Country. This had always been his greatest wish. To this end, he even specifically consulted about the admission requirements of some universities, hoping to find a school for Aren in Portsmouth.
However, before returning to China, he had to visit his old friends first. He found the place according to the address given by Old Li. He stood at the entrance of the alley and looked up at the signboard in front of the store. There was a small blackboard in front of the door with the words " Today's Special Price " written on it. A man pushed open the door and almost bumped into Abu.
Abu waved his hand and pushed the door open. The shop was very spacious, with a few rows of small round tables. Someone was eating around the table and talking in a low voice. He came to the counter that looked like a bar counter and pulled out a chair to sit down. The wall behind the counter was filled with long spoons, pots, and other tableware. There was a pool under the wall. The tap was dripping water. There was a refrigerator, oven, and microwave by the wall. He looked at the counter and realized that there were actually a few stoves in front of him. It was like an open kitchen. The other counter was filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Hong Ming was facing away from him. He had put on a lot of weight and was wearing an apron, looking down at the oven. He turned around and smiled when he saw Abu. He reached out to turn off the fire on the stove, picked up the pot, and poured the hot water into the sink. Steam instantly rose. He took down the frying pan hanging on the wall and turned on the stove. A blue flame appeared on the iron ring. He put down the pot, dripped some olive oil into it, and threw in a few flattened garlic. Then, he poured the ripe potatoes into the pot and flipped them over.
The door opened. A few people walked in.
Hong Ming waved at the customers and sprinkled sea salt, fennel seeds, and pepper on the browned potatoes. He picked up the frying pan and tossed it around. The little potato jumped and flipped over, revealing the fragrant and crispy side underneath. He added a few more drops of olive oil, shook the pot, and turned off the fire. The small potatoes sizzled in the pot, emitting a fragrance. He turned around and opened the oven. He put on his gloves and pulled out a pot of steaming Ying Country's waffles and an English sausage. He placed them on the counter and took out a few plates from the cupboard. The customer had already turned his head to look. He piled potatoes, pancakes, and sausages on the plate and sent them over to the guests. He delivered a few points in succession, then came back and stood behind the counter, wiping his sweat. Finally, he handed a stack to Abu.
Abu took the fork and started eating.
"Juice or beer?" Hong Ming asked.
"Juice." Abu said.
Hong Ming poured him a glass of fruit juice and pushed it to him. Then, he turned around and went to another counter. He was choosing fruits and vegetables to make a salad. He put the arugula into the basket and went to the pool to wash it.
At this moment, a little girl ran into the room. She rushed up to Hong Ming and called him daddy.
Hong Ming looked down at her, opened the fridge, and poured her a glass of milk.
The little girl took the milk and ran out.
Abu Zaar picked up a potato and stuffed it into his mouth. He turned his head to look outside and saw the little girl squatting by the door, pouring milk into a bowl on the ground. A few cats surrounded her and licked her milky white milk. The girl reached out and stroked the cat.
Hong Ming divided the salad into several portions and sent them out. He raised his head to look at Abu. Seeing that he had waved his hand, he did not give it to him.
The girl ran back and placed the cup on the counter. She turned her head to look at Abu, who was eating a pancake. She blinked. Her eyes were brown, just like Hong Ming's. In addition, her lips were curved like Hong Ming's. The girl smiled and tugged at Hong Ming, whispering to him.
"Emma said you look like a lion." Hong Ming said.
Abu looked up at Emma, wiped his mouth, and smiled awkwardly.
Hong Ming used a napkin to wrap up a piece of waffle and handed it to Emma, saying,""Eat this first. I'll get you something to eat later.”
Emma ran out with the pancake. She squatted by the door and played with the cats, occasionally looking back at Abu.
Hong Ming poured himself a glass of beer and sat down. He watched Abu finish the last piece of the pancake and said,""Everyone here eats these. Simple."
"It's pretty good. It's almost the same anyway." Abu glanced at Hong Ming's slightly bulging belly and said," I didn't expect you to open a restaurant.”
"There's no other way. He could only rely on this. Now, you're really a chef." Hong Ming said.
"Old Li gave me the address." Abu said.
"Old Li, is he alright? I don't even have time to look for him." Hong Ming said.
"It's pretty good. His daughter was going to study in Ying Country.”Abu said.
"Finally, he has waited." Hong Ming glanced at Emma, who was standing outside the door." It's been so many years.”
Abu turned his head and looked outside the door. He smiled and said,"I thought you were."
"Homo, right? Old Li's foul mouth. I'm just making music with that group of people.”Hong Ming said.
"I'm just a little suspicious." Abu said.
"Gays can't withstand Old Li's ruthlessness. Sometimes, I would wonder if I was already crippled. My brain doesn't seem to be working well." Hong Ming said.
"If you bring the child over, he probably won't beat you up again.”Abu said.
"Child." Hong Ming turned to look at Emma and said," She's like a little elf.”
"You've changed quite a bit." Abu said," What's going on?”
Hong Ming scratched his chin and said,""I met that woman on a train to Manchester City. At that time, she had dragged a suitcase into the carriage. When I passed by, the red suitcase pressed against my foot. I apologized. A month later, we'll get married. A year later, Emma was born. I opened this small shop. Two years later, the woman ran away with a guy who sold fitness equipment.”
Hong Ming poured himself a glass of beer and drank it, saying,""Even now, I still remember the scene at that time. On that bus, she just lowered her head and smiled at me, saying that it didn't matter. Then, she sat opposite me. In the next hour, I told all the jokes I had heard, just to see her smile again.”
Abu used his fork to scrape some mud on the ceramic plate, lowered his head and said nothing.
"When she left, the child was only a year old. She didn't know what was going on. She had no impression of her mother in her life.”Hong Ming clenched his fist and slammed it on the table." F * ck, don't let me see that adulterous couple again."”
Abu raised his head and turned to look at the little girl squatting by the door. Her soft golden hair glistened in the sun.
Hong Ming rubbed his eyes and looked out the window."Emma is more sensible than the average child and is very obedient.”
The little girl hugged a cat and held it in her arms, gently stroking it.
"Don't talk about this." Hong Ming turned around and asked. "Have you already gotten your license? Are you preparing to return to China?"
"Yes." Abu said.
"I knew you could do it. Learning medicine was more difficult. Some of my friends are also medical students. Some people still couldn't hold on. How long have you been learning?" Hong Ming asked.
"Seven years." Abu said.
"How long. You must have endured it." Hong Ming said.
"Every stage has a test. After the training, there would be a seven-year period.”Abu said. He shook his head. He didn't know why he said this. He just said it casually.
"Are you preparing to return to China?" Hong Ming said.
"Go back for a few months and then come back. They still had to undergo a year of training before they could officially start working.”Abu said.
Emma ran in and stood beside Abu. She looked up at him and said,"Can you give me that?" She pointed at the remaining intestine in the dish.
Abu took the napkin, rolled up the sausage, and handed it to Emma.
"Emma, you can't always be like this. Look, you've entertained more cats than I have.”Hong Ming said.
"This is the last time, Dad.”said Emma, running away.
Hong Ming shook his head, took out a large envelope and pushed it in front of Abu.
"If it's money, don't make me bring it." Abu said.
"Take a look for yourself." Hong Ming said.
Abu took the envelope, opened it, and poured out a stack of photos. The photos were of Hong Ming playing with Emma. They were all photos of them playing in the park, at home, and in the shop. There were also a few wedding photos of Hong Ming. Abu raised the photo and looked at Emma outside the door. Emma looked quite similar to the blonde woman in the photo.
"What are you doing?" Abu asked.
"I'll have to trouble you. Help me bring these photos to meet my two elders. Let them know that their son didn't become a chemical engineering professor, but a chef. He even married a foreign girl and had a foreign baby.”Hong Ming said.
"Don't they know after so many years?”Abu asked.
"It's not that I don't know, but I don't believe it. Just get ready. This was a high-level intellectual with great self-restraint.”Hong Ming said.
"You're leaving something that even Old Li can't handle to me?”Abu asked.
"You can go. You'll know when you get there." Hong Ming said.
Abu stuffed the photo into the envelope, sealed it, and turned his head to look at the sparsely populated street outside the window.
"Are you preparing to come back to work?" Hong Ming asked.
"This is the plan." Abu said.
"I guess that old fellow of yours is also very difficult to deal with. I haven't been home for seven years." Hong Ming said.
"Yeah, I know. It's quite difficult to deal with." Abu said.
"This time, take this certificate back. They must be very happy." Hong Ming said.
"I'm not sure about that." Abu said.
"Speaking of which, you rarely mention your hometown and your family. They can't be some high-ranking officials, right?" Hong Ming said.
" Fishermen from a small fishing village." Abu said.
Hong Ming shook his head and smiled." No one can squeeze a single word out of your mouth, Abu."”
Abu picked up the envelope and stood up.
"Alright then. See you in three months." Hong Ming said.
Emma ran back to Hong Ming and waved at Abu.""Goodbye, Lion."
"Goodbye." Abu said. He waved his hand and walked out of the store.
It was sunny outside. The streets were clean and bright. Abu walked back to the inn.
2
In China, Alan had already indirectly taken over the fish steak.
Alan stopped the boat, pulled the rope, jumped onto the raft, and tied the rope to the stake. He stepped on a wooden platform made of wooden planks. A simple wooden house was built on the platform. On the outside of the platform were rows of neat wooden corridors. Aren walked into a row of wooden corridors, squatted down, and bent down to pull up a bamboo cage hanging on the wooden corridor. The crab inside crawled and spat out foam. Aren put down the cage and rubbed his hands in the sea. He turned his head and looked at the red sun rising from the sea.
The surface of the sea was flashing red. The light was like a sudden flame that quickly spread across the entire sea.
Aren sat down on the wooden porch, facing the sea, waiting for Yongnian to sail over.
The few of them got on the fish steaks and prepared to pick out the qualified sea crabs and transport them back to the shore for delivery. They squatted on the wooden porch, pulled up the cage to check, and picked out the big crabs.
The sun gradually rose into the sky.
They wore straw hats and worked with their backs facing the scorching sun. The scorching sunlight was like a tongue of fire, climbing up their backs and making them sweat profusely.
Aren took off his hat and fanned his face. He walked back into the small room and brought out the teapot to pour tea.
At noon, they piled the small cages onto the boat and set sail back to the port. Along the coast, they stopped at a place full of rafts. A few people were standing on another boat, pulling up a row of horizontal ropes hanging from the wooden stakes. There were many scallops on the string. Someone was washing the oyster at the side. The others walked to the raft frame and reinforced it with bamboo.
Yongnian took off his hat. He waved at those people. The few of them looked up, smiled, and went back to work.
"There's going to be a typhoon." A waiter standing beside Aren said.
Aren looked up at the blue sky. A few clouds were gathering on the horizon.
"I'm afraid so." another worker said.
The fully loaded boat was about to dock.
A fisherman wearing a straw hat stood on the fish raft by the shore. He was throwing fish feed into the fish pond. The surface of the water was like a pot that had exploded, splashing silver water. The red-beaked fish had already heard the sound and swam up reflexively, quickly snatching the fish feed that had been thrown down. They opened their mouths that were glowing with golden light and swallowed the fish feed.
When the fisherman saw the fishing boat pass by, he waved his hand and turned around to continue throwing fish feed into the pond.
After they got ashore, they carried the cage onto the truck and closed the door. The car was dripping with seawater, emitting a fishy smell. Aren stood by the sea and watched Yongnian get into the car. Then, he turned around and returned to the boat. Those people walked down the beach and returned to the village.
Aren steered the boat into the sea and stopped. Then, he jumped into the silver sea and started swimming.
When he returned to the bamboo shed, the sun was about to set.
"Look, my Crusoe is back.”Wen Xuan looked up and saw Aren walking up the porch with steam all over his body.
"I just swam a few laps." Aren tore off his shirt and threw it aside.
"How did it go today?" Wen Xuan asked.
"They've all been sent outside." Aren said.
"You don't seem very happy." Wen Xuan said.
"Is that so? Why didn't I know?" Aren pulled the teapot over and poured a cup of tea.
"Just like herding sheep. You have to take it back." Wen Xuan said," Maybe you don't like being trapped inside.”
"You said I'm a shepherd? Or that sheep?" Aren said.
"Both." Wen Xuan said," Help Liu Yongnian herd the sheep. And you are his sheep."
"That's right. He had to feed the crabs every day and did not even have time to float in the sea.”Aren pointed at the sun that kept sliding down and said," I have to go to the fish steak again later.”
"If you don't want to go, then don't go. Let Liu Yongnian invite someone." Wen Xuan said," I still can't bear to part with that sea."”
At this moment, a hot wind blew from the sea, and they all frowned.
"Abu should be back by now." Wen Xuan said.
"That's right. Brother is coming back." Aren said," The last time I called, I said I got my license and can come back.”
"I wonder what it has become. It had been so many years. Why did it seem like he had just left? I forgot something.”Wen Xuan said.
"I wonder how big brother is doing? When he left, he was a head taller than me. Now, I've grown taller too. Maybe it's about the same as him." Aren said.
"Perhaps, you will be a little taller than him.”Wen Xuan said.
"Really?" Aren stood up and patted his head.
"We'll know when we come back and compete." Wen Xuan said. He looked up at the calm beach and recalled the scene of the brothers rowing a canoe.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。