The Twelve Years: Song of the Unsung Friends

They returned home from the hospital, took a rest, and left the apartment at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

At this time, the men in the office room did not return home, and the children did not leave school. Only the women took advantage of the sunshine to put the bedding and pillows at home, as well as the stored brown rice and western biscuits, in the sun. Basking.

Quietly in the alley, Mrs. Zhu was holding a rag and wiping the white-painted sliding door of the small restaurant. She saw seven or eight men carrying a box of luggage out, looked around, and found that it was Shen Xi and Fu Dongwen.

"Shen Xiao...Mrs. Fu," Mrs. Zhu greeted him, "Is this really leaving?"

"Well, we are going north," she replied.

"My husband still said a few days ago that I would like to invite two people to sit in the small restaurant. I told him that Mr. Fu is a big man and a key business person. How can I look at our little face. But if you leave... …I’m going to regret it, I should invite you to sit down."

Mrs. Zhu turned around and pointed to the door: "I always have to come back to see, right? I'm back, I will give you two side dishes to eat, my craft is still good."

She nodded: "There is always a chance to come again, I wish you a prosperous business."

"Small face, no business, Mr. Fu will only want business to flourish in the future."

Fu Dongwen didn't know the couple surnamed Zhu, and all the good feelings came from Shen Xi's language description. But in the two hard to see, the other party treated Shen Xi kindly, and naturally he was grateful.

While Shen Xi was saying goodbye to the other party, he summoned Wanan to his side and ordered a few words. Wan An immediately took out the red paper bag he had always prepared from his arms and handed it to Fu Dongwen.

"The late opening ceremony." Fu Dongwen smiled and handed it to Mrs. Zhu.

"How can this be done," Mrs. Zhu declined, and the wet rag in her hand accidentally swept Fu Dongwen's hand. She was even more embarrassed because of this unexpected disrespect, "I can't make it."

"Everyone is in business, just asking for good luck." Fu Tongwen smiled.

Mrs. Zhu had no reason to refuse, so she had to accept it.

Six cars were waiting at the entrance of the alley. They waited for the luggage to be carried properly, separated two sets, and took the first two cars.

Shen Xi sat in the car, still thinking about the red paper bag: "Why would Wanan still have this stuff?"

Little Fifth Master was in the front seat and asked back, "Have you never seen my sister-in-law? The third brother used to be in Beijing, but he was a famous God of Wealth."

She shook her head. Never seen before.

"Sister-in-law always remembered the third brother throwing money downstairs when listening to the opera during the New Year, right?"

"When you say that, you remember."

He put his hands in the pockets of his trousers, leaning against the pillar under the red lantern, smiling as he watched his sisters scatter a handful of silver dollars on the stage and into the dirt. Obviously doing ridiculous things does not make people bored.

"No wonder..." It is unforgettable, especially the lady from the Gu family.

"Okay," Fu Tongwen said suddenly, "don't expose my shortcomings in front of your sister-in-law."

"What is the disadvantage of this?" Xiao Wu Ye protested.

"Your sister-in-law said'no wonder', the latter part is just to be jealous," Fu Tong said, "If you don't believe me, ask her, don't you?"

She naturally refused to admit it.

"I mean...no wonder, Fu Sanye can make so many friends, generous and generous."

"Oh?" Fu Tong replied with a single word.

Shen Xi was depressed and stopped speaking.

Xiao Wuye realized that there was something wrong with the rear seat, and shut his mouth sensibly.

"San Ye, you can go now." The driver confirmed the situation of the next five cars in the rearview mirror.

Fu Dongwen took out his pocket watch, and the miniature pendulum was in his palm, and it rang lightly. Two emerald-colored peacocks hug the porcelain-white dial, with the hour hand pointing at 4:15.

The train arrives at seven o'clock, it is still early.

Fu Dongwen put his pocket watch in, and said: "Go to Huangpu Park first."

"Are you going to see someone?" Shen Xi puzzled.

He shook his head: "I see no one, take Xiao Wu to have a look."

She watched Fu Dongwen insist, did not ask any more, took off the fox tail that she was surrounding, and put it on the knees of the two of them. The car is no better than the apartment, there is a charcoal brazier for heating, she is afraid he will not be able to bear it.

Their car is the leader, leading the five cars behind, heading north to the Bund.

Shen Xi is usually busy with hospital affairs, is not keen on recreation, and has never been to public gardens in Shanghai. His only impression of Huangpu Park was two years ago. From her room in Huizhong Hotel, she looked far along the Bund.

This park is built along the river, with bushes and trees, benches for people to rest, and fountains with bronze statues, all of Western design. At that time, the waiter of the hotel told her that there was a stone monument to commemorate foreign generals in the park, which was built by the Qing government to flatter foreigners.

She was not interested in it at the time, nor did she pay much attention to it. Now that I think about it, I don’t think the scenery there is so special. It’s worth taking a look before leaving Shanghai.

The car stopped slowly by the roadside. Arrived.

"The third brother will not accompany you down," Fu Tongwen said to the people in the front row, "Go to the gate, find the sign in the park, and take a closer look." He was obviously selling off.

Xiao Wu Ye has been close to Fu Dongwen since he was a child. Knowing Fu Dongwen's temperament, it is assumed that the third brother is playing a puzzle with him. So he got out of the car alone with twelve minutes of interest. He habitually presses his thigh with his right hand, and with the help of a cane, he walks steadily, not caring about passers-by who occasionally look back.

Shen Xi lifted the white gauze in the driving window, looked at Xiao Wuye's back, and found that he was looking for a bulletin board, but was suddenly stopped by the gatekeeper. The two were talking, Xiao Wuye quickly made unpleasant movements.

"what happened?"

Fu Dongwen did not answer.

Xiao Wuye seemed to persuade the other party. He stood in front of the iron gate, looking at the public sign. Shen Xi was waiting.

A couple of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia passed behind him, and a petite young woman led a little girl with olive skin. The child was very curious. Seeing Xiao Wuye standing in front of the iron gate, he ran behind him and looked around.

Fu Tonglin suddenly turned his head and nearly hit the child. He nodded in apology and hurried home.

The man who got in the car again, lost his interest when getting out, put his cane in front of him, and was silent.

"See?" Fu Dongwen asked.

"I saw it," he replied.

"remember?"

"remember."

Shen Xi was confused, and couldn't help asking: "What are you playing dumb?" She asked Xiao Wuye, "Your third brother likes to sell Guanzi, or you can tell, what did you see?"

"TheGardensarereservedfortheForeignCommunity." Xiao Wuye whispered, "The first sentence of the sign."

It turned out to be... No wonder he would be blocked by the door.

The park is only open to foreigners. This is what Fu Dongwen wants him to see.

He grew up in the Fu family since he was a child, and he was also a handsome young man in Beijing. Even in the military academy, he was treated as a descendant of the family. Later, on the battlefield, all he faced was the internal struggle of the Chinese, the struggle between the Beiyang government and the revolutionaries.

He has never been to a concession, has no experience studying abroad, and has no opportunity to deal with foreigners. When the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing, he was still young. When the "Twenty-One" traitorous treaty was signed, he would follow the military academy classmates shouting "Destroy the power and humiliate the country"... But his knowledge of the concessions and foreigners is only here. Floating on the surface.

He was stopped at the door just now.

On the Chinese people's own land, they were stopped at the gate of a free public garden.

"After I arrived in Shanghai, I visited three parks, Huangpu, Hongkou and Zhaofeng Park. A similar publicity sign was hung outside the gate of each public garden. This is now Shanghai," Fu Dongwen looked at calmly The gate of Huangpu Park, "Every **** Chinese man should come and see."

"Three brothers..." Xiao Wuye wanted to say, he understood.

"Let's go," Fu Dongwen slid across the park gate and said with a smile, "Go to the train station."

The car stopped staying and drove to the train station.

In the silence, she stretched her hand under the fox fur. Fu Dongwen silently grabbed her hand, rubbed it, and warmed her.

Shen Xi quietly looked at him, and saw a smile in his eyes, which made him feel relieved.

It doesn't matter to teach Xiao Wuye, it is most afraid of affecting his good mood.

It was dark when the car arrived at the railway station.

The sky outside the station was dusty.

The driver and the men unloaded the suitcases, and everyone was discussing how to divide the work and carry them in.

In the past, Fu Dongwen would charter trains for all trips. There are many benefits of chartering the train, one of which is that the car can drive directly into the station and unload the luggage on the platform.

But today's itinerary was set temporarily. They didn't have time to charter the train, so they only bought a half-carriage first-class ticket. Whether carrying luggage or waiting for the train, they were no different from ordinary passengers. In other words, you can only carry boxes by yourself.

Everyone was planning to move in two batches, and Fu Dongwen suddenly picked up a leather suitcase: "Except for Xiaowu, the remaining people share a piece of luggage and bring them to the platform together."

Shen Xi immediately picked up his leather suitcase and responded to him.

"San Ye," Wan An chased to grab the luggage, "You should be careful with your bones."

"The third master of your family used to travel abroad and brought three boxes of luggage. Didn't they all carry them by themselves?" Fu Tongwen turned his head and asked Shen Xi, who was half a step behind himself, "The same is true for young grandmothers. ."

"That's right, San Ye didn't lie to you," Shen Xi smiled and took Fu Tongwen's arm, and said to Wan An, "Don't think that people who study abroad have gone to enjoy the blessings, and all have to endure hardship."

Wan An had to stop again, and the two walked into the station early.

At six o'clock, the last train to Shanghai was over, and there were no passengers leaving the station. So at this moment, whether it's picking baskets and carrying baskets, helping old and young, or young people carrying suitcases, they are all heading in one direction, all pitting. Shen Xi and Fu Tongwen walked along the crowd, as if being pushed by the tide, onto the platform.

There were many people and luggage. They gathered together, and sixteen suitcases large and small piled into a small hill.

An electric light hung on the wooden stakes every ten meters at the head of the station. In the dark, the pile of luggage was illuminated by a black shadow, which is even more eye-catching. Also because of the pile of leather suitcases, Zhou Lixun who was late found them easily.

He ran in a hurry, sweating on his forehead, took off his hat, fanned and said, "Nearly missed it."

As he spoke, the headlights of the train had shone on his face.

He laughed, Fu Dongwen laughed, and Tan Qingxiang laughed.

"Come on, get in the car." Amidst the crowds of passengers boarding the car, Fu Tongwen embraced Shen Xi and boarded the car.

They were the first group of people to board the car. There was a lot of room to choose a seat. Shen Xi looked around and finally picked the sofa near the front of the car. This is a four-person seat, with a low table surrounded by four single leather sofas.

The low table was covered with a white tablecloth, and apricot-red glass bottles were placed on it. When the car drove away, someone came and inserted two fake flowers into each of the glass bottles.

Shen Xi was looking at the menu.

Xiao Wuye sat opposite her. After getting in the car, he looked at the window, first at the platform, then at the roadside street, and then later, except for the large blackness, there was no scenery outside the window. He took out a small paper bag leisurely and unsealed it.

There is a red note on the paper bag, and the writing brush reads "chenpi".

"Sister-in-law eat it?" Xiao Wuye handed it to her.

"When did you buy it?" She was surprised. It stands to reason that he shouldn't have time to buy it.

"Delivered by a nurse, little girl," Xiao Wuye replied, "The third brother was in my ward and was also given a pack."

nurse?

"Does it look like a student with a strong temperament?"

"Well, the nurses in your hospital love to talk and laugh, it's just quiet," Xiao Wuye commented on eating tangerine peels from Yanjin. "She said that she has an older brother who is a soldier, and she feels kind when she sees me. "

Really easy to fool.

Shen Xi glanced at Fu Dongwen.

Fu Dongwen naturally guessed her thoughts, but pretending not to understand, he also found out a pack of tangerine peels: "Don't tell me, I forgot. What are you looking at me for?" He laughed and unopened the package. Put the dried tangerine peel on the low table, "If you want to eat, take it yourself."

"I don't want to eat, let Xiaowu slowly relieve his greed."

Fu Dongwen smiled, moved his chin to the side of the car door, and got up first.

doing what? Shen Xi also left.

She pushed the car door, Fu Dongwen leaned there, looking at him with a smile.

Shen Xi backhanded and closed the door.

"When someone gives Xiao Wuyi a packet of tangerine peels, you have to anger me?" He exposed her.

"It's not anger... I think you're cheeky," Shen Xi embarrassed the little nurse. "I bought two packages for Xiao Wu. You snatched one package, did you deliberately make trouble?"

He made an eye-catching analysis: "If I hadn't taken it first, Xiao Wu wouldn't be able to accept anything. The third brother is doing a good job, but in your eyes, he has become a teaser."

After speaking, he sighed: "A good loving couple, suspicion of each other for a paper bag of tangerine peels from others..."

Immediately afterwards, he smiled again: "Sure enough, the world is peaceful, and I have learned to gossiping with people."

Shen Xi was about to answer his mouth.

The door of the first-class carriage was opened, and it was a waiter with a drink. She didn't expect a pair of male and female passengers to have a tryst here. She was startled, and then pushed the door of the waiting compartment at the beginning, and was frightened by the two men who protected Fu Dongwen...

Fu Tongwen apologized and smiled, and took Shen Xi's hand, not to go back, but into the first-class carriage.

Shen Xi didn't know where he was going, his feet in high heels walked forward hurriedly: "Where to go?"

"Go see the scenery." He returned to her.

They were in front, and four men followed. From the first-class carriage to the second-class carriage, the aisles became narrower and narrower. Both sides were no longer sofa seats or row seats, but poles, quilts and sheets. Bundles and crowded passengers.

Fu Tongwen didn't expect that there would be so many people in the carriage behind. He pulled Shen Xi in front of him, put his arms in his arms, and moved to the rear of the car step by step. This car is the farthest away from the coal-burning locomotive, and there is no heat supply, but because of the large number of people, it is warmer than the previous car. The back of the car was leaning against the wall of the carriage, and six or seven smokers were sitting against it, full of smoke and smell of scorch mixed with sweat.

Because of their existence, women and children hide far away.

When Shen Xi passed by, he was also smoked enough, his stomach churned up. Fortunately, he opened the glass door at the rear of the car. In the roaring cold wind, Fu Tongwen opened his coat, wrapped Shen Xi, and walked out.

On the platform at the rear of the car, a middle-aged man wrapped in cotton, carrying a signal light, with a signal flag under his arm, was preparing to enter the car to avoid the wind. I was surprised to see a pair of Bi people coming out into the wind.

The outdoor temperature was close to minus and it was terribly cold. It was dark all around and the noise was amazing.

It should not be a place for a tryst by any means.

But the other side still evaded sensibly.

"It's raining."

The wind mixed with the rain and fell in front of the shoes. The rain was not strong enough to wet their shoes. But his blood and body temperature are rising. In his current state of mind, the faraway night sky, the vast rain curtain, and the wilderness under the strong wind are all intoxicating scenery.

Shen Xi didn't need to look back to know he was happy. She didn't need to guess, she knew it was for a trip to Paris.

"Is it cold?" he asked her aloud.

The noise of the train is amazing, even if you face each other, you have to speak loudly to hear each other clearly.

She turned around, put her arms around his waist, raised her voice and said: "You can't blow the air, at most two minutes, you must go in after two minutes!"

"Only two minutes?"

"Yes," Shen Xi's face hurt by the wind, "two minutes!"

He laughed, his invisible brows stretched.

At the moment before Shen Xi had to make sense, he suddenly shouted at the retreating railroad tracks and the wilderness: "Wan Yang——Shen Wan Yang——"

The wind whispered in his ears, this is a rare reckless act of Fu Dongwen.

Her heart was beating wildly, and he lowered her head and swallowed her breath without warning. In this gust of wind, in the rumbling noise of the train crushing the railroad tracks, she had the illusion of trampling under her feet... she couldn't help but hug him tightly and clung to his neck. The warmth of the whole body was blown away by the strong wind, only the place where the two people's lips and teeth were on each other was hot.

He kissed her, doing his best. She was kissed by him, like falling into the deep sea.

...

"Are you there?" He smiled, his lips pressed to her ears, and asked nonchalantly, "Look at the third brother's pocket watch, are you there?"

Fu Dongwen did not wait for her to dig it out, so he took it out first. With a click, the watch cover was opened.

Shen Xi only saw a pair of peacocks flashing past his eyes on the dial, without even seeing the hands, he saw him put it back again.

"If there is no light, the third brother can't see clearly." He said again.

Shen Xi was angrily laughed, stood on tiptoe, and said in his ear: "You don't want to see it."

"Let you guess it right," he laughed in a low voice, as if succeeding, came to kiss her again, "The third brother just doesn't want to see."