The series "Lotus Night in March" can be bought in Dangdang, Taobao and Xinhua Bookstore, Newsstand and Bookstore all over the country. If you really can't buy it, you can also go to the editorial department for mail order.
This book is copyrighted, and any electronic version is illegal and infringing, so there is only a trial chapter on the Internet.
Trial reading:
Every time I see that blue cave, I think of Rama. In other words, there is such a place in everyone's heart, but in different forms.
I. Echo and Rabbit Man
"Thin-skinned peppers, one dollar and sixty-eight cents ... grass eggs are on sale today, and grass eggs are on sale today ..."
In the shop, the cold mechanical sound of March is circulating, and the vegetable price and today's special price are playing as usual. There was a long line in front of the checkout counter, and people waited impatiently. I also pushed the shopping cart in and waited impatiently.
It seems that a novelist once wrote a story that the city was attacked by an unknown monster and people were trapped in this supermarket. Some of them are waiting for death, some are praying to the Buddha, and some are saving others' lives. In short, they show different psychology and behaviors.
At this moment, the Marchelian warehouse is a bit like the scene in the story. The cleaner the supermarket chain is, the more it gives people a fragile sense of civilization. Transparent shelves illuminated by fluorescent lamps, neatly arranged vegetables and fruits, a cash register system like an assembly line, and a clerk in a burgundy lotus pattern uniform seem to be unable to operate and collapse thousands of miles in an instant due to power failure, computer failure or other unexpected minor problems.
If that happens, how will I react under extreme conditions?
I'm thinking, the team is moving slowly.
This is an ordinary day. Rama gave me a shopping card here to buy some necessary daily consumables, such as roll paper, toothpaste, clothes softener and so on. Actually, I had breakfast here, too.
A so-called sandwich was placed in front of me and I pressed it with my finger. The bread is hard, like it has just been forged from a boiler, but the cucumber is a little soft and obviously not fresh. No cheese, no egg sauce, and a ham sausage in the middle.
"Change soybean milk fritters." I said.
"The order has been issued and cannot be changed." The other party said.
"There is no conversion."
Macchian Warehouse sold well in the early days, but both Chinese and western styles have some similar flavors-not authentic flavors, and some guys who casually wear a white apron perfunctory products.
But I don't want to have breakfast at the black cat tea shop. Since my eyes recovered, Rama was indifferent to the affairs in the store and gave it to me, including the research and development of drinks and desserts that he was once keen on. Not only that, he still avoids me a little.
I am sure that all this has something to do with the young man who appeared in the ward and claimed to be Rama's brother.
Swallowing that sandwich really tastes like chewing wax.
What makes people depressed is not only the breakfast stored by Ma Qilian, but also a little thing that just happened.
Of all the storage areas in Machilian, I especially like the part where vegetables and fruits are put. Perhaps it is because there are many black and gray tones in personal products, so such a psychological compensation is produced. The rich colors of vegetables and fruits always attract me strongly and make me unable to move. Not just Ma Erkai Company. I prefer to go to the vegetable market.
Today, I also wandered back and forth in the fruit and vegetable area. I need to pick out potato varieties that soften after cooking and tomatoes that show healthy pink. Finally, we stopped at the newly arrived local celery, and the staff just poured them into the shelf-the fiber of parsley was too thick, and Rama and I only bought it occasionally. Then, I took a fancy to the most tender and juicy one and was about to reach for it. However, another hand passed in front of me and took it away like lightning.
"Hey, you-"I couldn't help shouting.
Turning around, I only had time to see a tall figure flash into the bustling crowd. Besides, I don't know if it's an illusion. I seem to see something flashing on that man's head, probably near his ear. Not very dazzling dark red light, but like a brand left in my eyes.
In fact, there are still a few celery trees to choose from, but I don't know why, I suddenly lost interest, bought a few dishes hastily and began to queue up. Until the long line gradually disappeared in front of me, I was still thinking about the fleeting light.
Many small things in life are interrelated, and the potential connection is connected by an invisible line, just like those things that happen around me. As long as there is a crack that looks even inconspicuous, maybe the rain will flood in and slowly erode, leading to the collapse of the building one day.
However, no matter how careful you are, there is no life without cracks.
I walked out with a huge paper bag. On the transparent automatic door, Ma Qilian's LOGO is particularly conspicuous.
Then, a golden ginkgo leaf turned several times and landed on my sports shoes.
The first messenger in autumn
I held a paper bag in one hand, and the other hand was free, and I pulled out the earphone cord from my coat pocket.
Echo and rabbit man, seven SEAS.
Echo and Rabbit Man was founded in Liverpool, England in the summer of 1978, and it has been a long time now. This band is not the most popular, but it also has its own group of fans to follow silently. Unforeseen things happened. 1988, they were devastated and the lead singer left. The drummer died unexpectedly in the second year, and the rest barely made it to 1990, and finally dissolved. Seven SEAS comes from their second album, 1984.
"Draw the blue of the whole world, so that the tears no longer sting ..." They sang.
The cover of that album is also dark blue. In such a low blue cave, a boat carrying four members of the band was quietly moored on the water. Two men with wooden paddles, one sitting in the middle, the other hanging his head and reaching out to the water. Beautiful dark cover.
Every time I see that blue cave, I think of Rama. In other words, there is such a place in everyone's heart, but in different forms.
I followed the rhythm of the music and walked to the black cat milk tea shop. It was an ordinary day. The trees along the road were changed into more layered colors: dark green, golden yellow, brown and light brown. The advertisements for Mid-Autumn Moon Cake: Lotus seed paste, red bean paste, egg yolk and five kernels are all posted on the convenience window of Ma Qilian, but the street view is still familiar and unchanged.
"Swim across the seven oceans and kiss the turtle shell ..." Lyrics with absurd feeling.
At this moment, a building that I have never seen before passed by. I suddenly stopped and began to retreat to the newsstand.
"Buy a copy of today's evening paper."
"A dollar and a half."
I handed in ten bills, and my uncle with reading glasses accepted them, unfolded them, recognized them in the light for a while, and then handed out newspapers and change.
"What's that?" I pointed to a building not far away.
"Oh?" The old man stretched out his wrinkled face and looked in the direction of my finger. He paused for a moment, then retreated to the newsstand. "You said Bessie."
"Bessie?"
"Italian restaurant." The old man sang: "Italy, restaurant."
Italian restaurant? I'm a little surprised. "Isn't there a hardware store?"
"Every day is the same question." Sigh came from the depths of the newsstand, as if it were a little boring. "Do you need anything else? This is a new comic magazine. "
Please give me one. I said, "That Bessie, how long has it been open?"
"Who knows." The old man reappeared in the newsstand window. "Anyone who wants to see it can see it. Probably the hardware store opened again after it closed. "
"Anyone who wants to see it can see it. What do you mean? "
"I didn't say it, it was the man who came to buy the newspaper." As the old man explained, he fiddled with the change in the iron box at his hand.
"who?"
"The man in the Italian restaurant."
I rolled the comic magazine into a tube and held it in my hand, gazing thoughtfully at the small building that has risen from the ground. It has two floors, red brick walls and black bars, and the overall color is very bright-a little too bright for this street. Only those who want to see it can see it? Whether I want to see it or not, I can't ignore its existence. It's yelling at me, "stop, stop with me!" " "
In order to create a warm pastoral feeling of this steel city, small pots of plants were placed on the windowsill. Rama once told me the alias of this flower in the forest. Alas, I can't remember at the moment.
Finally, my eyes turned to an unlit glass lamp and landed on the door. Compared with the lively color of this small building, the curved door is not noticeable, only painted with varnish and decorated with a ring made of hay. The name of the store is engraved on the wooden sign above: BESI.
Bessie Italian restaurant.
I left the newsstand and walked towards it. Rama may not care about the ups and downs of the black cat milk tea shop, but every time I take stock, my heart hangs in the air-it is my shelter and the only visible source of life. Now there is such a restaurant in the same street, and I'm afraid it will close soon.
Standing at the door of Bessie, I hesitated for a moment, put my hand on the door and tried to push it away, but the door moved slightly from the inside out and creaked a crack. Then, a hand stretched out from the inside and hung a sign on the door. Then the door slammed again and nothing happened.
The sign is still shaking, and it says "full today".
The music stopped, so I took off my headphones. It's noon. At this time, the attendance rate of black cat tea shop is basically zero. Even on weekends, we still have time to wash cups leisurely.
After a few steps back, I looked up at the restaurant again. It's full today, but I can't feel any noise standing outside. The wooden door is closed. From my position, I can't see any diners in the restaurant, and I can't hear the sound of cups and plates staggering. Even the plants on the windowsill are quiet to the extreme, and the leaves do not tremble, as if silently telling the warmth of autumn.
However, when I looked at the second floor, suddenly, a special sensitivity seized my heart and seemed to lift me into the air.
Someone is watching me.
Although I can't see each other, I can really feel them. Someone hid behind the white gauze curtain on the second floor of Bessie and looked down at me. Just for a while, I still can't judge its intention, but simply feel that I am in the field of vision of others.
Instinctively, I grabbed the Machilian paper bag in my hand and turned and walked to the black cat tea shop.
Or run away.
Only those who want to see it can see it.
Sitting in the shop at night to settle the day's running water, this sentence suddenly hit my heart.
But it's just some kind of gimmick in the restaurant, isn't it? The old man in the newsstand also saw it, and everyone could see it, red brick walls, black bars and plants on the windowsill.
Just a new restaurant. Don't say it's an Italian restaurant, even if it's an alien restaurant, it's not worth making a fuss about. If Mimi could talk, she might say so. At the moment, it is lying lazily on the checkout counter, and the expression of disdain on its face matches the atmosphere of this sentence.
Rama's attention will not be focused on this kind of thing-the huge category shadow behind the uninvited guests and young people in the ward is enough for him to worry about.
I didn't get any explanation about the young man who claimed to be his brother, the shopkeeper of Dolly, because it was too complicated or the truth would bring unpredictable trouble. But when Rama is trapped in the depths of layers of haze, he will change his usual gentle attitude. You can't pry a word out of him.
I can only wait patiently, maybe one day. We can all face ourselves, including each other, without any disguise.
Second, eternal night. The center of the living room
Before Rama answered the strange phone call, I had a dream over and over again.
It is said that all the dreams that people can remember happen within a few hours before waking up, and I think so. At four or five o'clock in the morning, I was repeatedly entangled in the same dream, and then I woke up in a cold sweat, and my upper and lower rows of teeth kept biting tightly.
However, this is not entirely a nightmare.
At least in this dream, I returned to my long-lost hometown, the rented hut-a place I can't go back to, although physically, it is still in its original place.
I returned to my long-lost hometown.
The unadorned walls, the sofa with dry dishes and the cloth curtain with flowers are exactly the same as before. I stood there quietly with my back against the door, looking at this small and old place that haunted me.
"adzuki bean." There was a voice inside, and I couldn't help standing up straight.
Dad came out from inside. He didn't wear the uniform of the courier company, but dark blue jeans and a windbreaker coat. He wore the kind of lighting used by miners on his head, and his eyes were bright, and he looked younger than before he disappeared.
"Dad." I said, "You're back."
"I will always be there." Dad smiled and said, give me a bulging package that looks like a living thing. "Bean, help me with it. I have something to do. "
I didn't notice that my father had a shovel that looked heavy in his hand.
"Are you going out?"
"No, it's right here."
Dad waved a shovel and lowered his head to dig in the middle of our small living room. He dug for about a whole day without drinking a mouthful of water or eating anything. And I have been holding what my father gave me, standing there watching.
There is a deep black hole in the center of the living room, which is invisible at a glance.
It seems that you can keep digging like this, there is no floor and no foundation.
Then my father put down the shovel in a sweat, took out an engineering ruler from the pocket of the windbreaker coat, measured the diameter of the black hole, and nodded to me as if satisfied and said, "Almost."
I looked at him nervously, afraid to answer.
"Now, I want to leave for a while." Dad put away the engineering ruler, patted the dirt on his hands and said, "You wait for me here, don't be afraid, okay?"
"Take me with you." I whispered.
"Be obedient." Dad squatted down and took my hand. "Dad is going far away and can't take you with him."
"Where?"
"This is the eternal night and the depth of time." Dad hesitated for a moment and replied.
"Take me with you." I persisted, almost crying.
"impossible." Dad said clearly, "Time is running out. I have to go at once." Bean, there are wild animals in this world. You should learn to protect yourself until I come back. "
Say that finish, dad stood up and tied a thick rope, one end to the water pipe in the corner and the other end to himself. Then, he turned on the dome light, looked at me again, and then resolutely turned around and walked to the dug black hole in the middle of the living room.
"Dad!" A bad premonition came to my mind and I cried.
Dad grabbed the rope tightly, carefully walked around the edge of the black hole, looked at it, and then jumped into the hole without hesitation!
"I'll go too!" I shouted, but the voice seemed to be stuck in my throat and I couldn't get through at all. I jumped to the mouth of the cave, but my father's figure had disappeared in the darkness, so I closed my eyes and walked to the mouth of the cave-
Dreams always come to an abrupt end here.
Even in my dream, I know it's a dream.
In my dream, I never opened the package my father gave me. But I know what's inside.
It's Milla Voss Midas Kaya.
To some extent, this is a dream and a reality.
Dad went where I couldn't reach.
When autumn comes, we are used to opening all the windows and letting in the cool evening breeze. The white curtains bulged like sails. I especially like this night. When Rama answered a strange phone call, I was wiping a pile of porcelain plates in Phnom Penh with a soft cloth, and I planned to arrange them on the shelf for decoration one day.
I saw him wearing a thin wool plaid vest, leaning against the cashier, holding a microphone in one hand and unconsciously curling Mimi's hair in the other. The latter lay there unmoved, fiddling with a colored wool ball sent by Wan Li from Italy not far from Miss Mai, and lying down.
"Yes, black cat tea shop." Rama's voice is always so low. "Go ahead."
I carefully picked up a plate and began to wipe it from the middle to the side.
"Yes, business is good ... and the weather is good."
As usual, it is some tasteless greetings, mostly suppliers or telemarketing.
I didn't stop what I was doing-except for Miss Mai, most of our calls are like this, which is very common. Rama is in semi-seclusion. In fact, I have never really participated in what he said about catching animals, nor have I been to the so-called underground trading market. There are no evil people who come to him, most of them are harmless ordinary people, and at most they are a bit cunning businessmen.
But at this moment, Rama suddenly lowered her voice.
"What's the matter ..." He seemed very unhappy. "You should have informed me earlier."
I put down one polished plate and picked up another.
"The recipe was stolen ... Are you sure it was stolen?" Rama changed her hand to hold the microphone and asked slightly unkindly, "What about your fingerprint lock and infrared anti-theft system?"
I couldn't hear the answer, but it seemed to explain for a long time, because Rama was silent for a long time.
"How important is it?" Rama paused for a moment, "important to the extent that you can't imagine. If it weren't for me ... let McFlynn come back. "
With a heavy heart, he put down the receiver and sat back on the sofa with one hand near his temple. His eyes have been staring out of the window, but they don't seem to focus on anything specific, but at this moment, his eyes are unusually sharp.
I held a porcelain plate in my hand and stopped unconsciously in mid-air.
"What's the matter with you?" Rama suddenly turned to me.
"Oh." I gave a light shout, quickly waved my arm and wiped it again.
The windows are all open. Rama closed her eyes and leaned back on the sofa. Mimi is sleeping at the cashier's desk and hasn't moved her position from beginning to end. I stood at the edge of the pool and wiped the dishes silently. After wiping off the dust, the golden pattern appeared and shone. The evening breeze is still beating against our white curtains. At the moment, the black cat tea shop is like a night boat moored in the harbor.
However, the gentle and quiet autumn night seems to have been torn open.
Because of that inexplicable phone call.
The cover of the album 1984 containing seven SEAS reappeared in my mind. The ship shrouded in blue shadows carries all the members of the band.
"Swim across seven oceans and kiss turtle shells ..."
"I'm going out." I don't know how long it took, Rama stood up and put on a black cloak and trench coat. The style of this dress is strange. I've never seen him wear it. The gray hair reveals a temperament that makes me feel extremely strange.
He walked out of the door without saying anything.
The recipe, stolen?
I turned on my mobile phone and slowly dragged the text messages in chronological order until I received them when I was still in the hospital a month ago. They seem to be just a mountain of symbols, but one of them still keeps me from looking away for a long time.
It seems to have jumped out of the screen. I can't press it. I can't help but put my finger on the news.
"Contact me, I have news of your father."
Every night, I will watch this news several times to judge whether it is true or not.
But it is not easy to judge whether something is true or not. Since I stayed in the black cat tea shop, I gradually understand that people's language or behavior is more complicated, and there are often more inhuman reasons behind a sentence or an action.
One night, Rama and I watched true and false princess together. The story of Princess Anna, the youngest daughter of the czar, is one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. In the great Russian War, the royal family of Romanov was shot by a group, but the body of Princess Anna Stasija was not found. More than ten years later, a former military officer from Russia was entrusted by Empress Dowager Cixi, who was exiled in northern Europe, to look for a princess. At this time, a woman who looks like a princess came out of the madhouse in Paris, hoping that she could impersonate Anna and inherit a large inheritance.
In the film, officers are trained in royal etiquette and influenced by old memories, and the trained princess is almost puzzling. However, it was not until the princess coughed lightly because of fear that the queen mother believed that she was a real princess-because it was a little habit that only she and the princess knew.
In fact, the ending is still confusing. She may or may not be the real Anna.
Ingrid Bergman thinks this is her best film-Anna Stasija's delicate expressions and movements are just right, which is also true and illusory.
I really don't know if the things left by this young man who calls himself "Lian" are true or false. The most important thing is that no matter whether the news is true or not, I can't judge the motivation of his message just by this sentence.
A month has passed, and I still haven't contacted him.
The strange number that sends messages on the screen of the mobile phone is like a string of alien spells. As long as I press the "call back" button and the earth shakes, unpredictable things will happen, and the black cat tea shop may disappear instantly.
However, I really want to hear from my father, even a little.
Put out your finger, move the cursor to "dial back", and was about to dial out when suddenly a terrible voice came from the store-
"Meow ... meow ..."
It's Mimi's growl, as if she were angry.
It is not the cat that often makes noise. I hurriedly dropped my cell phone and ran out.
Nothing happened.
The night is still so quiet, only the low hum of autumn insects is faintly heard in the yard. The white curtains fluttered gently, and gentle ripples came and went. At the checkout counter, the blue enamel cups collected from an antique market are still steaming quietly, and the blanket on Rama's lounge chair is loosely draped on the backrest, as if it still retains the folds and temperature when he left.
But Mimi is no longer in her original position.
It jumped down and walked up and down between the silver legs of the shop, looking very upset.
"What's the matter with you?"
I followed it, Mimi walked around the shop like something possessed, and finally stopped in the direction of the yard, staring blankly there.
"What are you looking for?" I asked.
Mimi has been staring at the depths of the yard, and the cool wind is blowing from the forest and brushing my skin. I suddenly feel a little scared. It was a long time before I remembered what Mimi might be looking for-the colored wool ball sent by Miss Mai was missing.
Handmade in Italy. Cats like it.
When it arrived, it was written on the bulletin board. I don't understand. Rama, read it to me.
Mimi's wool ball is missing.
For the next few days, I have been looking for the wool ball. However, everything is in vain. Whether it's under the cashier, by the pool or at the foot of the table, it's nowhere, as if it had been taken away from the black cat tea shop by an invisible hand.
Third, the formula was stolen.
Nearly a month has passed since the day the formula was stolen. However, the Heritage Management Committee has never had any clues about the suspect's movements. The information they collected is like a pile of waste paper, and the phone calls are all sinking into the sea, and no one even dares to receive the heavy reward. The most exasperating thing is that he was scolded by Rama, who has no position in the mainstream society. If he is not the guardian of miral Voss Midas Kaya, ...
All the clues have been cut off. It seems that only according to Rama, McFulin was sent to investigate with him. After all, she is reliable and capable. She is both a lawyer of miral Voss and a senior consultant of the estate management committee. As for Rama, he is also most familiar with the formula.
It's really troublesome. Shouldn't an inheritance be money, stocks or real estate? Why does it contain a damn useless formula?
It's raining in Mao Mao outside. She stood up, smoothed the wrinkled skirt from sitting for a long time, arranged the cashmere shawl into a random and perfect shape, and pushed the flat mirror with a brown frame-she used to wear a pair of glasses at work. Then drag a medium-sized suitcase down the ramp.
When getting off the plane, McFlynn did not convey all the ideas of the above estate management Committee to Rama. She is a professional and rigorous woman and never says anything superfluous. Even in the face of Rama, this only existence with special significance is no exception.
"Dear McFlynn, hello again." Rama opened her arms and gave her a polite hug, but there was no smile on her face. "You are still so beautiful."
McFlynn closed her eyes slightly, but after a second, she returned to normal. "Thank you." She handed the suitcase to Rama. "I came back this time mainly to help you investigate the theft of the formula."
"Why, those old antiques are helpless?" Rama picked up the lever.
"I only care about issues related to suspects." McFlynn avoided answering. "Rama, you and I both know that this is a serious matter."
"This matter has nothing to do with me." Rama said calmly, "The recipe was entrusted to the Heritage Management Committee for safekeeping, and it was their responsibility to steal it."
"Come on." McFlynn turned to him, and a shrewd eye shone under his lens. "Don't you care about the formula and worry that it will fall into someone's hands?" Do you dare to say that there is nothing you can do?
"Let me fix you a dinner first." Rama smiled. "Don't be so aggressive when you get off the plane."
"What about the servant you hired?" After getting on the bus, McFlynn asked, "Why do you have to pick me up in person?"
"edamame is not a servant." Rama quickly replied, "She has a class."
"Really?" McFlynn leaned back and looked out of the window. "I see."
See: /p/ 1326624668 for details? see_lz= 1
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