Two months ago, I came to Xianheng Hotel in Zhenkou as a waiter. I remember asking the owner why the hotel was named Xianheng Hotel.
The shopkeeper just smiled and said something like a proverb: "If you say ... there is a strange fate."
I have read some books, and vaguely feel that this is like a sentence in A Dream of Red Mansions, which sounds really sad, but I really don't understand what this has to do with Xianheng Hotel.
I am too lazy to think about it. On the other hand, although the customers in the store seem polite and easy to talk to, these seemingly ordinary customers are often mixed with people with special identities. It is said that there are always some eighth route army intelligence personnel who often buy a bowl of wine, stand outside the cabinet, drink it while it is hot and say nothing; There are also many Japanese undercover agents who usually walk into the house next to the store, ask for wine and vegetables, sit and drink slowly, but keep their eyes on the outside.
The shopkeeper said I looked stupid. These people are always nagging and confusing-they specialize in making warm wine. There's nothing to neglect, but it's not interesting. Fortunately, there are also two quite interesting people among the regulars in the store.
1 Xianglinsao
Sister Xianglin always wears a white-headed rope, a black skirt, a blue jacket and a moonlight vest on her head. She is about twenty-six or seven years old, her face is blue and yellow, and her eyes are always dull, like two fish trapped in a dry pond, which makes people very uncomfortable.
Actually, this woman looks quite normal. What is really uncomfortable is that this woman always repeats a story to everyone she meets.
"I'm so stupid, really," Xianglinsao raised her dull eyes and hung a broken felt hat obliquely, and said to Ah Q, "I only know that devils can kill people miserably; I didn't know they would attack children. I got up early to open the door. I took a small basket and filled it with a basket of beans. I told our Mao to sit on the threshold and peel beans. He is very obedient and listens to everything I say; He's out. I chop wood, dig rice, and steam beans out of the pot. My name is Mao, but I didn't answer. When I went out to have a look, I saw beans scattered all over the floor, without hair. He doesn't go to other homes to play; Ask around, sure enough, I'm in a hurry. I'm going out to look for it Until the second half of the day, he went to the devil who practiced guns and went in. He was lying on the open stoping, his stomach was badly hit by a bullet, and his hand was still clutching the small basket ... "She sobbed and couldn't say a word.
Later, Sister Xianglin went crazy and told you Amao's story. At first, everyone was indignant and called her names. If a woman is present, she often drops a few tears. I'm numb after listening too much. War always kills people. Even in a small place like Luzhen, there are always several new Xianglinsao in one day. We are not sure whether we can live to see the sun tomorrow, let alone a child who died a long time ago. Maybe a bomb will fall while telling a story-then we all have to change our stories.
2 ah q
Ah Q is called Ah Q because I really don't know how to write Ah Q's name. I only know that everyone calls him Kui, but I don't know if it's Gui or Gui.
Ah Q is a legend in the hotel. He always likes to brag in the shop that he is a big shot in the Red Army. When he said this, he also took out a Japanese hat and said it was a trophy of a certain victory.
"Have you ever killed the devil?" Ah Q was foaming at the mouth and made a chopping gesture at Kong Yiji's neck without warning, which scared Kong Yiji's face to shrink: "With a click of a big steel knife, I cut off the devil's head, don't put it on my belt, Mom, as much as you want!"
Some guests really respect him, as if he were really a great hero against Japan. However, some regular customers said that Ah Q only stole something from the devil's camp with several fellow villagers, and in that only glorious action, he was also the most humble role, only responsible for picking up stolen things outside the wall.
But ah q is a mythical hero after all. Also, in a stagnant life, everyone always needs something-sustenance. Even a hero with a scab on his head and lice biting his lips in a broken felt hat is better than nothing.
3 Kong Yiji
There is another person worth mentioning, and that is Kong Yiji.
Like Ah Q, no one knows his name, only his surname is Kong, so others gave him a nickname, Kong Yiji, from the half-understood word "Shang Adult Kong Yiji" on red paper.
Kong Yiji is the only person in the pub who works for the Japanese, which makes him the most unpopular person in the hotel. He is tall, taller than Ah Q, with a pale face and some scars between wrinkles. A shaggy gray beard. Although I am wearing a robe, it is dirty and torn. It seems that it hasn't been mended or washed for more than ten years. He is always full of big talk when talking to people, which makes people half understand.
It is said that Kong Yiji has also read books and even knows some foreign languages, but in this time of war, it is naturally impossible to take an examination of a scholar. He can't make a living; So I became poorer and poorer, ready to beg. Fortunately, good handwriting can always give people some money to copy books. Later, when I called from Japan, Kong Yiji actually knew some Japanese, so he translated and copied some unimportant documents for the Japanese and begged for food.
Listening to people talking behind their backs, Kong Yiji also has a grandson, who was born in a leap month. The five elements lack soil, so they take the name of leap soil. Runtu studied and read with Kong Yiji when he was young. At the age of 14 or 15, Kong Yiji felt that the schools in the town could not learn anything, so he simply used the money from copying books to send Runtu to study abroad. Later, the Japanese came, and as soon as Runtu came home, he went to join the Red Army and didn't even go home. I haven't heard from you since 1978. Some people say that he was seriously injured and died in an operation to blow up the turret. Others say that he joined the most powerful falcon team of the Red Army at a young age. This is the most sensitive and confidential secret service of the Red Army, which is responsible for the intelligence collection of major Japanese operations, so he can't contact his family.
"Heat two bowls of wine and have a plate of fennel beans." Kong Yiji slowly strolled to the front of the counter and discharged two paper coupons, one for fifty yuan and the other for ten yuan.
At this time, Ah Q next to him smiled and said, "Kong Yiji, are you working for the Japanese again?"
Kong Yiji blushed, but he couldn't say it. He just drank his wine slowly.
After drinking half a bowl of wine, his red face gradually recovered, and Ah Q asked, "Kong Yiji, do you really understand foreign languages?" Kong Yiji looked at Ah Q with disdain and said proudly, "What do I know about that foreign language? My family has studied abroad. "
"Then why haven't you been home all these years?" Ah q asked.
"We are big shots in the Red Army, and we are busy doing great things all day ..." Kong Yiji said proudly again.
Ah Q smiled and said, "Then your family went to fight the devils. Why did you go to the Japanese traitor?"
Kong Yiji immediately appeared upset, with a gray face and the veins stood out on his forehead. He argued, "I'm just copying books! Copying books is not a traitor ... copying books! ..... Can a scholar be considered a traitor? " One after another, it is difficult to understand that "gentlemen are poor" and "villains are poor". Ah Q smiled proudly, and everyone in the shop also smiled proudly.
Four kinds of bacterial weapons
So I stood at the counter every day, warming wine for the guests, listening to Sister Xianglin telling endless stories and watching Ah Q and Kong Yiji bicker. Such a day has passed for a long time, and sometimes I even suddenly feel that such a time is rare and very reassuring.
However, war can never teach people peace. The news soon spread that a batch of Japanese bacterial weapons will be transported to this town in recent months-they intend to use Luzhen as the first base for bacterial experiments.
"Mom's!" Ah Q knocked on the table and glanced out of the corner of his eye at the Japanese spy sitting next door. Finally, I didn't dare to scold him loudly. He only slapped Kong Yiji on the counter: "Bug!"
"Who are you cursing?" Kong Yiji blushed and the veins stood out on his forehead.
"Who is the traitor?" Ah Q said angrily, "Bug! The traitor's mother's devil is going to be big this time I think we all have to be killed by those insects! "
Hearing this, Kong Yiji disdained, "Aren't you a hero? What are you afraid of now? When my family comes back with the army, I will be able to beat these people away. "
Ah Q snorted: "I don't think your soil can come back." If you hadn't died, you might be ashamed of your traitor grandfather. "
Kong Yiji's face turned to iron filings, turned around and stopped arguing with him.
The atmosphere in the shop suddenly froze, as if shrouded by an invisible cloud.
Fortunately, in a short time, this gloomy atmosphere was broken by a crisp laugh.
It turned out that the neighbor's children were excited and came and surrounded Kong Yiji.
So Kong Yiji gave them fennel beans, one for each person. After eating the beans, the child was still wandering, staring at the plate. Kong Yiji panicked, stretched out five fingers to cover the plate, bent down and said, "Not much, I don't have much." He straightened up, took another look, shook his head and said, "No more, no more! how much is it? Not much. "
So the children smiled and walked away.
Looking at the distant back of the children, Sister Xianglin suddenly said, "If my uncle were still alive, he would be so big ..."
Ah Q skimmed the pie mouth and resumed his usual smiling face. "Sister Xianglin, don't worry. I think those bugs are coming, and they all have to accompany you. "
I didn't expect Sister Xianglin to continue telling her story with Amao. She just turned and looked at Ah Q, and then looked at the back of the group of children with ecstasy.
5 Xianglinsao
At first, everyone in the town lived in fear, but later, everyone became numb.
Just as they look at Sister Xianglin's Amao, it's the same.
Life always passes, and you will die anyway-it doesn't make much difference whether you are stabbed with a bayonet, killed by a bomb or killed by a bug. In short, live as long as you can.
After such a long time, the Japanese bugs didn't come, but Sister Xianglin had an accident first.
There were not many guests in the shop that day. Bored, I took out the yellow rice wine mixed with water on the counter and warmed it. Suddenly, I saw Sister Xianglin stumble into the room, throw herself on the counter and say in an almost inaudible voice, "Japanese germ weapons are coming ..."
Before she finished speaking, a group of heavily armed Japanese soldiers rushed into the store with guns, grabbed Sister Xianglin and dragged her outside. Only then did I see her white-headed rope, black skirt, blue jacket, and bright red blood on her vest in the moonlight.
When Sister Xianglin was dragged out of the door, a smile appeared in her dead fish-like eyes for the first time. She looked at us and said something to us with almost all her strength. I spelled word by word according to her mouth, and found that what she said turned out to be-
Mao.
I'm not overdoing it, and I don't want to watch it again. Ah Q sitting there clenched his fist, and the shopkeeper went over and pressed his shoulder hard. Kong Yiji turned around and still ate his fennel one by one.
Later, it was said that in fact, after Amao's death, Sister Xianglin joined the Red Army, as if she were still a senior cadre. The man also said mysteriously, in fact, as sister-in-law Xianglin, the task of spying on bacterial weapons information does not require her to go out in person.
6 ah q
After Sister Xianglin was taken away, the already inactive atmosphere in Xianheng Hotel was even more depressing.
Thanks to Kong Yiji and Ah Q, it's not so boring to watch these two people drink and make jokes every day.
With the war going on, there are fewer and fewer people in the town, and the hotel business is getting worse and worse. This afternoon, even the Japanese spy stationed next door all the year round went out on a temporary mission. In addition to me and the shopkeeper, there are only Kong Yiji and Ah Q in the shop.
A group of neighborhood children ran past the store door, saw Kong Yiji in the store with sharp eyes and surrounded him again. So he still gave them fennel beans, one for each person. After eating the beans, the child was still wandering, staring at the plate. Kong Yiji held out five fingers to cover the plate, bent down and shook his head. "Not much, I don't have much." Straighten up and look at the beans, and then look at the eager eyes of the children. This time, I always take the hand that covers the plate away and give each child another one.
Kong Yiji watched the children go away and said slowly, "When my family was this big, my favorite thing was to keep vigil in the watermelon field. The moon is underground, it rings, and this is Yan. When my family jumped into the soil, he pinched a fork, walked gently to a shadow in Gua Tian, and put it down with a bang. He always ties it firmly and accurately, and every time that thing can't run away. "
With that, he made a clumsy move to poke the steel fork, which made us all laugh.
Ah Q suddenly said, "If Sister Xianglin's hair were still there, it would be so big ..."
Sister Xianglin.
I suddenly remembered two words that Sister Xianglin told us with her mouth when she was dragged out by Japanese soldiers.
Mao.
"I saw beans scattered all over the floor, without our amao ... I was in a hurry, and everyone in the central government went out to look for it. It wasn't until the second half of the day that I found the devil practicing guns ... "Sister Xianglin sobbed and couldn't say a word.
"Japanese bacterial weapons will be shipped to ..." Sister Xianglin threw herself on the counter and said intermittently in an almost inaudible voice.
Bacterial weapons ... transported to ... Amao ... Devil's depression.
I seem to understand something in an instant.
The shopkeeper slowly mixed water into the yellow rice wine and suddenly said casually, "The entrance to the Devil's Cave seems to be a stable."
Ah Q nodded and said nothing, but took out a louse from his hat, put it on his lips and took a hard bite.
The next day, I heated the rice wine mixed with water. For the first time, Ah Q didn't come, and the next day, Ah Q didn't come either.
Another day passed and I just came to the store in the morning. Suddenly I heard that there was a fire in the Devil's Cave last night. The fire burned all night, leaving nothing behind.
The man said that he even heard someone singing loudly in the firelight.
"Twenty years later, it is ..."
What's singing behind? The fire is too strong for me to hear clearly.
It's also easy to understand. Sister Xianglin only hinted that the Japanese would transport bacterial weapons to the depression of the devils. It is not clear when exactly. With this vague information alone, the Red Army cannot act rashly. However, the sudden fire in the devil's depression will delay the Japanese transportation anyway, and will buy the Red Army some time to further obtain specific information.
I looked out of the window in the direction of the devil's depression, and some black smoke had not completely dispersed.
I don't know if Ah Q is really an anti-Japanese soldier of the Red Army as he said. All I know is that Ah Q turned out to be a real hero.
7 Kong Yiji
Since then, Ah Q has never been to the hotel. At the counter in the store, Kong Yiji was finally left alone.
Kong Yiji once said to me, "Have you ever read a book?"
I nodded briefly.
He said, "read this book, ... I will test you." How to write fennel for fennel beans? "
Funny and impatient, I lazily answered him, "Who asked you to teach me? Isn't it just a word from the grass? "
Kong Yiji put two finger-length nails on the counter, nodded and said, "Yes and yes! ..... Fennel is written in four ways, do you know? "
I stopped talking to him, but I never looked back. So he dipped his nails in wine and wrote four different words "fennel" on the counter.
"Remember these words ... my family always taught him to write like this when he was young." There was a smile on Kong Yiji's wrinkled face: "Now he knows more words and knows more than I do. He wants to do something big. "
"He will always come back." I nodded and said.
Kong Yiji's face looked very happy.
After two or three days, the shopkeeper is slowly checking out, taking off the powder board and suddenly saying, "Kong Yiji hasn't come for a few days."
I don't think he came either.
A drinker said, "Why did he come?" ..... he broke his leg. "
The shopkeeper said, "Oh!"
The man looked around, bowed his head and said mysteriously, "He is crazy ... when he copied books for the Japanese, he actually peeked at the Japanese confidential documents!" This thing is what he saw! "
"What happened later?" Manned suddenly raised his head and asked.
"how about it? I played until midnight and broke my leg again. If there are not many people in the town who know foreign languages, it would be fatal not to kill him. " The man shook his head.
"What happened later?" Always few words manned rare asked.
"Why? ..... who knows? Maybe he's dead ... huh? What's wrong? "
The wine bowl in my hand suddenly slipped and fell to the ground, scattering fragments all over the floor.
I squatted down and began to pick up the debris on the ground. The shopkeeper didn't scold me, but slowly calculated the account.
8 moisten the soil
In the next few days, the autumn wind is getting colder every day; I have a fever all day, so I must put on a cotton-padded jacket.
The storefront is deserted, but business still needs to be done and life still needs to be lived.
Sometimes when I look at the words "Xianheng Hotel" that have been mottled on the signboard, I suddenly think of the owner's words.
"If we say so ... there is a strange fate."
Now I know, that strange sentence originally said: "If there is a strange fate, why will my heart eventually become illusory?"
In fact, I always think that Sister Xianglin, Ah Q and even Kong Yiji.
We people really seem to have a wonderful fate.
But Sister Xianglin and Ah Q never came.
Kong Yiji didn't come again.
After half a day, I sat with my eyes closed. Suddenly I heard a voice.
"Warm a bowl of wine."
Although the voice is extremely low, it is very familiar. No one was there when I watched it. Even the Japanese spy next door couldn't help coming out to see what was going on.
I stood up and looked out. Kong Yiji was sitting on the threshold under the counter. His face is black and thin, and his figure is out of shape; Wear a worn-out jacket with legs crossed, put a cattail bag under it and hang it on your shoulder with a straw rope; When he saw me, he said, "Heat a bowl of wine."
I didn't know what to say at once, so I heated a bowl of wine, squatted down and put it in his hand-I saw that his hand was full of mud, and I thought it was by hand.
He raised his eyes, looked at me, and then at the Japanese spy behind me, so he said nothing, drank his wine slowly and walked away.
He took a few steps, suddenly turned to look at me and said in an almost sincere tone, "There are four ways to write the word fennel ... Remember! Remember these words. "
With that, he turned around, sat down and walked slowly with this hand.
There were few guests today, and the shopkeeper closed early, so I was thinking about what Kong Yiji said to me.
There are four ways to write the fennel word of fennel beans ... remember! Remember these words. "
I slowly recalled that Kong Yiji dipped his nails in wine and wrote four different words "fennel" on the counter.
The first way is the simplest, he only wrote eight strokes.
In the second way, there seems to be a gap below, and he wrote nine strokes.
The third way of writing is similar to the word "face", with ten strokes.
The fourth way of writing is the most complicated, and the word "go" is added outside the word "back", with eleven strokes.
Eight, nine, ten, eleven.
I seem to suddenly understand what Kong Yiji meant.
I looked out from the hotel, and there was a golden moon hanging in the dark blue sky.
When I was a child in my memory, there was a golden moon hanging in the dark blue sky, and there was a green watermelon field under the moon. With this in mind, I subconsciously touched the silver collar I had worn around my neck since I was a child.
"Tomorrow will be the ninth day of August." The shopkeeper suddenly came up to me and looked at the sky.
I didn't answer, and the shopkeeper said slowly, "Xianheng Hotel should be closed tomorrow."
I nodded. At 9 o'clock 1 1 minute in early August, the Japanese bacterial weapons will be transported to the Devil's Depression, and a battle is about to begin.
I am no longer a bartender at Xianheng Hotel.
I am the commander-in-chief of the Red Army's 3rd1Regiment Eagle Team, and I am moistening the soil.