A Bicycle that can't fly（二）

After the mad woman settled down in this house, Jia Yiren and Jia Youfu had been taking good care of her. Her condition gradually stabilized, the frequency of her attacks decreased, and her sober time increased. My arrival the following year also relieved her loneliness and depression. After she woke up, she secretly observed Jia Youfu and Jia Yiren for a long time and found that they were different from the men she had met before. They would not beat her for no reason, nor would they forcibly take her body, and would not treat her like a commodity or a beast. So she tried to learn a little bit of the language of Jiajia Village, plucked up the courage, and begged Jia Yiren and Jia Youfu to let her go home.

After listening to her request, Jia Yiren and Jia Youfu just shook their heads helplessly.

None of them knew where Anducheng, the hometown of the mad woman, where the sycamore trees grew, was. Moreover, the journey was long, and Jia Yiren, who was disabled, did not have enough strength to protect her from harm on the way. He knew from the bottom of his heart that the mad woman's gradually recovering beauty would bring her what kind of danger in such a barbaric environment. Jia Youfu, who had all his limbs intact, had a worsening memory and slower movements, and was also unable to protect her on the road.

"It would be nice if there was a car."

After listening to Jia Yiren's clumsy explanation, the sober crazy woman muttered to herself in disappointment.

"What is a car?"

Jia Yiren knew about water wheels, one-wheeled wooden carts, three-wheeled carts, bicycles, and trains, but he had never heard of a car, nor did he know what a car was. He had never seen one, and it was estimated that no one in Jiajia Village had seen one.

"It's a four-wheeled vehicle that runs on oil. As long as you fill it with gasoline and hold the steering wheel with your hands, it can go a long way. And the car is sealed, so you don't have to worry about wind and rain, it's very safe."

The crazy woman gestured and tried to explain to Jia Yiren in simple language. But Jia Yiren only understood half of what he heard, and couldn't imagine something he had never seen. Therefore, he secretly regarded the car as a mobile small house that burned oil and could shelter from wind and rain.

Later, I went to find Jia Guangtou and asked him if he knew what a car was.

"Car? Humph," Jia Guangtou answered my question with an arrogant look, "I've even seen airplanes in the sky!"

Despite this, he still described the appearance of a car to me with great emotion, and even drew it on the mud with a branch. Therefore, I didn't mind his arrogant attitude at all. After listening to Jia Guangtou's description, I was very depressed and felt sad for the crazy woman. There was no gasoline in the village, and even if a car could be built, there was no way to make it run.

Knowing that she could not return to her hometown, the crazy woman was sad for a long time and often cried secretly. She also deeply understood what kind of dangers she might encounter if she set out on the road back home alone on foot.

Silent tears made Jia Yiren feel more distressed than her shouting when she was crazy. He didn't want the crazy woman to be sad, and when the crazy woman was sad, he felt very sad.

"There is no car, but there is a bicycle." One day, he couldn't stand the sadness of the crazy woman and comforted her.

The director of the newly built chemical plant in the village has a brand new bicycle. Every time he rides on the country road, he is very eye-catching. The wheels of the bicycle are very big. Just a few pedals can go a long way without any effort. If you ride fast, people running behind can't catch up.

"Bicycle? I can ride a bicycle!" The crazy woman seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

"There is no car, but you can buy a bicycle." Looking at the crazy woman's expectant eyes, Jia Yiren seriously calculated, "Riding a bicycle is not tiring, and it's fast. People can't catch up with it even if they run. There is a big town next door, called Mingyu Town. I heard that there are trains there that can go to all parts of the country. We can buy bicycles first, then ride to Mingyu Town, ask around, and then take the train."

"Okay! Then let's buy bicycles first!"

The gloomy eyes of the crazy woman suddenly brightened. A moving smile appeared on her face, and the whole house became bright. The crazy woman smiled, and Jia Yiren also smiled. When they smiled, Jia Youfu and I also smiled.

"Okay, let's save money to buy a bicycle first."

After the autumn harvest, Jia Yiren and Jia Youfu went to the grain station in the town to pay the public grain, and sold the excess grain for a little money to buy winter supplies. They ran almost all the shops in the town before they found the store that sold bicycles. However, even if they took out all the savings in the family, they couldn't afford one. After learning the price of the bicycle, Jia Yiren secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was very conflicted. On the one hand, he didn't want the crazy woman to leave him, and on the other hand, he couldn't bear the crazy woman to cry all the time. Although it was destined to part, fortunately that day came a little later.

I think if Jia Yiren knew what would happen in advance at that time, then even if he carried the crazy woman on his shoulders and limped to Andu City, he would be determined to send her away.

They came back from the town and told us about the bicycle. Jia Yiren promised the crazy woman that although he couldn't afford a bicycle now, he would go to the chemical factory to find a job next year, and one day he would save enough money. They also brought us gifts that were very fashionable in the town at that time, a bottle of vanishing cream for the crazy woman, and a sketchbook and brush for me. But they didn't buy anything for themselves.

In the New Year of 1995, Jia Yiren and Jia Youfu posted red couplets on the house, set off a string of crackling firecrackers, and made a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner with the pork and lard sent by the widow. In the winter of that year, the whole family was full of joy and looked like a real home.

When Jia Yiren finally bought a bicycle, there was no joy in this family.

That winter afternoon, he pushed his bicycle and returned in the snow.

The whole village was silent, and the cold snowflakes fell one after another, leaving many people with a layer of frost in their hearts. The polluted land did not grow crops for a year. The director of the chemical plant moved the goods away at the end of last year and ran away, and owed half a year's salary and land commission. The Jia family relied on the little money they had earned before to buy some food in the town. A handful of rice mixed with a pot of water, after a year's consumption, there was not much left. In addition, many people were worried that they would not survive the winter due to poor health.

At that time, my voice was so bad due to the continuous crying and screaming that I could not speak. I was afraid that I would really become mute, and I was also afraid that I would lose my usefulness and be abandoned by Jia Yiren, so I lived in panic all day long. I was not sure whether Jia Yiren, who had become a gangster, would regard me as a burden who only ate for free and did not work, and then throw me away with disgust.

In the evening, Jia Yiren cooked a meal for me and Jia Youfu. While he was lighting the fire, I was secretly observing him, but he looked normal.

"Let's eat." He brought a pot of steamed potatoes and a large bowl of tofu soup to the table. I quickly stood up and served him a bowl of soup first, then Jia Youfu, and finally myself.

Jia Yiren absentmindedly reached for the steamed potato, but was burned so hard that he grimaced and whimpered. Although I was terrified, his funny expression and behavior made me laugh out loud, and my throat was pumping like a broken bellows. Jia Yiren looked at me, as if he was infected by my ugly laughter, and he laughed too.

"It's hot, damn it!" he cursed with a smile.

I suddenly had an idea and quickly stood up and took the smallest potato from the pot. While I was burned, I switched my left hand to my right hand and exaggeratedly made a ferocious expression. Jia Yiren was amused by my performance and laughed out loud. Jia Youfu, who was gulping down his soup, slowly looked up at me and started laughing. The depressing atmosphere at home suddenly became relaxed.

I exhaled, peeled the small potato in my hand, and handed it to Jia Yiren.

"I have hands. You eat it yourself."

Jia Yiren said it very gently, which made me feel much more at ease.

During the two days he was away, Jia Youfu and I had been suffering from hunger. I put a large pot of water in the last two handfuls of rice in the rice jar and cooked it into a very thin rice soup. I didn't know when Jia Yiren would come back, so I divided the cooked rice soup into seven or eight bowls and hid it. When it was time for dinner, I brought out two bowls, added water and heated them, gave Jia Youfu a large bowl, and gave myself a small bowl.

Jia Youfu, who is getting older and more stupid, has a stronger appetite. Although he is slow in his movements and ignores people on weekdays, once he is hungry, he will turn the house upside down and look for food like a mouse.

Since he was found eating raw rice from the rice jar, all the food in the house, whether raw or cooked, has been hidden. First, the family does not have much food reserves and cannot afford such waste; second, Jia Youfu always eats quickly and anxiously, resulting in no feeling after the food enters his stomach. Jia Yiren is worried that he is now in a trance and has no idea when eating, which may cause him to upset his stomach and get sick.

I dipped the salt in the steamed potato and took a bite. I closed my eyes contentedly and slowly enjoyed the delicate fragrance in my mouth. Unlike the distinct grains of rice and the mild and thick porridge, the steamed potato is sandy and soft. Take a bite and chew it, and your mouth is full of fragrance. One can't help wondering, will a patch of fine green grass grow on the tongue when sleeping at night?

After a mouthful of potato, I leaned over the bowl and blew carefully on the tofu soup.

Jia Yiren bought the tofu when he bought potatoes and brought it back with him hanging on the handlebars. Before putting it into the pot, it was placed on a plate and cut into dice-sized pieces with a knife. After the water boiled, it was cooked over high heat with a little brown lard residue left over from last year's lard cooking. When it was about to be served, a handful of finely chopped green onions and salt were sprinkled on it and it was simmered for a few seconds. Then it was served in a large white porcelain bowl and a few drops of sesame oil were added luxuriously, making it look and smell good.

The steam was so thick that it blurred my eyes and made my face moist. I felt so comfortable.

The white tofu sank to the bottom of the ceramic bowl, with the browned lard in the middle. The clear soup was covered with green chopped green onions and orange oil, giving off a mixed aroma. I scooped up a piece of tofu, exhaled several times and put it in my mouth. It felt like the petals of a pear blossoming in early April, delicate and tender, with a hint of coldness in the heat. The chopped green onions on the spoon made a slight creaking sound when chewed, and their unique astringent and slightly bitter juice flowed out. The soup was light but had a lingering fragrance. After taking a sip, it floated from my mouth to my entire stomach, instantly covering up the fragrance of the steamed potatoes. Even the pain in my throat seemed to have improved a lot.

I ate a mouthful of potato and a mouthful of soup, and my body gradually became warm. I was so happy that I wanted to betray my brother Xinyuan's expectation of me. I didn't want to be a writer or poet when I grew up, but a gourmet who specializes in tasting food. Compared with writing great poems and articles, I yearn for a life where I can eat as much as I want.

Thank you for giving me your life, so that my life can continue. While eating, I thanked the potatoes, chopped green onions, soybeans and piglets in my heart.

The reason why I can eat them is because Jia Yiren bought them back with money. And Jia Yiren's money was cheated from the Jia family. When we were eating hot steamed potatoes and drinking hot tofu soup, most people in Jiajia Village were suffering from hunger and cold.

When I finished eating the small potatoes in my hand, Jia Youfu had already reached out and picked up the fourth one.

"Okay, you can't eat anymore."

Jia Yiren was worried that Jia Youfu was too hungry and ate too much at once, which would hurt his body, so he stretched out his chopsticks and clamped Jia Yiren's wrist.

My childhood life of starvation for many years made me have an obsession with food deeply rooted in my bones.

Purple mulberries, sweet and sour loquats, tender willow buns, egg pancakes, brown sugar dumplings, salt potatoes, scallion tofu soup, and braised pork and pickled fish that can only be eaten during the New Year are all delicacies deeply entrenched in the memory of Jiajia Village. The memories and emotions carried by taste buds are more reliable than those in the mind. When I left Jiajia Village, wandered outside, and gradually forgot the people and things in the village, I always missed these rare delicacies.

When I was young, I couldn't figure it out: we obviously grew so much food, why can't we have enough food and have to endure hunger all the time?

After dinner, Jia Yiren threw half a bag of potatoes into the woodshed, then found the old kerosene lamp at home and wiped it carefully. While wiping, he reminded me: "It looks like the snow will last all night. You should close the doors and windows, take care of grandpa, go to bed early, and don't run around." Jia Yiren, who asked me and Jia Youfu not to go out casually, then pushed his bicycle and quietly went out alone.

He lit the kerosene lamp and hung it on the handlebars of the bicycle. Facing the biting north wind, he pushed the brand new bicycle crookedly and walked with difficulty in the snowy night. The village was covered with white snow, presenting a solemn scene. All the filth, madness and absurdity that happened on this land were hidden at this moment.

Jia Yiren pushed the bicycle and walked alone to the grove at the entrance of the village.

"The bicycle is back!"

As he walked, he called the name of the crazy woman, his tone was sad and gentle. Except for him, no one in the village still missed her so deeply. Jia Yiren's affectionate call was blown away by the wind and attached to the snowflakes, spinning in the air, and finally fell to the ground. Worried that the crazy woman could not hear his call, he kept pinching the bicycle bell, ding-dong, calling the crazy woman's soul.

"I've bought the car, I'll take you home... Tell me, where is Andu City..."

When Jia Yiren shouted in the snowy night, I, who hadn't had a full meal for a long time, curled up in my bed and fell asleep. Jia Youfu, who didn't have a full dinner, woke up hungry and looked for food everywhere. He opened the door of the woodshed and saw half a sack of potatoes that Jia Yiren had hastily thrown on the ground, and then started the countdown to his death.

The heaven and earth, which were far apart and silently looking at each other, were closely connected because of this chaotic snow. The fluttering snow became the medium for the heaven and earth to touch each other. And the bicycle he pushed became the medium for the living Jia Yiren to touch the dead crazy woman again. The ding-dong sound of the bicycle bell carried his chaotic but extremely deep thoughts.

Jia Yiren walked for a long time, until his face and hands were frozen and lost consciousness, and finally pushed the bicycle to the grove at the entrance of the village. On the hard land, the dry grass with fluffy snow was wet and slippery. He stepped on it and walked too fast, and accidentally slipped. The bicycle fell on him, and the rear wheel in the air turned slowly. The falling snow rushed into his eyes. He listened to the squeaking sound of the wheels turning, and he was so sad that he couldn't help himself.

This bicycle that was destined to be unable to fly was like his desolate love that was destined to be unable to start, and the tragic fate of the crazy woman who was destined to be unable to return home.