There were two single beds placed above and below, and a bed was littered with stuffed bears, combs, mirrors, silk scarves, and sanitary napkins. The bedding of another person has been rolled up. The girl has returned to her hometown in Hunan to celebrate the New Year. Whether she will come back after the New Year depends on the treatment in the factory. There are colorful photos of pop stars on the wall, and I can’t name them. The girl with the big face had a Walkman plugged into her ear and was listening intently. She was humming an off-key tune. She was a little embarrassed when she saw us. She asked us to sit. My sister sat on the edge of her bed and made some homely remarks. I stood, a sharp pain piercing my skin. The first half of my room is dark and crowded, with all the contents of life mixed together. The young couple from Hubei can eat, drink, and have sex within these ten square meters. The burnt porridge was put in a slightly deformed aluminum pot, with cardboard underneath. The simple table was in a mess, with hot sauce, peanuts, lighters, inferior cigarettes, and balls of wool. Stack large and small cardboard boxes as high as possible. On the bed, the dark red quilt was curled up. On the other side, a wooden board was cleverly placed in the middle, with a 21-inch color TV placed on it. The color TV enriches the life of the young couple, eliminating the heaviness of the day. They can relax completely by hugging each other, watching TV and making love once and for all. Never mind that there are two underage girls living next door. (The material used for the middle partition wall is plywood, which has almost no sound insulation effect.) The rent is 80 yuan a month. When my father went to collect it, the man held back as much as possible, saying that he would pay it as soon as the factory paid the wages. Sometimes he bargained. , I hope it will be ten yuan cheaper. The father agreed.
Her mother's portrait hangs in the main hall downstairs. She must have felt strange and lonely. People in the family came and went, but they were all strangers.
During the Spring Festival, I went home to visit my old father. From a distance, I saw a large group of people standing in front of my house. Motorcycles and electric vehicles were scattered everywhere, like guests at a banquet. As I got closer, there was no one I knew well. The doors upstairs and downstairs were wide open, but it was like an empty city, with barnyard grass flying on the walls, desolate and lonely. Father is not here. I became a veritable stranger and an uninvited guest. I went into the kitchen to take a sip of cold water in front of everyone, which was my childhood habit. Returning to the main hall, I looked at my mother who was smiling kindly for a few minutes, ticking, ticking, the wall clock was not broken, it was still running, and I could hear the sound of my heart being vibrated by the pendulum. A very strange reaction, thinking of Aristotle’s words, life is like a pendulum, swinging back and forth between pain and boredom...
The green vegetables in front of the yard are green and shiny, taking advantage of the coming spring. The timing is crazy. I took one last look, then set off on my way, filled with desolation.