The grand play in Huan Town continued until noon on February 3rd. Although there were rumors of an epidemic in the town, and even a few deaths, the scene this year was even more lively. My father was also in high spirits, more joyful than in previous years. This truly puzzled me. However, my father said that the Hu Xian drum and cymbals could ward off evil spirits and prevent disease, just like how people used firecrackers to scare away the Nian beast in ancient times, so those who listened to the play were not easily infected. I didn't dare to argue, so I could only silently mock this ignorant and feudal belief in my heart.
After packing up my belongings, my father and I took the same man's boat back the way we came. He not only inherited his deceased father's business, but also his social connections. He and my father became new lifelong friends, appearing as close as brothers. However, although they were blood relatives, this middle-aged man's temperament was completely different from his father's. His father was shrewd and capable, exuding a primitive and wild aura from years of labor. But he was more gentle, although he was nearing middle age, his appearance was no different from a young man. He was elegant in his manners, with delicate eyebrows and eyes, and a tall and slender figure like a wooden boat paddle. If it weren't for those who knew, no one would associate him with a rough boatman.
Perhaps because his body was too weak, I saw him panting from time to time on the way, wiping the fine sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief, and occasionally coughing violently. Seeing this, my father told him to rest for a while and let the boat drift on its own. During this break, he went into the cabin and chatted with my father for a few moments. My father handed him a bag of cigarettes, and he clumsily took a puff, choking himself. But if it were his father here, such an awkward situation would never have occurred. It was true that he was born to be a businessman, and it would be difficult for him to do anything else besides rowing a boat.
When asked why he came back to take over his father's job, he shook his head helplessly and slowly said, "My mother is getting old and needs me to take care of her. Besides, I feel guilty and want to find some peace by coming back." After saying this, he returned to the stern and continued with his sacred duty. I was very curious about the story behind his short sentences, so I asked my father. But my father only said that he was dissatisfied with his parents' arrangement and ran away on his wedding day, and since then he had been making a living on his own in Huan Town.
"But if he had come to Huan Town, he should have found a good wife. It's just strange that he has never married and hasn't been seen with any girl. It's really strange." My father tapped the ash on his shoe sole and stopped speaking, lying down to rest.
I felt suffocated in the cabin, so I put on my coat and went outside to get some fresh air. When the man saw me coming out, he said in a very gentle voice, "Your father used to really like children like you." "But the fruits of autumn cannot be picked in early spring." I didn't pay attention to him and felt that he was talking nonsense. He saw that I was indifferent and fell silent for a while before speaking again, "Although roses are bright and beautiful, they can only climb along the walls." "If they were misplaced in a flower field, they would have no chance of survival." "I just don't understand this, which is why I have been insulted all my life." His incomprehensible words annoyed me, so I simply responded and went to play with the water on my own.
So the three of us remained silent all the way.
Back at home, I found a bag of pastries wrapped in red oil paper on the Eight Immortals table in the hall. These pastries were usually only eaten at weddings or other festive occasions, so I rarely had the chance to eat them. Now that I had this unexpected joy, of course I had to enjoy it first and ask about the origin of these pastries later. My mother entered the hall afterwards and was not angry at my act of stealing food, she just calmly said, "Put it down, it's better not to eat it." I knew that my mother was probably worried about me getting indigestion, so I didn't eat much and went back to my room to rest. The fatigue from watching the play made me fall asleep quickly. In my dream, I seemed to hear cries in the distance, mixed with curses and the sound of smashing and breaking. These sounds made me restless, so I covered my head with the blanket and continued to sleep deeply.
The next day, my father woke me up early and said we were going to have a feast at noon. I always welcomed such opportunities. The elders would continue to drink and leave me to enjoy the food. After a simple wash, I followed my parents to the venue for the feast. My mother told me that the family hosting the event had a good reputation. They had three sons, one doing business in Southeast Asia, one studying in Japan, and the remaining one was the groom today. I thought to myself that the bride being welcomed into this wealthy and enlightened family must be a beautiful and elegant young lady. Before long, the guests were seated, and the groom moved confidently among them, enjoying their praises. I was extremely bored with this formality, but it wasn't time to start eating yet, so I slipped away from the table and went to find some amusement on my own. When I left the courtyard, I unexpectedly saw the boatman's son at the entrance. He waved at me and then asked teasingly, "Do you know whose daughter the bride is?" "Of course I don't know." "I'm afraid even the groom himself doesn't know." "Why would you say that?" He didn't continue speaking, but squatted down and said to me, "Ah! It's already difficult to distinguish right from wrong in this world."
I didn't understand the meaning behind his words, but I didn't pay much attention to it. After wandering around for a while, I returned to the banquet. After a series of tedious procedures, everyone finally waited for the bride to make her entrance. But to my disbelief, the bride was a girl about the same age as me. I looked at my father, but he just picked up some food for me, seemingly not surprised by this. My brain became sluggish, unable to determine if I was still in a dream. In a daze, I thought of the mournful cries, vicious curses, and terrifying sounds of smashing and breaking that I heard last night, and I felt a chill down my spine. I absentmindedly looked around, the crowd cheering and laughing, commenting on the girl as if they were choosing merchandise in a store, the guests included many prominent local gentry and wealthy merchants, but none of them seemed to find anything unusual. I looked at the huge "happiness" character pasted in the middle of the courtyard, and remembered the oil paper wrapped around the pastries yesterday, as if it had been soaked in blood, glaring at me and making it impossible for me to face it directly. I felt nauseous and had no appetite to take another bite of food.
My kind-hearted mother had already warned me about this.
This incident left a heavy shadow in my heart. I thought about the boatman's son's words and felt that he knew something or had experienced something. Not long after the wedding, his mother also passed away from lung disease. My father and I came to his house again. He had become even thinner. He held a box that had lost its paint color in his long, slender hands. Inside were a pair of bracelets and two pairs of hand-sewn tiger-headed shoes. The shoes still had the smell of dye, indicating that they had been recently made.
Until her death, she never understood why her well-intentioned marriage was rejected by her son. But these two items, they may never be used. I remembered what my father said when he was watching the play, that those who listened to the play were not easily infected with disease. Because their minds and bodies had been twisted and tempered by distorted thoughts.
This absurd world
Can accommodate a sinful marriage
But cannot accommodate an innocent rose
The laughing spectators are indifferent
Unaware that everyone is the culprit
The human heart has turned right and wrong upside down
A terrifying lung disease is nothing compared to it.