the most beautiful time

Chapter 16 Hands are as noble as feet (1)

Chen is the most enviable and jealous girl in our art school.Not only is she talented, but she is also beautiful. Whatever clothes she wears are just right.The teacher dotes on him infinitely, and the boys chase after him crazily.She has always been dismissive of the flattery of outsiders. She never squints her eyes when walking on the road. When she looks at people, she just glances lightly.Such an indifferent glance will almost ruthlessly dispel the pride of all girls.And she doesn't have a boyfriend, it is said that she doesn't bother to find those young boys we are madly infatuated with.This made us even more breathless, and when we walked past her with our boyfriend, we would lower our heads slightly, hiding our inferiority complex in the dust.

We naturally guessed that she must have lived in a superior family, otherwise there would not be such a clear arrogance and coldness in her personality.Until one summer vacation, I stayed to work in a clothing wholesale market seven miles away from school for tuition fees.Most of the people who come here to buy clothes are citizens with very low income in this city.The price of clothes is already extremely low, but every day there are shopkeepers and buyers who get angry or even scold because of bargaining.I have long been used to such trivial and endless market conditions, but I still occasionally feel gloomy and helpless because I chat with such a group of noisy citizens about the price difference of a few yuan or even a few dimes.

One day when I was about to get off work, I heard the female owner of the neighboring booth shouting loudly: If you can’t afford it, don’t join in the fun here. Two pieces of clothing cost 60 yuan, where else can you find them? !That is to say, the stall is about to be closed, otherwise I won't sell it to you for 80 yuan!Such a pretty girl, standing here for a long time, just for 5 yuan, don't you feel embarrassed, I feel ashamed as a clothes seller!
Somewhat curious, he came closer to look at it, and as soon as his gaze fell on it, he jumped away like a fire.Under the disdainful glances of the shopkeeper and outsiders, the girl with a flushed face is Chen who has always made us feel humble and shy!She always thought that the glamorous and beautiful Chen was proud of her bones, but it turned out that she just used it to cover up the dilapidation and misery that life threw at her.

Chen finally took the two pieces of clothes, and exchanged for the price of 55 yuan she lost her usual dignity.She thought that in such a crowded market, no one would pay attention to the hem of her gorgeous dress, the torn corner, but she didn't know that, unintentionally, I peeped at the embarrassing lining covered with lice.

Think of another acquaintance.We met at the pen fair, where he almost stole the limelight.He helps the girls carry bags and run errands, and enthusiastically advises the editors of magazines; every time he goes to a scenic spot, he must have the most beautiful smile in the photos he takes; he is always the first to speak at meetings, and He is so eloquent that people have to admire his excellent eloquence; when eating, he has the best appetite, and his witty remarks add a lot of fun and taste to a meal.

Everyone felt sorry for his clumsy eloquence and lackluster performance in front of him.When it was time to leave, the editor-in-chief called him into the office alone; seeing the jealousy on our faces, he smiled and said, "Oh, there is no way, people are popular, and we can't stop them!"Because I helped distribute the developed photos, I broke into the editor-in-chief's office without thinking too much.But I didn't think about it. I saw him squatting on the ground with his back to me, with his hands in his messy hair, begging the editor-in-chief in a low voice: I really don't have any money. Can I take a break for the travel expenses?It seems that you still have a manuscript fee that you haven't sent to me. Although it's not much, can you pay this first?I'm not really pretending to be confused, I'm really tight, 600 yuan, really nothing...

It turned out that he was the only author who came to the PEN meeting at his own expense. The brilliant light he had created earlier was just a gorgeous shadow. Turning around inadvertently, he revealed the self who was hard-pressed and unable to dodge.

And life, at such a moment, sheds the aura of our admiration and reveals another side of the unkempt.

Tian Xiaomei from "Liangzi Foot Bath" is the only girl I know in Footwashing City.Every afternoon, I picked up my clothes and went to the gym next door to them. When I was practicing Taekwondo, I would meet her.She leaned against the sunny front desk, looking at the shadows cast by various men in front of the door with a quiet expression.We rarely talked, at most, she gave me a shy smile.And I, also in her pure sight, nodded to her gently and slightly alienated, then I was very "a gentleman", with my head held high, made a big bend in front of their door, and went to the second floor next door to vent the rest of the day energy.

During the intermission of practice, there are often men who comment on the more than 20 girls in "Liangzi Foot Bath" one by one.The most talked about is of course Tian Xiaomei who is calm and gentle.This name, with a little bit of ambiguity and longing, is like a crystal clear candy, which is held in their mouths again and again, chewing and chewing endlessly.But I don't like it. Although I, like them, have a natural disdain and contempt for girls in the foot bath industry, I still stubbornly believe that Tian Xiaomei is different from them.Although from their mouths, I know that Tian Xiaomei also comes from an unnamed town in the outer city. I know that she only went to junior high school, but because of her younger brother, she dropped out of school to work; I know that she writes letters to her family and always leaves the address of the fitness club next door; I know that she also has the same unattainable dream, hoping to marry someone who comes to wash her feet and is willing to love her. man.But Tian Xiaomei's clear and sad eyes still make me feel a faint pain in my heart when I see them from time to time, tearing them apart.

I don't know how elegant and rich Tian Xiaomei's working environment is, but I have been to the place where she lives with other girls.In fact, there is only a narrow wall separating it from the fitness center. Through the window, one can see the row of dank, dilapidated two-story buildings rented by "Liangzi Foot Bath".It is about a house in the 70s, the wooden guardrails have decayed, and on the rusty iron wires in rainy days, there are scattered silk stockings, embroidered insoles, and their signature red and tacky industry uniforms.Occasionally, I would see Tian Xiaomei coming out of it, lying on the shaky gray railing, in a daze, or writing text messages to someone.I once thought that she must have fallen in love with a handsome man who is sunny and enthusiastic, otherwise, there would not be such deep tenderness in her eyebrows and eyes, that kind of sweetness and happiness, which would even overwhelm the dilapidated and bleak demolition house she lives in. The building is also illuminated.She is just a 22-year-old girl, she should be like those flowers in college students, in the morning dew of love, carelessly and plumply, blooming.But later, I learned from other people that Tian Xiaomei fell in love with a businessman who often came to her to wash her feet.Maybe he had promised her something, or maybe Tian Xiaomei didn't care about anything, she just met him during the most beautiful time when she should love, and then, she fell in love without hesitation.

I would rather believe the latter.However, rumors still spread all over the street, saying that Tian Xiaomei seems innocent, but she turns out to be the most attacking woman, who will tightly entangle every man who likes to look at her, and then touch her hands and feet In the details, hold their hearts firmly.Once they showed their affection to her, they would never want to escape Tian Xiaomei's palm easily without paying.In this way, if you talk too much, you will have a seemingly real foundation, which is gray, like the dirt on the glass of a gymnasium that is difficult to remove.I have seen Tian Xiaomei’s joy and melancholy when she was sending text messages, and I also know her loneliness and sadness when she is isolated, but why, in the extremely fragrant spring, because of the catkins floating in the air, I feel slightly Frowning?

A few months later, I was forcibly dragged to "Liangzi Foot Bath" by a dealer.We have communicated silently with each other for nearly a year, this is the first time Tian Xiaomei and I met here.She was obviously as embarrassed as I was, but then she came over gently, helped me take off my shoes, and soaked my feet in the hot water filled with the aroma of precious herbs.We still couldn't find the right words to say, and the dealer at the side, and another girl who washed her feet, had already chatted like sugar cubes in the heat, and the conversation turned into a sticky puddle.My eyes wandered in a poorly acted love soap opera on the opposite side.Occasionally, Tian Xiaomei would ask me, does this massage hurt?I shook my head in a panic, and immediately shifted my gaze to the dimly lit ceiling.It was at the end when she helped me put on my socks that I suddenly saw her hands.What a pair of hands that are swollen and rough, with broad joints. Seeing them, you will never imagine that the woman who owns these hands is so delicate and beautiful, which makes people feel sorry for them.I lowered my head slightly and said softly: How much do you wash a day?Tian Xiaomei didn't look at me, but said softly: I only know that every day is from 10:1 am to [-]:[-] am. As for the number, how can I have time to count it?My heart, in these gentle words, felt a pain like a knife cut across it indifferently, and the bright red blood finally oozed out.

From then on, I refused to go to "Liangzi Foot Bath", even passing by, I couldn't bear it.It was another month in such a flash, one day, I came out after practicing Taekwondo, and saw a young boy pointing at Tian Xiaomei, angrily shouting at something.When I got closer, I heard him say: You lied to my parents and me, spending the money you sent. You said you did the most decent job and got the cleanest money. Unexpectedly, your hands that earn money are like this. dirty!You don't deserve to be my sister anymore!

(End of this chapter)