Lesson 11: Lao Wang / Yang Wei

Lesson 11: Lao Wang / Yang Wei

I used to ride on the three wheels of Lao Wang. He pedaled, I sat and we gossiped.

According to Lao Wang himself: After the liberation of Beijing, all those who pedaled three wheels were organized, and at that time he "had a slow head", "did not come around", "was one step late", and "could not enter", and he lamented that he was "old and useless". Lao Wang often had the fear of being left alone, because he was a single man. All he survived was a battered tricycle. There is an older brother, who died, has two nephews, "did not show up", and in addition there are no relatives.

Lao Wang only had one eye, and the other was just a "field snail eye", blind. Passengers were reluctant to sit in his car, fearing that he would not be able to see clearly and hit something. Some people say that this old bachelor was dishonest when he was young, caused some evil disease, and lost one eye. His good eye was also sick, and he couldn't see when it was dark. Once, he hit a pole, and half of his face was swollen, blue and purple. At that time, we were at school, and my daughter said that he was night blind and gave him a large bottle of cod liver oil, which he could see at night. He may have been blind from malnutrition since childhood, or he may have suffered from a vicious disease, but it is the same misfortune anyway, and the latter should be a deeper misfortune.

One evening, my husband and wife were walking through a deserted alley and saw a dilapidated compound with several collapsed huts; Lao Wang was pedaling his three-wheeler into the compound. Later, when I was chatting with Lao Wang in his car, I asked if it was his home. He said he had lived there for many years.

One summer, Lao Wang sent ice to our downstairs house, willing to bring it to our home, and the fare was halved. We certainly don't want him to cut the charge in half. Every morning, Lao Wang carried the ice to the third floor and put it in the refrigerator on our behalf. The ice he sent was twice as large as that sent by his predecessor, and the price of ice was equal. Most of us are familiar with the three wheels at the mouth of the alley, and Lao Wang is the most honest among them. He never saw through that we were bullies, and he probably didn't expect that at all.

When the "Cultural Revolution" began, one leg somehow could not walk. I took a leave of absence on his behalf, and bothered Lao Wang to send him to the hospital. I myself did not dare to take the three-wheeled bus and squeezed the bus to wait in front of the hospital. Lao Wang helped me get Mo Cun out of the car, but he resolutely refused to take the money. He said: "I sent Mr. Qian to see a doctor, not money." "I must give money, he asked me quietly in a hoarse voice: "Do you still have money?" "I smiled and said that I had money, but he took the money but was not very relieved.

We returned from the dry school, and the three wheels of passenger transportation were banned. Lao Wang had to change his three-wheeled car into a flatbed three-wheeled one for transporting goods. He didn't have the strength to deliver anything. Fortunately, an old gentleman was willing to downgrade himself to "goods" and let Lao Wang transport them. Lao Wang gladly installed a half-inch high edge around the three-wheeled plate, as if with this half-inch edge, passengers would surround it and would not fall. I asked Lao Wang if he could make ends meet with this patron, and he said he could make do. But after a while, Lao Wang was sick, I don't know what kind of disease, I spent money to take unknown medicine, and it was always not good. In the first few months, he was able to help the sick come to my house, and then he had to ask Lao Li, who was in the same hospital, to pass on the message on his behalf.

One day, I heard a knock on the door at home, and when I opened the door, I saw Lao Wang stiffly embedded in the door frame. Usually he sat on the seat of the tricycle, or came into my house with his body in his arms, and he didn't seem so tall. Maybe he's usually not so thin and less straight. His face was like dead ash, and there was a layer of knots on both eyes, and he couldn't tell which one was blind and which one was not. To put it mildly, he was like a coffin poured out, like a zombie in my imagination, with a layer of dry yellow skin on the skeleton, and it would scatter into a pile of white bones with a stick. I said in amazement, "Ah, Lao Wang, are you better?" ”

He let out a "hmm" and walked straight in, holding out his hands to me. He was carrying a bottle in one hand and a bag of things in the other.

I was busy picking it up. The bottle is sesame oil and the package is eggs. I can't remember if it's ten or twenty, because I can't count them in my memory. I can't remember how he said it, anyway, the meaning is very clear, it was sent to us by him.

I forced a smile and said, "Lao Wang, such a fresh big egg, give us all the food?" ”

He only said, "I don't eat." ”

I thanked him for the good sesame oil, thanked him for the big eggs, and turned and went inside. He quickly stopped me and said, "I'm not asking for money. ”

I hastened to explain, "I know, I know—but since you're here, you don't have to be carried." ”

He probably thought I was right, and stood waiting for me.

I folded the gray and blue checkered rag on the side of his egg wrapped and returned it to him. Holding the cloth in one hand and the money in the other, he turned around stupidly. I hurriedly opened the door for him, stood at the top of the stairs, and watched him go down the stairs with straight feet, worried that he would fall halfway up the stairs. When I couldn't hear the footsteps, I went back to the house and felt sorry that I didn't invite him to sit down and drink tea. But I was so scared and confused. The stiff body seemed to be unable to sit, and the slightest bending would scatter into a pile of bones. I can't imagine how he got home.

After more than ten days, I met Lao Li from Lao Wang's hospital. I asked, "What's wrong with Lao Wang?" Better, no? ”

"Buried early."

"Oh, when is he..."

"When did you die?" It's the day after I get to you. ”

He also told how many feet of brand new white cloth Lao Wang had wrapped around his body - because Lao Wang was a Hui and was buried in some ditch. I didn't understand either, so I didn't ask much.

I went home and looked at the unused bottle of sesame oil and unfinished eggs, recalling Lao Wang and my answers, wondering if he knew I had received his thanks. I think he knows. But for some reason, every time I think of Lao Wang, I always feel uneasy in my heart. Because ate his sesame oil and eggs? Because he came to thank him, but I took money to insult him? Neither. As the years passed, I came to understand that it was the guilt of a lucky man for an unfortunate person.