The short story The Old Man and the Girl

Miss l rented a house in the ancient street by the river and only stayed for two days at the weekend.

Miss L is an urbanite who tries to escape from the city. Her behavior did not stir up any waves in the circle of friends, but it alarmed a group of old ladies in the ancient street.

That day, when Miss L was sitting at the door with a needle and thread, there were old ladies in twos and threes who moved bamboo chairs and their work to Miss L bit by bit and formed a semicircle unevenly.

They asked, "Where are you from, little girl?"

Miss L smiled and said, "I'm traveling here from outside."

Miss L is a little surprised that she has integrated into this strange environment so quickly. Every weekend, a group of old ladies are picking vegetables, pulling edamame or sewing cloth shoes in front of her house. Probably Miss L has seen the world and is more talkative. They regard Miss L as their granddaughter who lives far away from home. Or look at and touch Miss L's embroidery and think of Miss L as a clever past.

In the white-walled house opposite Miss L's house, there lived an old man and a little girl with a ponytail.

Every time the little girl walks down the stone steps and squats to wash things, the old man starts calling her name in the door. As soon as the old man called, the little girl agreed. The call didn't stop until the little girl landed.

Miss L wore a thread, pouted and smiled, and said, "The father and son are really funny."

The old ladies looked at each other, smiling at the corners of their mouths, but the wrinkles around their eyes revealed trivial anecdotes that only belonged to women.

An old lady sitting next to Miss L greets Miss L with her fingers bent. Miss L puts down her needle and thread and leans to her mouth with a smile.

"The old man has bad legs and feet. When he was young, his wife ran away with a passing boatman. "

So Miss L and these old ladies smiled like thieves carefully.

After talking about the private affairs of the old people, the clever old ladies began to care about Miss L's private affairs.

Hearing this, Miss L bowed her head and embroidered the phoenix, smiling without answering.

The old ladies were a little anxious, so they put down their work and leaned over and asked, "A beautiful girl like you should have no object."

Miss L paused, then stuck a needle and said, "The person I like, he can sing."

An old lady seems a little dissatisfied. "My granddaughter in the city often says that she likes a singer and puts his big photos all over the wall. This kind of man, who recruits many girls, is easy to philander and hard to find. "

Other old ladies quickly cut her off and shouted softly.

Miss l is not annoyed at all.

Miss l suddenly fell in love with him. It was an early autumn night, and Mr. Q sent Miss L home who was working overtime. There was still some rain in the air, but the two of them deliberately didn't open an umbrella and let the cool rain fall on their faces. Mr. Q suddenly said to Miss L, "Let me sing you a song."

Mr. Q sang rouge snow. Slowly, the song is accompanied by the sound of falling leaves rubbing the ground in the autumn wind. The phrase "in the world of mortals, there is nothing to say about life and death" is even more boring to sing Miss L's voice.

Sing a song, and Miss L's home will arrive. Miss L looked up at him and saw the raindrops hanging on his eyelashes shining moist under the dim street lamp. Miss l knew that she had finally been played by Mr q.

Miss l is used to the temporary seclusion in the ancient street. She is like an ideal future old lady, who can embroider and talk about other people's parents' shortcomings.

One day, Miss L found that the old man opposite was no longer sitting at the door. He limped and moved to his long and narrow boat, where he stayed all day.

The old ladies said, "He is alone. His son and daughter-in-law have taken his granddaughter to the city. "

Miss L looked at the lonely old man sitting in the small bow smoking a cigarette. Miss l didn't laugh this time. So are the old ladies.

When night fell, a postman rode an old bicycle and carried two bags of green packages, bringing a letter-an invitation to Miss L who was hiding in this corner. Mr. Q is getting married.

Miss L read the invitation letter over and over again, without sighing. She put down her red shoes, and the last mandarin duck was not embroidered yet.

Miss l went back to her room, turned on the dark yellow incandescent lamp and sat in front of the woodcarving mirror. She combed her long hair, then held it low, twisted a red agate hairpin out of the cosmetic box and inserted it in her black bun.

Miss L came to the wardrobe again and opened the cupboard door babbling. There is a red wedding dress hanging inside, and a pair of phoenixes on the wedding dress shine in the dim light.

She put it on gently and obediently-luckily she didn't see her beautiful side face in the mirror.

Miss L, wearing a pair of black cloth shoes and carrying a red skirt, walked out of the house, walked across the stone bridge on the river and walked down the stone steps on the other side.

She gently dipped into the swaying boat and sat down with a bamboo canopy.

The old man at the bow stood up at night.

"Girl, where are you going?"

"Go where you want to go."