Have you ever heard the sound of the countryside in the early morning?
So quiet, that early winter morning…after a night of many new things, the chirping of warblers on the bamboo tubes at the gable of the house, the chirping of chickens
The chickens were gifts from my grandmother. When I brought them home, she didn’t eat them. My grandmother raised them to lay eggs. When they grew up, when she met a poor family whose wife gave birth to three daughters, the husband was sad and didn’t want to buy food to take care of his wife, my grandmother butchered them and brought them to the mother…
The sound of bamboo brooms rustling in the yard… I turned over, on the other side the mute girl’s pillow still had a faint scent of a person, her hair still tangled on the pillow.
What is it…on that notebook and pen, her daily language of communication, was still open, neatly written out were the words
thanks you
strange
keep it a secret
I stepped outside… the yard was dry, the cold, dry wind had blown away all the raindrops from last night… in the corner of the yard the jackfruit leaves had been gathered by the mute lady… from under the gate, my youngest uncle’s wife was walking up to my gate.
where is your grandma
oh..my grandma went to deliver the baby…
where is your mother
This morning my mother went to the district to study or have a meeting or something, grandma.
She sat on the doorstep looking into the kitchen, the mute girl was bending over burning the straw around the rice pot. In the countryside, that’s all they do to cook rice for breakfast.
this girl
what did she say
do you see anything strange about the mute
I think she’s normal, it’s just that she can’t speak…
It is a ghost, a person who was caught by a river snake…
I don’t believe it..there is no such thing as a dragon.
It’s so beautiful, the dragon caught it and brought it to the dragon king, my dear. It followed your grandmother to help deliver the baby. I heard that all the married men just looked at it and glanced at it.
She only listens to rumors… people see her mute and can’t speak… they talk bad about her
If you don’t believe me, then I’m going home.
yes ma’am go home
The mute girl came out of the kitchen with a blushing face and looked at me shyly…she looked so beautiful, probably because of human fate…
I asked her if she cooked.
She nodded…then she walked into the house and a moment later she came out and gave me the notebook.
I reasoned out the words
I’ll go home later, I had labor yesterday, you eat, if I don’t come home at noon then there’s ready food, eat and go to school
I said…if you haven’t given birth yet, come back to me.
she nodded…her eyes looked friendly
feeling close, gentle, enduring…but in the eyes still shines a smile at the bottom of the eyes, only later did I understand what the language of the eyes is
People say language is just a part of the senses, she is mute and cannot speak, all emotions of love, anger, resentment… are revealed through her eyes
The mute lady cycled away, the house was quiet and pensive, I suddenly remembered the day before, Miss Hong told me to go to Mr. Dam’s house to get medicine for my grandmother. Oh, who knows, maybe I’ll see Miss Hong again…
smiling leisurely cycling, thinking about the story of the old man and the pink girl… last night’s story…
wistful…so strange
In no time, Mr. Dam’s house appeared, the door was open, he was taking the pulse and prescribing medicine.
Come play, nephew.
I ran down to the back, the sound of doves echoed continuously… at his house the sound of birds never stopped chirping.
Starlings, larks, and turtledoves compete to call their flock
he brought down the water jug
A Tu, this morning Ni Hong came to deliver the wine and I sent the medicine to your grandmother. This afternoon, come to Ni Hong’s house to get it.
sir…why do you call the pink girl Ni…
Oh, that’s when I used to work at a Chinese pharmacy…a long time ago…I just got used to it.
that’s her
why…why that day…I hesitated
He burst out laughing…that day…he burst out laughing…it seemed normal to him
He told me to drink some water… a light yellow liquid with a faint honey scent…
this guy…men…you will be the same in the future…those are human needs…being a man and not being able to do that is very miserable, very humiliating…no woman would want to live with you, even if she were with you, she would still go out and look for it…that is sexual need…
I listened to him tell the story… I felt so light-headed, maybe because I heard him recount what happened yesterday with Ms. Hong… the new feeling of last night… or because of the water he gave me to drink… somewhere in my skin I felt like ants were crawling
sir…what did you mix honey with? It feels cool and has a mild licorice smell..
Oh, that’s ginseng juice, kid… someone who makes traditional Chinese medicine. Everyone distills ginseng roots to get some juice before selling, that’s called processing…hiiiii
He smiled, he told me…it seemed to me…we were soul mates. It was the place where he poured out his heart…
why that day..
haha…that day I thanked you, Tu…thanks to you peeping…that day I felt more flexible and stronger…like a play actor with an audience watching…
I laughed… curious… why did she shout so loudly?
she’s so happy…all women at that time scream…moan,…
Late afternoon I went home from school past her gate
a..brother..mom, brother is coming to visit
The girl is smart and feels friendly when meeting acquaintances at home.
he ran quickly to call his mother
Miss Hong stepped out…what caught my eyes…a voluptuous look from her face to her gaze. She wrapped a towel around her head as if she was cooking wine, her shirt was tight against her chest, her shorts were tight against her butt…I stood there, stunned, somewhere on my skin I felt like ants were crawling…
She looked at me for a long time…what were she thinking about again…her smile lit up in a carefree joking manner…as if arousing curiosity…
no… i just think you are beautiful
really
Yes….
damn…you probably remember that day…
I remember this morning you said…it was because she was happy that she was moaning and screaming…
association ….
Miss Hong patted my shoulder…this morning she took medicine from the damn man, you sit down and relax…she got the medicine for you to bring back to grandma…
Miss Hong’s yard in the afternoon…so quiet, it’s almost October and it gets dark quickly…the wind blows gently across the fields…Miss Hong runs in and out where the alcohol stove is boiling…every now and then she runs in to gather firewood
She said that cooking wine requires careful attention to the fire. If the fire is too big, the wine will burn. If the fire is too small, the wine won’t evaporate. It’s very hard work and not enjoyable at all.
I smiled gently… I saw that you were also happy, not having to go out in the rain and sun, planting rice but not getting much, insects, rats destroying… some years there was a bad harvest
Well, she also had to ride her bike to sell everywhere…
hehe..later you hire me..i will deliver wine for you
lie..stop talking..you still go to school, go flirt with girls, where do you have time to deliver alcohol by bike
She just spoke far away, then near…she ran back in to check the pot of wine.
Her pants were thin, tight, the fabric was thin, sweat…radiating…everything seemed to hit her gaze…that place was like a turtle or a soft-shelled turtle…the pubic mound bulged…catching the eyes of the person opposite…
okay, i’m too busy someday.. can you help me?
how can i help you
pick me up
Yes…
another girl pays….
I don’t need…
yeah… who knows what boys need, right…
I saw you and Mr. Doc talking the other day saying…I want a hug.
those damn perverted old men who only talk nonsense…I’m not stupid enough to get involved with married men…
hehe…I’ll be like that too…all men are like that…
I don’t know…I don’t know what perversion is…
is…that…like the other day you didn’t just stare…and even…
Her eyes glanced sideways sharply, her smile was bright and innocent… like… an inviting spark… only much later did I understand, widows… after a long time, craved for men.
It was getting dark…she was wrapping some cakes…when she reached out her hand…I don’t know what made me hold her hand gently…warm…
Her eyes softened, she smiled, you go home…
I came home…she stood mute in the yard as if waiting…