C61 Poor Old Loner (1/2)

Jiang Xi sat on the worn-out sofa, the old man quickly walked over and pulled Jiang Xi to the side.

”There are a lot of bugs on the sofa, like fleas. Don't do it, sit on the bench here. I picked this up from the outside. I've been sitting here.” the old man said.

Jiang Xi was shocked. Flea?

He quickly got up and sat on a small stool on the other side. At the same time, he looked around the room.

The room was dimly lit, as if a screen had been drawn up on a cloudy day.

The little stool that she was sitting on, as the old man had said, was retrieved from outside. It was very old, and one could see with the naked eye that it had been used for many years. The sofa next to him was a broken, linen-blue gray. The sponge in the other end had been exposed, and the foot of the sofa was broken. It had been bricked up.

Elsewhere in the room, the table was a heavily blackened folded-up table with no stools and a dark kitchen. The paint on the wall had all fallen off in large chunks, and was full of holes.

Jiang Xi could not help but look at the information in her hands. The elder had children, and since he had children, how could he live in such a place?

She was wondering, but seeing that the old granny was making noise in the kitchen, Jiang Xi got up again and stood at the kitchen door.

”Grandma, can you come over and sit for a while? Can we chat?”

The old man turned his head and smiled at her.

She said, ”Girl, grandma doesn't have anything good to eat here. I'll scoop up two spoonfuls of sugar and drink it with boiling water.”

For some reason, when Jiang Xi's eyes got hot, she quickly swallowed her sobs.

”No need, no need, Grandma, I'm not thirsty. I'll leave the sugar for you to drink slowly, okay?” Will you come out first and we'll have a chat? ”

Jiang Xi walked into the kitchen, and saw that the ground was uneven. She quickly helped the elderly man out.

”Grandma, please sit here.” Jiang Xi helped the old lady to sit on the bench, and she moved the small stool that was placed outside in, sitting opposite of the old man.

”My girl, where did you come from?” the old man asked.

Jiang Xi showed her student ID to the elderly: ”I'm a student, Grandma. I'm also an intern journalist with Zhaohua Press. I came here to interview you today.”

”Oh, sigh, what's there to interview about? It's not like it's beautiful at all …”

The old man smiled shyly as he stroked his messy hair with his shriveled hand. ”I don't have anything to interview you about. Now that the time has come, I'm very grateful.”

After the old man had finished speaking, he asked again, ”My daughter, will you take a picture of me?”

”Hmm? ”Yes!” Jiang Xi immediately nodded.

She was preparing a pen and paper, preparing to record the old man's story.

But from the very beginning, she felt that something wasn't right. It shouldn't be written down, so she might only be able to remember a few words.

There were some things that she needed to know when she arrived at the scene.

A recorder pen, or a cell phone with a large capacity.

While she was distracted, the old man staggered to his feet again, took the comb from the table, brushed himself a few times, and then gently stroked his hair against his head. Then, the elderly sat back down beside Jiang Xi, speaking in a friendly tone.

”Someone came to interview me before. They took a photo of me downstairs, but it wasn't like you, my daughter. You even sat here with me for a while.”

The old granny began to babble, ”I, now that my legs are not as nimble as before, like to stay at home. Because of this brain of mine, after a while of not remembering anything, I was afraid that if I went out, I wouldn't be able to walk back. My daughter, I'm already over 80 years old. I don't want to die outside. ”

Jiang Xi's heart stirred. ”Grandmother, you will live to be a hundred years old.”

”They have all moved away. They have moved away for many years, and I am the only one staying here. It has been a long time since someone has been here.” the grandmother said.

Jiang Xi raised her eyes slightly, ”Grandmother, why didn't you move out together?”

The old woman's mouth opened again, perhaps laughing, and she said, ”Where do I move to? Even if his daughter married off to another country and stayed at his parents' house, he would still not be free. His son and his wife also had a home, the old man from daughter-in-law lived together with his son, she had to help take care of my grandson. I can understand their difficulties. They let me live in such a big house by myself. I was very satisfied with my daughter. ”

Jiang Xi frowned: ”This place is considered a dangerous building. Standing here, I can see that there are cracks on it.”

”It's fine. Do you remember the earthquake eight or nine years ago? At that time, many people died in Sichuan. Even though we are separated by a distance, we are still affected. This building was cracked at that time, and has been broken for so many years, it should not be a problem. ” The old man's voice was low and gentle, as if he didn't even have the strength to speak.

Jiang Xi asked: ”Grandma, how long has it been since your son last came back?”

The old man carefully thought back. ”It's been a few years.”

Having said so, she pointed to the already dusty television and said, ”That year, he came over for the new year. He even came to watch the Spring Festival Gala. That year, it was the new year for the Dragon clan. Every year, I look forward to them coming back to watch the Spring Festival Gala with me, but I've already missed a few of them. ”

Jiang Xi's heart became heavier and heavier. Dragon Year had already been five or six years.