"Yeah. You definitely don't know that. You weren't even born at that time." Taking a look at Yuan Zhou, the old man continued saying without being affected at all.
"Um. Please go ahead." Yuan Zhou nodded his head and didn't refute him.
"This tailor's shop was the best in making clothes at that time. There were many people coming and going every day. Those who passed by were all rich people." The old man revealed an expression of nostalgia.
"I was waiting for a person here. I haven't seen her for many years. I don't know if she knows me." Speaking of that, the grandpa was a little perturbed.
Yuan Zhou didn't say anything, but just waited for the old man to continue speaking quietly.
"When I was an apprentice with her, I was still very young." The old man sighed with emotion in a distant tone.
"Childhood sweethearts." Yuan Zhou summarized concisely.
"That's the word. At that time, she was afraid of caterpillars and hid in the pigsty alone. I was the first one to find her." When the old man spoke of that, he revealed a proud expression.
"Later, Tong Tong and I got to know each other. After a while, we got together. At that time, we were only 15 years old. However, we weren't young at that time." The expression on the old man's face was warm and sweet.
"It's puppy love now." Yuan Zhou's words weren't romantic at all.
"Later, I promised her that I would give her the best wedding dress in the world. It's right in front of this tailor's shop. That's my promise." The old man raised his head and looked at Yuanzhou shop.
His eyes were deep and distant, as if he could see the bustling tailor's shop through the small restaurant.
"Then you left and never came back. Now you come here to find her." Yuan Zhou hit the nail on the head.
"Go away. It's not like that. I don't even know if she will come back now." The old man rolled his eyes at Yuan Zhou angrily.
"Is the name of the person you are waiting for Tong Lan?" The only surname Yuan Zhou knew was Aunt Tong from the dry cleaner's shop next door.
Judging from the old man's age, he should be about the same age as Boss Tong. That was why Yuan Zhou guessed so.
"You know Tong Lan? You know Tong Lan? Then you're Tong Lan's son? "The old man was stunned at first, then looked at Yuan Zhou in disbelief and asked a series of questions.
"No. Boss Tong is the boss of this dry cleaning shop." Yuan Zhou said with a solemn expression. No one could see the helplessness in his heart at all.
"Next door?" The old man turned to look next door.
"Dadada," the old man strode to the shop next door and began to walk in circles around the closed door.
"Boss Tong has left." Yuan Zhou didn't turn his head, but just said lightly.
"Gone?" The old man stood rooted to the ground, his face expressionless and blank.
"He went on a trip." Yuan Zhou turned his head and saw that the old man's expression wasn't right, so he quickly replied.
"You little brat, you almost scared me to death. Where do you think Tong Lan went?" The old man let out a long sigh and said to Yuan Zhou in a fierce tone.
"Traveling," Yuan Zhou said directly.
"There is always a place for traveling. Tell me, do you know where it is?" The old man walked up to Yuan Zhou with big strides and asked loudly while glaring at him.
"Aunt Tong said she wanted to walk around. But she's not sure about the location now." Yuan Zhou didn't retreat, but said lightly.
"You know so much. Does she have any contact with you?" The old man said to Yuan Zhou affirmatively.
This time, Yuan Zhou didn't retort, but just looked at the old man quietly.
"Then tell me her contact information. Forget it. Tell me when Tong Tong contacts you next time." While saying that, the old man lowered his head and said with a faint voice.
"No." Yuan Zhou was a little puzzled.
"No. But tell me when Tong Tong contacts you next time." The old man turned around and stood under the lantern of the Yuanzhou shop.
It was still the same old place. The old man just stood there as if he were prepared to stand there and wait for Boss Tong to come back.
"Um." Yuan Zhou nodded his head and went back to the shop.
When the fixed time came, the old man left straightforwardly.
"Hua La", Yuan Zhou closed the door and walked back to the kitchen.
"I should make a phone call." Yuan Zhou stroked his forehead and muttered. Then, he turned around and went upstairs.
The second floor of the pub was quite boisterous. Chen Wei and the others were drinking the Bamboo Liquor earnestly upstairs while Yuan Zhou, who had just returned upstairs, sat at the desk and took up his phone.
"It's just 9: 30. It should be about time." After murmuring, Yuan Zhou started to dial the number.
The three words "Aunt Tong" were clearly written on the phone.
Yuan Zhou dialed the number directly. There came the sound of "Du Du Du" from the other end of the phone.
"Yuan, what's the matter?" The sleepy voice of Boss Tong passed from the other end of the phone.
"Are you having a good time recently?" Yuan Zhou took the phone and asked earnestly.
"Not bad. It's just a little cold." There was a smiling tone in Boss Tong's voice this time.
"Aunt Tong, someone is looking for you." Yuan Zhou said tentatively.
"A regular customer? Please recommend them to other restaurants. "There was a sense of pride in Boss Tong's tone this time.
"No. It's a very old man. He's an old man." Yuan Zhou said straightforwardly.
This time, Boss Tong didn't answer him quickly. Instead, she kept silent for quite a while.
While Boss Tong was silent, Yuan Zhou didn't say anything, either. He just waited for Boss Tong to speak again silently.
"Has he been here for a long time?" Boss Tong's tone was much lower this time.
"How many days has it been?" Yuan Zhou asked and answered.
"Yuan, you know about it?" Boss Tong's tone was quite affirmative.
"Um." Yuan Zhou nodded the head.
"Do you want to know?" Boss Tong's meaning was quite clear. She was asking whether Yuan Zhou wanted to know the specific things.
However, Yuan Zhou didn't say anything.
"Actually, we grew up together. He was a few years older than me at that time. We learned to make tofu from the master together. I was only 13 or 14 years old at that time." Speaking of the past, Boss Tong's tone was almost the same as that of the old man.
Both of them were reminiscing and sighing with emotion.
Boss Tong talked about the past earnestly. She talked about some things about her and that old man, which were much more detailed than what the old man had said.
While Boss Tong was talking, Yuan Zhou didn't interrupt her, but just listened to her attentively.
"At that time, his craftsmanship was better than mine. I thought he could have his own workshop in the future." There was a hint of regret in Boss Tong's tone.
"Your dry cleaning shop." Yuan Zhou said straightforwardly.
"In the words of the young people nowadays, we are in puppy love. Although we didn't poke through the window paper, we still have some vague feelings."
"I still remember the place where I held hands with him for the first time. It was very strange. It was that pigsty." Boss Tong was full of memories.
Yuan Zhou uttered an "Um" with a nasal voice, indicating that he was still listening.
"When I was 16 years old, he had to leave Fuzhou City for family reasons one day. It was also there that he told me that he would let me wear the most beautiful wedding dress and then propose to me. He also told me that I must not wear the wedding dress of others." Boss Tong's voice was low and slow.
Yuan Zhou asked, "So that's the reason why you haven't gotten married all this time?"
"Since he said so, I agreed," Boss Tong said.
"I agreed casually, but I haven't come back until now." Yuan Zhou said.
"Day after day, year after year. Sometimes, I don't even know whether I am abiding by the promise of that year or just getting used to waiting. More than 30 years have passed. He left and never came back." Boss Tong said with an indifferent tone.
"But you are still waiting." Yuan Zhou said straightforwardly.
Boss Tong didn't say anything, as if she had acquiesced to Yuan Zhou's words and also as if she hadn't heard anything.
"When are you going to come back?" Yuan Zhou asked again.
However, right after that, Yuan Zhou found he asked too straightforwardly. Therefore, he added hurriedly, "I have found a nursing home for you. You can come back and have a look."
"No, I'm not coming back." Boss Tong refused straightforwardly.
"Why?" Yuan Zhou asked subconsciously.
"Nothing. I'm just tired of waiting." When Boss Tong said that, her tone was a little gloomy, but also a little relieved.
Yuan Zhou found he couldn't say anything more even if he wanted to persuade her. Boss Tong had waited since she was 16 years old and now she was almost 50 years old. He believed that she had opened a dry cleaning shop beside her restaurant for the sake of finding a nursing home for him.
No one could understand the ups and downs of her life.
…
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