"Every era has its own mark. For example, my grandmother's generation was poor, starved, had a communal meal, and went to the countryside. They worked hard all their lives. When they were old, they refused to be idle. They got up before sunrise every day. If they had nothing to do, they would sweep here and there in front of the gate with a broom. They wished they could sweep a layer of the road."
Since Jiang He came, Xu Qing had unknowingly become a chatterbox. He would ramble when he had nothing to do, but Jiang He liked it. It was like listening to a story. It was very fresh.
"Later, when it came to my father's generation, life began to get better … In fact, it was not that good, but much better than the previous generation. Especially when he grew up, the state would arrange houses and jobs for him. It was very stable. He just needed to focus on his own business. Therefore, they had a fanatical pursuit of an iron rice bowl. They even wanted their children to enter the establishment, eat the government's food, and have a guaranteed income."
"What about you?" Jiang He did not really understand. He only roughly knew that the establishment was equivalent to working for the government.
"I am the latest generation. What I pursue is the meaning of life, the meaning of living."
"The meaning of life?"
"Yes, the meaning of life is to often reflect on why we live and what we live for." Xu Qing looked like a philosopher. He stretched out his finger to push up his non-existent glasses.
"What is the meaning?" Jiang He was confused.
"The meaning of living is that we are already here."
"Already here?"
Jiang He was even more confused.
"Yes, since we are already here, we should live." Xu Qing shrugged. "Then there is the second meaning, which is happiness or freedom — since we are already here, of course, we should live a more comfortable life so that we don't have too many regrets. We don't have to compare ourselves with others. Every family has its own bitterness and sweetness. It's enough for me to know that I am very warm. Simply put, life is short, and we should enjoy the present."
"Of course, this is not the idea of everyone in the new generation, but this idea belongs to the new generation. We may not be able to see anything now, but after many years, the mark of the era will be obvious."
He looked at Jiang He's confused expression and said, "You also carry the mark of your era. You are older than my grandmother and the others … Well, you are older than them. For example, how do you feel about the phrase 'ensuring a stable harvest'? "
"Sounds … very reliable." Jiang He had an inexplicable fondness for this word.
"A guaranteed harvest is a synonym for reliability, because it means that no matter what happens, you won't go hungry. This is the common characteristic of people like you who have suffered hardship. Because you have been hungry, you don't want to be hungry again.
But for many people nowadays, it's just a word. There's nothing special about it. This is the difference between us. We have different values. "
Xu Qing paused for a moment to give her time to understand, and then continued, "Of course, this doesn't mean that I'm better than you, or that you're better than me. There's no difference between us. Whether you've been hungry or not, it's all experience. No one is wrong. My grandmother also lives happily in her hometown every day, so it's nothing.
But the point is that you have to learn to understand new things. Don't instinctively resist. Maybe you can discover new fun. There are too many beautiful things in this world that you haven't experienced. If you stick to your old way of thinking, it'll be too regrettable. "
"For example?" Jiang He asked.
"For example, can I hold your hand? Holding hands is a very beautiful thing. I can feel my heart pounding. " Xu Qing looked down at her hand. "This is a very small thing. I really want you to experience that beautiful feeling."
？？？
Jiang He looked at his serious expression and was stunned.
Discovering new pleasures, new beauty, starts from holding hands?
"Do you want to try? Anyway, we're pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend. It's no big deal to hold hands. "Xu Qing asked.
"…"
"Try it. I'm not going to do anything to you. Just hold hands … You just hold the sword. My hand is the sword, and the sword light is me. I'll cut down all the trash." He waved his hand twice, as if it was really a big deal.
"Then … you try it."
Jiang He hesitated for a moment, rolled up his sleeves and stretched out his hand.
Anyway … anyway … it's not doing anything.
"We're sitting here. This is not called holding hands. This is called touching. Isn't that a hooligan?" Xu Qing got up and put on his coat. "Let's go shopping."
"…"
In the cold winter, the sun outside did not have much temperature. It could only make people feel a little warm.
The snow would melt during the day, then turn into ice at night, and continue to melt during the day. It was not noon yet, and the ground was bare. Jiang He did not play the ice skating game anymore. Xu Qing held her hand and walked slowly beside him.
"Do you feel different?" Xu Qing asked.
"No."
"How about this?"
He gently hooked his little finger on Jiang He's palm. Jiang He instantly retracted her hand and stared at him with wide eyes.
"This is the feeling … I'm just demonstrating. Come, bring it over."
Xu Qing taught her how to talk about love … Ahem, feel the better things in the world. Then, he took her hand and swung it slowly.
It was winter, and her palms were sweaty. Her little hands were warm. Except for the calluses on her palms that were a little hard, the back of her hand was quite smooth.
"Zhao Shu, good morning."
After greeting Zhao Shu at the entrance of the community, Xu Qing was about to leave happily when he remembered something. "By the way, I haven't seen Auntie Cheng for a while?"
"I heard that she went to live with her family, Xiao Li, for a while. What's wrong?" Zhao Shu hid at the entrance of the security booth and smoked. "Why are you looking for her?"
"Nothing. I'm just asking."
Xu Qing took her little hand and left. "Zhao Shu, don't smoke so much."
"I rely on this smoke to prolong my life."
Zhao Shu joked behind. Jiang He followed Xu Qing with small steps. When they were a little further away, she asked curiously, "What is that smoke?"
"It's also a kind of pastime. It stimulates people's spirit and is addictive. It's not a good thing."
"Then why do you smoke?"
"Because I like it." Xu Qing squeezed her hand calmly. "Just like my hand is a little cold, but I still want to hold you. This is love."
"…"
Jiang He turned his head to look elsewhere. "Don't say that."
"I'm just explaining to you that this thing is unreasonable. It's like a moth flying to the fire. It's also because moths like fire."
Xu Qing said as they stopped in front of the bus stop. "There are not so many whys in this world. If you like it, just do it."
"What if I don't like it?" Jiang He asked.
"Didn't I say it yesterday? It's also very unreasonable not to like it. If you don't like it, you can refuse me. It has nothing to do with anything else. Just refuse me directly." Xu Qing turned his head and smiled at her. "It's your freedom."
"I …"
Jiang He's fingers trembled. She didn't say anything and looked elsewhere.
The bus arrived quickly. Xu Qing pulled her onto the bus, threw two coins into the coin box with his other hand, and then walked to the empty seat at the back.
The bus started, and the scenery outside kept flashing through the window.
"I'm experiencing the fun you mentioned." Jiang He looked out of the window and finally said.
"Yes, I know."
Xu Qing held her hand and nodded seriously. This girl was a little silly. It took her so long to think of a reason.
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