sinovels Chapter 44 Door-to-Door Visit
Chapter 44 Door-to-Door Visit
The service station opened on the sixth day of the first lunar month.
As usual, Lao Fang was the first to arrive. He wiped the three wooden signs one by one, swept the yard clean, and squatted down at the workshop entrance to light a cigarette.
Ah Guang arrived second, opened the windows of the old parts warehouse to let in some fresh air, and then went through the inventory register that had been taken stock of before the New Year from beginning to end.
Ahai and Hong Xiaobing rearranged the tools in the workshop, wiped the torque wrench's dial clean and hung it back on the wall, Ding Haisheng checked the welding machine's wiring, and Master Song squatted at the shed entrance, sharpening the old chisel that had been broken and repaired.
Lin Xiu'e arrived a little later, carrying a basket of steaming hot radish and shrimp dumplings.
Jiang Haiping squatted at the workshop entrance and took a bite of a steamed bun. The radish shreds were finely cut, and the dried shrimp were dried by Lin's mother herself. It was salty and delicious.
Today is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. The holiday is not over yet, but the spring fishing season waits for no one. Fishermen are already inspecting their fishing boats at the dock. Old Chen pushed his sampan over and said that barnacles had grown on the bottom of the boat again, and asked Qiu Changhai to take a look.
Qiu Changhai squatted by the stone trough and tapped the plank with a hammer, saying that the barnacles were removed and the planks were not rotten. They could wait until spring to put them on the boat and paint them.
Old Chen nodded and pushed the boat away.
In the morning, Jiang Haiping handed over the service station matters to Lao Fang and rode his bike home.
After Jiang Weiguo said those words at the dinner table before the Lunar New Year, Zhouzhou's mother mentioned it several times, asking him to bring Xiu'e back for dinner on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.
He told Lin Xiu'e at the service station last night. She was washing dishes in the kitchen. She lightly touched the enamel bowl in the basin of water and said okay.
One word, spoken in a flat tone, as if agreeing to prepare a few pots of tung oil putty tomorrow.
When Jiang Haiping arrived home by bike, Zhouzhou's mother was already busy in the kitchen.
On the stove were chopped minced meat, picked green vegetables, and soaked wood ear mushrooms. Pork rib soup was simmering in a pot, and steam covered the kitchen window with a layer of white mist.
She heard the sound of a bicycle entering the yard, peeked out, and was taken aback to see that Jiang Haiping was the only one there.
"Where's Xiu'e?" She was still holding a spatula in her hand.
"She'll come this afternoon. She prepared the tung oil putty at the service station this morning, so we won't run out tomorrow."
Zhouzhou's mother put the spatula on the stove, wiped her hands with her apron, and said, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I thought she came with you."
After saying that, he turned around and went into the kitchen, rearranged the dishes on the stove, and added two more dishes.
Jiang Haiping leaned against the kitchen door frame, watching his mother busy at work. The flames in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, and the pork rib soup bubbled and simmered in the pot. The kitchen was filled with the aroma of ginger slices and scallions.
In the afternoon, Jiang Haiping rode his bicycle back to the service station to pick up Lin Xiue.
She had already changed her clothes; she was wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket with white flowers, which her mother had made for her before the New Year, and the cuffs were neatly gathered.
Her hair was combed again, and the two braids were draped over her shoulders, looking neater than when she was working.
She was squatting by the stone trough, mixing the last few basins of tung oil putty. She sifted the lime three times, poured in the tung oil, and kneaded it back and forth with a shovel until it was evenly mixed.
I covered them with a damp cloth, arranged the basins neatly on the windowsill, stood up, patted the pebbles off my knees, and wiped my hands with the damp cloth.
Her fingers had thin calluses from rubbing together, and her fingertips had traces of dried tung oil residue. Even after washing them several times, faint grayish-white marks remained.
She looked at her hands, then looked up and asked Jiang Haiping if it was okay. Jiang Haiping said it was.
Zhouzhou's mother stood at the gate of the courtyard for a while. When she saw Jiang Haiping riding his bicycle with Lin Xiu'e turning from the seawall, she quickly turned around and went into the kitchen.
Lin Xiu'e got off the back of the bicycle, carrying a bamboo basket containing two cans of loquat and a small bag of dried shrimp that her mother had dried.
She stood at the gate of the courtyard, switched the bamboo basket to her left hand, and gently wiped her right hand on her clothes.
Jiang Haiping propped his bicycle against the courtyard wall and said, "Let's go."
She followed him into the courtyard, her steps slow and steady.
Zhouzhou's mother came out of the kitchen, still wearing her apron, and said with a smile, "Xiu'e is here. Come in and sit down."
Lin Xiue greeted her as "Hello, Auntie," and placed the bamboo basket on the table.
When Zhouzhou's mother took the basket, she glanced at her hands, which were covered with thin calluses from sewing.
She put the dried shrimp and canned loquats into the kitchen, and then brought out a plate of sliced apples and placed them on the coffee table. The apples were bought from the supply and marketing cooperative before the New Year, and were cut into slices with toothpicks stuck in them.
Jiang Weiguo sat in a rattan chair in the living room, holding a newspaper in his hand, with his reading glasses perched on his nose.
When Lin Xiu'e walked in, he took off his glasses and folded the newspaper, placing it on the coffee table.
Jiang Haiping said, "Dad, this is Lin Xiu'e."
Lin Xiu'e stood in the middle of the living room, her hands hanging naturally at her sides, and called out to Director Jiang.
Jiang Weiguo waved his hand and said that he could just call him Uncle at home.
Zhouzhou's mother poked her head out from the kitchen and said, "Old Jiang, why don't you pour Xiu'e a glass of water?"
Jiang Weiguo stood up, picked up the enamel teapot from the coffee table, poured a cup of boiled water into it, and placed it in front of Lin Xiue.
Lin Xiue took the cup with both hands, and the warmth of the cup's walls seeped through her calloused fingers to her fingertips.
She lowered her head, took a sip, and gently placed the glass on the coffee table, the bottom of the glass making a very soft, crisp sound as it touched the glass.
Zhouzhou's mother sat down next to Lin Xiu'e and asked her if the service station was busy, if it was difficult to mix the tung oil putty, and if the calluses on her hands were from sewing.
She also mentioned that last time she saw Lin Xiu'e at the service station, mixing tung oil ash and cooking fish ball soup in the kitchen, saying that Xiu'e was skillful and that her fish ball soup was even more fragrant than hers.
Lin Xiu'e told Zhouzhou's mother everything about the service station's preparations for the New Year, the New Year's goods, Qiu Changhai's back pain and the plaster, and how Master Song's father had caught another cold before the New Year.
Zhouzhou's mother asked about her family again. She said that her father's leg had recovered, the loan had been paid off, her younger brother had boarded a ship to travel to the open sea, and her two younger sisters were still in school.
As Zhouzhou's mother listened, she looked again at Lin Xiue's hands resting on her knees, the calluses on her fingertips faintly white in the afternoon light.
The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on the armrests of the sofa.
Jiang Weiguo sat in the rattan chair, pushed his reading glasses up his nose, and asked a few questions about the shipyard.
Lin Xiu'e said that the main engine of the Ping An Hao is a Weichai 6160, which underwent a major overhaul last year. She and Ahai disassembled the cylinder head and replaced the piston rings. Now the water temperature and oil pressure are stable when it runs.
Jiang Weiguo leaned back in his rattan chair, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the armrest twice, and said that tightening the cylinder head bolts diagonally was a basic skill in assembly.
Lin Xiu'e nodded and said that the torque wrench should be tightened to the specified value, and each value should be recorded on the maintenance sheet.
Dinner was prepared entirely by Zhouzhou's mother, who made six dishes.
Braised ribbonfish, stir-fried greens with garlic, pork rib soup, stir-fried eggs with chives, cold seaweed salad, and a dish of dried radish she pickled herself.
She led Lin Xiue to a seat by the window and placed the largest piece of pork rib in her bowl.
Jiang Haiping sat next to Lin Xiue, slowly eating from his bowl, emptying it completely before adding another half bowl of rice.
Lin Xiu'e ate quietly, only picking at the few dishes in front of her. Zhou Zhou's mother piled the food in her bowl to the brim, but she ate it all without a sound, leaving not a single grain of rice in the end.
After finishing their meal, Zhouzhou's mother cleared the table.
Jiang Weiguo sat in the rattan chair and picked up the newspaper again. His reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, and his gaze occasionally swept over the top of the glasses from behind the newspaper.
Zhouzhou's mother pulled Lin Xiue to sit on the sofa and took out a red plastic bag from the bedroom. Inside was a newly made cotton-padded jacket. The blue and white floral fabric was the same as the one Lin Xiue was wearing. It was the same piece of cloth that the supply and marketing cooperative had bought before the New Year.
She said she made it herself, and although the stitches weren't as fine as Xiu'e's, the cotton was new and it was warm to wear.
Lin Xiu'e took it, her fingers running over the stitches of the cotton-padded jacket; every stitch was sewn tightly.
She said that her aunt's stitches were even finer than her mother's.
Zhouzhou's mother's wrinkles around her eyes smoothed out, and she said that as long as the clothes fit well, it's fine; this pattern looks good on you.
Jiang Haiping stood at the kitchen doorway wiping dishes, watching the scene in the living room through the half-open door.
The mother held the cotton-padded jacket up to Lin Xiu'e's body, then said something, and Lin Xiu'e lowered her head and smiled.
The father sat in the wicker chair without speaking, but the lines at the corners of his eyes behind the newspaper slightly deepened.
He never said nice things, but the fact that he sat there without getting up to go to his study was the greatest recognition he could receive.
After dark, Jiang Haiping rode his bicycle to take Lin Xiue home.
The seawall was quiet, with waves gently lapping against the rocks, and the moonlight illuminating the road surface.
Lin Xiue sat in the back seat, holding the new cotton-padded jacket in her arms. The jacket still retained the warmth of Zhouzhou's mother's hands.
She pressed her cotton-padded coat tightly against her chest, feeling the warmth in her heart.
The loquat trees in the service station courtyard gleamed a dark green in the moonlight, and one of them was covered with white buds, which would bloom in a few days.
The spring flood season starts tomorrow, and the service station will be busy again.
Looking at the flower buds, she thought to herself that once the flowers bloom, the service station will be even more lively.