text & pictures / Shi Zhaojuan
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These few days, mice have been in the house.
The specific manifestation is that whenever I go into the toilet, the vertical square of the packaging sewer pipe in the bathroom after sitting in the toilet, the "chirping" sound of mice gnawing on wood is constantly heard. I was so scared that every time I went into the bathroom with a thorn in mind, I had to be prepared to jump up and rush out at any time.
I have been a second boy since I was a child. I dare to lift the little snake crawling on the roadside, not to mention ghettoes such as geckos and caterpillars. But I was afraid of the rat. The main reason is that when I was in middle school, I witnessed a mouse crawling into a girl's pants and rushing around inside, leaving a strong psychological shadow since then.
Just after Xiao Zhang and I got married, we were having supper once when a mouse crawled over my feet. I was stiff and dull all over at that time. Xiao Zhang was very strange at that time. He shouted several times before I came back and I would agree. After that, he sneered for a long time and said that I was not as timid as a mouse. No matter how much I smile, I am very serious in my actions.
There are many mice in the countryside, and you have to fight with the mice every other period. Whenever this happened, Xiao Zhang could turn the house into the battlefield: he dragged the cabinets and tables away from the original place, pulled the bed to the middle of the room, pried the holes on the beam, and never stopped the army without catching the rats.
Whenever this happened, I hid in a safe place in the distance, watching him as he was as strong as a cat on the mountain, his hands were like iron baskets and fingers were like iron hooks, and he rushed straight to capture and annihilate the rats.
Those round ears and long tails that dared to bite my wool gown, give birth to my baby on my new quilt, chew on my bed legs all night, or put shit on my face bag... were killed by a blow under his iron palm, or chased to beg for mercy, I found the driving force for marrying this poor boy: I admire his power.
The developed chest muscles to the big feet that stumble on the ground are full of this full and vigorous masculinity. This power brings me a great sense of security and makes up for the lack in the origin of my life. That's why I'm so happy to enjoy his laughter or ridicule.
As expected. I told Lao Zhang that after there were rats in the house, another battle to find the rats to annihilate them quickly began.
When I was about to get back from get off work at noon, I received a call from Lao Zhang. He knew I had the habit of going home for lunch at noon. Carefully reminded me to slow down when opening the bedroom and bathroom doors. He set up layer after layer of mouse-catching mechanisms at home, for fear that I would accidentally be injured or scared.
ended, and said lightly that the largest one had been caught. The remaining one has fallen into a net of "unable to escape with wings".
I gently pushed open the door. Oh my God! Lao Zhang first sealed the bitten hole on the balcony screen with transparent tape. Then all the channels where mice may enter and exit in the range hood holes and other places were blocked. Cut off the possibility of rats escaping. It seems that he is going to advance step by step and "catching a turtle in a jar".
Looking at the bedroom again, it was even more messy, and the table and cabinet were moved. A mouse cage was placed behind the door. The decoration boards wrapped in the bathroom sewer pipe were stripped out one by one, and the sewer pipe was half a person high. A sticky rat panel with thick adhesive was tied up with thin iron wire. There was a pile of messy toilet paper and broken wood chips in the corner of the ground... No wonder I always heard the "chuckling" sound, it turned out that these bad things were nesting in this decoration passage.
I didn't dare to sleep in the bedroom, so I had to gently close the bathroom and bedroom doors as it was and sniffed in the living room for a while.
When I arrived home in the afternoon, I obviously felt relieved: a lot of things have already returned. Lao Zhang was lying in the bathroom, sweeping and shoveling dirty things.I leaned against the door frame, and he looked back and said, "Don't sleep here, I won't bite it anymore tonight."
I asked him curiously, "Why did you catch it?" He smiled proudly, "I blocked all the passages, they can only climb up along the tube, and they will stick here. Look..." I looked..." I looked at the sticky rat board, and there was a layer of black rat hair stuck. I was both happy and disgusted, so I quickly stepped out.
After Lao Zhang lifted the garbage bag outside the door, washed his hands and came to the living room, and asked me what I wanted to eat. Then he hurried into the kitchen to make mung bean soup that Yue'er and I love to drink.
I was lying on the sofa while browsing my phone, and suddenly I flipped through the travel photos in the space. That year, the whole family went on a trip and stayed overnight at Luanchuan . When he was gnawing on the big bone at noon the next day, he wore gloves, first tore off the meat on it, put it on the plate in front of me, then inserted the straw into the bone, and handed it to me to let the bone suck the oil.
The son who is already in college suddenly spoke: "Mom, you always say that my dad is not good here and there, and he is not romantic. When I was eating shrimp last night, my dad peeled the shrimp shells and gave you meat. Now my dad even plugged the straw for you..." Didn't he see that his grandfather was next to him? I was really embarrassed and lowered my head and just went to eat.
Just a few days ago, my cousin came back from another place and saw Lao Zhang whispering to his daughter. He sighed and said, "Brother Hua is now spoiling Yue'er. When he was young, he can take care of you..."
I was stunned for a moment: in middle-aged life, I have long been ashamed to talk about love. I have always complained that he is stupid and can't express himself, and he doesn't even have a ceremony on his birthday.
It turns out that what I overlooked is exactly what others can see or envy, and it is his unique way: do everything silently and interpret old love with actions. My old face was hot in the shadows. (2022.09.06 11:30 pm)
*Author ︱Shi Zhaojuan: Currently teaches Fangcheng No. 7 Primary School. "Qingyan You Add qyyjtcq" columnist.
