第五章

Uncle tied the hen to the door, then moved the stove to the alley to boil water. After a while, his friend Abao came out to watch. Abao is a taxi driver and has known Uncle since childhood. He asked with a smile: 'What good event is today? Kill a chicken?' Uncle said: 'My niece is back from Xinjiang.'

Abao looked at Qingqing and asked: 'Which is better, Xinjiang or Shanghai?' 'Xinjiang is better!' Qingqing said immediately. 'Xinjiang has lamb skewers, naan bread, Hami melons and grapes. You can also ride horses, ride camels, and ice skate.' She thought for a moment and added: 'The houses in Xinjiang are also big.'

Abao laughed. 'That last sentence is the most important.' After the water boiled, Uncle grabbed the hen and prepared to kill it. Qingqing stood nearby, a bit scared, but didn't leave. At that moment, Cheng Kun ran over carrying a ball. Beside him were a boy and a girl.

Qingqing immediately saw the boy. He had fair skin, wore a clean white shirt and white sneakers. He looked quiet and polite. Qingqing couldn't help looking at him several times. Uncle called him: 'Chen Ming.' Qingqing then learned his name was Chen Ming.

The girl beside, seeing Uncle holding a knife, got scared and hid behind the door. Cheng Kun laughed at her: 'Girls are so timid.' Chen Ming looked at Qingqing and asked with a smile: 'What's her name?' Qingqing's heart suddenly beat fast. She was about to answer, but Uncle spoke for her: 'She's from my family, called Qingqing.' Chen Ming smiled at her.

'That's a nice name.' Qingqing was a bit embarrassed, but also smiled. 'Your name is nice too.' Cheng Kun heard this and was unhappy. He still remembered kneeling in front of Qingqing earlier, so he deliberately said: 'What's so nice about Qingqing?

Isn't it just green grass?' Qingqing immediately said: 'Then you are a tree.' Cheng Kun made a face. 'I'm not a tree, I'm a whole forest.' Qingqing clenched her fists in anger. Chen Ming quickly said: 'Stop arguing, Uncle Yang is about to kill the chicken.' Uncle moved quickly.

He killed the chicken, then collected a bowl of blood and handed it to Cheng Kun. 'Take it back, let your mom make soup.' Cheng Kun thanked him, took the bowl, and went home. He deliberately used the chicken blood to scare the girl. The girl screamed. Cheng Kun laughed proudly. Chen Ming also went home.

He said to Qingqing: 'Goodbye.' Qingqing watched him walk towards the front of the alley. After a few houses, he turned into a door and disappeared. Uncle continued to process the chicken. The alley slowly darkened. One by one, lights came on in the windows.

Every family started to collect clothes and prepare dinner. Qingqing looked up at the narrow sky. She felt it was strange. She had only arrived in Shanghai this morning, how could it be dark already? Before dinner, Grandma and Uncle were busy downstairs. Qingqing was left in the room.

Aunt Yang Zhixia was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She kept looking at her pager, but it didn't ring. She looked a bit annoyed. Then, a woman came down from the attic. She was wearing an old dress and spoke softly. She was Qingqing's aunt, named Zhang Aiyu, who worked in a textile mill.

Aunt was very gentle. She made Qingqing sit on the sofa, asked if she was tired, and gave her two White Rabbit creamy candies. After a while, Uncle came in with a small aluminum pot. As soon as the lid was opened, the aroma of chicken soup filled the room. Yang Zhixia jumped up from the sofa. 'So fragrant!'

She took a bowl and scooped out the chicken liver, heart, gizzard, and two chicken feet, and also two spoonfuls of soup. Uncle tapped her forehead. 'Still like a child.' Yang Zhixia laughed and said: 'I love these the most.' Qingqing licked her lips. In Xinjiang, her mother used to put these in her bowl too.

She actually liked them too. But she didn't say anything. She decided to keep this matter to herself.