Continuation of "Gone with the Wind"

Chapter [-] The Black Ballad

I don't know who can give me an idea.Jack's leaving without saying goodbye made her still angry now, and that resentment hadn't completely disappeared even after arguing with Paul, because Andrew's relationship had deepened.Although Andrew is black and an orphan whose parents died, he can be regarded as a free helper in her family, and she has not been with him for a long time, but she did not look down on him because of the difference in status or status. He, instead, has been nice to him since he was very young.In fact, the so-called being nice to him, Angela didn't know what it should be, but asked him to take her out to play when other servants at home ignored him. Although other people disagreed, but Mom and Dad are here On one point, it was rare to reach a consensus.They should also sympathize with Andrew. After all, his parents passed away not long after he fled to the north. At that time, he was very depressed and resisted white people. She was still young at that time, so she couldn't understand their sarcastic remarks, but she could tell from their expressions that they were not saying good things.For four-year-old Angela, all upturned mouth expressions are good, and all downturned brow expressions are bad.They all looked up to her, as if they were about to fly, but they all turned down towards Andrew, wishing they could bury him in the soil.Angela was not at all happy about this kind of differential treatment, but felt that it was bad for them because it made them ugly in her eyes.Obviously it wasn't against her, but at that time Angela had already used this to judge whether a person was good or not: Could it be that a person who often puts on a bad expression is a good person?This feeling is still affecting her judgment on things until now.You can't look down on a person just because he is different from others.Why is he different, because he lacks what others have and has more things that no one else has, so should he be rejected?Angela couldn't think of a deeper reason at that time, but she always felt that if people were the same, it would be so boring, but why do people treat different people like an enemy?Unless, they are afraid.They are too scared to even admit that they are scared.But what are they afraid of?Andrew is nothing to be afraid of.

She always hoped that Andrew would not be bullied by others, but she couldn't express herself well. It was fine when mom and dad were around, but everything went on as usual after they left.Andrew was the only black person in the family, and in the eyes of the servants, she herself was just a task that had to be completed with a smile on her face, so the good relationship between Andrew and her only added to the jokes he was ridiculed.It wasn't until one day that Andrew beat up one of them severely that they gradually restrained themselves.She was there at the time, but she was far away, so no one noticed, otherwise this battle would not have been fought anyway.The guy who was beaten was obviously much taller than Andrew, but he was frightened by the anger he had accumulated for a long time, and even forgot to fight back, and he was beaten badly as a result.The others were probably frightened too, not to mention helping out, not even a single one to persuade them to fight.It was at that time that she discovered for the first time that "power" is actually the fairest thing. It never picks and chooses. As long as you really need it and have the courage to pursue it, it will come to you. .The world is unfair enough, but people still want to create more unfairness-although people progress through this process of constant tossing-this makes the young Angela really puzzled, but it is also true The ground worships power.

That's why she stood up when her mother planned to drive Andrew away without knowing it, and exposed them when a group of people were scrambling to play the victim to win sympathy. Although no one believed her at the beginning, especially her mother, but her father was as always. To be her strongest backing, leaving Andrew.My mother looked very dissatisfied, and talked to her with a serious face that night. It may be that her undisguised excitement when describing the cause and effect of the whole incident made her worry that she would become barbaric. She left the North.She later learned that the timing was no accident, because it happened to coincide with Dad's troop shift from Boston to San Francisco.Mom really knows Dad, even though she never wants to do it and doesn't know she's doing it.

Thinking of Andrew, Angela felt that he might be able to give herself an idea.It's just that he never went to the table to eat, nor did he eat with the white servants, but stayed alone in that slightly shabby hut.In fact, both parents wanted to change him to a more comfortable place, but he was used to living there.She didn't know if habit was a good thing, although it made him look out of place in the family because he never went near the white servants in the family-they were not the same people long ago-but it made him After so many years, I have not recognized myself, no matter how the two people change, there are always some things that will not change-although that often means that this thing has long been out of human control.If the habit is really just like this, she hopes that her mother can get used to her father sooner, but she doesn't want her habit to be the old habit that just maintains herself, but a new habit that can maintain the family.

It wasn't too difficult to find Andrew, he was still in the same hut as before.He has already eaten, and he is now carving wood carvings. This is a habit he has continued since he came to the north, or even longer, when he was still working hard under the scorching sun in the south. habit so far.His hands are very dexterous. In his hands, it doesn't take long for an ordinary piece of wood to become a pigeon that spreads its wings, a galloping horse like lightning, a smart goldfish, or something else full of joy. Free image of life force.At the moment, he would hum a very old song, which she couldn't understand, but the melody was really beautiful.He later told her that it was taught to him by his parents who ran away in the past, if the translation is like this:

When the sun begins to return,

The quail made its first cry,

Go after the gourd.

The old man is waiting for you,

He will lead you to freedom,

As long as you seek the gourd.

She didn't understand the metaphor in the song at first, but after Andrew's explanation, she realized that "when the sun begins to return" means that after the winter solstice, the quail will go to the south to spend the winter. The "wine ladle" is the Big Dipper, and the tail of the ladle points to the North Star, which points to the north, which is the direction of freedom.Frankly speaking, the lyrics of this song are not very good, but she really thinks the song is good. Compared with other races, black people have more outstanding musical talents, which is not just a joke from them or white people.

But this time he didn't sing loudly like before, but kept carving with his head sullen, looking at him as if he had hatred for the piece of wood in his hand, and the knife was fast and hard, Angela thought he must be because of Paul's words. angry.She wanted to go forward to comfort him, but Andrew's knife went off with one hand and cut his left hand. Because of the pain, he dropped the knife in his hand and cursed viciously. Angela didn't hear him clearly. He didn't care about what he was scolding, and hurriedly found something that he could use around him to help him bandage.Hearing Angela's exclamation, Andrew realized her existence. He curtseyed to her in a well-trained manner, and then waved his hands to let her not make a fuss like friends seeking reconciliation after a dispute. Looking at the bleeding finger, he stared at the uncoagulated blood on the ground.

I finally found it, damn it, why is this handkerchief so strong, she couldn’t tear it off, and managed to get one off with her fingernails and teeth, but Andrew didn’t ask her to help wrap the wound, but asked suddenly: “Miss Angie, Tell me, what color is my blood?"

"Nonsense, of course it's red." Angela said casually, forcibly moved his hand to her, and wrapped it tightly with a self-made bandage.

"Then your blood, is it the same?" He didn't seem to hear the complaint in her tone, and it could be said that he was actually talking to himself.

"At least as far as I know, it was the same before, and it won't be different in the future." Angela wanted to make a joke, but it didn't work well.

"Then why—I mean, it's the same, why is it different?" She was completely puzzled by this.Fortunately, Andrew didn't seem to expect her to give him an answer, but just wanted to ask a question.Asking a question does not necessarily mean that it must be answered, sometimes it is enough to just ask it.The answer is not important, and it is not the most important that someone is willing to answer.Importantly, this issue should not be ignored.

"What did you say?" Angela was at a loss when asked.

"No one has called me a black boy for a long time, and I don't need them to remind me. But today, you also saw that I... that man, that white gentleman, that's what he called me, why?" Andrew's Eyes fixed on her.

"You don't need to pay attention to him. This is the north, not the south. If you care too much about this, you will hurt yourself in the end." She was a little scared when she was stared at, but she didn't expect Andrew to care about her skin color so much, so she quickly comforted her, "What about you?" You don’t need to call him Mr., just call him Paul by his name, and you’re welcome to him.”

"Because he was rude to me?" Andrew smiled self-deprecatingly, his expression gradually relaxed, and his eyes became less aggressive.

"You're rude enough to him." Angela also smiled.

"Who is he?" Thinking of Paul's self-introduction interrupted by him, Andrew also felt that he was a bit too much at that time, but the heat can easily make people lose patience.

"Miss Scarlett's relatives, Jack's, um, friends." Angela revealed all the little-known information.

The name of Jack made Andrew feel at a loss at first, and it took him a while to realize: "Jack? That nerd who showed me his gardening knowledge—by the way, where is he from, and Paul is from New Orleans?"

"China." Angela did not forget her humor, "Let's go under our feet."

"He's not American?" "You think he is?" "China—but I remember the Chinese in the history books don't look like that, don't they all have a long braid?" "Who knows? Maybe he His appearance is quite special, otherwise, how could he be selected by the Chinese government to come to the United States?" "I always thought he looked like an American, and I thought he was at most a mixed race, but he is not." Pai is also ossified. Who said that if you look like a foreigner, you must be of mixed race? I remember Uncle Kevin said before that the appearance of a person is ultimately determined by the bones, although he does not know what determines the shape of the bones. "Determined by the bones?" Andrew repeated in a questioning tone, and Angela saw his expression turn from calm to confused, and then stretched out her hands, as if she had just seen them for the first time today, and she felt the same in her heart. Doubtful.At this time, she noticed one thing along with what she said: She found that Andrew did not look like the blacks she met in the south, with unturned lips, a high nose bridge, and a broad forehead. The Americans he spoke of were no different.It's just that she was afraid that Andrew would be suspicious, so she didn't dare to speak out.