Lonely Soul

Yesterday, my wife and I went to San Cha Lake to enjoy the water. At noon, we parked our car at the dock and took a free ferry, which was a shuttle for residents on both sides of the lake. The straight-line distance of the ferry is 1.2 kilometers. If we don't take the ferry, we need to walk more than ten kilometers along the road beside the lake to get to the other side. Although San Cha Lake has not been developed into a tourist attraction, scattered tourists come to play because of the vast water surface. Therefore, the ferry also serves as a water sightseeing trip. I didn't want to go to the other side, I just wanted to take my wife on the boat and enjoy the scenery of the lake.

There were not many people on the ferry, so it was scheduled to sail. At this moment, there was no one else on the boat, and the ferryman had probably gone home for lunch. We sat on the boat and ate the snacks we brought with us. I stood up and leaned on the railing, spitting the meat on the chicken leg into the lake to feed the fish. The braised juice on the chicken sank into the water and then spread out into a colorful oil film on the surface of the water.

At this time, a young man with a crutch, a childish face, and no more than 23 years old, got on the boat, hopping and putting his bottle of tea on the opposite seat. He leaned on the railing with his crutch, and watched us bored. I sat down and chatted with my wife, ignoring him and his strangeness, which might make him feel more comfortable.

Since there was no sailing information posted around, my wife confirmed with me several times whether the ferry would really sail. I asked her to rest assured that the boat would definitely sail.

At this time, the young man interrupted and said, "I asked. The boat won't leave until 2:30. You can go to the nearby dam to catch small shrimps."

He spoke in strange Mandarin, which didn't sound like a Sichuanese, and even picked up his bottle, shaking it and showing off his achievement. The turbid liquid in the bottle was not cold-brewed tea, and of course, my wife and I wouldn't go to catch useless small shrimps.

"Did you come from Chengdu?" he asked. I nodded, indicating that I came from Shiling.

"Oh, in the direction of Pixian County, I've never been there," he replied. In fact, Shiling belongs to Chenghua District, northeast of Chengdu, and Pixian County is northwest. But I didn't want to explain these meaningless things.

"There's a bus on the other side that goes to Jianyang, and you can transfer to Pixian County," he said enthusiastically. I told him that we came by car.

"Where did you park your car?" he asked, digging deep, as if he was too careful. I pointed to the dock, where there were several BMWs and Cadillacs. Actually, my car was not there, but in a slightly farther location, and my car was not that expensive.

I still didn't want to chat with strangers, but my wife started talking and asked him, "Where did you come from?"

"I rode my own disabled bike from Shuangliu, about 60 kilometers. I rode for two..."

——Translated by ChatGPT