The smell of disinfectant was like an invisible thorn that penetrated the silent nasal cavity, then went down the respiratory tract, stirring up a burst of pain in the lungs. He was standing in front of the sink, carefully washing a greasy plate. The water washed away the foam and made a gurgling sound. This was almost the only sound that belonged to him in the house.
The cold porcelain plate was pressed against his fingertips, and he could clearly feel the remaining, solidified grease particles on it. His movements were slow and mechanical, as if he were polishing a piece of art instead of washing dishes. In three years and more than a thousand days and nights, he has repeated this process countless times and is so familiar that he can complete it with his eyes closed.
In the living room, the TV was turned on loudly, and a group of colorfully dressed variety show stars were laughing and joking exaggeratedly on the screen. The cheerful background music was like a wall, isolating the small world in the kitchen and highlighting the dead silence here.
"I went to play cards today. Guess what? The daughter-in-law of the Zhang family, her son-in-law bought her a new car last month! It's a BMW! It's parked downstairs of her house. It's so grand!"
Mother-in-law Zhao Jinlan's sharp voice penetrated the noise of the TV and accurately penetrated the silent eardrums. There was a trademark, poisonous pride and disdain in that voice.
