Chapter 15 The Abnormal Poet

Liu Ming and Mark are good friends.

They met on the street, surrounded by people, and the two bumped into each other like duckweeds.

Many people have seen Mark and Liu Ming on the streets of Yanjing. When we search our memories, we may recall seeing these two lunatics on a certain overpass or underground passage at noon.

Mark is sitting in a big transparent hard plastic ball with some change in it. The plastic ball has a breathable window, and pedestrians who want to give alms can throw money into the ball. When it rains, the window can be closed, and this big ball

Standing alone in the street, in the rain. If the city management comes, he can stand in the ball, step on the inner wall of the ball and move forward, or even run into the lake in the park. He is in the ball, and the ball is on the water.

There was nothing the city management could do against him.

He is like a snail, this ball is his house, his shell.

He is both a performance artist and a beggar. Perhaps there is no difference between a poor artist and a beggar.

Liu Ming set up a stall on the street to sell his autographed books. He had a loud voice and shouted to every passerby, "The great poet Liu Ming is signing books for sale." The woman selling key chains next to him cursed, fearing that the urban management officials would be called in. He shouted

After ten minutes, the vendors closed their stalls one after another. A young man on the right selling thermometers and lighters said that the stall was not closed because of Liu Ming, but because it was time to close the stall and there were other jobs to do.

Liu Ming felt guilty and looked around. The vendors had left one after another before the city management arrived, leaving only one ball in place.

The ball suddenly spoke. Bring me the book and have a look.

Liu Ming was startled, and then he saw a person sitting in the plastic ball. He handed his poetry collection through the ball's ventilation window. Mark flipped through a few pages, found a short poem and read it:

The beauty's crotch is always foggy, and after being tamed, it goes into a good night.

The light of freedom shines above the horse's eyes.

The bird stayed in the tree beside the pond, and the monk came down from the door to pick at the moon.

Take off your pants and shoot out the future president and prime minister, shoot out the county magistrate, and shoot out the mistakes that cannot be changed.

When the police arrested him across provinces, he carried a hoe and supported a horse and walked into the depths of flowers.

Liu Ming said: The title of this poem is "I Want to Have Sex", and there is a long poem at the back called "I Want to Pee". Please rate it for me. Anyway, I think it is quite well written. When I read it myself, I always feel

shed tears.

Mark said: The writing is really good. How much does this book cost?

Liu Ming said: Fifty, don’t think it’s too expensive.

Mark said: I bought it, you should win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Liu Ming said: I'll treat you to dinner.

The two found a ramen restaurant, ordered a few plates of cold dishes, and two bottles of Erguotou, and chatted while drinking. Liu Ming rambled on about the process of making books by hand. He cut A4 paper to make pages, and used kraft paper to make the cover.

Then binding, gluing, and laminating.

Liu Ming said that selling a book for fifty yuan is not expensive.

Mark said: Art is priceless.

Liu Ming said: I regard you as a friend now. I want to have a friend so much. When I die, I will still be alone. You are the first person to say that my poems are well written. I thank you.

Mark said: If I am going to die, I will find someone to turn me into amber.

Mark talked about his experience of working in a resin handicraft factory. After he lost his job, he worked as an oddball in several art studios in Shuangzhuang. During that time, he determined to be a master of sculpture. He often talked about many foreign names: Rodin,

Michelangelo, Milon, Praxiteles... these are all famous sculpture masters. However, he was reduced to begging on the street. It is difficult for people with able-bodied limbs to beg for money. One day, he suddenly had a whim and made

He made a plastic ball, inspired by the water walking ball in the park lake. His identity changed from a beggar to a performance artist, and his ideals gradually drifted away, but never disappeared.

Mark said: My best sculpture is myself. When I die, I will find someone to make me into amber, which will be immortal forever.

Liu Ming said: Can you make me into amber? I also want to be immortal.

Mark said: No.

Liu Ming and Mark hit it off and became friends. They were both a bit neurotic and wanted to express their thoughts strongly. They talked endlessly, thinking that the other was listening, but in fact they were just talking to themselves. From evening to late at night, they talked

The noodle shop kept talking. There was a female worker in the ramen shop, named Aru, who used to work in a resin handicraft factory with Mark. Out of love, they were not kicked out. The two of them didn’t leave the ramen shop until early in the morning. Mark said:

When I have money, I will open a ceramics studio.

Liu Ming said: It is only a matter of time before I win the Nobel Prize for Literature. I will probably refuse to accept the award. If I have money, I will still write poetry.

After a period of time, Liu Ming and Mark met several times on the street, and each time Liu Ming asked Mark to promise to make him into amber. Mark refused, saying that he was a man of his word and would do it if he promised.

Maybe he would wait until Liu Ming died of old age before turning it into amber, because that would be many years later.

Liu Ming became increasingly poor. During that time, he moved several times, and each time he was evicted by his landlord because he had no money to pay the rent.

People were surprised to see Liu Ming on the street. This was an era when poets were starving to death. Many people could not name more than five poets who are still alive today. Some of Liu Ming's poems are obscure, and some are childish and ridiculous.

, some dirty words...but those poems describing spring, love and light are so beautiful and touching.

He lives like a will-o'-the-wisp but tries to illuminate all mankind.

A Chinese university student saw "Nobel Prize Winner in Literature" painted on his clothes and stepped forward to take a photo with him, but refused to buy the book.

A psychiatrist stopped to look at Liu Ming's poem, asked him some questions, and left a comment: Urgent treatment cannot be delayed.

That year, the Swedish Academy did not announce that he had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. He cried sadly while holding his collection of poems in his rental house. From then on, there was a sneaky person in Wangfujing Bookstore. He would not steal anything.

The book is just a piece of sticky paper stuck in the book when no one is paying attention, between the works of Hemingway and Quasimodo, and Eliot

Between Te and Solzhenitsyn, there is a little poem he posted.

The bookstore staff asked him to leave for "littering".

Garbage - that's what others call his work.

Liu Ming was so desperate for readers to listen, so he kidnapped a girl at night with a knife and forced her into a corner. After reading a poem, he apologized and said that he really couldn't find a reader. For this reason, he

, he paid the price of being detained for several days and fined 500 yuan.

Liu Ming was penniless and couldn't find a job for several days. He always worked as a painter or cleaner for a period of time. After making some money, he went to the streets to sign books and sell books.

That night, Liu Ming dragged his exhausted body into a ramen restaurant on the roadside. Liu Ming and Mark had eaten in this noodle restaurant. He sat down in the corner, ordered a bowl of noodles, and ordered two bottles of noodles.

Beer. There was a menu with pictures and texts on the wall. The most expensive ones were hand-caught mutton and large plate chicken. He didn’t have a penny in his pocket, but he said to the waiter:

I want a hand-caught mutton and a large plate of chicken. What else is the most expensive dish here?

The store clerk introduced: spicy and sour steak and grilled fish.

Liu Ming said: I want this too.

The waiter was full of suspicion and thought: Can you finish the meal?

Liu Ming sighed. He had no money. What he wanted to do was to eat before he was full.

The dishes were served quickly, and Aru, the waitress who served them, recognized Liu Ming—after all, the jeans Liu Ming wore with slogans on them was impressive. Aru chatted with Liu Ming for a few words.

Talking about Mark, Aru said that Mark was hit by a car while rolling a big ball a few days ago. The car ran away, but Mark was not injured.

A child came over, hugged Liu Ming's thigh, raised his head, raised his little face, and shouted in a milky voice: Dad.

Liu Ming smiled, feeling warm in his heart, and touched the child's head.

Aru said: Xiwa'er, call me uncle, he is not your father.

Aru told Liu Ming that Xiwaer was an illegitimate child brought from his hometown. His biological father did not recognize the child. He might be growing cotton in Xinjiang now and could not find anyone. Aru complained that his salary was so meager that it was difficult to buy milk powder for his son.

I can’t afford it, and sometimes I really want to find a good family to send my child out to.

It's dark outside the store and the lights are on.

Liu Ming was full of wine and food. He asked Aru if he could owe the meal money first or put it on Mark's account.

Aru shook her head and said in surprise: You are freeloading.

Liu Ming put his finger on his lips and said, shush. He adjusted the tightness of his belt, stood up, walked slowly for a few steps, opened the plastic door curtain of the ramen shop, and ran away. Aru shouted, the shop assistant and

The store owner rushed out and chased Liu Ming for four streets before knocking Liu Ming to the ground while panting.

The store clerk wanted to hit Liu Ming, but the store owner stopped him.

Liu Ming was ashamed and said that he could use his collection of poems to pay off the debt, which cost 50 yuan a copy, or work for free in a ramen restaurant.

The shop owner said: You are a poet. I won’t beat you. You can wash dishes in my shop. If you work for a month, you will be paid for it.

Liu Ming was a blessing in disguise. During the month he worked as a dishwasher in a ramen restaurant, even though he didn't get paid, at least he was able to eat well. He liked children very much and got to know Xi Wa'er well. When Xi Wa'er called him daddy, he

Her heart was full of love. Aru said that Liu Ming and Xi Wa'er were destined to be together, and Xi Wa'er never called anyone else's father.

A month later, Liu Ming left the ramen shop and returned to his hometown. He asked his parents for money and wanted to publish a second book of poems at his own expense.

Liu Ming said: Without an ISBN, it is an illegal publication. The books I made before cannot be sold. With an ISBN and a regular publishing house, it will be easier to sell. The publishing editor said that there is no market for poetry collections now and no one will read them unless

I use the money to self-publish and sell it...I need ten thousand yuan.

The father said: "Get out of here. Go away. If your brother sees you coming, he will beat you."

The mother said: We just don’t have you as our son. After so many years, why can’t you act like a normal person? I have always told my neighbors that you work at the railway bureau. You are not crazy. You are already so old, and you still ask your parents for money.

.

Liu Ming took out his handwritten poem manuscript and said that the second poem manuscript was better than the first one, and if it was published into a book, it would definitely sell well.
To be continued...