My friend Xiao Sun opened a small photo studio by himself, and I often go there to watch him work in my free time. I watched him enthusiastically take pictures of every customer, and then develop them into various photos. I like to watch the photographs gradually reveal their images in the liquid in his dark darkroom. At that time, Xiao Sun's face was often illuminated by the red light, like a ghost.
"Hey, tell me, if you take a picture of a ghost, what kind of picture will it look like?" I asked Xiao Sun more than once. He always looked at me strangely, shook his head or sighed, and didn't answer. In his eyes, I'm probably the kind of person who often thinks wildly after reading too many ghost stories. "Hey, girl, you like ghosts so much, who dares to marry you?" Xiao Sun often jokes with me like this, I don't mind when he says that, because I always think he likes me, but I just don't say it.
Such a thing happened suddenly that day.
At noon that day, Xiao Sun called me very anxiously, "Hey, girl, I have something urgent today, can you take care of my business for half a day?" It’s impossible to smash your photo studio.” After I understood what he meant, I said no again and again.
But Xiaosun begged me indiscriminately, saying that his photo studio had never been closed since it opened, and he insisted that I guard the door for him. I couldn't resist him, so I reluctantly agreed. Anyway, this girl has studied photography for a few days in college, so it shouldn't be a problem to deal with a few customers!
"You just need to take pictures, save the negatives, and wait for me to come back and develop them." Ha, as I set off, I was thinking about how to take advantage of this opportunity to kill him. Well, there is a new boiled fish restaurant across the street, I want to try it!
Xiao Sun's photo studio is very small, with only three rooms, one is a studio, one is a darkroom, and the other is his bedroom. When I arrived, he was waiting for me at the door, his face full of anxiety. Seeing me coming, he was greatly relieved, grabbed me and dragged me into the house.
"Go, go, men and women are different," I shouted loudly as I broke free. Xiao Sun smirked and let go. "Hey, girl, you are so beautiful today!"–huh, this mouth that can't spit out ivory on weekdays… "When will this girl not be beautiful?" Coke, pop it open and pour it into your mouth.
"Hey, can't such a beautiful girl be a bit more ladylike?" Xiao Sun looked at me and sighed. Ha ha! Pretending to be a lady in front of him? Did you make a mistake! I almost spit out a Coke! "There are no ladies in the world, you know? The so-called ladies are all pretending!"
Xiao Sun didn't have time to continue bickering with me, so he put on his coat and left in a hurry after confessing to me. I don't know what happened to make him leave the photo studio all of a sudden?
It was still noon and few customers came. I flipped through a few magazines absent-mindedly until a young couple asked to have their wedding photos taken—the kind that are posted on red books with a thick steel seal.
They are not pretty, but they look like a couple. Seeing their affectionate appearance makes me a little envious. The man is very tall. I took a wooden board for the girl to sit on, so that the two of them looked about the same height.
Adjust the lighting, strike a pose, and get in focus. "Click!" After a while, it was OK. It must be a very good photo, and the expressions of the two are very natural.
The two newcomers were sent away, and no customers came back for a long time. Boring! With such poor grades, how can he claim credit in front of Xiao Sun? Looks like my poached fish… I can't help but feel a little pissed off.
At this moment, there were footsteps, I raised my head, and an old lady walked in with a slight bow. "Girl, I want to take a photo." "Auntie, please come in!" Finally a customer came, and I greeted him hastily.
The old lady is about sixty years old, her hair is half white, and she wears a dark gray coat. Although wrinkles have covered her forehead, she seems to have taken good care of her children, and her whole body is clean and tidy. She is probably a doctor before retirement. Or a teacher, because she seems to have an air that is not often seen in ordinary old ladies. It's just that there seems to be a sad look in the old lady's eyes.
"Auntie, what kind of photo do you want to take?" The old lady hesitated and said, "Girl, it's that big." She gestured with her hand, "Headshot!" That kind of photo can be used for special purposes. Judging by the size she mentioned, it was clearly used as a portrait!
It seems that the old lady has already worried about her funeral. However, I frowned slightly, feeling a little wrong! Why not? Oh, it reminds me, if she wants to take a decent photo for her funeral, she doesn't need to zoom in now at all! Just keep a negative, and it’s not too late to enlarge it when you use it. It seems unlucky to enlarge it now! But after thinking about it, zooming in is Xiaosun's business, I just need to take pictures! This old lady may be too thoughtful!
After the old lady paid, I helped the old lady to sit in front of the chair, turned on the light, walked to the camera, and looked through the lens, the old lady was ready.
"Girl, I want to take a picture of a smile! Okay?" the old lady asked suddenly. I had an unspeakable feeling in my heart when I heard it. It turned out that this old lady wanted everyone to see her smile at her funeral! I can't help being very moved!
"Auntie, it's very easy for you to smile. You say 'eggplant' and then close your mouth immediately, such a smile is very natural!" I said to her on a whim. The old lady obediently followed my method, well, it seems to work well. Ready to shoot!
"Auntie, I say 'one, two, three' and you start saying 'eggplant', okay?" I put my finger on the shutter, concentrating.
"One, two, three!" "Eggplant!" "Crack!"
I breathed a sigh of relief, "Auntie, it's done!" I walked over to help the old lady up. "You can pick it up in three days! Take this to pick it up, and let your family come to it!"
Unexpectedly, the old lady asked: "Can it be washed out now? I want it urgently!" "This…" I was a little embarrassed. Much worse.
But the old lady said that she must have it now. "I'm going back to my hometown tomorrow. There is no photo studio there, and I have no relatives here. So, girl, can you print it now? I'm waiting for you."
Speaking of which, I'll just have to wash it off now. And considering that the old lady is living alone at such an old age, the expedited fee is my decision, and it will be waived! The big deal is not to eat boiled fish!
"Auntie, just sit here and wait." Fortunately, the roll of film just finished shooting, so I took it off and went straight to the darkroom.
I often help Xiao Sun do these things, but it is the first time to do it alone. I carefully developed the film and enlarged it into a large 24-inch photo.
When the old lady's smile gradually appeared in the developer, it was very strange. I remembered the sentence I often asked Xiao Sun: "If you take a picture of a ghost, what kind of photo will it develop?"
In ghost stories, there are generally two situations in which ghosts take pictures. One is that people who could have been seen are missing in the photo, and the other is just the opposite, and people who were not there appear in the photo! Or, the person in the photo is another image—anyway, it must not be the original one!
I think it's ridiculous to think of this kind of question at this time. Do I regard this old lady as a ghost? I use a camera to get the photo out of the developer solution. Well, the timing was just right, and this is the first photo I've ever done alone, and I'm giving myself a 95!
When handing the photo to the old lady, she looked at the photo again and again, and said with satisfaction: "It's a very good shot, girl, thank you!"
Not long after the old lady left, Xiao Sun came back. As soon as he entered the door, he yelled: "Girl, how are you? Didn't you mess it up?" I smiled triumphantly and said, "Not only did I take a picture, but I also washed it for you. The customer needs it urgently. Oh, just now you saw a Is there an old lady? She just left. That old lady is very strange, she insisted on an enlarged photo, I think she is for a portrait.” At this point, I couldn’t stop laughing. Some heavy and some sigh.
"Really? There are still such customers?" Xiao Sun said with some disbelief. "Well, but when I came, I didn't see an old lady." "No way? She walked in on her back, and you came in on her front. If you came earlier, you could enjoy my masterpiece. I Today’s photos are great!” “Nonsense, are you dreaming? Why didn’t I see the old lady you were talking about? Hmph, you must have lied to me.”
No? How could he not have seen it? I was stunned, then ran outside the door, lost in thought. The old lady's body doesn't seem strong enough, and it takes only a few minutes to walk from here to the intersection. "Did you really not see her?" I asked Xiao Sun again. This little grandson is always telling the truth!
But soon, I forgot about it, "Hey, I've been tired all afternoon, how are you going to thank me?" Xiao Sun laughed: "I knew, you won't spare me. Okay, You decide."
I jumped up and down excitedly. It seems that I can have a good time tonight!
The taste of the boiled fish is really delicious, Xiao Sun kept saying: "Eat slowly, no one will compete with you!" I raised my chopsticks and said: "Don't be dazed, eat it too !” Xiao Sun sighed, “Who can afford a woman like you?”
There is a TV in the private room of this boiled fish restaurant. By the time we finished eating it was local news time. After the news ended, an announcement was made: Ms. Chen Ling, a retired professor in this city, passed away due to illness last night at the age of 59.
Xiao Sun yelled: "God!" I hurriedly asked what's wrong? Xiao Sun pointed to the TV screen: "My teacher, she passed away. Alas, such a good teacher." Then Xiao Sun didn't speak for a long time and watched the double ghost knocking on the door , and he could see that he was very sad . When we broke up, I said, "Go and see her. I'll go with you."
There were a lot of people on the day of the memorial service, and it can be seen that many people miss Professor Chen. Amidst the deep and dignified mourning, my little grandson and I walked into the funeral home dressed in black. Xiao Sun holds a large bouquet of chrysanthemums in his hand.
As soon as I entered the door, I was stunned: there was a portrait of Professor Chen hanging in the center: his temples were stained with frost, his brows were kind and his eyes were kind, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, smiling slightly. God! Isn't this the photo I took that day?
Xiao Sun felt my shock, "Girl, what's wrong with you?" I shook my head with difficulty, my whole body was stiff, my mind was cloudy, what's going on? How could that photo be here?
I finished mourning with Xiao Sun with a pale face. I trembled as I said goodbye to the dead body. Xiao Sun held my hand tightly and looked at me suspiciously from time to time. That was the first time in the three years since I knew Xiao Sun that he held my hand, but I didn't feel anything, just my hands were sweating non-stop.
Finally we walked out of the funeral home. I told him about the portrait. Xiao Sun looked at me for a long time and said, "Are you sure?" I looked into his confused eyes and watched the ghosts knock on the door , and nodded.
I once again thought of the sentence I asked Xiao Sun countless times: "If you take a picture of a ghost, what kind of photo will it look like?"
I shudder!
A week later, Xiao Sun and I walked into Professor Chen's former home. Professor Chen’s daughter, Chen Lu, received us. She has a pair of eyes very similar to her mother’s. When she mentioned her mother, she sighed slightly: “The death of our mother is very unexpected to us. She was suddenly ill. By the time I arrived at the hospital… my biggest regret is that my mother never took a photo before she was alive." Chen Lu couldn't help but redden her eyes when she said this. Xiao Sun and I looked at each other, and Xiao Sun asked the question that I didn't dare to ask: "Really? That portrait of Professor Sun?" , not mother's." Xiao Sun and I were taken aback for a moment, and I saw that Xiao Sun's eyes were more curious than mine.
Seeing our dazed look, Sun Lu went on to say: "My mother didn't like taking pictures since she was a child, and she never said why. But sometimes photos are necessary, such as ID photos. So, my mother always uses my aunt's. By the way, she She and my aunt are twin sisters. Therefore, outsiders can't tell that it's not her own photo."
Xiao Sun and I had a sudden feeling. But doubts remain. Chen Lu continued, "After my mother passed away, we didn't have a photo of her when we were about to hold the funeral, and my aunt didn't have a suitable photo to replace her. So my aunt took a temporary photo of my mother for urgent use…"
It turned out to be such a thing! I was relieved. On the way back, Xiao Sun asked me with a smirk: "Girl, do you still say that you have taken pictures of ghosts? Haha!" I punched Xiao Sun with a fist, and Xiao Sun took the opportunity to grab my hand…