The Mended Memory

Lao Bao is a computer technician who's not much of a talker, but once he gets a few drinks in him, he can't stop chatting. He gets restless without a conversation.

One day, Lao Bao went to a banquet where everyone was a stranger. After a few drinks, he was looking for someone to chat with. He scanned the room with his drunken eyes and finally spotted a young guy who looked familiar. He casually asked, "What's your name? You look really familiar."

The young man, seeing an elder asking him, quickly replied, "I'm Wang, from Wang Village." Lao Bao got interested and said, "I had an old classmate who lived in Wang Village too, named Wang Daqiang." The young man looked surprised and said, "Ah? He was my late father!" Then, with a sad expression, he continued, "I was born unlucky. My father passed away before I was born."

Lao Bao comforted Xiao Wang, "Your father was a good man! Back when we were studying together, he often helped me take notes. We were always good friends. I still have a black and white photo of us from back then. I'll show it to you someday!"

Xiao Wang felt a sense of closeness and switched seats to sit next to Lao Bao. They both felt like they'd found a kindred spirit in each other, and soon they were both pretty drunk.

After getting drunk, Xiao Wang talked even more than Lao Bao. He wiped his tears and said, "I've never seen my father since I was born, and my mother passed away early too. We don't even have a single photo of my father. I've always wanted to see him..."

Lao Bao felt touched and after the meal, they became friends across generations. Before parting, Xiao Wang asked for Lao Bao's address and phone number, saying he'd visit another day.

The next morning, Lao Bao woke up with no memory of the night before, but to his surprise, Xiao Wang showed up at his house that night with two bottles of Maotai. He greeted Lao Bao and his wife politely and after explaining the reason for his visit, he directly asked, "Uncle Bao, can I see the photo of my father?" Lao Bao was shocked: Oh no, the drink has made a mess of things!

It turned out that over thirty years ago, Lao Bao did take a photo with Xiao Wang's father, but after so many years and moving houses several times, where could he find that old photo? He had let it slip last night after drinking, and now Xiao Wang had come to collect the photo with gifts. What could he give him?

Lao Bao felt more and more uneasy and stood up quickly, saying, "Oh! I can't accept this liquor! Take it back. I don't have the photo!" Xiao Wang seemed to understand: maybe Uncle Bao thought the gift was too little! He awkwardly laughed and said, "Uncle Bao, these two bottles of liquor are a small token of my appreciation. Please don't think it's too little... How about I visit you another day? I'll take my leave now." Lao Bao was relieved when Xiao Wang left: At least he didn't ask for the photo again!

A few days later, Xiao Wang came again, this time with a poodle. But Lao Bao wasn't home, and it was Lao Bao's daughter, Xiao Min, who opened the door. After understanding the situation, she invited Xiao Wang in. Unexpectedly, they hit it off and started chatting. From then on, Xiao Wang visited Lao Bao's house frequently, taking care of the dog, washing and feeding it.

As Xiao Wang visited more often, he became more familiar with Lao Bao's daughter, Xiao Min, and they fell in love. Lao Bao didn't object. After observing for a while, he thought Xiao Wang was a great guy, and he was the son of his old classmate!

One day, Xiao Wang came to Lao Bao's house again, as usual, taking care of the poodle. After everything was done, he pleaded, "Uncle Bao, I've never seen my father, and there's not a single photo of him at home. Can you let me see the photo of my father when he was young with you...? I'll make a copy and return it to you, at least let me know what my father looked like!" As he spoke, Xiao Wang's voice choked, and Xiao Min also pleaded with her father to show Xiao Wang the photo.

Lao Bao felt heavy-hearted. He couldn't bear to tell Xiao Wang that he had lost the photo, or how disappointed Xiao Wang would be. After a while, Lao Bao looked at Xiao Wang and suddenly said, "Alright, I'll give you the photo next Sunday!" Xiao Wang was overjoyed and left happily.

The next day, Xiao Wang came to Lao Bao's house again, but this time he didn't mention the photo. Instead, he happily chatted with Lao Bao and Xiao Min. Lao Bao noticed Xiao Wang's long hair and said, "Xiao Wang, let Xiao Min take you to get a haircut!" Xiao Min played with Xiao Wang's hair and laughed, "No problem, I have a discount card for the barber shop." With that, she took Xiao Wang to the barber shop.

At the barber shop, they found out that the so-called discount card was actually an apprentice card. Although a young barber was carefully cutting Xiao Wang's hair, his skills were limited. He accidentally cut Xiao Wang's hair into an old-fashioned side part. The barber apologized to Xiao Wang, who looked at Xiao Min laughing on the side, a bit embarrassed.

On the way back, Xiao Min kept making Xiao Wang laugh, making him quickly forget about his hair. Besides, he would soon see the photo he had been looking forward to, so there was no reason to be unhappy!

The Sunday Lao Bao had promised arrived quickly, and Xiao Wang rushed to Lao Bao's house early in the morning. Lao Bao was also very straightforward. As soon as he saw Xiao Wang, he shouted inside, "Xiao Min's mom, go find that old photo!"

Xiao Wang became excited, finally about to see his father's photo. He sat on the sofa nervously rubbing his hands. After a while, Lao Bao's wife found a yellowed black and white photo in an old photo album and handed it to Xiao Wang. Xiao Wang took it with trembling hands and looked at it. The photo showed two young men in Zhongshan suits with side parts, smiling foolishly at the camera. One of them, on the left, looked very much like Xiao Wang.

Xiao Wang looked carefully, pointing at the person on the left and asking, "Is this my father? Is this my father?" Seeing Lao Bao nod, he laughed, "I see my father! I've lived for almost thirty years, and now I know what my father looks like, haha." He laughed and then cried.

Lao Bao felt strange seeing Xiao Wang laughing and crying. He turned away to wipe the corner of his eyes, then shouted, "Xiao Min, quickly fry two dishes, let's have a drink together!" Xiao Min agreed crisply, and soon the kitchen filled with the aroma of food.

In fact, what Xiao Wang didn't know was that the "father" in the photo was himself...

It turned out that Lao Bao had been unwilling to break Xiao Wang's "photo dream." One day, he happened to see a certain expression of Xiao Wang that was very similar to his father's, and he came up with a good idea. Then, he asked his daughter Xiao Min for help and told her about the photo. Xiao Min was moved and decided to help her father fulfill Xiao Wang's photo dream. So Xiao Min deliberately had someone give Xiao Wang a side part, and Lao Bao secretly took a photo of Xiao Wang from the shadows, then personally合成 and aged the photo of Xiao Wang with his own young photo, making it look just like the old photo from back then.