The middle-aged man with a stutter at the foot of the slope draws the same kind of painting every day on the bench in the laundry room or the long table outside the kitchen. He enjoys watching current affairs news. I concluded this because I moved in two years ago, and besides painting, the other thing he does is listen to current affairs news on short video platforms. Occasionally, I would bump into him downstairs as he passed by carrying a canvas bag with the name of a certain training institution printed on it. I guess he is a painter.
The apartment corridor is not narrow. Two adults passing by themselves will not brush shoulders. If you meet him in the corridor, he will nod slightly and keep his head down, stop and step aside to let you pass.
In contrast, the corridor of the laundry room is very narrow. There are benches on the side of the corridor, which are not high. On the other side is outdoors where sunlight often shines in. When painting here, you can only lie down, with your legs close to a split angle towards the other side of the corridor to avoid cramping. When someone passes by, you don't have to wait for them to walk in front of you to say they have passed, he will not raise his head, and will continue to draw without stopping his hand.
Most of our communication is in the kitchen. His stutter, combined with the accent I don't understand, often makes me unable to understand what he is saying. I only roast beans in the kitchen, and the conversation is mostly initiated by him, revolving around the economic situation and strategies of coffee and cafes, like Starbucks. The actual situation may be biased, but in that case, there is no need to be too serious.
His simple life also has its variables. During the time he was infected with COVID-19, I saw a woman in his room for the first time, taking care of him for a few days and then never appearing again.
Two sentences that I can clearly and firmly understand him saying:
- Swearing "f**k your mother" at the other end of the phone.
- Saying loudly to the sunlight, "The sunlight is really good."