Ye Zhao dozed off for two or three hours before waking up. The berth was very narrow, so in order not to squeeze Xiaoqin, she gently turned over and lay outside.
The train was very quiet, all the passengers were asleep, and all they could hear was the sound of the rails colliding.
She must survive here, no matter what method she uses, she doesn't want to go back to her original world.
It's not just because she would become a vegetable if she went back, but that world no longer had the people and things she missed, only full of unbearable memories.
She will never forget the time when she was sent to an orphanage at the age of five. All the other children avoided her, and the prying eyes of others would lead to gossip about her.
She was born into a very happy family, but unfortunately her warm home was destroyed during the Great Depression.
My father failed in his investment and finally made a desperate attempt, borrowing money from loan sharks and investing heavily in the stock market. In the end, he lost everything. After a fierce quarrel with my mother, my father suffered a mental breakdown, killed her in a fit of rage, and then committed suicide.
She witnessed the whole process. The little five-year-old girl, who grew up in the greenhouse of her parents' love, watched her father stabbing her mother to death with one knife after another.
The look of pain in her mother's eyes as she wanted to reach out and hug her was forever engraved in her mind.
The quarrel between her parents was caused by her throwing a tantrum and breaking a bowl. She had thought about it countless times: if she had been more sensible and not thrown a tantrum, would her parents not have quarreled? If they had not quarreled, the tragedy that followed would not have occurred.
She lived in her own little world full of guilt and self-blame, and the children who wanted to bully her at first later did not dare to provoke her because she was like a hedgehog covered with thorns and could explode at any time and severely hurt people.
But in an orphanage, in this collective living environment, living like a hedgehog will only lead to isolation, discrimination and marginalization, and in the end you will be the only one who suffers.
As she grew up, she began to learn how to put away the thorns on her body. She became gentle and sophisticated, learned to read people's expressions, knew how to please the people she should please, and survived with a false face.
Because she had good grades and was very smart, people gradually liked her more and more, but she knew that this liking was mixed with various factors and she had no close friends.
Later, she began to reconcile with herself. The tragedy of her family was caused by her father's blind greed and emotional disorder, and had nothing to do with her directly. She and her mother were both victims.
After going to college and moving away from her original social circle, she became sunny, loved to laugh, and began to be full of enthusiasm for life. However, fate played another joke on her and she became a vegetable after a car accident.
She rubbed her face gently with both hands, and the calluses on her hands scratched her face. The original owner looked delicate, but she had a pair of hands from working, and they were covered with calluses.
She must live well, for the original owner and for herself.
They arrived at Guangcheng Railway Station at around 2:00 p.m. the next day. Guangcheng is not far from Shenzhen. At that time, there were no high-speed trains and few short-distance trains, so it was impossible to buy tickets. Ye Zhao had already decided to take a long-distance bus.
The Guangcheng Railway Station in the late 1980s was known throughout the country for its chaos, with complicated personnel exchanges and a high incidence of petty thefts.
Ye Zhao bought a sewing box on the train. She secretly sewed more than 2,000 yuan in cash onto both sides of her trouser legs in the middle of the night. She now had only more than 100 yuan in her pocket for pocket money.
The two sisters followed the crowd to the exit of the train station. There were many passengers at the exit, as well as many men and women doing business, and many people gathered around them.
"Buy tickets, buy tickets, and recycle train tickets."
"Where are you going, pretty girl? Take a car?"
Ye Zhao clutched his cross-body bag in one hand, held his sister's hand with the other, looked straight ahead, ignored everyone, and walked very fast, fearing that if he walked a few steps slower, he would be caught by businessmen and dragged away.
Following the signs, I walked to the nearby bus station and caught the 14:30 bus to Shenzhen. The sun was scorching outside and there was no air conditioning in the bus, so it was so hot that I felt like I was about to explode.
People of this generation have not yet been captivated by summer air-conditioning and seem to be accustomed to this scorching heat. Most of the people on the bus are young people who come to Guangdong Province from other places to work, and their faces are filled with curiosity and joy that cannot be concealed.
Only the driver and the conductor had sullen faces, worn out by the day-to-day work and never looked happy to anyone.
There was no expressway between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, so cars had to take the national highway. A distance that would have taken more than an hour to reach in later times actually took a long time to get there from 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Ye Zhao squinted his eyes, half asleep and half awake, when he suddenly heard the ticket seller shouting, "Prepare your documents for customs clearance."
I opened my eyes and saw that it was gray outside. This was the second-line customs.
Ye Zhao is from Shenzhen. In her memory, Shenzhen is full of lush trees and colorful rhododendrons. She has lived in a garden-like city since she was a child.
But at this moment, looking out through the glass window, there were only low buildings and gray roads, and even the trees on both sides of the road were covered with dust.
Her hometown gave her too many bad memories, and she didn't want to go back, but since she chose to come back, she decided to cover up all the past unhappiness.
"Take your ID card and border pass and get off the bus to go through customs!"
"Except for locals, everyone else gets off the bus and goes through checkpoint! Hurry! Remember the license plate number and get on the bus under the billboard later. Hurry up, we won't wait for anyone." The ticket seller urged anxiously.
Xiaoqin fell asleep on Ye Zhao's knees. Ye Zhao was holding a piece of cardboard in his hand as a fan. The conductor saw that Ye Zhao didn't move and shouted impatiently, "Get off the bus quickly and don't waste time."
"Didn't they say that locals don't have to get off the bus?"
The conductor aunt looked at the two shabby-dressed sisters and thought Ye Zhao was looking for an excuse to avoid getting off the bus. "Why are you pretending to be a local? If you get kicked off the bus by the border inspector later, don't blame the bus for not waiting for anyone."
The driver ignored them and drove straight through the border. At the checkpoint, the border inspector saw that there were passengers in the car and got in to check their documents.
Ye Zhao handed over her household registration booklet. The border inspector took a look and asked her, "Where's your ID card?"
The ticket seller, who was standing by and watching the show, saw the border inspector frowning and hurriedly clarified for himself: "I reminded her to get off the bus, but she refused."
Ye Zhao explained: "I am under 18 years old and I don't have an ID card yet."
The border inspector took another look at the household registration book and found that he was indeed two days away from turning 18.
There was no photo on the household registration book, so there was no way to confirm whether it was me. The border inspector was quite nice. He asked, "Do you have any other documents? One with a photo."
Ye Zhao took out an expired student ID from her bag. The student ID had a photo and her name on it, which confirmed that she was Ye Zhao.
The border inspector compared the photo with the person himself, and then looked at Xiaoqin. At this time, Xiaoqin had been woken up and was looking at everyone sleepily. She didn't know what was going on and grabbed Ye Zhao's sleeve in panic.
"My cousin is only ten years old. We asked the police station, but they said she didn't need a border pass, so she didn't get one."
The border inspector handed the household registration booklet and student ID back to Ye Zhao, got off the car without saying anything else.
The ticket seller then realized that the girl in front of her was really a local. Her attitude became much better and she immediately asked curiously, "Where do you live?"
Ye Zhao yawned and ignored him. The ticket seller was embarrassed and didn't know what to say. After a while, he finally explained, "You look clean and fair, you really don't look like a local."
Ye Zhao smiled politely but didn't say anything, which made the ticket seller so angry that he rolled his eyes secretly but couldn't get angry.
We got off the bus at Zengwuwei, which is a village by the sea. The surrounding high-rise buildings have not been built yet. The village is full of low buildings and tiled houses connected together.
There is a night market not far from where you get off the bus. There are stalls selling food, clothes, and even comic books. Young migrant workers are wandering around, and it is very lively.
They hadn't eaten anything along the way, so they were starving, so they went to have some clay pot rice first. After the meal, they went to the night market to buy clothes. She brought a set of spare clothes, but Xiaoqin didn't.
Xiaoqin was always afraid that her sister would spend all her money, so she didn't dare to ask for good clothes and only picked cheap ones.
Ye Zhao was different. She wanted the best, but the clothes in the night market were not very fashionable, so she had to buy two sets of clothes for Xiaoqin as an emergency.
After packing his clothes, Ye Zhao thought about finding a hotel to stay in first and then renting a house tomorrow.
After taking a few steps, he was suddenly patted on the shoulder. Ye Zhao turned around and saw two young girls in fashionable clothes standing behind him. One of them shouted in surprise, "Ye Xiaozhao! Is it really you?"
Ye Zhao was stunned for a while before she dug out information from the original owner's memory. These were her elementary and junior high school classmates Li Ruixiang and Gao Yueyue. Both of them had their hair permed and were shopping in half-high heels.
"Don't you recognize us? I'm Li Ruixiang." The slightly plump girl greeted enthusiastically.
Ye Zhao smiled awkwardly. It was really great to meet an old classmate in this place.
Ye Zhao replied perfunctorily: "We just arrived today."
"Where do you live?"
Ye Zhao casually said that she was staying at a relative's house, and Li Ruixiang asked her if she was here to work and which factory she was going to. Ye Zhao wanted to make some money during the summer vacation, but she didn't want to work in a factory.
Seeing that Ye Zhao didn't respond immediately, Li Ruixiang thought that Ye Zhao hadn't come up with an idea yet, so she said, "Our toy factory is hiring. Yueyue, you have a good relationship with the leader, so can you help ask him?"
How can you ask for help? Gao Yueyue is tall and thin, smarter than Li Ruixiang. Looking at Ye Zhao's outfit, she can tell that he is short of money. She doesn't want to cause trouble, so she said, "Why don't you ask yourself?"
Li Ruixiang said enthusiastically and heartlessly: "I'll ask if I want to."
Ye Zhao couldn't stand this enthusiasm. She waved her hands repeatedly: "Don't ask for me. It's really inconvenient for me to bring my sister to the factory."
"If you're not going to work in the factory, then what are you doing in Shenzhen?"
"Looking for my dad. He went back to his hometown. I'm waiting for him to come back."
Li Ruixiang and Gao Yueyue looked at each other. They knew that Ye Zhao was living with her uncle. Because her father was poor and gave her little living expenses, her aunt often beat and scolded her. It seemed that when Ye Zhao was in the third or fourth grade, she suffered facial injuries and was rumored to be beaten by her family. When the head teacher went to visit her home, she was kicked out by her aunt.
Looking down, she saw that Ye Zhao's sister still had a wound on her forehead. She looked so pitiful that she didn't even dare to look at people. Every family has its own problems. Ye Zhao must have encountered some difficulties. Li Ruixiang didn't ask too much, and just said, "Where does your relative live? I'll come to play with you after work."
Ye Zhao quickly declined: "I'll stay for two days and then leave."
Gao Yueyue said "Oh" perfunctorily. Li Ruixiang had always had a good relationship with Ye Zhao, but she still didn't give up. "If you have any problems, you can come to us. We live in dormitory 305 of the toy factory behind. Remember, 305. If you want to work in the factory, come to me."
"Okay. I'll remember that." Ye Zhao made the excuse that it was too late and had to go back, then waved goodbye to them.
Not long after they walked away, Li Ruixiang caught up with them. She bought a bag of mung bean cakes and forced them on Xiaoqin, "This is for your sister. Take it."
Ye Zhao felt a little embarrassed. She envied the original owner for having such a real friend. She asked her sister to accept it, and then said, "Thank you, old classmate. We will talk again when we have a chance."
"Okay, Xiao Zhao, remember to come and play with me when you have time."
Ye Zhao smiled and waved, then walked away holding his sister's hand.
She found a two-story "Ah Jiao Family Hotel" in a quiet area at the end of the village. There was an old lady dozing off at the door. The proprietress, who might be her daughter-in-law, took Ye Zhao to the second floor to choose a room.
A multi-person room costs 1 yuan per day, and a small room is a little more expensive, 3 yuan per day. The prices here are more expensive than in Wancheng.
Ye Zhao had some cash on her, and she didn't want to share a room with others to avoid any accidents. Finally, she chose a small room at the back. The room was very simple, with nothing in it except a bed and an old table.
Xiaoqin followed her sister all the way and watched her spend nearly a hundred yuan. The little girl was worried but didn't dare to say anything. She was a burden to begin with and she was afraid that her sister would have to abandon her in the end.
When she went downstairs to buy toiletries, she passed by the outskirts of a food stall. Under a small bush of green hedge, there were several discarded cans and a large rotten cardboard box. Xiaoqin trotted over to pick them up as if she had seen a treasure.
Although Ye Zhao grew up in an orphanage, he had never had to worry about food and clothing since childhood and had never picked up rags.
Seeing her sister trying hard to pick up the cans and the torn cardboard, just like a little monkey who picked up a watermelon but still held the peach tightly, Ye Zhao couldn't help laughing. She didn't have the heart to discourage Xiaoqin's enthusiasm. This might be her sister trying hard to prove the meaning of her existence.
Ye Zhao advised: "Let's go buy things first and pick them up when we come back."
Xiaoqin shook her head innocently: "No, someone will pick them up soon." As she spoke, the cardboard and cans in her hands fell to the ground with a clatter.
Ye Zhao quickly picked up the rags. It was not convenient to go buy things, so she decided to accompany her sister back to the hotel first.
When walking towards the hotel, passing through a small alley, I could hear the humming sound of a motorcycle engine and the sound of footsteps chasing mixed with laughter and cursing.
The street lights in the alley were dim and the road was narrow. Just at the corner, Ye Zhao pulled his sister back, but it was too late. He heard a sharp brake sound and a motorcycle crashed into the corner of the wall!
Squeak!!! Bang!
Ye Zhao turned his back and blocked his sister in the corner.
I heard the sound of fighting behind me. Some people tried to escape but were caught, while others were still laughing.
"Brother Xiang! I'll return the motorcycle to you! I was just joking with them, don't take it seriously, it's all Fatty's fault..."
"Why blame me? Skinny monkey! You piece of shit!"
Ye Zhao turned around and just saw the big boy who was laughing and talking, who should be Shouhou, was hit on the corner of the mouth by a fist. The blow was quite serious and it looked painful.
As the saying goes, don't hit a smiling person. The skinny monkey couldn't smile anymore after being humiliated. He wanted to resist but didn't dare to, so he could only kick the motorcycle on the ground with his feet.
He had just kicked the motorcycle once, and was hit several times in a row. Seeing stars in his eyes, Ye Zhao was so scared that he hugged his sister and squeezed into the corner again.
The skinny monkey was beaten into submission, crying and shouting in surrender, "Brother Xiang! Brother Xiang! I won't dare to do it again next time! Never again!"
Another fat guy who was caught nearby knelt down and slapped himself twice, "Brother Xiang, don't hit me, I'm afraid of the pain. Brother Xiang, I'll buy you some water at school tomorrow."
It seems that the two boys who were beaten stole Brother Xiang’s motorcycle, and the beater, Brother Xiang, was also just a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old.
"roll!"
Fatty and Skinny quickly crawled away, leaving the attacker with his head slightly lowered, pulling at the bandage on his wrist.
Ye Zhao stood there, motionless. She didn't want to attract the other party's attention. The motorcycle lying on the ground blocked her way. She wanted to leave but couldn't.
Fortunately, she had her younger sister to give her courage, otherwise, she was a girl alone in the chaotic urban village without cameras in the late 1980s, and who knows what would have happened.
She secretly glanced at the big boy opposite. The street lamp next to her shone down from above her head, shining on the boy's well-defined profile. Unlike ordinary gangsters, this boy was very handsome.
The boy had hair like Rukawa in "Slam Dunk", with fluffy and sparse hair, sweat dripping from his forehead, and even his cheek contours were very similar to Rukawa, with a kind of rogue spirit that was both good and evil.
His wrist must have been injured before, and he was re-tightening the gauze.
I saw him tightening the gauze and wrapping it tightly in circles. A trace of bright red blood seeped out of the gauze. The boy frowned and said nothing.
There were no other pedestrians on the street corner at night, and it seemed particularly quiet against the backdrop of the noise in the distance.
Clank, clank, clank, clank… clank…
A can in my sister's hand fell to the ground.
The air suddenly stagnated, the boy paused, and he tilted his head slightly, only then did he realize that there was someone standing in the corner. Under the dim light, the girl was glowing white.
After taking a look at the cardboard and cans in the girl's hands, he walked to the motorcycle and stopped, then bent down, picked up the can on the ground and handed it over.
Ye Zhao, who was used to protecting himself, did not reach out his hand. Xiao Qin was quick and took the can back quickly without even daring to look up at the other person.
The boy lifted up the motorcycle, stepped directly onto it, threw his head back and put on his helmet, and immediately reached the maximum level of Bking.
Beep... Woo... Woo... Boom...
Bking drove away on his motorcycle.
(End of this chapter)