Your loneliness is more moving than this world

Chapter 13 The Lover on the Other Side (2)
Although Papa Ming is a foreman, he is only a boiler burner after all. He can marry his sweetheart by relying on his honesty and kindness, but he cannot keep his job by relying on his honesty and kindness. When the big policy comes down, the first one surnamed Zheng will end. ruined his career, and now he's targeting his wife's department.

It's not that he didn't lower his head, in order to keep his wife's job, he took the initiative to come to talk to Zheng, who directly mentioned the old things in the alley back then, and asked Ming's mother to apologize in person.Ming's father came to the door for the second time. He did not bring his wife, but he brought 1 yuan in borrowed money, but he was still kicked out.

A man like Ming's father is careless and uneducated. In Ming's mother's words, he is only two hundred and five.Probably because of this silly [-] energy, he is very popular in Niuye. The old workers in District [-] often ask him to help them install water pipes and clean sewers at home, and the workshop leaders sometimes ask him to help with work. .As long as people add the word "please" when they open their mouths, he will go, no matter what, no matter how troublesome, he will be responsible to the end, in order to save face for Ming's mother who works in the same factory area.Ming's mother is a technician, she works in an office, and she comes from a small intellectual family. She is relatively delicate in life, she can't cook, she can't ride a car, and she has to wait for her husband to pick her up every time she gets off work.The first thing Ming's father does after work every day is to pick up his wife and go home. He followed the crowds of people on his [-]th car to leave the factory, and faced the teasing of the female workers around him, he grinned foolishly.

With the unexpected turn of events, the days of such silly fun came to an end.Like Papa Ming, the workers in District [-] were notified by their superiors one after another to leave their jobs and go home to wait for work.At first, everyone was dissatisfied with the amount of the subsidy and the conditions for layoffs, and they all returned to the factory to discuss the case. Then, these people formed their own organization and leader, and the discussion for the case turned into a blind parade.They gathered together, held up banners and chanted slogans and walked on the street. In the evening, they turned around and besieged the gate of the factory.

The gate of District [-] opened slowly, and the people sitting on the ground stood up again, holding banners and swarming forward. The gate guards and security personnel held hands and tried to create a passage for the off-duty workers to pass through, but they were all scattered.The off-duty female workers were so crowded that they couldn't even get into the car, and they cursed loudly at the blocking crowd around them. Not to be outdone, the crowd crumpled up banners and threw them in their faces.

Mingming, Xiaoning, and I passed by the fifth district after school, locked the car on the side of the street, got into the crowd to help Mingming find his parents, and were dragged out by police officers from the police station who came behind us.Ming Ming stared at the policeman and said, "What are you doing? I'm here to pick up my mother from get off work!" The policeman's eyes widened even wider and said, "You little brat, you don't think this place is messy enough, just stay here!"

We had no choice but to retreat to the side of the road, holding the car and looking inside nervously.

It was one of the most poignant scenes I have ever witnessed in my life. People who have worked together for many years and are like a family, tore their faces in the sunset of Niucheng. They pushed each other, accused each other, and attacked each other with the most obscene language. The other party, tired of pushing and scolding, wiped away tears and pedaled away, or returned to the crowd to continue crying, but the leaders whose names were called out never appeared.

Ming's father no longer participated in the parade, Ming's grandma fell ill, Ming's mother had to go to work, and her daughter had just entered elementary school, so the whole family had to be taken care of.He obviously stopped going out to play with us after school, and obediently went home to help Dad cook.Regarding Papa Ming's participation in the street parade, everyone has different opinions. Mama Yu and Mama Ning expressed their support. They feel that Papa Ming was brought down by someone. Everyone should go to make trouble; besides, if he joins the riot organization, he can also protect Ming's mother who is off work in the crowd.Yu's father disagreed. He said: "What do you women know? What's done is done, and it's hard to get over the water. What's the use of making trouble? If it doesn't go well, it will only cause trouble for yourself."

In the evening, Mama Yu and Mama Ning went to Mingming’s house to visit Grandma Ming. As soon as they entered the house, they met Hou Lizi, the former young leader of Ming’s father. It ended tragically, and finally involved the Normandy landings and Patton's Third Army.

The two women came out of the back room and found that Hou Lizi was still persuading them, and they immediately became angry.Yu's mother said: "Hou Laizi! Don't pretend to be foreign garlic here. Aren't you afraid that your old employees will make troubles and hurt you? You haven't been laid off, and others will complain about you. What's wrong with you!" Mother Ning Said: "That's right, you have been eating out of the same pot with the third brother for so many years. The third brother has been bullied like this. It's fine if you don't help him, and even ran over to make sarcastic remarks! Look at this family. Drinking northwest wind, you can talk so well, you have the ability to tell everyone to go back to work!" Hou Lizi became embarrassed, grinned and said: "Old sisters, you misunderstood, I am here to visit the old lady By the way, let me say a few words about the third child. He is too straightforward. If someone calls him, he will immediately rush forward. This is the big policy and policy of the factory. It is not my family who are laid off. How many double-employees in this village The family members are all down, I mean we should find something to do earlier, and stop letting people see our jokes."

"Cripple Hou!" Grandma Ming shouted from the back room, "Get out of here!"

At nine o'clock, Ming's father came back from Ming's mother who was working overtime. After Ming's mother entered the room, she took off her down jacket, put down her lunch box, and greeted Yu's and Ning's mothers haggardly.Ming's father set the table and served Ming's mother with rice.Ming's mother sat down and asked Yu's mother while eating: "Sister, did Hou Lizi come here before? Her wife stood at the door for a long time just now, without saying anything, with a look of embarrassment on her face. Come in." Yu's mother said: "I've been here before, and I talked a lot of nonsense with Mingming's father, for fear that he would follow others to make trouble and be scolded by the old lady in the end. This dead cripple probably retreated this street I’ve been all over the place, I’ve really worked hard.” Ming’s mother said, “Oh, in fact, I didn’t say anything wrong.” Ning’s mother said, “Is there any clue about what happened to you? Is it true that you have to come down?” Ming said My mother said: "I don't know yet. Everyone is in a state of anxiety these days. I heard that the notice from above has been sent to the management office, saying that only two technicians with low professional titles can be left in each department. I thought about it when I came back. If it doesn’t work, forget it, I will go to the board factory with everyone, and we can always make a living.” Ning’s mother said: “I’d better find time to ask that Zheng, don’t you listen to him in terms of personnel? If you think the money is too low, let’s get together, we can’t have the couple who have been working in the factory for so many years, and they all come down at once.” Ming’s mother couldn’t eat anymore, so she put down her chopsticks and covered her face with her hands and cried, “Sister, there’s really no way. stay here."

Under pressure from Mingming and I, Xiao Ning finally revealed the source of the big ticket in his hand.There is an uninhabited alley near Gonggong Road. One side of the alley is close to the abandoned workshop in Niuye District [-]. Because of the age, the walls there are full of loose green bricks, and it is only as high as one person, so it is easy to climb over.Xiao Ning said frankly that he had only patronized twice, throwing out a few bearings for a few hundred dollars, and never dared to go again.He said that there was a duty room not far behind the wall, and there was an old man in the duty room who liked to watch TV. Sometimes this old man would suddenly come out with a flashlight to take random photos, which was very scary.

We borrowed a tricycle from Fatty Guo at the waste collection station, and walked into the alley of Gonggong Road in the dark.

As a veteran, Xiao Ning was the first to turn over, and I was the second to turn over the hole in the wall that Xiao Ning had stepped on, obviously staying outside to respond.Xiao Ning and I lay side by side behind a tuft of dry grass, staring at the duty room tens of meters away without moving.Half a minute later, Xiao Ning patted me on the back and said, "Let's go." I bowed my waist and stood up, sticking grass to move, when a loud voice suddenly came from the duty room: "Guo! Stop! "Xiao Ning and I lost our minds and fell to the ground together. Half a minute later, we were convinced that it was the sound from the TV. We turned our faces and looked at each other with a smile, then stood up again and moved to the distant workshop. .

Xiao Ning pouted her buttocks and made a move to lift a few iron pipes. I rode on the wall and gritted my teeth to take them, and passed them to Mingming outside the wall.Mingming gasped and said, "That's about it, it's almost too much to fit, the lights over there are too bright, and we're screwed when the old man comes out." Xiao Ning said, "It's okay, the brighter over there, the darker our side— I*, come down quickly, the old man is out!" My heart tightened, and I slid down the wall in embarrassment, and the flashlight of the old man in the duty room swept over, which was brighter than the light from the atomic bomb.I buried my head in the dry grass and begged all the gods I knew. The old man coughed, turned and walked back to the duty room.

Only one person can sit in the back of the tricycle, obviously walking back from another alley near the main entrance.I drove Xiao Ning back to Liulihe along Gonggong Road. This was not the first time I stole something, but I was so nervous that I was suffocating. I counted the street lights above my head, and I didn’t dare to look at any faces on the side of the road. The tricycle Every spoke of it stirred my trembling nerves.I don't know how long it took, the willow branches by the river began to slap my cheeks, and I regained consciousness. Looking at the lights of the waste collection station from a distance, I felt a little joy in my heart.

Fatty Guo burped and slid the weight, straightened up and said, "Do you want to weigh it again yourself?" Said: "Boy, these can only be counted as scrap iron. If you get old parts, I will pay you according to the number of pieces, which is much more than this." After counting the money, he took out two ten-yuan bills and handed them to Fatty Guo, saying: "Uncle , this is my elder brother's filial piety to you, so don't tell others." Fatty Guo smiled into a ball of dung, and said, "Okay, you boy can accomplish great things."

3.
Grandma Ming recovered her physical functions and was able to eat and go to the bathroom by herself. This made many people happy, especially Father Ming. He was tired of the role of the housekeeper. He told Mother Ming that he was going to sell balloons on East Street.

Ming's mother obviously disagreed, and she ran around to spread the news. For a while, people in the family exploded. No one objected to Ming's father going to work. They just felt that selling balloons was embarrassing.Ming's father stood up and said, "It's not that I haven't considered going to work in the board factory, but now the old lady is not in good health, I can't stay outside all day, and someone at home has to watch. Niucheng East Street is getting more and more crowded now. It’s booming, you can earn 2000 or [-] yuan a month by setting up a stall, and you can earn [-] or [-] yuan a week selling balloons. You can make money, and you’re not far from home. How nice it is.”

The women looked at each other two by two and kept silent. Father Yu flicked the cigarette ash and said, "Third Brother, have you ever thought that once you start a business like selling balloons, you will be a stall for the rest of your life, and now you can earn two dollars?" Money, but what about the future? The children are grown up, who wants to ask, his father sells balloons on the East Street, and it’s hard to find a partner. You are also a worker from a large unit, so you can’t throw away all your figure I have already said, you wait a while, I have negotiated with the people from the district government, and we will open a restaurant on the side of the national highway together, isn’t it better than you do this?” “Then what if your matter is criticized Why don't you come down?" Ming's father replied, "Brother, it's not that I don't trust you, but I just think that your business is risky. It's too risky for us small households to do this kind of big business, so it's better to be on the safe side. it is good."

I asked Mingming, "What do you think?" Mingming said, "If he likes to sell it, he can sell it. Anyway, I won't go to East Street again."

In the center of Niucheng, connecting Xinhua Road and Zhenguan Road, is a long small commodity street. Because the west side is next to the government building, it is called Dongdajie by Niucheng people.In the early years, this was the most famous landmark of Niucheng. People from more than a dozen surrounding counties, when entering Niucheng, must go to Dongdajie Street, where they can buy all the things they need to live, and it is cheaper than shopping malls. It is the most expensive place for the people. place.Some people say that East Street has fed half of the city. This is an exaggeration, but in those days, it did make a great contribution. It provided goods to countless people and fed countless unemployed people.

In the morning mist, Dad Ming unscrewed the air tank and blew up colorful balloons, one by one tied to the rear of the bicycle. The sun came out and shot out thousands of rays, reflecting Dad Ming’s smile in the colorful, like a warm scene. dream.At nine o'clock, East Street ushered in the first wave of climax. The children jumped around the balloon and shouted, reluctant to leave. Parents rolled their eyes and asked, "How much is one?" Father Ming said, "One piece." The parents said : "It's so expensive, your balloon is covered with gold?" Ming's father said, "If it is covered with gold, it won't be able to fly."

Mingming’s younger sister Xiaoyue’s school is on the side of the East Street. After school, she came to accompany her father to sell balloons with her schoolbag on her back. Ming’s father put her on the back seat of the bicycle, and she grabbed the balloon rope and shook her head to sing.I passed by East Street, parked the car and stood straight beside Ming's father.Ming's father asked: "What are you doing here?" I held back a smile and said, "Come to support you." He said: "Support yourself, don't mess around here, it's getting dark, send your sister home Go." I said, "What about you?" He said, "There are a lot of people now, so I'll stand for a while." Xiaoyue remained in high spirits, holding on to the balloons, and Ming's father threatened her that there were thieves on East Street at night. Baby, she pouted and sat in my car.

At the intersection of East Street and Zhenguan Road, the aroma and heat of the food stalls rushed over.Xiaoyue stabbed me, I turned around and said, "What are you doing?" She said, "Brother, I'm hungry." I said, "I'll be home in a while." She didn't speak, I sighed, stopped the car and looked at her She said: "What do you want to eat?" She said: "Fried chicken legs." I led her to the roadside stall, took out the money in my pocket and handed it to the stall owner. She quickly grabbed a chicken leg and ate it. Half way, looked up at me and said: "I want to go home after eating." I said: "Okay, eat quickly, and the child thief will come later." The stall owner asked me: "Do you want to eat?" Don’t you want one too?” I said, “It’s not like you didn’t see it, I’ve given you all the money in your pocket!” The stall owner walked away bored.After Xiaoyue finished eating the meat, she put the bone in her mouth and sucked it. I felt sore, so I grabbed it and threw it on the side of the road. I helped her wipe her hands and said, "Okay, let's go home." She said, "Brother, I didn't eat it. I'm full." I threw down the paper dumpling and said, "I can't get enough of chicken legs!"

Father Ning, who was drifting away, got news. A fellow worker in the same village saw him in a county near Taiyuan. At that time, Father Ning was drinking and eating at an open-air table with a group of people. There were several young women at the same table. They drive a white van.

Ning's mother said: "He is the same kind of person as he is. He never cared about his family, so let's just die outside." Yu's mother said, "Does he still send money home on time?" The money was sent just once before, when Grandpa Xiao Ning got sick, it was all spent.” Mama Yu said, “Is Grandpa Xiao Ning cancer? In the late stage, the doctor had already said it, and I didn’t dare to let him know, so I didn’t tell everyone. Later, he peeked at the medical records and complained that I didn’t want to spend money on his operation, so I took him to the provincial hospital. , The doctor over there said that his type of cancer cannot be operated on, but can only be treated with chemotherapy, and he does not want to be raised at home, so he has to be hospitalized."

It was not only Xiao Ning's grandfather, but also Xiao Ning's sister who made Ning's mother upset.Sister Ning, Mama Ning's eldest daughter, went to work in a nightclub before graduating.

It's also about money.Sister Ning is studying at Niucheng College, and she bought a computer with several classmates in the class. Each of them cost 3000 yuan. Mother Ning couldn't get it out, so she borrowed it behind her daughter's back.She first came to Hou Laizi's house at the head of the village. As soon as she arrived at the gate, she heard a noise. It turned out that Hou Laizi was also notified by the unit to be laid off. step.Afterwards, she went to look for Fatty Guo at the scrap collection station by the Liulihe River. When Fatty Guo heard about borrowing money, he immediately cried poor, saying that all his money had been turned into pieces of iron, because the turnover was not open, and he borrowed money from the credit union. less money.Helpless, Mama Ning had no choice but to look for Mama Yu, Mama Yu agreed on the spot after hearing what she wanted, Papa Yu faltered and refused to borrow money, Mama Yu raised the half bowl of rice in her hand and dropped it, Papa Yu quickly closed his mouth .

Ning's mother took 3000 yuan to the school to find her daughter, and found that the daughter's dormitory had already installed a computer.Sister Ning wanted to save face, and when she heard her mother confess "this is borrowed money" in front of all the female students in the dormitory, she became anxious and dragged her to the corridor outside the door.Sister Ning asked Mother Ning: "Didn't I tell you that I already got the money? Who told you to come here to give the money?" Mother Ning said, "3000 yuan is not a decimal. You can't pay back what you borrowed from others? This is a loan from yourself." People’s money, go and return the money to others first.” Sister Ning was anxious again, and said, “Borrowing borrowing, what else can you do in your life other than borrowing money! You return the money, and you are not allowed to do so in the future.” Come to the school to find me if you say hello, if you do this again, I won’t go home!” Mother Ning was full of grievances, but she didn’t dare to offend her daughter, so she had to leave angrily.

For the next month, Sister Ning didn't go home anymore, nor did she answer the phone calls from Mother Ning.Mother Ning knew that she had slipped her tongue and wanted to restore the relationship with her daughter, so she stopped a female classmate of Sister Ning at the school gate, but the female classmate opened her mouth and said that it was inconvenient for her to take care of this matter. The boyfriend moved in together, and her boyfriend's father opened a nightclub in the north of the city and was very rich.

(End of this chapter)