Dream Guide

Yu Jianguo lowered his head and carefully inserted a thin cotton thread into the butt hole of the embroidery needle. The thread ends of the cotton thread were a little loose and didn't go through the first time. He put the end of the thread into his mouth and licked it, turning the end of the thread into a thin and pointed shape, and then aimed it at the butt hole of the needle and pierced it. This time, probably because the thread became soft and thin after being licked wet, it passed by the eye of the needle, but failed again.

Yu Jianguo picked up the scissors on the table, clicked off the soft tip of the thread, and continued to carefully thread the eye of the needle. This time the thread slipped through the eye smoothly, and he immediately pinched it with two fingers. The thread was pulled out from the other end of the eye of the needle, and he let out a long breath.

He felt that his eyes were not what they used to be. In the past, it was only a matter of one second, but now it has been repeated over and over again for so long. Fortunately, the guards did not urge him, which was very different from when he was in prison more than ten years ago. At that time, if your movements were a little slower, you would be said to be passive and slow in your work, and you would inevitably be reprimanded. If it slows down the progress of the same group, causing everyone to work overtime, they will be beaten when they return.

Conditions in today's prisons are much better than in the past, management is stricter, and labor and life are much more humane. Go to work on time every day, eat on time, pickle and steamed buns in the morning, meat at noon, and vegetarian dishes in the evening. Although there are still bullies in the prison who bully the weak, they will not beat people as easily as in the past.

Yu Jianguo was charged with trafficking in human organs, intentional injury, fraud, stealing and insulting corpses, and was punished for several crimes. In addition, he already had a criminal record, so the sentence was a bit harsh. He knew that at his age, he would definitely not be able to get out. But it doesn’t matter if you don’t go out. If you go out, you don’t know what to do. You can’t still deal with those human traffickers and organ dealers.

After threading the needle, he picked up a piece of clothing from the basket next to him and began to sew buttons on the clothing. This is the simplest job, but it is not easy to do well. The buttons must be sewn correctly, not crooked, nor too tight or too loose. They must be firm and comfortable to fasten. In addition, the position of the stitches is also very particular. Not only should the cross buttons or tic-tac-toe buttons on the front of the buttons be even and beautiful, but also when the clothes are turned over, the threads on the back of the buttons should not be messy. There should be several eyes on the back, otherwise it won’t look good and it will be unqualified.

It wasn't Yu Jianguo's first day doing this job. Not to mention the newcomers who had just entered the prison, even the old men who had served one or two years were far behind him in needlework. This is partly because he spent three years in prison, and partly because he worked as an apprentice in a tailor shop in the city when he was young.

I was very poor when I was a child. I was so poor that not a grain of rice fell into the pots of the whole village for half a year. The bark of the elm trees at the entrance of the village was stripped off for cooking. When he was very young, he went out to beg for food with the elders in the village. Originally, begging for food was the most embarrassing thing to do. Who would be willing to beg for food if they could survive? But at that time, these beggars became the first people to see the world.

Yu Jianguo was uneducated and was young at the time. He did not understand reform and opening up or the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. However, the earth-shaking changes that were taking place in the entire country from cities to rural areas shocked him enough. He saw smoking chimneys suddenly erected in the vast countryside, saw the city streets suddenly crowded with vendors of all sizes, and saw people in homespun coarse clothes suddenly become colorful and stylish.

When a group of beggars were sitting outside the station on their way back to their hometowns, arguing fiercely whether to go back by car or on foot, he, the youngest beggar, said something depressing and exciting:

"I simply don't go back. I work part-time and earn money before going back. What's the point of going back just to have a meal?"

Because of his words, everyone argued at the station all night until the next morning. The sun shone on their tired faces, making them feel as warm as a mother's chest. Homesickness defeated the wanderer's determination to call home all over the world, and the group set out on foot carrying their shabby luggage, leaving only the stubborn Yu Jianguo and the long shadow in the morning sun standing alone in the station square in the early morning. .

"The baby is not old, but she has a big temper!"

These were the words they left behind when they left. At the same time, they left half a piece of pie and seventy cents to Yu Jianguo.

Yu Jianguo decided not to be a beggar again. So, after three days of wandering on half a pie and seventy cents, he became an apprentice in a tailor shop.

At the beginning, apprentices have nothing to do with real tailoring work. They usually cooperate with the master and senior sister in doing chores. More often, they help with housework, buy vegetables, cook and take care of children. The work of cutting fabrics and making patterns was not for young apprentices. Of course, the sewing machines, which were quite expensive at that time, were not allowed to be touched. The master occasionally taught you the skill of kneading the ends of the fabric, which was considered a pass. Of course, there were also tests involved. the meaning of. What I do most and am most skilled at is sewing buttons.

Yu Jianguo remembers that the button styles in those days were much richer than now, and the various materials and patterns were difficult to distinguish. Sometimes when a customer comes to order clothes, the style of the clothes has not yet been discussed, and the buttons have to be picked first.

Yu Jianguo was a good sewer on buttons, and he later became an apprentice. However, by that time, he had lost interest in tailoring, and instead started a hardware business with a material dealer who often came to order clothes.

The buttons in the prison are very simple, of course to facilitate unified and standardized management. After all, no one is professional in this. This kind of work is too simple for Jianguo, and he can sew almost without closing his eyes. As he sewed, he unconsciously missed the past, the small tailor shop, and the colorful and colorful buttons.

"Yu Jianguo!"

Yu Jianguo was startled by the guard's sudden roar. He thought that he had been slow to thread the needle just now, or that his mind had been distracted. He instinctively straightened his body and responded with "Report to the government", and then waited for instructions with dull eyes.

The guard nodded: "Someone comes to see you and invites you to a family meal."

"Family meal?"

Yu Jianguo wondered if he heard wrongly. He has no relatives, and this is not the first time he has been imprisoned. The last time, Zhao Pengcheng, a junior, came to see him. This time, even Zhao Pengcheng went in, and he was really alone. Who would come to see him?

He has never had a family meal. He only heard that a "family meal" is expensive and not only allows him to meet with inmates during non-visiting hours, but he can also enjoy a "summer" lunch together in a special cell without being separated from each other. Shouting through that damn glass.

Yu Jianguo really couldn't think of anyone who would treat him to a family meal. He didn't believe that pie would fall from the sky. There was a hint of conspiracy in it. But what conspiracy could be plotted against him, a penniless labor reform prisoner? He is barefoot and is not afraid of wearing shoes. Think about it, no matter how bad the situation is, it will not be worse than the current situation.

In the envious eyes of other inmates, Yu Jianguo followed another prison guard who came to pick him up.

He walked into the mysterious dinner "private room". There were several meat and vegetable side dishes on the rectangular dining table, as well as an open bottle of Erguotou.

Sitting across from him was a young man with messy hair, as if it had been scratched by chicken paws; a gray trench coat that had been washed white and looked older than their prison uniforms; looking under the table, you could see that his hair was turned up Erlang legs, wearing a pair of pull boards on the feet.

When Yu Jianguo approached, the man smiled at him and lowered Erlang's legs under the table, making a kicking sound. I don't know why, but the sound of this kick was like an invisible hammer, hitting his chest hard.