If I don't have money to go to college, I can only go to slay the dragon.

Every document in the blue folder was placed on the table and stacked together. Lin Nian turned the pages very quickly, his eyes scanning over the information as quickly as a scanner, and he could read the documents he had read on one page in almost five seconds. Put it in another pile.

Su Xiaoqiang was not surprised to see him like this. Almost everyone in the Grade 2 (1) class didn't know that Lin Nian had a particularly good memory. The story of memorizing the dictionary and the last thousand digits of pi made everyone in the grade even more excited. We discussed it several times. I heard that the school was interested in sending him to the city to participate in a memory competition, and even considered letting him appear on a variety show, but he declined on the grounds that study was the most important thing, but the specific reason is probably only his own. Only then did it become clear.

"Chu Tianjiao probably came to settle in this city in 1988. At that time, our city had not yet developed. Everyone was very poor, but it was still a city, so many people from the countryside came in to try their luck. Seizing the opportunity, he probably also belongs to this category." Su Xiaoqiang looked at Lin Nian who was looking through the information and repeated the original words of the uncle who helped her check the information, "At that time, our area was still very backward, and the streets were full of people. With red brick walls, the streets are filled with comic stalls, pool tables and hair salons with photos of Gong Li and Andy Lau.”

"It's hard to have a sense of immersion." Lin Nian said, "But Chu Zihang was born in 1990, which proves that Chu Tianjiao had indeed arrived in this city 90 years ago and met Su Xiaoyan, that is, Chu Zihang My mother has lived in this city for nearly 20 years?"

"We found a lot of information related to him in his application form. He has been in this city for a long time but has not made a name for himself. In the first few years, he worked in a hair salon and cut other people's hair." Su Xiaoqiang I saw Lin Nian pushing a photo aside.

It was a yellowed photo with a sense of age. The man in it had a pompom-like hairstyle, with black hair on his temples. He was wearing a fancy shirt with a black and white style T-shirt underneath. Wearing sunglasses on his face, he is standing in front of the mirror to cut the hair of a customer. His posture is very coquettish. Judging from the poster hanging on the side, it is not difficult to guess that the man is imitating the rock king "Elvis Presley", and his muscles are flowing in the sun. With glistening sweat, there were probably many female customers coming here to ask him to wash their hair.

"But it's a pity that the barber shop closed down due to improper management. It may have something to do with his aesthetics. At that time, people could not accept the popular American hairstyles. Many people gathered together and smashed his shop." Su Xiaoqiang said.

"Has information from such a long time been found out?" Lin Nian glanced at Su Xiaoqiang.

"Our family has a lot of channels when it comes to investigating people." Su Xiaoqiang rarely tried to deal with Lin Nian, because it involved some trivial matters about her family background, and those in the mining business would inevitably step on it, both covertly and overtly. Some. Mines are dirty, and people are dirty when they are exposed to mines. For example, Su Xiaoqiang's family, the largest mining company, has resources and a circle that ordinary people can't imagine. If they want to investigate a person, it only takes half a day to use a two-pronged approach. Digging people out clearly, and even asking Norma to collect local intelligence may not be as good as a local snake among local snakes like them.

What's more, Chu Tianjiao was the person Lin Nian asked her to help find. Normally, she would just notify her father's secretary if something happened, but this time he specifically found his uncle who was sitting on the human resources bench. His father asked him to investigate under the guise of looking for someone. With all his strength and connections in the entire company, Chu Tianjiao's name spread throughout the city to everyone with some energy in half a day. With Su Xiaoqiang's words in his ears, almost the entire city turned upside down in half a day, and almost all the traces that Chu Tianjiao left in the city were piled in front of Lin Nian.

"Later I heard that I was a rock singer for a period of time, but I couldn't beat the popular popular songs at that time. I was regarded as a reactionary spy sent by foreign countries. Everyone yelled and beat me, and my guitar was broken. There was a video of it, and I made a fuss. There has been a lot of "catching a spy" controversy for a while, but luckily he hid it well and was not caught as a spy and dealt with it. This matter was originally published in the local newspaper and it was discovered after someone dug it up that he had a period like this The past." The expression on Su Xiaoqiang's face was also a little strange. It seemed difficult to imagine that this man who used to be in various embarrassments could be compared with Chu Zihang in Shilan now.

"Later, in 1990, he got married to Su Xiaoyan, a talented girl from the city's dance troupe." Su Xiaoqiang said, Lin Nian across the table was also looking at the copy of the marriage certificate. The man and the woman were both handsome. The beautiful black-and-white ID photo showed both of them looking like they were in love, and printed in black letters under their birth date: Marriage voluntarily. After being reviewed and found to be in compliance with the marriage provisions of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China, this certificate will be issued.

"Chu Tianjiao found many jobs during that time, but most of them were temporary workers. My uncle said that it was not easy for young students to find jobs in the 1990s. Class concepts were stronger than now. Farmers are farmers and workers are workers. Unless you go After serving as a soldier, he applied for the qualification to work in the factory. Otherwise, only the son or daughter of the worker could become a worker. Chu Tianjiao applied to work in the factory, but he applied for six or seven applications in a row and was rejected. In the end, he had no choice but to find a temporary worker. Work." Su Xiaoqiang paused as he looked at the yellowed application form for entering the factory spread out in Lin Nian's hand, "So during that time, he mainly made a living as a coolie."

"Working as a coolie?"

"To support the family, right? We just got married at the beginning of the year and have a child a year later, that is, Chu Zihang." Su Xiaoqiang also seemed to be immersed in interpreting this man's life. He was now talking about the most unlucky man in his life named Chu Tianjiao. Easy. Probably also the most fulfilling period of time.

There are no grand ambitions or high aspirations. Just giving birth to a lovely child with a woman he likes. This is probably the happiest moment in this man's life.

"In order to support his wife and children, he worked as a temporary worker for a long time, but even temporary workers were not easy to find at that time. He rode a permanent bicycle around the city every day, and what did he see? He would ask if there was still a shortage of people, and he would also hand over a very Western-style business card. The business card was made by himself in a copy shop and cost thirty cents a piece. This information was provided by the Black Prince Group. They even found a copy of the business card."

"You also asked people from the Black Prince Group?" Lin Nian found a business card in the folder that was cracked by water. On it was written Chu Tianjiao's name and all the contracted business. From music personal training, Down to the coolie level, one can do almost anything and is willing to do anything.

"The people over there helped us find records from very ancient times, and it turns out that Chu Tianjiao did exist. Although the traces are very shallow, the people we want to find can usually find out what the Black Prince Group was doing during that time. The mining industry also involves the construction industry, which requires many people to carry ash buckets and sand and gravel. Two buckets per load weigh about 70 kilograms. Chu Tianjiao also applied for the job and did a good job, which left a deep impression on many people. impression."

Su Xiaoqiang pulled out a photo from the folder. Lin Nian was slightly moved when he saw the photo. It was a photo of a construction site during the period of large-scale construction. Temporary workers were working with their backs to the sky and their faces to the loess. The leader wearing a construction hat scolded Fang Qiu. But the most eye-catching thing here is the man with a fashionable Elvis hairstyle wearing a tight-fitting T-shirt and carrying a load of sand and gravel. A load of 70 kilograms is slung on his shoulders, and he actually doesn’t forget to carry it in his hand. Two buckets, carrying a load of about 150 kilograms, running at a trot

"Later, I won the Best Temporary Worker Award once. The reason was that during the construction of a restaurant of the Black Prince Group, a 1,200 kilogram boiler was required to be loaded onto the second floor. As a result, the project manager thought it was 1,200 kilograms. Only eight people were hired, and Chu Tianjiao was inside, carrying a boiler weighing more than two thousand kilograms and pushing it up to the second floor with seven other people. The project people who came to correct the mistake afterwards were shocked when they saw that the boiler had been set up. It fell off. Then a temporary worker award was given to each person, and an extra 100 yuan was awarded."

It was still a photo. Eight workers stood together. The most handsome and eye-catching one was Chu Tianjiao. He had a big red flower on his chest that couldn’t be more earthy. He showed a confident smile to the camera. Probably because he thought that he could give others Have you bought high-quality milk powder for your child?

"But in fact, they did the work of two people and should have received a reward of one hundred and twenty, so the project people received a kickback of one hundred and sixty." Lin Nian put aside the information on this matter and said softly.

He thought about searching for Chu Tianjiao's past, hoping to find clues about 'Odin', but he didn't expect that what he finally found was this man's entire life in this city.

"But then his life stabilized. It happened that the city entered a period of rapid development at that time, the national welfare movement began, and many companies sprang up. He took advantage of this and found a stable job."

"Driving for the tax chief?" Lin Nian looked at the photo he picked up in his hand. It was taken by a newspaper reporter. A black Shanghai Volkswagen Jetta 2000 was lying in front of a hotel.

In a context where everyone travels by bicycle, a good car almost represents all the dignity of the car owner.

It's just that Lin Nian's eyes have been fixed on the corner of the photo from the beginning. There is a man with slicked back hair leaning against the back of the car smoking a cigarette alone. His face cannot be seen clearly in the photo, only his face can be seen. With his back to the camera at a 45-degree angle, he blew out white smoke, and the hotel lights reflected mottled light on his head. Although he was only a driver at the time, he became the highlight of this photo. This man can always leave people with an alternative sense of style in all eras.

"I heard from my uncle that many people who worked in the tax bureau remember him and said he drove a car well. At that time, the director of the tax bureau could afford a car but not many could drive it. Several drivers could drive well. He was afraid of scratching his waistband. But Chu Tianjiao took the initiative to apply for this position at that time. Everyone who worked on his car said that he was born to be a driver. Since he became The driver and tax director have never been late for a meeting again," Su Xiaoqiang said.

"He liked Elvis Presley, but at that time, there were very few foreign programs broadcast in China. It could only be that he had a resume of studying abroad or traveling abroad. Maybe his driving skills were honed at that time," Lin Nian said.

"But if he studies abroad, he won't have to work part-time to support the family when he comes back?" Su Xiaoqiang was a little confused because of Su Xiaoyan and Chu Zihang, who was just born. That man had been trying his best to find a job in the past few years. , the city is full of the shadow of the permanent bicycle he rode, leaving indelible traces on this one-third-acre land.

"He also has his own difficulties." It was difficult for Lin Nian to explain to Su Xiaoqiang. Chu Tianjiao's experience abroad may not have been studying abroad and traveling, but doing some "tasks" that are difficult to reveal to others. Maybe he was in the upper class society in the United States. , he hangs out with suits and spirits every day, lights cigars with money, and visits one intelligence station after another related to the secrets of the 'Dragon Clan'.

He is an 'S' class, and he is the most popular when he is popular. But in the end, he chose to go back to China at the beginning of the reform and opening up in 1990, and lived with mud and sweat every day. All for the sake of Chu Zi, a baby who was waiting to be fed at home. Hang and that woman named Su Xiaoyan?

But what drove you to do this? Lin Nian stretched out his hand and gently wiped the profile of the man smoking with his back on the photo, thinking silently.