Return to the 1982 Staff Compound

Chapter 92: South Station

The clock in the station showed it was only 1:28 p.m., so Qiu Huoming arrived a little early.

This place is a mixed crowd, with many thieves. Qiu Huoming was worried about his car, so after checking the schedule, he immediately went out.

As soon as I arrived at the parking space at the door, I saw a person squatting in front of my car.

He shouted loudly and ran over. The staff at the station saw him and turned their heads away as if nothing had happened.

The outside world is not under his jurisdiction, so it is better to have less trouble than more.

When the man saw that he was discovered, he quickly stood up and ran away, leaving only a swift and agile back view that disappeared to Qiu Huoming.

Qiu Huoming ran to his car and saw a pry mark on the car lock. Qiu Huoming touched it and felt a little distressed.

There are not many cars here, and most of them are a bit old and tied to trees or telephone poles with iron chains. My well-maintained car stands out like a crane among chickens, and is particularly eye-catching.

He pushed the car onto the ring road, which was a bend.

There are red brick houses next to it, and several brick walls that are painted white in the middle and have red slogans on them.

As soon as he turned the corner, he heard a familiar voice.

"Did you bring any money?"

The voice was familiar, Qiu Huoming was startled and looked around.

In the grove nearby, Zhang Yougen was hiding behind a tree and talking. From this angle, he could only see half of Zhang Yougen's body.

Then he heard Sister Hong's voice.

"I brought it, but not much. You can come back in a few days when you're fine. Your father and I went to the hospital to see the kid. He didn't have any serious injuries at all. He should be fine after two days of lying down."

Sister Hong said angrily.

"How's my dad? Is he mad?"

"What else can I do? Your father paid for the medical expenses..."

"Okay, I know what to do. You can go back now." Zhang Yougen's voice sounded a little tired.

Qiu Huoming pushed the bike carefully, tiptoed across the road to the other side, and after riding more than 100 meters, he suddenly stopped.

He gritted his teeth, turned the bike around and rode back.

In the woods, he pushed the bike on the mud and went around the side of the tree.

"Brother Yougen, it's me..." He quickly greeted him.

Zhang Yougen was leaning against a tree, with a cigarette in his mouth that was almost burnt out. He looked rather miserable, with wounds on his face, painted with mercurochrome, and stubble growing on his face, making him look several years older.

Sister Hong had already left, and he was alone behind the tree.

"Why are you here?" Zhang Yougen frowned and retracted his fist that was about to swing out.

"My sister is coming back today, and I went to the station to pick her up. When I saw your back, I thought you looked like me, so I came around to take a look."

Qiu Huoming explained it clearly.

Zhang Yougen put out his cigarette on the tree trunk and said, "Alright, leave now. This is not the place to talk."

"Brother Yougen, if you are short of money, I still have some." Qiu Huoming parked the car and reached into his pocket.

"Go away, don't meddle in adults' affairs. Also, don't tell my dad you saw me." He turned up the collar of his army green coat and turned to leave.

He was tall and had long legs. After a few turns, he disappeared around the corner of a house.

Qiu Huoming pushed the car out of the woods with some melancholy.

Only then did I notice a notice with unclear handwriting posted on the red brick wall next to it. It had been eroded by wind and rain and the edges had fallen off. I could barely make out the black words on the paper. This kind of notice is usually posted by police stations.

A vague memory suddenly became clear in his mind. He remembered Zhang Yougen's ending...

In the past, I took a bus here to work in the south, and occasionally glanced at the notices posted on the wall. There were many names on the notices.

During the crackdown in 83, Zhang Yougen was on the list.

Qiu Huoming's heart tightened, and he turned back to talk to Sister Hong. Even Zhang Yougen's father couldn't control his temper, so he himself was even less influential.

He originally wanted to go to Fang Jun's store, but he was not in the mood at the moment.

I simply pushed the bike and waited at the exit of the station, found a spacious place, sat on the back seat, supported myself with my feet, and looked at the people coming out.

There are few well-dressed people riding in buses these days. Most of them look dirty. The things taken off the buses are even more varied, including live chickens and ducks.

He looked at their clothes and guessed who they were and their relationship to each other.

A writer needs to have strong observation skills to be able to complete his work better. Qiu Huoming had nothing to do anyway, so he half-lay on the car and looked over at them one by one.

Just when I was enjoying the sight, a pretty girl wearing a thin emerald green jacket came from the exit. She was wearing black trousers and a pair of flat cloth shoes. She was carrying a cloth bag on her back and a bamboo basket on her elbow. The bamboo basket was quite heavy, so she had to change hands from time to time.

He walked very slowly, looking around as he walked.

Several tricycle riders were soliciting business, and one of the tricycle owners came up to her and reached out to take the bamboo basket in her hand.

This is their usual trick. Usually single guests will subconsciously follow after their bags are picked up, and then it will be natural for them to take their car.

The outstretched hand was pushed away by a young boy.

The tricycle owner was about to get angry, but when he saw that the boy actually knew the woman, he turned around in dismay and looked for another customer.

After driving away the tricycle owner, Qiu Huoming came over with a smile, "Sister, you are finally back."

He stretched out his arms and hugged Qiu Hongling. He didn't notice anything, but he suddenly felt that his elder sister's back was very thin.

He took the basket from Qiu Hongling's hand.

"Huo Ming, how come you have grown so tall?" After being surprised, Qiu Hongling raised her head and looked at him in disbelief.

She came back once during the Chinese New Year, and at that time she didn't think her brother was that tall.

"Hey, isn't that cool?" Qiu Huoming hung the bamboo basket on the handlebars, turned to his elder sister and said, "Sister, get in the car. I'll take you home."

Qiu Hongling took a step forward and touched the car body. "Dad said that you earned money from writing and bought yourself a car. I thought he was bragging, but it turned out to be true..."

"I'll tell you slowly when we get home, sister. Don't worry, get in the car. I'm a very good driver." Qiu Huoming said with a smile.

He felt a natural closeness to Qiu Hongling, not only because she had taken care of him since he was a child, but also because of Qiu Hongling's own affinity.

"Are mom and dad okay?"

The car had left the vicinity of the station and arrived at South Street. Qiu Hongling, who was sitting in the back seat, finally couldn't help but ask.

"That's great. The food at home has been good recently and everyone has gained weight. Mom will definitely make dumplings for you tonight..."

Qiu Hongling sat in the back seat and her mind was far away for a moment. In previous years, except for the Chinese New Year when they could have a good meal at home, there was almost no greasy smell at other times.

She started working early and got married early, partly in order to reduce the burden on her family.

My marriage can’t be said to be happy, but it’s not bad either. It’s just like everyone else’s. I live my life the same way they do.

"Sister, how are you doing? Is your brother-in-law treating you well?"

She came back to her senses when she heard her brother's voice in her ears.

"Well enough."

She had wanted to say something nice, and she would say it on the phone, but for some reason, she couldn't say it in front of her brother.

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