Make a living

The sky in Pengcheng always dawns very early.

Before six o'clock, the narrow roads criss-crossed among the messy low-rise buildings began to appear one after another.

A group of sanitation workers in fluorescent vests swept away the sand from these dry riverbeds first.As the lights in the surrounding mottled concrete buildings turned on, pots and pans mixed with small human voices began to sound from all directions.

It was like drops of waking water, after a brief brewing, they gushed out from the alleyway between the buildings and sprinkled on the riverbed.

Flatbed carts and food stalls appeared one after another in the narrow side alleys nearby.The rolling wheels kept banging and colliding with the uneven road, like a natural alarm clock, waking up more sleeping people in the surrounding buildings.As for themselves, they are dragged violently by a pair of rough hands, carrying goods, food and the heavy hopes of their owners, and constantly winch forward.

In the end, these cars and people converged into streams of water, passing through the old streets, until they flocked to the bustling and busy world outside.

A city wakes up.

Such scenes happen every day in Pengcheng villages, large and small, and there is no difference.

Here are the cheapest and dirtiest houses in the city, the cheapest and least elegant fast food snacks, the oldest slate bricks, the most rats and cockroaches, the most obscene and lowly occupations, and the most desperate people people.

In one of the ordinary peasant buildings, a young man in a vest happened to be woken up by the sound of a trailer rattling outside the window.

He sat up in a daze, dazed for a while, as if he was still a little sleepy.

But soon, a little noise beside him made him dare not doze off anymore.

The young man quickly rubbed his face dryly, woke up, and then quietly turned over and got up.After getting up, he tucked in the quilt on the bed - there was still a small bulge on the inside, which was rising and falling slightly.

He patted the small drum with his broad palm for a while, and when he heard the small breathing that became long again, he straightened up and walked towards the kitchen.

"Snapped."

A fire was lit on the stove.

The water in the pot boiled quickly, and he took out the last egg from the refrigerator, and put the empty bag on the trash can by the way.

The wooden cabinet has been blackened by the damp and stove fire for many years, the young man pressed the side of the cabinet to prevent it from making too much creaking noise, and found an opened bag of milk powder from inside.

Open the iron clip, scoop two spoonfuls of powder into a small porcelain bowl, and wash out a bowl of milk fragrance with boiling water.

Only then did the young man have time to wash up by the sink.

"He Miaoer, get up."

After washing, Zheng Haichuan casually wiped the clean water on his face with a towel, and tested the temperature of the milk with the back of his hand when he passed the stove, and then went to the bed to remove the small bulge.

There was only one overhead light in the house.The incandescent light looked a bit dim, but it was sufficient to illuminate the small room.Under the projection of the light, the young man beside the bed cast a strong and powerful figure on the gray wall, but his movements of bending down were very gentle.

"……Well?"

The little caterpillar on the bed struggled for a while before popping out its head.

"Morning Dad."

The little caterpillar raised its small arm, which was not as long as Zheng Haichuan's slap, rubbed its eyes, and yawned with the scent of milk.

"Morning." Zheng Haichuan patted his nephew's head, and handed him the clothes on the back of the chair, "Get up and eat."

The boy on the bed looked very small, about two or three years old, with a small head, thin arms, thin body, and only one pair of big eyes all over his body.

But he didn't pester the adults to take care of him, but took the initiative to wear small clothes and trousers.

After getting dressed, he took the initiative to wipe his face and rinse his mouth before running to the dining table.

"Uncle, what are you eating? No steamed buns?"

On the dining table, there was only a bowl of milk and a piece of broken boiled egg.

The little boy climbed onto the stool and looked at it for a long time before asking timidly.

There used to be steamed buns.

He is half, Yaoba is three and a half.

"Cough. I forgot to buy it yesterday."

Zheng Haichuan rubbed his nose, didn't tell the child the truth, he just yelled at him, "Eat less this morning, uncle will cook something delicious for you when he comes back at noon."

"Oh."

The boy didn't ask any more questions, just lowered his head and drank the milk obediently.

And Zheng Haichuan touched his empty pocket, planning to go to the construction site early today and ask the boss to pay part of his salary first.

seven o'clock.

Zheng Haichuan walked out of the rental house with his nephew in his arms.

He was still wearing a sleeveless vest, but he had an extra layer of orange overalls over it.

His nephew, Zheng Jiahe, was firmly supported by one arm before he used his other free hand to reach for the key to lock the door.Zheng Haichuan is not short in stature, and with the tendon meat that he has practiced in the past few years, he can lift his He Miao'er like a kitten, without any effort.

It's just that today my nephew is not as obedient as usual, always hugging him in his arms and pulling at his clothes.Zheng Haichuan patted his head, and the little boy sat down obediently.

Going down to the first floor, Zheng Haichuan knocked on the door of one of the houses. After a while, the iron door opened a crack from the inside.

"Sister Hong, I'm going to trouble you again today."

A simple and flattering smile appeared on the young man's face, and the child in his arms also obediently called out to the middle-aged woman inside the door, "Aunt Hong."

The woman seemed to have not woken up yet, the lines around her eyes and nose were darker than in the daytime, making her look a bit mean.Her brows drooped, and the eyeliner that she had drawn when she was young had faded to blue, as if two inferior grass stalks had stuck to her eyelids.

"Well, come in." She yawned, her tone was good compared to her expression.

"Sorry, it's a little early today."

Zheng Haichuan felt very sorry in his heart, and when he put his nephew on the ground, he said one more sentence, "I should be able to get paid today, and I will come back to you in the evening."

"Okay, okay, hurry up, don't be in a hurry for a day or two!"

Sister Hong waved her hands impatiently, but was very careful when she bent down to hold the boy, deliberately keeping her pointed nails that had come off their shells.

"Your uncle is more verbose than my old lady!"

With the sound of closing the door with a "bang", the neighbor's dislike also hit Zheng Haichuan's forehead.But he wasn't angry, he just rubbed his nose, and when he heard the giggling of the boy in the room, he grinned his big white teeth, turned around happily and left.

Before opening the unit door of this building, he even straightened a wooden table placed beside the corridor.It was just right but not enough, he lifted the hem of his clothes again, and wiped the table top with a clean lining.

Only then did he step out the door.

At the same time, on the opposite side of the village in the city, which is separated by only one road, the tall buildings and buildings are also lit up one after another.

From the elevator of one of the hardcover apartment buildings, a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses walked out.

He was wearing a light blue shirt with the cuffs neatly rolled up a little above the elbow, revealing the silver mechanical watch on his wrist.

At the moment when he stepped out of the elevator, he glanced at the time on the watch and put his hand in his trouser pocket.In the other hand, he was carrying a leather briefcase. There were several publications on the side of the bag. The exposed words were obscure and complicated professional vocabulary, which ordinary people could not understand.

Walking out of the community, the young man didn't go to the garage, nor did he wave for a taxi, but went straight to the crosswalk beside the road not far away.

He chose to rent here at the beginning because it was convenient for commuting to and from get off work.

But cross the road and walk a few hundred meters to the hospital where he works.

Qi Yu didn't go to work until eight o'clock today.

But in the morning, he temporarily received a call from the inpatient department, saying that there were some problems with the indicators of the patients he had undergone surgery not long ago, so he left the house early.Even so, his walking pace was quick and unhurried, with a casualness that he was accustomed to, and a well-thought-out calmness.

Or in other words, there is very little in this world that can make him anxious.

This can be said to be a strong mentality, or an indifference to things that don't matter in my heart.

When he reached the intersection, the red light happened to be on, so Qi Yu stopped in his tracks.

During this time period, office workers have already gone out to catch the morning rush hour, and many young people are standing at the intersection.

It's just that Qi Yu didn't take out his phone to look at it, unlike almost everyone around him who was playing with their phones with their heads down.Instead, he still kept his hands in his pockets, and just raised his eyelids and glanced around as if bored.

This neighborhood is one of the busiest areas in the city.

Located in the center, every inch of land is expensive, and the highest housing price in the surrounding area is almost 20 yuan per square meter. Even the urban village like a stinky ditch across the street has countless multi-millionaires because of the land.

A trace of disgust flashed in the black pupils under the gold-rimmed glasses, and Qi Yu withdrew his gaze across the street.At this moment, a dazzling orange-yellow happened to appear in the corner not far away, causing his sight to stop for a few seconds.

It was a construction site surrounded by fences.Not small, since last year, a large area has been circled, and the overpasses have been banned, causing many buses to change their routes.

It is said that a multi-line interchange transportation hub will be built, and a comprehensive commercial complex will be built at the same time. Presumably, after this completion, the price of nearby land will have to go up again.

At this time, a young man in a construction site uniform was standing outside the fence, placing his mobile phone on the stone pier beside the fence, dancing and talking about something.

The logo of the Engineering Bureau was printed on the back of his overalls. From Qi Yu's perspective, he could only see his strong arms exposed, and half of his profile face laughing and joking.

"Brothers, hello everyone, I'm Okawa."

"The weather is fine today, let me show you, the sun is out, haha, it's comfortable! It's so warm."

"Look what I'm holding in my hand? Two big steamed buns!"

"Guess who bought it for me?!"

"Hey, my little He Miaoer!"

"I had something to do on the construction site yesterday. I forgot to buy breakfast when I came back from work. He Miao'er felt sorry for me, so she secretly stuffed me with two steel coins in the morning!"

"This kid, he's not very old, and he's worried about me."

"I'll use one in the morning, and I'll buy breakfast for tomorrow morning when I come back at night."

"Okay, let's end the recording here today, I have to go to work. Everyone bless me to get my salary today, and if I do, come back tonight and show everyone!"

The early morning sun shines on the outside of the commercial office building beside the road, and countless pieces of clean glass are shining with bright spots, refracting the light one after another.

One of them happened to be sprinkled on the cheerful face of the young Fangzheng, making it possible to see those dazzling white teeth even from a distance.

Qi Yu narrowed his eyes, and quickly looked away.

beep beep-

The green light turned on, the reminder to cross the road sounded, and the pedestrian who was buried in his mobile phone picked up his footsteps again.

The young man by the fence swallowed his last mouthful of steamed buns, and Qi Yu followed the flow of people around him, walking towards the hospital unhurriedly.