Chapter 13 their son

At 5 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, more than 300 male and female workers crowded at the gate of the machinery factory, waiting for the bell to ring. It was buzzing, and occasionally there were a few sharp shouts.These workers waiting to get off work are like animals locked in a fence, huddled together with nothing to do in the dim light of the evening, squeezed in the howling wind of winter.The rows of wide windows of the factory building behind them have been immersed in darkness, the surroundings of the factory building are empty, and a few pieces of dust are floating there. Fifty-one-year-old Shi Zhikang was standing in the front in a military overcoat, facing a gap that appeared after the two iron doors were closed. The gap was as wide as a thumb, and the cold winter wind came in from there, on his nose, making him feel like his nose is a little smaller than it used to be.

Beside Shi Zhikang stood the old man in charge of the gate. The old man's head was bald and slightly reddened by the cold wind. The old man was wearing a thick cotton-padded coat wrapped in a faded overalls. The big key was put in the chest pocket, half of it was exposed outside, many people clamored for the old man to open the iron door, but the old head didn't seem to hear it, look here, look there, who is attacking him As soon as he spoke, he immediately turned his face away. It wasn't until the bell rang that the old man reached out to take out the key from his chest. The people in the front all leaned back to make room for him. He walked up and inserted the key into the lock. In front of the hole, he swung his elbow back a few times and opened the lock after he didn't touch anything.

Shi Zhikang was the first to walk out of the gate of the factory. He walked quickly to the right. He had to walk one stop and get on the tram there.In fact, this tram had a stop outside the factory gate, and he walked up one stop to avoid crowding with the workers of the same factory.There are at least forty workers pushing to get on the same tram, and the tram is already full of people when it arrives at the gate of their factory. When Shi Zhikang walked in front of the house, he was thinking about the forty or so workers in the same factory. Without turning his head, he could imagine how they gathered around the stop sign outside the factory gate, just like they crowded in front of the factory gate just now. There are about a dozen strong young men among them, and more than a dozen female workers. Three of these ten female workers entered the factory at the same time as him. Now they are all sick, and one has a bad heart. , two with kidney disease.

Thinking this way, he saw the stop sign ahead, and a tram was coming from the street further ahead, he immediately took out his hands from his pockets, and after shaking them off, he ran fast, he was similar to a tram At the same time to the stop sign. There were already three groups of people standing there, and the tram slowly approached, and the three groups of people followed the three doors of the tram, and when the tram stopped, the three groups of people also stopped.As soon as the car door was opened, the people in the car squeezed out in a single line like toothpaste, and then the people below squeezed in in a circle.

When the tram came to the gate of Shi Zhikang's factory, he had already squeezed into the middle of the tram, his two arms were placed vertically in the gap left by several close bodies.The trolley did not stop at the stop of his factory, but drove directly past it. He saw that there were no more than forty workers from the same factory standing around the stop sign, only fifteen or six at most, and seven or eight strangers. He thought to himself that there would be at least one or two trains before this train. passed.The three frail female workers obviously couldn't squeeze into the passing car just now, and they were still standing there, right in front of the stop sign, the one with a bad heart was in the middle, the two with kidney problems were on both sides, and the three were next to each other , all wearing bulky cotton coats and scarves made of black wool, the cold wind blows the hair of the three of them wildly, and the gradually darkening sky makes their faces blurred like burns .

When the tram passed by, Shi Zhikang saw the heads of the three of them turn around with the tram at the same time, and they were watching the tram he was riding go away. After nine stops, Shi Zhikang got off the tram, walked back more than 30 meters, and came to another stop sign, where he was going to take a bus.At this time, it was completely dark, the street lamps were high above, and the lights were already very weak when they hit the ground, but the lights of the shops on both sides of the street were very bright, covering the sidewalks and even shining around the stop signs. There were already a lot of people in front of the stop sign, and the people at the front were almost in the middle of the road. Shi Zhikang walked among them, and a minibus drove over. After the door opened, a man with a canvas bag hanging on his chest poked his head out and shouted : "Two yuan for one, two yuan for one...

Two men and a woman boarded the minibus, and the man still poked his head up and shouted, "Two yuan each..." At this time, the bus appeared at the corner in front. The shouting man on the minibus saw the bus coming, and immediately withdrew his head. After closing the door, the minibus drove out of the waiting crowd, and the bus rumbled away. come over. Shi Zhikang quickly got to the front, then stretched his arms slightly, and backed away vigorously as the bus drove by. Some people behind him were squeezed onto the sidewalk, and the front door opened in front of him. Sliding over, he judged the speed of the car and moved forward, guessing that he would just hit the middle door, but the bus suddenly braked, so he missed the middle door by one or two meters.He fell out of the front, almost to the outside.

After the door opened, only three people got out.Shi Zhikang moved two steps in the middle, and inserted his hands through the seam of the person in front. When he squeezed onto the car, he used the arm strength that a fitter should have, and sewed the person in front together. Little by little, he squeezed himself into the seam, and then continued to expand the seam in front of him. Shi Zhikang used all his strength to separate the people in front to the two sides, and with the strength of the people behind, he pushed himself to the door of the car. He grabbed his coat collar and pulled him down. He sat down on the ground and hit his head on a person's leg. That person's leg hit his head again in turn. At first glance, it was a girl. The girl glanced at him very unhappy, and then moved her eyes away.

When Shi Zhikang stood up, the bus door closed, and the bus started to drive away. A woman's handbag was caught by the door, revealing a corner and a section of belt, and that piece of belt wobbled away with the bus. He turned around, wondering who pulled him down just now, he saw two young men who were as young as his son looking at him coldly, he looked at the two young men, and then Look at the other people who didn't squeeze into the car, some of them were looking at him, some of them were looking away.He wanted to scold something, but on second thought, he decided not to scold.

Later, two cars came at the same time, and Shi Zhikang got into the rear one.This time he didn't get off at the stop closest to his home, but two stops ahead.There was a man there who rode a scooter every day, and came to the bus stop at three or four o'clock in the afternoon to sell tofu. His tofu was more fragrant than other tofu.Shi Zhikang's wife, who works in a textile factory, asked him to buy two catties of tofu there when he came back from get off work, because today is Saturday, and their son, who is in the third grade of university, will go home for the weekend. After Shi Zhikang bought the tofu, he no longer squeezed the car, but walked two stops to go home. When he got home, it was almost seven o'clock, and his wife hadn't come back yet, so he was very upset.His wife was supposed to leave work at 4:30, and the way home was closer than him.Normally at this time, his wife's meals are almost ready, and now he can only come to the kitchen hungry and start washing vegetables and cutting meat.

When his wife Li Xiulan came back, she had two fish in her hand. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Shi Zhikang was cutting the meat, and asked him hastily, "Have you washed your hands?" Shi Zhikang was angry, so he said stiffly: "You didn't see that my hands are wet." Li Xiulan said: "Have you used soap? Viral colds and pneumonia are prevalent in the street now. You have to wash your hands with soap when you get home." Shi Zhikang snorted and said, "Then why don't you go home early?" Li Xiulan put the two fish in the tank. She told Shi Zhikang that the two fish only cost three yuan. She said, "It's the last two. He asked for five yuan, but I insisted on giving him three yuan." Shi Zhikang said, "It will take that long to buy two dead fish?" "Not long after he died." Li Xiulan showed him the gills: "Look, the gills are still very red." "I mean you." Pointing to his watch, he straightened his voice and said, "It's past seven o'clock, and you didn't come back." Li Xiulan's voice also rang, and she said, "What's the matter? What's the matter if I come back late? You come back later than me every day, did I tell you?" Shi Zhikang asked her: "I leave work earlier than you? My factory is closer to yours?" Li Xiulan said, "I fell." Li Xiulan threw the fish in her hand, turned and walked into the room. She said, "I fell off the car and couldn't stand up for a long time. I sat by the street for thirty to forty minutes. It's freezing..." Shi Zhikang put down the knife that was cutting the meat, and walked over: "Did you fall? I also fell, and I was pinched by the collar..." Shi Zhikang finished talking halfway, so he stopped talking. He saw Li Xiulan's trousers rolled up, and there was a bruise the size of an egg next to her knee. He bent down and touched her with his hand, and asked her, "How did you fall?" Li Xiulan said: "When I got out of the car, the people behind were too crowded and knocked me down." At this time their son came back. He was wearing a bright red down jacket. When he entered the room and saw the injury on his mother's leg, he bent down like his father and asked with concern: "Did you fall?" Then he said while taking off his down jacket: "You should supplement calcium. Now not only babies need calcium supplements, but elderly people also need calcium supplements. You are losing a lot of calcium in your bones every day, so you are prone to fractures... If I would never have had such a big bruise when I was pushed off the bus." As they spoke, their son turned on the TV, sat on the sofa, plugged in the earphones of the pocket radio, and listened to the FM program of the music station. Shi Zhikang asked his son: "Are you watching TV? Or listening to the radio?" His son turned his face to look at him, as if he didn't hear what his father was saying, he turned his face back again. At this time his mother spoke, and Li Xiulan said, "Have you washed your hands?" He turned his face, took off a headset and asked his mother, "What did you say?" "Go and wash your hands." Li Xiulan said, "Viral flu is prevalent now, and the virus is most likely to be transmitted on the bus. You should wash your hands quickly and use soap." "I don't have to wash my hands," their son said, stuffing earphones into his ears. "I came back in a taxi." That night, Shi Zhikang did not fall asleep. His wife Li Xiulan had only received a salary of more than 100 yuan for five months. , but now rice has risen to one yuan and three yuan per catty, pork is twelve yuan per catty, and even pepper costs three yuan per catty.That's it, they still give their son 300 yuan a month for living expenses, leaving only more than 200 yuan for themselves.However, their son turned out to be in a taxi on his way home on Saturday. Li Xiulan didn't fall asleep either, she saw Shi Zhikang always turning over, so she asked him: "Are you not asleep?" "No." Shi Zhikang replied. Li Xiulan turned to him and asked, "How much will it cost my son to take a taxi home?" "I don't know, I've never taken a taxi before." Shi Zhikang went on to say, "I think it will cost at least thirty yuan." "Thirty yuan?" Li Xiulan called out distressedly. Shi Zhikang sighed and said, "This is the money we dug out from between our teeth." The two stopped talking. After a while, Shi Zhikang fell asleep first, and not long after, Li Xiulan also fell asleep. The next morning, their son put on two earphones as yesterday, listening to music and watching TV. Shi Zhikang and Li Xiulan decided to have a good talk with their son. Li Xiulan sat down beside her son, and Shi Zhikang moved a chair Sitting in front of them, Shi Zhikang said to his son, "Your mother and I want to talk to you." "What are you talking about?" Their son spoke loudly because he was wearing headphones. Shi Zhikang said, "Talk about some things at home." "Speak." Their son almost shouted. Shi Zhikang reached out and took off the earphone on his son's right side. He said, "In the past few months, some things have happened at home. I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid it would affect your study..." "What's going on at home?" their son asked, taking off the other headset. "It's nothing." Shi Zhikang said, "From this month on, there will be no night shifts in our factory. I'm not afraid that half of the more than 300 workers will be laid off. I have skills, and the factory still needs me...mainly because of you. Mom, your mother only gets more than 100 yuan a month now, and she has four years before retirement. If she retires early now, she can get 300 yuan a month, and she can get three years in a row... "Get more money by retiring early?" their son asked. They nodded, and their son said, "Then retire." Shi Zhikang said, "Your mother and I think the same way." "Retire." Their son was about to put on the earphones again, Shi Zhikang looked at Li Xiulan, Li Xiulan said: "Son, the family's financial situation is not as good as it used to be, and it may be even worse in the future..." "What did you say?" asked the son, who put on a headset. Shi Zhikang said: "Your mother said that the family's economy is not as good as it used to be..." "It's okay." The son waved his hand, "The country's economy is not as good as it used to be." Shi Zhikang and Li Xiulan looked at each other, Shi Zhikang said, "Let me ask you, why did you take a taxi back yesterday?" Their son looked at them puzzled, and Shi Zhikang said, "Why don't you take the bus?" "The bus is too crowded," said the son. "Too crowded?" Shi Zhikang pointed at Li Xiulan: "Your mother and I squeeze the bus home every day. You are so young, why are you afraid of being crowded?" "I'm not afraid of being squeezed, but the smell is too bad." The son frowned and continued: "I am most afraid of smelling other people's body. In the bus, so many people squeeze you and force you to smell their body. At that time, the smell of perfume was stinky. People often fart secretly..." The son finally said: "Every time I squeeze the bus, I feel like throwing up." "Vomit?" Li Xiulan was taken aback, and then asked, "Son, are you sick?" "I'm not sick," said the son. Li Xiulan looked at Shi Zhikang and said, "Could it be a stomach problem?" Shi Zhikang nodded and said to his son, "Does your stomach hurt?" "I'm not sick." The son was a little impatient. Li Xiulan asked: "How much do you eat every day now?" Their son yelled, "I don't have a stomach problem." Shi Zhikang continued to ask: "Did you sleep well?" Shi Zhikang said to Li Xiulan again: "If you haven't slept well, you'll want to vomit." Their son held out ten fingers: "I sleep ten hours a day." Li Xiulan was still worried: "Son, you should go to the hospital for a checkup." "As I said, I'm not sick." Their son yelled and stood up: "Didn't you just take a taxi once? I won't take a taxi anymore..." Shi Zhikang said: "Son, we don't care about the money, we are doing it for your own good. You are going to work soon, and if you earn money yourself, you will understand that money is not easy to come by, and you will save it..." "yes." Li Xiulan took it over and said, "We didn't say we wouldn't let you take a taxi." "I will definitely not take a taxi in the future." Their son sat back on the sofa while talking, and added: "I will take the car I bought myself in the future." Then he stuffed two earphones into his ears and said, "Many of our classmates often take taxis." After hearing this, Li Xiulan said to Shi Zhikang: "His classmates often take taxis." Seeing that Shi Zhikang nodded, she said, "Other people's sons can take a taxi, why can't our son take a taxi?" Shi Zhikang said, "I didn't say I wouldn't let him take a taxi." At this time, their son may have heard a popular song he likes, and shook his head and sang it too.Seeing their son shaking his head, they looked at each other and smiled.They don't worry about the fact that the days ahead may get tougher, they see their son has grown up.