Chapter 2 The second time wandering around in the mud to make a living pitying the weak and wandering outside the door sighing youth to the scenery

That Hong Shiyi tried to pick up the wallet all over the street, but failed, so he lied to others that he had lost the wallet.He lied like that, and after he escaped from the theatre, he felt ashamed and hated at the same time. As a man like himself, he has no ability to make money. Can his ability be higher than mine?You see, they are full and have nothing to do, so they spend their time listening to operas. I want to pick up two pieces of unwanted bread under the chair, but the dog will snatch them away. This uneven world really deserves to be kicked. flip over. One angrily walked back to the hall and lay down on the bed.But even though I was angry, I didn't eat anything in my belly, I was very hungry, and it was getting late, so I'm afraid it would be impossible to go out and find someone to borrow.After a while, he let out a long sigh.At this time, someone outside the room asked: "Shi Yi, are you complaining again?" Shi Yi heard that voice, it was Mr. Liu Langshan. Eat, but not easy to speak.Now that he had asked a question, it was an opportunity, so he replied, "Oh! How dare I complain? But I sigh that I am too useless, with a five-foot body, I often have problems with eating." Liu Lang Shan said: "Don't worry, come to my room and have dinner together." Shi Yi said: "I always eat Mr. Liu's, I really don't like it." walked out.Liu Langshan said: "I don't have anything good for you to eat, I just add an extra pair of chopsticks, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." He was talking and walked into the room.

Shi Yi followed him into his room, and a kerosene lamp was already lit on the table, under which were stacked two woodblock medical books.On an old coffee table next to it, there were two vegetable bowls, a large bowl of boiled cabbage tofu, another bowl of pickled radish, and two large cold steamed buns placed on the side of the bowl. down.Liu Langshan said: "Probably you are very hungry. You can eat those two steamed buns first. I also cooked rice. We will eat later." Shi Yi sat down on a chair next to him and put the Taking the medical book in his hand, he casually flipped through it twice, and replied: "Wait a while, let's eat together." Liu Langshan put the pens, inkstones and papers on the table together and put them aside, put the two bowls of vegetables on the table, Then he put two steamed buns in front of him, and said with a smile, "Eat it. You know my temper, and I'm not shy." Then, he took another pair of chopsticks and handed them to him.Shi Yi's stomach was almost bursting with hunger. Now that the steamed buns and vegetables were in front of him, how could he resist eating?Not holding the chopsticks first, I just took the steamed buns in my hands and turned them around to look at them.Lang Shan said: "You really don't need to be polite, eat first. The most fearful thing for a person is that he is full and doesn't know if he is hungry. Look at me, but I am a person who can help friends? It is nothing more than knowing that your situation is too bad. "Shi Yi heard people say that, if you want to be modest, it will be tasteless, so he put the steamed buns in his mouth and took a bite.It's a pity that there is no solid thing in the mouth today, and it's too late to distinguish what it tastes, so I swallow it immediately.After swallowing a steamed bun, there seems to be a special feeling in the stomach, but I can't describe whether it is comfortable or full?It seems that the stomach fire that was burning upwards has been lowered a bit.Now that this steamed bun is eaten, the one on the table, of course, doesn't need to be put aside.Lang Shan said: "Why hasn't the meal been served yet? I'll go and have a look." As he spoke, he walked out.In this room, only Hong Shiyi was left alone, and there were two bowls of food on the table.Although I didn't taste the taste of the dish, the fragrance of boiled tofu with cabbage could not stop being sent to my nose, so I couldn't help but picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of tofu and sent it to my mouth.After eating the cold, hard and bland steamed buns, I ate this dish with oil and salt, which was very delicious; after eating it, I stretched out my chopsticks to pick it up for a second time, just afraid that the owner would come, so I hurriedly put the dish in my mouth After swallowing, he held down the chopsticks and did not move.

Not long after, Lang Shan came with a bowl of rice, just look at the cracks in the lid, the hot air sprayed out, and the smell of white rice went straight to people's noses.Although I have already eaten two steamed buns, I have something in my stomach, but smelling this aroma makes my stomach even more thirsty.I saw Liu Langshan lifted the bowl and saw the loose half bowl of rice inside, which was as white as snow. I wished I could bring the bowl over and swallow it alone. After eating, he said with a smile: "I'm afraid this meal is not enough for two people, right?" Lang Shan nodded and said, "I originally planned to cook one meal for two meals, how could it not be enough?" So he put a basket under the bed He took out two rice bowls from his pocket, filled them with rice and put them on the table.Because his pair of chopsticks were taken by Shi Yi, he found them in the desk drawer from the net basket, and then from the desk drawer to the pile of books. He searched for a pair of chopsticks for a long time.Shi Yi was inconvenient to eat before the owner of the family came to eat, so he stared at the big bowl of white rice in a daze, and finally found the chopsticks before starting to eat, but Shi Yi refused to eat. Vegetables, the rice crawls into the mouth, and it is sweet and delicious, and I eat a bowl of rice three times and two times.When there was only a layer of rice grains left at the bottom of the bowl, Liu Langshan was too preemptive to see that there was still more than half of the bowl left, so he had to pick up the rice grains with the chopsticks and send them to his mouth in twos and threes.Lang Shan finished his own bowl of rice, only to see that there was nothing left in his bowl, and said, "Is that enough for you? You can fill some more." Shi Yi wanted to fill the rice first, and waited for others to tell This sentence, on the contrary, was a little embarrassing, so he smiled and said: "I'm almost done, I'll keep it for you." Lang Shan said: "How can I eat a lot? Why don't you have half a bowl." Shi Yi held it in his hand The bowl hesitated, and asked himself: "Have another half bowl, okay? Just half a bowl." So he used a spatula to scoop out two shovels of rice from the rice bowl.But I pressed it twice in the rice bowl, making it only look like a small half bowl.Peeking at Liu Langshan, he didn't pay attention.

Filling up my stomach after a day of famine, I don't know why, and I have a spirit.He helped Liu Langshan put away the bowls and chopsticks, made a pot of tea, and chatted under the lamp.He sighed and said: "Thanks to Mr. Liu for saving me today, I got through this difficult time. I will get up early tomorrow, so I can have a full stomach and find another way." Lang Shan said: "Of course, you have dinner tonight. No, tomorrow morning, there will be breakfast there? But don’t you think it’s too late to find breakfast tomorrow morning?” Shi Yi said: “For more than a month, I’ve always wanted to eat one meal. How can one have the ability to think of ways to manage several meals in advance?" Lang Shan said: "This is indeed a difficult problem. When a person eats the first meal and worries about the next meal, how can he make time for it? Spend time looking for a career? If you explain the two meals tomorrow, I have a way to find a way for you, but it’s not convenient for me to speak.” Shi Yi said: “This is a joke. You give me an idea, it’s not You want me to give you an idea? Why don’t you speak up?” Lang Shan said: “There is a reason for this, I said it, I don’t care about you, don’t say that I insulted you. I will come to charity this afternoon. I went to the Relief Society. There was an old concierge who was sick. He planned to take two days off to rest. He couldn’t find a substitute for a while. He discussed with me and asked our long shift to introduce someone. If you want to go, you don’t need to tell the long shift. , you just took my business card and went there. Board and lodging was provided there, and if you go, in addition to getting paid as a substitute worker, you can also solve the problem of food for a few days. It is the first floor, the concierge two This word is not very popular." Shi Yi said: "It's up to now, what's the name? I'm willing to work as a servant." Langshan said: "You just go, I will guard for you in the clubhouse It’s a secret.” Shi Yi said, “There’s no need for that, right? How can I cherish my reputation when I’m so poor?” Lang Shan said, “You’ve only been wronged for a while, don’t tell me you’ve been so miserable all your life? Don’t cherish it at this time Feather, it may be troubled in the future." Shi Yi didn't say anything, but just let out a long sigh.We talked for a while at that time, and felt that there would be a place to eat tomorrow, so I relaxed and went to sleep.Lang Shan took a business card and handed it to him, which only stated that he was Hong Jun from his hometown, without mentioning his name.When Shi Yi put the business card on his body, his face couldn't help burning for a while.When Lang Shan saw it, he secretly cried out for him a few times.

In the early morning of the next day, Shi Yi washed his face with cold water, took the business card given by Liu Langshan, and came to the Charity Relief Society.The old concierge of the Relief Society felt even more uncomfortable today. Shi Yi handed him his business card. He saw that Shi Yi was not a glib person, but he was very happy, so he led him to the office and talked with a few An office gentleman saw him and declared that he had found a substitute.Of course, Shi Yi took this introduction as an insult, so he had no choice but to keep silent.After coming out, the old concierge explained what he should do, and went home to rest.Any charitable organization should do its work seriously, and it may be busier than the post office to send and receive letters.But if you don't take it seriously, it might be like the entrance of a lunatic asylum, and not many people visit it.So Tu Yi is guarding the porter here, except for receiving a few letters every day and handing out business cards for one or two visits, he just sits here and waits for food.After working for two days, my stomach was full, and when the sun went down to see if there were no people, I went out to look around.

Outside the gate, at the corner to the east, there is a large empty space at the end of which is a temporary dirt pile.The filth was carried out by the cleaners from the households. There were all kinds of dirt in it, but most of them were cinders.You don't have to go to the front to smell a bad smell.Although this is a temporary mound, it has probably been piled up for a long time. It is already one or two feet high. Crawling around, he kept picking up small items and throwing them into the basket.Shi Yi often heard people say that there is a kind of person in Beiping called coal core pickers, who go to the cinder pile to knock off the outer layer of coal ash from the inexhaustible coal briquettes, and remove the impermeable coal core from the coal briquettes. Take it home and start a fire.This is an extremely helpless way of life for the poor, probably all of whom are picking coal cores.I have never seen this kind of work, and I am separated from this kind of person, why don't I go up and have a look?So with his hands behind his back, he walked slowly to the side of the dirt pile.Most of the mound is ocher coal ash, but red and white pieces of paper, green and green vegetable leaves, fishy shrimp shells, smelly meat bones, and even hairy dead cats and rats are all mixed with coal. Gray rolls in one place.Those who pick up coal cores don't think it's dirty. They roll around on cinder blocks, often slipping and falling half somersaults. Everyone's eyes are like lightning, only following the dirt crawling hands, scrambling in the dirt. change.Except for two old women, there are half-grown boys and girls. Among them is a little girl who found a piece of something in the soil and was about to put it in the basket. Suddenly a boy came over and snatched it. , and threw it into the basket, the little girl cried out, "Why did you snatch mine?" and reached into his basket to snatch it.Both of them were half squatting. The boy stood up, grabbed the girl's hand, threw it outward, and pushed her chest. The girl was standing on the slope, and she couldn't stand steadily. With loose soil, with a basket, it will roll down like a rolling ball.A group of men and women on the pile of soil burst into laughter.The girl was not afraid of the pain, she turned over and stood up, pointing at the boy and cursing: "Little Niuzi, you are raised by your parents, but you have no parents to take care of you, you can't live, God will take you soon." Then, she cried with a "wow", and two lines of tears fell down together.

When Shi Yi saw this girl, she was only sixteen or seventeen years old. She was wearing blue cloth clothes and trousers, which had turned half black, with a braid, and even the neck was completely stained with soot, and her forehead was not combed. Long hair, but I don't know that the short hair is down, covering most of the face.The sleeves of Yu Yu in the blue coat were very short, and he stretched out two black-stained hands and arms, smoothed the messy hair on his face, and pointed at the boy and cursed.The basket she was carrying was now overturned on the ground, and all the things she picked up were spilled over.The people on the mound, except for the two old women, all smiled at her.Shi Yi looked at it, and was a little dissatisfied, so he glared at the boys and girls on the mound and said, "Why do you guys bully her alone?" The boys and girls on the mound stopped working and asked him looking at.The little cow who snatched things also stared and replied: "Can you control it?" Shi Yi said: "Why can't I control it? The world is in charge of the world." After saying this, he rolled up his sleeves with his hands and Squeeze forward and see that your feet are under the edge of the mound. The little cow put down his hand basket and jumped off the mound. With his head half-raised, he tilted his neck and stared and said, "Are you What's wrong with the big guy? Are you going to make a move?" After saying this, he put his hands on his hips and squeezed forward step by step.When Shi Yi was about to reach out to hit him, the little girl snatched it up and stopped him, saying: "Sir, don't be as knowledgeable as him." Then she pushed the boy with her hand and said: "Aren't you willing to give in? You stole things from others, and you still want to fight hard with those who persuade you to fight." The two old women on the mound also stood up and said: "Little Niuzi, you are too difficult, you fight with people all day long, tell me Your mother, it's my fault if I don't get involved with you later."

Just as I was talking about this, there were two dirt carts pulling the dirt back and forth.For any newly acquired filth that has just come out of other people's homes, of course there are more things to find in it, so everyone present rushed to it.That little bully was looking for something new, so he lost Shi Yi and went to the truck. No matter how good or bad it was, everyone rushed to grab it.There was an old woman who couldn't rush forward, she was holding a basket, and stood by the side waiting, only staring at the group of snatchers in a daze.Shi Yi was not far from the old woman, so he asked: "A cart full of dirty dirt is like a cart full of foreign money, everyone has robbed it so hard." The old woman said: "Shouldn't we just grab it in front of the foreign money? "Shi Yi said: "How many coal cores can you pick up in a day?" The old woman said: "We don't want anything, not necessarily coal cores." Useful?" The old woman said: "Why is it useless? A piece of paper can be sold for several coppers a catty, and a piece of cloth is even more valuable. If you find a piece of meat and bone, wash it and clean it, you can also sell it for money. .Sometimes, we may really pick up big foreign money. Picking up coins is a common thing!" Shi Yi said: "So you still have such a big hope, why do you grab the new car like this? The old woman said: "What don't you understand? Everyone expects that there will be foreign money in it." As he spoke, it seemed that the big cart had been cleaned up. The little girl held the basket in her hand and bowed her head. come over.When she was walking, she kept kicking the loose dirt on the ground with her feet.When I looked into her basket, it was already empty and there was nothing there, so I asked her, "You don't have anything in this basket, why don't you hurry up and look for it?" She threw the basket in her hand into the air, and then He continued with his hands, and said with a smile: "It deserves it. If you don't want to eat tonight, I won't pick it up. Look at me, I will come early tomorrow morning." Shi Yi said: "What else do you have at home?" People? What is not easy to do, why do such dirty things?” The little girl said: “What did you ask me to do? If you pick it up, there will be no coal fire, and you won’t be able to eat." Shi Yi said: "You are an empty basket today, how can you explain it when you go back?" The girl said: "It's over after a meal." She spoke slowly Walking on the soot road, showing a very pitiful appearance.Shi Yi thought about it, I said poor, just starving.Like this little girl, besides being hungry, she is still so filthy. It can be seen that it is not an easy task to have two meals in one's life.

It was dusk, and the people on the dirt pile gradually dispersed, and he stood alone in the square, stunned.I don't know how long I stood there, but suddenly I lowered my head and saw my own shadow falling to the ground.When I looked up, it turned out that beside me, there was a light pole with a light on it, which was on by itself.On the upper floor of the electric light, the stars are dotted, in the dark sky, it is getting late, so I wander back to the porterhouse of the relief society.After two days, the old concierge still hasn't come back. Of course, I am willing to continue working as a replacement.Moreover, I have been around for a long time, and the gentlemen in charge of the affairs are also very familiar, and it is much better than before without any climbing, so after eating enough food and drinking enough tea, I sat down in the concierge with peace of mind. In the middle of the day, I casually flipped through a few tabloids.It was a windy day, and none of the gentlemen who worked on the business came, and they had nothing to do and felt bored.When he came out, he happened to meet the little girl carrying a basket and walking past the door.She saw it, and asked with a smile, "Sir, do you live here?" Shi Yi said, "I don't live here, I work here. With such a strong wind, do you still come out to pick up coal cores?" The girl said: "Isn't it? There is nothing to burn at home, what if I don't come out?" Shi Yi said: "Are you still waiting to pick up coal cores at home and go back to the fire? What if it rains?" The girl said: " Unless it's heavy rain, if it's light rain, I have to come out." Shi Yi talked with her, and followed her to the empty field unconsciously.The girl had braided her hair today, but the hair on the front of her forehead was still disheveled, and the wind blown her face all over her face, and her pair of pitch-black eyes were also half-closed by the wind. With very long eyelashes, although her face is covered with black and gray, it can still be seen that she is a smart girl at this point.Seeing that Shi Yi just looked at her, she felt a little embarrassed, so she couldn't help but bow her head and smile.During this smile, she also found her teeth, which were very neat.I really can't believe that a girl picking up coal nubs has such good teeth.Shi Yi just looked at it like this, but the girl ignored it.

Today, the wind is strong, and there is no other person on the pile of cinders, but this girl is here alone to pick up coal cores.Seeing Shi Yi standing all the time, she said, "We can't help it. What's the point of you standing here and watching such a strong wind?" Ashes, a black mist was blown up, and the whole person was swept into the smoke and dust.When the wind subsided and the smoke and dust passed, Shi Yi looked down at his body and saw that there was dust all over his body, almost like a big gown made of gray yarn added to his body. go.But after he blew the dust all over his body, not only was he not depressed, but he felt a kind of comfort in his heart.He thought in his heart that when he was studying in middle school, he was intoxicated by the love works in the books and newspapers, and he always wanted to find a woman according to the books to comfort his depressed life.But a middle school student with knowledge of economics is not enough for women to envy, and he has never been able to get a girlfriend.After graduating, I came to Peiping, struggling for two meals all year round, so poor, where can I find a girlfriend?The coal-core picking girl I met now, although she was dressed in rags and lived in the dust all day, she was not very obscene, so we must make friends with her.A clean-dressed person like me is much better than those boys collecting coal cores and rough workers with bulldozers. Of course, she would not refuse.And this kind of woman, she doesn't know what it means to make friends; she doesn't care which man talks to her.If I got to know her well, I would advise her not to do this. It would be much cleaner to just be a female red girl at home.

Sitting alone in the porter's room, he leaned against the table, held his head in his hands, and just looked at the wall.There was a picture of a beautiful woman in fashion from the flour company hanging on the wall. I was right, the beautiful face was red, white, or white. I was thinking about the world. Everyone finds their own match. A talented man is matched with a beautiful woman, and a stupid woman is matched. Common man: Although I am not a talented person, I am always a gentleman. If I want to find a woman, I also want to find a beautiful woman. How can I be so boring and find a girl who picks up coal nubs?Isn't it a joke to fall in love with a girl who picks up coal nubs?It's better to take a look at this painting of beauties, and you can have a clean heart and clean eyes.After eating enough for three days, I thought about the issue of men and women. People's hearts are really lacking. Forget it, don't mention it.I slapped myself haha ​​at the painting of beauties, and stopped thinking about it.The wind outside the window, with flying sand, whistling and rustling, after a burst of fantasy, increased my infinite depression.Lying on a bunk made of wooden planks, I stretched out and then fumbled under the pillow.Unexpectedly, I took out a book with a new binding, and when I flipped through two pages, it turned out to be a novel about the love life of men and women.The place where love is described in the book is unusually enthusiastic, and I couldn't put it down after reading it, and I read it all night. On the next day, the sky was already clear, so I kept looking outside the door to see if that girl was passing by?But he couldn't look at the girl, but watched the young men and women passing by one by one.It turns out that there are several schools near here, and the cheerful and lively young people are intoxicated in the love of youth.Looking up, there are two low walls outside the gate, surrounding a garden of a family. The green willows and balls of elm leaves and plum red flowers stick out from the top of the wall, which means that the garden is full of spring. living situation.There is also the golden-yellow winter jasmine, with a small yellow branch stretching obliquely among a clump of willow silk, embellishing the spring like a picture.I lingered outside the gate for a long time, looking at the sun in the sky, it was warm, spreading sunlight to the ground, and a slight east wind blew in the sunlight, blowing the palm-sized butterfly from the top of the wall, again and again. Turn back.Just look at the situation where it is reluctant to let go of that flower branch. Such a good youth just passes away in poverty and loneliness. This life is too meaningless.I don't know why, but he sighed heavily.At this time, a girl wearing a light blue silk Western-style gown showed two snow-lotus-like arms and held a tennis racket. Not sure, how lively and cute do you think young girls are?But the lady with a foreign smell had already noticed that he was peeking, so she gave him a vicious look, turned her head away, and spat on the ground.It goes without saying that the girl resented him looking at her with a ragged person.I couldn't help feeling resentful, thinking, you are wearing light blue clothes and a bright red tie, don't you want others to see you?Are the poor so worthless?She gave it to others to read, but not to poor people like me.In fact, you just wear better clothes.Could it be that it is a celestial being with needles all over its body, which can pierce our eyes at a glance?Then he thought back, if a man wants to get a woman, it is better to look down.In this way, the girl picking up coal cores was after all his only object. Thinking of this, looking back at the charity meeting, it seemed that there was nothing wrong, so he still walked towards the empty space piled with cinders.Only halfway there, I met that girl coming towards me. She was not bouncing around like she used to be. She held an empty basket in her hand and walked with her head down. With the other hand, she kept rubbing her eyes.Shi Yi shouted: "Girl, what's the matter with you?" The girl looked up, as if taken aback, she had never seen anyone around her, until she looked up and saw it was Shi Yi, and then Smiling and said: "I met you again." Shi Yi said: "You came back with an empty basket again, did anyone bully you?" Yi said: "You didn't pick up the coal cores back, won't your mother scold you?" The girl said: "That can't be helped." Go buy some briquettes to take back, do you want to do it?" The girl smiled, squinted her eyes at him and said, "Why don't I do it?" Shi Yi heard that, so he took out a small piece of copper from his body and stuffed it into his hand.She covered her mouth with one hand, and stretched out the empty basket with the other, asking Shi Yi to throw the copper coins into it.Shi Yi couldn't force the copper into her hand, so he had to throw the copper into the basket with a clatter.When the copper coin fell into the basket, she smiled and said to Shi Yi: "Thank you." Shi Yi said: "If you let others bully you, I can always help you with this little thing." " The girl said: "What is your surname?" Shi Yi said: "My surname is Hong, and I always stay here at the Relief Society." The girl said: "Oh! Are you the concierge here?" Shi Yi's face darkened After sinking, she shook her head with a smile and said, "I'm not working here, but I'm just staying here temporarily. What's your surname?" The girl laughed and said, "People like us are still called by your surname? Don't make people laugh." Seeing that she refuted the name "rengui", Shi Yi wondered if she didn't want to say what her last name was, or didn't care?I had no choice but to follow quietly, passed the empty field unknowingly, made two turns, and walked into a deserted alley.The little girl suddenly turned around, stood still, and said to him: "Hey! Don't follow me." Shi Yi asked the girl to stop him again, and he had hit a second hurdle, so he had no choice but to give up and return.