It feels strange to be back in my hometown.
He watched the old streets renovated a few years ago and took the airport bus back to the Yuming River Bridge in the county.
In just over a thousand days and nights, everything changed.
The lives of ordinary people have never been as full of rituals as those of BOSS.
There are no tall and magnificent buildings here, no towering hundred-story buildings.
Looking from the bus window, there is not even a building with more than 30 floors in the two scenic strips along the river.
The ferry at the ferry was still carrying cargo, and the sand dredger on the beach rumbled.
On the fishing boats on Xiaoxizhou artificial island, there are still men basking in the July sun, trawling hard to catch shrimps and shouting loud chants.
In the side streets and alleys of Linjiang Main Road, there are stalls selling second-hand computers and mobile phones in front of the small market, but the entrance to the human resources market is still deserted.
There were not many people at the large curved counter of People's Shopping Mall. The goldware under the table was the same batch as a few years ago, but the clerk had a new look.
The asphalt intersection on Daxinganling Road has been renovated. A few years ago, this intersection would have been blocked for half an hour. Now it only takes eight minutes to cross the traffic lights.
The old residential area in Hexi has not been demolished. It is said that the demolition money is too expensive and the place cannot be demolished. Later, the municipal government simply put up a historical relic sign in this area for people to visit.
You can still see old posters from the past few years here, saying that a meteor once fell in an old house. The TV station also reported it, but then nothing happened.
Occasionally, a few familiar faces will appear in the streets where people come and go.
——All this made Jiang Xueming feel inexplicably at ease.
There are human fireworks everywhere, and there are people running around for life everywhere.
This is Hengyin City, the "big city" that Mr. Xueming visited when he was a child. Ever since he was a child, all the rare things he had found flowed from this city to his hometown of Pingyang County.
"Brother! Look!" Jiang Bailu sat next to Xueming and pointed out of the bus window, "That's where you used to work!"
Jiang Xueming looked at his sister's hand.
The environmentally friendly absorption tower of the battery factory stands there, next to several long-abandoned cooling towers.
The workers wore simple blue overalls and little yellow helmets and rode electric scooters toward the factory gate.
——Jiang Xueming was once one of them.
He responded: "Well..."
Jiang Bailu said enthusiastically: "Brother! When you were working in the second shift, you would ride to school to pick me up after get off work! I would hold you in the back seat. Then the two of us were speeding all the way. Swish is home!"
He remembered that when there were three shifts in the past, the second shift was the most normal schedule. Work starts at eight in the morning and ends at four in the afternoon. There are only two days a week to take Bai Lu home.
Sitting in the back seat of her brother is when Bai Lu is happiest.
Jiang Xueming still just said "hmm" like a piece of wood.
Maybe she thought her brother was being boring, Jiang Bailu pouted and looked unhappy.
She reached across the bus aisle and stretched out her little hands to pull on Sister Xiaoqi's clothes.
"Sister-in-law! My sister-in-law and brother bully me! He ignores me! If he has you, he will ignore me..."
Xiaoqi slept soundly and didn't wake up at all.
"Don't disturb others' sleep." Jiang Xueming touched her sister's head: "Be good...obey me and stop making trouble. I will take you to buy new clothes, buy you delicious food, and take you to see the cats."
"Okay!" Bai Lu immediately became happy and stopped disturbing others' dreams.
It’s just that Xiao Qi, who is sitting next to me, doesn’t know what kind of dream she has.
You can vaguely hear a few words murmuring in sleep, as well as the crazy and weird smile on his face.
"Hold me...yes, yes...hold me tight...ah, yes, yes..."
Hear these words with unclear meanings.
Xueming and Bai Lu both had strange expressions on their faces, as if they were watching a horror movie.
...
...
The bus stopped at the bus station of Binh Duong Agricultural University, which is the western suburb of Hengyin City and is close to the countryside.
From here on, they have to choose other means of transportation to return to Pingyang County.
Xueming still has a few things to do before going home.
After getting off the bus, he put a hat and mask on Bai Lu to prevent acquaintances from recognizing her.
He first took the two girls to a small market near Pingyang Agricultural University. I bought some cheap clothes, went to a quiet shop near the farmer's market, and brought back six pairs of fake shoes, ready to go back and fool my parents.
Then we walked along the food street at Xiaodongmen to the entrance of the Agricultural University campus.
Many people on the road knew Jiang Xueming and said hello.
For example, the owner of a copycat Meiyijia convenience store with a red sign called Xinmeijia convenience store came up to offer cigarettes when he saw Xueming.
"Hey! You're back?! I haven't seen you for a few years, but your family seems to be looking for you!"
"Thank you, boss, I still don't smoke." Xueming blocked the cigarettes brought to her with a polite fake smile.
He pulled his sister forward and heard the boss' laughter behind him.
"I'm looking for a wife! It seems I've made a fortune outside!"
At this time, Xiao Qi's face blossomed into a smile.
Jiang Xueming turned around and said a few words.
"It's a loss, it's a loss! I've made a huge loss! I'm bringing my wife back and preparing to live a good life. Don't we still have a house at home?"
The chatter behind him also became lively.
"This kid is going home to eat his old age, hahahahaha!"
...
...
At the end of the small east gate, there is a paper shop selling funeral supplies.
Xueming stopped when he reached the door of the store and stopped to watch.
Xiao Qi then asked: "Why don't you leave?"
"I'm looking for someone." Xueming replied immediately: "The owner of this store is very familiar with one of my eldest brothers. After I resigned from the battery factory, they were very good to me and arranged a lot of miscellaneous work for me."
"Oh...what exactly is it?" Xiao Qi looked at the crowd of gods in the paper-making shop, feeling inexplicably afraid. "It looks weird."
Those Buddha statues were different from the golden statues in temples. Under the light of the red lanterns, they looked evil.
It is said that things like human figures and dolls are made with the wisdom of the craftsman. The people who made these Buddha statues are probably not normal people.
Jiang Xueming didn't care about Xiao Qi's words.
He just went in and pulled the red switch of the lantern. A bright white light was replaced.
When Xiao Qi looked at the Buddha statues on the shelves on both sides of the store, he became solemn, happy, and healthy.
There is a Martial Saint Dharmakaya enshrined in the temple, with couplets written on plaques on both sides.
The first couplet is called "But if you do good deeds, don't ask ghosts and gods."
The second line is called "How dare you come into my door if you feel guilty"
Three big characters are written horizontally.
“It’s a bargain”
Xiao Qi thought in her mind that the meaning of this couplet was cute and cute, both good and evil.
She also saw that the Qinglong Yanyue Sword in the hand of the Second Lord Martial Saint was broken into pieces, and she wondered why a broken old statue was placed on the main seat of the shrine...
At this moment, a foreigner with blond hair, blue eyes and round sunglasses came out of the back room.
"Mr. Chen." Jiang Xueming said immediately, "I'm back."
This "Mr. Chen" is the owner of the paper shop. He is a serious American who has been in the funeral business outside the Agricultural University for more than ten years.
Jiang Xueming didn't know exactly when he came. He only knew that this fake foreign devil was very philistine and spoke fluent Chinese.
At first Xueming was unwilling to sell his youth in a battery factory, so he asked the boss to introduce him to a milk tea shop outside the Agricultural University to work as a handyman and occasionally deliver food.
"Oh! You're finally home!" Mr. Chen took off his sunglasses, revealing his blue eyes. He spoke in an authentic BJ accent and looked at Xiao Qi again and again: "You even brought your girlfriend back! If Old Man Jiang knew that this matter was not allowed to spread from Bakou to Shiwan, the villagers within a hundred miles would be able to hear his bragging."
"Is Boss Ye in the milk tea shop?" Jiang Xueming asked about his old friend again.
Boss Ye, his former employer, was a very reliable person.
Xueming plans to send her sister to Boss Ye's store to hide for two days.
"It's not convenient for Bai Lu to go back, right?" Mr. Chen could see Jiang Xueming's difficulty at a glance: "I know, your parents will probably go crazy again when they see Bai Lu - I will keep this matter a secret from you. Xiaobei should be here at this moment. He's on a long holiday in the store, so you can just go find him."
"Okay, thank you, Mr. Chen." Jiang Xueming thanked him and stepped out.
Bai Lu also bowed and thanked: "Thank you, Uncle Chen!"
Mr. Chen curled his lips with a look of displeasure on his face: "Call me brother! Make your voice sweeter! I hate the truth spoken by those born after 2000!"
Xiao Qi was still puzzled at the door. There was a gap in the cement floor in front of the store, which looked like it was made with a bullet. However, deep inside the spider web crack, the cuts were as smooth as a knife or an axe. She just felt that this store The store is becoming more and more mysterious.
Xueming was getting ready to leave.
"Wait a minute! Wait a minute, Xiao Jiang!" Mr. Chen took out an oil paper bag from the back room and stuffed it into Jiang Xueming's big backpack.
Xueming asked: "What is it?"
Mr. Chen finished stuffing the things, zipped it up, and clapped his hands: "Just when you came home, I asked you to bring something to your parents. Don't ask what it is, and don't open it privately. I won't go there." Don't worry if a bomb is sent to your home."
"Well..." Xueming nodded: "Then let me say thank you again on behalf of my family."
Jiang Bailu changed her voice to a sweet one, pinched her throat and said in a pretentious manner: "Thank you, Uncle Chen!"
Mr. Chen rolled his eyes and almost tripped over the threshold and fell to death on the way back to the store, "I hate naughty kids..."
...
...
After leaving the paper shop, Jiang Xueming found the main entrance of the Agricultural University and finally saw the first destination of his trip.
It was a gorgeously decorated beverage shop, with a ceiling made of clay and colorful tiles, and reliefs of dragons and snakes painted on the two porch pillars. He still remembered that when he was delivering takeout to the shop, he leaned on the host and took a nap.
Inside the store's porch is a mahogany counter and two rows of seats.
The plaque in front of the door reads [Wangyou Milk Tea].
It is full of the aesthetics of a nouveau riche, basically it means that only those who have money and nowhere to spend it will spend so much money on the appearance of drinks.
Jiang Xueming once suspected that the owner of this store had some mysterious side business and opened this store just out of interest.
The cat cafe and pet clinic next door are still open, and nothing has changed.
While Bai Lu and Xiao Qi were walking, they were fascinated by the cat next door and lost their minds. With their necks hanging out, they walked into the coffee shop together.
Jiang Xueming didn't pay much attention, he was just here to ask someone to do something. I walked straight into the milk tea shop.
The three girls at the counter have not changed. The last time we met, they were still working-study freshmen. Now they have graduated and have no plans to change jobs. It seems that the salary paid by Boss Ye is really high.
Jiang Xueming greeted politely: "Hello, is Boss Ye here?"
"Oh! I'm squatting in the warehouse..." The girl at the checkout counter didn't even raise her head. She was playing with her mobile phone when there were few customers.
Jiang Xueming heard the sound and walked in: "Okay, thank you."
The little girl suddenly felt something was wrong and raised her head sharply.
"Brother Xueming! Are you brother Xueming?!"
"Yes..." Jiang Xueming walked a little faster after hearing the sound, feeling that he was in trouble, "Let's talk about old times later, thank you."
He turned into the back kitchen, avoiding the bottles and cans in the kitchen, and came to the warehouse door. He was about to knock on the door but stopped.
Because he heard someone seemed to be having a conversation in the warehouse.
He thought in his mind that Boss Ye might be seeing guests and it was not convenient to disturb him, so he waited a little longer.
There was a noisy quarrel inside the door, as well as Boss Ye's low and playful laughter.
After waiting for a long time, Jiang Xueming was a little anxious.
He finally raised his hand and knocked on the door, then immediately opened the door and entered.
"Boss Ye, let me ask you for a favor..."
Jiang Xueming immediately saw a picture with a lot of information.
Inside the door, a man squatted with an eyebrow scar on his face. He was wearing a clean sweatshirt and jeans. He looked very young. His messy hair was tied back in a braid.
It was Ye Bei, Boss Ye himself.
There is a flying chess set on the ground.
Apart from that, there is no one else.
This scene is very strange...
Because the person playing chess with Boss Ye was a big white cat.
The cat, like Ye Bei, has a very high synchronization rate and is squatting next to the chessboard.
The cat has a small skirt on her body, a flower crown on her head, and a fire lotus pattern on her forehead.
It held the dice and chess pieces in its two little paws, its eyes were red from defeat, it felt aggrieved and fierce, and it stuck out its little tongue in worry.
Looking at the situation on the chessboard, it has lost many moves and pieces, and the numbers on the scoreboard are even more terrible.
Could it be that the conversation he heard just now and those noisy sounds were Boss Ye chatting with the big white cat?
Jiang Xueming's head was a little difficult to process this information, so he closed the door very politely.
He felt something was wrong, and then knocked on the door again, "Sorry, I took the liberty."
Boss Ye's deep reply came from inside the door.
"Come in! Hero!"
Jiang Xueming heard the shouts from the door, calmly opened the door again, and finally broke into the warehouse in a serious manner.
When he faced him, he saw that the table had been moved to the center of the warehouse.
Boss Ye sat very evenly, looking serious and serious.
The weird outfit on the cat on the table is gone - the previous outfit is more like the punishment of women's clothing in a trick game.
Jiang Xueming got straight to the point: "Boss Ye, I want to go home, and I just want to keep Bai Lu in your store for a few days. She can help with the work, so I'll ask you to take care of her. It's convenient for you."
Ye Bei snapped his fingers and smiled brightly.
"no problem!"
The cat responded expressionlessly, as if saying hello.
"Meow."
