Babaoshan, factory ruins.
The taxi slowly stopped on the side of the road. The taxi driver was reluctant to drive further. It was not because he was afraid of the sparsely populated passengers trying to rob someone, but because this area had been abandoned for too long, and the roads were in disrepair and were full of potholes. Yes, glass shards and nails are everywhere. If you are not careful, you will get a tire puncture and be stranded. Rather than paying a few dollars more in fares, it is better to save money on tire repairs.
Lin Nian opened the door of the taxi and walked into the light rain. The rainwater dripped from the hood of the waterproof windbreaker. The taxi driver behind him waved his hand, probably to tell him to take care of his safety. He turned around and drove into the rainy road. Only two flickering taillights remained behind the curtain.
This is the second time Lin Nian has come to Babao Mountain. The first time he came, he was accompanied by Wan Boqian and Chu Zihang. Coming here for it was just a trivial matter like a fraud group. Who would know that he would revisit his old place? The purpose suddenly became to find the former residence of a super hybrid who might have lived in this city for sixteen or seventeen years or even longer.
Lin Nian was walking on the edge of the Babaoshan ruins, holding a blue folder in his arms. The nearby factory buildings were dark and motionless. Even stray cats and mice didn't bother to wander into this area. It’s hard to imagine that ten years ago this was the busiest place in the city. Every factory machine was humming, tens of thousands of tons of coal were burned into heat, and coal-fired boilers were emitting black smoke rising into the sky. The more chimneys, the better they represent the output, and countless people squeezed their heads to get into them.
However, now all the prosperity collapsed in an instant. Lin Nian was walking in this wasteland and noticed a lot of malicious time coming from some dark corners. After the police car and the alarm bell disappeared, these people really came back. Back - homeless people and marginalized people doing black market business, they were abandoned by the whole city, and a nest of snakes and rats gathered here to create a small world and become their own emperors.
"Are you looking for someone?" Not far in front of Lin Nian, a man with unkempt hair and a khaki coat walked out. His steps were very loose and his bones were straight, making it difficult to have a good impression of him.
"What's the matter?" Lin Nian asked.
"If you are looking for someone, I know everyone here. They are all in that factory." The thin man smiled and pointed to the factory not far away.
Lin Nian tilted his head. Before he came to Babaoshan, he did call the relevant people who stayed here and agreed to meet at the edge. Now he doesn't mind going through that with the other party.
But just as he was about to take a step, a middle-aged man shouted urgently from far behind him: "Don't snatch him! Don't snatch him! Don't snatch him! Don't snatch him!"
Lin Nian and the thin man both turned their heads and saw a middle-aged man in a blue uniform running towards them anxiously in the rain, shouting louder and louder until they reached the station. In front of the two of them, he clasped his knees and gasped breathlessly: "Don't... don't snatch him!"
"Are you and Lao Liang... friends?" The thin man glanced at Lin Nian and the middle-aged man thoughtfully, and then patted Lin Nian's back gently.
"Don't rob him... I know him, he is my friend." The middle-aged man put his hand on Lin Nian's shoulders and pulled him to his side, looking at the thin man with an awkward smile.
"Since he is Lao Liang's friend..." The thin man shook his head and pointed at Lin Nian and the middle-aged man. A dazed smile appeared on his face. Lin Nian noticed it from the cuffs he lifted up. With no less than three or four pinpricks, I instantly understood who this person was.
"See you next time, see you next time." The middle-aged man greeted the skinny man twice, pulled Lin Nian up and walked back. Not far away, in the factory building where the skinny man first took Lin Nian, dozens of people The same skinny man stuck his head out and watched them leave.
"Is this place so chaotic?" Lin Nian naturally realized that he had actually walked in front of a drug den.
"Hey, there used to be a group of fraud gangs who seemed very untouchable to engage in religious activities here. Most of this place is their territory, so except for illegal gatherings, it was peaceful. But yesterday, I don't know who reported the gang. Everyone came back again, and now the chaos started. I know the man just now. He is a group of people with broken heads. Don't have anything to do with them." The middle-aged man looked at Lin Nian with a smile. He let go of his hand.
"Lao Liang?" Lin Nian checked the name he contacted on the phone before.
"Yes, it's me. My surname is Liang. Are you Mr. Lin introduced by Miss Su? I have admired him for a long time." The middle-aged man took Lin Nian's hand and shook it. Obviously, he felt that he had brought Lin Nian and Su Xiaoqiang together. "After the collapse of Media Asia Group, our group was here to clean up the mess every day... As a group, it has almost gone away in the past few years, and I am the only one left here to hold on," Over the past few years, I have a very clear understanding of the situation here.”
"Including those people just now?" Lin Nian looked back at the crowd of people in the distance.
"They...well, it's hard to describe in one word. I can only say that they are all victims of Media Asia Group. A company collapsed because of a sinister boss. I don't know how many people lost their jobs instantly. In the process of finding jobs again, the labor market was quickly saturated. Most people They found new jobs, but a small number of people were still displaced, and they have never turned around since then and are now like this." The middle-aged man said with a sigh.
"If I remember correctly, the person I asked Miss Su to contact me should be an old employee of Media Asia Group. Who are you..."
"The current leader of the bankruptcy liquidation team was also the former office director of Media Asia Group... I heard from Miss Su that you came here specifically to find someone, right?" The middle-aged man led Lin Nian through the maze-like factory area. , passed through many factories and detours, and headed towards a gray-white three-story building.
"Chu Tianjiao, Miss Su should have mentioned it to you." Lin Nian said.
"You are really looking for Lao Chu..." The middle-aged man muttered in a voice that he could hear, looked at Lin Nian and asked, "May I ask, who are you from Lao Chu?"
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask," Lin Nian said.
The middle-aged man shrank his neck and caught a glimpse of the fierceness in the eyes of the boy next to him who was old enough to be his son. He had seen this feeling before, when people from the court rushed into the Media Asia Group to blockade the building and all its assets. , the leading guy has this kind of momentum, he is business-like and refuses any approach or leak of information.
"You call him Lao Chu, do you know Chu Tianjiao?" Lin Nian asked.
"To be honest, I was a little confused when I heard Lao Chu's full name... We had a good relationship before." The middle-aged man and Lin Nian walked into the gray building, and the latter took off his rain-stained hood. After taking a look at the old, disrepaired and dusty environment, you can probably guess that the middle-aged man is doing a bottomless job.
"You were colleagues?" Lin Nian took a few steps in the hall and walked towards the dusty reception sofa, with several broken ceilings and wooden slats piled on it.
"Lao Chu is a colleague of everyone. After all, his job is for that bastard... ahem, his former boss drove, so most people know him. He is also very kind and can talk to everyone. As I said, the two of us have a very good relationship. After get off work, if you have nothing to do, just... ahem, go have some wine and have some late-night snacks or something." The middle-aged man coughed twice to explain.
"Supper?" Lin Nian was a little surprised. He didn't expect Su Xiaoqiang to help find someone who knew Chu Tianjiao well.
"Eating chicken wings, braised intestines, etc." Lin Nian asked casually, and the middle-aged man also said casually. He couldn't figure out what the boy was here for, but he still answered cooperatively, "After all, he is As a driver, my daily work is quite boring, and it’s stressful to be with those big bosses all the time. After get off work, it’s evening, and my only hobby is drinking a little wine and eating late-night snacks.”
"What do you think of him?" Lin Nian asked. Chu Zihang didn't spend much time talking about his biological father. He was limited to the eye of the typhoon and some insignificant trivial matters. Apart from understanding relevant information, he didn't know Chu Zihang at all. What kind of person is Tianjiao? Is he cold and stern or easy-going, rational or emotional.
"I like spicy food." But the middle-aged man's answer was a little off-topic. He tilted his head slightly and recalled, "Lao Chu is very good at eating spicy food... braised large intestine with spicy food, and rice porridge with Lao Ganma. I remember one time We had Sifang Chicken Wings and ordered a spicy one. He ate the nine-layer spicy one. The guy next to me imitated him and nearly went to the hospital for gastric evacuation after eating one. He could even open a beer and brag about it to me."
"..." Lin Nian was a little confused by this answer. He was stunned for a while and then nodded abruptly... At least he knew where Chu Zihang inherited his ability to eat spicy food... .Perhaps it is not genetic but a result of practice. Maybe the little Chu Zihang who once lived with a man in a rented house would be so spicy that he would cry every time he secretly ate his father's spicy braised large intestine, and the woman would chase the man and beat him, but The man always bought extra spicy food, and Chu Zihang secretly ate it every time. Over time, he developed the ability to eat spicy food.
"...What about other than that?" Lin Nian asked again, throwing away the inexplicable association.
"Other than that...it seems like nothing else. Lao Chu doesn't offend anyone, and drivers can't offend anyone either. Lao Chu has always been a good driver." The middle-aged man said, "He used to have a good time driving with the tax chief. , then the director fell and was poached by the Black Prince Group. He worked as a driver for several years. During that time, the city was developing rapidly, living standards were rising, and prices were rising, but his salary as a driver never increased. Later, Because of this, he got divorced and resigned. The boss of Black Prince Group missed his old friendship, so he half-recommended and half gave him to the boss of Media Asia Group. He has been driving with us since then, and the salary was reasonable. Unfortunately, he could not get remarried. , his wife found a better man than him and got married for the second time."
After hearing the last sentence, Lin Nian's expression fluctuated a little, but he still lowered his eyes to hide his emotions: "Did he say anything about this or complain about it?"
"Of course I said it." The middle-aged man sighed as if he was remembering some of the past years, "Which man doesn't complain after a divorce... But Lao Chu has a good temper, and he doesn't curse even if he drinks too much. My ex-wife kept drinking, and the amount of alcohol she drank was so scary that I was knocked down by him many times. After I sobered up, I found that I had been moved back to the office, and he was still drinking outside, blowing the cold wind while drinking. He also has a very lonely back, and he doesn’t tell anyone else what’s on his mind... Which man wouldn’t be angry when something like this happens?”
"What about other than that?" Lin Nian turned back and looked at the door of the short building. There was another step there with some scorched shadows on it... Maybe the middle-aged man also missed something, such as whether Chu Tianjiao could smoke. Yes, Lin Nian was often found smoking in the photos. The middle-aged man probably said the same thing that night. He was drinking too much wine to get drunk, smoking his fingertips one cigarette after another, looking outside. In the rainy night, I didn't say anything, but I wanted to say it more than anyone else. I just let the smoke suppress all the emotions and words in my heart together with the alcohol.
"Besides...does it count that he likes to brag when he drinks too much?"
"for example."
"It's still a bit of something. When I'm really drunk, I always talk nonsense. After drinking two bottles of white wine at one time, he told me that he was awesome once upon a time. I asked him when he became awesome. He hesitated again and couldn't speak... He said that if he really worked hard, he would definitely be able to do better than the guy named Lu, and he could also afford the Maybach he drove... But who would say that? Didn't I say that before? Everyone wants to work hard, but they can't find a way to work hard." The middle-aged man sighed softly, with a trace of sadness in his eyes.
Once upon a time, who doesn't want to have a once upon a time, but everyone is trapped in the current predicament and can't help themselves.
"Where has he lived all these years?" Lin Nian nodded silently and asked.
"He's in this factory," the middle-aged man said. "He doesn't have any hobbies. He either lives in the factory or drives outside. At night he goes with us for supper."
"Take me to where he lives." Lin Nian nodded, "Trouble."
