Song Jingchuan's jeep sped along the highway, the portrait flashing through his mind again and again.
I have to say, the artist's drawing is really lifelike, it's practically identical.
Suddenly, the artist's voice came from beside him, "Dr. Song! You've taken the wrong turn. You should have turned at the intersection you just came from."
The artist's voice brought Song Jingchuan back to his senses, and he quickly turned the steering wheel and steered the car around.
He barely managed to say, "I was so distracted that I missed an intersection! Look at my brain!"
The artist laughed and said, "It's nothing! You important people have too many things to do, your minds are full of worries."
"If you drive a little further down this road, you'll reach a large area of alleyways. Cars can't drive into the alleyways; you can just park at the entrance."
Song Jingchuan parked the car at the entrance of a large alley, just as the painter had instructed.
The alleyways here are very narrow, and cars can't get in.
The artist opened the car door and got out, waving warmly to Song Jingchuan.
Song Jingchuan drove away, this time without needing to feign an expression on his face.
His brow furrowed deeply, and three words escaped his lips: "Martial arts, build, nation!"
Yes, the person in that portrait is Wu Jianguo.
Unless Wu Jianguo has a twin brother, it is impossible for anyone else to look so much like him.
He knew Wu Jianguo's house, so he drove straight to Wu Jianguo's house.
Wu Jianguo's father, who served in the military, held the lowest rank among the fathers of his younger brothers.
Moreover, Wu Jianguo has many siblings, and they have always lived a very frugal life, with not enough houses to live in.
Even now, Wu Jianguo's family still lives in a two-room apartment in the military compound.
These two rooms were bustling with activity, housing more than a dozen people.
Wu Jianguo doesn't have his own room at home because he's unmarried and always shares a room with his parents.
His two older brothers are both married. His eldest brother got married early, so he lives in one of the two rooms. His eldest brother's family already has two sons.
Since my second brother didn't have a house to get married, we had to build a room for him in the front yard of his house.
There was definitely no small house that could be built, but the rooms were comfortable, which is why the eldest and second eldest brothers never got along and were always arguing about who should live in the main house.
Left with no other choice, his parents had to move him to a small bungalow they had set up for him.
The bungalow was damp and humid, and his mother's health deteriorated significantly after moving into it; her rheumatism flared up frequently.
Song Jingchuan's jeep drove into the military compound and parked in front of Wu Jianguo's building.
Song Jingchuan didn't get out of the car; he could see people coming in and out of the building from where he was sitting.
He gazed leisurely at the entrance of the building; at this hour, whether they were working or studying, everyone would have already returned.
In this era, whether in cities or rural areas, people still follow the rule of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
There are streetlights in the military compound, but they are not bright enough to illuminate only a few square meters under the lamppost.
In the darkness, a man on a bicycle approached from a distance, heading straight for the building entrance.
But out of the corner of his eye, he saw Song Jingchuan's jeep.
He immediately changed direction and rode towards Song Jingchuan's jeep.
He knocked on the car window and said, "What a rare guest! Are you here to see me, or did you happen to be here to visit a friend?"
Song Jingchuan opened the car door and got out. He could immediately smell the alcohol on Wu Jianguo.
He said, "What? I came here to see a friend, can't I be looking for you? When did we stop being friends?"
Wu Jianguo awkwardly scratched the back of his head. Last time, he had a very unpleasant argument with Song Jingchuan because Song Jingchuan insisted that he apologize to Cheng Xiaokui.
He said somewhat awkwardly, "Young Master Song, you didn't come here on purpose to make me apologize to Cheng Xiao Kui, did you?"
As far as I know, Cheng Xiaokui has been arrested. Even if you want me to apologize to her, I can't get into the place where she's being held!
Song Jingchuan asked, "You've been drinking? How much?"
He skipped over Wu Jianguo's question.
Wu Jianguo said, "I didn't drink much, maybe half a catty or eight liang."
Song Jingchuan said, "You've drunk quite a lot of baijiu already. Why did you drink so much and come home so late?"
Wu Jianguo gave a wry smile and said, "Why would I go home early? Given my family's situation, with more than a dozen people crammed into two rooms, going home late will make the house a bit quieter."
Go back home early, there's not even a place to sit. My house can't compare to yours, you have lights and a phone in every floor, you have so many rooms you can't even live in them all..."
Song Jingchuan said, "Your family's housing is indeed in short supply. When will your two older brothers' work units be able to allocate housing for them?"
If their workplace provides housing, your family's situation will be better.
Wu Jianguo said with a wry smile, "My two older brothers, one is a primary school teacher and the other is a local police officer. I'm counting on them to provide me with housing. Ha! It's impossible in this lifetime!"
You know perfectly well that both of these units are low-paying, cramped offices, where life is incredibly difficult. Forget about housing; just getting paid on time every month is considered a blessing!
My family doesn't have any connections to get them both transferred to different jobs. If they could be transferred to a factory, not to mention housing, they would get over twenty yuan in bonuses every month.
My third sister's husband works in a factory. His company gave out New Year's gifts for half a month straight, with things every day, plus all sorts of coupons, even wool coats and leather shoes!
He made no attempt to hide the envy in his voice. Working in a factory is so great! You earn a lot and get lots of benefits during the New Year. You get something to take home every holiday!
Song Jingchuan said, "This... there's nothing we can do about it. If the factory is profitable, it can give its employees things and bonuses."
The school is funded by the government and the local police station. It has no revenue and doesn't make any money itself, so how can it afford to give bonuses or buy New Year's goods for its students?
I'll see if I can pull some strings and help your older brothers get transferred."
Wu Jianguo said, "That won't be necessary. You've secured a spot, but who am I supposed to give it to? My eldest brother or my second brother? No matter who I give it to, there's bound to be another fight in the family."
Unless there are two available positions, and both are for the same job, and their employers allocate housing to both of them in the future, what does it mean to have no peace at home? Ha!
I really don't understand why my parents had so many children! They could have at least not had me!
Song Jingchuan reached out and patted Wu Jianguo on the shoulder. "Don't say things like that! Our parents brought us into this world hoping we would grow up well. Our situation has improved these past two years, don't you think?"
Wu Jianguo said, "If you give birth to a child, you can't raise it to adulthood, and if you do raise it, you can't take care of it. It's better not to have a child at all."
Our country is too poor. Even if things have improved a bit in the last two years, how much better can they be?
Can you even compare it to countries abroad? You've studied overseas, don't you know what the situation is like there?"
Song Jingchuan said, "The situation abroad is quite good, but what does that have to do with us? We can't leave the country."
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