After Zhou Min left the hospital, he headed towards home.
In early spring, the trees on both sides of the street have sprouted new buds, full of vitality.
Zhou Min walked through the busy streets and entered a messy shantytown.
The narrow roads are full of garbage and sewage.
The houses on both sides are in a dilapidated state.
People of all kinds live together in a disorderly manner.
The sounds of quarrels, children crying, and even men and women making love can be heard clearly.
Zhou Min was always disgusted every time she returned home.
She hated the environment here, hated being born in a poor family, and hated everything here.
After turning left and right, I finally arrived at my doorstep.
It was a run-down house with a lot of junk piled up outside, but the inside was clean and tidy.
The room layout is very simple, one bedroom and one living room.
The living room is also the cooking area, and there is a bed near the window.
That's where Zhou Min's mother sleeps.
Zhou Min entered the house and was very depressed by the environment in front of her.
He slammed the door shut, feeling unhappy all over.
He walked to the bed unhappily and kicked the edge of the bed hard.
The simple bed made of a wooden frame creaked when it was kicked.
"Why are you still sleeping? Get up quickly. I'm hungry."
The person who was still resting on the bed opened his eyes and slowly sat up.
"Amin is back. What do you want to eat? I'll cook for you."
After spending the whole night sleeping, Zhou's mother, Wu Xiaofeng, was exhausted, but she still forced herself to go to the stove and light the fire to cook.
Zhou Min looked at her mother's hunched and old figure with disgust.
She is only in her fifties, but she lives like an old lady in her seventies or eighties, with wrinkles all over her face, a skinny figure, old and ugly, and disgusting to the point of death.
Look at other people’s mothers, they are as beautiful as they can be, have decent jobs, can earn money, and can provide their children with a good life.
Her mother was a dirty, lowly person who could only deliver feces at night.
Zhou Min was very dissatisfied. She was obviously very beautiful, but she lived in such a dirty and humble family. How could she be willing to accept this?
She secretly vowed to change her current predicament and would not succumb to fate.
We must get rid of the current situation.
The room was soon filled with the aroma of food.
Wu Xiaofeng brought over a plate of fried eggs with tomatoes.
"Amin, eat quickly!"
Zhou Min glanced at the dishes on the table.
He frowned, "Why is it scrambled eggs with tomatoes again? I eat this for half a month. I am sick of it. Didn't you get your salary? Why didn't you buy meat?"
Zhou Min became angrier and angrier as he spoke. He waved his hand and threw the plate of food on the table to the ground.
With a loud bang, the plate broke and the soup spilled all over the floor.
"I won't eat. How can you be so useless? You can only let your daughter live such a lowly life."
Wu Xiaofeng was used to Zhou Min's complaints, but she felt sorry for the food that fell on the ground.
Eggs are so expensive nowadays that she herself can't bear to eat them.
He sighed, found a clean bowl and picked up the food on the ground.
The more Wu Xiaofeng lowered her head and looked submissive, the angrier Zhou Min became.
"You are so stupid. Hurry up and give me your salary. I want to go out and eat something delicious."
Zhou Min stretched out his hand in front of Wu Xiaofeng and said as a matter of course.
Wu Xiaofeng wondered, "Amin, can I give you five yuan? It's only the beginning of the month, and I have to save some for living expenses."
Zhou Min screamed, "No, I don't want to eat the food you cook. Hurry up and give me all the money. Isn't it just 20 yuan a month? It's not enough for anything! It's not even enough to buy me a fashionable outfit. Why are you so useless!"
The more he talked, the more irritated he became.
Seeing that her mother had no intention of taking the money, Zhou Min went straight to the place where the money was hidden to look for it.
Sure enough, she found it.
After getting the money, Zhou Min walked out without any regrets.
She won't get the money back until she spends it all.
Wu Xiaofeng sighed sadly.
There is nothing that can be done.
After eating the vegetables he had picked up from the ground, he took a sack and went out to pick up garbage to sell.
At least it can ensure that she won't starve to death.
After Shen Jiaojiao sent the letter to Liu Xiaolan at the post office, she was not in a hurry to go back.
She is going to find someone.
According to the address the man gave her, Shen Jiaojiao came to a dilapidated residential building.
A two-story building with a large yard.
The gate was locked at this time, proving that no one was in the house.
From the outside, all you can see is the yard filled with stuff.
There is a feeling of having nowhere to go.
Shen Jiaojiao waited outside for a while, but still no one came back.
So I left and prepared to walk around and take a look at the surrounding environment.
By early 1978, the state-owned factories had begun to decline.
Although the policy of reform and opening up had not yet been implemented, at this time, there were already brave people carrying their burdens and doing business everywhere.
Shen Jiaojiao walked around for a while and met a man selling sesame candies with gallbladders on a pole.
While knocking the gongs and drums, he called out, "Buy sesame candy, buy sesame candy."
Shen Jiaojiao couldn't help but bought one to eat.
Hemp candy is very hard and sticky.
The taste is not very good at first, but it becomes more fragrant as you chew it for a long time.
Shen Jiaojiao was eating sesame candy and wandering around aimlessly.
When I turned a corner, I saw four or five thugs squatting or standing in front of me, smoking.
Everyone looked lazy and was puffing smoke.
When he saw Shen Jiaojiao passing by, his eyes immediately became obscene.
Shen Jiaojiao didn't go to see those people and prepared to take a detour.
As she turned around, the group of thugs ran over and blocked Shen Jiaojiao.
One of the men, who had a scar between his eyebrows, was holding a cigarette in his mouth and approached Shen Jiaojiao in a gangster manner.
"You're a pretty girl, but you're all alone! Do you want me to play with you?"
As he said this, he reached out and wanted to touch Shen Jiaojiao's face.
Shen Jiaojiao took a step back and avoided the man's entanglement.
"Being a hooligan will land you in jail, so you better think it through."
The man laughed out loud.
"You want to scare me? I've been to jail many times. Do you think I'm afraid of going to jail?
Hehe, if you play with me, I will be willing to go to jail!"
The hand reached out again, and Shen Jiaojiao slapped it away.
"Show some respect. If you keep using foul language, I'll call the police."
The man was obviously enraged and lost his patience, so he reached out to grab Shen Jiaojiao.
Shen Jiaojiao ran away.
She can't win the fight, so why not run away?
"Ding-dong." A bell rang.
When Shen Jiaojiao ran to the corner, she saw a man rushing out on a tricycle.
It was moving at a very fast speed, passing directly past Shen Jiaojiao and crashing into the group of men who were chasing Shen Jiaojiao.
The thugs were so scared that they quickly moved away, moving in a frenzied manner.
"Who the hell are you? Do you want to die?" The gangster cursed, picked up the bricks on the ground, and prepared to beat the man.
The tricycle stopped not far away, the rider got off, turned around, and looked at the thugs with fierce eyes.
The thugs were stunned and quickly threw away the guns in their hands.
"Yes...it's Brother Kun." said one of the thugs.
Not only the gangster was surprised, even Shen Jiaojiao was surprised.
"Chen Guangkun." Shen Jiaojiao called out.
Chen Guangkun's eyes met Shen Jiaojiao and his expression immediately softened.
Running quickly towards Shen Jiaojiao, the tall man stood in front of Shen Jiaojiao with his head lowered, like an obedient student.
"Sister Jiaojiao, it's really you, you...you're back!" Chen Guangkun said happily, almost stuttering.