Chapter 1
The red brick building glowed warmly in the evening sunset, the peeling paint revealing uneven brickwork, like a cookie gnawed by time. A floral bedsheet, printed with dark blue floral patterns, hung on the third-floor balcony, swaying in the breeze; its edges faded from washing, yet it still stubbornly stretched its frame in the wind.
A few people were gathered by the communal water pipe at the entrance of the building. Aunt Wang was bending over, washing clothes; the washboard creaked in the aluminum basin, and soapy water dripped down the cracks in the cement floor. "Xiao Chen! Don't step into the puddle!" She suddenly straightened up and waved to the people downstairs. At the corner of the stairs on the second floor, a little girl with pigtails, who looked about four or five years old, was standing on tiptoe, looking down with expectant eyes, because her little brother Xiao Chen was trying hard to catch dragonflies for her.
"Dinner's ready! Where's Xiaoxue? Come back for dinner!" came the shouts of Uncle Li, the little girl's father, from the second floor. The smell of cooking oil seeped down the stairs, first the pungent aroma of chili peppers, then the salty and savory flavor of braised ribbonfish in soy sauce, mixed with the faint charcoal aroma emanating from the honeycomb briquette stove.
The little girl's name was Li Muxue, which was considered a rather elegant name in the early 1980s.
In the dimly lit hallway at the far end, a radio was playing a storytelling performance by Mr. Shan Tianfang, his voice rising and falling in rhythm, mingling with the sizzling sound of an aluminum spatula scraping against a cast iron pot in the next room. The light was on in the communal kitchen on the second floor, where Uncle Zhao was squatting on a small stool, poking at the coal stove. Sparks crackled and popped on the concrete floor, making his squinting eyes flicker. He muttered to himself, "The chimney upstairs seems clogged again. I'll get someone to unclog it tomorrow."
Downstairs in the open space, a group of boys, just released from school, were running around a crooked locust tree. Girls had drawn hopscotch squares on the flat ground with chalk, and others were playing jump rope and shuttlecock. Only two children stood out: Xu Chen and Li Muxue. Xu Chen was intently catching dragonflies, while Li Muxue watched him intently from the second floor…
The setting sun cast long shadows of the buildings, gilding the moss at the base of the walls. On someone's windowsill, next to a slightly wilted cactus, sat a peeling tin biscuit box, the words "Peach Crisp" fadedly printed on the lid, its edges worn smooth from handling. In the distance, the sharp, piercing sound of the factory's night shift bell rang. Startled, a flock of pigeons circling on the rooftop took flight. Amidst the fluttering wings, a corner of someone's window screen was lifted by the wind, revealing a "Yanwu" brand radio poster. The girl on the poster held a guitar, her face beaming with sunshine.
What was most enticing was that after work, the female factory workers would transform into skilled cooks, proficient in frying, stir-frying, and braising, filling the air with a complex array of aromas. When someone added a generous amount of oil to a stir-fry, the sizzling sound would release the fragrance of lard mixed with scallions, wafting down the stairwell. Over there, the tangy aroma of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar wafted, and occasionally, the rare and rich aroma of braised pork with vermicelli could be detected—that meant someone had received a bonus or had a distinguished guest. These smells intertwined in the narrow stairwell, ultimately blending into the unique, comforting flavors of that era.
The sound of running water in the washroom continues until late at night, as the workers returning late wash away the day's fatigue.
This is what nighttime was like in the red-brick factory dormitory buildings of the 1980s—noisy, crowded, yet full of warmth. Behind every door lay the joys and sorrows of a family, and under every lamp, a story of an ordinary yet real life unfolded…
(To be continued)
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