If leaving Shanghai a long time ago was a reconstruction of my life, then leaving Dali for Jimo was more like a complete inner cleansing... In the past six months in Jimo, I feel like a different person, becoming complacent and unambitious.
I haven't earned any money in a long time, but fortunately my daily expenses aren't high, so I still have a lot of savings.
But I don't call this decadence; I call it carefree living.
To be associated with such a sophisticated word as "carefree" at the age of 30, I feel lucky... At least, after a series of uncontrollable events, I haven't turned myself into a bitter and resentful person. I've simply grown to love the sea even more, so I spend a lot of time at the beach every day, watching the fishing boats set sail and the tides rise and fall...
...
Initially, I didn't intend to come to Jimo. I went to Xiamen and spent a month by the sea in Xiamen... But like Dali, Xiamen is a more artistic city that is more enthusiastic about tourism development. After a month, I had enough of the tourist atmosphere here. I didn't want to see those unfamiliar faces with backpacks looking around every day.
So, one morning right after I finished breakfast, I left Xiamen without any warning...
...
After Xiamen, I traveled to Zhoushan, Lianyungang, Yantai, Weihai, and Rizhao, all coastal cities; but I didn't stay in any of them for more than half a month. Although the tourism atmosphere in these cities wasn't as strong as in Xiamen, it was still there, which is why I didn't stay long.
Finally, I stopped in Jimo. Of course, there is a tourist atmosphere here... but I like the name of this city. It is a homonym for "loneliness," which fits my state of mind at this stage. I am indeed feeling lonely while searching for a new way of life.
I feel so lonely, because right now, I'm so far, so very far away from those people and all the gossip in Dali...
For the past six months, I haven't been back to Dali, and I've even changed my contact information... Apart from occasional contact with Lu Jia, who is abroad, I haven't contacted anyone in Dali.
But that doesn't mean I've forgotten them... I haven't forgotten them. Sometimes when I'm sitting alone by the sea in a daze, I'll inexplicably think of one of them.
I wonder if Chen Jin is still as womanizing as before? Has Nicole given up on her obsession? After renovating the restrooms, has Coach Ma's temple also refurbished the cafeteria...? And Yang Sisi, I wonder if she stayed in Dali or went back to Shanghai...
Half a year is enough time for a lot to happen. Maybe she has come to terms with it and found a real boyfriend.
...
Last night, I had a dream. I dreamt of Ye Zhi again. I dreamt that I was sitting on the roof and saw her... She was standing under the eaves and told me that she missed me very much.
Even in my dream, I knew it was a dream.
It's been over a year, and no one has seen her or heard from her since. She's not coming back.
...
That evening, I sat by the sea smoking as usual, and soon fishing boats docked. The owners of the surrounding seafood shops swarmed around, all hoping to buy fresh seafood at low prices.
I forgot to mention that the place I'm living in now is called Xiangyangzhuang, a fishing village. The village is built against the mountain and faces the sea, so the scenery is absolutely stunning. Besides the beautiful scenery, it's also much quieter than other docks. It only gets lively for a while in the evening when seafood is being bought and sold. The rest of the time, it's so quiet that it feels like I have it all to myself.
Just when things were getting lively, Yu Tou found me... I met Yu Tou at the local motorcycle club. He was a pretty handsome young man, but because his surname was Yu, the people in the club jokingly called him Yu Tou.
Fish Head is a second-generation fisherman; his family is a typical example of someone who makes a living off the sea. Besides owning a seafood wholesale market, they also have a very high-end seaside hotel…
Because he is a second-generation fisherman, the differences between us in the club are the biggest... This is reflected in the motorcycles.
He had a Ducati Devil, the best motorcycle in the entire club, while I had a small-displacement Kymco scooter.
At the time, the club was short of vehicles and staff, so they advertised for recruitment in this fishing village. I joined through the QQ group they provided.
...
Fish Head took off his cycling gloves, sat down next to me, lit a cigarette, and said to me, "Brother Mi... quit the club."
I laughed: "I haven't missed a single penny of my membership fee... why would I want a refund?"
"The club needs to develop, so all motorcycles under 20,000 yuan must be phased out... This is everyone's opinion, there's no other way... Or you could just replace your motorcycle... I doubt you can afford to replace it, if you could you would have already done so... This Kymco you have now, is it even a second-hand one you found from someone else?"
"Knights are not distinguished by social status, and motorcycles are not distinguished by class... Did you say that?"
"I said it... but I really meant it for your own good... Just yesterday, someone died in a crash at the club next door. It was a scooter. When they were speeding around, they couldn't keep up with the crowd and got run over by a dump truck. Their brains were splattered out... It happened over on Qingwei Road."
"I'm not backing down, don't try to fool me... If something this serious really happened, it would have spread by now."
"Brother Mi... you should back out. To be honest, it's hard to say... and you'll lose face too."
"It's okay, just say it... I'm tough."
"You have a big heart!"
After a brief pause, Fish Head continued, "Let me put it this way... Everyone thinks you're pretty pretentious... Every time you corner, we can see you posing from afar... The pose is really nice, but all we see is your body leaning down, the bike is still perfectly straight... What's the point of cornering with just one scooter... Everyone knows you're doing this to show off in front of the girls in the team... But everyone just laughs at you... Of course, that's a minor issue... The main thing is, it's really unprofessional for the team to bring a scooter... Our team has been improving, and now we don't even allow domestic bikes in; the worst we can get is a Japanese bike..."
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