At daybreak the next day, Li Jianghai rushed to Old Wang's house, carrying two steaming hot meat buns. The morning mist hadn't yet cleared, and he stood outside the Wang family's gate, stamping his feet.
He was so sleepy that his eyelids kept drooping, yawns kept coming out, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
He tossed and turned most of the night and couldn't sleep well because he was trying to think about what to say today.
At this moment, standing in the morning breeze, I felt my head heavy, as if it were filled with lead.
"Old brother!" Seeing Old Wang push open the gate.
Li Jianghai quickly rubbed his eyes, then cheered up and went over to the plate. "Eat it while it's hot, it's fresh out of the pot!"
Old Wang was wearing a black cloth double-breasted shirt that had been washed so much that it looked pale. When he saw the buns in Li Jianghai's hand, his eyes lit up.
The buns had thin skin and large fillings, and they were steaming hot. You could smell the aroma of meat from a long distance away.
He took the bun and took a bite. The scalding oil dripped down the corners of his mouth: "Oh, your family is worthy of selling buns. This is so delicious!" He took another big bite and breathed hard because of the heat.
Li Jianghai saw that he was enjoying his meal so much that he felt embarrassed to interrupt him. He said, "Your family sells buns, but my wife sells dim sum!"
He had forgotten that yesterday, in order to prove himself, he said that his wife sold buns.
While eating his buns, Old Wang praised Li Jianghai, saying, "You're working harder than the donkey in the production team at this early hour."
Only then did he notice Li Jianghai's panda eyes. Old Wang squinted and looked at him for a long time before speaking, "What's wrong? Did you go out to steal last night? Look at the dark circles under your eyes."
Li Jianghai smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. "Of course not. I was just...thinking about something and stayed up a little late."
The two of them ate and talked as they walked along the bluestone road towards the neighborhood committee.
The streets were particularly quiet in the early morning, with only a few old people who got up early drawing water from the well.
When passing by the breakfast stall, the aroma of fried dough sticks wafted over, and Li Jianghai couldn't help yawning again.
"Brother," Li Guifang's instructions from last night echoed in his ears, and Li Jianghai spoke carefully, "We need to go to the neighborhood committee and confirm with Director Wang about what we talked about yesterday..."
Old Wang, cigarette in hand, squinted his eyes as he looked at him. "Of course! Hey, I noticed you're stumbling around a bit today. Where's that quick, efficient energy from yesterday?"
The two walked along the bluestone road towards the neighborhood committee, and Li Jianghai was organizing his words all the way.
Passing the supply and marketing cooperative, he suddenly stopped. A new notice was posted at the door, a city announcement about the renovation of the southern part of the city. The bright red official seal was particularly eye-catching in the morning light.
"Brother," Li Jianghai pointed at the notice, "the demolition notice is posted here..."
"It's been posted for several days, but no one has read it. We are just unsophisticated people who can't even read a single word. How can we understand the twists and turns written by educated people?"
Old Wang blew out smoke rings and looked at Li Jianghai suspiciously. "Just tell me what's going on. Has the policy changed?"
Old Wang is so direct that he can't deal with Li Jianghai.
Li Jianghai was wondering how to answer when the gate of the neighborhood committee was already right in front of him.
Director Wang was waiting for them at the door, holding a stack of documents in his hands, his glasses reflecting the morning light.
"You've arrived just in time!" Director Wang greeted me with a broad smile. "I've just sorted out all the policy documents."
He led the two of them into the building and into a reception room. Inside, there were several benches and a set of steaming tea sets next to them.
Li Jianghai spoke first, "Director Wang, Uncle Wang would like to know more about the policy, the specific...um...implementation details..."
"That's as it should be." Director Wang pushed up his glasses, his eyes curved into crescents behind the lenses. "The organization understands the needs of the people. I've already sorted out the documents. Let's sit down and talk."
Old Wang sat down on the bench and drank the tea in front of him. "Don't use those empty words! Just tell me, what can a family like mine get?"
Director Wang's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal.
He pushed his glasses up and smiled, pulling out a document from the pile. "Let's look at it one by one. First, the resettlement standards..."
His fingers slid across the paper. "According to the latest city documents, residential land like yours can be exchanged..."
Li Jianghai was sitting on pins and needles, watching Old Wang's face getting darker and darker.
The cigarette in Old Wang's hand was almost burning his fingers, but he was completely unaware.
The cicadas on the old locust tree outside the window suddenly chirped, sounding particularly harsh in the silence of the early morning.
Director Wang continued to read the clauses in the document, and terms such as "building area replacement ratio compensation standard" echoed in the yard.
Li Jianghai noticed that Old Wang's fists were clenched white, so he was about to interrupt Director Wang, but unfortunately Old Wang got there first!
"Wait!" Old Wang suddenly interrupted Director Wang. "What exactly do you mean by this? Can you just be simple and tell me how much my family will get?"
Director Wang was chattering off a bunch of literary nonsense again, and Old Wang was pointing at a clause from time to time and asking Li Jianghai about it. It seemed like both parties were talking about their own things.
Old Wang's rough fingers dug into the document, leaving a dent in the surface. "Director Wang, can you tell me, does this 'compensation for ancillary facilities' include our old well?"
Director Wang adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes darting behind them. "Well... according to the city's latest 'Notice on Further Standardizing...'"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Old Wang knocked his pipe on the table. "Just tell me if it's included or not!"
Li Jianghai was rubbing his hands anxiously.
Director Wang suddenly turned to him and said, "Uncle Li, Comrade Wang, didn't you already address this question yesterday..."
"Director Wang! You still need to explain this matter..."
Li Jianghai shouted, startling both of them.
Director Wang's face darkened, and he suddenly pulled out a small notebook: "By the way, Uncle Li, someone complained yesterday that your renovations were too noisy. Go check it out and see what's going on."
Li Jianghai stood up, gritting his teeth. "Okay, I'll go take a look."
As I reached the main gate, I heard Director Wang speaking in official language again: "Comrade Wang, this compensation issue requires comprehensive consideration of many factors..."
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