Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Cultural People

Xinding City, Bus Station.

Before the long-distance bus came to a complete stop, Wang Nian saw many people waving their arms excitedly in front of the platform. Some of the braver ones even moved close to the bus, hoping to quickly find their relatives or friends inside.

The people in the car were equally anxious. The aisle was crowded with people busy taking their luggage, and bags of all sizes kept passing over the heads of Shi Xiangming and others.

"We'll go down later."

Shi Wan was a little carsick and curled up in Wang Nian's arms. The excitement she had before getting on the car had long since disappeared.

Shi Shuwen sat on Shi Xiangming's lap and leaned against the window, looking out curiously.

Unfortunately, there were only people hurrying by outside the window. All I could see were cars and people. There was nothing interesting to see.

After a while of chaos, the car gradually calmed down.

Shi Xiangming, who was sitting outside, stood up and took the only small luggage bag for the four of them from the luggage rack.

There were two sets of spare clothes for the children in the bag, and the couple took one set. The rest were two lunch boxes, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc.

According to the plan, they would only stay in the provincial capital for three days, and the other two days were spent on the road.

The first thing Wang Nian did when he stood up was to touch the pocket sewn into his cotton jacket.

Inside was not only the cash I had brought with me, but also a letter of introduction from the factory.

Without the letter of introduction, the family would have to be out on the streets tonight.

Xinding City has only one long-distance bus station, so the flow of people is extremely large. All the buses are parked on a embankment, and people rushing to get off are weaving back and forth, so it is easy to get squeezed if you are not careful.

Shi Xiangming took Shi Wan over. Not only did Wang Nian hold Shi Shuwen's hand tightly, he also held her in front of him with his other hand, fearing that she would be swept away by the crowd.

After finally getting out of the station, several people were sweating in the cold weather.

The station gate faces an ancient city wall. Behind the wall are a group of white buildings that are all of foreign style, standing out from the tiled and red brick buildings in other places.

"Xinding was once occupied by foreign invaders. That building was the former consulate."

Shi Xiangming seemed to have guessed what Wang Nian was thinking, and when passing by the city gate, he specifically explained the origin of this building.

Now the buildings have been converted into state-owned stores and cinemas, with various eye-catching propaganda slogans written in red paint on the doorfronts.

Although it's a bit incongruous...it makes people feel more intimate.

The road is very wide, and most of the vehicles on the road are buses and bicycles, with one or two black sedans and military jeeps passing by occasionally.

There are electric poles on both sides of the road, and every few steps you can see people carrying baskets and doing small business.

The most eye-catching thing in the city is the various signs on the streets and alleys. Because they are all handwritten, even the fonts are obviously different.

Moreover, the aesthetic taste at this time was particularly healthy, and the girls on the signs all had square faces and looked full of energy.

Wang Nian was dazzled and for a moment he didn't even know where to look.

"Let's go to the guest house first, put our bags inside and then go out to eat."

Yesterday morning at five o'clock, I took a bus from Changshenggou to the county town, rested for half a day in the county town guesthouse, and then at three o'clock in the middle of the night I took another bus to the provincial capital. It took more than a day of bumpy ride to get to the provincial capital.

Shi Xiangming had been to the provincial capital many times and was quite familiar with the city. He led a few people along the main road and turned into the small alley.

The examination was held at the Provincial Jinhua Technical School, next to the Municipal Academy of Engineering.

After walking for only ten minutes, the Municipal Engineering Institute surrounded by green trees appeared before their eyes. The guesthouse where they were going to stay tonight was under the management of the institute.

The guesthouse is very large, with a red brick building in the middle and a row of two-story wooden buildings on each side.

Wang Nian put his bag on the ground and carefully took out the letter of introduction from his pocket.

"I'm going to register. You guys take a rest here."

It can be seen that the scale of this exam is quite large. There are many people queuing up with their families at the door of the guesthouse to check in.

Shi Xiangming took out his work ID from his pocket and stood at the end of the line.

Shi Wan recovered a lot of her spirit after such a long journey, and soon she would struggle to get out of Shi Xiangming's arms.

"I'm going to go find my aunt."

The little girl twisted around like a fish out of water, and Shi Xiangming had no choice but to put her down: "Don't run around."

A small pink cannonball landed on the ground and rushed towards Wang Nian who was looking around. The two little braids and the baby-like cry made many parents smile.

"Aunt."

"Are you here to take the exam too?"

The woman holding the child next to Wang Nian pulled open her pink headscarf, stepped aside, and struck up a conversation with a smile on her face.

Wang Nian steadied his shaking body and smiled slightly: "Sister, are you also a candidate's family member?"

"My lover is ahead of your man. We are from Factory 401."

The woman's face was very red under her headscarf, probably due to some allergy, and one could even see some unhealed scratches on her cheeks.

The boy in her arms looked to be about four or five years old, with two strings of snot hanging from his lips and his face red from the cold.

"We are from Factory 431," said Wang Nian.

All third-tier factories have their own mailbox codes, so everyone is used to using numbers instead of full names. Just by looking at the number, you can roughly guess which county the other party is from.

For a factory with more than four in the top, both of them should be from Wenxi Township.

Normally, a woman should be more friendly when meeting someone from the same county, but she didn't expect that the other person's face would change drastically as soon as Factory 431 was mentioned.

The woman looked Wang Nian up and down, and suddenly snorted coldly.

"Who did I think he was? Turns out he's a college student from Factory 431."

Wang Nian: “…”

"It's no big deal to have studied abroad for a few years. In the end, it's just talking skills. If we really talk about actual operations, who knows who is better!"

The woman changed her attitude so quickly that she rolled her eyes fiercely after she finished speaking.

"Reading expands knowledge; the more knowledge is expanded, the greater the ability to read is. This is the meaning of 'reading for the sake of reading.'" Wang Nian replied indifferently.

After saying that, he touched Shi Wan's head with his hand and said, "This is the truth that great people have taught us. So you should study more and use the knowledge you have learned to serve the motherland in the future, instead of being uneducated and just knowing how to be jealous."

"Who are you calling uneducated?" The woman's voice suddenly rose as if she had been poked in a sore spot.

"I said uneducated people." Wang Nian continued to smile, his eyes falling on Shi Xiangming who handed his work permit into the registration window: "Look at my memory, I forgot that uneducated people can't understand what educated people say."

Wang Nian also quickly figured out why a woman would suddenly turn hostile.

The number of people who can pass the selection exam is limited, and there may be only one re-examination spot in the entire county. Factory 431 and Factory 401 should be considered competitors.

But women have too narrow a vision. Not to mention Vinci Township, all those who come to take the exam are competitors.

Maybe in the end no one in the entire provincial capital will be selected.

What's more...Shi Xiangming was recommended internally and had already been on the approved list.

The woman was not good at talking, and with so many eyes watching her, it was impossible for her to roll around at the door of the guesthouse. She was so angry that she gasped for breath several times in a row.

"Let's go, don't embarrass yourself here."

The woman's man suddenly appeared at this time, dragged the mother and son away with a gloomy face.

At this time, the discussions around him became increasingly intense, and Wang Nian heard several key words from them.

Shi Xiangming, winning an award, and new plans are some of the words that appear frequently.

The woman just said a few words in foreign ink, obviously because she already knew who it was when Wang Nian just mentioned the factory code.

It seems her lover is quite famous in Xinding City...

"It's on the third floor. Let's go."

Shi Xiangming walked over with the key in hand, completely ignoring the scrutiny directed at him, including the male engineer from Factory 401 who also turned his head.

"You didn't even help your lover when he was bullied." Wang Nian smiled sweetly and gently patted Shi Xiangming's shoulder: "Let's see who will protect you next time."

"She's not as good as you."

Suddenly, Shi Shuwen interrupted and climbed the stairs with his hands behind his back like a little adult, with a serious expression.

"Why would you need my help with something that even Shuwen knows about?" Shi Shuwen smiled.

"Aunt is well-educated." Shi Wan added crisply, inadvertently giving a slap to the heart of the woman who had gone up a few steps earlier.

They really are a family...

"My senior brother brought me a message. We can go directly to the canteen of the Engineering Academy to eat."

Wang Nian looked up at the woman's family at the corner of the stairs, and was a little surprised why Shi Xiangming, who was usually very low-key, chose to talk about this in the stairwell.

"Senior brother is the chief examiner of this exam."

Wang Nian: “…”

"Senior brother also brought us some Anwei specialties."

Shi Xiangming now looks like one of those villain supporting characters in books who obviously has someone behind him, but they usually die in the end because they talk too much.

Obviously he is not such a person... So Wang Nian cleared his throat and suddenly asked, "Are you talking about Brother Shao Ming?"

"It's Senior Brother Shao Ming." Shi Xiangming even deliberately repeated Shao Ming's name loudly.

When they reached the third floor, the couple from Factory 401 went to the left, and Wang Nian and his friends went to the right.

Shi Xiangming stopped at the last room at the end of the corridor.

Before the key was inserted into the keyhole, the suppressed smile finally overflowed from his chest.

"If my senior knew that my husband and I used him as a raft, he would definitely make me write a 10,000-word self-reflection letter."

Wang Nian chuckled: "I find you're quite mean."

Shi Xiangming deliberately let the couple hear their conversation. As for the reason... it was probably because he wanted to see what the two would do if they knew.

"A cultured person?" The key turned, the door lock clicked, and the door was gently pushed open: "Reading more books not only makes you talk more fluently, but also helps you learn a lot of tricks."

Is this called... being dark?

Wang Nian looked at the tall figure of the man in front of him and thought.

The room is just an ordinary room with a double bed in the middle, a desk by the window, and two spring sofas opposite.

There are two kettles and a washbasin by the door.

Fortunately, the room faces the street and is not so noisy. When I open the window, I can see the playground of the technical school.

"This is the meal ticket that Senior Brother gave us. Let's go to the cafeteria to eat."

Shi Xiangming took out the meal ticket from his pocket and placed it on the desk, with a hint of pride on his face.

Wang Nian was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry, as it turned out that what he had just said about bringing a letter was actually true.

"Go get some water for the children to wash their faces. Shuwen's face is all scratched."

Despite the bumpy ride, the two adults were still able to stay alert. While they were talking, Shi Shuwen lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

After settling the two children down, Wang Nian and Shi Xiangming also took a rest.

When I woke up again, it was already past four in the afternoon.

"Let's go to the cafeteria tonight. I'll take an exam tomorrow at noon, and you three can go to the state-owned hotel for dinner."

The technical school was still on winter vacation, so the only people in the school cafeteria were teachers, engineers who came to take exams, and their families.

There were only a few dishes on the serving table, so Shi Xiangming didn't let the children go with him. He randomly chose a table for the mother and her two children to sit down and wait.

There was a large round table, and a few young female comrades who looked like teachers were sitting opposite them. They seemed to be chatting happily and had not touched the food in their lunch boxes for a long time.

“Is the news reliable?”

"Don't worry! My sister-in-law has already been there once. I saw her wearing it when I went back to her parents' home yesterday. It looked so beautiful!"

"My dad will beat me to death if I don't buy clothes."

"What are you afraid of... I saw Mr. Liu from the school wearing one. I guess he bought it in Lame Alley."

As the three of them were talking, they simultaneously stopped and looked in the direction of Wang Nian. They saw her bending down to roll up the sleeves of the little girl before continuing.

"I want to buy some maltose to supplement my milk."

"Not only maltose, but also milk powder, as long as you can afford it..." The short-haired female comrade pinched her fingers, and the other two immediately understood.

"It's a little more expensive than in the store, but the key is that you don't need a ticket, you can buy whatever you want."

"That place is called Lame Hill?"

"Yes, it's not far from our school. If you want to go, I'll take you there tomorrow morning."

"Okay! Then I'll go back to the dormitory and borrow some money, and then pay them back when I get paid."

There is also a place in Changshengpo Commune mentioned by several lesbians, which is actually a black market.

In the black market, you can barter or buy with money, and the transaction method is decided by both parties.

Wang Nian originally had little interest in the black market, but when he heard a few people talking about milk powder, he suddenly wanted to take a look.

I took two hundred yuan with me, intending to see if there was any longevity diversion in the provincial capital so I could bring some back with me.

After a while, Shi Xiangming prepared the meal and brought it back.

One box of fried eggplant and half a box of fried meat with garlic sprouts.

Wang Nian quickly took out some white rice from his lunch box and put it into two borrowed small bowls, then handed the chopsticks to Shi Wan, who was still a little sleepy.

Shi Wan glanced at the food lazily, resting her chin on her little hand, and it was obvious that she had little interest in eating.

"Let's go to the movies after dinner."

When it comes to controlling children, Wang Nian is the best. Just one sentence from him made the two kids' eyes light up and they sat up straight in an instant.

Seeing the two kids looking at him expectantly, Wang Nian picked up the eggplant with chopsticks and put it into Shi Wan's small bowl: "I just saw it. There is a cinema next to the school."

"There's a soda stall at the door!" Shi Xiangming added.

"Sister, eat quickly." Shi Shuwen immediately took up the chopsticks and sighed in a dignified manner: "This is not home. If you are hungry at night, you can only eat the northwest wind."

"You are quite educated, young comrade. You even know what northwest wind is."

His childish words made several female teachers at the same table laugh, and the one with a ponytail laughed and joked.

Shi Shuwen nodded at her seriously: "My grandmother always said that the northwest wind will kill the hungry ghosts."

"That's not a good thing to say. Little comrade, don't learn that in the future." The ponytailed female teacher laughed.

"I know it's not a good thing to say." Shi Shuwen's voice became lower and lower, and he secretly glanced at Shi Xiangming: "My sister and I are not starving."

"We are very happy now." Shi Wan said suddenly, shaking his head happily.

"You are clever little guys." Wang Nian raised his hand and straightened Shi Shuwen's head: "If you don't eat, you won't even have northwest wind to drink tonight."

"The cinema is going to show a movie about guerrilla warfare tonight. If you go too late, you'll just have to stand outside the door and drink the wind." The female teacher with a ponytail thought it was just a casual remark from the child's grandmother and didn't take it seriously at all. Instead, she made a joke.

The eggplant was dry and old. After chewing it for a long time, the skin was still rolling between my teeth. The taste was really not good.

Wang Nian took some effort to swallow the eggplant and made a few jokes along with the female teacher.

The two of them chatted back and forth, and even found out that the other person's name was Li Xiaojuan.

"Teacher Li is from the provincial capital?"

"I haven't left the provincial capital in all these years. After graduating from the normal college, I was assigned back to the technical school to teach," said Li Xiaojuan.

"Then Teacher Li should be very familiar with the provincial capital." Wang Nian suddenly looked around and lowered his voice: "I heard from the neighbor that there is a place called Lame Alley in the provincial capital where you can buy snow cream without a ticket. Do you know how to get there?"

"Crime Lane?" Teacher Li subconsciously glanced at the colleague with whom he had just whispered and shook his head: "This place name sounds unfamiliar... unfamiliar." As he finished speaking, the tips of his ears instantly turned red.

"No problem!" Wang Nian smiled, and calmly put a piece of eggplant into Shi Xiangming's bowl. He continued casually, "I'll ask the waiter at the guesthouse later."

"Auntie, it's not delicious."

Wang Nian couldn't chew the eggplant, so Shi Wan was even more unable to bite it. He moved his mouth around for a long time, then spit it out with a bitter face.

"Then eat meat. Your father likes to eat old eggplants." Wang Nian lowered his head.

Shi Shuwen took a bite of rice and frowned, "The meat isn't tasty either, not as good as the one you cooked."

"You've only had a few days' worth of meals and you're already being picky." Shi Xiangming taught the two kids in a deep voice, while his action of picking up eggplants at the same time was quite unconvincing.

"But...but it just doesn't taste good." Shi Wan argued aggrievedly.

Shi Shuwen silently glanced at the eggplant on the lunch box lid: "Sister, let's eat quickly."

If you try to reason with adults, you might get hurt.

The female teachers opposite didn't say anything else and quickly finished their meal in silence. When they stood up, Wang Nianchong smiled at them.

It seems that the topic of the black market is much more taboo in the provincial capital than in Changshengpo.

Of course, she wasn't stupid enough to ask the receptionist, and she felt sorry that the trip wouldn't be possible.

Suddenly, someone patted my shoulder.

"Teacher Li?"

Li Xiaojuan put her hands on her waist and gasped heavily, then leaned over to Wang Nian's ear and whispered a few words.

"If you want to go, go early."

Finally, Li Xiaojuan smiled, waved, and turned away.

...What a kind lesbian.

Wang Nian silently noted the direction Li Xiaojuan said and waved to her gratefully.

***

The morning sun rose, and the rays of light gradually spread to the gate of the technical school.

Wang Nian led the children to wave to Shi Xiangming.

"come on!"

Shi Xiangming's figure, carrying a military backpack, gradually walked away and soon disappeared behind the dense woods. Only then did Wang Nian look away.

"Humph! You are just pretending to be acting."

There was so little space at the gate that it was inevitable that the family members who came to see them off would bump into each other. The family members of the engineer from Factory 401 who came yesterday were among them.

It is obvious who the target of this satire is.

But Wang Nian was in a good mood today because she had important things to do next and she had no time to talk with others.

"Let's go! Your dad wants us to go shopping and eat at a restaurant today."

"I want to drink grapefruit water."

"I'll buy you some soda later."

"Soda isn't as good as grapefruit syrup." Shi Wan curled her lips and thought of her breakfast this morning: "The buns aren't as good as the ones at home. Our buns have meat."

Today's soda is not the carbonated beverage that appeared in later generations. In fact, to put it bluntly, it is a bottle of saccharin water without carbonation.

"Your mouth is quite sensitive."

Holding Shi Wan in her left hand and Shi Shuwen in her right hand, the mother and her two children walked away happily with different expressions on their faces.

Yesterday, Li Xiaojuan ran back and specifically told Wang Nian the route to Bozi Lane.

Go straight along Zhengdong Street, passing various large stores and business offices.

The supply of materials in the provincial capital is definitely much richer than that in the factory, but the mental outlook of the people is not as good as that in the factory.

Although the factory is located deep in the mountains, every family can plant some extra land and raise some chickens and ducks, while people in the city have to spend money on everything.

More than ten minutes later, a gray-white two-story wooden building appeared and Wang Nian knew that he should go to the left alley.

This place is like a dividing line. The old alley looks even more dilapidated, and there are electric wires running through houses everywhere.

The width is just enough for a rickshaw to pass through, and if there is a car passing by, you have to stand inside the open gate of a yard to avoid it.

"Aunt." Shi Wan suddenly shook Wang Nian's hand, covered her mouth and whispered, "I still think our family is the best."

After half a day, the little guy felt that there was no place in the provincial capital as good as home.

Shi Shuwen also nodded in agreement: "Auntie Liu also said that people in the provincial capital eat well and dress well, but I don't think that's good at all."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "My grandpa and grandma's house has a yard like this. I can even hear Uncle Huang next door fart."

"Grandpa and grandma also live in a big compound?"

Walking was boring, so Wang Nian just followed the two kids' questions and started asking.

"The house is so shabby!" This was Shi Wan's only impression. Everything else had been gradually forgotten. Now all he remembered was that there was a big hole in the roof.

Shi Shuwen wanted to remember it more clearly, and tried hard to describe it while gesturing.

After all, he is a child, and no matter how I describe it, it is only from his perspective, and I end up saying a lot of bad things about my grandparents.

As we walked and talked, the road in the alley became narrower and drier.

If an ordinary person came here, they would definitely suspect that they had taken the wrong path, but as soon as Wang Nian saw the footprints all over the ground, he was sure that he had taken the right path.

"Just listen quietly when Auntie talks, and don't let anyone know our last names or where we live."

Wang Nian stopped, carried the two people up the stone steps, and rolled up his trousers.

The two didn't understand what was going on, but still nodded obediently.

"There are bad guys holding children in there. If they are kidnapped, I won't be able to save them."

Shi Wan was so scared that she covered her mouth tightly, leaving only her big eyes rolling around.

Wang Nian's words could scare a three-year-old child, but to a seven-year-old, they were clearly just coaxing.

Shi Shuwen sighed leisurely, but did not expose it even though he felt helpless.

"Let's go and see what good stuff there is."

At the end of the alley, there were four big black words written on the wall - Public Toilet.

Wang Nian remembered that this was the secret signal given by Li Xiaojuan, that is, just keep walking in the direction of the arrow pointing to the public toilet.

Xinding City rental store.

Climb up the stairs to the second floor and go down the other side, and Cripple Alley finally appears.

Lame Alley is a very normal alley, and the so-called black market is actually the abandoned bus factory at the end of the alley.

The parking lots at car factories are the so-called black markets.

This should be...a paradise for bad guys.