Back to 80: My Literary Life

Fang Minghua soon took the train back to Xijing.

After returning home, he and Song Tangtang talked about going to Ningming again. Song Tangtang suddenly said: "Minghua, we haven't seen Brother Zhou for several years. I'm not too busy at work tomorrow. How about you accompany me to visit him?"

"Okay, Zhou Zhi is not far away anyway, I want to meet him too."

So the next morning, Song Tangtang did not go to work. The two drove straight to Zhouzhi County and soon found the county agricultural machinery factory.

Fang Minghua parked the car on the street and went down to ask the guard at the gate.

"Excuse me, master, will Zhou Shunlai go to work today?"

"By the way? I'm laid off!"

"Laid off?" Fang Minghua was surprised when he heard this: "Why were you laid off?"

The guard glanced at Fang Minghua and sighed: "Shunlai was originally disabled and couldn't do many jobs, so he became the first batch of laid-off workers in the factory."

"Then do you know where he lives?"

"I know. There is a red brick tube building on the east side of Nanguanzheng Street. It is the family building of the agricultural machinery factory. You will know when you go there and ask."

"OK, thanks."

Fang Minghua hurried back to the car and told Song Tangtang what he had asked about.

Song Tangtang was shocked when he heard this: "How could this happen?!"

Fang Minghua sighed: "Let's go to Brother Zhou's house."

Fang Minghua drove to Nanguanzheng Street and found the tube building of the agricultural machinery factory. He saw an aunt who asked Zhou Shunli where he lived.

The aunt told him enthusiastically: "It's the two rooms on the east side of the second floor, but I haven't seen his family for several days. He has been laid off, and his wife has no fixed job. I heard she has returned to her hometown in the countryside." "

The two had no choice but to return home disappointed.

On the way back, Fang Minghua and Song Tangtang were in heavy moods and did not speak.

Seeing his daughter-in-law like this, Fang Minghua comforted her and said, "It doesn't matter. We'll come back to inquire after a while. Maybe we can get some news."

Song Tangtang nodded after hearing this.

Let's put this matter aside for the time being, and everyone is busy with their own things.

The first World Literature Award Jury meeting is about to be held, and Fang Minghua is busy with this matter again. The meeting is still held at the Tangcheng Hotel.

That afternoon, he discussed the upcoming meeting with Manager Wang of Tangcheng Hotel and asked the hotel to provide the best service to entertain guests.

Manager Wang naturally agreed.

"Chairman Fang, the provincial leaders also attach great importance to this matter. Among the delegates there are famous figures from the cultural circles of Hong Kong and Taiwan. I will deploy the best waiters in the hotel to serve the conference. Don't worry about this."

The two discussed some specific details of the reception, and then Fang Minghua drove away and turned east along Hanguang Road.

At this time, the South Second Ring Road in Xijing had not yet been repaired, and it was actually a sewage canal. The canal is full of silt and turbid black water flows all day long. If you get closer, you can smell a strange smell. On both sides of the canal are tall trees and shrubs. The thick branches cover the sewage canal tightly. Under the trees are stalls, which look very lively.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, especially with the wave of laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises, stalls were set up in busy streets and public places in cities to resell clothes and socks, which was called "training stalls."

This formed the "road economy." It was not until the emergence of urban management that it slowly disappeared.

Fang Minghua slowed down and paid attention to the situation on both sides while driving. Suddenly he spotted someone he knew on the side of the road.

In front of him is the same stall as other stalls, selling socks, fitness pants and other things, but he only has one hand when he takes the goods to customers, because the other sleeve is empty!

Disabled people!

Zhou Shunlai!

He actually came to practice.

Wearing a faded jacket, it looks much better than it did in previous years.

Fang Minghua did not stop the car in a hurry, but drove over and turned into a side street, pulled over and stopped.

Then he got off the car and walked back, pretending that he hadn't seen Zhou Shunlai just now. When he got there, he was surprised and shouted: "It's you, Brother Zhou!"

Zhou Shunlai was haggling with a woman. When he saw someone asking him to raise his head, it was Fang Minghua, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, with a smile on his face: "It's you, Minghua, wait a minute."

"Sister, the quality of these bodybuilding pants is very good. Look at the elasticity." Wang Zhoushun came and was about to pull the trouser legs, only to find that he couldn't do anything with one hand.

"Let's do it, four yuan! Four yuan is the cheapest!" Zhou Shunlai said.

"Forget it, no more!"

The woman turned and left.

"Hey sister," Zhou Shunlai couldn't help but yell when he saw the woman squatting on someone else's stall and turning up her bodybuilding pants.

"Brother Zhou, is business okay?" Fang Minghua asked in a low voice.

"It's not that bad. You saw it just now." Zhou Shunlai sighed: "You see that the streets are full of people selling pants and socks, how good can the business be?"

Fang Minghua couldn't tell that he had gone to Zhouzhi to look for him a few days ago, so he asked: "Brother Zhou, don't you work at the county agricultural machinery factory? Are you laid off?"

"Yes, the company's performance is sluggish and people have been laid off." Zhou Shunlai said calmly: "Nine out of ten stalls on this street are like me."

"My wife is now working as a waitress in various restaurants in Xiaozhai. It costs money to send my children to junior high school. I can't just eat at home, right? So I went out to practice stalls to earn some money."

"That's true." Fang Minghua nodded, and suddenly said: "Brother Zhou, didn't my wife Song Tangtang open a company? Some time ago, I heard her say that there was a shortage of security guards. Do you want to go? The treatment will definitely be favorable."

Zhou Shunlai hesitated and said, "Minghua, thank you for your kindness. You see, I am missing an arm, and I am not good at the job of security guard. The factory laid me off because of this. I will not cause you any trouble."

"What trouble!" Fang Minghua said hurriedly.

Fang Minghua was right.

Zhou Shunlai finally agreed.

Being a security guard is certainly much better than selling things on the street. At least, it can guarantee a good harvest.

He also knew that Fang Minghua would not treat him unfairly.

Fang Minghua left Zhou Shunlai an address and asked him to go to the company tomorrow. Zhou Shunlai agreed.

After saying goodbye to Zhou Shunlai, Fang Minghua drove home. On the way, he thought of meeting Zhou Shunlai today, and suddenly remembered that he had not come to this era, and the ending of Liu Feng in the book "Youth".

His life was a complete tragedy. His youth was gone, and after his youth passed away, he sold pirated books, married a prostitute, and survived at the bottom of society.

But when Liu Feng's small business went bankrupt, the prostitute also left him.

But no matter what, Zhou Shunlai would not go that far.

When Song Tangtang came home in the evening, he told her what he saw and heard today.

Song Tangtang was naturally very happy.

"Don't worry, I will make good arrangements for Brother Zhou."

Fang Minghua would not doubt this.

It was the beginning of April, and the final review stage of the first World Chinese Literature Award was approaching.