Returning to the place where he grew up, Dahuang seemed a little excited. After running around in front of and behind the house, he came to Qin Feng with his ears drooped. It seemed that he also felt that something was missing.
After saying goodbye to the Liu family, Qin Feng came to the place where he and his sister had lived for five years.
Looking at the dilapidated bungalow, Qin Feng felt a lot of emotion in his heart. Hearing Ma Si say that since the murder happened here, none of the scavengers dared to live in it.
Both sides of the railway were covered with weeds as high as a person's height, making it look increasingly deserted. The sheepherders who were often seen in the past were also missing. Although it was noon, it gave people a gloomy feeling.
Qin Feng stood in front of the house for a long time. When it was about three o'clock in the afternoon, a train roared past. I wonder if it was because of the murder that year that the water filling points here were abandoned.
"Da Huang, where do you think Xiao Jia will go?"
Qin Feng's voice was a little bitter. He picked up the backpack placed at his feet and said to himself: "Rhubarb, let's go. Even if I measure it with my feet, I have to finish this railway!"
Under the setting sun, next to the railway track that winds forward, two long silhouettes of a person and a dog are pulled out. The boy carrying a travel bag is still talking to the big yellow dog from time to time, and occasionally gets a "woof" sound.
Two responses.
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Half a month later, Qin Feng, who was tired of traveling, came to a cargo yard thirty kilometers away from Jintian City.
Jintian City Freight Station is the largest transfer yard for trains from Beijing to Tianjin. Every day, hundreds of trucks are deployed and replaced here before heading to all parts of the country.
"Jintian, I wonder if I can get any news about my sister."
Qin Feng, who was walking along the railway track, had returned to his image four or five years ago. Although the clothes on his body were not so shabby, they had become dirty. Even the travel bag behind his back was full of dust.
.
Qin Feng's young face was full of exhaustion, and his beard that used to look thin had become black and hard, making him seem to be several years older out of thin air.
The truck started from Cangzhou, but first turned into Quancheng, and then returned to Jintian from Quancheng. The route was very complicated, and Qin Feng had to walk a lot.
After measuring hundreds of kilometers with his feet, Qin Feng didn't miss any train stops or places with human traces along the way. But what disappointed him was that he still didn't get any news about his sister.
"Rhubarb, it's time to eat..."
Qin Feng sat on a stone step beside the track and took out a plastic bag from his backpack. There were five or six steamed buns and two kilograms of cooked beef in it.
The family supplies are in the mouth, and every meal is full of meat.
After filling three steamed buns with beef and feeding them to rhubarb, Qin Feng wolfed down the remaining two. He was also growing up now, so naturally he would not treat himself badly.
Taking out an enamel jar, Qin Feng poured the last bit of water in the kettle into Dahuang. He stood up and looked around. There were usually some small factories or shops on both sides of the goods yard like this.
"Dahuang, don't run around!"
After touching Rhubarb who was drinking water, Qin Feng walked towards a courtyard dozens of meters away, but as soon as he turned around, Rhubarb picked up the jar in his mouth and followed him.
"Is there anyone there?" Qin Feng shouted loudly when he came to the concierge. He remembered that he had been to this yard a few years ago, but the factory seemed to be closed at that time.
"Who?"
Following the words, the concierge walked out of an old man in his sixties. He glanced at Qin Feng outside the door, his brows suddenly wrinkled, and he said angrily: "You beggars should leave quickly. You have grown so big in vain, so do something better."
Why can’t you have a full meal?”
In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a famous team called "blind flow", which literally means people who blindly flow from rural areas into cities.
Blind migration can be traced back to the nationwide famine in the late 1950s. At that time, almost all people with non-urban registered permanent residence had the experience of begging.
Later, anyone without urban household registration was included in this ranks, and some people begging for food were the main force in the blind flow army, because their mobility was in line with the characteristics of blind flow.
The author does not have any discrimination against this group of people, but it is undeniable that this kind of mobility has given rise to many crimes. Not to mention petty theft, many vicious and assault cases also occur among this group.
So by the late 1990s, many people would subconsciously take precautions whenever they saw homeless people picking up rags.
This small factory lost some steel some time ago, so the old man who looked after the door naturally didn't take kindly to Qin Feng. It was good that he didn't use a broom to chase people away.
"Uncle, I'm not begging for food."
Although he and his sister initially asked for food for a period of time, Qin Feng did not agree with this statement. After correcting the old man's title seriously, Qin Feng took out a pack of cigarettes, offered one to the old man, and said:
"Uncle, I am really not a beggar. I am passing by you and want to ask for a drink of water."
"Hey, Hongta Mountain? Where did you steal it from?"
Seeing the cigarette in Qin Feng's hand, the old doorman was stunned for a moment, but then his face became full of anger, and he reached out and picked up the big broom at the door, as if he was really going to hit someone.
"Woof..."
As soon as the old man waved the broom, Dahuang suddenly jumped out from behind Qin Feng and bit the broom. The old man was so frightened that he quickly dropped the broom and took several steps back.
"Dahuang, come back."
Qin Feng called out Rhubarb, threw the bag of Hongtashan over, and said with a wry smile: "Uncle, I'm not a beggar, just don't give me any water. Can I ask you something?"
"Boy, why are you dressed like this if you're not a beggar?"
In 1997, a pack of Hongtashan sold for 9 yuan, and the old man's salary as a janitor was only more than 200 yuan a month, and he usually smoked the big front door for a few cents a pack.
Seeing Qin Feng throw a whole pack of cigarettes over without hesitation, coupled with Qin Feng's Jintian accent, the old man somewhat believed Qin Feng's words.
"Uncle, I walked all the way from Cangzhou, can I be clean on my body?"
Qin Feng stuffed the cigarette he just held into the old man's hand, then took out a disposable lighter, lit the fire for the old man, and said: "Uncle, give me some water to drink first, it's hot today."
A dead person..."
Since the 1990s, summer has come earlier every year.
It was only May at the moment, and the sun was already very hot. Especially when walking on the gravel ground next to the railway track, the ground would emit a stream of heat. After eating the cooked beef buns, Qin Feng felt smoke rising from his throat.
.
"Okay, come in the house. Don't let the dog in. Do you see how dirty it is?"
The old man enjoyed Qin Feng's all-round service. After taking a puff of his cigarette, his expression softened a lot and he continued: "There is a water tank over there for washing cars. Let's go back and wash your dog.
This tastes great.”
"Rhubarb, go and wash yourself."
Qin Feng shouted at Rhubarb, turned around and took a tea jar of cold boiled water from the old man. After drinking it in one gulp, he said with a bitter smile: "I don't even have water to drink, so how can I have time to give him a bath?"
?”
"Young man, tell me, how did you end up like this?"
For the sake of the bag of Hongtashan, the old man handed Qin Feng a wet towel after he drank the water and said, "Where are you from? Why did you come here from Cangzhou when you have nothing to do?"
Usually, most of the people who come to this yard are migrant workers who want to go home to save travel expenses, or people who want to change cities to make a living, but it is rare to see people like Qin Feng who come all the way with a big dog.
"Uncle, that's it."
Qin Feng had already been smooth-talking along the way, "My sister and I used to play on the railway. One time, my sister climbed onto a flatbed car. Who knew that the train suddenly started to move, and my sister couldn't get off. I...
I've been looking for this for several years..."
Qin Feng didn't know how many times he repeated these words, but every time after saying it, the other party's reaction would always disappoint him. This time, Qin Feng didn't have much hope.
However, after listening to Qin Feng's words, the old man hesitated and said: "Your sister? How old is the child? There are many wandering children in the goods yard every year. If you ask me, I really can't say...
…”
"My sister was eight or nine years old four years ago. Her skin was very white, her eyes were big, and her smile looked like a crescent moon. By the way, she had a baby head at that time."
Hearing the old man's words, Qin Feng's eyes suddenly lit up, he grabbed the old man's arm and said anxiously: "Uncle, have you...have you seen my sister?"
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