The train clanked and swayed slightly with a fixed rhythm. Xiao Jinlang sat by the window, tilting his head and looking at the field scenery passing by outside the window.
The Beijing-Kowloon Line with a speed of 120 kilometers per hour has not yet started construction. Nowadays, domestic trains are considered fast if they can run at 90 kilometers per hour, but many of them only go at 60 kilometers per hour.
Although the train speed is slow, the fare is still relatively cheap. If ordinary people want to travel far, they must find ways to go to the train station and queue up to buy tickets.
Because of the large flow of people and difficult management, train stations in any city across the country are places of chaotic security.
Petty theft, bullying and evil forces are nothing new.
Lao Xiao left Tianyang in anger. He couldn't get a sleeper in a hurry, so he had to use his work permit to buy a hard seat back to the imperial capital. The return trip took about two or three days, and he had to change trains during the period, which was very troublesome.
In fact, Lao Xiao was lucky, at least he had a seat. Unlike him who looked melancholy, the passengers in the same carriage were all ordinary people.
These days people often go out in large groups, bringing pots and pans with them. If there is a slow train that stops at all stops, the chickens and ducks can all be put in baskets and boarded. The crowds gather together and it is lively.
It was already early summer, and the carriage was stuffy and there was no air conditioning. Hundreds of people were crowded together, and the smell of sweat, smelly farts, and feet all mixed together, making it really unpleasant.
Especially near the toilet, even if the car window is opened, the wind blowing in is smelly.
If the smell of food is added to these smells, it can be fatal.
Nowadays, instant noodles are still a luxury product. Many trains only have one dining car and cannot provide lunch boxes. Most people can only bring their own dry food of steamed buns and steamed buns to endure the long journey.
It was from early morning to dark, and the people on the bus were cramped in the narrow compartment. They quickly finished reading the street literature they bought, so they could only eat melon seeds and chat to pass the time.
The person sitting at the same table asked Lao Xiao familiarly, "Master, you came from Tianyang. I heard that your Tianyang is doing well now."
Xiao Jinlang smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "I'm not from Tianyang, I'm just on a business trip."
When we talk about Tianyang, there are many topics.
An old farmer also got on the bus halfway and sat in the aisle using a fertilizer bag filled with luggage as a seat. His face was wrinkled and black, but he said excitedly, "The money in Tianyang is so good."
The idea of making money is so attractive that passengers in the seats in the front and back all turn their heads to take a look.
The old farmer, who probably came from the mountains, used a pole to carry the fertilizer bag on the cart. He took out a few oranges from a bag and distributed them to everyone with a smile.
"There is a company in Tianyang that collects canned goods. The fruits from several counties near us are selling at a good price this year, which is twice as expensive as in previous years."
This is a business opportunity. There are many people on the train running around doing business. Someone immediately came over, handed the old farmer a cigarette, and asked: "Old man, which company accepts cans?"
"That's not clear." The old farmer usually smoked dry cigarettes, and a filtered cigarette made him grin. "Anyway, the business of the cannery in our county has been very good this year.
In the past, we had to beg them to harvest the oranges we planted, but this year they drove themselves to sign the contract.
People from the rural agricultural technology institute have been working diligently recently. It is said that they received a special support fund and sent us pesticides and fertilizers.
In order to harvest more oranges in the autumn, canneries in different counties are almost fighting. The township even received a loan of more than 100,000 yuan to build roads in many villages."
The old farmer's dark face shone with a smile.
Xiao Jinlang shared an orange given by the other party, so he said, "It must be Tianyang's 'Harmonious Chamber of Commerce'.
This company signed a contract with the city and issued a loan in kind. But they are actually responsible for building roads, which is really unexpected."
"Yes, yes!" a fat woman sitting next to her shouted loudly, shouting happily: "That's the name. The color TV refrigerators sold by this company are so cheap.
My relative's son got married just last week. He only spent 8,000 yuan to buy all kinds of home appliances.
They have all kinds of good things that you can think of. Especially the color TV they bought is really big."
The fat woman opened her hands and used an exaggerated tone to describe the big color TV she saw. Some of her seatmates didn't believe it, "How can it be possible to buy such a big color TV for eight thousand yuan? Domestic products are not that cheap."
"My relatives bought imported ones. The foreign letters on the brand look high-end." The fat woman was unconvinced and tried hard to prove that she was definitely not lying.
When they heard that the sign was composed of letters, no one in the carriage refuted it, only surprised.
The fat woman continued to shout: "The new daughter-in-law of my relative is really blessed. Eight thousand yuan is more than just a color TV. He has a washing machine, a rice cooker, and an electric kettle for boiling water."
You guys don’t understand, but my relative also bought a satellite receiver. The color TV can watch foreign TV stations, and they speak foreign languages. That’s so foreign!”
The fat woman had a loud voice, and people in half the carriage were poking their heads. People couldn't bear their curiosity and came to listen. When she saw the crowd, she even excitedly told the rumors that she had heard or even made up in her head.
"My relative's child just graduated from a technical secondary school, but he found a good job. He joined the best company in Tianyang, Shengguang Machinery, which specializes in building cars. He earns four to five hundred yuan a month with salary and bonus.
piece."
I just graduated from technical secondary school, can I get a monthly salary of four to five hundred?
There was an uproar.
This income is definitely the top one percent among the more than 200 people in the carriage.
The numbers are so unbelievable that many people don't believe it and think the fat woman is talking nonsense.
Hearing the word 'holy light', Lao Xiao felt uncomfortable.
He couldn't help but say, "Even the company that makes tricycles is not the best. As for the home appliances your relatives bought, they are all smuggled second-hand goods."
'Building a car' and 'building a tricycle' are two different things. There was another round of laughter in the carriage, as if the mystery had been solved.
Seeing someone trying to make trouble, the fat woman became furious and yelled: "You can't see how others are doing well? Why can't you make a three-wheeler?"
Did you know that the three-wheeled one also has a motor, which can be used as a small truck and run smoothly? Now this car is out of stock, and I don’t know how many people want to buy it but can’t.
Besides, my relative’s child has just graduated from technical secondary school. Isn’t it good to earn three to four hundred a month? How many people here can earn so much? Let me ask you, how much can you earn in a month?”
The fat woman's words were like a barrage of words, which made Xiao Jinlang unable to speak. His salary in the imperial capital was not low. He spent five to six hundred yuan a month with various subsidies.
But Lao Xiao worked at the Imperial Daily, and he had been working there for more than 20 years. When he first joined the job, he only earned about ten yuan a month.
How is this comparable?
Old Xiao was speechless, but the fat woman became even more enthusiastic and shouted loudly: "My relatives bought smuggled second-hand goods, but so what? They are better than new domestic goods.
Do you know how many people go to Tianyang by car to buy home appliances?
You don’t have to go through the trouble of finding connections, a 24-inch color TV only costs 2,000 yuan, repairs and refunds are guaranteed, and it’s delivered to your door. People grab it every day. Only people who have never seen the world will feel sour.”
Xiao Jinlang wanted to shout, 'I'm ignorant? Zhou Qingfeng, who has done all these bad things, wants to recruit me, how can I be ignorant?' But he was angry and turned his head away, too lazy to behave like a woman.
The fat woman cried out that she felt comfortable, like a hen that had just laid eggs. She clucked and told other passengers about her experiences in Tianyang. There was so much information in her words that many people gathered around to listen.
There was a lively little society inside the carriage, and Lao Xiao succumbed to it, feeling melancholy like "Everyone in the world is dirty, but I am alone." He took a deep breath and sighed toward the window to release the depression in his heart.
I don’t know who had just defecated in the carriage toilet. As soon as the suction toilet was flushed, a smell spread and flowed in from the window, and Lao Xiao was sucked in.