Six o'clock in the evening is the most deserted time in Stonegu Market, but it is also the busiest time for a special group of people.
They have the same dress, yellow and gray shirts soaked with sweat, tired faces, and their faces are yellow and black due to long-term drinking. This group of people is only active during this time period, and they wander around the Stongu Market.
, bosses who are short of manpower look for these people to work.
You can do any kind of work, cleaning, moving, even pretending to be a magic doll or getting paid to be a bad customer in a hostile store.
This group of people is easy to identify. They usually walk on the road with their heads lowered and never look into other people's eyes.
Therefore, the people in Stone Ancient City call them photophobes, casual workers without dignity.
"Thank you, boss."
"Thanks for your hard work."
"Um."
My name is Aji, a helpless ordinary person, now working as a casual worker. Today's boss is very generous, and he pays one hundred and fifty, which is more than three times the normal salary.
He is the owner of a new grain store that opened today. Business was very hot on the first day he opened. He must have made a lot of money.
Moreover, he is very young and handsome. This is the kind of person who is said to be young and promising. His existence is like the sun, which makes Aji dare not look directly at him. Only a fool would open his eyes and look directly at the sun.
"Wait a minute."
Just when Aji was about to leave, the boss's voice came from behind.
Aji stopped and his slightly curved back paused uneasily, like a candle that was about to burn out. Behind his back was a frightened expression.
"Do you have any orders, boss?"
He turned around and asked with an ugly smile, his head almost as high as his shoulders.
I saw a handsome man in a black dress walking over.
"You did a good job today. Go back and have a good rest and continue working hard tomorrow. This is freshly made bread. Take it home and eat it."
His voice is so manly and his arms are broad.
This is a real man.
"Well, thank you boss."
Aji's voice was similar to that of a mosquito. He took the still-hot bread with both hands and could smell the aroma.
After leaving the ancient market, the sky also darkened. There were street lights in many places in the ancient city of Stone, but there was no place in one place. It was a forgotten place where a group of abandoned people lived. Although the roads in Stone were not good, most of them had street lights.
The pits were dug, but at least they were paved with stone bricks, but there was only a dirt road in that place.
And this place is called a mourning city. Although it is a city, it is only a small place. There is a lot of garbage, and the house is also made of garbage. The door is made of discarded wooden boards and lazy bricks are piled up from nowhere. If
If you come home and find that the door of your house is missing or has a hole, it must have been stolen.
But don't worry, there's nothing worth stealing inside.
"Aji, are you going to go happily?"
A man squatting on the side of the road shouted to Aji who was passing by. He was very thin and did not look like a good person. There were a few similar people around him, the kind of people who would avoid him when he saw them.
His name is Lahou. Of course, this is a nickname. It is estimated that no one here knows his real name.
By the way, Aji is not his real name either.
"No, I'm tired today."
Aji shook his head and quietly put his right hand behind his back. He hoped that the bread would not be discovered.
He knows this group of people and is one of them.
However, their relationship is definitely not that of friends. There are no friends in Shangcheng. The reason why they get together is because the other party is as miserable as themselves.
However, what Aji was most worried about happened. The monkey turned his head and saw Aji's bag.
"Oh, I brought something good, please share it with me."
Aji smiled bitterly and said: "There are no good things, just two broken loaves of bread. I'm so unlucky. All my wages were deducted for one day, so I just gave them these two loaves of bread. I have been living on them these days."
Of course he was lying, otherwise the bread would be gone.
However, the monkey licked his lips and said, "I think it's quite fresh, want to try it?"
The few people next to him also looked over eagerly, and Aji felt a little panicked. They ate all they wanted, like mice.
"Is there anything delicious? I haven't eaten it yet. I'm very tired from working today. You don't want to see me dead and smelly near your house."
Aji said.
Hearing this, Lahou showed an expression of disappointment and disgust, but soon recovered his smile and walked over and said, "How much money do you still have? I know a friend. He got some immortality water. It's very cheap."
, it’s better to…”
"No, you know I can't stand that thing."
Aji suddenly became tough, shook his head and said.
"Let's go, I'm so tired."
After he finished speaking, he left.
"Hey! Let's give it a try! What a clanger, let's go and leave him alone."
When Lahou couldn't be persuaded, he cursed a few unpleasant words in a low voice. Aji heard it, but he didn't hear it either.
Immortal water is something more powerful than alcohol. It can make you forget hunger and feel happy. Ninety-nine percent of the people in Sangcheng rely on it, and almost all the money they make goes to the people who sell the fairy water.
Arcas let those people go, no, maybe it was Arcas who secretly sold the immortal water.
Aji returned home. There were no windows, only a few holes the size of fists, and the moonlight could not get in. He lit up a very period lamp. It was not very bright, but at least it was still light.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief, sat on his bed, picked up the wine bottle as a habit, and poured it into his mouth.
However, he didn't know why, the movement stopped.
In the dark room, a faint light shines on the wine bottle.
This bottle of wine is expired and tastes weird.
Many people think that wine will not expire, which is actually correct. However, some wine will also expire because its alcohol content is very low, and this bottle of wine is mixed with countless types of wine and water.
There may also be a lot of people's saliva.
Aji held the wine bottle, his mouth secreted a lot of saliva, his body was craving for wine.
"tomorrow……"
He muttered to himself, then closed his eyes and sighed heavily.
Finally he put down the wine bottle and picked up the bread that was still a little warm.
Usually he can only eat bread that is dry, hard, and possibly moldy, or sour rice.
For him, this fresh bread was a hard-earned feast. He was a little reluctant to part with it, but his stomach was already protesting.
He carefully tore open the oil paper, and suddenly a fragrant aroma came to his nostrils.
Why does it smell so good?
His saliva was secreting desperately, and he couldn't help but take a bite. The soft and delicious taste took him to heaven.
For a moment, he will think of the time when he was still alive as a 'human being'.
He was once a young man from a small mountain village. With a dream of getting rich, he rode a donkey and pulled his family's local products to the city.
However, reality taught him a costly lesson. He was deceived, whether it was his donkey or his money, and he suddenly became penniless.
But it doesn't matter, as long as I work part-time and save some money, I can go back.
But in the end I discovered that this idea was really naive.
The ancient city of Stone is a city that cannibalizes people. He has been eaten. With extremely low wages and expensive accommodation, even if he saves money on food and drink, and eats three meals a day, there is no money left, so he can only live in front of others.
For human beings, not seeing hope is the greatest despair. One day, he held the bottle and forgot about tomorrow.
That was the day he came to the city of mourning.
Aji held the bitten piece of bread, still holding the small piece of bread in his mouth, but he was already in tears.
"tomorrow……"
He cried and repeated these two words.
On a dark night, the light inside a square dilapidated hut seemed to be brighter than usual.