The sixteenth day of the first month of the year 2010.
The festive atmosphere of the provincial capital has just dissipated, and there are still debris from fireworks and firecrackers in the streets and alleys.
A heavy snowfall on the 10th day of the lunar month made this winter even colder. People walking on the street wore thick down jackets and pulled their hats tightly. Many people put on masks, leaving only their eyes exposed, and breathed on the masks.
Layer of frost.
This is the coldest winter in the provincial capital in the past ten years.
The snow on the road has been wiped away by passing vehicles, and the dark asphalt road is a little shiny under the sunlight. There are residual snow piled under the poplar trees on both sides of the street, which is not so white and gray. There are push boxes in front of some stores.
The snowman stood up with a little red riding hood and a long carrot nose, adding a bit of childlike interest to this cold and boring winter.
The provincial capital, the eldest son of the Republic, an ancient and heroic city.
Seven thousand two hundred years ago, humans farmed, fished, hunted, and multiplied here, creating the Xinle culture.
It was established as a state in the Spring and Autumn Period, and was later established as a county. After many vicissitudes, it is known as "the birthplace of one dynasty and the capital of two generations of emperors." Taizu of the Qing Dynasty moved his capital here, and it was called "Shengjing" at that time. Huang Taiji changed the name of the country here to Qing Dynasty.
, established the Manchu State.
A generation of emperors was buried here and the imperial mausoleum - Beiling was built.
Beiling Park occupies an exclusive corner with towering ancient trees. The front of the mausoleum is solemn and solemn, while the back of the mausoleum is quiet and dense.
Walk north along the Yellow River Street, pass the west gate of Beiling Park, and then cross the Second Ring Bridge to arrive at Santaizi, where China's first self-developed fighter jet took off.
Santaizi is a battleground for military strategists. It is located in the north of the province, guarding the north gate of the provincial capital, and the terrain is ten meters higher than the urban area. After the founding of New China, a fighter jet manufacturing plant was built here, making it a national arsenal.
Due to the existence of the aircraft manufacturing factory, this area was still under control before the reform and opening up. Buildings could not exceed eight floors, otherwise they would affect the takeoff and landing of aircraft. Therefore, most of the residential buildings in Santaizi are five to six floors, with high-rise buildings
No, most of them are three-story residential buildings built with assistance from the former Soviet Union, all with a gray proletarian character.
In the early 1990s, going from Santaizi to the city was still called going to the city. At that time, this was indeed a suburb. Except for the aircraft factory and a few nearby residential areas, it was surrounded by rice fields. Going further north was the countryside.
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With the expansion of the urban area, it has been gradually developed. After more than ten years of development, it is now no different from the city. Especially with the opening of Metro Line 2, the entire Santaizi has become alive and faint.
It has the potential to surpass the five major districts in the city.
The subway station is at the intersection of Songshan Road and Huanghe Street.
Before the subway was built, this area was just an ordinary traffic post, but now it has become a bustling area. With the opening of the subway, the housing prices of the entire Songshan Road and Huanghe Street have risen, from 4,000 to 6,000, and are still rising.
Lao Tan's family is located in the Laosi50 community on the south side of Songshan Road. It is said to be a community but is actually a compound. It is a three-story residential building built with the aid of the former Soviet Union. There are three families in one building, sharing one bathroom and one kitchen, and each family has one room.
The area is eighteen square meters.
Yesterday, during the Lantern Festival, Lao Tan's family of three spent time with Brother Li's family next door. During the meal, Li asked Lao Tan when he would buy a house. Lao Tan looked at his wife Lin Yan, and Lin Yan said she would buy it when the house was relocated.
Brother Li took a look at the subway station in front and said that the relocation would be quick, at most two years.
The off-plan house that Brother Li bought in Wujing New Village still has one year to go. Wujing New Village was developed by the Armed Police Corps. Brother Li is a member of the Armed Police. The internal price offered by Brother Li is 2,400 square meters. Outsiders cannot beat this price, which is at least 6,000 yuan.
end.
The two families have been neighbors for more than ten years, and they live like one family. When Brother Li bought a house, he persuaded Lao Tan to buy it too. Lin Yan felt that she didn't have enough money and wanted to wait for two years. Unexpectedly, the current housing prices are like sitting on the house.
The money is soaring upwards like a rocket, and the speed of saving money cannot keep up with the rising pace, let alone the comfort.
When I came back from my hometown two days ago to celebrate the New Year, Lao Tan said that he didn't plan to work anymore and wanted to open a small restaurant.
I started working in restaurants when I was 21 years old, and I have been working in restaurants until I was 37 this year. I have been a chef for more than ten years, and I know how to cook. Now I don’t want to go out to cook for others anymore, so I think about doing it myself.
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Lin Yan said that the family money was reserved for buying a house and could not open a restaurant. She told him to work hard for two years and then open a restaurant after buying the house.
Seeing that my wife didn't agree, I didn't say anything further. I knew that if I continued talking, it would be a quarrel, which was unnecessary.
After his son was one year old, Lao Tan has been working out of town in order to earn more money. He first worked in Fuxin for two years, and then went to Binhai where he worked for three years. The couple lived in two places for a long time, and they were never together, and their relationship problems
In crisis, we became strangers living in the same house.
The couple can live a good life and work hard to earn money for their family and children, but they lose the passion.
After a woman gets married and has children, she focuses all her energy on the children, and her husband becomes somewhat dispensable.
Lin Yan is a strong woman with character, a stubborn temper, the ability to endure hardships, and a pioneering spirit. In popular terms, she is a woman's man. Lao Tan has been away from home all year round. She takes care of her children while working, keeping the house in good order, and educating her son well-behaved and sensible.
Quite impressive for a woman.
It has not been easy for Lin Yan these years. She has no man at home and no one to discuss anything. Especially when her child has a cold or fever, she is so anxious and anxious that Lao Tan will come back soon.
But there is no way, who calls life difficult.
Lao Tan has to make money outside. How can he live without money?
No one wants to live in two places. Isn't there no way around it? Let's just have a little more hardship now. It will be fine when we buy a house. We all take a breath and don't let Lao Tan go to other places no matter what.
Lao Tan works out of town, so it would be nice to come back once a year. Restaurant work is just like this, like a carrot and a pit, if you leave, others will immediately take over, leaving no space at all.
There is nothing you can do to make money.
This is also the helplessness and reality of migrant workers from rural areas. If you want to survive in a strange city, you must first solve the housing problem. You cannot rent a house all your life. Unlike the original residents of the city, you don’t have to worry about housing. If there is another
With a stable job, you won’t have to worry about it for almost a lifetime.
For migrant workers, it is envy, jealousy and hatred.
When they came out of the countryside, they had nothing. What they had was a handful of strength and the honesty and simplicity of rural people. If you want to have everything from nothing, the hardships and costs are unimaginable. Only those who have experienced it
Only people will appreciate the sadness involved.
Lin Yan is strong and has been strong for five years.
A lot can change in five years.
Lao Tan stood at the entrance of the building, smoking and thinking about what Lin Yan said before going to work in the morning, asking him to go out and find a job. His son would come back from his grandma's house in two days and he would have to pay the kindergarten fee.
He was lying on the bed at that time, thinking to himself that he had just stayed for a few days and went out to look for work on the 16th day of the first lunar month. Is there anything he could do? Of course, he could only talk in his heart and not shout in front of him, as that would be a fight.
After being a chef for these years, I know how to deal with it.
He immediately got up from the bed and said cheerfully: "I'm going to look for a job today. I'll walk around a few more places to see if there's any good jobs." Then he continued to test with determination and whispered: "If it doesn't work, just open a small restaurant."
Lin Yan didn't even look at him, and said coldly: "Don't even think about opening a restaurant. Read the agreement carefully at home. Either sign it, or just stay there. It's okay not to sign it, but you must follow it.
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Lao Tan came back from Binhai on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month last year. He was going back to his hometown to celebrate the New Year. They had a disagreement about how much it would cost to go home and how to spend it, which led to a quarrel. Lin Yan filed for divorce out of anger and used two
For several long hours, I painstakingly drafted the divorce agreement and asked Lao Tan to sign it without mercy.
At that time, Lao Tan was so angry that he didn't even look at it. He just ignored the Queen's arrogance and went to sleep. That's how it ended.
In fact, it's not a big deal. Lao Tan's mother, Seventy-seven, is raised by his fifth sister in her hometown. Logically speaking, his son should support her. Lin Yan, the daughter-in-law, has no objection. But the old lady is old and divorced.
If we don't go to the countryside, our five sisters won't ask Lao Tan to take my mother to the city.
The family of three went back to Fifth Sister's house to celebrate the New Year. Fifth Sister has her parents-in-law. Lao Tan wanted to give his mother three thousand yuan and give Fifth Sister's father-in-law and mother-in-law one thousand each. This would look better and make Fifth Sister look good.
Lin Yan didn't think so, and thought it was okay to give three thousand to her mother-in-law, but she didn't need to give it to the fifth sister's in-laws, since they were not her own.
Women are like this. When it comes to giving money to their husband's family, they feel distressed and timid. They can give as much as they want to their mother-in-law's family, but they are worried that it is not enough.
Lin Yan is the eldest in the family, with two younger brothers. Lin Yan almost always paid for the eldest brother’s marriage, and Lin Yan has provided for the younger brother since junior high school. Now that he is looking for a job after graduating from college, Lin Yan still gets the money. Although Lao Tan does not
He said it, but he knew it in his heart.
When they were dating, Lao Tan knew that Lin Yan's family was in trouble, and his own family was also poor. They both came from bitter melon eggs, and he didn't pick anyone. After more than ten years of ups and downs, although life is not rich now, it is better than
What is lacking above is more than what is lacking below.
Lao Tan, who is caring for Lin Yan's natal family, understands that Lin Yan is the boss. His five sisters also care for her natal family.
I thought that the New Year was over, and the agreement was over. How could a couple keep their tongues touching each other? They were quarreling, and they couldn't survive anymore? Unexpectedly, Lin Yan brought up the old matter again, and Lao Tan was a little angry and asked
What does Lin Yan mean?
Lin Yan said it was not interesting, and then said: "I will pay my son's kindergarten fee immediately, and I have to pay the next quarter's rent. The family of three still has to eat and drink, right? You should find a job quickly, don't stay at home all the time."
"You won't let me open a restaurant, right?" Lao Tan said.
"Don't even think about opening a restaurant. You can't be paid to go there. Find a job quickly. You don't have to be a head chef, just a cook. You can make 4,000 yuan a month. You can do whatever you want with the rest.
Find a young lady, keep a mistress, or be a virgin as long as you want, I don't care."
Lin Yan finished speaking and left for work.
In fact, what Lin Yan said was right, but her tone was harsher.
You have to spend money when you stay at home. It’s not easy to make money, but it’s easy to spend it.
While Lao Tan was thinking about it, the phone rang and it was an unknown number.
"Hello, who are you?" Lao Tan asked.
"Brother, I am your black brother from the mahjong club, what are you doing?"
"Oh, Brother Hei, it's okay, just stay here."
"Come here and play two games. Three are short of one."
"Okay, I'll be there in a moment."
The caller was an old man from the courtyard. He used to be an old man from three places, but now he is older. He opened a mahjong club at home and collected some money to support himself. Mahjong is not big, one pot is fifteen, and he can earn one hundred yuan a day by memorizing ideas.
Enough to lose.
Lao Tan doesn't like to play mahjong, and he's not very good at it. In the first two days, Brother Li was on vacation, so he took him to play twice when he had nothing to do. He lived in the same compound with Lao Hei, so he treated it as a compliment.
Lao Hei gave his phone number that day and said that if he was short of people, he would go there and help.
I have already told my friends in the provincial capital about the job and asked them to keep an eye on it. Chefs like Lao Tan are recommended to each other by friends when looking for jobs, and they don’t apply for jobs by looking at advertisements. Those who apply for jobs by looking at advertisements are all fresh graduates from training courses.
When I came out, I was not well-known in the chef circle, and I didn’t know many friends.
Anyway, he had nothing to do, so he had nothing to do. Lao Tan dropped his ass and headed to Lao Hei's mahjong club.