In the big city, I only have a small dream
It's a little hollow but it takes me up
Failure can't change the idea of bravely advancing forward in my heart
Whether you believe it or not, I'm sure of myself
In other people's eyes, I may not be eye-catching
No matter what you do, there's always someone who has an opinion
I know there's a big difference between dreams and reality
As long as I try my best, I'm right for myself
Everything today may just be a trajectory
My greatness can only move myself
Countless lives piled up into life
I will try to make life meaningful
I have no reason to be dejected forever
Maybe you don't understand my logic
30% dignity and 70% effort
One day, you will be the hero of tomorrow.
I don't know why every time I hear this song, it always makes me stop moving forward. Maybe it's because that line in the lyrics speaks my heart ~~~'Everything today may be just a trace, our greatness can only move ourselves.'
"Hey ~~~~ We don't have any junk here, go away…Don't block the way, we still have business to do ~~~~" Suddenly, the owner of the audio and video shop walked out and said with a frown and a disgusted expression.
"..." I smiled and didn't say anything. I stomped on my back tricycle and left.
That's right! Just like what the boss said, I'm a junk collector. To put it bluntly, I'm a 'junk king'!!
Although our social status is low and our jobs are miserable, we have a set of self-comforting methods to prevent ourselves from becoming too sad. If you look down on yourself, then who else can look up to you? In fact, our self-consolation method is very simple. To put it bluntly, people call us the 'King of Trash', and to put it nicely, they call themselves the' Municipal Biological Waste Sorting and Treatment System...'
In 2012, the people of China were already moving towards a more affluent life. After having a few dollars in their hands, they naturally wouldn't waste them as bitterly as before. As a result, more and more things were wasted.'Resource recycling' became a key topic at the National People's Congress every year, and our existence accelerated the development of the country's 'resource recycling' plan!!
What was that? You said that such an excuse was far-fetched? However, no matter how far-fetched it was, it was still better than being a thief so that the police uncle could have food to eat…** so that the prosperity of the motherland and the reduction of sex crimes…these lousy excuses were more reasonable, right?
Although there were many excuses, the self-pity in his heart could not be avoided. Naturally, I was no exception…Oh! I haven't introduced myself yet ~~~
My name is Liu Wuqing. Anyone who hears my name will immediately think of those big 'prawns' in martial arts novels. But what can I do? Who asked my father to be fascinated by martial arts novels when I landed? So he casually flipped through the novel in his hand and named me Ruthless. With my surname Liu, I was called Liu Wuqing…Although I made a lot of jokes in school, it has always accompanied me and I have no intention of changing its meaning. I'm very traditional. In my opinion, names are given by parents. Changing names randomly is disrespectful to parents.
I'm 23 years old this year, and I'm 1.79 meters tall... In the south, 1.79 meters is not considered short. As for my looks... I feel pretty good about myself. I haven't asked how others feel about me, but many people always call me good-looking or handsome!!
I don't have many bad habits. I can smoke but I rarely smoke by myself. I always ask others to smoke…Carrying a pack of cigarettes is the most common tool in social situations. Those who can smoke my cigarettes are mostly my regular customers who have business dealings with me. Of course, that's only limited to men…women ~~~ only need to eat dessert.
The reason why I can drink so much is mainly because I was raised when I was young…When I was young, I saw my father always look so happy when he picked up a wine glass, which made me very envious. So, driven by curiosity, I took a few sips too. In the end, I found that the taste…was really terrible. However, the feeling of being light after drinking was really nostalgic. However, ever since I came to B City, I have never enjoyed that feeling again…It seems that I have digressed.
I grew up in a small mountain village in the south of China. I have a father and a little sister at home. My mother was buried underground when I was six years old, so I'm very unfamiliar with my mother... but her gentleness left a deep impression on me. From the old photos of her and my father, I knew that she was very beautiful, and she was a university student... but what I don't understand is why a beautiful university student was willing to marry my farmer father who didn't study much. My father refused to say, and my little sister and I didn't dare to ask...
My father was a very responsible farmer, but he was a little stubborn when it came to being responsible. He thought that if he was a farmer, he should be a farmer for the rest of his life."What's wrong with being a farmer? Which dynasty before the Celestial Empire did not have farmers? A country was like a skyscraper, which had bricks, glass, steel bars and beautiful decorations. In this skyscraper, countless talents played various roles…However, farmers were the fine sand and cement in the skyscraper. A skyscraper could be without bricks, glass, steel bars and beautiful decorations, but it could not be without fine sand and cement…just like how a country could not be without farmers. Without the farmers, it would be like a cement building without fine sand that would collapse instantly!!”
These words sounded very philosophical, right? He also used these words to block me for 16 years. It was not until I was 16 years old that I refuted him with these words."Why do farmers have to be fine sand and cement? And not bricks or other things? Even if they were cement and fine sand, could it be that there was only a pile of cement and fine sand in the world? "The world can't be without farmers, but that doesn't mean it can't be without you…" My words choked him.
Before he could react, I followed a good old man from the village called Uncle Li to the southernmost part of China…which was also one of the top ten cities in China, B City, and began my journey to earn money…However, my father really did look like a philosopher in my impression. This made me wonder if my beautiful and gentle university student mother was tricked by him pretending to be a professor of philosophy!!
But no matter what, I was 16 years old that year and didn't even have a high school diploma…It wasn't that my grades were so bad that I couldn't graduate. Although my grades weren't good, they weren't so bad that I couldn't get a diploma. The main thing is that I know that in this era where college students can only sell pork, what's the use of a high school diploma? Moreover, collecting waste and picking up trash didn't require a diploma…
"Hey ~~~~ Handsome guy, come over here quickly. I have some paper here…" At this moment, an authentic northern accent brought me back to reality from my memories.
"Coming…Auntie Liu, you have paper again ~~~~" I turned the car around and arrived in front of a fat woman in her thirties. I skillfully tied up a small pile of newspapers beside the woman…"It's a total of three catties, 45 cents per catty…It's a total of 1.35 yuan. I'll give it to you for 1.40 yuan ~~ Here's a piece…"
I took out a piece from my bag. Just as I was about to continue changing, the woman pressed down on my hand and said,"Alright, alright…Forget about this one or two cents…"
" Haha…Thank you, Auntie Liu. Remember to call me if there's anything else in the future…" I smiled.
"Okay, okay…Oh right, Xiao Liu, are you sure you're not from the north? "Your Mandarin is so good…" Auntie Liu asked with a smile. My Mandarin was indeed not bad. Although Mandarin had been popularized for so many years, it was still difficult for people to change their habits. The accent of the south was very strong, and although my Mandarin was not authentic, it did not have the tone of the southerners. This credit mostly came from those nice Mandarin songs. After listening and singing more, I naturally became fluent…
" Hehe…I'm sure my father is a southerner…"
"What about your mother? Where are you from?"
" My mother passed away when I was very young…" A bitter smile appeared on my face.
"Ah! Oh ~~~ I'm sorry."
" It's alright…If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving…" I smiled.
" No, no…Let's go, let's go…" Auntie Liu also smiled and waved her hand.
"..." I got on my three-wheeled motorcycle again and left. Not long after I left, I vaguely heard Auntie Liu say,"" Sigh... Poor child..." I added some strength to my feet to make me leave faster. To be honest, I really didn't like this kind of pity...
Stepping on my tricycle, I walked along a few old streets. Today's business was really not ordinary. Looking back at the few cars on the tricycle, it was only a few dozen yuan. Speaking of the tricycle I was riding, it was the kind Uncle Li who gave it to me ~~~~
When I was 16 years old, I was already in my 40s…Uncle Li, who had nearly 10 years of experience in picking up trash, came to B City, which was already an international metropolis. Under his guidance, I quickly mastered many skills in picking up trash for business. However, in the second year of coming to B City, Uncle Li fell ill. After a hospital examination, he was diagnosed with liver B, which was common in the 'urban village' where we lived. The infection of liver B was not very strong. However, because the hygiene there was too poor, he was easily infected with the second liver virus. Uncle Li also knew that his body would not be as good as before after getting this disease, so he decided to 'retire' early. Moreover, the money he had earned over the years was enough for him to live in peace for the rest of his life.
Before he left, he gave me his tools for making a living…his tricycle. At the same time, he also gave me the small wooden house between two abandoned buildings. Naturally, I couldn't take his things for free, so I gave him the 2,000 yuan that I had painstakingly saved up for a year, but he refused…He said that my money wasn't easy. My father was sick, and I had to pay for my sister's education, so he asked me to keep it.
At that moment, I was so touched... That's right, I wanted to support my sister's education. My sister isn't like me, who is good at studying. She has been smart since she was young and has always been the first in her exams. She might even become the first university student in our poor mountain valley... My sister is smart and beautiful, and she must have a very good future.
Speaking of my father, I knew that the reason why I said that I didn't want to be a farmer back then was mainly because I knew that my father had gradually lost his ability to work because of his illness. Although being a farmer wouldn't starve to death, he wouldn't have extra money to treat his illness. This was the reason why I decided to come to B City to fork out money... and the money I had earned over the years had also proved that my decision was correct. Every year, besides leaving a small portion of my living expenses, I would always send back five or six thousand yuan. 6,000 yuan was nothing in B City where the average income was more than 10,000 yuan, but in the countryside, it was the average income of a family for two years ~
Because of this money, my father could finally put down his farm work and recuperate at home. My sister also successfully entered the county high school. In order to get this result, I haven't returned home for the New Year for six years. This is because the 'cleaning' at the end of each year always gives me a considerable income. Of course, I'm not selfish. In my heart, I have a dream, and that is to marry her…But I know that it is impossible to rely on my pitiful four-digit savings. Although that dream is far away from me, I firmly believe that it will come true one day…
Every time I thought of this, that beautiful face with long, embroidered hair would always appear in my mind. Although it felt a little blurry and changed, after all, we hadn't seen each other for six years. Every time I thought of her, a 'happy' smile would always appear on my face…However, someone once attacked me and said," Your smile at that time was a little infatuated…a little silly…" This made me depressed for a while…
Suddenly, something that was crossing the road interrupted my train of thought…That thing was round and bright red in color. It wasn't very strong and was being blown across the road by the north wind. My eyes immediately lit up…It was a can worth fifteen cents!! (Fall...)
Not far away from me, a fellow rider on a tricycle also noticed it. After we looked at each other, our eyes suddenly lit up, and we simultaneously exerted force on our feet and sped towards the can.
We were getting faster and faster. When we were a few meters away from the can, I grabbed the front of the car with my right hand and took out my weapon with my left hand…a two-toothed rake!! Why not Nine Teeth? The one with nine teeth was Zhu Bajie, and the two-toothed rake was used to flip through trash. He didn't even know that…and the other party didn't show any weakness and used his two-toothed rake. At this moment, we were like two generals on horseback fighting on the battlefield. The outcome was determined in a split second…At the moment when the two cars crossed, my left hand swept at the can like lightning, and my right hand pulled at the same time. The tricycle took a Z-shaped path to avoid it. The slight movement of the two-toothed rake in my hand told me that I had won…
Looking at the rake again, I saw a can pierced by spikes. At this moment, I proudly thought that if I were in ancient times, I would definitely be a general on horseback!!
" Damn you, Skinny Bamboo. You're so lucky to win again…" He was very thin because of years of malnutrition and fatigue, which was why he got this indecent nickname!!
" Come on, this is called strength, not luck…" I said proudly.
"Tsk ~~~~ Brother, I'm giving in to you ~~~ From today onwards, I'm not going to be the 'King of Trash' anymore. From tomorrow onwards, I'm going to follow the boss and make a fortune, haha ~~~" The man laughed loudly and left on his tricycle…
"Make a fortune? Boss?" I muttered as I watched him leave in confusion. This person's surname is Xiong. It's said that he's the third in the family, so everyone calls him Xiong San. I'm not really friends with him, but we're familiar with each other because we're two different people. When I had money, I would obediently save it, while he would eat and drink with his friends. Naturally, the difference in personality would not make us friends. Looking at Xiong San's proud back, I never thought that when I saw him again, it would be the last time I saw him…
After shopping a few more streets, it was getting late. Anyway, business wasn't good today. I only collected a hundred yuan worth of things. I thought I could make about eight or ten yuan, so I decided to go back early.
Soon, I arrived at an old district in the northwest of B City. This old district was mostly two-story buildings built before and after the Liberation Era, and they were already very old. When you came here and saw the houses here, you would not believe that this was the bustling B City. There were all kinds of people here, and they all had one thing in common, which was…poverty!!
This place could be considered the " slums " of B City. The management here was very chaotic. Although the city would say that they would put in a lot of effort to clean up the ugly scars of B City every year, it was difficult to see any results every year. Every year, there would be fights, brawls, murders, and rapes that were repeatedly banned…and we, the scavengers, lived in this area. We didn't have a house, so we built many metal houses and wooden houses…
"Oh ~~~~ Little Liu is back ~~~~" The old man who spoke was the owner of this recycling station. Most of the waste that we recycled was sold to him. He wasn't the only recycling station in this block. It was just that his price was the highest, and he was a good person... but his image was a little bad. He was not tall, his face was thin and wrinkled, coupled with his long fingernails and bone-thin fingers, he usually looked like an old tree demon. At this time, he was standing on a pile of humanoid puppets, and the street lights just happened to shine on his head, making his face dark and gloomy, like a demon who stepped on people's corpses to sell souls!!
" Yeah, business wasn't that good today, so I came back early…" I was already used to this kind of situation, so I could remain calm.
After weighing the things the boss gave me, I said,"It's not that much, but Xiao Liu, it's not that I want to criticize you, but why did you raise the price so high? You won't be able to earn much this way…"
" Hehe…" I laughed.
"Forget it ~~~ The people in the city don't care about this bit of money..." The boss said with a pout.
"..." I ignored him and pushed the empty tricycle towards my cabin. After locking the car, I unlocked the wooden door and habitually reached out…I grabbed a rope and gently pulled it. The dark room flickered a few times and was lit up by a small lamp with more than 20 volts.
The small wooden house had less than 30 square meters of space. After a bed, a shabby wardrobe, a small round table, and some small stools were placed, there was not much space left. Therefore, some pots, pans, ladles, and gas stoves could only be placed in the aisle.
If I didn't turn on the lights when I came in, it would be really hard to avoid this messy 'minefield.' After dodging the 'minefield,' I came to the side of the bed and lay comfortably on the right side of the bed. After a while, I felt that all the fatigue in my body was taken away by the small bed. Therefore, I jumped up from the bed and finished my dinner after the pots and pans rang. Just as I was about to take a cold shower and go to bed to chat with the Duke of Zhou, the phone suddenly rang...
In this era, phones were no longer a luxury like they were 20 years ago. Under the vicious competition between the two major telephone operators in China, the telephone cost could be said to have reached the lowest point in history. Zero monthly rent, free calls, a minimum monthly expense of one yuan, plus free phone installation…Anyway, I don't call them. If I pay them one yuan a month, I can earn them a phone worth dozens of yuan. Why not? At the same time, if there's an emergency at home, they can easily find me…so my phone doesn't usually ring, but once it rings, it reminds me that something might happen at home.
" Hello…" I quickly picked up the phone…
" Brother..." A gentle and pleasant voice came from the phone, and a familiar and beautiful face appeared on the LCD screen...
"Sis…did something happen at home?" I quickly asked.
" No…there's nothing at home…" The younger sister shook her head and said, but her beautiful little face was still very serious.
I heaved a sigh of relief when she said that everything was fine at home. Then, I couldn't help but scold her for being a spendthrift."Why are you calling for no reason? Long-distance calls are very expensive…"
"You're so annoying ~ I called you to tell you something very important. Do you know that I'm using my meal money to call you?”My sister rolled her eyes at me angrily, but she was so beautiful that even when she was angry, she seemed to be acting coquettishly.
"Something very important? Tell me ~"
" Humph! I'm not in a good mood, so I don't want to talk about it anymore…" She pouted on the screen.
"Forget it, I'm hanging up…"
"Hey hey ~ Don't hang up, I've already told you…" Seeing my sister's anxious look, I found it funny."I've known you for 16 or 17 years. How could I not know your personality? A little girl can't hide her secrets…"
Then, he saw his sister on the screen saying with a serious expression,"Brother…do you know? Sister Yuxin is getting married…"
Yuxin? Chen Yuxin! This name caused that beautiful figure to appear in my mind. Her name was just like her master's…just as beautiful.
Married? Perhaps in this era where marriage is no longer regarded as a sacred thing, I'm the only one who still thinks that it's a way for a woman to give the rest of her life to a man…and I didn't expect that woman to be the one in my dream!! When my sister said that she was going to get married, my heart was in turmoil, even though I was still calm on the surface…
"Brother…are you alright?" his younger sister asked worriedly.
"It's okay ~~~~ I'm listening…continue talking about your big matter ~~~~" I looked at her with a confused look as if she was asking about your big matter.
"I told you ~"
"You said it? Is this your so-called big deal?" I raised my eyebrows.
"What? Wasn't this big enough? Brother, did you hear what I said? Don't tell me you don't know that Yuxin likes you, and don't tell me you don't have feelings for her…" My sister is not as stupid as I thought. She could tell…
"So what?" I asked calmly. Although my expression was very calm, my heart was filled with bitterness.
"How is it? " Of course, I'll put it into action. I'll snatch her back from the wedding. I know where her wedding was held." A devilish smile appeared on her sister's face.
Her words stunned me and I scolded her with a smile,"What is this? Where did you learn all this nonsense?”
"Of course I learned it from some romance novels. Look at how smart you and I are. "Learn and apply it…" the younger sister said with a proud expression.
When I heard her words, I was so angry that I scolded her sternly,"Romance novel? I told you to go to school to study…Who told you to read these indecent things? If your grades drop, I want to see how you're going to tell Dad…"
"Stop, stop, stop…what are you talking about? This is what the teacher told us to read…She told us to read more extra-cursory books so that we can improve our writing skills…Besides, you don't seem to have the right to criticize me, do you? "Don't forget that you've never passed Chinese since you were young... You still have the nerve to lecture me, hmph hmph ~" The girl said unwillingly.
"..." I was speechless. I had been exposed.
"Aiya, you almost got away with it. Brother…what are you going to do?”
"What can I do? She has her choice, this is her right…That man must have something that I can't give her, but what about me? What can I give her? "I'm just a junk picker…" I laughed at myself.
After a moment of silence, my sister said something that made me laugh," Brother…you really don't understand women…"
"Hehe, don't make yourself look so old, okay? My words made her very unhappy. She wrinkled her little nose like a little wild cat and said through gritted teeth,""Don't interrupt me, let me finish…"
"Alright…go ahead!" Knowing that I couldn't avoid my sister's scolding, I put away the smile on my face.
"Brother…you don't understand women, and you don't understand Yuxin…She doesn't need you to give her anything, nor does she expect you to give her anything. If she likes you, so what if you're just a garbage collector? She's been waiting for you to come and make it clear to her for the past six years…Do you know how many boys she's rejected over the years? Now that she's getting married, can you blame her? How many six years of waiting could a woman's youth withstand? And it was a wait without a promise? Do you think that man is very good? That man is better than you? Then I can tell you that you are wrong…He can't compare to you at all. It's your fault that Yuxin married someone else. You pushed her to another man…"
"..." My sister's words made me speechless. The only downside of having a smart and eloquent sister is that you can't refute her when she scolds you...
"Are you done? "If you're done, I'm going to hang up. If you keep fighting, I'm afraid you'll have to pay for your meal the day after tomorrow…"
"One last question…are you coming to Yuxin's wedding?”
" I'm very busy…" I said lightly.
" Oh…I understand…"
" Right, and..." I suddenly stopped my sister who was about to hang up the phone.
"What?" My sister looked at me in confusion.
Don't talk like an adult in the future…You're malnourished, and your growth isn't good. No matter how you look at it, you don't look like an adult…"I immediately hung up the phone when she didn't come over. As expected, when I placed the phone 30 centimeters away from her ear, she finally reacted. She looked at her flat chest and screamed,""Brother is a big bad guy…Brother is a pervert ~"
After hanging up the phone, the mischievous smile on my face disappeared…I couldn't fall asleep lying on the bed and watching the nails fixing the roof. My sister's words were like a big hammer hitting my heart again and again. I didn't know when I fell asleep in a daze…A girl appeared in front of me in my dream. She wasn't tall, and her compatibility was very vague. I couldn't see clearly, but she gave me a very, very familiar feeling. I almost blurted out her name…but suddenly, she was far away from me. A man whose face I couldn't see clearly appeared beside her intimately, causing the familiar feeling in my heart to start to fade. The little regret in my heart also disappeared…In an instant, I seemed to understand a principle, but at this moment, I woke up from my dream…
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。