The sky was getting dark. The three of us walked back to the bridgehead. The car was not waiting there. We said we would walk to the hotel. When he heard that they were going to walk to the hotel, Xiao Qiu could not be bothered to be angry anymore. He said," Old Sha is so stupid. Why didn't you call a tricycle when President Niu came? It's only two yuan. I'll pay."”Xiao Qiu raised his hand but couldn't raise it up. Then, a tricycle quickly rode towards us. Xiao Qiu said to Sha," You're too big. You can only take one.”As he spoke, he handed two yuan to the coachman and said," Let's go to the hotel first." The coachman pedaled the carriage and left with Sha. Little Qiu raised his hand again, and another tricycle came over. I was curious and asked Xiao Qiu," Why did you raise your hand and a tricycle came over?”Xiao Qiu said," This is a big feature of this county. There are a lot of tricycle riders, and the driver's eyes are especially 'sharp' all day long. As long as he sees someone raise his hand, he will rush over to pull business. People with 'blank' eyes would not be able to eat this bowl of rice.”Hearing Xiao Qiu say this, I really wanted to raise my hand to try it, but Xiao Qiu immediately stopped me." Don't try. The tricycle will entangle you when it comes. You must sit on it.”I quickly put my hand down and asked him," What if I accidentally raise my hand?”Xiao Qiu smiled." Don't be so scared. The driver can tell that you're looking for a tricycle."”Xiao Qiu and I were talking and laughing as the tricycle arrived. The tricycle was designed to have two seats. Xiao Qiu let me sit on it first, then he sat on it and said to the driver," Hotel.”The coachman kicked away. "This tricycle is really convenient." I sighed. "A tricycle is a taxi in this county. Even government officials take a tricycle when they go out to do business.”Little Qiu said. I asked," How far can two yuan be pulled?”"Two yuan from one end to the other. One yuan for crossing the bridge." Little Qiu answered. "It's a few kilometers from the county town, right?”I asked. "It's not that far. There was only one street on this side of the river, which was four miles long. If they went further, they would reach the countryside.”Before Little Qiu could speak, the coachman answered first. "Two yuan is indeed cheap enough.”I said to myself. The coachman continued," We still can't collect two yuan. The passengers are bargaining. Some are only willing to give one yuan, some are willing to give one yuan and fifty cents, and those who give two yuan are less. Only those who came from other places would pay two yuan.”We simply chatted with the coachman. I asked," Sir, have you always been riding a tricycle?”"No, it's only been half a year. Our factory has closed down, so we can only come here to ride.”Xiao Qiu asked," Which factory did you work at before?”"The farm machinery factory." The coachman replied, then continued," Sigh, there weren't many factories in the county to begin with, and now they've almost all collapsed.”
The tricycle entered the main street. Due to the trees and houses, the street darkened earlier, and the street lights were already lit. The shop horns on the sidewalks on both sides of the road were playing noise-like music. The bustling men and women in red and green made the streets of the county very lively. It was completely different from the lifeless appearance of the small town in the ravine that I had imagined.
This street was naturally formed by the terrain. Although there were no big ups and downs, there was still a slight upward slope in the direction we were heading. The tricycle was pulling the two of us, so the driver had to use all his strength to pedal the tricycle. Seeing that the coachman was so tired that he was out of breath, I felt a little guilty and wanted to get down and walk by myself. The coachman refused. Xiao Qiu also pulled me and said," He won't let you leave. He's afraid that you'll haggle when you get off the car.”I had to bite the bullet and sit there, watching the coachman exert all his strength. He thought to himself, Can a house be sold at such a high price in such a place?”
Before the tricycle reached the hotel, Xiao Qiu saw Sha standing under the streetlight and looking in the direction we came from, so he asked him to stop the tricycle. Sha walked over and said," President Hua is in Wu Bo's office at the Forest Bureau. He asked us to go up.”We got off the carriage. Xiao Qiu gave the driver two yuan, and I handed him one yuan. The driver collected it and accepted it. Xiao Qiu said to me," You'll make them want money.”I didn't say anything. Even though I was a wandering forager myself, I still sympathized with the poor living conditions of these laid-off workers.
He followed Sha into a courtyard by the roadside. The courtyard was very small. It was surrounded by a gap between the office building and the street. It was only big enough to park two cars. The car we took today is already parked here. There's a black sedan parked further in. It looks like a Japanese brand, and it's quite new. A skinny middle-aged man walked out of the duty room at the staircase and stopped us at the door. He asked," It's time to get off work. Who are you looking for?”His skin was dry and yellow, and his ribs, which were arranged like a washboard, rose and fell as he spoke. Sand replied," I work here. Don't you know me?”"I don't know you. You're not from our unit.”There was a cold expression on his sallow face. "We are developing the Wood Market. Our office is upstairs.”Xiao Qiu spoke up for Sha. The yellow-skinned middle-aged man still stood there and said," Your 'Wood Market' is always changing people. One person leaves today, and another person comes tomorrow. How can I recognize many of them?”The skinny middle-aged man mumbled. Sha turned around and whispered to me, who was standing behind him," This old man has a strange temper. He watches us come and go every day, but now he says he doesn't know us.”"Do you usually go in and out to greet him?”I asked Sha. "He's not the leader here. Why should we greet him?”Sha replied. "This is how arrogant you are. You walk through this door every day and see him every day, but you treat him as if he doesn't exist. It's reasonable for him to say that he doesn't know you because you never knew him.”"You're right. We don't take him seriously, and of course, he doesn't take us seriously either.”Sha was convinced by my words.
At this moment, the window on the second floor above the duty room was pushed open. Someone stuck his head out and said," Hey, Old Rao, let them come up."”The window on the second floor was not high, so the people in the small courtyard below could hear the conversation clearly. The person called Old Rao snorted and stood to the side to let the three of us go upstairs. At this moment, Sha said politely to Old Rao," Thank you.”Old Rao didn't know how to answer.
When we reached the corner of the stairs, we saw the person who had spoken to us from the window standing at the top of the stairs on the second floor to welcome us. Sha told me," He is the director of the office, Tu. He is in charge of our work.”Director Tu smiled and said," Old Rao is an old worker in the forest farm. You know that the people in the mountains are very serious. Please don't take it to heart.”Sha replied as he walked up," It's our fault. We didn't take the initiative to talk to him before.”
Director Tu was a man, but it was more appropriate to describe him in a feminine language. He has a slim figure, a round face, fair skin, and a pair of smiling eyes. His voice is delicate and gentle. I think he should have reincarnated as a woman. How did he become a man by accident? He was the most suitable person to be the director of this office. Many office directors were women because they were meticulous and gentle, suitable for mediating personnel conflicts. However, the role of the office director required decision-making, which was a male advantage. Director Tu was a man, but he had the characteristics of a woman. Wasn't that a combination of the advantages of both genders?
We walked up to the corridor on the second floor. The door of Director Tu's office was facing the stairs. He let us in. The office was very small, only about ten square meters, and the layout was very simple. Two size desks were placed back to back against the wall on the left side of the door. In front of each desk was an ordinary wooden chair. On the right side of the wall was a tall file cabinet. On one side of the cabinet was a low cabinet with an electric water bottle on top. The side of the tall file cabinet near the window was not against the wall. Instead, it was slightly open to form a crack. In the crack stood a folding chair. Two small wooden sofas were placed under the window. The sofas were deliberately moved to the right to make an empty space for one person to stand under the window. Just now, Director Tu was standing in that empty space and told Old Rao downstairs to let us come up. Director Tu hurriedly gave up his seat to me. Shaye introduced him," This is our company's President Niu. He's also here to work.”"I've already heard. Welcome, welcome." Director Tu greeted me warmly and let me sit on the wooden sofa again. He turned around and called out," Old Sha, Little Qiu, you guys sit down too."”Lao Sha sat on another wooden sofa while Xiao Qiu pulled out a folding chair from the side of the file cabinet and sat down. Director Tu was busy pouring tea for us again. I quickly stood up and said," Director, don't be busy. We just need to sit for a while."”He smiled and said," It's your first time here. You still have to drink a cup of tea from the mountains.”He pulled open the drawer of the small cabinet with the automatic temperature control electric kettle. The cups and tea leaves were placed inside. He brewed a cup and was about to pass it to me when he heard a hoarse and sharp voice from the other end of the corridor." Xiao Tu, come over here."”Director Tu placed the teacup on the coffee table in front of me and said," Excuse me."”She quickly went over. Xiao Qiu said," The voice that called Director Tu was Bureau Chief Wu Bo.”Sha said," He's the deputy director in charge of the work. The director's position is vacant.”I said to Sha," Director Tu is very enthusiastic.”"You can be considered a 'human essence'. The people in this place are very smart. Little Qiu, don't you think so?" Sha said. Xiao Qiu didn't agree with Sha." That's your personal feeling. I think the people here are good." "You brat, you're not telling the truth." Sha said. "Is that the truth? Why are the people here not good?”Little Qiu replied Sha. The two of them were about to argue when they heard Director Tu walking back from the other end of the corridor. They quickly shut their mouths.
Director Tu came back but didn't enter. He stood at the door and said to Sha and me," Your President Hua is in our bureau chief's office. They want you two to go over too."”Sha and I stood up and followed Director Tu to the end of the corridor. I was afraid that it would be a pity to make the cup of tea for me just now, so I held it in my hand. Sha Fu whispered in my ear," Wu Bo is an old fox. You have to be careful when talking to him.”Even though Sha said it softly, Director Tu heard it. He turned around with a sly smile on his face and pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling Sha to stop. Sha made a face and didn't say anything.
The corridor on the second floor was not wide, and the height of the space was lower than that of ordinary houses. At night, the office doors on both sides of the corridor were closed, and walking in it felt like walking in a tunnel. In addition, the corridor floor had just been painted, and there was still a strong smell of diesel mixed with paint in the air. Under the dim light of the corridor, the dark purple paint looked like solidified blood on the ground, which made people feel creepy.
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