The story of a cook

Chapter 1--

Chapter 1 Labor Market

The eighteenth day of the first month of [-].

The taste of the new year has not yet dissipated, and the whistling north wind is blowing the snow on the back of the hillside, and the entire western Liaoning region is still slowly clinging to each other in the long cold winter.Years have passed, but winter continues, and spring in the north is always far away.

In a place called Beipiao, I got on the train at [-] o'clock in the middle of the night and survived a difficult five hours in the crowded carriage, almost crushing my vision and hope for the future in the drowsy bed. In the small space, facing the first ray of morning light that stubbornly penetrated through the cracks in the car window, he came to the provincial capital, ready to start his part-time job career.

This is the first time I have traveled far, the farthest place I have ever been to is Beipiao City, [-] kilometers away from my home.

Standing at the exit of the North Railway Station in the provincial capital, I took a breath of cold air, from the mouth to the entire lungs, it was cold, and I couldn't help shivering.

The square in front of the station is full of people, densely packed.Don't these people sleep?It's only [-]:[-] in the morning, why are you out in such a cold day?Some are on business trips with briefcases, some are driving with suitcases, and there are college students returning to school. Most of them are migrant workers who came out of the countryside with large and small packages on their backs. They, like me, will live in this strange city. Find a job here and work hard to make a living.

Looking at the flow of people passing by, I felt unaccompanied. I touched my left chest and pinched it. Through my coat and the padded jacket inside, I knew that the 150 yuan was still safely in the pocket inside the padded jacket.The money I brought with me was only enough to live for ten days, and if I couldn't find work within ten days, I had to go back home.

When I came here, I asked the people who came out to work in the camp. I could find a job in the labor market. The labor market is in Nanhu Park.

I don't know where Nanhu Park is.Not far away was an aunt who was wearing a thick coat, a hat, a scarf around her neck, and a bag with the mouth open, and there were maps inside.The auntie held a map in her cotton-gloved hand and shouted to passers-by: "Map, map, provincial city map, provincial city traffic map, fifty cents a piece, fifty cents a piece."

Walk over and buy a map for 235 cents, and ask my aunt where Nanhu Park is and how to get there.Auntie is very nice and told me to take bus No. [-] to get there.

I don't know where the No. 235 bus is, so I asked my aunt, and my aunt pointed to the stop in front and said that was it.Looking in the direction my aunt pointed, there is a bus stop not far away, and many people are waiting for the bus there.Say thank you to the aunt, and then walk to the site.

When you arrive at the station, look at the stop sign. It says that the starting station is North Station, and the terminal station is Shisanwei Road. Counting to Nanhu Park, there are twelve stops in total.

The car hadn't come yet, and it was very cold.When I left home, I heard people say that the city is warmer than the countryside, surrounded by high-rise buildings, and there is no wind.I didn’t wear that old overcoat, and besides, that overcoat was unwearable and was patched everywhere, so it was okay to wear at home, but it was a bit shabby to wear when going out.Now I feel that it is deceptive to say that the city is not cold. There is no wind in the city, but the surrounding air is dry and cold, and the whole body is cold.

A few migrant workers who were waiting for the bus like me put the packages they brought with them directly on the ground, sat on them and took out cigarettes from their pockets to smoke.Watching them smoke, they also habitually take out their cigarettes, take out one and light it.

It's really cold, and the hand holding the cigarette is cold.Everyone wears a hat, but I didn't even wear a hat, so I had to cover my ears with my hands.

Behind the station is the post office building. Looking up, there are ten floors.The tallest building in Beipiao is the sixth floor, which is the tallest I have ever seen.There is a cotton curtain hanging at the entrance of the post building, thinking that it will be warm inside, and there is heating, so if you go inside to warm up for a while, you won’t be kicked out.

Just thinking about it, what if the car just came in here?

Looking back, I listened to a few big brothers of migrant workers chatting.

"Third brother, will my third sister-in-law come out this year?" The old man in the army asked the man in the cotton hat next to him.

"Come out, I'll go back when the fields are planted, and come out with me when the fields are finished," said the man with the cotton hat.

"Your land is still planted? I let me rent out my land this year. Don't worry, I can't pay a lot of money."

"I also summed it up and bought it out. I didn't want to. I thought about planting for another year. My uncle and your aunt didn't let me go back to help plant the land. The old couple stayed at home and waited for the harvest. When I go back to harvest the autumn harvest, how can I get some food, even if I don’t get food, I’m going to make a fuss about the straw, otherwise, what do I raise those animals for?”

"Does your family still raise livestock?"

"Well, two grass donkeys, three years old, just in time."

It is good to have land and animals in the countryside. My family has no animals, and my sister’s family came to help me grow all the land.The moisture content is only a few days, and I have to wait for my sister’s house to finish planting before planting mine. I can’t keep up with the good moisture content. Besides, the land is too thin, and it’s all hillsides, so I don’t harvest grain.

After smoking a cigarette, the car arrived, boarded the car and bought a ticket for [-] cents, and was sent to Nanhu Park in a wobble.I wanted to see the outside scene in the car, but the window glass was covered with frost, and I couldn’t see clearly. I thought I would look at it later when I had time. Anyway, I have to work in this city, so I have plenty of time to appreciate it.

I didn't see the lake when I got off the bus. There was a bridge 50 meters away from the station.Look around, there is a gate on the opposite side of the road, and it says "Nanhu Labor Market". Through the gate, I saw that it was full of people, and I thought this was it.

Spend two dollars to buy a ticket to go in.

Coming inside is like entering the cattle market in the town, and it feels like you have sold yourself.

Nanhu Labor Market is the largest odd job market in the provincial capital, next to Nanhu Park.The moat runs across the city, and a 100-meter-long area on the north bank of the river is built with a simple corridor, which is divided into odd work area, hotel service area, and handyman area. Those who come out to work come here to find work, and the bosses who work here also come here to recruit people.

Entering is the odd work area.There were many people standing, and each of them held a small sign made of cardboard, with words such as "occupation", "nanny", "nursing", "cooking" and so on.Everyone put the sign on their chest, showing themselves to the boss who came looking for someone.

The most people holding the sign of "Odd Jobs" are 40, [-] years old, [-], [-] years old, both male and female.

Most of the people holding the signs of "nanny", "nursing" and "cooking" are middle-aged women, and there are some middle-aged men, but very few.After a closer look, the women who work as nannies and nurses all dress themselves up, and some even wear makeup, probably to attract employers.

After passing the odd work area and walking inside is the hotel service area.

This area has the most people, most of whom are young people. The signs in their hands say "chef", "waiter", "water table", "noodles", "pulled noodles", "bacon pancake", "cut noodles" and so on.Everyone has their luggage beside them, waiting eagerly in the freezing cold for the boss who came to hire someone.

Standing in the service area of ​​the hotel for a while, I don't have a sign in my hand, I don't know anything, I don't have any experience, and I don't know what I can do.Stand here and see how other people find jobs, and also see how the boss finds people, learn from it.

In the labor market, the difference between the boss and the part-time worker is very good. The boss is full of style, well-dressed, and has searching and critical eyes.The part-time worker held a cardboard sign telling others what he was doing, and his eyes were full of hope and eagerness.

Find a place to stand aside.As soon as I stood firm, I saw a boss coming to the service area of ​​the hotel, and immediately many people surrounded him.

"What is the boss looking for? Are you looking for stretched noodles?"

"Looking for a water case?"

"Looking for a chef? Boss."

"---"

The boss said, "Find a cook."

More than a dozen people with "Chef" signs surrounded them, and the others walked away.

More than a dozen chefs began to ask this and that, bargaining with the boss.

In the end, the boss picked a chef with a Henan accent. After the two negotiated the price, the chef followed the boss with his luggage. When the next boss arrives, we can go around and bargain again.

This scenario keeps happening.

Standing next to me were three young men in their twenties. The signs in their hands read "Water Case".There were also bosses who came to look for the water case. The three of them surrounded him twice, and came back dejected twice.

Standing opposite were more than a dozen young girls in their twenties. The signs in their hands were "waiters". There were thirty or forty others behind them. They might have arrived late and didn't make it to the front row.

The boss who is looking for a waiter does not call out for a waiter, but looks in front of these little girls one by one, from left to right, and then from right to left. Some shy girls will turn their heads flushed when they are embarrassed. low.After the boss read it over and over again, someone who was interested went up to talk directly. After the talk was over, the little girl picked up her bag and followed the boss and left.

After watching for a long time, girls with good looks have a high chance of being photographed, and girls with average looks are hardly interested.Even if someone asks, it's not about whether to be a waiter, but whether to do the dishes?Do you clean up?Seeing these little girls who came out of the countryside to work like me, standing in the freezing cold and being picked around by others, I felt very uncomfortable and a little sad.

But if you don't stand here, where can you go?Am I not standing here too?This feeling is very contradictory, with pale helplessness.

Standing for an hour, watching for an hour.No boss came to ask me what I did, nor did I go up to ask the boss.

My body is very cold, my feet are uncomfortably cold, and I keep stomping. I don't know anything about the work of the restaurant, so I can't just stand here and look at the back.

Behind is the handyman area, and the people standing there are all old men over the age of 30. They are in very good health, and it can be seen that they have worked hard.They don't have any brands, and the tools in their hands are the signs.The one with a sledgehammer is a mason, the one with a bricklayer’s shovel is a mason’s, the one with a saw is a carpenter, and the one with nothing in his hand. Said to be dry loading and unloading.

Standing here and looking down, there are many women with heavy make-up standing by the embankment, ranging from 30, [-] to [-] years old, well-dressed, conspicuously dressed, and very revealing.They didn't have a sign in their hands, they stood there chatting in groups of three, and looked around from time to time.

Although they don't have a brand in their hands, they can guess a bit by looking at their clothes.Looking at what the people in the camp said before they came out, they thought that many little girls who went out to work had learned badly outside.

Embarrassing?Looking at them and at myself, I couldn't give an answer.Use my head to think, if it is not forced by life, no one will stand here in such a cold day and be picked around by others, and they will try their best to show themselves.

Been watching all morning.

Watching the employees and bosses pick and choose, sometimes they make rude remarks.I feel that those who come out of the countryside to work are worthless in the eyes of the boss. The boss looks down on the rural people and calls them "stinky migrant workers".

If you work part-time, you have to add the word "smelly". It sounds very uncomfortable, and you have the urge to curse your mother and beat others.

Those who came out to work while Wan Guan was away were not because their families were poor, and life at home was difficult, so they came out to beg for a living and earn some hard-earned money to support their families.

Workers are also human beings, and they are not inferior to anyone else.

To be honest, I didn't want to go out to work, but I really couldn't make money at home.Ever since she dropped out of her sophomore year of high school, she has been farming at home, doing odd jobs to find jobs during the slack season, and earning no money after a year, which is not enough for Fifth Sister to study.

When she was admitted to high school, the fifth sister was admitted to the Teachers College, and my sister and I went to school at the same time.The family is poor, and the fifth sister's tuition fees are all borrowed. I have to borrow all the relatives, neighbors, and four older sisters' homes to make up enough.

First send the fifth sister to the college, and then start to solve her own schooling problems.I went to the rural high school in the town with the admission letter from the key high school in Beipiao City, and told the dean that I would study if the tuition fee was not charged, and I would not study if the tuition fee was charged.The dean looked at the admission notice and thought about it for a long time, and finally agreed.

High school was rough.There is nothing to say about studying, but there are many things at home, and I have to take care of the land while studying.My mother's eyesight is not good, my father left early, and my mother dragged us six siblings without enjoying the blessings all our lives, and we suffered a lot.

There is nothing to take care of the land. Every spring, the four married sisters help to plant the land, and when the land is harvested in autumn, they help to take it back, and the rest is handed over to my mother and me.The bad thing is that when farming and harvesting, I can’t go to school and have to work in the field for a week. When I sit in the classroom again, I’m like a fool. I don’t understand what the teacher is saying. , and make up for it little by little.

It's nothing, the most uncomfortable thing is that fifth sister has to borrow every month's living expenses.I don’t have a place to borrow it. My relatives have borrowed it all over, and they don’t want to lend it to me. I’m afraid my family is poor.I can only find four older sisters. My older sister’s family is not rich and has no spare money. They all go out and lend me money, and then I will mail it to Fifth Sister.

Borrowing money was uncomfortable, and I couldn't borrow money until the second year of high school, so I dropped out of school and started farming at home. During the off-season, I did odd jobs to earn money for my fifth sister's education.

Fortunately, Fifth Sister finished her normal school and got married during her internship last year.

I have always had a dream of going to university, but it is a pity that I can't realize it in this life.My family is poor, farming doesn't make any money, and I'm 21. If it keeps like this, I can't even be called a daughter-in-law.After the Chinese New Year, it was always impossible to do this, so I told my mother to rent out the family's land, stop planting, and come out to work.

My mother is 61, and I can't ask my mother to farm the land alone when I go out to work. If I rent out the land, my mother can be more relaxed, and I can charge some money for the land, which is enough for her pocket money at home.I worked outside to earn money and first paid off the foreign debts I owed, and then saved some.

Live a little bit of life, don't be afraid of being poor, as long as you live with your heart, you will be fine sooner or later.

Chapter 2 Meeting Big Brother
At noon, people in the labor market began to go out, and no bosses came in anymore.

I'm hungry after standing all morning, and I haven't eaten since I boarded the train at [-] o'clock in the middle of the night, so I can survive.Coupled with the cold weather, my feet feel numb from the cold.You have to go out and eat something, or you won't be able to carry it.

With the crowd out of the labor market.There are many small restaurants on both sides of the street outside the market, one next to the other, there are noodle restaurants, dumpling restaurants, cake shops, spring pancake shops, box lunch fast food and so on.

After looking at it, I walked into a noodle shop.There are many people there, all of whom are from the labor market. Looking at them, they feel like they are the same people who have been reduced to the bottom of the world.

I ordered a bowl of stretched noodles, looked around with the noodles in hand, there were people at every table, and there were only two people at the table in the corner, so I walked over and sat down next to it, eating the noodles one bite at a time.

The person next to him said: "There are few bosses who come to the labor market in the afternoon to find people, and they usually come to find people in the morning."

The person who spoke was in his 30s. It seemed that he had been out for several years and had experience. He was accompanied by a young man who was the same age as me. He should have been brought out from his hometown.The two decided to go back to the place where they lived after eating the ramen, and come back tomorrow morning to look for work.

I can't, I have to try my luck after eating the ramen, because I don't have much money in my pocket, and I have to find a job as soon as possible, so that I can have a place to eat and live.

After leaving the noodle shop, I spent two yuan to enter the labor market.

There were more than half fewer people in the afternoon than in the morning.

Passing through the odd work area, there were not many people in the hotel service area, so I went directly to the labor area.

There are about 30 people standing in the labor area, all of whom are over [-] years old.We did not stand in front of bricklayers and carpenters. We are not skilled workers, so we can only stand with pure workers.But they didn't get too close, keeping a distance of three meters.

The afternoon was as cold as the morning, and it was still a bit cloudy. The sky was so gray that the sun could not be found, but I guessed that it should be behind the brighter cloud.A few big bricklayers picked up some broken firewood and dry branches that fell from the river embankment, lit them with a lighter, and chatted while warming up the fire.After a while, the market manager came over and said a few words to them. They laughed and stomped out the fire, and then walked out.

After another half an hour, several big carpenters also left cursing.

More than an hour passed, and no boss came, leaving six or seven of the twenty or so people.Looking at the hotel service area, there are not many people.It's cold, and I don't wear much on my body. The heat generated by the bowl of noodles I ate at noon has long since been consumed.

A big brother in his 30s came over and asked me, "Brother, are you looking for a job?"

I said, "Find a job."

He looked up and down, and then said: "The physique is quite good, ready to dry loading and unloading?"

"Well, dry loading and unloading." I said.

"Twenty this year?"

"21."

"You look so old, I thought you were 25 or [-]." He said.

I smiled and stood outside for a long time, my face was a little stiff, the so-called smile was just a grin.I look really old, and it doesn't match my actual age. When I was at home, everyone in the camp said I looked like 25 or [-].

"Are there any cigarettes, brother?" asked the elder brother.

He took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed him one, and he took one out and lit it himself.Since the boss didn't come to look for it, it's okay to chat with him for a while, and learn about the situation by the way.

The eldest brother asked: "Do you hear the accent from Beipiao?"

I said, "Yes, from Beipiao."

"Is this the first time you've come out?"

"First time."

"The age of 21 is a bit young for loading and unloading. Dry loading and unloading is not easy, and it is easy to hurt your strength. It hurts your back for a lifetime. I don't like it."

"Nothing else."

"Go to the restaurant to do some odd jobs, and if you don't learn as an apprentice, you will earn less money, but you will be brisk and not tired." He said.

I asked, "How much do you get for doing odd jobs in a restaurant?"

"Five yuan a day, one hundred and fifty yuan a month, food and housing."

One hundred and five dollars a month is fine, and it only costs three yuan a day to do small work with a bricklayer at home. It is not every day. I can’t do it when it is cloudy and rainy, and I can’t do it when the farming is busy. I can work for four months a year.Odd jobs can be done all year round, which is much better than doing small jobs at home.Last year, I didn’t earn much at home in the field. I earned 600 yuan as a small worker, and [-] yuan from the sports car I kept with others. I earned [-] yuan a year, which is too little.

I thought it would be okay to go to a restaurant to do odd jobs, one hundred and fifty yuan a month, and I would keep 50 yuan for pocket money, and the remaining one hundred would be sent to my mother's house, which is very good.I just don’t know what odd jobs in restaurants do?Can I be like this?
"Brother, what do you do odd jobs?"

"Picking vegetables, tidying up fish, cleaning dishes, doing chores, and moving dishes, I'm not tired, just grinding. I've worked for two days, and I can't do that job. You're young, you can learn something."

"It's my first time coming out, I don't know anything, and I haven't done anything before."

"You will know if you do it. I did loading and unloading years ago. After thinking about it, I will find another loading and unloading job. This job is neat and easy, and you can earn more."

Hearing that I earn more, I feel refreshed, and I don’t feel so cold anymore.When I was at home, I heard that you can earn money by working as a stevedore in the provincial capital. If you can earn [-] to [-] yuan a night loading and unloading wagons at the railway station, you are tired.I feel that my physique is not bad, so I don’t care what I say, as long as I make money, I can’t be tired from working, and the principle is to earn money.But I don't know what the stevedores are loading, so ask my brother.

"What are you wearing?"

"We have everything, cement, building materials, wood, steel bars, and loading cement is the most tiring and burns your hands."

"How about room and board?"

"The boss gives you a place to live, eat your own food, cook it yourself, or go out to eat."

"Oh."

I nodded, thinking that it is enough if I have a place to live. If I don’t know how to cook food, I can spend money to buy food. Ten yuan a day is enough.I just don’t know how much I can earn in a month, but I would have to earn seven or eight hundred yuan. If I take away the 300 yuan I eat a month, I still have four or five hundred yuan left.Four or five hundred, almost catching up with what I earned at home last year.If you don’t need to count too much for a year, you can work for ten months, which is four or five thousand, and the famine owed by the family can be paid off in more than a year.

Thinking about it in my heart, I not only looked forward to the job of stevedore, but also seemed to see a hope that the gray sky would not be so gloomy.

The family is poor, and in the past few years, I have finally made a confession to Fifth Sister's school, which also caused a lot of famine.I thought about it last year. I was worried that my mother would be alone at home and no one would take care of me, so I was reluctant to leave.

But at home, I really didn’t have any money, poverty was like a mountain, and I couldn’t breathe.Every time I couldn't sleep and sat on the kang smoking one cigarette after another, all I could think about was how to make money. I'm 21, why don't you want to?In the camp, there are not many people like me who are 21 and have no partners, and there are quite a few people who are married.Every time I see my mother sighing sadly, I feel uncomfortable in my heart.

Knowing what my mother is thinking and worrying about, I dare not show the depression in my heart in front of my mother.My mother has worked hard all her life, and she can no longer worry about it.

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, I went to Fifth Sister's house and told Fifth Sister to come out to work.Fifth Sister looked at me and said nothing, and told me to take off my clothes and wash them for me, and told me to stay at her house for one night and cook a lot of delicious food.When I went home the next day, my fifth sister gave me 100 yuan and told me to take care of myself outside and come back if I couldn’t do it.

On the way home, I could no longer control the tears in my eyes, and they slipped down my cheeks silently.

Each of them lit another cigarette with the eldest brother, and chatted one sentence after another.

There were five women standing by the lake, looking like they were about to leave, one of them came towards me and my eldest brother, and said with a smile on his face: "It's so cold, no one can come, let's go out and play for a while."

The eldest brother said: "I can't afford it, I have no money."

The woman said: "It's not much money. I have a meal and a drink. I still have room in my place. Just fifty."

"Not even five yuan, it's okay if you ask me." The eldest brother smiled.

The woman was not angry either, she turned her head and said to me: "Brother, it's so cold, don't stand here, go out and play for a while?"

"No." I said.

"Come on, go to my place, I live alone."

"Don't go."

The woman saw that my elder brother and I were not interested in that, so she turned and left.

"They're all young ladies. They didn't find a job, so they came here to look for a backer." The elder brother said.

I nodded, and then asked, "Will the police not arrest me?"

"Catch, why don't you catch it? Let it go after you catch it, and then catch it after you let it go, or you will pay the whole money." The elder brother continued: "After the arrest, the man pays the fine, and leaves after paying the fine. The young lady pays less. But you have to pay."

"Are they looking for work here too?" I asked.

"Where are you going here? The hotel owners all come here to find girls. See if there are any girls from the countryside, and some laid-off women workers. These are not good-looking, or they are old or young. If you don’t want to come here if you look good, there’s a place for it.”

It turns out that the ladies are also divided into three, six, and nine ranks.

After standing for a while, after three o'clock, the market was empty.Now I am hungry and cold, I have long since digested the bowl of stretched noodles at noon, my hands and feet are cold, and the expression on my face is stiff.

The eldest brother said that he would not come to the boss again, let's go.Asked where I live, I said there is no place, the first day to come.He said that there are small hotels outside the market, which are cheap, ranging from three yuan a night to five yuan a night, and the most expensive one is ten yuan.It’s better for me to live in a house with ten yuan, which is safe. There are four people in a house, and ten people in a house with three yuan. The bunk beds are messy and unsafe.

I asked him where he lived, and he said he lived at a relative's house, and he went out to take a bus.

I went out of the labor market with my eldest brother, he took the bus and left, and I started looking for a place to live.

Chapter 3 Meeting a Fellow Countryman
The provincial capital is very noisy in the afternoon. The cars on the road keep honking their horns, and the bells of bicycles on the sidewalk are ringing one after another. The two sounds come together, neither harsh nor pleasant, but buzzing. ring.

The poplar trees on both sides of the street are bare, the same color as the ground, fighting against the continuing winter in the ashes.

There are many buildings, many cars, many people, and it is dry and cold.This is my impression on the first day when I came to the provincial capital.Looking at the vehicles passing by and people walking in thick cotton-padded clothes, and looking at the surrounding buildings, I thought to myself that this is the provincial capital, this is the city, and I will work in this city in the future and try my best to survive.

On the first day, I had a bad start and didn't find a job. It seems that such a job is not easy to find.The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is over, and the new year has passed. Those who should come out to work have come out, and there are many people looking for work.

I have to save some money, if I can’t find a job for a few days in a row, I’m afraid I won’t even have money for food, so I have to learn to live.

Find a place to live first.

The eldest brother said that there is a small hotel nearby, and he also knew the price. He thought that he was alone and had no companions. It would be better not to live in a three-yuan hotel. If the money was stolen until midnight, it would be over. Be safe and don't lose your money.

Walking forward for 3 minutes, we arrived at the entrance of an alley with a row of small hotels inside.There are bungalows and small second-floor hotels. I chose a slightly larger small second-floor hotel and walked in.

A woman in her 40s was sitting next to the radiator. When she heard the door open, she raised her eyes and asked lazily, "Are you staying?"

"Well, accommodation." I said.

"Three yuan, five yuan, and ten yuan are available. How much does it cost?"

"Ten dollars."

The female boss stood up and walked to the table, took out a key from the drawer, and said, "Pay the money first, ten yuan."

I took out ten yuan from my pocket, and felt very distressed after giving it. It was ten yuan, which was not a small amount for me.

Follow the female boss to the second floor and open a room in the back.When I came in, it was the same as my elder brother said. There were four beds, and there was heating near the window. The room was very hot. After standing outside for a day, I suddenly entered the hot room and felt my face was hot.

"You are alone in this house now. There is hot water in the kettle. The toilet is at the end of the corridor. There is a water room next to it. You can wash your face. The washbasin is under the bed." The female boss said.

After looking at it, it feels okay, just like the guest house in Beipiao. I stayed there once for a basketball game in the city when I was in high school, and I felt pretty good at that time.

Go to the heated bed and put the backpack on the bed.

The female boss said: "It's okay to live in this house. It's warm and suitable. You're the first one today. At this time, I don't think there will be anyone coming. It's going to be nice if you live in this house alone tonight. "

"Thank you." I said.

"No thanks, I'll give you the key, lock the door when you go out, take the money with you, and don't leave it in the house."

The female boss was about to go downstairs after she finished speaking, but I stopped her: "Sister, is there a snack bar near us?"

"Have you eaten yet? Yes, my house is open. In the backyard, there are dumplings and noodles, as well as stir-fried vegetables. I'll take you there."

Follow the female boss downstairs to the backyard, and enter through the back door into a small restaurant with four tables, facing the street.

The female boss took a recipe and handed it to me, saying: "Order whatever you want, you can have everything." Then she shouted to the kitchen: "Someone is here for dinner."

A woman who looked similar to the female boss came out of the kitchen, they looked like sisters.

"Sister, I'm going to the front." After the female boss finished speaking, she walked back and had a head bump with a woman who came in from the back door.

"Are you eating?" the female boss asked.

The woman who came in later said with a smile, "I'm hungry after standing all day, and it's still fucking cold. Let me eat a bowl of noodles."

"The one you went to the day before yesterday was very good, but you still don't want to do it." The female boss said.

"What a fart, I don't want to take care of anyone who wants to sleep the first day I go." The woman came in after speaking, saw me alone, and sat down directly across the table.

The woman was 31 or two years old, with heavy makeup, long hair, a tight-fitting jacket, and bulging breasts.Listening to the conversation with the female boss, I knew that she was the lady standing by the lake. She didn't find a job, and she also lived here. She was as hungry as me and came to eat.

She should be a regular.

After taking a look, he retracted his gaze and began to look at the recipe.A bowl of stretched noodles at noon did not fill me up at all, and now my stomach is starting to growl.Poor families get rich, no matter how much money you save, you can’t go hungry.It's late at night, I want to order a dish and have a bowl of rice. I haven't warmed up yet, so I'll have a glass of white wine.I came to the provincial capital on the first day, and I was extravagant. To be honest, I was cold and hungry, hungry and cold.

Look at the prices, a large bowl of rice is two yuan, a glass of white wine is two yuan, and the cheapest dishes are "spicy tofu", "spicy pepper dried tofu", and "sharp pepper potato shreds", all of which are four yuan.I ordered a "dried tofu with sharp pepper", a large bowl of rice, and a glass of white wine, to reward myself.

The woman opposite ordered a bowl of noodles.

Before the food came, I lit a cigarette and smoked.

The woman across from me looked at me and smiled.She looks good, and it would be better if the heavy makeup on her face was lightened, especially her lips, which are too red.The first time I had close contact with a woman with heavy makeup, I felt a little awkward.She didn't go to three of the four tables when they were free, and she had to sit at the same table with me, which made her a little annoyed.This is here, if you are at home, you have to ask her to get up, she is not used to problems.

The woman asked, "Where is your home?"

"Beipiao." I said.

"My countryman, I am facing the sun." The woman seemed very happy, leaning towards me when she spoke.There is a scent, it smells very good.I thought this was the legendary feminine scent, but I immediately denied it when I saw her face—the scent of cosmetics.

She said it was from Chaoyang, and when she got closer, she was also a fellow villager, so she didn't look so awkward.

He nodded at her and said, "It is indeed a fellow."

"What are you doing?" the woman asked.

"It's the first time I come out, I don't know anything, I do whatever I have to do."

"It's your first time coming out?" The woman looked at my face in disbelief and asked, "How old are you this year?"

"21."

"You just turned 21?"

It's not surprising to see her surprised expression.

"You look really old," she said.

"Looking anxious." I said.

"I thought you were 25 or [-]." She said the same thing as the elder brother this afternoon, and then asked, "Then what do you want to do?"

"Stevedores, laborers, if you can't do it, you can go to a restaurant to do odd jobs." I said.

"The odd jobs in the restaurant are all children, sixteen or seventeen, the boss doesn't like to use them at your age."

"Why?" I was a little puzzled.

"No reason, the odd jobs I know are all young. I worked in a restaurant, and the odd jobs in that restaurant were only sixteen. They are so young. Those who don't know think they are thirteen or fourteen," she said.

I said, "It's fine if you can work, no matter how old you are."

"Children are obedient and easy to hesitate. They can do whatever they want, just give them five yuan a day, and take care of their food and shelter. What do you do with five yuan a day?" she said.

She was right after thinking about it, but she didn't know that five yuan was money to me, and I couldn't earn it at home, or I wouldn't come out.I thought that since she had worked in a restaurant, she should be familiar with restaurants, so I might as well ask her about restaurants.

"Is the restaurant work good?" I asked.

"It's okay, but it takes a long time, Moji." She said.

"Are you sure about your salary?"

"Then it depends on the boss? The boss pays attention to the monthly payment. If you encounter a dog person, you will suppress the salary, and sometimes you don't open it."

At this time, the "dried tofu with sharp pepper" I ordered was ready, and it was served with rice and wine, but her noodles were still not ready.Watching me drink, she said to the female boss sister that she would also have a drink, and then some sauerkraut fried noodles.

"I'm happy to meet a fellow villager. Let's have a drink together." She smiled and asked me, "Are you okay, I don't want to eat at another table."

I laughed, thinking that I have been chatting for a long time, and the chatting is very good, let's eat together, we are still fellow villagers, we can't be cheated, and besides, I have nothing to cheat.

"It's okay, sister, let's have a drink together, we two fellows, I have to ask you to take care of me." I said.

She laughed, brushed her hair and said, "You're pretty good at talking, you know you're called sister, you must be dishonest at home."

Smiling at her without saying a word, he picked up his wine glass and touched her.As soon as the wine is tasted, it feels impure. If it is blended, if you want to blend it, you can blend it. Drink a glass and finish the job. It is a bit strong, just warm your body.

"You have a lot of migrant workers in Beipiao. My family is from Jianping, and there are many migrant workers," she said.

"My family is poor, and I can't come out to work if I am not poor." I said.

"You came out alone?"

"Well, alone."

"It's good to follow someone for the first time, you don't know him well-but it's okay, boy, if you are a little girl, it won't work, you have to follow someone."

Hearing that she was still a warm-hearted person, I couldn't help but feel a little fond of her.

I said, "I'm alone, and I'm not afraid of being deceived, and whoever deceives me will do what I do."

"You have to think about getting up early in the restaurant tomorrow morning, and arrive at the market before eight o'clock. The restaurant owner usually finds someone early, and they have to open at noon. If it's okay for a laborer to be late, just arrive at nine o'clock. Someone hires you to ask Ask where the work is, if you are in the city, don’t go if you are out of town, you may not be dragged to do something, some are dragged to the mine to work, and they will not be paid after the job is done, so it’s for nothing.” She said.

"Anything else like this?" I asked.

"What's the matter? People outside are not as good as people at home, especially you who just came out. It's easy to lie. Be careful outside, don't believe everything."

"Yes." I nodded gratefully and said, "Thank you, sister."

"Thank you, we in Chaoyang Beipiao are all affordable, and it is fate to meet outside, and you are also affordable." She said, and then asked: "Are you really 21?"

"If you are really 21, you will grow old. Many people don't believe it."

"My younger brother is also 21. He was admitted to university last year and is studying in Jinzhou." She said with some pride.

"Your brother is really promising"

"My younger brother is good at studying, but his family is also poor. If he doesn't study, what should he do? In the past few years, I have paid for high school. Now that he is in college, he has to pay for it for four years." She said, with a look in her eyes. Congratulations, but also with indescribable sadness.

The woman with heavy makeup in front of me became extremely beautiful in my eyes.

She earns money for her younger brother, and I for my fifth sister.Fortunately, Fifth Sister is about to start an internship, and her younger brother has four years left.

It's not easy.

Life is difficult, but no matter how difficult it is, you have to move forward, because only by moving forward can you have hope.

"Sister, I respect you!"

Chapter 4 Stevedores
As long as you are alive, don't complain about the injustice of fate. There is no absolute fairness in this world.

Come to the labor market before eight o'clock the next day.With yesterday's experience, I went to the hotel service area and stood there. There were not many people in the labor area, and there were five or six old men standing there, smoking and chatting.

There are a lot of people in the service area of ​​the hotel, one by one, I don’t want to be crowded with them, so I walked to the place where it meets the labourer’s area and stood there, thinking that if there is a restaurant owner looking for it, I will go to do odd jobs, and if there is a laborer looking for it, I will also go. As long as there is work to do, I will first solve my own food and housing problems.

A restaurant owner came to find someone, and yesterday's scene was repeated.Many people gathered around with signs, and returned when they heard that they were not looking for their own job, and bargained with the boss for the rest. Those who were photographed by the boss happily followed, and those who were not photographed returned to their original positions with frustrated faces and continued to stand. with.

No matter how you look at it, it feels like prostitution, it's almost a straw.

After standing there for half an hour, a man who looked like a boss came up to me and asked me, "Do you work as a stevedore?"

Before he could respond, five or six old men from the Ligong District immediately surrounded him.

"I do, I'm a stevedore."

"Boss, what are you loading and unloading? I'll go."

"What are you doing?"

"---"

I was a little confused, I didn't expect the competition of stevedores to be so fierce.

The boss said: "Follow the truck to load and unload cement."

When they heard that they were loading and unloading cement, they all shook their heads and walked away.

The boss asked me: "Do you want to load and unload cement?"

"How much is a month?" I asked.

"Nine hundred, don't care about food, one hundred and fifty a month for food."

When I heard 900 yuan a month, my eyes started to glow green. 900 yuan is more than my annual income at home.

He followed the boss cheerfully and hopefully, without asking any questions.I thought to myself that there is nothing to ask, if I want to do it, I will follow others, and if I don’t want to do it, I won’t go.What are you afraid of as a young man, and you don't have much money on your body, even if you cheat, you don't have to cheat me.

Follow the boss to a small courtyard in Shangyuan District, Dadong District. There are three bungalows in the courtyard, one for drivers, one for idlers, and the remaining one for stevedores.

The house is very simple, earth kang, with luggage, water, tables and stools, the rest is nothing.The conditions are not as good as those at home, so I thought it would be nice to have a place to live when I came out to work, so there is nothing to be picky about.

Two stevedores, one is me, and the other is an elder brother in his 40s, who came yesterday.

In this way, I started my first part-time job - loading and unloading cement.

The truck pulling the cement is a ten-ton Jiefang 141 extended car.Large vehicles are not allowed to enter the urban area during the day, so they can only work at night.Two trips a night, [-] bags of cement per ton, and [-] bags of ten tons per truck.Two cars in one night, including loading and unloading, add up to [-] bags.

The task is difficult.

The next day at four o'clock in the afternoon, the driver took me and that elder brother to the cement warehouse of Taoxian Airport. When we opened the warehouse door, we were stunned by the scene inside.

Bags of cement are stacked on top of each other, forty to fifty high, and the rows are stacked together like a hill, at least seven to eight hundred tons, which makes the eyes dizzy.

The driver drove the car under the cement pile, and told him not to try to save energy and install the ones close to the car first, but to carry them from the top of the cement pile layer by layer, and be smart when loading them to prevent cement landslides. , Once the landslide hits the body, the slight injury will break the arm and the leg, and the severe one will die immediately.

Standing in front of the high pile of cement was lucky, put on a dust mask, and told myself to do it, lazy eyes, good hands, all the work is done, not for watching, even for the 900 yuan.

Fill the car with bags of cement.

When I first started pretending, it was okay, I didn’t feel tired, I always did farm work at home, and my body was okay.

After loading the first ton, I started to sweat.

After loading the second ton, I am a little tired.

When it was loaded to five tons, I was sweating profusely. When I moved the cement, my hands began to tremble and my breathing became short of breath.Cement dust is everywhere, and the dust mask is smeared, and there is a hissing sound when I breathe in and out.

The speed began to slow down, and the elder brother who was working with me simply sat down and rested.Knowing that you can't stop at this time, once you stop and pretend, you won't be able to do it anymore.

One person slowly, bag by bag.

Seven tons, eight tons, nine tons.

Already trembling all over, legs trembling.

Gritting his teeth, he loaded the last bag of cement heavily into the car, then trotted out of the warehouse, took off the dust mask, and panted heavily.

The whole body was covered with sweat, and the wind was chilly.

So fucking tired.

The driver drove out the car and greeted him to get in the car. He sat in the car and said to himself, this is only a quarter of tonight's work.

When I arrived at the construction site and unloaded cement from the truck, I was drenched in sweat again and my legs trembled.

Both wrists hurt a little, I looked down and saw blood oozing from my wrists.The cement bag was a woven bag, and it was fine to fill one or two bags, but the woven bag broke the skin of my wrist when I filled it too much, and the blood began to ooze out.

It seems that it is not easy to do anything, and money is hard to earn, so grit your teeth and persevere.

After unloading the second truck of cement, it was already light.

When I went back to my residence to fetch water to wash my hair, I couldn't wash it anymore.When the cement was loaded, my head was sweating, and the sweat and cement dust were mixed together. The hair was almost turned into concrete, and I couldn't even wash it off.

Tell yourself to shave your head.

There was a dull pain in the wrist, and the oozing blood and cement dust had solidified.The driver told me not to wash it too hard, and wait a few days for the scar to heal.Seeing the tears on the wrists swirling in the eye circles, the grievance and unwillingness stirring back and forth in my heart, I really want to cry out loudly.It's too difficult, life is too difficult, if it wasn't for being poor, I wouldn't do this job if I was killed, I would only be 21——
Silently rinsed himself back and forth twice, dried his body, lay down on the kang and fell asleep.

To be honest, I was really tired, and I had the urge to not want to do it, but after thinking about the 900 yuan, I endured it, persisted, and continued to do it.

Persist, must persist, persist to the end is victory.

Everyone wants to be successful and to be the person they want to be, but few actually do it.Why?Can't hold on.

When I was at home, my mother often said that there are blessings that people cannot enjoy, and there is no suffering that cannot be endured.

Poverty and hardship are not born with them, they exist not to make people obey, but to change.

After sleeping all day, I got up in the afternoon and went out to have a meal, and continued to work at night.

Just like yesterday, I loaded and unloaded two truckloads of cement, sweating profusely and my legs trembling.

gritted his teeth and persisted.

The second day, the third day, the fourth day.

By the fifth day, I was not so tired, my wrists were no longer bleeding, and my legs were no longer trembling.

On the tenth day, loading and unloading a truckload of cement was no longer a big deal for me, it was very easy.

After half a month, the elder brother who worked with me left, saying that he was too tired and went out to find a light job.

The eldest brother left, and the boss asked me to stand alone first, and he went to recruit people.

Working alone is naturally much slower. I only came back from unloading cement at the construction site at [-] o'clock in the morning. I was as tired as a dead dog, and I fell asleep when I didn't want to do anything.

This is really not a job for people. If you have money, you can say nothing about it.Still fucking alone, exhausted.

I persisted until the fourth day when the boss found two people, and I was much lighter.

It’s finally been a month, and the boss said to me when I started paying wages: “Little brother, you did a good job, but this job is not suitable for you, you are too young, doing this hurts your strength and your body, and you can’t feel it now. What, you will feel it when you get older." Then said: "I like you very much, I don't want you to do it anymore, and find someone who can learn the craft and do it more briskly while you are young."

I heard it was laid off.

The boss gave me my wages and an extra 500 yuan, saying that I was working alone when there were no stevedores.

That was the end of the first job.

Walking on the street with my luggage on my back, looking at the people coming and going on both sides of the street, all of them are unfamiliar faces, I feel that I am out of tune with this city, and I am so small and lonely.

My mother's face appeared in front of my eyes. At this time, I really wanted to go home, I really wanted to throw myself into my mother's arms, like when I was a child, shed tears of grievance, and my mother's warm hand stroked my head, no longer wronged, no longer sad.

But I can’t, since I was 14 years old, there are only my mother, my fifth sister and me in the family. Although I am still in school, but seeing the dilapidated days at home and my mother’s sad face, I tell myself that I am not young anymore, I am He is the only man in the family, and I will be the one to live the rest of the day, so I can't ask my mother to worry about the family anymore.

I can't shed a tear in front of my mother, although I'm still a child, I'm a man.

Chapter 5 The Second Job
Come to the labor market again.

Although I don't want to stand there like an animal and let people pick and choose, but I have nowhere to look for work. I have only been out for a month, and it is impossible to go home. If I want to find work, I can only come to the labor market.

After working as a stevedore for a month, the biggest gain is that my body is much stronger than before. I have abdominal muscles on my stomach, and my biceps are bulging when I bend my arms. They are hard and full of strength, as if they are exploding.While my body is strong, my appetite has also increased compared to before. I can’t get enough of a bowl of ramen noodles at a meal, at least two bowls.

The 150 yuan for food expenses given by the boss is not enough to eat.A bowl of noodles costs two yuan, a meal of two bowls costs four yuan, and three meals a day costs 12 yuan, which is three hundred and sixty yuan per month.Besides, you can’t always eat stretched noodles. What you do is physical work. If you don’t have enough to eat, you won’t have the energy to do it. If you don’t have oil and water in your stomach, you can’t do it. You can improve your food for a long time, eat stir-fried vegetables, and have dumplings. There are more, at least ten yuan for a meal, and twenty if you drink some wine.

The salary was 500 in advance, and the salary was [-], plus the bonus of [-] yuan, the total was [-] yuan.To be honest, it was the first time I had so much money since I was a child, and I felt a little rich.

I kept the money in my close pocket and kept it safe, thinking not to lose it. It was a huge sum of money. After I found a job, I mailed the money home. I couldn’t mail it until I found it. I still had to live.You can't live without money in the city, unlike living at home without money.

Before coming to the labor market, I thought about it. This time, I will find a odd job in a restaurant, earn less money, and learn a craft.There are quite a few boys who came out to work in the camp to learn how to cook, earning five or six hundred a month.Working in a restaurant to manage housing and eating is no less than what a stevedore earns. Of course, this must be said to be a chef.

Maybe I earned [-] in the first month, but now I feel that [-] a month is too little.People, when there is no contentment, this mountain looks higher than that mountain, this is what my mother always said.

There are still so many people in the service area of ​​the hotel, one next to the other, and everyone holds a cardboard sign in their hand.

Standing next to me was a guy in his 20s with a sign that said Chef, and next to him were two guys in their 20s with signs that said Chef.The three of them talked and laughed, and they seemed to know each other.

"Gangzi, how many days have you been down?" the boy standing beside me asked.

Called Gangzi replied: "Three days."

"Why are you still down, don't tell me you're fine?"

"Fuck, what a fart, the customer ordered fish-flavored shredded pork, which was a bit salty, and I sent it back, and the boss fired me." Gangzi said.

"Can fish-flavored shredded pork be made salty?" The young man next to him said a little contemptuously: "The sweet and sour mouth of that stuff is bigger, you can't add salt, and it will be salty if you add salt."

"I don't do much, I'm too salty." Gangzi said, and then asked: "Why did you come down?"

"My family's business is not good, and few people eat a day. When I saw that it was a problem to pay at the end of the month, I told the boss to quit. The boss is a dog, and he will get 100 yuan after working for eleven days, saying that he will lose money." The boy next to him looked frustrated and angry.

"It's right to quit the store in this way, and I may not give you capital at the end of the month." Gangzi said.

"There are few people looking for these two days, and there are not many bosses."

"It's the off-season, and it's hard to find a job. I've been there for three days. If I have a job today, I will go down." Gangzi said.

"Let's go, I have to go too, I haven't made any money when I come back after the Chinese New Year, so how can I live?"

Listening to their chatter, I feel that it is not easy to find jobs in restaurants. It should be the off-season now, so there is no shortage of people.

A boss came over and said he was looking for a chef, and a group of people came up all of a sudden, and the boss was surrounded by water.I also moved forward. Although I am not a chef, it is good to listen to what they have to say, and gain some experience for myself.

"Hire someone with a water case, my hotel is newly renovated." The boss said.

"How much is the water case?" Someone asked.

"three hundred."

"Women all right?" asked a tall chef.

"Your wife?" the boss asked with a smile.

"No, whoever still works with his wife now will work with Tie Zi."

"One look at you is not a good product." The boss said.

The people next to him laughed.

Gangzi asked: "Boss, how much is the cook?"

"Five hundred, if you have a good handle, you can still go up." The boss said.

"See if I can do it. I have been frying for three years, and I can cook any dish, and the handle is fine." Gangzi said.

"How old are you?" the boss asked.

"24."

"24 has been fried for three years?" The boss is a little bit disbelieving.

"I came out at seventeen and have been working in restaurants."

The boss looked at Gangzi, hesitated and said, "I want to find someone who is older."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone said, "See if I can do it. I'm 28. I've been on the job for five years."

"I'm thirty, and I've been on the job for six years."

"I'm 27, age is okay."

"---"

Finally, a 32-year-old chef and the boss negotiated. If I also choose this chef, it will be safe at first glance.The chef also brought a water case, saying that it was his nephew, which happened to meet the boss's requirements.

The boss led the cook and the water table away, and the people around dispersed.

"Fuck, if you are older, just fry the vegetables well." The guy who was standing next to me complained.

"It's a pity that the newly opened restaurant is easy to do." Gangzi said regretfully.

"The main reason is that the newly opened ones can pay wages, can't be short of money, and can still soak up waiters."

"You know how to be a waiter."

"You're not soaking—"

This happened all morning.

There are also odd jobs. When I went up and said that I was doing odd jobs, the boss looked at me suspiciously, then shook his head and said that he was going to find a child, not a man.I couldn't help but smiled wryly, touched my bald head, and thought to myself, am I really that old? I'm only 21.

I didn't find a job in the morning, so I went out to have a meal at noon, and then went inside again.I thought that although there are few bosses who come to find people in the afternoon, what if there are?I don’t have anything to do in the afternoon, and I’m free when I’m free. If I can’t find a job, I’ll go to the small hotel where I stayed at night and spend ten yuan a night, and I’ll look for it tomorrow.Whenever I think of that small hotel, I think of that fellow villager. I wonder if she is looking for a job now?
There were far fewer people in the afternoon, but fortunately, the weather was much warmer, and my feet were not cold anymore, so I could stay for a while longer.

There are more than 40 people in the hotel service area, both men and women, and they are just as lucky as me.

Standing with them seemed out of place. He was originally a strong and strong young man, but in their eyes he was a tall and thick old man. You Qi shaved his head and looked a bit fierce. Some people would believe me if I was a fugitive.

After standing for a while, no boss came over, so he pulled over to smoke a cigarette, and looked at the labor area. There were four old men there, and they seemed to be ready to leave.Looking at the lake, there is no lady standing by the lake, and an old man who picks up waste is picking up mineral water bottles.

Four old men from the labor area left, and five or six people from the hotel service area also left.

It seems that I can't find a job today, and I feel a little disappointed.

This is the life of a part-time worker, with no fixed place to live, one day at work, one day you may be laid off tomorrow, and then you come to this place called the labor market with your bags on your back, and you are chosen by others.Even though I have all kinds of reluctance in my heart, I have no choice but to persevere in order to bear life.

Heaven pays off, and just as I was about to leave, a boss came, asked a few people, and came to me, and looked me up and down.
Next question: "Looking for a job?"

"Well, looking for a job." I replied.

"Do you want to do odd jobs?"

"Dry."

"Ever worked in a restaurant before?"

"No, I'm working as a stevedore."

He looked at me carefully again and asked, "Do you have an ID card?"

He took out his ID card, and after reading it, he said, "I'm a noodle shop, and you went to do odd jobs, two hundred and four a month."

Two hundred and four?I can't believe my ears a bit.I was secretly happy, it exceeded my expectations, I thought it was one hundred and fifty.

"Okay, I'll do it." I said right away.

"follow me."

So I followed my boss to a noodle shop on Beisi Road, Tiexi District, and started my second job.

Chapter 6

At the end of March and the beginning of April, the provincial capital is just a bit springy, and winter has not yet receded. Although the temperature is above zero, the wind blowing on the face is still very cold, and it is a bit chilly.

The boss's surname is Zhang, and he is called Brother Zhang.

The noodle restaurant was opened by him and his friend in partnership. The partner is a tall, very beautiful woman. She is the third at home, and she is called Sanjie.

Brother Zhang wears a pair of glasses, is very gentle, speaks kindly, and does not look down on rural people like other bosses.He and the third sister opened a shop together, and a discerning person can tell at a glance that it is not for making money, but because he likes the third sister and wants to be with the third sister.

The noodle restaurant is not big, with a total of five tables.The shop is small and employs few people. Besides me, there is also a noodle maker from Henan.There are only four people in the whole store, Brother Zhang, Third Sister, the noodle maker and me.

I was responsible for sweeping and mopping the floor, clearing the table, cleaning the kitchen, picking and washing vegetables, cooking noodles, washing dishes and tableware, and so on.

After finding a job and settling myself down, I feel a lot more at ease, thinking that at least I have a place to eat and live, and the problem of survival is guaranteed.People who come out to work want to solve their own survival problems first, and then think about how to make money.Being outside is not like being at home. There is no job at home to go home, and there is a place to live. No work outside means that there is no place to eat or live. If you have no money, you have to sleep on the street.

The business of the noodle restaurant is not good, and not many people eat it every day.Brother Zhang and Third Sister didn't care too much, as long as they didn't lose money in their words.The two of them have nothing to do every day, they just sit and chat together, sometimes make two dishes and drink some wine.It gives me the feeling that the two of them are not for making money, but for the romance and warmth of the past and the next month.Opening a restaurant is a pretense, but being together every day is the purpose.

There are many small restaurants on the entire Beisi Road. Next to the stretched noodle restaurant, there are home-cooked restaurants, bacon pancake shop, spring pancake shop, dumpling restaurant, sliced ​​noodles, chaotic restaurant, etc., which are not large, more than 80 square meters.The layout of every family is also the same, with the living room in the front and the kitchen in the back. Each family employs only a few people, one cook and one waiter, just like a bacon pancake shop with multiple bakers.

There are no stir-fried dishes in the stretched noodle restaurant, just stretched noodles and chicken racks.

Brother Zhang is in charge of the chicken racks. The ingredients for the chicken racks are bought from the main store of "Siji Stretched Noodles" for 5000 yuan. The chicken racks are very delicious.A week after I came here, Brother Zhang called me Huang. The medicine package was ready-made. I didn’t know what was in it, and it felt very mysterious.

The noodle master is very conservative and asks me to do other things every time I knead the noodles. I am afraid I have learned.I'm not interested in stretched noodles. When I was a loader, I ate stretched noodles the most, and I felt a little sick to my stomach.

To make stretched noodles, you need to add Peng Hui. Peng Hui is a kind of grass in Lanzhou. When it grows up, it is burned with fire to form a hard lump with an irregular shape like a medical stone, which looks like a stone, but it is not as hard as a stone, and it is not as heavy as a stone.Put the chunks of fluffy ash in a big pot and boil it until it turns into a liquid, just like the brine of some tofu.

There is an unpleasant smell when it is boiled, which is very pungent.Every time I boil it, I go outside to boil it, and everyone in the kitchen can't stand it.Put the boiled Penghui water into a bottle, and put a little when stretching the noodles. The stretched noodles are glutinous and delicious.

I seldom talk except for work. I don’t stay idle after this job is done.Work more and talk less to ensure that there is nothing wrong with it.

The third sister sometimes asked me: "Tanzi, why don't you talk?"

"I have nothing to say, and I don't know what to say." I said.

"Tan Zi is a very affordable person, and I fell in love with him at the first glance." Brother Zhang said.It is estimated that what he is looking for is not the benefits, but my safe appearance.

"Tanzi, you look too anxious. When I first came here, I thought you were 25 or [-]. I didn't expect you to be so young." The third sister smiled and said, "You even shaved your head. Those who didn't know thought you were a fugitive. What? You can’t really be a fugitive, or why don’t you like to talk?”

"Third sister, you praise me, fugitives are not anyone who wants to be a fugitive, that's what I can do." I said.

"It makes sense, it makes sense." Brother Zhang said.

Every night after the guests left, they cleaned up the toilet and started to build stools. The stools were put together to form a temporary assembled bed, and the bedding was put on it to start sleeping.The first thing I did the next morning was to fold up the quilt, take it to the kitchen and put it in the cupboard, and then restore the stool to its original state.

Sleeping on the stool is very uncomfortable. Sometimes the stool will be separated when you fall asleep.

Working hard, I really miss the hot kang at home.

The home cooking restaurant next door is run by a young couple. The daughter-in-law works as a waiter in front, and the husband helps in the kitchen. They hired a chef from Henan.The chef is tall, 1.8 meters tall, very thin, wearing a pair of glasses, with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks.Since he is a neighbor, he always comes to the noodle restaurant after cooking, and starts bragging when he comes, and Brother Zhang and Third Sister are very annoying to him.

The owner of the bacon pancake shop is a woman in her 40s, everyone calls her Sister Li, she is very enthusiastic.The business of her store is not very good, and she doesn't care much about it. She always goes out to play mahjong.There was a cook, a bacon pie maker, and a waiter.The bacon pancake and the waiter are my sister-in-law.

Third Sister and Sister Li are colleagues, and they always chat together.The two bosses are colleagues, and the two restaurant workers are naturally closer. You come to my house to see, and I will visit your house. Once you come and go, you become friends.

The chef who makes the bacon flatbread is surnamed Wang, who is older than me, so she is called Sister Wang.Her sister-in-law, nineteen, named Yingzi, is very well-behaved and good-looking.Both of them are from Shandong.Sister Wang is not married. She and Yingzi's brother have been married since childhood.The relationship between the two families is relatively good. When the two children were young, their parents gave their baby relatives, and when they grow up, they have no opinion on each other, so it is logical.

I asked Yingzi why her brother didn't come out to work. Yingzi said that her brother was studying at home and had to go to university.When Sister Wang didn't say anything, there was loneliness in her eyes.

Yingzi looks sweet, lively and lovely, very attractive.Ai runs to the noodle restaurant, and the first thing she says when she enters the door is, "Where's my brother?" Sometimes my third sister teases me and says that one day I will bring Yingzi home to be my daughter-in-law.

Yingzi came out to work for the first time, and asked her why she didn't study at home. She said that she had an illness and stayed at home for half a year, and couldn't keep up with school, so she stopped studying.When she spoke, she was a little concealed. She knew she was lying, so she didn't ask any more questions.

Sister Wang is three years older than me. She has been working part-time for five years and makes good bacon pancakes.Sister Li trusts her very much, most of the time the hotel is looked after by Sister Wang.

Yingzi seems very well-behaved, but in fact he is a wild kind inside, a little wild horse that is difficult to tame.I always want to go out to work by myself, and I don't like being around Sister Wang.Sister Wang refused. After all, she was the one who brought Yingzi out of the house. She was worried that the little girl would go out alone, for fear that something might happen and she would not be able to explain to her family.The two of them always quarreled because of this matter, and I adjusted it, so I gained a good popularity.

Sister Li's business is not good. When guests come, she can come over alone in front of her. Hiring Yingzi is unnecessary.But Yingzi and Sister Wang were together, and Sister Wang followed without Yingzi, and Sister Li kept Yingzi in the shop.

After get off work that night, Brother Zhang, Third Sister, and the noodle maker all left.After tidying up and setting up the temporary bed, Yingzi came over pouted when she was about to rest, followed by Sister Wang, and it seemed that the two of them were angry again.

Yingzi came over and hugged my arm and said, "Brother, my sister is really annoying. I want to go out and find a job and she won't let me."

"If you don't let me, just stay honest." I said.

"Hmph, you two are on the same team." She said, pushing me away.

"You said I can rest assured that you go out by yourself?" Sister Wang glared at Yingzi.

"Why don't you worry, how old am I?" Yingzi pouted and stared at her eyes.

"Do you know how chaotic it is outside? You don't understand anything, even if you are sold out."

"I'm not that stupid."

"I don't think you're smart either."

"Brother, look at her—" Yingzi shook my arm vigorously.

I smiled and said to Sister Wang: "Yingzi is not stupid, but her head is a little tricky. Don't bully her all the time."

Sister Wang laughed, and Yingzi pouted even higher.

Sister Wang is also for Yingzi's good. Yingzi is just nineteen years old, and it is really worrying for a little girl to be outside alone in the first year.It’s not like being supervised by parents at home, but outside, it’s quite chaotic. If you meet good people, you can learn to be bad quickly.

"My house doesn't have many guests a day. Sister Li can come here by herself. I'm just redundant. Sister Li didn't say I don't need me because of my sister's face. I can feel it, so I want to go out and find work." Yingzi said, saying It's quite reasonable.

"I don't know you yet, and I don't want to be with me, and bother me to look at you." Sister Wang said.

"I don't have it. I'm bothered that you still share the bed with you, and you snore when you sleep." Yingzi said.

Sister Wang laughed angrily, and said, "I don't snore. If you snore, you have to follow me, and I won't let you go."

Yingzi was not angry either, and turned to complain to me: "Brother, you said my sister is so annoying, she looks at me every day, and I can't even talk to other men."

"No." Sister Wang glared at Yingzi, and then said to me: "The chef of the home cooking restaurant pesters Yingzi when he has nothing to do. It seems that he is not a good person."

Yingzi said: "That's not it. I'm not talking about him, and I'm bothered by him." Then he said to me: "Just now, my chef husband came to pick her up. I said a few words to him, and my sister got angry when she saw it." Now, start talking about me when they leave."

I said, "You too, what to say to your husband if you have nothing to do."

"I didn't say anything." Yingzi said aggrievedly.

Sister Wang said: "That's her husband, you don't have anything to chat with him, and you even talk and laugh." Then she said to me: "You also know how she smiles."

There is a kind of woman who is naturally charming, who can look back and smile at Baimeisheng, which makes people fascinated. This is Yingzi.Yingzi is still young now, and the girlish innocence on her face somewhat conceals the natural charm. If two years pass, ordinary men will not be able to resist her charm.

I said to Yingzi: "Smile less when you talk to men from now on."

"Don't let people laugh anymore, it's suffocating."

After speaking, I pursed my mouth and ignored me and Sister Wang.

I said to Sister Wang: "Sister Wang, your family's business is not good. Yingzi has to leave sooner or later. Let's see who is a waiter in our street. Let her go and do it. You can take care of me as long as you don't leave this street."

"The spring cake shop may need a waiter, I'll ask tomorrow." Sister Wang said.

"Don't go, the chef in his family is so disgusting, he calls me little sister and whistles at me when he sees me." Yingzi said.

"Sister Wang, what are you afraid of?" I said.

"That's not going, I'm going to work somewhere else, far away from here."

"Go abroad!" Sister Wang said angrily.

"Brother, look, she's just training me."

Chatted with them for a while.

In the last two days, I went to a nearby bookstore and bought two novels. Yingzi also liked it better. I picked up one and read it. After reading it for a while, I was attracted by the plot in it, and went back to lie down under the quilt to read it.

Sister Wang had no choice but to lead her back.

　The first time I wrote something, it was very strenuous, and I didn’t know how to post it online. I posted six chapters at once, but what I didn’t expect was only one chapter, and I was worried about my ignorance.

　　It's a bit difficult for a cook to learn how to write from others. Let's just write about my personal experience over the past 20 years, and I don't know anything else. I can write about my own experience, and I have something to write about.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)