the most beautiful time

Chapter 14 Beijing·Expression (1)

A student apartment in Beijing S University is located in a residential area in Haidian. The houses here have soared to more than 3 yuan per square meter. Every time I pass by the intermediary company at the door of the apartment and see the sales information of the community, I can’t help but feel emotional , and then feel that the two-person dormitory that I have only 1000 yuan a year is simply picked up for nothing.Later, when I learned that there was a small steamed bun shop at the door, which was only half the size of the dormitory, and the monthly rent reached [-] yuan, I felt even more guilty, as if I had taken the money myself.

But the number of foreigners living in the community has not decreased in the slightest because of my worries.They are like parasitic microbes, thriving and thriving in places where the locals in Beijing can't notice, until one day, they can have the same peaceful expression as the locals, except for the unchanged accent, they can no longer be seen from the clothes and faces. , to distinguish their origins.This kind of change is like the texture of a shell, so subtle, so silent, and silently, a slow and difficult transformation has been completed.

In a shopping mall in the community, there are a few girls from other places. When they first came, they all looked cautious and fearful. It seemed that Beijing was a roller coaster that was spinning rapidly. It was ruthlessly thrown out of the car and smashed into tragic pieces.Every time a customer came in, they greeted them with smiles, and there was humility and tension embedded in their slightly bowed bodies.The timidity and inferiority of small towns cannot be hidden in poor Mandarin.If a customer is a little bit dissatisfied and speaks out in Beijing dialect full of pride, their faces will immediately turn red.His eyes dodged left and right, but he couldn't find a place to stay.In fact, when they first came to Beijing, they were always in such a state of erratic and unable to find support. They spoke Mandarin mixed with strong dialects, dressed with distinctive local characteristics, walked in a slightly rustic way, and even looked like they were in a daze. , Curiosity and yearning when looking at people made them easily separated from the local crowd.

Seeing them again after half a year, I can't remember what they looked like when they first came.Not to mention the clothes, jewelry and hairstyles, which are all the latest styles, and the mandarin also has a Beijing flavor; some are smarter, and they can already speak decently.The line of sight, when customers look over, not only will not avoid in a panic, but they have already greeted them without fear; occasionally, they will boldly patrol the strange customers in the store, and will They inspected one by one from head to toe.In their free time, they would gather together, eating melon seeds, chatting and laughing, and when someone passed by, they would make a few harsh comments on the back of that person.They have been able to walk in the hustle and bustle of Beijing calmly and calmly like local girls.

The middle-aged couple who sold breakfast rented a cottage with only a few square meters.When the folded bed is unfolded, there is almost no place to stand.They have obviously lived in this community for a long time. People who often come to eat will greet the small window loudly when they pass by.Although their Mandarin is clumsy, their tone is not timid at all, and they have the aloofness and self-sufficiency of a small boss.Knowing that I have done well enough earlier, I am not worried about poor business, and I will not use excessive enthusiasm to attract customers. I only need to clean the tables, chairs, benches, dishes, dishes and chopsticks every day, and put them on the side of the road, waiting for someone to come "Self-help" is enough.

Almost every week, they hire a woman with a northeast accent to work as an hourly worker to help them clean the shop from inside to outside.They are all foreigners, but there are distinct differences.In front of the Northeast woman, the middle-aged couple has a kind of local pride and pride. The Northeast woman timidly asked if there is anyone else in the community who needs to do work. They smiled calmly and replied to her. Don’t worry, next time Next, I will definitely tell you that we know quite a few people here.The woman from the northeast said thank you gratefully, then lowered her head and wiped the rag in her hand more vigorously.The couple on the side looked at each other and smiled, continuing to enjoy the moment of leisure brought to them by hourly workers.

And in some unnoticed corners of the community, you can often see some outsiders collecting waste products, setting up small stalls or repairing cars.I was very curious about where they lived. Once I "followed" a middle-aged man who collected waste, and found that he also lived in this "rich district". However, almost no one could imagine where he lived.It was an abandoned factory area in the community that was forgotten by the security guards. He and his wife, who sold fruit, made the land look like a quiet farmyard, with a large area of ​​open space, enough for them to store waste products.The house is very narrow, so they built a simple shed outside, cooking, washing, drying sundries, and even raised five or six lively chickens in the corner!Perhaps, tomorrow, they will be driven away, perhaps, they will be forgotten in this leisurely corner just like this, but the tranquility and happiness at that moment is something I will never forget.

I once asked the breakfast couple from Fujian, do they miss their children who they only see once a year?Several times, they all laughed and didn't answer, and when they asked again, they said wistfully: "It's so far away, and I can't think about it."After a while, he added: But it will be fine when the child comes to Beijing for the exam.I noticed that when they said this sentence, there was joy and yearning in their eyes that outsiders could not detect, just like, such beauty, it is just a moment, and it will come.

Perhaps, these people who come to Beijing from other places will never have a house of their own in Beijing where housing prices are soaring. Those people who are brightly lit and warm at night are just rushing home after wind and rain; In this city, like clumps of flexible reeds, spread out silently, and grow towards the highest point without hesitation with the most stubborn expression and posture.And a tolerant city, how can it refuse such endless passion?
She was the teacher who taught us music in high school. She was very proud and high-minded, and looked down on those students who had no talent but were pretentious.At that time, music was not valued by the school, and it was just a few embellishments like green onions. Except for a few students who really planned to enter the art academy, most of us ordinary people didn't pay much attention to her classes.It is often that she sings in class until she bursts into tears, while we laugh and slapstick under the stage, with notes flying around; Put it on your chest and make a heart-piercing shape.In fact, it's not that I don't like her singing, her voice quality is indeed beautiful; but it doesn't match her appearance and temperament.The freckles on that face are already annoying, and she never smiles, and there is a kind of cold gloom and indifference in her expression, it seems that everyone in this world owes her.Moreover, knowing that the school despises music, sports and art classes, he still refuses to let go of students who have not completed their homework, and even forced a boy to wake up in the middle of the night to sing on the balcony in order to practice a piece of music.

Therefore, we who love gossip take it for granted that her married life must be unfortunate, otherwise, she will not be less happy and peaceful on the faces of ordinary women.A student once quietly followed her to the door of her house, and she heard her quarrel with her husband after entering. The student felt guilty and ran away quietly, but he still brought back a sentence, saying that her husband, She shouted: I have never seen such a vain and vain woman like you!Like an unsolvable riddle, we have never been able to know exactly what made her so sharp, incompatible with this secular world, and hated each other?
(End of this chapter)