When I went out, the sun was still blazing, not much effort, a dark cloud brought a light rain, it was really an impermanent day in summer and autumn, and the clouds and sunshine were always uncertain!

Qi Tianxiang thought so, but he couldn't help but speed up his pace with his things, and quickly walked to the middle of a bungalow along the winding path. [Ran^Text^Library] According to the address of Sister Qin's house that Xiao Zhang confirmed, Qi Tianxiang carefully distinguished in the misty rain and fog, but it was not difficult to find, and the third door in the second row was found without much effort.

The door was locked, and Qi Tianxiang had to walk quickly to the eaves by the door to avoid the light rain. The eaves are very narrow, in fact, it is a bit exaggerated to call the eaves, and the accurate name should be called the edge of the shed. Qi Tianxiang stood sideways as much as possible, but half of his body was still exposed to the rain and fog.

Fortunately, it is just a light rain, which is called 'cow drizzle' in the south, that is, it is like a drizzle, and the difference between dodging or not dodging is not very big, but Qi Tianxiang at this moment has no choice, so he can only stand sideways in front of the door of the house.

After walking and searching in a hurry just now, it was not until it was quiet at this moment that Qi Tianxiang was able to carefully observe this place. Get off the car on the side of the road, walk in along a small road that is not wide, enter the courtyard gate is the family courtyard of the hosiery factory, the middle of the two columns is the aisle, three rows of bungalows are arranged in turn, the interval between the bungalows and the bungalows should be very wide, but the houses or sheds of different forms built in front of each house occupy half of the road, so that only the front row of bungalows leaves a road that is not wide, and the width is about a motorcycle or tricycle can barely pass.

The bungalow is deeply hidden behind the wide streets and high-rise buildings, and it seems to be hidden in the small jasper that the boudoir does not know, but it seems to be more like an old pearl yellow abandoned woman, neglected, forgotten, and not far away from the rows of high-rise buildings are glamorous, is the cramped road here, the doors close together, and the potholed dirt road, and the old and old bricks and tiles revealed under the erosion of time. Compared with the neatness and cleanliness when it was first built, now it is only described as messy, and it seems that it is difficult to cover all the feelings, but I feel a little depressed, and there is also depression.

Qi Tianxiang tried his best to suppress his irritability, watched quietly, and thought quietly. In his estimation, the bungalow in front of him was at least the same as his age, and perhaps more than his age, because the era of building the bungalow was always comparable to the progress of urban construction. This is only a transitional expedient measure in the process of urban construction with weak economic conditions, after all, it is still a good welfare, it is a warm and comfortable home for employees created by the enterprise, and it is also a manifestation of whether an enterprise has cohesion. Therefore, many enterprises, large industrial enterprises and commercial enterprises, including local state-owned and collective-owned enterprises, have tried to build such bungalows according to the number of employees in their own countries, some of them are divided into districts, and some are only two or three rows or less. The building materials are also varied, ranging from brick and adobe to adobe, all of which are based on the provision of shelter and shelter. The tap water used for washing is concentrated in one place, and the toilets are all public toilets, and the number of public toilets and taps is set according to the number of bungalows and households.

With the passage of time, large and medium-sized enterprises have renovated or renovated these different types of bungalows according to their own production and workers, or dismantled and built into buildings in one step according to the situation of the enterprise, completely bidding farewell to public toilets and public faucets, but there are still a considerable number of enterprises, especially local state-owned and collective-owned enterprises, do not have the ability to transform and upgrade, so they have been renovated and repaired until now.

Housing has not changed, but the population is increasing, and the original bungalows only meet the basic requirements of accommodation, a young city and young enterprises are full of vigor and vigor, the problem of eating is solved by the unit canteen, and the contradiction of cooking with each house has become a family, and it has become an urgent need. There is no way to solve the contradiction, and it can only acquiesce to each family to build a shed in front of the door, or simply build a bungalow, although it affects the overall appearance, but after all, it solves the actual life problem of the workers, and each family also agrees to build a kitchen between the door and the window, but also live in peace and harmony.

Different from the bungalows built by the neighbors, Sister Qin's kitchen can only be regarded as a mat shed, that is, a few wooden sticks to support a mat shed, which is surrounded on all sides and is impermeable, simple and simple, and it can also be seen that this family without a male host is in distress and difficulty.

Xiao Zhang was very careful and thoughtful, not only learned Sister Qin's home address, but also inquired about Sister Qin's family situation clearly. Sister Qin's name is Qin Meiting, a worker in the city hosiery factory, 48 years old this year, laid off after the restructuring of the enterprise a few years ago. Sister Qin's lover's name is Liu Zhigang, a mechanic in a hosiery factory, who died of lung cancer more than ten years ago, and the couple has a son named Liu Peng, who is now a graduate student at Hezhou University.

A middle-aged woman who lost her husband at an early age, with a child who is still in school, the difficulties and difficulties of life can be imagined, and at the critical moment when she needs money to maintain her life and raise her children to school, she is also facing the problem of being laid off and unemployed.

Reason told Qi Tianxiang that in today's social and economic form, Sister Qin's matter is by no means an exception, but a fairly common problem, under the guidance of the policy of protecting people's livelihood and employment in the era of planned economy, a large number of labor-intensive enterprises have been established by various means, and under the inclusive concept that everyone has a job and everyone has food, solving employment is not only an economic task, but also rises to the political height of superior system, social stability and people's happiness, and is required as a hard indicator. So far, it seems that these measures and plans not only have extremely high economic achievements, but are also full of high political wisdom and have epoch-making political and economic significance in the early stage of urbanization development with uneven economic and social development, serious shortage of material production, and low living standards of the people.

Reform and opening up has created a completely different social form, changed the irrational elements of the original form, introduced the concept of market economy and the sense of competition, stimulated social production and economic vitality, and also has a high degree of political wisdom and economic significance, but in terms of stimulating market vitality, promoting economic development and ensuring people's livelihood, and maintaining the stability of social classes, the understanding of different localities and the methods of dealing with it are also very different. In particular, when the economy develops to a certain level and the total economic volume reaches a certain amount, there will inevitably be bottlenecks in economic development, such as the problems of increasing labor productivity and ensuring people's livelihood, and many contradictions such as expanding profit margins and reducing labor costs, and increasing incomes and efficiency, and some of them are irreconcilable and sharp antagonisms. In this case, the voice of capital is particularly important, and the demands of people's livelihood take a back seat, or even ignore them.

When the bankruptcy and closure of enterprises becomes an acceptable form, the contradiction of low output and low efficiency of labor-intensive enterprises is highlighted, and it is also the predicament that local governments are eager to get rid of. Most of these people in the sandwich layer do not have high cultural knowledge and insufficient livelihood skills, and most of them are old and young, and they have quickly become a new difficult group in the city, and the scope and number are expanding year by year, and have become a social phenomenon that cannot be ignored.

These problems are clearly placed in front of Qi Tianxiang, since what he saw in the labor service hall that day, they have always plagued Qi Tianxiang, and they have always tormented his nerves, such a huge group, how do they live, where is the future security, these problems and contradictions are urgently waiting for Qi Tianxiang to think and solve, and the feeling tells him that these problems cannot be delayed, let alone wait, they must be solved as soon as possible, and there must be a safe way, which is not only a responsibility, but also a group that may have problems at any time.

Xiao Zhang has been giving Qi Tianxiang the address for a while, but he has always been busy during this period of time, and it seems that there are always things that cannot be done, but the problems of Sister Qin and the laid-off unemployed groups are beating his nerves all the time, and finally taking advantage of the free time on Saturday, Qi Tianxiang made up his mind to come and have a look.

Originally, Yan Li was going to come with her, but Qi Tianxiang thought about it again and again, and decided that it would be more appropriate to come alone, as for the reason, he couldn't say it clearly, but he faintly felt that Sister Qin was like his own sister, and visiting his sister should be a matter of his own. Yan Li was not at ease, so she sent Qi Tianxiang out, went to the supermarket at the door to buy a barrel of oil and a carton of milk, took out a stack of money and stuffed it into Qi Tianxiang's pocket, and sent him to a taxi before going back.

The taxi is on the side of the road, reluctant to go here, and the rain is drifting, and the driver is even more worried that he will not be able to get out after coming in, which will affect his business. Qi Tianxiang had no choice but to get out of the car in the rain and walked quickly to the door of Sister Qin's house, but found that there was no one at Sister Qin's house, so he had to stand sideways under the eaves and wait patiently for Sister Qin to come back.

According to the information provided by Xiao Zhang, Sister Qin is now working two jobs, one is to sew and repair clothes at the door of the Hezhou Department Store not far away, and the other is to clean a building, or have other part-time jobs, and the work and rest time is not very stable, but it is clear that she must be at home at noon, because Sister Qin has to prepare lunch for her son who is in college, so Qi Tianxiang is not in a hurry to go out, but he still came early.

Qi Tianxiang raised his wrist and glanced at his watch, the time was already more than eleven o'clock, and there was already movement in the kitchen of the nearby people, and I believe that Sister Qin was about to come back. Thinking like this, her eyes were not only fixed on the corner of the bungalow, as if Sister Qin would appear at any time.

Soon I saw Sister Qin's thin figure appear around the corner, holding a burden wrapped in a raincoat in her hand, hurriedly bowing her head and walking in the light rain, when she walked to the door of her house, she suddenly saw Qi Tianxiang who was smiling at her, and couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.

"Qi, Secretary Qi, is that you? How did you end up here? Sister Qin couldn't believe her eyes, she was stunned, and she stammered for a long time before she stammered: "Why don't you say hello in advance, it's raining, and your clothes are wet." ”

"Then open the door quickly, and let me go into the house to take shelter from the rain!" Qi Tianxiang smiled slightly and eased the atmosphere.

A sentence reminded Sister Qin, and she hurriedly took out the key to open the door of the shed, and said in a loud voice: "Please come in, please come in." ”

Entering the shed, a few steps away is the door of the bungalow, Qi Tianxiang stood behind Sister Qin with oil and milk crates, waiting for her to open the door while observing the furnishings in the shed. The small shed is low and dark, and the three sides and the roof are simply enclosed with linoleum, and there are several holes in the linoleum on the roof, and the rainwater drips down the hole, making the ground moist a lot. Under the slightly higher window, there are gas stoves, pots and pans and other utensils, and on the windowsill are placed oil, salt and spices, etc., and the kitchen is very simple, but it is very neatly organized, and the place of things is also reasonable, and it does not look messy.

"Secretary Qi, please come into the house." Sister Qin opened the door, put the burden in her hand on a small table, turned around and greeted Qi Tianxiang warmly to enter the door, hurriedly picked up a dry towel, wiped the rain on Qi Tianxiang's body, and was so excited that she didn't know what to say, and kept chattering: "Look at you, let's be grateful to come and see, what else to buy!" ”

"I said I wanted to come to see you a long time ago, but I was always too busy to pull away, and I didn't come until now, how can I show my sincerity in making amends if I don't buy something?" Qi Tianxiang pretended to say lightly, dodged his body, didn't let Sister Qin wipe him, casually put the things he was carrying by the door, looked at Sister Qin with a smile, and said kindly: "Let's talk about it last time, we are relatives, you are sister, how can there be a younger brother to come to see my sister empty-handed." ”

As he spoke, he looked at Sister Qin and asked puzzledly: "It's raining, you don't need to bring a raincoat, but you wrap these, what is this, so precious." ”

"It's the customer's clothes, and if they are handed over to me, they have to be kept by others, and I'd rather get a little rain than get the customer's clothes wet, which is not good." Sister Qin hurriedly brought a small wooden chair and handed it to Qi Tianxiang, turned around and busily picked up the glass teacup and was about to go outside to wash it, "You can sit down, please sit down, I will pour you tea." ”

"I'm not thirsty, don't be busy, just a little time at noon, and you have to cook for the children, don't waste time for me." Qi Tianxiang was deeply felt by Sister Qin's explanation, and would rather get drenched himself than let the customer's clothes get wet, which is not just thoughtful service, but the real existence and embodiment of simple psychology and innocent morality in ordinary workers. Qi Tianxiang thought like this, but his hand stretched out to stop Sister Qin, and said gently: "I'm sitting, what should you be busy with, let's just chat like this, isn't this very good!" ”

"What's good, doesn't that make me seem rude? Since you call me sister, you have to drink a glass of water, otherwise how can I feel at ease. Sister Qin was even more uneasy, and insisted on washing the cup and pouring tea, "Otherwise, you look down on your Sister Qin." ”

"Okay, okay, everything is up to my sister, and my sister will do whatever she says." Qi Tianxiang suddenly realized that his actions and words had stung Sister Qin, so he hurriedly smiled and got out of the way of Sister Qin, watching Sister Qin happily go to the kitchen to wash the cups, before slowly sitting down and looking at Sister Qin's home.

The room is not big, more than a dozen square meters in size, there is a double-layer bed in one corner, which is where Sister Qin and her son sleep, and the other corner is an old writing desk with an old-fashioned color TV on it, and in the middle of the room is a small square table, several small wooden chairs are placed around, and the corner of the wall is a refrigerator, and several things basically occupy most of the room, and the area that can be moved is not a big space at the door. The whole room is simple and simple, but it is also very neat and clean, and does not make people feel cramped and cluttered.

"The place is too small, I am too wronged Secretary Qi." After washing the cup, Sister Qin poured tea and brought it over, gently put it on the small square table, and said to Qi Tianxiang apologetically: "You drink some water first, I'll call my son and ask him to come back and bring some food, I haven't prepared at all, there is no food at home." ”

"Don't make a fuss, I'm just here to see my sister, if you do this, I'll leave now." Qi Tianxiang pretended to be unhappy and stood up, "What do you have to eat, what are you going to cook for your son at noon, just cook more." ”

"Our mother and mother are easy to deal with, just take a bite, you Secretary Qi came to see me, why are you embarrassed to treat me casually?" Sister Qin said in embarrassment, as if she didn't know what to do.

"I have eggs at home, and tomatoes, scramble them, and I'll finish some noodles." Qi Tianxiang said lightly, then glanced at Sister Qin with a smile and said, "If Sister has time, live some noodles, make hand-rolled noodles and eat, it would be great, I love to eat eggs and tomatoes hand-rolled noodles." ”

"How can this work, I'm so wronged by you." Sister Qin looked at Qi Tianxiang's smiling face, and said hesitantly: "Otherwise, I'll make do with it this time, and I'll give you a stir-fry next time, but my sister can't help it." ”

"That's it, sister, you're welcome." Qi Tianxiang insisted with a smile: "It's still what I said just now, my sister works, I'll sit and chat with my sister, isn't this very good!" ”

Sister Qin glanced at Qi Tianxiang, no longer insisted, put on her apron and began to wash her hands and faces, her movements were very skillful and quick, she seemed to be used to such things, and she had full confidence and ability. After waking up with a damp cloth, he began to wash cucumbers and tomatoes, and went in and out of the kitchen and room over and over again, but he was very calm and did not seem busy.

"It's time to renovate the kitchen, the linoleum is leaking, and if the rain is heavier, it will be inconvenient to get in and out." Qi Tianxiang said slowly: "And it's too low, if you come in at night, you will accidentally bump into each other." ”

"Our Liu Peng said several times that he wanted to repair it, and said that he wanted to ask his classmates to come and help, but I stopped him and didn't let him do it." Sister Qin said while busy with the work on her hands: "One is that there is no material trouble, and the other is that she always says that she wants to demolish this bungalow, but she has not seen any movement after a few years, thinking that if it is demolished, there will be no such trouble." ”

"Let's flip it up! Prepare some materials and directly change it into a brick house, so that the kitchen area can also be a little bigger. Qi Tianxiang thought about it and said: "This piece, I took a rough look at it when I came here just now, if it is transformed, it will have to be developed continuously, and it is not easy." ”

"That is, this problem, they all discussed, someone in the district has come to see it a few times, if you carry out shantytown renovation, you have to demolish the buildings on the side of the road, otherwise these rows of bungalows are not enough, not to mention, even the construction will not be able to be carried out." Sister Qin smiled slightly and said, "I don't understand these either, anyway, just wait." Demolition is good, but if the new house is much larger, it costs a lot of money to buy a house with decoration, how can I have so much money for this condition! It's good to live like this, although squeezed a little, there is no his father, after all, it's just our mother, how can it be dealt with, many families are a family of three, and they can't live. ”

"That being said, it's still not very convenient, getting in and out of bed, and the water pipes and bathrooms are outside, it's easy to do in summer, but it's too inconvenient in winter." Qi Tianxiang said worriedly: "If it can be improved, it will be better." ”

"Wait a few years! If you can wait until Liu Peng joins the job and his income is stable, it will be easier to do. Sister Qin sighed and said: "I really don't dare to think about this now, my children go to school, I am laid off, I think about the children who will get married and buy a house in the future, I can't sleep all night when I think of this." ”

"It's not easy to be a lesbian with a child." Sister Qin's words and sighs made Qi Tianxiang's heart sour, so he forcibly changed the topic and said, "Isn't it Saturday today?" Why is the child not at home? ”

"He found a job as a tutor, and he had to teach his children every Saturday and Sunday, and he had to run several houses in the morning and afternoon, and he was not in the same area, so he went out early." When Sister Qin talked about her son, a happy smile appeared on her face, and she said proudly: "Sometimes I can't bear to see the child so tired, I persuade him not to do it, or not to teach so many families, the child promises to be good, but he still doesn't want to reduce it at all." The child is sensible and wants to reduce my burden! ”

"What a sensible child, knowing gratitude and distress for his mother, there are not many such children now." Qi Tianxiang admired, looked at Sister Qin's happy expression, and said sincerely: "It will be good if the child works for a few years." ”

"Yes! Since I was in high school, I went to school, I had to go out early every day, and I came back very late, just to save the cost of school accommodation, and even more so after going to college, I always rode back from the river at noon, saying that I loved to eat the food I cooked, but in fact, I didn't want to spend money on eating in the school cafeteria. Sister Qin's eyes turned red as she spoke, and she swallowed and said: "I grew so big, and I didn't wear a few new clothes, I was a school uniform in middle school, and I joined a sports team in college, just to wear clothes that people don't spend money on, and it's really hard to follow my child." ”

"Sister, don't blame yourself like this, it's not a bad thing for children to suffer from some hardships, such children have good psychological quality, mature quickly, and can take on heavy responsibilities in the future." Qi Tianxiang looked at Sister Qin sadly, so he tried his best to persuade him, then looked at his watch, and said slowly: "It's more than twelve o'clock, the child should come back!" ”

"Come on, this is coming in the door." Sister Qin listened intently to the movement at the door, and said with a slow smile: "This is about to enter the door." ”