A miserable white lightning lit up the night sky, the pouring rain fell as soon as it was said, the bean-sized raindrops smashed on the sea, watching the old friends who spent ten years of labor reform together on the salt lake farm gradually sinking into the sea, Xiao Lang did not shed tears, not even sad, he turned his body and paddled the water strongly, Liu Youjin threw over the earthen lifebuoy before he died increased his buoyancy, the waves were turbulent, the patrol aircraft sailboat of the border guards returned, and a lone lamp in the distance was land, Hong Kong, and freedom!

Two hours later, an exhausted Siu Lang finally landed on the territory of the British colony, Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong Kong.

He was the only one of the twenty-five stowaways who went to sea with him, and the rest either drowned in the storm or were killed by border guards.

Soaking wet, cold and hungry, and penniless, Xiao Lang sat on the muddy floor panting, took off the life-saving equipment on his body, leaving only a ping-pong ball stuffed in his arms, and staggered inland.

……

Three months later, at a construction site in Kowloon, Hong Kong, Xiao Lang was moving bricks in canvas overalls, and the temperature in Hong Kong in winter was much higher than that in the mainland.

But working as a low-level construction worker is the best job he can find, 120 Hong Kong dollars a month, can eat well, and live in a shed, if you save some flowers, you can also go to the nearby street to find a lady to relax, the streets and alleys, the lights are bright, the sound is endless, people think of Shanghai before the liberation.

Most of the brick-moving coolies are mainlanders who have fled Hong Kong, do not know Cantonese, are unfamiliar with the place, easy to manage, and have low labor costs.

Xiao Lang is old, and he doesn't work as well as young people, but he mixes well, because he can help people write letters, and when the workers go out to play, he lies down on the shop and reads the English newspapers he picks up.

The construction site is a three-storey shop building, the supervisor is a local, and the engineer is a ghost, wearing a hard hat every day to point around, and he doesn't look at these workers.

One day, a white Rolls-Royce car drove near the construction site, and down a few Hong Kong people in suits and leather shoes, with top hats and bright leather shoes, commanding and arrogant, ghost engineers used to talk to them, the conversation was in English, Xiao Lang's English has been lost for many years, but recently some evil has been made up, and he can basically understand the dialogue.

It turned out that the Hong Kong people wanted to add a layer temporarily, but the ghost guy resolutely disagreed, saying that the drawings could not be built without design, and the two had a dispute, and when the Hong Kong people seemed to be convinced, a dirty brick movers appeared in front of them and stammered in Cantonese: "Sir, the foundation is allowed to add an extra layer, and if it is designed properly, there can be an additional rooftop." ”

All eyes were on Xiao Lang, and a young man said, "Are you on the side?" Do you? ”

Xiao Lang said: "Actually, I am an engineer. ”

The corners of the young man's mouth curled, and he pointed at the bridge of Xiao Lang's nose with his hand: "Okay." ”

A voice came from the car: "Ah Xiang, what's the matter?" ”

The young man immediately ran over to report.

The car door opened, a gray-haired old man got out of the car, a suit and bow tie, a snow-white shirt, and his eyes were sharp, walked to Xiao Lang to look at him, and asked in standard Chinese: "Sir, your surname?" Have you ever done a construction business? ”

"Your surname is Xiao, Tsinghua Civil Engineering Department, class of 1930." Xiao Lang said.

"Very good, with your professionalism, you think you can add a layer?" The old man continued.

"Yes, it's completely okay to add a layer, and the weighing redundancy of the foundation is enough to ......," Xiao Lang gushed out, and the old man who listened nodded frequently.

"Then it's decided, add a layer." The old man clapped.

The ghost engineer was anxious and said, "No, how can this be, you actually listened to the nonsense of a brick movers, what kind of project did he do?" He's a coolie! ”

Suddenly, Xiao Lang said in English: "Sir, my graduation project is the first dual-purpose railway and highway bridge on the Huaijiang River in Jiangdong Province, and later I undertook the construction of the Beitai Railway Station designed by Liang Sicheng and his wife, as well as the Beitai Municipal Government and other projects. ”

The ghost engineer screamed angrily.

The old man raised his cane and pointed at the ghost: "You have been fired." ”

He said to Xiao Lang again: "From now on, you are the general person in charge of this construction site, with a monthly salary of 3,000 Hong Kong dollars, do you have any opinions?" ”

Xiao Lang said lightly: "I want five thousand." ”

"OK, five thousand is five thousand, first advance your salary for a month, get a haircut, take a shower, and change into clean clothes." At the signal of the old man, the young attendant took out a large stack of Hong Kong dollars, ordered 5,000 yuan, and handed it to Xiao Lang.

"Thank you." Xiao Lang took the money, "What do you call Mr." ”

"This is Sir Wei Zhongying." Young followers.

Xiao Lang bowed slightly, watched Jazz get in the car and leave, and when he turned back, everyone on the entire construction site looked at him dumbfounded.

Xiao Lang vigorously threw out the five thousand banknotes in his hand: "Brothers, I'm in for a treat!" ”

The colorful Hong Kong dollars were flying all over the sky, the workers cheered, and Xiao Lang said silently in his heart: "Lao Liu, Lao Gong, I have found a job." ”

In this way, Xiao Lang worked as an engineer in Sir Wei Zhongying's real estate company, and after working on the construction site for half a year, he transferred to an office building to do design, saving the wind and rain, and his monthly salary rose from 5,000 to 8,000, and the company also equipped him with a Rover car.

Sir Wei Zhongying is a native of Shanghai, a graduate of Tsinghua University in 1928, moved to Hong Kong in the forties, and now has a family fortune of millions, was elected as a Justice of the Peace, he took good care of his younger brother Xiao Lang, helped him buy a 300-square-foot house, and also introduced his widowed sister Meiying to him, Meiying was a graduate of St. John's, her husband died in the Anti-Japanese War, she was knowledgeable and reasonable, and her character was comparable, and the two got married not long after.

Xiao Lang lived a rich life again, he wore a straight suit all day long, there were cars in and out, he was extremely responsible for his work, the company said that he had never seen such a hard-working person, Xiao Lang just smiled faintly after hearing such words, and said You don't understand.

At every meal at home, Xiao Lang would put two pairs of dishes and chopsticks on the table and beckoned Lao Liu and Lao Gong to eat, as a way to express his sorrows.

His wife understood his actions very well and never interfered.

Refugees from the mainland continue to flee, and Xiao Lang often inquires about Gong Zijun's whereabouts, but there has been no news, and he heard that the smuggling group that night in Sha Tau Kok encountered heavy rain and got lost, was shot dead by border guards, and his body was hung on the border barbed wire for a long time.

……

In May 1962, rumors spread in Guangzhou that the British Queen's birthday amnesty would be granted to the world, and smugglers could obtain Hong Kong status.

The incident attracted high-level attention from the British authorities in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong police and the British Army of Chinese nationality (HKMSC) were ordered to intercept refugees at the border and immediately repatriate those who did not have Hong Kong identity cards to the mainland.

For a time, military and police officers in khaki uniforms held rattan plates and batons, set up posts everywhere to check people, and without identity cards, they were immediately arrested and checked in trucks, and they were immediately escorted to the port for repatriation after confirming that they were smugglers.

But it was too late, as a large number of refugees had already managed to cross the border and hide in various parts of the New Territories.

Outside the window, the drizzle was drizzling, Xiao Lang was sitting at the dining table in his pajamas and drinking coffee, and the radio was broadcast in English by the radio, saying that tens of thousands of mainland refugees had gathered in the Huashan shack area of the New Territories, and the police were about to take action.

Xiao Lang immediately went upstairs to change his clothes, opened the safe and took out tens of thousands of yuan in cash and put it in his bag, and when he went downstairs to get the car keys, his wife gave the umbrella: "Are you going to Huashan?" ”

"Well, I'll see if I can help." Xiao Lang said.

"I'll be with you." His wife also quickly changed her clothes and followed him on her drive to the New Territories.

The wipers kept sliding, and the vision in the rain was sometimes clear and sometimes blurry, Xiao Lang was silent, holding the steering wheel tightly, and he honked his horn when he encountered a traffic jam.

"Calm." The lady patted his hand gently.

Finally drove to the New Territories, on the outskirts of Huashan, the military and police were dense, the road was full of police trucks, under the tarpaulin were serious faces, several policemen in black raincoats stopped Xiao Lang's car and asked to show their documents.

Xiao Lang already has a legal Hong Kong identity, and he is well-dressed and full of foreign language, so the police naturally will not embarrass him, patted the roof of the car and let him go, and the car moved forward and stopped at the bottom of the mountain.

This is a small hill, the mountains are full of simple shacks, refugees after fleeing Hong Kong are living in such haphazard sheds, no running water, no electric lights, no toilets, the space is cramped, barely sheltered, as far as the eye can see, a pair of frightened eyes, a withered face, all indicate their identity as smugglers.

Xiao Lang and his wife braved the rain to go up the mountain, but they were surprised to find that there were already many local volunteers in Hong Kong, and they told Xiao Lang and his wife that the most lacking thing on the mountain was drinking water and food.

"I have some money here, so I'll use it to buy food." Xiao Lang took out thousands of banknotes and handed them to a man with messy hair and looking like a college student in jeans.

"I thank you on behalf of the refugees." The college student took the money and turned around to leave, but Xiao Lang stopped him again and handed him the car keys, "My car is at the bottom of the mountain, Black Rover." ”

"You're not afraid that I won't come back?" The college student asked with a smile.

Xiao Lang said: "I believe you won't. ”

The college student smiled with a mouthful of white teeth and stretched out his hand: "My name is sqeenze, a student at the University of Hong Kong. ”

Xiao Lang shook hands with him: "Xiao Lang, fortunately." ”

Sqeenze went down the mountain with a few male and female students to buy food, and Xiao Lang said loudly: "I need to recruit some construction workers, who wants to go?" ”

Immediately raise an arm, like a forest.

A long-lost voice came from a low shack: "Sir, do you want a tent?" I'll settle the score. ”

Xiao Lang's tiger body was shocked, he almost couldn't believe his ears, and slowly walked over, and an old man with a withered description came out of the shack, wearing a stained old man's shirt and big pants, it was Gong Zijun.

"Old Gong!"

"Old Xiao!"

The two hugged each other tightly, and the tears that had not been shed for a long time were swayed wantonly.