Suzhou in early spring. Although it is a paradise in the south of the Yangtze River, the early morning here still seems a little cool. The gray sky revealed a touch of fish belly white in the eastern sky, and a few morning stars hung in the vast sky, blinking and peeking at the vast beings in the nether realm.

The world is gradually revived.

Sunlight rises over the horizon, revealing the blue sky.

The monks in the temple outside the city rang the bronze bell in the bell tower, and the low and thick bell echoed over the city for a long time, telling the people of the city that it was dawn.

This rich and prosperous place, with heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below, the richness of Suzhou does not need to be questioned by anyone.

It's just that in the 40 years since the establishment of the new Qin Dynasty, reinforced concrete buildings have already swept the country, but there are still many houses in Suzhou that are still traditional. Green tiles and white walls, small bridges and flowing water. Especially in this urban area of Suzhou, the people along the river, one after another, one after another, although the height is different from the old and the new, the houses on both sides are the same color, from a distance to see a piece of blue-gray.

A small river flows in from the south, winds its way through the city and flows out from the east. The river was flooded with a layer of clarity, really clear, even clearer than it had been forty years ago. It's not the kind of river water that looks good from a distance, but when you get close, you can smell a strange smell directly.

In China, where the industrial age came, many such rivers have appeared in the north and south of the river.

Industrial pollution has really made all the people feel 'awesome'!

Factories have sprung up on the land, tall chimneys spewing thick black smoke all day long, and the former blue sky has said goodbye to people. The clean and clear rivers that have nurtured countless lives are also becoming muddy and dirty.

But Suzhou is an exception.

There are many factories in Suzhou. The most developed are the silk weaving and textile industries. There are also all kinds of light industrial factories and machine factories, after all, this place is next to the greater Shanghai. Adjacent to China's economic and trade center, it is not too convenient to develop foreign trade.

Twenty years ago, Suzhou was also full of sewage, and the city changed from a "small bridge and flowing water" to a "sewage cross-flow smoker". The whole city of Suzhou is spent every day smelling the pungent smell. It was not until 1902 that Suzhou, the prefect of the Zhang family, ushered in a reborn transformation in Suzhou.

That uncle is very domineering, what Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Lion Forest, Canglang Pavilion, Huanxiu Villa and other famous gardens in Suzhou, all of them were pressed or forced by him to become a garden-style park for outsiders to visit. No one dared to disagree, because this lord had already asked for the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lion Forest from the emperor when he was oppressing the locals of Suzhou or the meritorious heroes.

Two of Suzhou's most famous gardens were confiscated and then became royal gardens. When the princes and princesses went south to play. Either stop in the Humble Administrator's Garden, or stop in the Lion Forest, none of which are open to the public.

From this, it can be seen how much shock and pressure this uncle of the Wudi Zhang family caused to Suzhou at that time.

If only the garden was open, Suzhou would not have become the Suzhou it is now. Governor Zhang then moved a large number of factories to Changshu and Jiangyin, and also closed a large number of small workshops, which eliminated the source of water pollution in Suzhou Fucheng from the root. Although it was a notorious event in Suzhou at that time, the total industrial and agricultural economy of Suzhou Prefecture plummeted in the statistical form of the entire Jiangsu Province that year. Fell out of the top 10 for the first time. Ranked 19th, Qiang Qiang retained the top 20 places.

But as the pollution in Suzhou subsided, it was time for the prefect to leave Suzhou. Suzhou's tourism industry has dominated the Yangtze River. Even before the water quality of Hangzhou's West Lake did not improve, Suzhou directly surpassed Hangzhou in terms of reputation as a paradise land.

As the sky grew brighter and the bell rang outside, the whole city woke up. Groups of neatly dressed women appeared on the bluestone-paved stairs by the river, carrying various household belongings. They saw their familiar neighbors greeting each other warmly, and laughter filled the sky over the city.

At the same time as the warm greeting, the greens, clothes, etc. in the pots, baskets, dustpans, etc. was also soaked in the clear river water by these women. Suzhou people have long been accustomed to washing clothes or washing vegetables by the water, if decades earlier. Whether it was the pre-Qing era or the twenty years after the establishment of the dynasty, the behavior of Suzhou people was not so civilized. They poured not only clothes and vegetables into the river, but also toilets and nightshades from countless homes.

It was also the rule set by the same governor that garbage and sewage were not allowed to be dumped into the river, including nightshade incense and clean toilets. At the same time, sewers were built in the ancient city of Suzhou, and tap water was laid on a large scale throughout the city, and by now, tap water has been popularized in Suzhou City. However, the ancient habit of thousands of years, the women of Suzhou, or the women of the whole Jiangnan, still like to wash clothes and vegetables by the river.

When the women left the river and returned to their homes, the men appeared by the river, some carrying a small teapot brake was leisurely swinging, strolling on the bluestone slab, some stretched out a lazy waist and felt out the big cigarette pouch or picked up the cigarette and sat on the stone bench in front of the door, chirped and took two puffs, squinting and nodding to the past acquaintances. Others gathered together to exchange all sorts of news from their hearsay—basically gossip and gossip.

The pace of life in Suzhou, the city of Suzhou, where tourism is booming, is gradually slowing down, at least many residents in the city have 'returned' to the 'ancient life' of living and working in peace and contentment, and they may not earn a lot of money every month, but it is definitely enough to live a very nourishing life. After all, Suzhou, where the tourism industry is developed, is the service industry, and the service industry represented by retail, transportation, catering, accommodation and other industries requires a large number of manpower. Of course, it is impossible for China to have the same tourist boom as it did in the 20s of the 20th century, but the city of Suzhou is so famous in Chinese history that these famous cities with a 'historical atmosphere' only need a little publicity to attract waves of surging crowds.

Therefore, in the era when the tourism industry is only the initial development in the country, Suzhou Fucheng, which has been transformed into a city with tourism as the economic pillar, is very few. There are very few in the whole of China. Its success is also highly reproducible.

Pale cyan smoke slipped out of the kitchens and merged into a faint blue-gray mist over the city. The humid air was filled with the smell of breakfast. In the alley, the sound of women shouting at their husbands and calling them for breakfast was heard, and the old and young men finished their pre-dinner activities after the people in the house had called out three times. One by one, they slowly returned to their respective homes.

This is an old house that has been around for some years, and from the outside, the small house is still an old-fashioned Jiangnan dwelling, with wooden beams bearing loads, paying attention to internal lighting, brick, stone, and earth retaining walls, with the hall house as the center, and decorating the roof and cornice with fine carvings. The layout is compact and the courtyard occupies a small area. This is the densely populated house of old Suzhou. Absolutely authentic.

Like the surrounding houses, the green tiles used to block the wind and rain have long been black, and the Spring Festival couplets pasted by the Spring Festival are still left on both sides of the door, but the original red Spring Festival couplets have faded greatly, and the upper half is still red, but it has become yellow and white below. There is still some new bamboo weaving hanging at the door, and the faint fragrance wafts out from the bamboo weaving and spreads around, which is the quinoa that Jiangnan people like to eat the most in this season.

The morning sun shines through the half-open door. Illuminates half of the room, and light envelops the room. The family of four was sitting around a square table eating. Rice porridge, pickles, stir-fried artemisia, fried fritters, plus a few siu mai and two salted duck eggs with four petals sliced.

If it was done in the pre-Qing Dynasty, such a breakfast would be an absolute luxury for the common people. Because in addition to rice porridge, pickles and fried artemisia, fried fritters and siu mai have to be bought outside, and it will be more cost-effective to sprinkle a handful of rice in the rice pot with this money. Not to mention that there are two salted duck eggs with egg yolks and orange red flowing oil on the dinner table. But in today's Suzhou, this can only be said to be so-so.

"Mother. The teacher said that we are going to have a spring outing next week, so you can give me some money when you arrive. Guo Feng buried his head in a big gulp of gruel. Muttered vaguely. As soon as he looked up, his eyes stared at his father, who was sitting on the side drinking porridge and looking at the morning newspaper, and said, "Dad, give me that thermos cup, and I can bring some water." He had already set his sights on his father's beautiful thermos cup. Not only can it keep warm and look better, but the outside layer of porcelain is high-end at a glance. That was the prize that my father was named an advanced worker a few years ago.

"No." Guo Xiong, who was drinking porridge and reading the newspaper at the same time, said without raising his head. "Where is the child's family learning to compare?" What is on the mind of the youngest son, can you be a father and not know? Guo Xiong refused bluntly, "You want to look forward to that water cup." The cup belongs to your sister. ”

In the eyes of Guo Xiong, a father, although his daughter can't pass on the family, she is really much more worry-free than this son. He was admitted to Aurora University before he was 17 years old, and now he is a reporter at Ta Kung Pao.

"This kid, why do you want such a good water glass?" The mother also raised her son, and the water cup could only be bought for one or two hundred yuan in the shopping mall, so she was reluctant to use it for her careless and sick son. I gave it to him, and after less than a week, the beautiful layer of porcelain outside would be crumbling.

"The spring outing is here, and my mother will give you money again." The last sentence directly rejected Guo Feng's request.

Guo Yan beside Guo Feng pursed her lips and couldn't help laughing, because she was called 'Zhaodi' when she was a child, she liked to see Guo Feng eat deflated. Even though she is six years older than Guo Feng, she is already 22 years old this year. 'Habits' still can't be changed.

Of course, Guo Yan didn't come from Shanghai to see Guo Feng deflated this time. It was the last time she came home before she left, and it was only three days. After that, she will return to Shanghai, then take the express train to Xi'an, and then from Xi'an to Urumqi, then Central Asia, Yanguo, and then see which side Guo Yan will assign to if the Russian and Ottoman press teams are short of manpower.

Yes, Guo Yan is about to be a war correspondent, and her pass has already been completed. You only need to go to Yan Country and make up a photo.

The war seems to be far away from China, but in fact it has been deeply linked to thousands of households in China. Throughout China, countless factories are working day and night to produce products in shifts, batch after batch of truckloads shipped to the far west.

Countless workers swept the market and all kinds of products with more wages than in the past, stimulating the growth of domestic consumption. As a result, thousands of factories have been driven and the fate of millions of people has been changed.

Guo Feng came out of the house sullenly, his wish was not fulfilled, and for this Guo family lone seedling who has been held in the palm of his hand since childhood, he is naturally unhappy. It is said that since his grandmother died of illness, and then the eldest sister was admitted to a prestigious university, the name of Aurora University made the Guo family beautiful in the whole street, Guo Feng clearly felt that his eldest sister's status in the family was rising in a straight line. Before everything was behind him, now he definitely looks at himself, and after Guo Yan became the official reporter of "Ta Kung Pao", Guo Feng felt that he had become the lowest status one at home.

Of course, this careful thinking can no longer be humane, Guo Feng is also very proud of his eldest sister's graduation from a prestigious university and the profession of a reporter of "Ta Kung Pao". In China, where public opinion in the newspaper industry is developed, reporters have slowly become a bit of an uncrowned king.

Now that his eldest sister has been selected by "Ta Kung Pao" as a war correspondent, Guo Feng's face is even more glorious. Even he imagined him holding the battlefield photos sent to him by his eldest sister and 'stooping' in school.

However, ......, war correspondents are also dangerous.

Also in Suzhou.

"Mother Chen, where is my father?" Guo Feng's classmate + Lin Weiming at the front table took a napkin from the dining table, quickly wiped the corners of his mouth, threw it into the garbage basket, and asked casually without raising his head.

"Young master, Manager Liu in the shopping mall came to the door as soon as dawn broke, saying that there was something wrong with a batch of goods, and the master went to the mall without eating after listening to Manager Liu's words." Chen's mother, who was standing behind Lin Weiming, put a cup of hot cocoa on the sandalwood dining table, took a step back and said. Lin Weiming likes to drink this thing.

It's almost half past seven, and Lin Weiming's wife hasn't gotten up yet. Lin Weiming frowned slightly with some dissatisfaction, stood up with his hands on the dining table, and complained softly: "Leaving so early? I still have something to tell him! It's just a batch of goods, there are so many people in charge, let the people below toss it, where are there so many things? Do you need to run away without eating? ”

"Mother Chen, where's my schoolbag?"

"Yes. I'll let Lao Wang carry it for you. The Lin family is wealthy, and there are four cars in the family, one of which is dedicated to transporting Lin Weiming to and from school.

"No, I'll just take it myself. You ask someone to go and tell Uncle Wang, you don't have to pick me up at noon. At noon, my classmates and I went out to eat. Lin Weiming took his schoolbag and ran outside. (To be continued.) )