Chapter 5 (4)

Xiaoguanmiao is the collective name of a large area of mixed urban and rural areas near the railway station of the provincial capital. Just like the urban-rural junction of most other cities, this is also a well-known "dirty, disorderly, poor" area in the provincial capital, even if there is a "special rectification" by the relevant departments every year, but the situation has not improved much, often during the rectification period, great results have been achieved, and the public security situation and sanitary conditions have rapidly improved, but soon after the rectification activities are over, this place will quickly return to the dirty and messy of the past, public security cases emerge one after another, and vicious criminal cases also occur from time to time. The relevant departments have not been able to come up with a proper solution to this problem at all. Some time ago, two deputies to the Municipal People's Congress proposed that the Xiaoguanmiao area be replanned and constructed, and the basic supporting facilities and grassroots government organizations should be improved. But as soon as this very good-looking proposal was taken out, it was met with a lot of opposition, and it was not practical one by one! First of all, the municipal government has no money, and the urban renovation plan of "three horizontal, three vertical and two rivers" has made the finances anxious, and the government really can't come up with money to invest in the Xiaoguanmiao project; Secondly, in several residential communities within Xiaoguanmiao, there are a large number of "farmer-to-non" people who migrated during the expansion of the city a few years ago, and they have always been deeply dissatisfied with the original demolition compensation policy, and there are many people who do not understand and slander the government's demolition and relocation behavior, and a large number of cheap rental houses near Xiaoguanmiao are the basic means for them to make a living. Is there still a sign of the municipal government's "Excellent Unit for the Construction of Double Civilizations"? Third, the grassroots government organizations in the Xiaoguanmiao area are already well-structured, and the key is that who wants to clean up the mess there? Who would dare to pack a ticket to clean up the mess there? Fourth,......

Faced with so many specific problems, the two deputies to the municipal people's congress had no choice but to silence their proposals, and their proposals were also shelved. As a result, Xiaoguanmiao is still in chaos and liveliness, and continues to play its role as a "junction between urban and rural areas".

Of course, the proposal of the two deputies to the National People's Congress has brought some changes to Xiaoguanmiao, such as the resurfacing of the main streets, the installation of traffic lights at several intersections where traffic is heavy and accidents are common, and the police have increased the density of patrols here...... In short, these long-overdue things have brought benefits to the work and life of the residents near Xiaoguanmiao, and the most obvious change is that there are basically no people wandering around the streets in broad daylight.

It was in this different atmosphere that Gao Jinsong got off at the Xiaoguanmiao bus stop.

He was still immersed in his own suffering, and his spirit was also very tired, so he didn't notice the changes in his surroundings, but he was a little strange, why didn't he see people holding various hotel signs to solicit business from him after he got out of the car? He remembered that he had been here about the year before, and that the people around him had almost made it difficult for him to move......

He stood silently on the platform for a moment, calming his comatosy mood a little, and then walked into a dirty alley with a travel bag and a clay jar on his shoulder.

He quickly walked out of the alley and onto another street.

He stopped at the intersection of alleys and streets.

Unlike the street when he got out of the car just now, the street in front of him was much narrower and more chaotic. The streets are lined with dirty-faced shops, large and small, and tricycles are parked next to each other. Tricycles carry a variety of vegetables and fruits, as well as live fish and shrimp and live chickens and ducks tied with straw ropes. The roads were also potholed, and the black, wet ground never seemed to be dry. There was an indescribable smell in the air, and the smell of chickens and ducks was mixed with the sweetness of fruit and the aroma of braised pork......

Looks like he's in the wrong place—it's a farmer's market.

However, he still saw a hostel on the side of the road. There is another one diagonally across the street. He went to two dirty and chaotic inns that looked like the streets, and the prices were not cheap, five yuan for a night's sleep, and thirty yuan for a double room.

Without hesitation, he returned to the main road.

Walking a stop down the street, he found a decent-looking hotel. The bunk here is eight, and the double room is forty-five, although it is almost twice as expensive as the place just now, but it is clean and refreshing. He decided to get a bunk. He thought that he would not be able to find a job immediately, and that he had to save his money. Moreover, even if he finds a job, he will not be paid immediately, and he must keep himself up until the time of payroll......

When paying for the room, he casually asked the proprietress if he could take a shower here, and if he could store his luggage?

The proprietress pouted and said that the public bathroom in the hotel could take a bath, but they did not supply hot water, and if he wanted to take a bath, he could go to the bathhouse across the road; Small items can be stored at the hotel at no extra charge, but it is best for travelers to keep their valuables by themselves, as they will not be compensated if they are lost.

He grabbed two clean underwear from his travel bag and deposited them at the counter. As for the clay jar for the miso, he carried it to the general shop. No one, he thought, would steal it!

He soon took a cool shower in the men's bathroom. The cold water washed away the dust from his body, and drove away the fatigue caused by the long journey, and more importantly, the cold water calmed his manic mood - he still had to meet people at night, and he couldn't let the two elders see his downfall and embarrassment.

He took a shower, went back to his bunk in Oma, sat down for a while, smoked a cigarette, and when his hair was dry, he took the clay jar and left the hotel.

It took him an hour and a half to walk from Xiaoguan Temple to Xiaodongmen in order to save two yuan on the bus fare. On the way, he also bought a large net pocket of Hongmu apples. It cost more than 20 yuan to buy fruit. Alas, now he has less than sixty dollars left. He was anxious about the next few days. But this money cannot be spent. He can't just run to visit his enlightenment coach with a jar of sauce, right?

But this journey was not without his gains. When he walked across the East Gate Bridge, he saw a notice outside the gate of the Provincial Talent Exchange Center, which said that at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, the center will hold a talent recruitment activity, when more than 100 enterprises and institutions will come to the scene, and they can provide thousands of job opportunities......

His heart was immediately clung to by the notice. All he needs now is a job! He'll be sure to come over tomorrow morning! His requirements are not high, no matter how good it is to eat and live, just give some money, he doesn't have the conditions to pick fat and thin now, and he doesn't have that kind of thought, as long as he has something to do, even if he carries a big bag on his back!

In addition, he also noticed that the notice specifically reminded that this talent exchange is a temporary increase in activities and does not affect the normal activities of the center every Saturday and Sunday.

Seeing this made him feel even more relaxed, which indicated that even if he didn't find a job tomorrow morning, he could come back in a few days. He silently calculated it, and felt that the money on his body could still support him until the weekend......

Of course, he also understands that he may not be able to find things to do here, after all, the grade of the provincial talent exchange center is relatively high, if he wants to get a job, he has to pay attention to the information of other talent exchange meetings in the newspaper these days, as well as the recruitment news of the factory unit, these are the places he should go.

He walked into the old dormitory compound of the Provincial Sports Commission with a mind full of cranky thoughts.

It wasn't until he stood at the door of Director Shen's house that he reined in his thoughts, took two long breaths, and then knocked lightly on the door twice.

His familiar Huo Chuan accent immediately came from the door: "Come on, come on!" ”

Then he saw his wife wearing a floral apron, and she was still holding a ** bowl in her hand, and she started with one end and said to him: "Crazy girl, I don't know what I'm thinking every day, I always lose three and four!" What did you pull down this time? As he spoke, he opened his mouth and froze.

"Master!" Gao Jinsong shouted respectfully.

The old lady stared at him for a long time, and then hurriedly let him into the room, and shouted loudly: "Old man, old man, come and see, come and see!" Look who's coming! Tears flickered in her eyes, and even her voice choked a little.

"Who...... Who...... Who is it? His enlightenment coach Shen Yuan walked out of the room tremblingly with a crutch, and asked inarticulately.

"Master!" Gao Jinsong hurriedly put down the things in his hand and caught up with the old man in a few steps.

The old man's cloudy eyes widened suddenly, and he stared straight at him; The old man's hands and feet were shaking so badly that he could barely hold his crutches, and his lips trembled so much that he could only spit out a few syllables that he could not distinguish. Gao Jinsong hurriedly led the old man to the sofa and sat down.

My wife was also frightened by my wife's appearance. Her face was pale, and she hurriedly took the pills and poured boiling water.

The two of them worked together, and finally served to let Director Shen take the medicine first. During this process, the old man kept staring at Gao Jinsong with eyes full of sadness and sorrow. Gao Jinsong guessed that his experience might have reached Director Shen's ears; The old man had many things to say to himself.

The first thing his wife said to him after sitting down was, "How is your leg injury?" ”

"It's already great." Gao Jinsong said. He flexed his knees several times and spun his ankles nimbly.

"What did the doctor say?" The wife asked. She is a doctor herself, and has very strict criteria for judging "good" and "bad".

Gao Jinsong's expression darkened, and he said quietly for a while: "There is no functional disorder." However, if you want to play football again, you need more than half a year of recovery and training......"

"Prone to recurrence, isn't it?" My wife asked again. She has been working in the sports system for a long time, and understands that the biggest problem and trouble caused by sports-related injuries to athletes is recurrent attacks, and many athletes have to choose to retire because they can't bear the pain and mental torture caused by repeated injuries.

Gao Jinsong nodded with a wry smile. In front of his wife, he couldn't even hide this. Alas, he had intended to hide the whole thing from them.

The master looked at him sadly, sighed long, and said, "...... I was talking to the old man about you a few days ago. You've been here since last spring, and you haven't heard from you since. I still read you in the newspapers in the summer, and it's all good news, sometimes that you scored a goal, sometimes that you broke the record in the professional league, and every other day that you are going back to the provincial capital...... In those days, the old man was so happy about your business that he could even eat half a bowl of rice, and he could wake up happy when he took a nap in the sun. But it's the end, it's the end...... I only learned about you from the newspaper years ago. She choked up and lowered her head to wipe her tears from the back of her hand.

"In the newspapers? My business? Gao Jinsong asked in surprise and confusion.

"It's just some time ago......"

From the master's intermittent narration, Gao Jinsong knew how his affairs could be poked out by the newspaper.

In the middle of last month, a member of the Shanxi men's volleyball team died suddenly on the training ground, because the volleyball player was the main player of the national men's volleyball team for a long time before his death, and he enjoyed a good reputation in the domestic volleyball field and even in Asia, so his death became a hot news in major sports newspapers. Various sports publications also invariably focused their reports on the handling of his posthumous affairs. According to the disclosure, after the death of the unfortunate team member, the Shanxi Provincial Sports Commission only gave his family a pension of 50,000 yuan in accordance with relevant policies, which caused an uproar in the newspapers. Even if the Shanxi Provincial Sports Commission later raised the standard of pensions to 200,000, it still could not satisfy the media and readers, and what they were not satisfied with was the attitude of the Shanxi Provincial Sports Commission in handling this matter! Ignorance and bureaucracy have made the Shanxi Provincial Sports Commission lose face in front of readers across the country......

During that time, the newspapers were full of discussions about how athletes would live after their injuries, and Gao Jinsong's case was also turned up by reporters in extensive discussions.

In the memory of my wife, when Gao Jinsong was mentioned in the newspaper at that time, the title used was "a member of Wuhan Yafeng, the champion team of last year's FA Cup"; It was because of the high cost of treatment for his knee injury, which not only cost up his savings, but also affected his family, and finally he could not even afford the first stage of rehabilitation, so he had to choose to retire early. The reporter also learned from a well-known large hospital in China that in order to completely cure this injury, it will cost at least hundreds of thousands of such huge figures, and an ordinary football player will definitely not be able to afford it; The reporter concluded that Gao Jinsong had a debt of at least four or five hundred thousand yuan, or even more, for his injury......

"Did you really borrow that much money?" The old lady asked worriedly with red and swollen eyes. The master's eyes were also filled with tears, and he looked at the disciple sadly beside him.

"It's just a minor operation, where do you want so much money!" Gao Jinsong categorically denied the reporter's inference. "Nonsense in the newspapers!" However, he still admitted that in order to treat the disease, he borrowed some money from someone, and he borrowed 30,000 or 40,000 yuan before and after. He did not stay in Wuhan to continue his rehabilitation because there was no reliable person around him to take care of him, and the means of rehabilitation treatment were not complicated, and he only needed to follow the rehabilitation plan formulated by the doctor after returning home.

The master looked at him suspiciously, it seemed that she didn't quite believe the statement of "borrowing thirty or forty thousand". However, her wife was already grinning, and she guided Shen one by one, of course, believing what came out of her disciple's own mouth; Jin Song was raised by him since he was a child, and he never said half a lie in front of him!

The old coach also muttered a few words vaguely: "Money...... Money ......"

"Is the money still on?" His wife finished the story for him.

Gao Jinsong nodded vigorously and happily told them: "The borrowed money has almost been repaid!" It's just a thousand dollars. ”

Hearing him say so sure, the master finally showed a smile on her face. Only then did she remember that the child had been sitting for most of the day and had not eaten dinner. She immediately prepared to go out and buy some good wine and food, to celebrate the event.

Gao Jinsong immediately stopped her and said that he would come here as if he were at his own home, as long as he could eat and drink, and he didn't have to break the bank for him. Besides, he is not a picky eater, and he can't drink alcohol now, so he must avoid alcohol. He was a little embarrassed when he said that, because there were still half-burned cigarette rolls on the ashtray, which were forced by the master to smoke for him......

At dinner, his wife asked him what he planned for the future.

"Go to Shanghai. A friend of mine at Shanghai Dongsheng Club, he helped me arrange it, and I trained with the team at their club and slowly recovered......"