A long time ago, our island city was a poor and backward island town. Later, the government decided to make the island a special economic zone that shocked the world, overtaking Hong Kong and Shenzhen. As a result, for a time, the economic bubble of the island city flew sideways, and politicians, businessmen, peddlers, and pawns from all over the world gathered in Sri Lanka, and the fish and dragons were mixed.

It was a time of disorder, and the island city was inhabited by a large number of brokers of all kinds, especially land brokers. They are risk-takers and speculators in the economic development of the island city. There is some kind of ulterior fire burning in their hearts, or walking in black and white, or walking on the nameless road full of gutters. They often jump into the wealth list of our island city at the fastest speed, and become the rich idols of the people of our island city. Later, the bubble burst, and some of them often disappeared in incredible ways, or completely destroyed in our island city, when people often flew like doves in the brilliant sky of our island city, and then, with a "poof", smashed to the ground, black blood bloomed like flower petals...... It was a time of great stories, bizarre, wonderful or tragic.

My brother Zou Jian was one of the luckier land brokers.

How many years later, when Zou Jian drove me through Haifu Avenue in Daben, he asked me, "Do you want to turn in and have a look?" "I know he's referring to No. 275 Donghu Lane, West Avenue West.

I nodded. Zou Jian put the steering wheel on the slam, and the car drove silently into the narrow residential alley.

As a "famous poet" in the island city, Zou Jian, who is a "famous entrepreneur" in the island city, walked into the house that they had rented together, and they felt very cordial and sad.

The wind and rain are blowing, and the house is already very dilapidated.

The yard was full of dead leaves, and the big banyan tree in front of the door was like a rickety old man, and its gray aerial roots had grown into thick trunks; Cracks cracked in the walls of the house, and small leaf ficus trees grew; The wooden windows and doors were almost completely corroded, leaving behind a few blackened frames. The wind whined by the window, wailing like a herd of abandoned lonely, hungry kittens. They said: The landlord Lao Chen died a few years ago, and the property was left to one of Lao Chen's nephews who worked in Yacheng, and the nephew could not return to the island city once a year, so the house was basically unmanaged and repaired.

"Remember?" Zou Jian pointed to a window on the second floor, "That is the boudoir of a beautiful teacher." Then he pointed to the window of another room with a large hole in the wall, "That one is where we live." ”

I nodded. I felt something clogged in my throat, I wanted to cough, but I couldn't; There is also some itching in the eyes, and when I rub it, it is a little wet. "Here are the memories of our eternal youth." I said to myself.

In that year, the island city was greatly developed. After graduating from university, I was hired as an intern reporter at the Island City Evening News.

There was no housing in the unit, so I had to rent a house outside. In front of the crowded information wall by the East Lake, I met Zou Jian from the mountainous area of Hunan. "Are you looking for a room?" He asked me. I looked at him and nodded.

Zou Jian is in his twenties, with a thin figure, a dark Chinese face, and unkempt hair. He wears a khaki jacket, blue trousers, and black leather shoes. He had a pen in his breast pocket and a canvas travel bag in his hand. This outfit was the standard for rural intellectual youth in that era.

"Just got on the island?" I asked him.

"I've been on the island for a few days, I've been living in a hotel, I can't afford it, and I want to find a house." He told me with all sincerity.

"Is there a suitable one?" I asked.

He shook his head. Then, handing me a small note, he said with a smile on his face, "Just bought a message...... You see, the rent is not high, I don't know how the house is? ”

I took the crumpled little note, which was written crookedly: No. 275 Donghu Lane, there is a single room for sale, and the monthly rent is 180 yuan. As soon as I read the handwriting, I knew that it was the work of the "blind streams" who spent their days selling gossip information on the side of the information wall - the information they provided was generally inaccurate, but the information they demanded was quite expensive.

I said I don't know if this information is true or not, this house is in the city center, and the transportation is quite convenient.

"Why don't we go and have a look? If it's true, share a house? Zou Jian said.

"All right," I said, "then go and see." ”

I glanced at the travel bag that Zou Jian was carrying—it was old, and there was a line of large red letters on it: The sea sails by the helmsman. Below the red letter is a picture of a giant ship riding the wind and waves.

When I looked at Zou Jian's travel bag, he looked a little panicked, and there was a hint of vigilance in his eyes. "Just a few changes of clothes, hehe, a few clothes." He told me with a slanted eye on his travel bag.

At that moment I wanted to laugh and I said, "Don't worry, I'm not a bad person." ”

We crossed a street, crossed an alley, and walked towards the East Lake.

On the way, Zou Jian asked me what I do. I said journalists. He looked surprised, smacked his lips, and said, "My dream since I was a child was to be a journalist." ”

I smiled proudly and asked him what he graduated from college.

He was embarrassed for a moment and said: "I didn't go to college, my family was poor, I went home to work as a farmer before I finished high school, and now I am a family planning officer in the township." ”

I asked, "You're looking for a job in Island City?" ”

He shook his head, a shy smile on his face, and stammered a little, "I am...... Come and find ...... Fiancée's. ”

"Your fiancée is in Island City?" I asked curiously.

"Hmm." He nodded.

We followed the address on the small note and soon found 275 Donghu Lane.

It is an obviously remodeled two-storey house with a garden, the first floor is made of volcanic stone, and the second floor is a brick and concrete structure. The garden is not large, there is a large banyan tree in the middle, the trunk of the tree is scattered with countless tiny aerial roots connected to the ground, and the canopy branches and leaves are extended, like a large umbrella covering half of the garden.

"The environment is good!" I said to Zou Jian.

Zou Jian disagreed, and said: "Generally, there are many environments like this in our hometown. ”

"I forgot to tell you, it's okay to share a house, but I stay up late at night, I'm afraid it will affect you." I say.

Zou Jian said: "It's okay, I also snore at night, I'm afraid it will affect you." ”

At this time, the landlord paced and walked through the gate. "You're renting a house, aren't you?" He asked us. His island Mandarin is basically just a guess for us. We nodded yes.

The landlord was in his forties and he asked us to call him Lao Chen. Through the knife-like wrinkles on Lao Chen's face, you can still feel that he once had an angular face, and it is natural to imagine that he should have been a handsome and good man on the island when he was young. Lao Chen told us that a few years ago, the island city was developed on a large scale, and farmland was expropriated. I have no land to plant, so I live by renting out this old house.

I asked, "What about your wife and children?" ”

He smiled and said, "I'm still young!" ”

I understood that he was an old single, so I jokingly said, "Aren't you lonely to live alone in such a big house?" ”

He understood what I meant, rubbed his big, black hands, and said, "No, no, we have a lot of beautiful girls here." His voice was quite hearty, and although his eyes were a little cloudy, the strange smile that appeared at the corner of his mouth was still vivid.

There was no conjectural bargaining, and I shared that room with Zou Jian.

The room is not very large, with two wooden beds and a small desk taking up most of the room. There is an iron ceiling fan hanging on the floor with the paint peeling, and it looks second-hand. I twisted the switch on the wall, and it took a minute for the motor to squeak like an old cow pulling a broken cart down the mountain road.

Zou Jian and I simply cleaned up the room, and then went outside to buy some daily necessities, which was a smooth move-in.