September 367 of the new calendar, Sakura-no-shima, the entrance of the snow-no-plum izakaya.

When Chen Ling first saw this old man, it was at three o'clock in the morning. He was crouching in the middle of the road, painting the bike path with a paint bucket.

As a college student who was financially controlled by his parents, his monthly living expenses were just enough to live, and if he wanted to live a better life, 20-year-old Chen Ling could only rely on himself, so he chose to work at Snow Plum Izakaya.

It's three o'clock in the morning, just when he gets off work.

Uncle, aren't you afraid of being hit by a car and dying? There was not even a sign, and the cart that entered the city to transport goods in the early morning did not have such good patience to see an old man who drew lines with his head down.

The uncle, or the old man, was very thin, with a bronzed complexion, a wrinkled face, and he couldn't tell his age, probably fifty or sixty.

In Sakuranoshima, there is a group of people who have been working as various temporary workers since they were young, from early spring to late winter, from dawn to late night, never stopping. They also never dare to stop, because there is no work for a day, and there is no food for a day.

They take the meager wages and do the hardest work.

They don't have a house, they don't have a family, they don't have a life, they get up early every day and work hard, barely make ends meet with a little salary, and then go to sleep, and when they wake up, it's another day's work, like a worker ant that never stops.

In old age, when all the physical work is not suitable for them, they can only find a job as a toilet washer, wash the toilet, watch the door, etc., barely survive, and then die on an unknown day or night, and the body is only found a few months later.

There is no future, no hope, no dreams in their world, they don't even have a name left in their lives, they are a group of people who live at the bottom.

Chen Ling looked at this old man who could only haunt late at night, and couldn't help but think in his heart that maybe he had never seen the glory of this city in his life, and he was very sad.

But I have to admit that a city has to have such people. They are the cornerstone, the foundation buried in the loess, bearing the burden of dozens of tall buildings, but facing only decay and darkness.

For such a group of people, he does not appreciate or despise them, and does not have much affection. But this does not prevent him from inviting him to drink a bottle of water and chat in the middle of the night when no one is around.

Maybe that's the only bit of respect I can give.

"Hey, uncle, come over and drink saliva, come and rest." Chen Ling greeted the old man.

The old man seemed stunned for a moment, and slowly turned his head. "Can you see me?"

"Haha, look at what you said, such a big street lamp, you draw a line underneath, who can't see it."

The old man hesitated, smiled and said, "In these years, there are fewer and fewer people with long eyes, and many people can't see them." Two days ago, there was also a large cargo that almost hit me. ”

Chen Ling smiled, didn't speak, the group of big goods bumped into it, and ran away as soon as they slipped away, the license plates were all decks, patronizing to make money, how could they care about people's lives.

Seeing that he didn't speak, the old man just stood up, patted the soil on his body, put the paint bucket aside, and walked to Chen Ling's side. He smiled and handed the water over, and the old man took it and wanted to twist it, but he didn't unscrew it for a long time.

"I'm sorry, young man, I've been working for a long time and I'm tired of my hands, can you help me?"

Chen Ling smiled and took the water, unscrewed it at once, and sent it to the old man's hand.

The old man's eyes lit up, but he didn't say anything.

A cool breeze blows through the lonely evening, and the summer heat is dissipated at this time.

"Young man, there aren't many people like you now. Where are you from? The old man asked.

"Oh~ inside, I just came out of the part-time job inside, I'm tired, do this break, and chat with you." Chen Ling shook his head and gestured.

"Oh, it's so late... Go home early when you're done, it's easy to walk at night when it's dark, don't go the wrong way..."

Chen Ling smiled but said nothing, he had been working in this izakaya for a summer vacation, and he was very familiar with this neighborhood. The old man may have never seen the scenery in it in his life, the delicate skin, the flying posture, the glamorous makeup, and the naked desire between people, there is no doubt that it is a living and good spring. Although I can only see but not touch, the feeling of being in it is really great.

The old man looked at Chen Ling's expression, knew that he didn't take his words to heart, sighed, didn't say anything, and began to draw lines again.

"I said, uncle, why are you painting this if you have nothing to do? There are still a few people using this bike path. Chen Ling said disdainfully.

Yes, the bike lane was changed to narrow for a long time. It used to be nearly two meters wide, but now it's half a meter at most. Bicycles, like the most unpopular little employees in large companies, are sidelined to the point of no status. The former two-lane lane has been forcibly expanded into three lanes. In fact, to be honest, Chen Ling is quite satisfied with this change, at least when he takes the bus to work every day, it is much easier to walk.

People are like this, it's not about themselves, they like to hang high, this is human nature.

The old man replied with a smile, "I will follow the work delivered above, I can earn some money, and I can manage so much!" ”

Chen Ling shook his head, it is estimated that which policy will be changed, and there is no accurate word if the order is changed.

"It's okay to change it, it's okay to change it, at least leave a way for those who don't have the money to buy a car! Go your own way, don't mess with the charter, otherwise something will happen. The old man continued.

Chen Ling was noncommittal to what the old man said.

The old man may have been painting for a long time, and he is close to the finishing position, it is hot in the summer, and there is wind in the evening, and the white paint he just painted dries quickly. After a while, the old man finished his work and straightened up.

Chen Ling was not interested in accompanying the old man here, so after a break, he stood on the side of the road and began to stretch out his hand to stop the car, preparing to go back to school. Although you can take the bus every time you come, but it is too late to get off work, and you can only take a taxi back, fortunately, the boss is good and reimburses the travel expenses.

"Didi..."Suddenly a car came over, Chen Ling was quite happy, after all, it was not easy to catch a car on this big night. But when he looked up, he noticed that something was wrong, it was a bus!!

It's past three o'clock in the morning, and there is no doubt that all the buses should be out of service and have not yet departed. Hell yes, what's going on.

"Wrong line! Got on the wrong line! You're running down the bike path! The old man in front of him turned around and waved at the bus, shouting. I've just drawn a line! You're optimistic about opening it again! ”

The old man was still shouting there, but the bus drove forward regardless of it, pressing the newly drawn line, all the way towards Chen Ling, and in a blink of an eye, it drove in front of Chen Ling. Seeing this, the old man ran desperately towards him, and Chen Ling also knew that the situation was not right, so he quickly shrank back. When the bus drove in front of him, the old man's hand was already on his shoulder and began to pull him back, but Chen Ling had an inexplicable thing attracting him, it seemed that only by going up could he get to the place where he should have been going, and he still got on the bus in a daze.

"If you have a card, please swipe the card, if you don't have a card, you will pay the coin, and the next stop is 2-chome." I heard the usual sound of a bus. It looked like an ordinary bus, and it seemed to have the same sound, but Chen Ling felt a strange atmosphere, all the passengers' expressions were dead gray, without any expression, and they sat straight, and only one-third of the entire carriage was seated.

"Eh, eh~ It's you, the one who just got on the bus, buy a ticket." The driver next to him shouted, his voice loud and like a bell.

"You stopped the wrong way, he sat wrong, he sat wrong, he didn't take this car!" The old man next to him also got into the car and defended Chen Ling there.

"I don't care if he sits wrong, get in the car and give money, it's right, don't give money, get out of the car and get out!" The driver said unreasonably. "This, you're driving, how can he go down, okay, please pull it to the place"

"... If you have money to take a car, you can't afford to get out! The driver waved rudely.

The old man gritted his teeth, turned his head to look at Chen Ling, and gritted his teeth. "Getting a bottle of water from you is equivalent to eating a bite of your raw food. Since we have received your favor, we cannot see you suffer. In this way, I will pay the money for you, and you will not speak all the way, and sit down quietly. ”

Chen Ling was frightened into a cold sweat by the strange atmosphere around him, looking at the colorless passengers around him, he trembled, and it took a long time to slowly say the word "good".

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he was patted on the head by the old man.

"Don't talk, don't talk, I don't understand! Keep your mouth shut."

Chen Lingmu nodded his head like a frightened quail. As he spoke, the old man took out two coins and threw them into the coin box. Just by the dim light on the side of the road, Chen Ling could vaguely see the appearance of two coins, one with the back facing up, with a chrysanthemum printed with it, and the other with the front facing up, with the value printed with it.

It vaguely seems to be, a... Hundred million...

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