Chapter 696 It’s great to be young
The sun over the brick factory gradually set, stretching the shadows of the three people very long.
Liu Erzhu suddenly approached Wang Jianguo, with a sly smile on his face, a mischievous gleam in his eyes, and mud spots on his overalls from carrying bricks:
"Brother Jianguo, tell us the truth. What kind of girl do you like? Is it the delicate type like Yang Xiaohua, or the capable and bold type like Sister Yushui?"
He deliberately dragged out the last syllable of his words, with a malicious arc at the corner of his mouth, like a cat that had succeeded in stealing some fish.
As soon as these words were spoken, Cheng Erhua instantly perked up. He even forgot to fan himself with the straw hat in his hand. He stretched his neck and came over with a gossipy look on his face.
He blinked his eyes, his face still stained with brick dust, but it did not affect his excitement at all:
"Yes, yes, yes! Brother Jianguo, stop hiding it and tell us!"
The two men surrounded Wang Jianguo on the left and right, their eyes full of anticipation, waiting to see how he would respond.
Wang Jianguo was bending over to check the quality of the bricks when he was suddenly stunned by this question.
He straightened up and put the brick in his hand back on the cart with a "dong". The tips of his ears felt slightly hot.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on his face, giving his originally dark skin an unnatural blush.
Only then did he realize that these two guys were waiting here to trick him!
"Okay you two little bastards!"
Wang Jianguo pretended to have a stern face, his eyes widened, and he stretched out his hand as if to grab Liu Erzhu's ear.
"You've learned how to make fun of me, right? I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"
But the smile that he couldn't suppress betrayed him, and his hands moved lightly, not showing any sign of wanting to hit anyone.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Erzhu jumped out from a distance, making faces at Wang Jianguo as he ran, his voice full of a triumphant smile:
"Brother Jianguo is furious! Run away, brothers!"
Cheng Erhua also joined in the fun, put on his straw hat, and ran towards the brick kiln, shouting:
"Brother Jianguo is catching up! Help!"
The three of them were chasing and fighting in the brick factory, startling the sparrows that were perched on the brick pile.
The afterglow of the setting sun gave them a golden edge, and the laughter mixed with the roar of the brick kiln echoed for a long time in the empty factory area.
Wang Jianguo looked at the two figures running farther and farther away, shook his head helplessly, but there was always a doting smile on his face.
At this moment, the heat waves from the brick factory seemed to become gentle, full of the wildness and vitality of youth.
As dusk deepened, the roar of the brick factory gradually subsided, leaving only the sporadic chirping of crickets jumping among the brick stacks.
Wang Jianguo leaned against the warm kiln wall, looking at the backs of Cheng Erhua and Liu Erzhu chasing each other away.
We both pulled my work clothes and pushed my shoulder. Our laughter sounded like silver bells strung on willow branches, swaying in the sky dyed with sunset glow.
Liu Erzhu's exaggerated "ouch" when he tripped and Cheng Erhua's uncontrollable laughter made Wang Jianguo's mouth corners unconsciously rise and a smile appeared in the corners of his eyes.
He reached into his pocket and took out the tobacco leaves, which had been softened by his body temperature.
The moment the match was struck, the flame illuminated the subtle wrinkles at the corners of his eyes - those were the traces left by time and wind and frost.
In fact, in terms of age, he is only three or five years older than Cheng Erhua and the others, but he has experienced the open and secret struggles in the courtyard houses in the city.
I have seen too many scenes of people falling out over petty gains, and my heart has long been like it has been repeatedly polished by sandpaper, and its bright background color has faded.
I still remember the early morning when I first arrived in the Great Northern Wilderness, a thin mist still covered the corn fields.
In the coarse porcelain bowl handed over by the village chief, the millet porridge was steaming, and a few pickled vegetables scattered in it were shining in the morning light.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that happiness could be so simple and pure.
During this nearly one year period, he followed the group to get up early in the dark to lay bricks, and repair kilns under the scorching sun. After work, they sat around the earthen stove, eating steamed buns and chatting about family matters.
No one cared about his past, and no one was trying to gain benefits from him. This feeling of being trusted and needed made him almost forget the heartbreaking days in the past.
On the old elm tree on the west side of the brick factory, sparrows returning to their nests huddled together, chirping.
Wang Jianguo looked at the swaying shadows of the trees, and his thoughts drifted back to the courtyard thousands of miles away, where he had a past that he didn't want to recall.
For the sake of love, relatives tear each other apart with red eyes; for the sake of interests, so-called friends stab you in the back.
Those dirty things were like mud spots that could not be shaken off, splashing on his heart and forming thick scabs.
But at this moment, the evening breeze wrapped in the fragrance of the earth blew across his cheeks, and the sound of gongs indicating the end of work of the production team came from afar. He suddenly felt that the turbid air that was blocking his chest was slowly dissipating.
"When I become strong, I will definitely bring my grandma here."
He muttered to himself in the flickering firelight. The scene of his grandmother, hunched over, cooking noodles for him in the courtyard emerged clearly in his memory.
After taking revenge and settling the grudges in the city, he would build a bright brick house in the Great Northern Wilderness and plant his grandmother's favorite sunflowers in front of the house.
The land here is fertile, the people here are warm, there is no intrigue like in the courtyards, only the solidity of spring planting and autumn harvest.
Dusk completely engulfed the brick factory. Wang Jianguo crushed his cigarette butt and turned to walk towards the dormitory.
In the distance, the figures of Cheng Erhua and Liu Erzhu had turned into two small black dots, still chasing each other and laughing.
He touched his chest, where was the letter his grandmother had sent him last month. The corners of the letter paper were still stained with the sweet scent of locust flower honey.
On this vast black land, he felt for the first time that perhaps his true home was not in the city of steel and concrete, but in the Great Northern Wilderness where smoke from cooking fires rose and people's hearts were warm.
After returning to the dormitory, Wang Jianguo had just sat down when Liu Erzhu and Cheng Erhua ran in panting.
Liu Erzhu supported his knees with his hands, gasping for breath and said:
"Brother Jianguo, you haven't answered us what kind of girl we like!"
Cheng Erhua also echoed:
"Yeah, yeah, don't play dumb."
Wang Jianguo looked at their anxious expressions, smiled and said:
"Actually, I like the kind of girl who can endure hardships with me, who cares about life, and who is kind and warm. Just like the land of our Great Northern Wilderness, solid and practical."
Liu Erzhu's eyes lit up and he joked:
"Hey, Brother Jianguo, your requirements are quite high. Maybe we have someone who meets the requirements."
Cheng Erhua also followed suit:
"Yes, yes. How about we help Brother Jianguo keep an eye out for him?"
Wang Jianguo was amused by them and waved his hands and said:
"You two boys, stop worrying about it and sort out your own affairs first."
As they talked, the three of them burst into laughter again. In this dormitory in the Great Northern Wilderness, the laughter dispelled the fatigue of the day and made the future days seem more hopeful.