Chapter 8, two hours to familiarize with the terrain contours

Yang Deguang entered with a towel that was as torn as a fishing net, hurriedly wiping his face while calling out: "Old Chen! Ah Ren is here for the first day, not used to it, we will be together from now on! Together..."

Living on the mountain is, after all, a secluded life akin to that of idle clouds and wild cranes. How could the labor intensity of preparing food and drink for two people be so great? Shi Jianren, who had always considered himself relatively strong, took a deep breath, only to hear the muscles at the back of his neck involuntarily creak. His arms and thighs seemed to have thickened considerably, swollen to the point of protesting against such excessive fatigue

In the early spring chill, a little girl wearing a puffy red down jacket, though bulky, could not conceal her youthful charm. Compared to yesterday, her hair was stylishly styled with a spiky fringe at the front. Over it, she wore a white apron and sleeves, and her lively face showed no restraint as she exclaimed: "What are you moving for! If you wanted to help with the move, you should have come earlier... Go away, keep your hands to yourself! What are we eating?" The last question was directed at Shi Jianren, as she casually adjusted her fringe.

Yang Deguang was somewhat surprised, but he accepted it with a silly smile, eager to introduce the morning's work: "After noon, the entire wholesale market becomes quiet, basically closing down for business. We then go to the docks, ships, and stations to do the heavy lifting. In the morning, we earn money by helping these vendors transport their goods to the stations and docks, as well as the money for the wholesale market's own cargo transfer. You should follow me for a few days to familiarize yourself with the surrounding areas, and then you will be able to work independently."

The laborers who transport goods almost never speak to their employers, do they

At four o'clock the next morning, I was called up by Yang Deguang to go to work together

Shijian Ren, who vigorously shook his head, focused his gaze ahead. He found that even attempting to smile habitually made the flesh on his neck feel unresponsive, and this was only the beginning of the second day

At this time, the two of them had already taken on seven or eight jobs in succession, using sticks and ropes to load the goods onto the vehicle with their employer. Most of the items were clothing, which were bulky and heavy. Although the distances were not very far, moving up and down from the market and navigating through the streets, they could earn a few dollars for each trip. Both of them were already drenched in sweat, and the sky was gradually brightening.

This requires the ability to establish a sense of orientation in unfamiliar spaces, which he excels at, and the focus of these two hours is not on this aspect

The outdoors was dimly lit, surrounded by temporary illegal constructions, with no streetlights in sight. However, various vessels on the river were brightly illuminated, providing just enough light to make the stone steps visible. Shi Jianren noticed that they were not heading towards the dock below, nor to the bookstores and restaurants, but were instead moving upwards. After climbing several dozen steps, they found themselves amidst a bustling area filled with warehouses, a station, and a wholesale market. It was still not yet five in the morning, and Shi Jianren, accustomed to the rural routine of rising with the sun and resting at sunset, was somewhat surprised: "So many people? Is there a market?"

The excessively rigid body led passersby to believe that he had not yet woken up. The corridor was very narrow, and others rudely shoved past him, saying: "What are you dawdling for! Good dogs don't block the way!"

It was as if he suddenly realized and turned back to ask his new friend: "What do you say when you pick things for others?"

Shi Jianren suddenly realized. Yang Deguang skillfully squeezed through the crowd by the roadside, and in a corner at the bottom of a flight of stone steps, next to the bustling flow of people, there was a pushcart made of white iron. The young girl who had been up to mischief at the restaurant yesterday was nimbly calling out to sell breakfast. When Yang Deguang reached the pushcart, he first broke into a silly grin, looking like a wagging-tailed mutt: "Sister Geng! Do you need help moving things..."

Yang Deguang merely chuckled and beckoned Shi Jianren to follow along

Yang Deguang did not notice that his transaction frequency today was significantly higher than usual, hardly pausing for a moment. He stretched his neck to look at Geng Meizi, who was still busy at her breakfast stall: "I was brought here by a fellow villager for more than half a month before I figured out the surrounding area... I need to catch my breath, I'm so tired. Why didn't I feel this tired in the mornings before?"

Yang Deguang seemed to be filled with regret, quickly ordering soy milk as he walked out with Shi Jianren for more than ten meters, still savoring the touch that was no less than a hand-holding. Shi Jianren handed him the ten yuan he had found last night, saying: "You spend more money than I do, don't be too extravagant."

Those who passed by still hummed a couple of notes

Someone nearby interjected: "Business? His child just wants to see Geng Meizi!"

Shi Jianren finally managed to force a smile, grabbing the black stick and the hemp rope: "It is a bit unfamiliar, but I am fine now. Let's go, what are we doing today?" His small bundle was just thrown in the dormitory, containing no valuable items, so there was no need to worry about it being stolen

After having lunch and watching a play at noon, Yang Deguang took Shi Jianren to the cargo ship by the river to unload goods. This kept them busy until it was dark. Even though Shi Jianren had to do farm work in the mountains, he had never experienced such an explosive level of exhaustion. After dark, he hurriedly ate a large bowl of noodles and fell into a deep sleep, overwhelmed by soreness and fatigue, without even remembering where he had fallen asleep.

The few hours of sleep seemed to pass in an instant, and his entire body had not yet fully awakened from the extreme fatigue. A tearing pain coursed through him, causing Shi Jianren to stumble involuntarily when he stood up, nearly falling to the ground

Yang Deguang also picked up his bamboo pole and hemp rope, squeezing his way through the crowd to exit. As his relatively stout figure pushed through the dilapidated wooden door, the door frame creaked. A few people laughed and scolded, "Aguang, are you in a hurry to be reincarnated? The work is still not finished!"

There is no such thing as slacking off when it comes to doing a good job

In this bustling and crowded wholesale market, the laborers are merely human transporters, engaged in temporary employment relationships that last only a few minutes, after which there is no further interaction. Is there any need to strike up a conversation?

The breakfast cart made of white iron had two large holes. On one side, there was congee and soy milk cooked in a large pot, separated by an iron plate in the middle. On the other side, there was a tall stack of steamers. Diandian nodded and took some steamed buns, and also ordered soy milk. Sister Geng skillfully scooped two spoonfuls into a plastic bag and asked if he wanted sugar, then inserted a straw and handed it to Shi Jianren. As her fingers brushed against the plastic bag during the exchange, there was a moment of contact.

Shijian Ren looked around at the dwelling he had not had the chance to examine the night before. It turned out to be the makeshift shelters brought down to the riverside by Yang Deguang and others. The gray wall bricks were mottled and dilapidated, the roof haphazardly constructed with bamboo poles and strips, covered with newspapers and bamboo mats to form a ceiling, as shabby as could be. In the pitch-blackness before dawn, only a dim yellow light bulb, covered in cobwebs, barely illuminated this elongated space. The men rising from a long row of bunk beds were almost all in tattered clothes. The coughs, yawns, stretches, and curses of over a dozen or twenty people mixed together, filling the air with a strong odor of sweat, presenting a comprehensive impact of society's lowest stratum right before him

The exceptionally intelligent young man managed to grasp the surrounding terrain in just two hours, gaining a preliminary understanding of more than ten interlocking trading markets, seven or eight different bus stations, a long-distance bus station, and two passenger terminals.

This standard rural perspective gave Yang Deguang a sense of superiority: "It’s like this every day. Jiangzhou is the largest city here, a directly governed municipality, and it also has the largest wholesale market in the surrounding area. Merchants from various districts and counties come here to wholesale goods. Daily business cannot be delayed, so they naturally come over in the evening, buy goods in the morning, and then rush to catch the earliest bus or boat back, just in time to open for business around 9 or 10 o'clock..." Daily business cannot be delayed, so they naturally come over in the evening, buy goods in the morning, and then rush to catch the earliest bus or boat back, just in time to open for business around 9 or 10 o'clock..."

Yang Deguang repeated that phrase: "Aren! We are together..." and then hurried to show off, "Breakfast is on me! Steamed buns, meat buns, congee, fried dough sticks, soy milk, eat whatever you like!" He himself was quite unreserved, grabbing two steamed buns and a fried dough stick, wolfing them down as he stuffed them into his mouth, while a ten-yuan note was already placed on the cart.