Siheyuan: I just want to live

After watching Director Wang's figure disappear at the entrance of the courtyard, Chen Feng turned around and returned to his backyard. He walked into the house and took out several crucian carps weighing one pound from the space. He skillfully slaughtered them and marinated them with ginger, onions and vinegar. In order to make the fish meat more flavorful and extend the marinating time for tomorrow's breakfast, Chen Feng carefully put the marinated fish into the space.

Then, he threw the fish intestines and other internal organs into the fish pond in the space as food to feed the carnivorous fish. Interestingly, the only carnivorous fish in the fish pond was herring.

After everything was packed up, Chen Feng returned to the bedroom again, made the bed briefly, and climbed into bed to rest. He turned off the light, closed his eyes, and soon fell into a sweet dream, without a dream all night.

When the first ray of sunlight shone through the window and hit his face in the morning, Chen Feng slowly woke up. He subconsciously glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside and found that it was already past six o'clock. So he quickly got up, picked up his toiletries, walked to the pool in the middle courtyard, and hurriedly finished washing up.

After Chen Feng returned to the house, he skillfully turned on the coal stove and prepared to continue steaming the mixed noodles. This was the first time he had eaten this kind of noodles for several days in a row. He felt a little uncomfortable in his stomach and didn't even know what the mixed noodles were made of.

Thinking about it, Chen Feng made up his mind that he must buy a gong cloth after get off work today to sift the flour he had ground in the experiment yesterday, and eat white flour cakes in the evening. In fact, it was not that he didn't know how to steam buns, but because he didn't have the dough, he couldn't make the dough ferment.

After putting the pancakes into the steamer, Chen Feng placed a wok on another stove. Then, he took out four fresh crucian carps from the space. After the pan was hot, he poured in cooking oil and began to fry the fish. When the crucian carps were fried until both sides were golden brown, he added a small amount of water and began to simmer slowly. Watching the fish soup gradually become milky white, Chen Feng carefully added the right amount of salt and seasonings, and then waited for the fish soup to be cooked and served!

Finally, Chen Feng first took out two fish and put them in a lunch box. He was not sure whether the purchasing station had a canteen, but it was always a good idea to bring a lunch box.

At this time, the pancakes were cooked and exuded an enticing aroma. Chen Feng carefully took them out of the pot and put the ones he was going to eat at noon into another lunch box. After preparing all this, he began to enjoy his breakfast.

Chen Feng finished the two fish quickly and attentively, and then spent some time cleaning the kitchen and putting everything in order.

He checked the time and realized it was almost time to go to work. Today was his first day and he couldn't be late. So he skillfully packed his lunch box, put it in his schoolbag, pushed his bicycle out the door, and locked the door.

When passing by the pond in the middle courtyard, Chen Feng saw only a few old ladies washing clothes and chatting there. He did not stop to greet them, but quickened his pace and walked forward. He walked out of the gate of the courtyard in one breath.

Chen Feng's workplace is not far from where he lives, on Gulou East Street. He rode his bicycle slowly towards the scrap yard. Along the way, he bathed in the morning sunshine and felt the comfort of the breeze on his face.

When he arrived at the destination, Chen Feng glanced at his watch and found that it was already 7:40. However, to his surprise, the door of the scrap yard was still closed. He stopped his bike, found a place not far from the door, lit a cigarette, and smoked leisurely. While smoking, he patiently waited for the people from the unit to come to work.

When Chen Feng just finished taking the last puff of his cigarette and stamped out the cigarette butt with his foot, a man in his thirties hurried to the door of the scrap yard and opened the door. After seeing this scene, Chen Feng pushed his bicycle in that direction.

When the man saw Chen Feng coming towards him, he asked in confusion: "Are you here to sell scrap? Why don't I see anything? Are you going to sell this car? This car is still quite new! It would be a pity to sell it as scrap! How about giving it to me?"

Faced with this series of questions, Chen Feng was stunned for a moment! He quickly explained: "I'm sorry, I'm not here to sell junk. I just bought this car not long ago and I won't sell it! I won't exchange it to anyone else!"

"Oh, I see. Then what are you doing here?" the man continued to ask.

Chen Feng calmed down a bit, then politely replied, "I am a new employee here. Excuse me, big brother, who should I go to for registration?"

As Chen Feng spoke, he handed the man a cigarette as a gesture of friendship and respect.

The man took the cigarette, took a look at it, and said with a smile: "Don't call me big brother, it sounds weird. Just call me Zhou Ping, everyone calls me that. We don't have so many rules and regulations here."

Peony, um, this cigarette is really good! Zhou Ping lit up the cigarette, took a deep breath and then said: "If you want to report, you have to find our stationmaster, he will be here in a while. You can go in with me first, I will take you to familiarize yourself with the venue, and I will tell you after he arrives."

"Okay! Thank you Brother Ping!" Chen Feng nodded quickly in response.

Afterwards, Chen Feng followed Zhou Ping and walked into the scrap yard together. This scrap yard was quite large, almost as big as a football field, with an overall layout that was narrow from north to south and long from east to west.

From the inside, the entire waste station looks very empty, surrounded by high walls. The main gate is located in the northwest corner, facing Gulou East Street.

In the northwest corner of the courtyard, there is a row of neatly arranged bungalows, and near the south wall, there is a row of sheds. Apart from these, there are no other redundant buildings in the courtyard.

As Zhou Ping walked towards here, he introduced to Chen Feng: "The row of sheds on the south side is mainly used to store various items that are afraid of being wet by rain and paper items."

"The bungalows on the west side are arranged from south to north. The five warehouses at the southern end store some interesting things, such as broken bicycles, watches, and radios."

"The sixth room is where the stationmaster's office and armory are located. The seventh room is the finance office, where the accountant and cashier work. But in fact, Xiaojuan is responsible for these jobs."

"Then there is the eighth security room! Normally, the security guards will stay here on duty. Right now, there are two security guards on night duty there. They also have keys, but they have to wait for me to come and open the door."

"The ninth room is the lounge. If it's not too busy, everyone will choose to take a break here. As for the tenth room, it is the tea room, which is equipped with a pot that can be used to heat up food. And the small room at the door is the guard's communication room!"

"As for the open space over there, there's not much to say about it. You can see the whole thing at a glance! Various items that are not afraid of rain are neatly piled up on one side."

Chen Feng listened carefully to his explanation of everything about the scrap yard. When he heard that he was an accountant and cashier, he was also stunned! If this were in the future, wouldn't it be a sign of going to study?

After walking around, Zhou Ping saw that the lock of the stationmaster's office had been taken off, so he said to Chen Feng, "The stationmaster is here, you go report!"

Chen Feng also looked at the sixth office and found that it was unlocked, so he said to Zhou Ping, "Brother Ping, I'll go over first. I'll find you later!"

"Okay! Go ahead!" Zhou Ping replied

Chen Feng walked towards the stationmaster's office with firm steps.

He stood at the door and knocked gently on the door frame, as if he was knocking on a mysterious door.

A voice of "Come in" came from inside, Chen Feng pushed open the door and walked into the office. The layout inside was simple and plain, without too much decoration. A desk and two chairs were neatly placed. The stationmaster sat facing east, with his back against the west wall, like a firm mountain.

The filing cabinet is placed in the northwest corner, like a loyal guard, silently guarding everything here. The gun cabinet in the southwest corner exudes a majestic atmosphere. On the table, a phone lies quietly, a bottle of ink and several documents are neatly placed, without a trace of clutter.

The style of the entire office is exactly the same as that of Director Wang's office in the Street Office. They are both so simple, yet reveal a different kind of solemnity. When Chen Feng walked to the desk, the stationmaster raised his head and stopped writing the document with his pen. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle, as if he could see through people's hearts.

"What's the matter?" the stationmaster asked in confusion.

"Oh! Stationmaster, I am the new employee who reported in today. My name is Chen Feng, and I will take over Chen Fusheng's shift. Here is my file and letter of introduction."

As Chen Feng spoke, he took out a file bag, a letter of introduction and some other materials from his schoolbag and handed them to the stationmaster.

"Yes, the successor! All right! You meet the requirements, and our unit will accept you. My last name is Li, Li Guotao. Welcome to join Comrade Chen Feng!"

The stationmaster opened the letter of introduction and read it, then turned to Chen Feng and asked

"We have two positions at the station now. One is the message room, and the other is collecting waste on the street by bike. The message room has a stable salary, and as you know, there is a certain price difference for collecting waste. Which one do you choose?"

"Let's go to the message room! After all, I'm the successor!"

The gatekeeper of the message room is an unnecessary position in this scrap yard. But there is still a position there, usually used to accommodate disabled veterans, like Chen Feng's grandfather used to work in this position.

Li Guotao didn't want young Chen Feng to waste his time in that boring job, so he let him make the choice.

"That's fine! Here are the keys to the reception room and the main door. You can go there by yourself later."

Li Guotao felt a little sorry. Looking at the young man's body, he should be a good tricycle rider! Why did he choose an old man's job?

Stationmaster Li handed the key to Chen Feng and gave him instructions.

"You have to be the first one to open the door in the morning. There's nothing else to do. I'll ask Xiaojuan to make your payroll later."

"I just happen to have a document that needs to be sent to the headquarters, so I'll take your file there to file it and get your work permit while I'm at it."

"I'll bring your work clothes, labor protection supplies, and work ID back to you when I return from headquarters this afternoon."

"Yes, the stove in the reception room may be out. Go to the tea room and change it yourself."

"If you feel bored, go to the shed at the back and find some old books and newspapers to read. Okay, any other questions?"

"Well, no more."

"Well, you can go to the reception room at the door and wait there. I won't see you off. It's only two steps away anyway."

"Okay, Stationmaster Li, I'll be there then." After saying this, Chen Feng turned around and walked out of the office door, closing it behind him.

After leaving the stationmaster's office, Chen Feng walked towards the communication room at the main entrance.