Literary Master 1978

Er Maitai was also called Er Maitai at the construction site. Few people remembered his name. Sometimes even Lin Chaoyang, his childhood friend, had to think about it before he could remember him.

He ran to the project gate and saw Lin Chaoyang chatting with the security guard at a glance.

"Chaoyang!"

Er Maitai shouted from a distance, running over like a moving hill. When he was almost next to Lin Chaoyang, he slowed down again, feeling a sense of homesickness.

Lin Chaoyang stopped chatting with the security guard, took a few steps forward, and hugged Er Maitai.

"It's all sweat!" Er Maitai said.

"It's okay."

After a long separation, Lin Chaoyang patted his back firmly and then let him go.

"Chaoyang, why are you here?" Er Maitai asked excitedly.

"I'm here for a meeting, and I came to see you."

When answering the question, Lin Chaoyang looked at Er Maitai carefully, "Wow! You're stronger than before, with such muscular muscles!"

"Oh! You do hard work all day. How many days will you stay this time?"

"I've finished everything here, and I'll leave in a day or two."

"So urgent?"

After not seeing each other for several years, the two naturally had a lot to talk about. After chatting for a while, Er Maitai said to Lin Chaoyang: "Wait for me, I'll go to the project department to ask for leave!"

After he said that, he rushed to the project department not far away and came to the project department office, where a meeting was just in progress, and the five red hats of the project department were all there.

The International Trade Tower is a key project in SZ City and the tallest building under construction in the country. The company responsible for its construction is China Construction Third Engineering Bureau No. 1 Company.

China Construction Third Engineering Bureau attaches great importance to the construction of the tallest building in the country, and specially appointed Deputy Director Li Chuanfang as the on-site commander-in-chief. It also specially sent four technical and management cadres from the bureau to form the site leadership team.

Ermaitai is now the team leader of the second carpentry team. He has to go to the project department to ask for leave.

He was so excited that he didn't care about the many leaders present. He said to Zhang Guidong, who was in charge of the construction, "Engineer Zhang, I want to take two days off."

"Can't you see that we are in a meeting?" Zhang Guidong scolded Ermaitai. Seeing that everyone else was looking at him, he pulled Ermaitai out of the office.

"Are you sick? Or is there something urgent at home?"

"No, my childhood friend came to see me, and I asked for leave to accompany him for a walk."

"My childhood friend is here, why don't you treat him to dinner in the evening? The construction site is rushing to work, and it will be capped in September. Why are you asking for leave now?"

Zhang Guidong is not unkind. As the tallest building under construction in China, the China World Trade Center has a very tight construction schedule. China Construction Third Engineering Bureau has put all its efforts into this project.

At its peak, it took three days to build a floor, which broke the construction record of high-rise buildings in my country, and was even reported by Xinhua News Agency.

During this year, not to mention the project workers, even the management had no chance to take a day off. They had to work even if they were sick.

"That won't work. We haven't seen each other for several years." Er Maitai said with his neck stiff.

Zhang Guidong said with a headache: "You kid, don't mess with me. I haven't been to the hospital for several days because of stomach pain."

"Your stomach is a chronic disease. It doesn't matter whether you see a doctor or not."

Zhang Guidong felt his stomach start to ache again. He glared at Er Maitai with anger on his face.

Er Maitai was a reckless person, but after working for so many years, he had developed some emotional intelligence.

Seeing Zhang Guidong's angry face, he raised the banner.

"Do you know who my childhood friend is?"

"Who is it? Da Maitai or San Maitai?" Zhang Guidong glanced at Er Maitai.

Er Maitai ignored his sarcasm and raised his neck, "Xu Lingjun, do you know?"

Hearing the three words "Xu Lingjun", Zhang Guidong turned his neck involuntarily. His first reaction was not shock, but suspicion.

"Xu Lingjun is your childhood friend? You really speak without thinking!"

"If you don't believe me, I'll take you to the door. He's standing outside."

Er Maitai dragged Zhang Guidong to the door like a chicken, "Let go! I have to attend a meeting. Do you have any organization and discipline?"

"I told you but you didn't believe it. I asked you to go and see it but you didn't." Er Maitai complained.

Communicating with such a reckless man, Zhang Guidong felt like he was hitting cotton with all his strength, and he was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, "Go! Go!"

Finally asking for leave, Er Maitai happily shook Zhang Guidong's hand, "Thank you, Mr. Zhang, I'll treat you to a drink later!"

After saying that, he rushed into the shed impatiently, intending to change into some decent clothes. The work clothes on his body were full of sweat and dust, which was too shabby.

"Xu Lingjun?" Zhang Guidong looked at his back, shook his sore hands, and shook his head.

Lin Chaoyang waited at the door for nearly 20 minutes before seeing Er Maitai running out with a bicycle. He said to Lin Chaoyang excitedly: "Let's go! I'll treat you to a meal!"

The two of them left the construction site.

Luohu has not yet developed. Renmin South Road at the entrance of the International Trade Building has just been repaired, but after leaving this road, looking up, there are loess roads everywhere, and transportation is not convenient. There are not many cars on the road, and most people ride bicycles.

Along the road, there is a scene of bustling development. The construction sites are full of busy figures, and the roar of machines is mixed with loud slogans.

The pedestrians are walking hurriedly, and the voices coming from their casual chats are mixed with dialects from all over the world.

Lin Chaoyang sat on the back seat of the bicycle, feeling a sense of confidence and hope that time is running out, a sense of competence and courage to fight and venture, and such an enterprising atmosphere is hard to experience in Yanjing.

Er Maitai was riding a bicycle in front, constantly introducing the situation in Luohu to Lin Chaoyang.

He came to Shenzhen early, more than four years since 1980, even the infrastructure soldiers scattered on various construction sites in Shenzhen today did not come earlier than him.

Lin Chaoyang held Er Maitai's waist and felt a hard object, and asked: "What else is on your waist?"

"Iron chain."

"Do you use this thing as a belt?"

"Not as a belt. Self-defense, it's a mess here, and it's easy to run into bad guys when you go out."

Lin Chaoyang couldn't help asking: "Does anyone dare to mess with your physique?"

"A good tiger can't stand a pack of wolves!"

Judging from Er Maitai's tone, he should have suffered a loss in this regard. Lin Chaoyang wanted to get to the bottom of it, but he refused to talk and shifted the topic to Lin Chaoyang.

As they talked, Lin Chaoyang found that the surroundings were getting more and more remote. He couldn't help asking, "You kid, you're not going to sell me, are you?"

"How much can I sell you for? You'll know when we get there."

Er Maitai kept it a secret. He rode for more than 20 minutes and finally stopped at the old wool spinning factory in Huangbeiling.

Er Maitai talked to the old night watchman at the door for a few words. After a while, a young and beautiful female comrade came out of the factory.

The female comrade was not tall, about 1.6 meters. Standing next to Er Maitai, she looked like a beauty and the beast. This picture was both contradictory and harmonious.

"This is my childhood friend Lin Chaoyang."

"This... This is my girlfriend Luo Huifang."

When Er Maitai introduced Luo Huifang, his face was shy, and Lin Chaoyang wanted to punch him.

After saying hello, Lin Chaoyang teased, "You are a good guy, you found such a beautiful girl."

His teasing made Ermaitai and Luo Huifang blush. They chatted for a while at the factory gate. Ermaitai asked Luo Huifang to ask for leave and go out for dinner together.

Panxi Restaurant is near Luohu Port. It is the first restaurant after Hong Kong arrives in Shenzhen. Many Hong Kong businessmen have their first meal here when they come to Shenzhen.

There are not many high-end restaurants in Shenzhen nowadays, and Panxi Restaurant is considered to be relatively high-end.

Ermaitai and Lin Chaoyang haven't seen each other for several years, and he enthusiastically pulled him here.

"You don't need to come to such a good place."

When they arrived at the door of the restaurant, Lin Chaoyang didn't want to go in, but Ermaitai forced him to go in.

"You finally came to Shenzhen, I have to treat you to a good meal."

Ermaitai pressed Lin Chaoyang to the seat, and then called the waiter to order food.

"My salary is OK now, I can afford to treat you to a meal here."

Er Maitai mentioned in the letter before that his salary has increased a lot in the past two years, earning 80 to 90 yuan a month, which is considered a high salary even in Shenzhen.

Since you are here, you should make the best of it.

Lin Chaoyang did not bother about the issue of treating, anyway, he would just pay the bill secretly later.

While the two were talking, Luo Huifang had been secretly looking at Lin Chaoyang. Seeing that she was always like this, Lin Chaoyang asked, "Why do you keep looking at me like this?"

Luo Huifang lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, and Er Maitai took the initiative to say, "I always told her that you are my childhood friend and a great writer. She didn't believe it at first, but after I told her more, she was half-believing and half-doubting. Now that we meet, you have to prove it to me."

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "I only have the ID, but I don't have any documents that can prove that I am Xu Lingjun!"

He took out his work ID from his bag and showed it to Luo Huifang. She saw the four words "Yenching University" on it and quickly waved her hand, "No, no."

Lin Chaoyang took back the work ID and chatted with the two of them about family matters.

Er Maitai has been in Shenzhen for more than four years and has worked on the construction site for more than four years. He is physically strong and works hard. Now he has become the carpentry team leader, so his income is much higher than before.

Luo Huifang's family is from Shenzhen. She went to work in the old wool spinning factory before finishing junior high school.

But now the old wool spinning mill is going bankrupt, and her monthly salary is only more than 20 yuan. It is said that Hong Kong businessmen are now inspecting the old wool spinning mill and are ready to acquire the factory buildings and equipment there. At that time, the workers will definitely have to stay.

If the Hong Kong businessmen take over, maybe things will get better.

As for the encounter between the two, it originated from a clichéd hero saving a beauty.

In 1982, "Shaolin Temple" was released and became popular all over the country. Er Maitai went to the movies with his coworkers after get off work at night.

On the way back from the movie, he met Luo Huifang who was blocked by gangsters. Er Maitai ran over to save the person, but he was also injured. Then the two of them came together naturally.

"So you two have been together for more than two years. When do you plan to get married?"

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's words, Luo Huifang blushed a little, and Er Maitai said shyly: "You need a house to get married, so you can save money."

Er Maitai earns 80 or 90 yuan a month. Apart from eating, he basically has no expenses. In the past few years, most of his money was sent back home.

After I started dating Luo Huifang, I only sent 20 yuan to my family every month, leaving me with more than 50 yuan. I have saved more than 1,000 yuan in the past two years.

If we really get married, my family will also give me more than 1,000 yuan, so together we have about 3,000 yuan.

"Afang's family wants us to buy a house. Afang's father said he could give us 3,000 yuan. But houses are too expensive now, selling for 300 to 400 yuan per square meter. Even if all this money is taken into account, we can only buy 20 square meters.

I want to save money for another two years and buy at least a house that can accommodate a family of three."

Shenzhen is a window of reform and opening up. The first commercial housing community was born in 1980. In the following years, many real estate projects have been developed here one after another.

The expensive community can reach 1,000 yuan per square meter. The house that Ermaita mentioned at 300 to 400 yuan per square meter is considered cheap.

Lin Chaoyang listened to his words and shook his head, "Your idea is wrong. The speed at which you save money is far less than the speed at which housing prices soar."

Ermaita retorted: "I feel that the house prices in Shenzhen have not risen much in the past two years, right?"