I remember a passage on the Internet: It is not easy to be together for one year; it is worth cherishing to be able to persist for two years; it is a miracle to be together for three years; it takes five years to be called a close friend; and it is still there after ten years. You should invite them into your life; those who will not leave you for twenty years are your relatives the day after tomorrow!
1.
Looking back, A-Zhen and I have been inseparable for twenty-five years. We have already lived in each other's hearts and have become more than family members!
A-Zhen and I are both daughters who are married far away, and our natal families are from the same township.
In middle school, we studied in the same middle school. She was two years ahead of me and lived in the same dormitory. We all knew each other, but we had never communicated!
In the mid-1990s, there was a boom in part-time work across the country. Several little sisters in our village who are the same age as me have already gone to Shanghai to make money.
My neighbor Aqin is a few years older than me. She also went to work in a factory in Shanghai to earn money. I heard that the salary is very high. From the photos, money, and letters she sent to her family, it can be seen that It turns out that they live a good life outside and earn a good income.
My heart was already ready to move. I contacted Aqin through letters and confirmed that their factory was recruiting people, so I dropped out of school to wait for the opportunity, and also prepared to go to Shanghai!
Just after the Chinese New Year in 1995, I disobeyed my father's orders, quietly stole the money my father earned from selling cattle, and went to Shanghai to work with my fellow traveler Fourth Brother (the brother of my second brother-in-law) who had made an appointment in advance.
My father was not well-educated, but he valued education. No matter how poor his family was, he would still support me in going to school. His wish was that I could go to college and arm myself with knowledge to "fly" out of the mountains.
However, I don’t want to see my parents worrying about my tuition fees as soon as the school year starts. I took it upon myself to drop out of school and go out to earn money. Unexpectedly, my rebellious behavior made my father seriously ill!
On the day I left for Shanghai, Azhen and I met on the road.
At the foot of a mountain, from a distance, I saw a woman in red walking opposite me.
It’s so rare to meet someone in this deep mountain and old forest! I thought to myself.
As I got closer, I saw that this girl was dressed differently than ordinary people. I saw that she was wearing a red coat, with black hair, a pair of high-heeled leather boots, and a backpack on her back. Stylish backpack, I thought to myself that this outfit does not look like a girl from the mountains.
Look at what I’m wearing: a sports top, a pair of silk pants (the most popular in the school at that time), a pair of flat rubber shoes, and a high ponytail. The braid is swaying from side to side, showing the appearance of a pure student, a typical image of a girl from the mountains!
In this rugged mountain, you have to wear a pair of high-heeled shoes on the uphill mountain road. See if you don’t fall. I secretly swear to her!
In fact, I also long to wear her beautiful clothes and own a pair of high heels.
For girls of the same age, who doesn’t love beauty!
When we passed each other, I glanced at this fashionable girl out of the corner of my eye. Wow, isn’t this Azhen from the same dormitory? I almost screamed, and A-Zhen must have recognized me at that time, but we didn’t stop to say hello to each other!
I walked a few steps and then looked back, and A-Zhen happened to look back at me. The moment our eyes met, we both turned around in embarrassment and continued on our way!
2.
After three days and nights of bumpy train rides, I finally arrived in Shanghai, which I had longed for.
After getting off the train, looking at the cars and the endless flow of people, I was already dizzy and couldn't tell the difference between east, west and north.
As night fell, the colorful neon lights lit up, I looked around, and I couldn't help but feel inferior. My tired and country bumpkin look was really incompatible with this brightly lit city.
I was carrying a big denim bag and carrying four or five small bags filled with my daily necessities, following closely behind my fourth brother.
That night after we got off the train, we went to Pudong, Shanghai, because my fourth brother worked in Pudong.
We rested one night in Pudong. Early the next morning, my fourth brother sent me to Songjiang District to find my little sister Aqin who I wanted to join!
We took the address on the envelope Aqin wrote to me and searched for it for a long time. We also asked many people, but we didn’t know there was such a factory.
Just when I was extremely anxious, I suddenly saw two girls walking across from me. One of them was wearing a red dress and looked familiar. I took a closer look and saw that she was not the girl I saw in the mountains a few days ago. Did you touch A-Zhen under your feet?
What a coincidence, why is she here!
At this time, Azhen also saw me. We were all surprised and almost shouted out at the same time:
"Why are you here?"
Maybe It was because we met in a strange city. At this moment, we all put aside our previous reserve and started chatting enthusiastically!
It turned out that she met Azhen at the foot of the mountain that day, and she happened to be going to her sister's house to borrow travel expenses. Azhen came to Ah Qin through the introduction of an acquaintance. We both took the same train, just in different carriages. A-Zhen came directly to A-Qin after getting off the train, and I went to Pudong to stay overnight.
Azhen came to Shanghai with her cousin. At this time, Azhen and her cousin were preparing to go to the city to buy quilts and some daily necessities, and they happened to meet me!
Azhen led me to find Ah Qin. That afternoon, Ah Qin took me to see my boss, who agreed that I could go to work the next day.
Just like that, A-Zhen and I were assigned to the same dormitory again. Not only were we roommates, we also became co-workers. We all slept on the upper bunk, with the beds facing each other!
The dormitory is filled with little sisters from all over the world!
Aqin takes good care of us and often comes to our dormitory after get off work to explain some work matters to us. A-Zhen and I are both smart and ingenious. After a few days of training, we will officially start working.
Since it is a piece-rate wage, the more you work, the more you get. Many times, when it is time to get off work, everyone in the workshop has left, and A-Zhen and I are still reluctant to leave. We also want to earn more money, send it back to our hometown, help the family, and want to reassure our parents!
Azhen’s family conditions are not good. She has many brothers and sisters, all of whom are married. She is the youngest in the family and her parents are old. She feels sorry for her parents, so she gave up her studies and chose to make money!
A-Zhen, like me, has a dream hidden in her heart. She hopes that she can study by herself while making money and learn more knowledge!
So our bedside is filled with various books and notes. We cheer for each other!
Perhaps because we speak the same language and have the same dreams, the relationship between A-Zhen and I is getting closer and closer. We would often hide under the same bed and whisper about our school days. When I talk about the fun things in the house and dormitory, I will lift the quilt and burst out laughing. We often make the little sisters who get out of bed resent us.
Because we have goals, we don’t feel tired even if we often work overtime.
I still remember that our salary was paid in the first month, which was the first income in our lives. We were so excited that we couldn't sleep all night. We put the money in the pillow case for a while, and took it out to count. Is it missing? After a while, I put it in the zipper of the quilt cover. I was both excited and nervous. For a few taels of silver, I was tortured so much that I didn’t sleep well all night!
After we pay our wages every month, the factory will give us a day off the next day!
After we were paid for the first time, Aqin took us to the post office in the city and asked us to send the money back to our hometown. She was afraid that we would lose our hard-earned money!
Aqin is a good girl. Her family background is very good. Her father works in the government department. Because his father suddenly suffered a stroke and fell ill, the tree fell and the hozens scattered. His father lost his previous prestige and the family was in financial difficulties. Seeing that his father’s medicines were all spent, Aqin chose to drop out of school and go out to earn money to treat his father’s illness!
My mother told me that after Aqin’s father became ill, Aqin herself also became ill. When she went out to work and got into the car, she also brought a large bag of Chinese medicine. After Aqin left, her mother cried a lot. field!
3.
A few months passed in a flash. We stayed in the factory quietly and obediently, and went to get off work on time every day. The factory owner pays wages on time every month.
Starting from the second month, Azhen and I have discussed that this month I will keep some living expenses, and lend the rest to Azhen to send home together; next month Azhen will leave some more For living expenses, pay back my money, and I will send the money home together. In this way, you can send a thousand yuan each time!
In that era, in our big mountains, one thousand yuan was not a small amount. Every time I send the money, I feel happy. I imagine that my father will be very happy after receiving the money.
Later I heard from my mother that when my father received my remittance order for the first time, he was not happy, but cried!
At that time, the most luxurious life for A-Zhen and I was to occasionally eat a bowl of fried noodles. I still remember that it was a noodle shop opened by a pair of Chongqing sisters, and I loved the spicy and spicy taste! Normally, we all eat food from the factory canteen!
To this day, I still remember that a bowl of fried noodles was 3.5 yuan!
We like to visit the "Guyang Market" the most. It is a clothing market where you can bargain, and the clothes there are relatively cheap.
After staying there for several months, my salary was much higher than when I first joined the factory. In addition to the money sent back to my hometown, I also started to learn to be fashionable with the remaining money. I bought clothes, high heels, small bags, lipstick, facial cream... and I would spend a long time before going out.
Azhen has much more experience than me in dressing up, because before she came to Shanghai, she had already stayed at her brother’s house in the city for two months. Under the influence of her sister-in-law, she had already I will dress myself up.
A-Zhen and I have similar body shapes and sizes, and we often swap our clothes. But I spend a lot of time wearing her clothes, and I always think her clothes look better than mine!
Zhen and I often buy some clothes for our parents and nieces to send back to our hometown.
I remember one time, when we were sending something, the staff was checking and looking through the clothes, and asked me and Zhen how old our children were. We both blushed for a moment, and we were both still young girls. The kids who came, we were squeaking for a long time and the staff didn’t even hear what we were saying!
A-Zhen’s personality is relatively easy-going and cheerful, and she has a loud voice. Sometimes after get off work, we would climb up to the balcony on the second floor and look at the afterglow of the setting sun, reflected in the orange grove downstairs. A-Zhen would sing loudly, her favorite song:
"At this time, the night show has ended and the hustle and bustle has gone away.
Only you and I are left, alone on the street..."
I don’t know if A-Zhen wrote it by herself or if there is Anyway, she likes to sing this song often, and I also like to sing along. We both roar loudly, waving our hands, and tapping rhythmically.
We will sing loudly from time to time. In the eyes of others, we look like crazy people, but that is the happiest and most relaxing moment of our day. Singing loudly like that seems like all the fatigue in the day It’s all gone!
Time flies by, and winter is here in a blink of an eye. The little sisters in the dormitory all went back to their hometowns in twos and threes to celebrate the New Year. Aqin also went back to his hometown early because of family matters.
Seeing everyone in the dormitory leave, A-Zhen and I also felt homesick. Because our monthly salary is sent home, we have no money in our pockets.
Boss Lu seemed to have noticed what we were worried about and told us that if we wanted to leave at any time, we could advance our wages in advance. However, A-Zhen and I decided to work until the end of the month and then pay our wages. Walk.
We asked fellow villagers to help us buy train tickets in advance. But when it was time to go home, we ran into trouble. We had no idea where the train station was or how to get there!
And it’s still a 6.30am ticket. It’s still dark outside after 6am in winter!
In those days, we didn’t even know what a taxi was!
The two silly girls finally came up with a good idea and walked along the railway towards the train station.
We didn't sleep that night. I packed up clothes, shoes, and gifts for my family, and each person had a big denim bag stuffed bulgingly.
After one o'clock in the morning, each of us carried a bulging denim bag and several convenience bags in our hands. The convenience bags contained daily necessities for the road, and we set off.
I don’t remember what day it was that night. I just remember that the moon was very round that night. We had prepared a flashlight but we couldn’t use it.
The silvery white moonlight shone on the earth, accompanying us as we walked forward along the center of the railway track. At first, we were very energetic and did not feel scared. We were humming as we walked. Minor tune:
"The moon is going? I'm going too? I'll take A-Zhen to the entrance of the village? To the entrance of the village
A-Zhen is going home to celebrate the New Year..."
We held hands Changed the lyrics, sang and laughed while walking! I also forgot about the weight of the backpack on my back!
After walking for a while, I slowly felt that the bag on my back was getting heavier and heavier. There was no sound from either of us, and the surroundings were eerily quiet, as if we were the only ones in the world. I didn’t know how far ahead I had to get to the train station, and I suddenly felt scared:
“What should we do if we can’t find the train station?” I no longer had the excitement I had before, and with a picture Crying to himself.
"If you walk along the railway, there must be a train station." Azhen seemed to be talking to herself, and she seemed to be talking to me!
"I don't know how far it is. If we can't catch the train, we won't be able to go back..." I choked and started sobbing quietly before I finished speaking!
At this moment, a strong white light shot toward us, and then we heard a loud shout:
"What are you doing, walking on the track?" ?”
We stopped, and I stood close to Azhen and said softly:
“Did we meet a bad person? ”
Azhen didn’t speak, but I could clearly feel her body shaking!
The white light was getting closer and closer, piercing me so hard that I couldn’t open my eyes. I blocked the light with my hands, and saw a man walking towards us with a flashlight on the other side, as if he was wearing a railway uniform!
At that moment, I seemed to see hope, at least he was not a bad person.
When I got closer, I saw that he was really a railway worker. He looked middle-aged and looked to be about the same age as my father.
When he learned that we walked along the railway track from Huayang Bridge because we didn’t know the route to the train station, maybe it was out of pity, or maybe...he made a tone. The price has become lower and the attitude has improved.
He told us not to walk along the railway next time, it was too dangerous. And told us that not far ahead is Songjiang Railway Station!
Finally we saw hope. When we arrived at the train station, it was just six o'clock, half an hour early!
After queuing and checking in, we were pushed forward by the crowd and finally got on the train. Our tickets had no space. We found a corner in the aisle, put down our backpacks, and sat down on our denim bags. At that moment, we were tired and hungry!
On the train, Azhen told me that her father had arranged a marriage for her at home, and the other party was Brother Bing. If she got married this time when she returned home, she would no longer go out to work. Got it!
4.
After the Spring Festival in 1996, I set out alone with my luggage. My father seemed to accept the fact that I was working part-time.
I didn’t go to make an appointment with Azhen. Although we were from the same town, the two families were still a little far apart. I guessed in my heart that Azhen had fallen in love with the soldier brother and would not go out again.
In the first half of 1996, the business of the original factory began to decline, and Aqin and the others chose to leave.
Later I heard that Aqin was in love, and we rarely contacted each other again.
I had to choose to change jobs. If you are not well educated and have no skills, it is really difficult to find a satisfactory job!
During that period of time, I was homeless and my pocket was so deflated that I had to eat three meals from a pack of instant noodles.
After many twists and turns, I finally stayed in a knitwear factory. The factory provided food and accommodation and a place to stay, which was better than living outside. I became an apprentice again.
It was in that factory that I met my current husband!
I started to fall in love. I was alone in a foreign land, and suddenly there was someone who cared about me. I had no reason to refuse!
Later, I learned from fellow villagers that Azhen came to Shanghai again.
I started to ask around about Azhen’s whereabouts.
At that time, my monthly salary reached three digits, and I no longer sent it home every month as before. I only send money home once every few months.
I started to learn to save money on my own!
Later I heard that A-Zhen worked in a clothing factory in a certain town. My husband and I rode bicycles for a long time before we found the clothing factory.
At that time, Xianxian and I were in love. When we walked hand in hand downstairs of the garment factory, it was the lunch break, and we heard someone upstairs saying: "Wow. , look at that golden couple!”
I felt so happy after hearing this! A woman in love is the most beautiful.
The first thing I saw when I walked up to the second floor was Azhen. I called her by her nickname in my hometown dialect. She was stunned for a moment. When she came to her senses, she ran towards me. He came over and hugged me tightly. At that moment, we were both so excited that we cried!
She told me that she did not like the soldier brother. He has come to Shanghai a long time ago and has been looking for me everywhere. When I introduced Xian Xian to her, she shyly told me that she was also in love, and Xian Xian was a Shanghai native!
I am happy for Zhen in my heart, and I also hope that she will find a home. The feeling of wandering is not pleasant.
Azhen’s family was originally from Chedun, and my husband and I happened to be working in Yexie at that time. There is only a Huangpu River Bridge in the middle.
Since then, Azhen and I have kept in touch!
A few years later, Xianxian and I also had our own small home in Yexie, and we have been living in Yexie.
Azhen’s family lives in Chedun. The two families are ten kilometers apart.
5.
Zhen and I are like sisters, we often move around, care about each other, and help each other!
A few years later, we both raised a lovely little princess. Azhen’s daughter is three years older than my daughter!
At that time, Azhen often brought her daughter to my house to stay for a few days. I remember that when the little girl was still young, every time she came to my house, she would cry loudly before leaving, and she would not leave. , the little mouth was crying and yelling: "I want to stay at aunt's house, and I want to sleep on the sofa at aunt's house."
After my daughter was born, A-Zhen cared more about me and came often Look at me, helping to take care of the kids. The first thing my daughter said was not dad or mom, but aunt. This title was directed at A-Zhen.
In the eyes of the two children, we are their closest relatives!
Many times, we would dress up in sister outfits and dress up the two little girls beautifully. We would go shopping and eat delicious food together hand in hand, attracting the envious eyes of others.
Occasionally, when I go back to my hometown first, I will ask A-Zhen to come and accompany me. We will hide under the quilt and have endless topics to talk about in the middle of the night.
Sometimes, we will have disputes because of disagreements on some topics, and we will not give in to each other. We will also be angry like children for a few days. After a few days, we get back together again!
I still remember that night a few years ago, the two of us were riding bicycles around the first factory we entered. The factory there had long been demolished and changed beyond recognition. Azhen was still familiar with it. He took me around and introduced me all the way, looking for the footprints of those years.
We picked flowers on the roadside, hip-hopped, slapped, and took pictures under the street lights!
Later, we rode past the entrance of a company and heard the doorman speaking our hometown dialect. Suddenly we felt so friendly. We walked over and chatted with the uncle, who also took a photo of us riding. photo!
That night, we rode until eleven o'clock at night before going home!
When A-Zhen has two things, one of them will definitely be given to me. She once said to me, "I have everything she has!"
Although we are both in our forties, sometimes we behave like children together, going crazy and dancing together. , laughing together!
6.
In the past two years, I have accompanied my daughter back to my hometown to study. I have spent less time seeing A-Zhen, but we have not become estranged because of the distance. On the contrary, I know how to understand and cherish each other more.
Twenty-five years of friendship have already invited each other into life!
Azhen feels sorry for me and often sends large and small packages of snacks to me and my children, including Jiujiu Duck, three squirrels, Lai Yifen... and boxes of fruits!
This package not only contains snacks, but also her longing for me. I know she misses me!
Me too, I miss her often!
Azhen told me more than once that she wanted us to travel to Yunnan together, just the two of us, without my husband or the children.
She often sends me some beautiful photos taken by other girlfriends in Yunnan!
I understand what she means, she wants us to go there too!
When my daughter goes to college, I will definitely accompany A-Zhen and let the two of us go out and have a good time! Go to Yunnan, which she yearns for, sit by the Erhai Lake and enjoy the breeze, look at the clouds in Cangshan Mountain, and quietly admire the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain...
They say that best friends are the other true selves!
Indeed, Azhen and I have many similar personalities. We are both positive, we are kind, we both like to be pretty, we both love our families and our children, we are both unwilling to be ordinary, but we are Live an ordinary life...
Zhen, we both want to be fine. I look forward to the next twenty-five years, and the next twenty-five years, when we can still hide under the same bed and whisper!