Text/Editor: Erjiu
Can you believe it? The dilapidated bridge and cave, where even beggars do not want to live for a long time, has become a "warm home" for a migrant worker couple, who lived there for 10 years, during which time they raised four children.
Although the bedroom, living room, and kitchen are all available, and there is fire and electricity inside, it is almost impossible to see that it is a bridge hole;
But the family of six obviously has an ancestral home, but they are willing to bear the risk of being run over by the wheels, and choose to live in the bridge cave for 10 years and sleep with snakes and rats.
What exactly is this for?
*The information has a real source, which is indicated at the end of this article
The bridge and the cave are my home
In 2010, the Changzhonggang Bridge in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province was very lively, and there were no less than thousands of people and cars passing on the bridge every day.
But no one noticed that under their feet, there lived a "bridge cave family".
This is a family of six, the head of the family is named Xu Jinhuo, 44 years old this year, and his wife has lived in the bridge cave for 10 years, where they have two daughters and two sons.
The 16-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter were born before coming to Qiaodong, while the 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were born and raised in Qiaodong.
Although the family of six lives in Qiaodong, the couple does not see themselves as wanderers.
In the 60s of the last century, Xu Jinhuo was born in Shangrao, Jiangxi, and his family was poor, relying only on his mason father to work everywhere to support the family.
Because of lack of money, Xu Jinhuo dropped out of school early and began to learn to build walls Xi his father, and as he grew older, he became a new generation of masons in the village.
However, there are a lot of jobs that come to him, and the money he can earn is still not enough to feed and wear.
coincided with the reform and opening up in the 80s, and the national trend changed from "intellectuals going to the mountains and going to the countryside" to "rural youth going out to work".
In the big city, he really earned far more than before, not only can he take care of his own food, clothing, housing and transportation, but also have the money to send back to his hometown to support his parents.
Even a few years later, I met my current wife on the construction site, and the two are from the same township, so they often work together, and over time they have a good impression of each other.
His wife is nearly 20 years younger than him, and her youthful and beautiful appearance makes Xu Jinhuo very excited, and the two can be regarded as a pair of "old husbands and young wives".
After getting married, they moved out of the collective dormitory on the construction site and rented a cozy house nearby.
Although the rent was very high, the couple's income was fully affordable, so the two lived a life of blending oil in honey, and soon there was a crystallization of love.
Seeing that life is about to get better and better, why did the couple suddenly move into the dirty and filthy Shiqiao Cave with their children?
Before the car reaches the mountain, there is a bridge cave
At the beginning, Xu Jinhuo was really grateful to the big city for letting him have everything, he didn't dare to think that he could eat a full meal and hug his wife and children on the hot kang.
But as the children were born one after another, he realized that he was wrong.
After the child was born, he needed to be taken care of at all times, and his wife did not go out to work, but with Xu Jinhuo's income alone, he could not afford the family's expenses at all.
On the one hand, he had to provide food and clothing for the whole family, and at the same time he had to pay high rent, and it was only then that he realized that the big city was not as good as he imagined.
However, it was too late, Xu Jinhuo did not dare to return to his hometown with his wife and children, although his hometown has an ancestral home, the money he can earn is estimated to be not enough for the child's milk powder.
But how will he and his family survive if they continue to stay here?
Xu Jinhuo was so worried that he couldn't eat or sleep well all day, and he was once distracted at the construction site, almost causing an irreparable disaster.
As the saying goes, "there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain", and after a finish, Xu Jinhuo ushered in his "way out".
In 2008, Xu Jinhuo came to work near Changzhong Port Bridge, where there is a small river and the environment is very beautiful.
After finishing work, the foreman sent him to temporarily store the construction equipment in the bridge tunnel underneath, and then he realized that there was a "hole in the sky" under his feet.
This bridge cave is very hidden, the landscape is very good, if you don't come down to find it, you can't imagine that there is such a treasure of feng shui.
Xu Jinhuo sighed at the same time, looking at the wide and bright bridge in front of him, he suddenly felt a blessing to his heart, and a bold idea emerged in his mind - to turn this place into a "home", then the rent will be saved!
But can the wife agree?
It's already very aggrieved to marry his wife who suffers, and now he can't even have a place to live, Xu Jinhuo really doesn't have the face to ask his wife.
But survival is imminent, both horizontal and vertical, so let's ask, he thought his wife would refuse sharply, but who knows, she agreed.
His wife has always known that Xu Jinhuo is working hard to support his family alone, and he has no way to share it with him, so at least share his worries.
Xu Jinhuo was so moved that after the construction of the construction site was completed, the bridge that had been used as a storage warehouse was vacated, and he began to prepare for the work of "Dream Remodeler".
Although the bottom of the bridge itself can shelter from the rain, it cannot block the wind, and the reason for the river's standing is destined to be extremely humid here, and the bridge is made of stone, which is completely incapable of heating.
So Xu Jinhuo bought a large amount of plywood, separated a vacant land of nearly 60 or 70 square meters, kept it for residence, and then sealed the surrounding area, and the roof should be built especially firmly, otherwise a strong wind can blow down the house.
After completing the prototype, he used a few pieces of plywood to separate the bedroom, living room, kitchen and other living areas of the house.
The reason why I didn't build a toilet was because I couldn't hold groundwater at all, and I was a farmer myself, so I didn't stick to this little bit.
The home has been built, and the rest is to move to work, in order to save money, Xu Jinhuo did not ask a moving company, but chose to make a trip by himself.
He couldn't move all the big pieces of furniture like the bed, wardrobe, table, etc., so he took it apart and transported it little by little, and then reassembled it.
Later, I discussed with a nearby family and privately connected a wire, which is completely inhabitable, and the family began a 10-year life in the bridge.
After the rent pressure was gone, Xu Jinhuo really felt a lot more relaxed, and he was unexpectedly more comfortable than the previous one, spacious and not disturbed by outsiders.
As the children grew up and the eldest was able to take care of the younger, his wife took care of the family and the children while also finding a job nearby.
The days are finally hopeful, but the hardships of the bridge cave are indeed very imaginable.
In summer, the river water is exposed to the scorching sun and emits a foul smell, and because it is overgrown with weeds, mosquitoes, insects, rats and ants love to come here to "play".
But this is still not enough to resist all the mosquitoes, at night, a family of six can clearly feel that there are countless mosquitoes facing each other, and they will wake up itchy when they fall asleep.
For this reason, Xu Jinhuo has thought of many ways, but as long as he can't make the bridge hole airtight, then he has to endure these torments, but don't think that life will be better in winter.
When the temperature drops below freezing, the river surface is covered with thin ice, and the stone bridge is even colder, and the bridge cave house surrounded by the stone bridge has become a "natural refrigerator".
When the temperature outside is a few degrees, the indoor temperature is a few degrees below zero, and at night it drops again and again, and the thick quilt cannot dispel the frost.
The warm weather is even more disastrous, the house is steamed, and all the furniture and items are damp and cold, which is a disaster.
But in the end, Xu Jinhuo's family resisted all the unsatisfactory with a tightly connected heart.
Every evening is the family's favorite time, Xu Jinhuo and his wife will walk out of the bridge cave and go for a walk on the bridge, with the sunset in front of them and the traffic behind them, life and dreams are strangely harmonious at this moment.
At home, the children used the bamboo poles used to dry clothes as horizontal bars, playing happily, and the days were bitter and sweet.
However, the originally peaceful life was suddenly shattered by a piece of news.
Forced demolition and evacuation
On June 8, 2010, "Nanhu Evening News" reported on the life of Xu Jinhuo's family in the bridge cave, and a large number of indoor and outdoor pictures shocked everyone.
The tenacious and warm deeds of a family of six touched many people, and everyone ran to support the Xu family.
A kindergarten teacher came to visit Xu's family with a few peers, as well as books, toys and other Xi supplies.
Xu Jinhuo's children have not yet gone to school, and the teacher said that if they really can't afford the tuition, then they are willing to accept the siblings for free, and only need the Xu family to pay a little for food.
This was a great thing, but Xu Jinhuo silently refused after watching the children in white school uniforms sit with his ragged children.
The teacher didn't say much, but concentrated on telling the children stories.
When it came to the Dragon Boat Festival, Ms. Gao, a citizen, came to visit the Xu family with zongzi, and that day Ms. Gao visited the Xu family, and there was infinite sympathy on her face when she came, but she was full of admiration when she left.
As more and more people learned about the deeds of "Xujiaqiao Cave", the Nanhu Squadron of the Nanhu District Urban Management Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau also noticed that after learning about the surrounding terrain and environment, for safety reasons, they had to ask Xu Jinhuo to demolish the illegal reconstruction by himself and move out as soon as possible.
Although the bridge and cave are complete, no one knows when a sudden natural disaster will come, such as a flood and collapse, once it happens, it will be fatal to Xu Jinhuo's family of six.
However, Xu Jinhuo originally planned to move back to his hometown in Jiangxi at the end of June, and the children were too old to study in Jiaxing, so it was indeed time to leave.
Considering that it was not easy for the Xu family to find a house with a lease period of only half a month, the Nanhu Squadron of the Nanhu District Urban Management Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau made an exception and allowed them to postpone moving out of the bridge.
On the day of the actual move, the Nanhu Chengguan squadron also came to help.
In order to save money, Xu Jinhuo looked for a truck back to Jiangxi, and it didn't cost much to take them along the way, so the asking price was not high, and the family was also happy.
Before leaving, Xu Jinhuo's heart was mixed, he had been grateful for everything the big city had brought him, and he had wanted to escape from it all, but in the end he learned to accept it.
After 10 years of living in Qiaodong, they have already had enough, and they are already over half a hundred years old, and they have been planning to return to their hometown for a long time, after all, that is their real home.
Xu Jinhuo and his wife plan to settle the children after returning home, and then go out to the big city to work for a few years while he can still work, earn enough money for tuition and renovation of the ancestral home, and completely retire in their hometown.
Now, 13 years later, after the Xu family moved out of the bridge cave, no one has lived there anymore, and it is already covered with moss and ringworm.
With the continuous progress of society in recent years, life in the countryside is getting better and better, and many places have developed no different from big cities, and the life of the Xu family is naturally getting better and better.
Several children have grown up, the eldest two have reached the age of starting a family, and the two younger ones are also adults, Xu Jinhuo and his wife's burden is getting smaller and smaller, and now it is time to enjoy happiness.
Sometimes he would be in a trance, he was only in his 20s when he left home, and now he is back here, he is over the age of six, many people in the same village can't remember him clearly, and the children have never seen him, he is just like the poem says:
"When the young and the eldest left home, the hometown accent has not changed, the sideburns have declined, the children do not know each other, and they ask where the guests come from. ”
Wherever he wandered, he was destined to return home again.
References:
[1] Jiaxing Daily: "Photo: A family of six in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province lived in the bridge cave and returned to their hometown after moving out"
[2] "Nanhu Evening News" visual version: "The bridge cave is my home"