Text/Yu Xian (Material/Liu Chunjiang)
My name is Liu Chunjiang and I am 42 years old.
I also have an older brother and an older sister above me, and they are the third oldest in the family.
As the saying goes, "The emperor loves the eldest son, and the people like the child".
Because of my young age, I am especially favored at home, whether it is my grandparents or my father and mother, I am very rare, everything delicious and fun depends on me, as long as I am unhappy, they will coax me, try to make me happy.
Being so doting has created my arrogant character.
Although I am young, I have never been afraid of my brothers and sisters because of the protection of adults, and I am more smart and clever than my two brothers and sisters, which has also become my parents' ability to show off to others.
"You see, how smart our family's Chunjiang is, he will definitely be able to be admitted to university in the future."
Some of my little cleverness often caused my older siblings to fall out of favor in front of their parents and get scolded by their parents.
However, my family didn't know about it and praised me for being smart and sensible.
And I, enjoying the care given by my family, how could I take the initiative to step out of such a comfort zone?
In '95, I was thirteen years old.
I was in junior high school that year.
It is also the rebellious period that has just entered the adolescence in today's terms, and the personality and cognition are changing, and the perception of the outside world often depends on one's own heart, which is also a period that is more difficult to discipline.
Children in this period are not afraid of anything, do not listen to their parents and teachers, are disgusted by the words of their parents and teachers, and only want to escape from the shackles of the family and want to go out alone.
As I said above, because of my parents' doting, my personality is very arrogant, and I couldn't see it when I was younger, and my parents are also proud of my maverick character.
But when I entered the rebellious period, my parents also noticed that my personality was not quite right, and they changed their previous doting and began to discipline me strictly.
Their different teaching methods have greatly distorted my personality.
The stricter they controlled, the more uncomfortable I became.
In the first semester of my second year of junior high school, I couldn't stand the nagging of my parents and chose to run away from home.
Now that I think about it, I was naïve back then.
Perhaps, this is youth!
Because of the doting at home, I still had more money when I ran away from home, and in addition to my own pocket money, I took fifty yuan from my father in the cupboard before leaving.
If you have money, where can you go?
That's what I thought at the time.
I didn't run away from home blindly, before I left, I made a special inquiry with a few friends in the village, and asked where their parents went out to work.
I also inquired about how to get to the big city.
When I was ready, I carried a canvas schoolbag and my hat on my back, ran from the village to the town to stop a coal truck to go to the county seat, and from the county seat I spent five yuan to buy a train ticket to the city.
This is my first time in the city.
When Wang and I saw the high-rise buildings around us, the whole person was stunned!
I never thought there would be such a tall house in this world.
The first time I went out, I was overjoyed, although I was also a little scared, but more of a yearning for the future.
However, I rejoiced too soon!
Although the buildings are beautiful and there are many cars in the big city, I have seen too much and that's it, and I wandered the streets all afternoon until my stomach growled before I was reluctant to stop.
I touched my stomach and decided to find something to eat first, and then I had the strength to look for a job when I was full of food and drink, right?
At that time, I secretly vowed in my heart that I must find a good job, make a lot of money, and go home in a beautiful way to make my parents regret it.
Just down the street, there is a rice noodle shop.
Smelling the fragrant rice noodles, my hala involuntarily flowed out, I walked into the shop, pretended to be an adult and said, "Boss, come to a bowl of rice noodles, remember to put more meat!"
When the boss heard this, he came out of the back kitchen and looked at me.
He said, "Child, do you have any money?"
I said, "How much is a bowl?"
The boss said: "It's not expensive, an ordinary small bowl is only one dollar, and a piece of meat is eight."
I thought about it, although the price is a bit expensive, I can still afford it, after all, I still have dozens of dollars in my pocket!
I said, "Then have a bowl with meat."
Why do you want to eat a good meal when you finally come to the big city? I was hungry for meat for a long time.
The boss looked at me and said with a smile: "Kid, our shop is to give money first and then eat, can you get a piece of eight? I think you should go play elsewhere! Don't make trouble here."
As soon as I heard this, I immediately became angry, pouting and saying, "Boss, who do you look down on? I still have this little money."
With that, I reached into my pocket and tried to show him the money.
However, when my hand reached into my pocket, I found a large hole in the pocket of my clothes, and I felt a chill in my hand that had reached inside.
I felt a pang in my heart, and I felt bad.
I opened my clothes only to find that at some point, there were several large holes under the pockets of my clothes, and the money I had put in them was already gone.
Seeing this, the boss smiled and said, "Child, didn't your money be taken away by three hands, right?
I was very proud a minute ago, but after hearing the boss's words, I suddenly stood up like a deflated ball, stood up and walked away!
I didn't expect that I would encounter such a troublesome thing when I just came to the big city, and I didn't have a penny on me, and I panicked all of a sudden.
It is impossible to go back.
The arrogance of the rebellious period is still there, and I don't want to go back and be made fun of.
Now that you've run away from home, you have to mix it up a little.
That's what I thought at the time.
After leaving the rice noodle shop, I wandered aimlessly through the streets, I didn't know where to go, and you knew what to do, I tried to find a job, but when people saw that I was short and not very old, they just refused!
It's dark! I have nowhere to go.
I could only curl up in the corner of someone else's wall, find some broken paper shells to cover me, and barely survive the night, one night, I was cold and hungry.
I began to wonder, am I wrong?
I woke up early the next morning.
It's not that I don't want to sleep a little longer, but I can't sleep.
I was woken up from hunger, and I felt a little sad when I touched my rumbling belly, and it would be better if I were at home, so that I wouldn't have to starve and freeze, and it would be better than now.
Although I felt a little remorseful, I still didn't want to go back.
After getting up and putting away the paper shells, I decided to try my luck at the small restaurants, and if I could help wash the dishes and sweep the floors, I would be willing to do just food.
Solve the problem of eating first, and talk about the rest later.
After finding the snack street, I went from house to house to ask to see if I could find something to do.
At this moment, a group of children about my age came running from me, and some of them were holding a bun of white steamed buns in their arms.
When these people were running, many of the steamed buns in their arms fell to the ground, and they didn't care about the steamed buns that fell to the ground, and ran forward one by one.
I watched the steamed buns fall on the ground and swallowed unconsciously.
Seeing that these people didn't want it, I squatted on the ground and picked up all the steamed buns scattered on the ground, which would be enough for me to eat for several days.
At the time, I thought, these people are too wasteful, right?
So many steamed buns fell on the ground and didn't pick them up?
Just when I was secretly happy, a middle-aged man grabbed my hand and said angrily: "Good boy, finally let me catch you! You children steal my steamed buns while I am not paying attention, I must send you inside today."
I was picking up steamed buns on the ground and was startled by this sudden scene.
I immediately struggled and said, "Uncle, you misunderstood me! I didn't steal your steamed buns, I watched these steamed buns fall on the ground and no one picked them up, I didn't steal them."
When the middle-aged man heard this, he said angrily: "Still want to quibble?"
"I know you're not the only one, there are a few more running ahead! The others in my store are already chasing after you, and they can't get far."
"Now you give me an honest explanation, where is your home, who are your parents? If you don't pay the money, I will directly deal with you as a thief, and you will wait for ...... then."
As soon as I heard his words, I panicked!
The first time I faced this situation, I didn't know how to explain it, just when I was a little bit of a godless.
The lady in a restaurant next to her suddenly walked out of the house and said to the middle-aged man: "Lao Luo, let go of this child, this child is not with the few just now, I saw him looking for a job near here just now!"
When the middle-aged man heard this, he said with some doubts: "Sister Zhang, what you said is true?"
Sister Zhang nodded and said, "I can see it clearly! This kid is not with those few, he is not a thief, if it is really together, how can he squat on the ground and wait for you to catch him?"
"If you look at his clothes, it's obvious that he is not a child who has been wandering outside for a long time, how can he steal your steamed buns?"
When Lao Luo heard this, he looked at me carefully.
Immediately, he nodded and said: "It doesn't look like it, boy, you are lucky this time, if it weren't for Sister Zhang's intercession for you, I wouldn't have easily just left it this time."
I hurriedly said, "Uncle, I really didn't steal your steamed buns, if you want these steamed buns, I will give them to you."
He looked at me and said, "Forget it, I'll give it to you!"
After that, he left in a hurry! It seemed that he was chasing the group of children just now, and when I saw him leave, I suddenly breathed a sigh of relief in my heart, fortunately, it was okay, it really scared me just now!
When Sister Zhang saw Lao Luo leaving, she turned her head to look at me and said, "Little doll, come in, Auntie has something to say to you."
She relieved me, and I couldn't help but give her face.
I picked up the two remaining steamed buns on the ground and followed her into the restaurant next to me, I looked at it a little and found that the restaurant was still very beautiful, looking at the neatly dressed Sister Zhang, my heart was a little nervous.
After entering the store, Sister Zhang said to me, "You sit down first!"
I was arrogant at home, but I was a different person outside.
Especially since that incident just let me know that my family will protect you.
Outside, no one will get used to you, if it weren't for Sister Zhang's insistence, I would have been hard to argue, and I might have been misunderstood by the owner of the bun shop!
What will happen next, I don't know.
After I sat down, Sister Zhang said, "What are you doing picking up those steamed buns? If you don't pick them up, maybe you won't be caught by Lao Luo."
I said, "I want to eat, I haven't eaten in a day! I'm hungry."
When Sister Zhang heard this, she asked with a little surprise: "What about your family? I just saw you looking for a job everywhere, and your age doesn't look very old, so your parents are relieved to let you come out?"
"Besides, at your age, it's basically impossible to find a job, and no one dares to use you!"
"You're still a kid".
I was silent for a moment, and did not answer her words.
I can't say I ran away from home, can I?
She looked at me for a while and said, "I know if you don't say it, my grandson is exactly the same age as you, and I don't listen to anything, I think you ran out of the house, right?"
"Son, I advise you to go home!
I was a little unconvinced and said, "What am I going back for? My parents dislike me, they are too nagging, I don't want to listen to them."
Sister Zhang smiled slightly and said, "Then you come out, what can you do? What will you do?"
"I ......".
I tried to refute it, but I found that I didn't seem to know anything.
said that I wanted to find a restaurant to wash dishes, but I didn't seem to wash dishes at home, and I said that I was looking for strength to do it, and no one seemed to want it at my age.
I was immediately discouraged!
Sister Zhang sighed and said: "If you don't go home, your result will be like those children before, living outside without a fixed place, not enough to eat and wear, and you have to steal and rob for a little food."
"Do you know the consequences of this?"
"If you get caught, your life will be ruined!"
"You will become a joke for others, and your friends in the village will stay away from you, you are a thief to them, have you considered it?"
"If you don't go back to study, what can you do?"
"Washing dishes in a restaurant, or going to work as a coolie?"
"You can't do this now, since you can't do it, you won't have any income, you always have to eat, right? In order to eat, you will one day be like those children, once those children are caught by Lao Luo, do you know what the result is?"
"If I hadn't stopped him today, you would have had a hard time."
When I thought of the man just now, I suddenly felt a thrill.
I have never been afraid of my parents, but I am very afraid of this person.
Because, he doesn't care about anything, and he will really teach me a lesson.
"Auntie, you have 20 yuan here, you take this money and take the car home, study hard, and wait for the future to have a chance! You are returning the 20 yuan to me."
"You remember, the money is lent to you".
Sister Zhang said.
I looked at the twenty dollars on the table and couldn't believe it.
I didn't expect that in the face of a stranger, she would be so willing, isn't she afraid that I will take it and not return it?
I said, "Aren't you afraid that I won't listen to you and take the money and not pay it back"?
When Sister Zhang heard this, she smiled.
She said: "Child, you have no relationship with me, I just said good things to you, but I don't want to see you misunderstood, if you don't listen to me, I can't help it, after all, I am not your parents, and what you will become in the future has nothing to do with me."
"As for the money, it doesn't matter if you don't pay it back, the path you choose is your life, I hope you don't regret it in the future."
"Okay, I see you're hungry too! I'll get you something to eat first, and then you'll go back! If you really don't want to go back, I hope you won't regret it."
Sister Zhang didn't want to say anything, she got up and beckoned the waiters in the store and asked them to make me an egg fried rice.
After eating, she let me go!
I hesitated for a long time on the street with the money in my hand.
Later, I still chose to go home, and the incident at noon did leave a little shadow on me, and I was worried that one day I would be misunderstood, and I would still have such good luck at that time.
When I got home, I took the initiative to admit my mistake and was forgiven by my parents.
After graduating from junior high school, I came to the county seat to study in high school.
After graduating from high school, I was admitted to a very good university outside the province with a good grade, and until now, I still remember what Sister Zhang said to me, you should be responsible for your understanding.
Her sentence, I am not a thief, let me remember it.
If it weren't for her, I might have been branded a thief, and my life might have been a different story!
Now, I am also considered to have a successful career, and I have not lived up to the choice I made back then, as for Sister Zhang, she is old and no longer runs restaurants.
I've been going to visit every year over the years, and if it weren't for her, I might have gone the other way.
She changed my mind and changed the trajectory of my life.
Note: Part of the content of this story has been fictionalized, the material is provided by the owner, the writer is not responsible for the authenticity of the article, art comes from life and is higher than life, artistic processing has been carried out for the convenience of reading, please read rationally, do not sit down.