I am Lin Fenghe, a railway boy. I was bitten by a leech when I was five years old, and my mother stepped forward to protect me. That was the last time she really saw me. From then on, all that was left in my life was her endless weighing and control.
When I was fifteen, my mother forced me to give up a key high school for the sake of my younger brother. I had no choice but to compromise. I studied as an accountant in a technical secondary school and joined the Railway Fourth Bureau. I wandered around construction sites all year round, sending money every month, just in exchange for some peace of mind.
The Qinghai-Tibet wilderness has witnessed all kinds of life. Both of my love relationships ended in regret. After all, no one stayed for me.
Fortunately, Zhou Qiang and I saved each other and supported each other during the muddy years. I worked hard to gain confidence in my career, while he worked hard to learn skills and make progress. The siblings jointly purchased equipment and started their own business, completely escaping from the predicament of working at the bottom.
At the age of thirty, I resolutely quit my job. My mother angrily said: "If you leave the railway, you are nothing!"
I responded calmly: "I am myself."
Don't ask for forgiveness or reconciliation, just break free from all bonds and live your own way back home.
Reader comments
Maybe it's because I'm a railway kid and I seem to have a unique feeling.
My family is from the Iron and Steel Bureau, headquartered in Taiyuan, but the place where my mother works has never been in Taiyuan, Baotou, Hailar, Qi County, or Dangshan. My mother is a middle school teacher. Unlike the author, I went to Jiaotong University. After graduation, I did not go to the Ministry of Railways.
To be honest, the workers in the Engineering Bureau of the Ministry of Railways are really hard-working. I know a sister who lives two rows in front of our house and lost one eye at the construction site. That sister has been clever and handy since she was a child. She can embroider and hand it over to the neighborhood committee to help support the family. I also know that a brother who is more than 10 years older than me had one of his hands broken and has been left one-armed ever since. Also, Aunt Ma from the house next door to me suddenly became a widow. She was raising three girls by herself, and the youngest was only three years old. She behaved all kinds of ways and never left home to go back to her hometown. Later, the company had no choice but to give her a temporary job.
I also experienced that in the early 1990s, the performance of the unit was not good, the entire department could not pay wages, and so many knowledgeable people were laid off. In the past, eight windows were opened in the office canteen during dinner, and it was bustling with people. In the end, there was only one old cook, and he was enough to cook. That scene was really shocking.
My mother met an old ophthalmologist at the local hospital. He didn't know that it was a good thing that none of her children were in the Ministry of Railways. It was all thanks to her children who gave her money.
That day, my brother also said that he was on a business trip. Because there was no high-speed rail, he took the green local train. He suddenly passed by the former camp and saw that the house was in tatters and was no different from before. In the past four residential areas, two have been built, and two have remained unchanged, including coal yards and rows of dilapidated houses.
Maybe it's because I'm a railway kid and I seem to have a unique feeling. My family is from the Iron and Steel Bureau, headquartered in Taiyuan, but the place where my mother works has never been in Taiyuan, Baotou, Hailar, Qi County, or Dangshan. My mother is a middle school teacher. Unlike the author, I went to Jiaotong University. After graduation, I did not go to the Ministry of Railways. To be honest, the workers in the Engineering Bureau of the Ministry of Railways are really hard-working. I know a sister who lives two rows in front of our house and lost one eye at the construction site. That sister has been clever and handy since she was a child. She can embroider and hand it over to the neighborhood committee to help support the family. I also know that a brother who is more than 10 years older than me had one of his hands broken and has been left one-armed ever since. Also, Aunt Ma from the house next door to me suddenly became a widow. She was raising three girls by herself, and the youngest was only three years old. She behaved all kinds of ways and never left home to go back to her hometown. Later, the company had no choice but to give her a temporary job. I also experienced that in the early 1990s, the performance of the unit was not good, the entire department could not pay wages, and so many knowledgeable people were laid off. In the past, eight windows were opened in the office canteen during dinner, and it was bustling with people. In the end, there was only one old cook, and he was enough to cook. That scene was really shocking. My mother met an old ophthalmologist at the local hospital. He didn't know that it was a good thing that none of her children were in the Ministry of Railways. It was all thanks to her children who gave her money. That day, my brother also said that he was on a business trip. Because there was no high-speed rail, he took the green local train. He suddenly passed by the former camp and saw that the house was in tatters and was no different from before. In the past four residential areas, two have been built, and two have remained unchanged, including coal yards and rows of dilapidated houses.
Reading this book makes me feel a little sad