The First Volume County Town Chapter 3 Picking Up

  Yitian Xing pushed the 28-inch bicycle out of the shed, gazing up at the dark night sky above the campus, his eyebrows twitching imperceptibly. He watched as classmates walked by, greeting them with a friendly smile. Unlike when he was younger, he now knew how to make himself presentable, and no longer had classmates shun him due to his body odor. High school students didn't discriminate against someone because of their family background; even if they did, in the elegant campus filled with books, no one dared show such distaste on their face.

  He was pushing that oversized bicycle out of the school, the road leading to the gate had dim lights on both sides, and he was thinking about what books to borrow from the county library on Saturday, but unexpectedly someone swept past him like the wind, accompanied by the sound of the wind, and a hand stretched out to grab his hair.

  "Kid, you should wash your hair, come home for dinner tomorrow night." Several bicycles whizzed past him, including a short-haired girl who turned back to make a face at him.

  He smiled slightly. The short-haired girl was named Zou Lerer, a deskmate, but unfortunately they didn't take the same path home.

  Lere is also one of the most familiar classmates to Yitian Xing in school, and the reason is actually very simple. Because last time when all the classmates went to Lere's home for a gathering, Lere's mother stared at Yitian Xing blankly, then with her oily hands patted his face and called out: "Honey, come quick and see, isn't this that little brat?"

  Mr. Zou, wearing glasses, slowly walked out of the study, then took off his glasses and examined them for a while before saying slowly: "The eyebrows and eyes are faintly familiar, but it's been a long time..."

  Lere's mother waved her hand and interrupted, shouting: "What's the point of being so stupid? Just ask this kid the name on his household registration and it'll be settled!"

  The classmates were now staring strangely at Yitian Xing and Lele's parents, Lele scolded: "Dad, Mom, what are you doing? This is our classmate, usually the shyest one, today he finally agreed to come, don't scare him off."

  "Adults are talking, don't interrupt," Lere's mother said with a wave of her hand. Then, with a warm smile all over her face, she asked: "Little boy, what's your name? Remember, it's the one on your household registration book."

  Yi Tianxing was now a twelve-foot-tall Vajra and muttered: "My name is Yi Tianxing."

  As soon as the three words "Yi Tian Xing" came out, Lele's mom and Teacher Zou both burst out laughing, saying: "Do you still remember who gave him this name?"

  Yi Tianxing suddenly enlightened, looked at the two parents for a long time, and then said with gratitude: "It's actually Director Pang and Teacher Zou."

  "Director Chubby?" Although Zou Lerer didn't know what had happened, she couldn't help but laugh when she saw her classmate, who was usually the quietest and most taciturn, calling her "Mom Director Chubby".

  After everyone sat down at the dinner table, Teacher Zou began to tell his classmates about his past with Yi Tianxing, and as he spoke, he became increasingly emotional. After a while, Director Pang, or rather, Lele's mom, asked with concern: "We moved away when you were still in elementary school, how have you been doing since then?"

  Yitian Xing was dealing with a large chicken leg brought over by Lele's mother, and replied vaguely: "They're all pretty good, the neighbors are all quite helpful."

  Lere's mother sighed and then began to tell the classmates at the table about Yitianxing's genius past in elementary school, making everyone listen with reverence, without caring that Yitianxing's face had already turned as red as a cooked shrimp.

  After dinner, everyone dispersed. Lailai sent Yitian Xing to the door, with a coat on his shoulder. Under the dim light, the girl looked at him with clear eyes: "I didn't expect it, Yitian Xing, you can really pretend, so you're that monster genius from elementary school."

  Yi Tian Xing was left speechless, and said: "You've forgotten my name yourself, how can you pretend? Moreover..." Suddenly, he stared blankly and said: "Monster Genius? Could this be the nickname I had in elementary school?"

  The two of them exchanged a smile.

  From that day on, Yi Tianxing became familiar with Zou Lelie and often went to her house for dinner, after which he would bring some delicious food back to his own small black house.

  …………………………

  Director Pang and Teacher Zou are really great people.

  Yitian Xing watched the bicycle disappear into the distance, standing at the school gate in a daze. He raised his head to see that the night sky above was getting darker and darker, knowing that it might rain tonight, so he quickly got on his bicycle and rushed home.

  His little black house was still in the old place, in the most dilapidated corner of the old city.

  Yitian carefully took off his own light-colored shirt and pants, folded them neatly and placed them on the bed, even putting a newspaper between the sheets and clothes. Then he reached under the bed to fetch his work uniform, without wrinkling his brow, and put it on with ease.

  The work uniform consisted of a pair of black, tattered jeans, a blue work shirt from some unknown textile factory, a battered straw hat with a torn brim, and a handkerchief that had lost its whiteness after repeated washing.

  Put on work clothes, carry the basket behind his back, wear those rubber shoes that have accompanied him for over a decade of picking up scraps, holding in his hand like a sword the bamboo stick split into two sections, our scrap collector hums softly: "Only see you go, not see you come..." Imitating the fourteen tones of chanting from TV dramas, he starts walking along the dark street towards the vast garbage dump near the city gate.

  The more he walked, the better his mood became. He had to tie his shoes with a hemp rope in order to walk, but now they fit perfectly. With his improved mood, the young scavenger felt carefree as he strolled through the narrow alley paved with stones, as if he were about to break into dance.

  In front is where he works the night shift, Gonghe Village Garbage Station.

  A small mountain-like pile of garbage appeared in front of Yi Tian, a foul odor wafted up to his face, he gently put down the gray handkerchief tied around his nose, but there was no discomfort on his face. It's nothing, after all, he had been picking up scraps for over a decade, would he still be unaccustomed to it?

  He walked into the garbage heap, using his gloved left hand to gently rummage through it, picking out plastic bottles and glass bottles. At this time of year, pull tabs were still rare, so when he occasionally found one, it was like finding a treasure, and he quickly pressed down on it with both palms before putting it into the basket on his back. His left hand expertly rummaged through the trash, while his right hand wasn't idle either - he lightly used a bamboo stick to pick up paper scraps from the ground, then put them into the basket behind him, and the crumpled black paper balls were swallowed up by the basket without any effort. The movement was extremely practiced, and the long bamboo stick was used as if it were a pair of chopsticks in his hand.

  Are garbage collectors also considered colleagues? Those who make a living by rummaging through the same trash heap every day are also considered coworkers, right? Unfortunately, all that exists between these colleagues is a cold gaze. But this is for the better, as it spares us from the fake smiles of people in the office.

  Yitian gazed far away at the three or four colleagues walking on the trash heap, and smiled slightly. He was very satisfied with this kind of life that didn't involve talking to people, because often he himself didn't know what he and others were saying, nor whether others could understand him.

  The garbage dump under the night sky emitted a foul odor, and the bright moon in the night sky seemed to be unable to bear this smell, quietly hiding behind the cloud layer, making Yitian's surroundings even darker.

  In the distant darkness, a few people came walking, wearing fashionable trousers and T-shirts. Yi Tianxing's eyes were good, so he could see clearly that these people were carrying several aluminum ingots towards a farm vehicle parked outside the garbage dump.

  He furrowed his brow, knowing that this must be the county's hooligans stealing raw materials from the factory in Beifang. He quickly turned around and walked a few steps back, and when he passed by those old scavengers, he quietly gave them a signal. Those old scavengers were reminded by him and only then did they discover that there were several hooligans behind them, scaring them into a flurry, and they hastily ran to the back of the garbage heap in small steps.

  Yi Tian Xing deliberately fell back to the last place, just didn't want to leave in a hurry and attract the attention of those little rascals.

  He didn't expect that the old farm vehicle's engine would suddenly roar to life, its headlights illuminating his figure on top of the garbage heap.

  "What are you looking at, kid?" a thug cursed, instinctively turning his head back to Yi Tianxing.