Chapter 317 Black and White
In his previous life, Zhang Yunqi traveled to many cities.

There is a phenomenon that, except for large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the pedestrian streets in many areas are getting worse and worse, with extremely high vacancy rates of shops everywhere. Online shopping causing "empty streets" is of course one of the important reasons, but the root cause is still housing prices.

You have to know that in later generations, the economy of many places is driven by housing prices. The land of the common people was requisitioned for 50,000 yuan per mu, and then sold to developers for 5 million yuan per mu. The juicer directly drained the six wallets of two families. In such a situation, talking about consumption power is just hooliganism.

The capital city of Shonan, Ritsu, is quite different in this respect. It is the most affordable city in the country, even comparable to other small cities in other provinces. Small cities in Shonan, such as Jiangchuan, naturally have to follow the footsteps of their big brothers, and their housing prices are even lower. Young people don't have that much pressure on their basic needs, so it's normal for them to go out and hang out more.

Of course, in the mid-1990s, China's commercial housing market had not yet opened, and it would be unreasonable to complain that the low purchasing power of ordinary people was due to housing prices. However, Jiangchuan borders Guangdong, and its economic development is indeed good. Many advanced things are ahead of the trend in inland cities, the purchasing power is great, and the nightlife is also quite rich and colorful.

After Zhang Yunqi left, neon lights flickered on the streets of Ximen, and the night life seemed to have just begun. It was mid-December, the end of the year was just around the corner, and the weather was already extremely cold. This was also the time when the night snack stalls were busiest.

Compared with other vendors, the barbecue stall owned by Yang Wei and her sister Yang Jin is relatively deserted. Its location is not very good, as it is placed in a corner. However, it still has some occasional business, which is mostly due to Yang Jin's hard work in promoting the food.

The girl was wearing an apron, sleeves, a pair of wide black trousers, and a worker's uniform of the Red Star Electronics Factory. She was very thin, but looked refreshing. Her face, which was red from the cold wind, was always filled with a smile that made people feel warm in this cold winter.

Her younger brother Yang Wei just buried his head in his work, setting up the charcoal, washing vegetables, and skewering skewers. He was diligent and always rushed to do the big and small jobs, but he just kept his head down and didn't talk much. It seemed that this young man was filled with a feeling of anxiety and depression.

In fact, he was not like this before.

He used to be cheerful and heartless.

Yang Jin knew it in her heart, but she didn't know how to tell her brother, whose temperament had changed drastically due to family changes. Perhaps it could be said that the brother and sister didn't know how to face the sudden storm in life, and they were just panicking and bearing the cruel reality that they had to endure.

By the early morning, business gradually died down and the temperature became colder. The wind blew on his face like a knife. Yang Jin sat by the fire, rubbed his rough hands, and sorted out tonight's earnings with a bag of money.

She was exhausted, but from the look on her face, she could tell that she was in a good mood tonight. She said happily, "Business was pretty good today. That boy was really generous and bought more than 60 yuan worth of things in one go."

Yang Wei muttered: "They have plenty of money."

Yang Jin glanced sideways at Yang Wei who was packing the basket of vegetables, and was puzzled: "Xiao Wei, do you know him?"

Yang Wei couldn't help but said: "My classmate."

Yang Jin said, "Oh, no wonder. He didn't order anything at first, but suddenly ordered a lot later. Your classmate is really good. By the way, why didn't you say hello to him?"

Yang Wei threw the skewers into the bag and said, "I don't want to."

Yang Jin was stunned for a moment: "Why?" "Don't ask, I just don't want to." Yang Wei's tone suddenly became a little aggressive.

Yang Jin watched Yang Wei packing his things with his head down, feeling a little choked up and having an indescribable discomfort: "Don't come to set up a stall in the future. Focus on studying. You will take the college entrance examination next year."

Yang Wei blurted out: "I won't study anymore! What's the point of studying? It's a waste of money. I won't go to school after this semester."

Yang Jin's hands were suddenly clenched so hard that the knuckles turned white while she was counting money. She stared at Yang Wei, who was tilting his head, and said, "What the hell is wrong with you? You don't want to study, but you want to set up a street stall for the rest of your life?"

Yang Wei didn't say anything else. He felt extremely confused.

It was one o'clock in the morning. The temperature was getting colder and colder late at night. There was no business at the stall. There was still singing in the dance hall not far away. There were drunk people waiting on the streets. Yang Jin was silently packing up the stall and the tables, chairs and benches.

As the brother and sister were pulling the cart home, snow suddenly began to fall. This was the first snow of 1994, and it came quite suddenly, falling densely on the low buildings, the dilapidated streets, and the shiny white tile walls in the night, leaving no trace, except for two rows of tall sycamore trees humming hoarsely in the wind and snow.

The late nights of this era were not as noisy as in later generations with bright lights, nor were they filled with the hustle and bustle of traffic and people. Occasionally, a few old men would walk by drinking liquor and shouting, spouting vulgar jokes, and the flashy little girls standing under the street lights would suddenly burst into unbridled laughter.

When Yang Wei was dragging his cart to the entrance of Liuyin Street, a hungover blond youth came towards him, humming Yin Xiangjie's cover of "The Love of the Boatman". This man was probably a common specialty of that era - a street thug. He had drunk too much and when he saw the pretty Yang Jin, who looked like a girl from a poor family, he whistled with a playful smile, and the lyrics he sang suddenly changed: "Sister, you sit on the bed, and I'll walk on you, loving you... swinging your legs..."

At this time, the girls at the door of the hair salon with red lights on the street laughed even more happily, and some even volunteered: "Hey, come here and swing my legs..."

Yang Jin's face turned red and he just wanted to leave quickly.

However, her rebellious young brother stopped, silently picked up a bottle of Tsingtao beer from the cart, rushed over and smashed it on the yellow-haired young man's forehead.

With a "bang", the wine bottle exploded on the forehead of the yellow-haired young man who had no time to react. He wiped it and blood came out.

"Fuck you, you're looking for death!" The yellow-haired young man immediately pounced on Yang Wei like an enraged dog, and the two men wrestled with each other.

Perhaps the fighting power of both sides was too low. The two men rolled around in the muddy ground hugging each other tightly like lovers who had met after a long separation. They were a bit like two dogs mating, but Yang Wei's strength was ultimately not comparable to that of the yellow-haired young man who was in his prime. After a tug-of-war of offense and defense, the yellow-haired young man controlled Yang Wei under him, clamped his neck with one hand, and swung his big slap on the face, crackling like firecrackers on New Year's Day. Passers-by nearby laughed and watched the fun. In the distance, cheerful singing came from the streets of Ximen, intertwined with the crying of a girl.

The snow was getting heavier late at night.

I don't know how long it was, but under the dim street lights, two figures appeared at the intersection of Liuyin Street, dragging a cart and staggering on the muddy snow. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, splitting the night sky in two, but then closing again in an instant, just like this black and white, upside-down and confused life.

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(End of this chapter)