Chapter 28

Chen Li came out of the base and took the public light rail suspension train. This route passed through the dirt alley and T's residence. He had not decided where to go.

This public train was much slower than those private sports cars, but it was very cheap. There were no seats inside, and people could only stand by holding the rings. A large number of rings grew on the roof of the car like fish scales. There was a hand under each ring, most of which were brown and rough.

There were a large number of poor people in the central city, and the poorest people were concentrated in this slow and old public transportation.

Nine o'clock was the most crowded time for public trains. Even if the windows on both sides were open, there was still a lingering stench in the carriage. These people were hard-working and poor. They hurriedly squeezed into the carriage, then hung their arms, closed their eyes, and rested crookedly.

The seats on both sides of the carriage were their favorite. They could sleep against the wall of the car, which might be the most pleasant and happy time of their day.

Chen Li occasionally used this means of transportation. He did not practice asceticism and did not torture himself to achieve the hobby of saints.

He took the train for two reasons: First, he needed to know the lives of the real residents of the central city to balance his cognition and keep a clear and calm mind.

The second reason was more direct. Neither the "Night Walker" nor the "Governor" could help him where he was going.

He was thinking about Master Mei and T. Before he knew it, the train arrived at the "Xiangrong Lane" station and he got off the train with the crowd.

In front of him were narrow and dilapidated high-rise buildings and chaotic and dirty streets. People either lowered their heads or looked up with numb faces, walking on the bumpy asphalt ground with one foot deep and one foot shallow, as if they might fall at any time.

In order to allow the hover car to pass unimpeded, most of the blocks in the central city have electromagnetic floors, which are brand new and smooth.

As for places like "Xiangrong Lane", there is no point in doing it. No one will drive a high-end hover sports car here, and the project preparation officer will pocket the remaining large sum of money.

Chen Li followed the address T left and found the narrowest and most dilapidated building in the block. He remembered that T said it was a dangerous building, which was indeed not an exaggeration.

A boy wearing heavy old-fashioned stereoscopic glasses was gesticulating next to the garbage pile downstairs. He kicked the garbage from time to time without noticing it. He was obviously immersed in the virtual world of video games.

Chen Li walked around the boy and walked into the corridor.

This building has only one narrow elevator and an even narrower staircase. There are a lot of debris piled up at the staircase, leaving only a gap to see the steps. The elevator door is open at this moment, and there are layers of filth in all four corners.

Chen Li walked in with his head held high. A foul smell of corruption rushed into his nose, and he couldn't help but retreat.

The strong stench was no less than that of the underground city, but Chen Li was a frequent visitor to the underground city after all. He gritted his teeth and walked in again, pressed the floor button, held his breath and waited for a moment, but the elevator door did not close, so he had to walk out of the elevator again.

An old woman wearing an old yellow cloth apron came over from a house opposite the elevator with cleaning tools. When she saw Chen Li, she was stunned for a moment and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Who are you? You don't live here."

Chen Li shook his head, "I'm looking for someone."

"Oh." The old woman didn't say anything else, but walked into the elevator and started cleaning up the filth. She was short and hunched, but her movements were very quick, and she didn't care about the dirt and stench, and she worked hard.

Chen Li stood aside and watched quietly. After a while, the old woman's dustpan was full of filth. She turned around and prepared to dump it. Chen Li took it from the side. The old woman refused repeatedly, "No, no, it's very dirty!" "It's okay." Chen Li took the dustpan, turned around and ran to the garbage pile outside the corridor to empty it. The old woman was cleaning the elevator with her back turned. When she heard Chen Li coming back, she half turned her head, looked at the young man, and slowly said, "Who are you looking for?" "The young man on the sixth floor." Chen Li lied casually. "Oh, him, he drinks every day, he owes you money, right?" The old woman's voice was hoarse but not sharp, it sounded very gentle, "How much does he owe?"

Chen Li was silent for a moment, shook his head, "Not much."

"I think you are a kind child, since it's not much, forget it. You don't know, his wife couldn't afford medical treatment, she passed away two months ago, I'm really afraid that he will jump from the sixth floor one day..." The old woman suddenly stopped talking, "Sorry, I just said it casually, I shouldn't care about your business."

"It's okay," Chen Li could only bite the bullet and continue the play, "I'll discuss it with him later."

The old woman smiled, "You are such a good person."

Chen Li felt a tingling in his heart when he heard it, he really didn't deserve the title of "good person".

The old woman started to talk again, all about family matters. Someone lost something, took off his clothes and rolled around in the yard crying; someone was too poor to pay the rent and might have to sleep on the street next month; someone won the lottery of a certain company and would have to move out in a few days; someone else disappeared a few days ago and was said to be in debt... Chen Li listened quietly. These stories of others could hardly hurt his numb heart immediately. But he thought that he had lived a life of wandering for more than 20 years, but he had never tasted the taste of poverty, and he had never thought that poverty could force people to be shameless, forced people to live on the streets, and even forced people to a dead end. He couldn't help but think of the highest ideal that RC had set, which sounded like utopianism - "sounding the death knell for this old era." That was a promise made to the world one day when they were all drunk and half asleep. Today, few people mention it again. He suddenly felt that the old blood in his body was boiling like boiling oil, and the beast in his heart roared hard against the blizzard. He emptied the dustpan for the old woman twice, and finally, the elevator was cleaned. The old woman panted and wiped the hot sweat on her forehead with her hands, and thanked Chen Li repeatedly.

"Madam, you live on the first floor, why do you have to clean the public elevator that you don't use at all?" Chen Li still asked the question that was stuck in his heart.

The old woman was stunned for a moment, she wiped her hands on her apron, took out the small wooden piece inserted in the elevator switch, and the elevator door slowly closed. She turned around and answered Chen Li's question a little woodenly, "Because... because, I feel uncomfortable watching it."

Chen Li nodded and walked into the cleaned elevator, "Thank you, you are a good person, I am not."

The old woman lowered her head a little shyly, grabbed her old apron with both hands, and when she raised her head again, the young visitor had taken the elevator to the sixth floor. She bent down to pick up her cleaning tools and walked back home slowly.

Chen Li walked down the stairs from the sixth floor to the fifth floor and found T's apartment.

The door made of waste synthetic board looked as thin as paper, and there was no doorbell. Chen Li knocked for a while and heard some movement inside. After a while, T opened the door.

T was wearing an old gray shirt with frayed edges on the collar and cuffs. He looked a little tired. He just saw through the peephole that the person outside was Boss Chen. He let Chen Li in with a puzzled expression, "Boss, why are you here?"

"Home visit." Chen Li said lightly.

"Hahaha, I'm old enough to go to college. I haven't heard that colleges have a home visit system." T took two bottles of beer from the kitchen, "Sorry, boss, this is all I have at home."

Chen Li took it and put it on the coffee table, looking around T's room. It was small, old but very clean. A sheet covered one side of the wall. Chen Li looked at it twice, but didn't say anything.

T only had an old sofa at home, so he could only sit next to Chen Li, automatically leaving a maximum safe distance.

"I haven't been to the store these days. How are you? Have you been bullied?" Chen Li's eyes fell on the pot of azalea on the windowsill.

"No, everyone takes good care of me." T said with a smile.

"Master Mei has been missing recently?"

"I saw him a few days ago," T pouted, "Boss, I'm shy if you care about my private life so much."

"Oh, is he still a lobbyist?" Chen Li asked again.

"Actually, I don't know what he does," T shook his head, "We have a rule not to disturb each other, and he won't care about what I want to do."

"How did you meet?"

T tilted his head, "It seems that we have known each other for a long time... We should have known each other since birth."

Chen Li frowned slightly, "Since birth?"

"My mother was his father's student, and she almost cheated on him," T's tone was like telling a joke, "So I knew him a long time ago. When he was still a little kid, he shouted that he wanted to marry me. Later, because of some things "After we parted ways, I became like this, and he became like that."

Chen Li did not comment, and then asked, "Your ID card says your last name is Song, is that true?"

T nodded, "Yes, it is true."

"Do you know Song Zan?"

T was slightly stunned, "No."

Chen Li did not continue to ask questions, but stood up and walked to the window, looking at the azalea on the windowsill. T took good care of it, the petals were bright red, and the leaves were moist. He gently touched the center of the flower with his fingers, and felt the stamens were moist and upright. He knew that T probably went to that dirt alley often.

"Boss, are you going to take the flower back?"

"No, I'll leave it to you."

"Thank you, boss. Don't worry, I won't kill it."

"I came to you to talk to you," Chen Li returned to the sofa and stood still, "Do you want to cooperate with us?"

T was surprised, "Cooperation? Haven't I been working for you?"

"You have studied so much, but you haven't studied me yet?"

T's face froze for a moment, but then he laughed again, "What I do won't hinder you, Boss Chen, you are my savior, I am a person, : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : "Is this some kind of anti-reconnaissance method?" T muttered in confusion and closed his door.