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墨書 Inktalez
In the northwest suburbs, there is a deserted open land. A hundred years ago, this place was covered with tall trees. However, with the development of urbanization, all the trees here were cut down, leaving a desolate place. The break of the capital chain meant that no developer has developed this place for a long time. This is what everyone thinks. As far as the eye can see on the "desolate" ground, there are occasionally some simple wooden houses and sheds, most of which are temporary shelters for homeless people and vagrants. There are also some more simple three-sided low walls, which are used to accumulate garbage. But what's more, there is a mountain of garbage piled up outside the low wall. Dragon CityThe garbage compression operation center can process far less garbage than the garbage produced by residents. The members of the task force were divided into two groups. Guan Deng and Captain Liu were responsible for comparing the identity of the woman, while Old Shao took Jiang He Xu Yiman to the northwest suburbs to search for Tibetans on the spot. The Cellar. However, Old Shao people never imagined that what they saw when they came here was such a scene. In the eyes of a few people, the northwest suburbs should be desolate and devoid of anything. They really didn't expect that mountains of garbage almost took up the place. Some of the garbage mountains were piled up to a height of two or three meters. This height is enough to block the rays of the setting sun. It seems that everyone needs to find a place where the sunlight can reach among the piles of garbage. It was around eight o'clock in the morning. Unlike the imagined deserted Liao, there were already people scavenging in twos and threes under each garbage pile. Most of these people were dressed in rags, and their bodies were covered in filth that they couldn't tell what it was. Each of them was holding a stick with a hook on the tip, wandering among the garbage as if fishing. Old Shao Looking from a distance, there are mountains of garbage everywhere as far as the eye can see, and I don’t know how many kilometers it stretches. Old Shao walked in front of a Scavenger Elder. Although it is autumn, the air is still cool, but this Scavenger Elder is wrapped in a tattered down jacket and trousers that are longer than his legs. The trousers are pulled down to the ground, revealing a pair of yellowed sneakers. At this moment, he was concentrating on rummaging through the garbage in the garbage mountain with the stick in his hand, and from time to time he put some garbage into the nylon bag he was holding in his other hand, his movements skillful and skillful. Old Shao walked forward and said to the old man: "Old man, what are you doing?" The old man kept moving his hands, just glanced at Old Shao and said: "You have eyes?" What's wrong, you can't see me picking up garbage?" Hearing the old man's impolite words, Old Shao didn't take it to heart. He took out a one hundred yuan bill from his pocket and pinched it gently. In hand: "Old man, we just want to ask a few questions."
Seeing the bright red hundred-dollar bill in Old Shao's hand, the Scavenger Elder grinned widely, revealing his protruding, yellowed tusks.
"Just by looking at you, it's clear you're not in the garbage business," the old man assessed the three of them. "People in business wouldn't bother with us small-timers. Are you here to pick up scraps? You don't seem like it."
With a hint of suspicion, Old Shao stepped aside to let the Scavenger Elder down from the garbage mound and asked, "What does all this mean?"
In response, Old Shao handed the money to the Scavenger Elder.
The Scavenger Elder took the bill with both hands and held it up toward the sun. After inspecting it carefully under the sunlight to confirm it was real, he contentedly stuffed it into his pocket and said, "In the garbage business, we haul away valuable things from this trash—old clothes people throw away, plastic bottles, takeout containers, and so on."
"What do they want those things for?" Xu Yiman asked curiously.
The old man chuckled and replied, "I could tell right away you weren't in this line of work. You ask me what for? Of course, it's to make money! Old clothes are refurbished and sold as new; containers and bottles are sold to beverage manufacturers. You understand that much, right? These bosses hire people to sift through the trash; a good item can earn them a hundred if they're quick."
"Then there are those who pick up scraps. Sometimes people who don't know any better throw away antiques from their homes. These folks come to the dumps looking for treasures. But nowadays, everyone knows old items are valuable; no one throws them away carelessly anymore. Still, there was a guy I met two years ago who found a gem in a trash pile and sold it for one hundred twenty thousand."
"Finally," the Scavenger Elder sighed, "there are us small-timers left. We're getting old and can't find decent work. Our sons ignore us, and our daughters don’t care either. Unlike those with pensions who sit at home watching TV while earning money. If we don't scrape together some cash from this garbage, how do we survive?"
The three of them never imagined that amidst all this trash lay so many ways to make a living. Some people earn ill-gotten gains by selling subpar goods as if they were high quality. Others cling to hope, wishing to find treasures in the garbage that would turn their fortunes around. Most, however, lack any means of making a living and can only scrape by collecting trash.
In this concrete jungle of a metropolis, everyone has to fight tooth and nail just to survive.
"How much can you earn then?" Old Shao asked.
"Don't feel sorry for me," the old man replied restlessly as he picked up a stick and poked around in the garbage. "On a good day, I can make around sixty bucks; sometimes over a hundred isn't out of reach. On a bad day, I still manage about forty. The main issue is my health; I'm not as strong as you look. If you came out here with me, I guarantee you'd make over a hundred."
The old man spoke with a hint of regret in his voice, "When I was young, I didn't understand. Working hard for others, earning only fifty, and still exhausting myself. If I had known this back then, I would have started scavenging long ago. When clothes wore out, I could just pick up some to wear; when pants or shoes were gone, I could find replacements. Besides food, I could save up thirty bucks."
"I know that nowadays, young people work for a year or two and earn only two or three thousand, and still get scolded by their bosses." The Scavenger Elder glanced at Xu Yiman and chuckled lightly, "And those young, pretty girls who sleep with their bosses just to keep their jobs. You raised a daughter well, only to have her wasted by some old ghost who's about the same age as her."
The Scavenger Elder's lewd gaze roamed over Xu Yiman, making her feel quite uncomfortable. She pulled out her police badge and said, "I'm here on police business. I'm asking you questions; don't go off on tangents."
Seeing Xu Yiman take out her badge startled the Scavenger Elder for a moment; he didn't know how to react. After a brief pause, he quickly fished out a hundred yuan bill and said, "This... this..."
Old Shao waved his hand dismissively. "If I give it to you, it's yours. Don't worry; this is my personal money. Now, have you seen any strange people around here? Anyone besides the three types you mentioned earlier?"
"Well..." the Scavenger Elder began hesitantly. "Honestly, I've never seen the police come here before. But someone once told me about finding bodies hidden in garbage piles. However, I've never seen it myself. You're here looking for bodies too, right?"
"Not exactly," Old Shao replied. "Is there a cellar around here? One that could hide someone?"
"A cellar?" The Scavenger Elder leaned on his stick with one hand while placing his nylon bag on the ground with the other. "I've never heard of such a thing around here. But further north might have some; that's where the business folks go. We scattered individuals don’t even have cars; walking there would probably be dangerous."
It seemed that the endless mountains of garbage covered quite a large area; hiding a cellar among them wouldn't be difficult at all. It was even possible that the cellar was hidden within the garbage itself.
Old Shao looked around and asked the elder, "Has anyone heard crying sounds coming from nearby?"
"Crying?" The Scavenger Elder laughed even more brightly. "Just think about what kind of people live here—many are completely hopeless after losing their families. They eat leftover scraps from the garbage and live day by day, waiting for death to come as a relief. Some elderly folks have been kicked out by their sons and daughters; raising children to fend off old age has turned into raising white-eyed wolves."
He pointed at several nearby shanties and continued, "See those? Some people live right there in those makeshift homes. There are countless who cry in silence here, especially at night—too many hiding in their shacks shedding tears. They don’t live freely at all; look at me—I’ve been kicked out by my son for years now, but I still manage to live happily."
"Hahaha!" The old man couldn't help but burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face as he did so.
"You see, my tears are making me laugh," the old man hurriedly wiped his eyes.
Xu Yiman suddenly recalled the first time she met Jiang He. Jiang He was standing outside the crematorium, watching the guests who had come to pay their respects. They couldn't cry, yet they forced tears to flow. The old man in front of her was desperately trying to hide his emotions, but the tears just wouldn't stop.
She suddenly said to Jiang He, "Jiang He, do you see? Sometimes true emotions cannot be concealed."
"Is he really sad and crying, or is it fake?" Jiang He asked Xu Yiman, struggling to understand the complex nature of crying.
"It's real," Xu Yiman replied. "Even though he's trying to hide it, I can feel it."
"But why can't I feel it?" Jiang He continued to look at Xu Yiman.
"You will," Xu Yiman said earnestly. "Emotions are like that; the more you try to express them forcefully, the harder they are to find. But at certain times, in specific scenes or moments, they suddenly emerge and you can't hide them at all. Emotions are strange like that; you will always feel them again."
Xu Yiman's words were not unfounded. In a short while, the Scavenger Elder began to cry even harder. It was as if a dam had burst open, and he couldn't stop.
"What's happening? What's happening?" the old man cried out intermittently. "I don't want to cry..."
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