I was woken up from my sleep by the sound of alarm bells. I opened my hazy eyes, picked up the cigarette on the bedside and lit it. I greedily took a few deep puffs and let the nicotine move around in my body. I felt a lot more energetic instantly.
I liked this feeling very much. Then I got out of bed, walked to the window, opened the window and looked at the sea outside. The sun shone on me, which felt warm and comfortable. Looking at this I smiled at the strange yet familiar city. Today is another good day.
I looked at my watch. It was already past eight in the morning. It was a new day and work had to continue. I got dressed, picked up my keys and walked out.
My name is Jin Zhongyi, my original name is Aixinjueluo. Zhongyi, I am a descendant of the Manchu royal family. My ancestor was the regent during the Wanqing period. Wang Zfeng, after the Republic of China began, the family began to decline. When it came to my grandfather's generation, it was even worse. It no longer had the identity and status it once had. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, when my father's generation came, the former royal family was gone. If we don’t return, only the common people will be left behind, and the past has become history.
I was born in the Northeast and grew up near the Daxinganling Mountains. I have the characteristics of a typical Northeasterner. I am twenty-eight years old this year. I used to be a Marine. I served in the army for five years. I thought I could Even though I was making a difference, due to the failure of the entire team during a mission, I was eventually ordered to recover early. This was a blow to my life.
After I retired from the army, I was assigned to a state-owned enterprise, and the benefits in all aspects were pretty good. It was pretty good at the beginning, but within a few months, I couldn’t stand the attitude of the leaders. Finally, I had another During the drinking bureau, I hit the leader. The leader was seriously injured and had to be hospitalized for more than a month before he recovered. I was also fired from my workplace because of this incident.
Because of this incident, my father scolded me a lot. After all, this was my lifelong job, and it was ruined by me. Later, my family dragged on the relationship and found someone else, but they couldn't give it to me. Arrange in a suitable place.
In order to no longer worry the old couple, I planned to go out to do something in my career, so I came to this strange seaside city alone and stayed there for another five years.
In the past five years, my life has not been very satisfactory, but it has been pretty good. People like me, who have no diploma and no skills, want to make some achievements in this society. It's really difficult.
When I started looking for a job, I encountered obstacles at every turn. I either needed a diploma or experience. What I learned in the army was simply useless in society. Apart from being a capable bodyguard, there was no one suitable for me. Mine, but I didn't want to live on the edge of the knife, so I gave up the idea.
Then there was a security company recruiting people. I originally wanted to give it a try, but the salary was really pitiful. Living in this big city, this salary is almost nothing after paying the rent.
Later I met a friend and he introduced me to work as a sailor on an ocean-going ship. They mainly went out to sea for fishing. The salary was very high, tens of thousands of dollars a month. I didn’t even think about it at the time. I thought about it and immediately agreed, not only because of the high salary, but also because when I was a soldier, I always went to sea. I am quite familiar with the ocean.
It should be said that I love the sea more, so I did this for three full years. Later, while we were out on the ocean again, our fishing boat encountered wind and waves, and the ruthless sea sank our entire boat. Going up to the boss, there were more than 20 people on the ship, and only two people escaped by chance, and I was one of them.
The rest of the crew were all buried in the ruthless sea. The other surviving sailor and I relied on strong endurance and some luck to wait until the rescue team arrived. , by the time we two were rescued, we were almost dying.
From that day on, I quit being a sailor, and I have never gone to sea again. Although the sea is ruthless, it did not scare me. After I quit being a sailor, I still Choose to continue dealing with the ocean.
Now I am a diver and have been working for two years. My main task is to salvage sea cucumbers. In the jargon here, our profession is called "mengzi". Although it is not as dangerous as ocean-going sailors, it is still more dangerous. So hard work.
The most important thing for me to choose this industry is, yes, it’s because the salary is high, because I need money so much. For a poor person, if he wants to live a good life in this coastal city, All I can do is find ways to make more money.
When I rode my motorcycle to the port, our small fishing boat was already parked there. From a distance, I saw a tall and thin boy waving his hands and greeting me loudly with a smile on his face. , "Good morning, brother-in-law!"
His name is Shunzi. He has known me for four years. He is my first hand. He is also the only sailor who has survived. Our relationship is very delicate. We are both friends and masters. The most important thing is that he is also the survivor who survived the shipwreck with me. I think, If we hadn't supported each other at that time, maybe we would have become a speck of dust in the ocean.
From the day we were reborn, this big boy liked to follow me. When I decided to do 'Mengzi', he followed me without hesitation. In his words, I He follows me wherever I go. He feels safe when I am around.
Shunzi is three years younger than me. He is very tall, about 1.9 meters tall. In my opinion, he is a natural sailor. His physique is similar to that of a professional swimmer. He is covered with fat all over his body. In addition, His bronzed skin and harmless childlike expression make him look sunny and handsome.
After I parked my motorcycle, I quickly stepped onto the boat, patted him on the shoulder and said, "No matter how early it is, it's not as early as you. You are the first one here, right?" What is this kid doing? They are all very active, with typical hormones and excessive energy.
Shunzi nodded with a smile on his face, and Lao Chang shouted loudly at this moment, "Okay, let's set off when everyone is here. It's a good weather today, and we can gain a lot. ." As he spoke, he started the motor, and the fishing boat slowly left the port and drove farther away.
Lao Chang is our boss. In his early years, he also worked as a "mengzi" for more than ten years. Later, when he had some money, he quit and started to do aquatic products business on his own.
People living by the sea, every household had a "mengzi" in the early years, but now there are fewer people doing this job, because this work is not only hard, but also has certain dangers, so anyone with a little money can I started my own business, like Shunzi and I, we worked for two years, which is relatively rare nowadays. Most of the old 'mengzi' in the past have gone ashore. Even if they are not bosses, they will not Don't do this job anymore.
The fishing boat stopped after driving for about twenty minutes. Lao Chang looked around and said, "Okay, that's it."
We fierce guys started to prepare. Counting Shunzi and I, there were There are four 'strong guys', and the other two are novices. They have only been doing this for more than a month. I took off my jacket and started wearing a wetsuit. Since it is spring, I don't need to wear a sweater underneath, so it is more convenient.
If you go into the water in November, you must wear a sweater under your wetsuit, otherwise the temperature underwater will freeze you to death. In fact, the season with the most sea cucumbers every year is from October to December. time, other time periods are off-season.
Diving during the peak season is really life-threatening, so every year from October to October, I start to have a headache. ice.
After I put on my diving suit, I put on my diving goggles, fins on my feet, and two pockets hanging on my waist. These are for holding sea cucumbers. I put the oxygen bottle on my back and that was it. .
I glanced at Shunzi. This kid had already dressed. He casually tied a paratrooper knife to his calf. He looked up at me and said, "Safety first."
I nodded with a smile. Boss, this guy is so careful every time, this paratrooper knife It was me who gave it to him. The other two 'Mengzi' were a bit more troublesome than me and Shunzi. They had to carry nearly thirty kilograms of lead weights on their backs. This way they could dive easily with the weight, which was a lot. Mengzi' has been working for more than ten years and can't do without this thing.
Shunzi and I don’t need to. We can still dive even without wearing wetsuits. The lead weight is cumbersome and heavy for us.
After everything was ready, we started to move our bodies. The pressure in deep water is too great. After diving, the wetsuit will stick to the body, just like a vacuum. It is very inconvenient to move, and it is difficult to turn the neck. tired.
This will at least have some effect. Today's sea breeze is not strong, which is quite suitable for diving. If there is a strong wind and you don't use lighting underwater, you will basically be unable to see anything and it will be turbid. That's called depression.
Lao Chang saw that we were all ready and told us, "Brothers, please be safe and loyal. Please be more careful. I will wait for you on the boat."
I stretched out my hand to indicate everything. OK, Shunzi gestured to me, I nodded, and then I turned over and went into the water, and then I heard the sound of three other people falling into the water. Apart from us four "mengzi", there were only two people left on the boat, Lao Chang and his son. His son was a prodigal son. I don’t know how to pick up girls, and I don’t usually have much to say to me.
After entering the water, Shunzi and I dived slowly into the water, while the other two men were very fast. The diving itself consumes physical energy, and I don’t know why these two brothers were in such a hurry. Shunzi and I were right next to each other. During the dive, many small fish and plankton swam past me. To be honest, when I first started diving, I felt really excited. But as time went by, Once the novelty wears off, it's nothing.