Chapter 03
The next day, Shannchyuan and friends got up very early. Their sleep was very sound. During this fortnight, every day they looked for a new place to live. They have not found a suitable location, especially in terms of price. Yesterday they had found a place to put their stuff, then today's activity is moving those stuff to the warehouse at the station. Iren left first to take care of administrative matters. The four other residents are getting ready to pack their things.
They plan to move the goods gradually, so it is easier to transport them to the warehouse. They don't have a lot of stuff, so it's not that hard. As of today, each man only moves a certain number of items. They place those items in a box. Each person brings one box, so there are five boxes in total. Each box measures 50 centimetres long and 30 centimetres wide. Because the boxes are not big, they can take the boxes to the station on foot.
Their house is very close to the station. Among several stations in this area, this one is the closest to their home. Apart from its proximity, they deliberately chose that station because they are already familiar with the ins and outs of the station. They had been commuting from that station almost every day.
That station is an underground railway station. People like this transportation because it is reliable, comfortable and cheap. Like other underground stations in the city, this station is also open 24 hours. This makes commuting it easier for users because they can take the train any time they need. There is no such thing as "last train" at any underground station in this city.
Administrative affairs are very smooth. Arriving at the station, they headed straight to the Shindongchaang warehouse, which is deep underground. This station is quite large, there are twelve railroad tracks. The first six tracks are at a depth of 100 meters, while the second six tracks are in the layer below, which is 110 meters underground. They build the station deep because the soil at that depth is very dense and most of it is a layer of rock so that the soil conditions are very stable. Although the city is safe from the dangers of landslides and earthquakes, additional security measures need to be taken. The six tracks above serve line 15, and the six tracks below serve line 21. Each line only uses four tracks. Two more tracks serve as the backup for the existing four tracks. So far, it never happened.
There is a shopping centre under the station. Many people enter this underground station to visit the shopping centre instead of taking the train. The shopping centre is quite large as there are five levels. Below the five levels, there are still more layers. Shindongchaang is one tenant at the lowest underground level. Including Iren who came earlier, they had never entered the deepest part of the station. Today is the first time for them.
Wasting no time, they all headed there immediately. It turns out that the lockers they got were quite large, just like Iren explained it to them yesterday, which is 2x2x2 metres. The key also uses a PIN, fingerprint and retina scan so that only the tenant can open the locker. Iren also gave them a surprise because it turned out that in addition to lockers, Shindongchaang also gave them access to safe deposit box services as a bonus. Get a discount plus a bonus. Their luck was extraordinary this time. It's just that because not all Shindongchaang locations have safe deposit box services, they have to go to other Shindongchaang locations to access it. Now they have not yet decided where to open the safe deposit box.
They happily put their belongings into the lockers. After that, they tried to lie down in it. Because it was still early in the morning there weren't many people. According to Tsaehorng, because this is a long term storage locker, not a temporary storage locker, customers rarely go to their lockers. They usually only come when they want to pick up or store things. Customers usually arrive after lunch.
Yesterday, Iren had already told Tsaehorng that since they would use the locker to store their daily necessities like clothes and toiletries then they would likely come to their locker a lot. Tsaehorng said it didn't matter.
At 10 o'clock, everything is done. They feel relieved. Currently, their focus is finding a place to live. Deep in their hearts, there is still a feeling of not being willing to leave the house they lived in for this one year. They already feel comfortable living there. Moving to a new place will certainly have to adapt again. But they had to accept the fact that they had to move out of the house. Under this circumstance, they have to move on.
To be honest, they still have enough money to pay the rent for this house for the next year. But they have to save money because right now they are all unemployed. Not only was Shannchyuan unemployed, but his four friends were also unemployed. Somehow it happened like that. Ever since Shannchyuan lost his job three months ago, successively the other four people also experienced the same thing. Maybe this is what people call the same fate.
A few moments later they went up and out of the station. After separating at the station way out, they split up. All want to find a place to live close to this station. Even though they haven't succeeded in the last fortnight, they are still trying. Actually, last week they already had a suitable place. The place is small, there is only one room. The owner of the site objected to the fact that the tiny place was crammed with five adult men. This should also be taken into account because it turns out that many owners have imposed a maximum limit on the number of residents.
Shannchyuan walks with light steps on the pavement. Altho his primary focus is on finding a place to live, if he finds a part-time job vacancy, he accepts it. Actually, Shannchyuan is not penniless, but he had to save money. Before deciding to leave his hometown and wander around two years ago, Shannchyuan had a steady job. Maybe we couldn't call it a steady job either, because he often changed the workplace. Although always in the same field. It's just that we can say Shannchyuan has a reliable job. During the decades of work, he has collected enough money. Since Shannchyuan didn't have a wife and kids yet, his expenses were so limited that he could save quite a bit.
In his hometown, Shannchyuan lived with his mother, who is elderly. Shannchyuan's younger siblings are all married, so Shannchyuan is in charge of looking after his mother. Two years ago, Shannchyuan's little brother, who was long lost, suddenly appeared. Shannchyuan took this opportunity to fulfil his dream. It so happened that Shannchyuan's younger brother did not mind to take care of their mother while Shannchyuan was away wandering.
After one year of moving around, Shannchyuan finally arrived in this city and decided to stay. Currently, one year after Shannchyuan came into this city, he felt that there was still much to see and explore. It may be three or four years before Shannchyuan intends to leave this city and return to his hometown.
The streets around here are so bustling. Vehicles passing by on the big road. Suddenly Shannchyuan's eyes fell on a familiar figure. This figure looks like someone he had known several years ago. After paying close attention, Shannchyuan realised that this person was the person he had met on the street yesterday. The one who reminded him to open the umbrella when it rained and then asked him for an address.
Did she find the place she was looking for yesterday?
Shannchyuan asks himself in his mind. He sees that girl enter a shopping centre across the street. Somehow it seems as if there is a force that drew Shannchyuan to follow her there. Shannchyuan seems unable to control his own feet as he automatically walks across the street and enters that majestic shopping centre.
Arriving inside the building, Shannchyuan looks around for the figure he had been chasing. So many people are there so Shannchyuan could not find the person he is looking for. He laughs alone after realising how ridiculous he is. A few moments later, he decides to return to continue the hunt for the residence that had been interrupted by the presence of the mysterious girl he had met yesterday.
Before he could get out of the building, Shannchyuan feels like urinating, so he immediately looks for the nearest toilet in the building. In the men's toilet, there are also many people. There are six urinals, and all of them are being used. Apart from the six people who were peeing behind each of them, there are two or three people who were waiting in turn to pee. Shannchyuan wondering what these people had been drinking, so they want to pee at the same time. This toilet is close to the Food Court, so that might be the reason why this toilet is so crowded.
Shannchyuan decides to find other lavatories. He has often entered this building, so that more or less knows the ins and outs of it. He knows which toilets tend to be quiet in this building. A moment later, Shannchyuan arrived in front of the normally quiet toilet. The location is hidden enough that it seems that only people who have got lost have found this toilet by chance. Shannchyuan wondering what's in the architect thought when designing the building's layout.
There are two toilets there, namely, gents and ladies. On the doorknob of ladies hung a sign that written: "under repair". Shannchyuan suddenly chuckled to himself. He is imagining doing a harmless prank. He removes the notice board from the ladies door and attaches it to the gents' door. After that, he goes into the toilet.
Before urinating, Shannchyuan used to press a button or tap on top of the urinal to make sure that water came out after he pressed the button. After Shannchyuan pressed the button of the four urinals, none of them let out any water. Shannchyuan sighs and then entered one of the toilet booths to urinate there.
After he finished urinating and rinsing with water, Shannchyuan immediately turns around and ready to get out of the latrine stall. But suddenly Shannchyuan felt dizzy and lost his balance, so he fell and sat facing the door to the latrine stall. His head was spinning, then Shannchyuan's gaze darkened. Shannchyuan fainted.
A few moments later, he regains consciousness and immediately rushes out of the booth. He washes his face and rinses his mouth straight away. It's really weird. Shannchyuan had never experienced something like this before. It was normal to feel dizzy a few times, but this is the first time he faints. Usually, he feels dizzy when he is hungry. But before leaving for the station, he had a full meal. Maybe the cause is something else. It had been a long time since Shannchyuan had a medical check-up. Perhaps it's time to care more about his health. He is not young anymore, so he must be more careful in maintaining his health.
Shannchyuan decides to just go home and rest at home. Maybe he was too tired because, during the past fortnight, he had been away almost every day from morning to evening. Exiting the toilet, Shannchyuan did not forget to return the notice board to its original position. He immediately walks towards the exit of the building. He walks fast. Shannchyuan wants to go out and go home to rest. Inside the building, it was very quiet. Almost no people. So that he can walk very fast without fear of nudging other people.
Arriving outside, Shannchyuan feels something strange. He doesn't know this is just his feeling or that some strange things had happened. Even though he feels that way, Shannchyuan does not want to think too far. Shannchyuan directly walks home. He walks very quick. Right now, his stomach is hungry. It's weird, still at ten in the morning, but he already feels hungry.
A moment later, Shannchyuan arrives in front of his house. He then enters and heads straight to his room. Shannchyuan feels that it is not yet lunchtime, so he decides to lies down for half an hour or an hour before eating. After taking off his waistcoat, tie and shirt, Shannchyuan quickly lies down on the bed.
His eyes land on the clock on the wall of his room. Shannchyuan is surprising. The clock shows 14:10.
Maybe they have done pranks again!
Indeed, sometimes Shannchyuan's friends who lived there did some pranks, including by changing the clock in Shannchyuan's room so that sometimes the alarm goes off at the wrong time. Shannchyuan gets out of bed and intends to fix the clock. Shannchyuan looks at the watch he is still wearing to see what time it should be. How shocking Shannchyuan is when he sees that his watch also showed 14:10. Shannchyuan then looked for the clock on his desk at his bedside. The clock there also shows the same thing. Shannchyuan is running out of the room and checks the other clocks in the house. It turns out all shows 14:10.
It was still at 10. Why is it already 14 in the afternoon?
Shannchyuan sits on the living room's sofa for a moment.
Maybe I was unconscious not just for a minute or two, but for several hours!
If that was so, Shannchyuan might be in terrible condition. Must thoroughly check his health. Perhaps the problem is serious.
Suddenly the phone ring. Shannchyuan doesn't pick up straight away. He waits until the phone rings three times before he answers the phone.
"Hello!" says Shannchyuan.
There is only silence. Shannchyuan could hear no sound from the other end.
"Hello," says Shannchyuan again.
There is still no reply.
After a moment of silence, there is a sudden voice, "Uncle Shannchyuan. It's me, Songfei. Please, help me! Someone wants to kill me."
Shannchyuan holds his breath at the words. The voice from the other end sounds extremely panic.
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