Written by Niu Niu.
A friend told me that in a small gray room by the West Lake in Hangzhou, there lived a "strange man". He's in his 60s and hasn't been able to get out of bed for years. He only eats one meal a day, and it was brought to him by volunteers. It is said that he had a rather "glamorous" life when he was young.
I'm curious. Decided to go for a ** after all.
At noon in November 2023, volunteers took me to that lonely compound.
It was drizzling in the sky and the ground was wet. A large rusty iron gate with a large camphor tree on each side.
Walking into the compound, a sense of ruin and withering came to my face. The yard was overgrown with weeds, fallen leaves and garbage littering the ground.
Not far away there is an old well, covered with a stone slab with a missing corner. Behind the old well, there is a loquat tree, and under the tree stands a big red sign - this is dangerous, please do not approach.
To the left of the loquat tree, there is a gray three-story building, a few vermilion windows, and a few pieces of glass have fallen off.
It's hard to imagine that less than 2 kilometers from West Lake, there is such a place.
I parked my bicycle at the door of the small building, patted the rain on my body, and walked in with the volunteers.
Up to the second floor, a dimly lit hallway with several rooms on each side, and the hallway was full of clutter.
The volunteer pushed open one of the wooden doors and squeezed sideways inside.
I followed and poked my head into the room, where it was pitch black, as if all the light had been swallowed up.
In fact, the room has a window, but the glass has turned yellow, and the little light left is obscured by the loquat tree outside the window.
Volunteers take the previous day's empty lunch box and place the new one full of food on a stool next to the bed.
A voice came from the darkness: "Turn on the lights and sit down." The switch is in the 'hole' next to the bed. ”
I fumbled and found the switch for the light in a groove in a sponge cushion next to the bed.
"Click" – the switch is turned on and the room is lit up.
I saw him. He was wearing a white undershirt and was slumped on the bed, covered with a pale blue quilt, with his feet exposed and two pillows under his calves.
His arms were curled up in front of his chest, his hands and feet were deformed, and his fingers and toes were like charred sticks.
Next to the bed was a red urine bucket with a hose stuck in its lid that extended to the bed.
There are several boxes of "Double Happiness" cigarette boxes neatly lined up at the head of the bed, and there is also a copy of "Details Determine Success or Failure" next to the bed.
He told me that there were two rooms in this house that belonged to him, and he gave the other one to his uncle, who worked nearby, in exchange, who took care of his diet and daily life. He took over another room and stacked his collection of books.
He turned over with difficulty and scolded: Some time ago, he fainted in bed, and the uncle woke him up with a basin of cold water, and now there is still a large water stain on the bed.
The volunteer who accompanied me said, "You talk, I'll go back first." ”
Saying goodbye to the volunteer, I asked him as he lay on the bed: Do you want to talk again after eating?
He said: "I don't eat now, I save my meal until the evening, and he only eats one meal a day."
He moved up as hard as he could, tucked the quilt under his armpits, and told his story.
He read a lot. Very talkative.
His name is Yan Li, a native of Hangzhou.
Yan Li said that after he became yang last year, his memory was much worse, but recently, he always remembered an incident when he was a child.
The mother was riding a two-eight bicycle and he sat in the back. Riding to the mouth of the official alley, a daredevil, riding a bicycle, rushed over, knocked the mother and son to the ground, and Yan Li bled a lot on his head.
His mother held him in her arms, shed tears and asked him: Does it hurt, does it hurt.
Yan Li didn't feel pain at all, and he didn't cry.
Yan Li's father was a cadre, and his mother worked at the Hefang Street Post Office.
Yan Li was born prematurely. One morning in July 1959, my mother went out to work and just stepped onto the bus, and her amniotic water broke. The tricycle took her to the provincial maternity insurance, and at the gate of the hospital, the child came out.
The family invited two wet nurses for Yan Li, his arms were as fat as small lotus roots, and he had to break the flesh in the bath to wash the flesh in the cracks.
At the age of 3, Yan Li went to kindergarten. During the lunch break, the children slept in small beds, and the teacher put together 4 small beds into a "big bed" and lay on it.
When the teacher fell asleep, Yan Li encouraged the students to pull the bed away from all four directions, and the teacher fell heavily on the floor.
The teacher went to Yan Li's mother to complain.
The mother said, "This child is quite organized. ”
The neighbor made a coal stove, and Yan Li found a brick to cover the coal stoveTake a slingshot and smash the glass of your neighbor's house piece by piece.
The family felt that this child had little strings and was incomprehensible. His mother took him to the Second Zhejiang Hospital to test his IQ.
The test results were unexpected. Yan Li has an IQ of 120, and his sister is less than 90.
The doctor said, "This kid is not stupid at all, and his IQ is high." ”
Yan Li studied high school in Jiangcheng Middle School, and he took 49 nicknames from the 52 classmates in his class.
One of his classmates fell and knocked out half of his teeth, calling him "half a head". There was a classmate who had a red birthmark on his face, and Yan Li named him "Red Face" ......
Yan Li said: "I only studied at Jiangcheng Middle School for two and a half years. I didn't deal with the head teacher, I was afraid that he would not be able to write my graduation appraisal well, so in the last semester, I transferred to Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School. ”
In 1978, Yan Li graduated from Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School.
Yan Li wanted to join the army and participate in the conscription physical examination, but the doctor said that he had flat feet on one foot and could not join the army.
At this time, Yan Li's father's cadre status came into play.
The person in charge of the conscription said: "We recruit tank soldiers, we don't have to walk, this little fat man is just right." ”
When he arrived in the army, Yan Li started a watch business.
Yan Li's mother has a friend in the watch factory, a West Lake brand watch, 30 yuan to take, Yan Li 35 yuan a piece to sell to comrades-in-arms.
As a big soldier, the monthly allowance is 8 yuan, and Yan Li can earn 50 yuan by selling 10 watches a month.
Graduation certificate of Hangzhou No. 4 Middle School.
In 1978, the army cleaned up the back door soldiers, and Yan Li was "cleaned up" and went home to work in a pharmaceutical factory in Hangzhou.
The younger brother of the factory director served under Yan Li's father. Before Yan Li went to work, the factory director called Yan Li's father.
The factory director asked: "Leader, what position is suitable for the child?"”
Yan Li's father said in an official tone: "Young people, **hard, go to ** to exercise." ”
* Hung up, the director thought: **Hard?After thinking about it, he sent Yan Li to the boiler room.
On the first day of work, the night shift, Yan Li went to the boiler room, it was quite fresh at first, and the two eyelids fought in the second half of the night.
The master in the boiler room said, "If you are sleepy, lean on the stool for a while." ”
Yan Li wrapped his clothes and took a nap against the stool. When I opened my eyes again, it was already dawn.
The next day, the master was burning the boiler, Yan Li wandered around the factory, saw the Qiantangjiang brand truck in the factory, opened the car door, lay down in the back, slept until dawn, took a shower and went home.
On the third day, Yan Li thought to himself: Why do you go back to wash it so cleanly, don't wash it.
When Yan Li came home from work, his mother saw that his face was black and asked him, "Did you go to Africa to dig coal?"”
Yan Li said: "I work in the boiler room, don't you know?".”
My mother called the factory director's office and said, "It's better for young people to learn some skills." ”
The factory director led Yan Li to the workshop and asked him what he wanted to do
Yan Li saw the master in the workshop, a hammer hit beautifully, and said, "I'll just learn this." ”
There are a lot of young people in the workshop, and everyone drinks secretly together during the lunch break. The others drank it and were fine, Yan Li blushed after drinking, went to work in the afternoon, and was discovered by the master.
The director called him into the office and asked, "Who drank with you?"”
Yan Li said: "I don't say it. I am not a traitor. ”
The factory director smiled, took out two bottles of wine from the cabinet, and said, "You take these two bottles of wine back, don't drink them during work hours next time." ”
According to the regulations of the factory, the newcomer must be an apprentice for three years before he can become a regular. But including Yan Li, many new young people are related households. The director of the factory thought of a way and held a "light industry competition".
Yan Li won the first place, turned into a regular in advance, and got a salary of 35 yuan a month.
In the spring of 1981, the factory spent tens of thousands of yuan to purchase a centrifuge. Put into production one day, and the next day will not be transferred.
The workshop was shut down, and the workers gathered around the machine and couldn't find a problem after checking for a long time.
The master in the factory said: This machine must have a problem when it leaves the factory.
A voice came from the crowd: "The equipment is good, but we did not operate it properly and the bearings burned out." ”
The one who spoke was Yan Li. Everyone shook their heads, clearly not believing the young man's words.
Yan Li said: "If I say it wrong, I will treat you for three days and invite everyone to drink." If I'm right, everyone in the workshop invites me. ”
Everyone was enthusiastic and agreed to disassemble the machine for inspection. The machine was disassembled and looked at it, and sure enough, the bearing burned off.
I asked Yan Li, "How do you know?"”
Yan Li said proudly: This machine, part of the bearing is exposed, he has checked, there are signs of blackening, indicating that there has been a heat, it must be the machine in transit, the oil leaked.
The bearings are special and can only be purchased by Shanghai Electromechanical Company.
The factory director and Yan Li said: "You have to go to Shanghai for a hard time." ”
This is Yan Li's first business trip. He took the train to Shanghai and came to the sales department of the electromechanical company.
Yan Li saw the bearing in the window, with a price tag of 300 yuan each.
He cleared his throat and said to the salesman, "I'm not looking for you, I'm calling your manager out." ”
The manager thought he was here to talk about business and immediately came out of the office.
Yan Li said loudly: "Your machine, why don't you add butter, you have to add engine oil." After a long journey, the oil will definitely leak. You don't remind us to check. ”
Yan Li raised his voice: "Now there is a problem with the machine." Caused our factory to stop production, how much loss every day, how do you compensate. ”
These words directly confused the manager.
The manager asked the salesman to take two brand-new bearings and handed them to Yan Li.
In the evening, the manager also invited Yan Li to dinner, and bought a basket of local products for Yan Li to take on the train to eat.
On my first business trip, I didn't spend a penny, and I deceived two to come back. The factory director felt that Yan Li was a talent.
A few months later, the pharmaceutical factory will purchase a batch of corn through the Hangzhou Food Bureau. The factory director sent Yan Li to Zhoushan to supervise the transportation of corn.
When he arrived at Liuheng Island in Zhoushan, Yan Li saw corn piled up on the wharf, sacks after sacks.
He spent a few bucks, hired a few dock workers, and wrote the name of his pharmaceutical factory on each burlap bag.
He called his classmate again. The classmate is the leader of the loading and unloading squad of the Hangzhou Food Bureau, driving a truck.
Yan Li said: "In a few days, a batch of corn will arrive in Hangzhou, and you will see a burlap bag written on it from our pharmaceutical factory, and all of them will be sent to the factory for us." ”
The classmate said, "Okay." ”
Yan Li returned to the factory, and on the first day of work, corn was also delivered.
The director of the factory was very strange and said, "Why is the name of the pharmaceutical factory written on every burlap bag, who wrote it?."”
Yan Li smiled and said, "I wrote it." Who else could write it. ”
After the corn was unloaded, Yan Li asked the factory director for a special approval of five catties of corn oil and gave it to his classmates.
The classmates went back happily.
In 1982, his friends around him were begging for evidence, and Yan Li felt that he had a high school diploma and was a little unacceptable. He took the ** college entrance examination and was admitted to the Law Department of Hangzhou University.
Yan Li found the factory director and said, "I don't want to do it anymore, I want to go to university." ”
The factory director said: "It's good to go to college, but there is a shortage of college students in the factory." In this way, you go to college, the tuition unit pays you, and the salary is paid as usual, but after graduation you have to come back to work. ”
Yan Li said, "Okay." ”
Yan Li likes to play football, he is chubby, and his classmates nicknamed him Panda.
Yan Li told me that when he first entered the school, Song Weiping (the founder of Greentown Group) from the history department was about to graduate. Song Weiping likes to play football, and they often play together on the playground.
At one point, there were seven or eight black international students on the playground. Song Weiping proposed an "international" football match.
Before the first half was played, the black international student reasoned with the referee because of a penalty kick.
The referee is a classmate of the Department of Physical Education of Hangzhou University. Seeing that the classmate was being bullied, the Chinese classmate rushed forward, and the two gangs scuffled together.
Yan Li went up and kicked a black student to the ground.
After a while, the school security department came and took them all away.
In the office, students take out their student IDs. When it was Yan Li's turn, his student ID was pressed in the equipment storage room and borrowed a football ball.
The officer of the security department asked Yan Li: "What are you doing?"”
Yan Li took out a pharmaceutical factory work card and said, "I am a young man in society. ”
Yan Li said that he was in a relationship with the daughter of the head of the security department at the time, and it would be too embarrassing for her father to know, so he did not say that he was a student. Unexpectedly, the matter became more serious.
The other classmates went back, and Yan Li was transferred to the Xixi police station and placed under administrative detention for three days.
Yan Li refused to admit it, saying: "I didn't beat anyone, you come up with evidence!."”
The police station said that he was not satisfied with the verdict and was punished with a maximum punishment, and the 3 days were changed to 15 days.
The sentencing meeting was broadcast live on Hangzhou TV, and Yan Li's father saw it and said, "Isn't this my son?"How did he become a criminal. ”
The old man had a heart attack on the spot and was sent to the "117 Hospital" for rescue.
In 1986, Yan Li graduated from Hangzhou University, other classmates were assigned to leave, and Yan Li returned to work in the pharmaceutical factory.
Because of the previous "procurement of bearings" and "supervision of corn", the factory director felt that Yan Li was a talent and transferred him to the supply and marketing department.
When you go out to run business, there are more opportunities to drink, and after the matter is discussed, customers always have to eat and drink together.
Once, Yan Li met two peers on the train, and the three of them chatted so closely that they drank directly on the train and emptied the beer in the dining car.
In the summer of 1988, a friend asked Yan Li to help him move, and his new home was on the edge of the Yuquan campus of Zhejiang University.
Yan Li asked the factory truck to help and pulled the furniture over one by one.
In the evening, friends treat them to dinner. The fatigue of moving, coupled with the hot weather, Yan Li drank three bottles of cold beer in a row.
After drinking, Yan Li rode his bicycle home. Riding to the entrance of Guanxiang, when he encountered a red light, he stopped his bicycle and put his feet on the ground.
When he stepped down, he felt a sharp pain, Yan Li looked down, and thought that his foot was broken.
Yan Li lay at home for three days and did not go to work.
This year, Yan Li was 29 years old and had his first gout attack.
In 1989, the pharmaceutical factory participated in the National Drug Fair, and Yan Li signed the first place, and the factory director transferred him to the sales department.
Yan Li often goes to Yuhuan, Taizhou to run business, customers invite guests to eat, beer and seafood are eaten, gout attacks are frequent. From once a year, to once a few months later.
Not only drinking, but also flower wine.
Yan Li went to the hospital for an examination, and the doctor said, "Young man, you should be modest. ”
Yan Li asked, "What should be controlled?"”
The doctor looked at him and said, "Sexual intercourse should be tempered." ”
In 1996, the factory director transferred Yan Li to be the office director and assistant to the factory director.
In the past, Yan Li was quite free, and if he didn't want to go to the unit, he wouldn't go. After becoming the director of the office, he had to take care of all the big and small things in the factory every day.
Yan Lihe said to the factory director: "I'll do it for half a year, and after half a year, you have to release it for me." ”
As a result, after a year and a half, the factory director has not transferred him. Yan Li said: "Lao Tzu is gone." ”
In 1998, Yan Li resigned from his old unit and went to another pharmaceutical factory to continue to run sales.
The unit was on the edge of the city station, Yan Li rode a bicycle to work, and found that he couldn't walk in a straight line, and thought that the bicycle faucet was crooked. When I went to the hospital for an examination, I found out that it was high blood pressure.
One autumn night, the crickets were screaming outside the window. Yan Li tossed and turned on the bed, almost out of breath, and his body was constantly sweating, soaking the sheets.
After staying up until dawn, Yan Li went to the hospital for an examination, the internal medicine clinic was overcrowded, and the health department on the side was empty.
The doctor in the health department, in his 40s, is sitting at a desk in a white coat**.
Yan Li walked in and said that he was not feeling well.
The health doctor took his blood pressure, was shocked and said, "Don't move, I'll call someone." ”
Yan Li sat in the consultation room, lit a cigarette, and before he could take two puffs, the director of the internal medicine department and the health doctor came in pushing the stretcher bed.
When the director of the Department of Internal Medicine saw Yan Li, he slapped his thigh and shouted at him, "Ah, you still dare to smoke." ”
didn't even have time to call, the two doctors helped Yan Li onto the stretcher bed and pushed him into the rescue room.
In the emergency room, the director of the internal medicine department said, "You have reached the critical point, do you know?"”
Yan Li was surprised and asked, "What critical point?"”
The director of the Department of Internal Medicine said: "Your high pressure is 220, your low pressure is 140, and you have reached the zero threshold of blood vessels, and no matter how high the blood vessels are, they will burst." ”
The director of the internal medicine department gave him a diuretic injection.
Yan Li said, "How many doses did you push me?"If I have more, I will have gout. ”
Before he could finish speaking, there was a howl in the emergency room - he had a gout attack.
The director of the Department of Internal Medicine also panicked and said, "What should I do now?"”
Yan Li works in a pharmaceutical factory, and has studied pharmacy at Zhejiang Medical College, so he has a good understanding of drugs.
Yan Li said: "You immediately push 800,000 penicillin to me, plus 0."5 mg dexamethasone. ”
After a shot, Yan Li's gout was really relieved. The head of the Department of Internal Medicine said, "You taught me a lesson today. ”
I asked Yan Li, "After this time, will you continue to drink?"”
Yan Li looked proud and said, "Drink." ”
He seemed to be still immersed in the satisfaction of "teaching a lesson" to the director of the Department of Internal Medicine.
On May 1, 2004, a friend gave Yan Li more than 10 boxes of "Kaihua Longding" and asked him to go to the East Bus Station to get it.
Yan Li got the tea and prepared to take a taxi back. There was a long queue for taxis in front of the station.
Yan Li walked to the first taxi and just wanted to open the door, but the car moved forward slightly.
Yan Li was instantly unhappy, and thought: Does Lao Tzu have to take your car?
He carried his things and walked towards the second car. The driver of the second car was a woman, and when she saw that Yan Li had so many things, she immediately got down and opened the trunk and helped him load the things into the car.
The car started slowly and shuttled through the city of Hangzhou.
Yan Li sat in the co-pilot and glanced at the operating qualification certificate in front of him, and he seemed to know the person above. Yan Li looked at the documents, and then looked at the driver who was driving.
Yan Li said: "Do you still recognize me?"”
The female driver said, "I don't know you." ”
Yan Li said: "Think about it again. ”
The female driver shouted and said, "You are strict." ”
The female driver put the brakes on the brakes, parked the car in the middle of the road, lay on the steering wheel, and wailed.
Yan Li said: "I haven't seen you for so many years, so I won't be so excited." ”
It turned out that the female driver was Yan Li's ex-girlfriend. More than ten years ago, Yan Li was still working in the old pharmaceutical factory, and there were several rural colleagues in the factory.
The factory director and Yan Li said, you are all children of cadres, don't look down on colleagues from the countryside because of your good background, you should be concerned, you still have to care.
Yan Li said, okay, he will care.
As a result, this concern came and went, and the concern came to the bed.
After the girl became pregnant, she didn't know what to do, so she said goodbye. In the blink of an eye, the child is already 10 years old and in the third grade of primary school.
After the two reunited, their relationship was resumed. The girlfriend rented a house in the north of the city, and Yan Li moved in to live with the mother and son.
Yan Li's gout is getting worse and worse, and when he takes the bus, he has to pull himself up by tugging on the doorknob.
I couldn't go to class, so Yan Li could only rest in bed. In the past, the food at home was all cooked by Yan Li. After lying in bed, I can only wait for my girlfriend to come back from work to make dinner and serve him in front of the bed.
Finally one day, my girlfriend couldn't stand it anymore and said, "My dad didn't take care of you like this, so I'll take care of you first." I can't bear it like this. ”
Yan Li replied with two words: "Bye-bye." ”
Yan Li has had many relationships, but in the end he never got married.
Yan Li's father has a classic evaluation of him: "See how long you will be at large?"”
I asked Yan Li, "Why don't you get married?"”
Yan Li said: "In the final analysis, I still don't want to be responsible, I don't want to be bound by marriage." ”
Yan Li said that he and his girlfriend had lived together for 12 years, and he was going to get married, and he said that he would go to get the certificate on February 14, and he went to the marriage registration office to step on it, but on that day, he still didn't go.
Regarding his girlfriend's departure, Yan Li said: "I don't want to be responsible for her, I can't ask others to be responsible for me." ”
In the fall of 2016, 57-year-old Yan Li moved back to his old house in the compound.
His health was terrible, and there was a long uphill slope at the entrance of the compound, and it was already difficult to walk up.
On the day he came back from moving, he also had a gout attack and could only call 120 for help.
The ambulance took him to the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where he stayed for several days. During his hospitalization, doctors from several departments came to the ward one after another to study his hands and feet, which were deformed by gout.
The doctor said, "You gout, Hangzhou City is called the first, and no one dares to call it the second." ”
Shortly after he was discharged from the hospital, two female colleagues came to the compound to visit Yan Li.
Yan Li said: "You help me find a part-time job, my life is too inconvenient." ”
The two female colleagues didn't go far when they met an uncle wandering around. After chatting with his colleagues, he learned that the uncle was working nearby, so he introduced him to Yan Li.
Yan Li took out a room for the uncle to live in for free, and in exchange, the uncle took care of his diet and daily life.
When he retired, Yan Li had a policy of paying a sum of money because of the lack of social security years, and the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau had a policy that he could pay a sum of money and regard it as a payment.
But he consulted the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and asked to pay 20,000 yuan, and in the end, he only got more than 2,000 yuan per month.
Yan Li said: "Why should I pay this unjust money?"It is better to receive the subsistence allowance directly. ”
In recent years, Yan Li is still buying lottery tickets, and he can't go out, so he asks the community cleaner to help him buy them, 15 yuan each time.
really let him win the "third prize" of the big lotto once, with a bonus of 30,000 yuan.
But this money was quickly dispersed due to various things.
I asked Yan Li: "You have been doing pharmaceutical sales for so many years, you should have made a lot of money, how much have you saved?"”
Yan Li said helplessly: "If you make more, you will use more." There were also three sons outside, and they were each given a sum of money. ”
At this point, it was already dark outside, and I looked at the time, and it was not early.
I asked Yan Li: "Have you ever thought about it, you have such a good family background, knowledge, education, many job opportunities, and a low IQ, why did you fall into the way you are now?"”
Yan Li said with a hippie smile: "There is an old saying that 'the tree dies, the person lives', if you change the unit, it may be different." ”
The pressure on the pharmaceutical factory is too great, and so many sales tasks are pointed to me to complete. I went to someone else's unit, and I had to have a bar ...... after we finished talkingAs he spoke, Yan Li put away a smile on his face.
He sighed and said, "At the end of the day, I still don't have self-control. As soon as others called me to drink, I went, and I had soft ears and would never refuse. Or its own problem. ”
I pressed on, "What do you think is your biggest problem?"”
He was a little embarrassed and said:
Too self-righteous.
I feel that others are not as smart as me, so I look down on others and bully others. Now that I think about it, it's just me, I read two more books, and my brain reacts a little faster.
With a little ability, I feel that I have reached the sky, but in fact, the sky is very high. ”
After saying these words, Yan Li breathed a long sigh of relief.
This guy is finally starting to reflect.
If family background, knowledge and education, and job position are not the key to determining life, then what are the key factors?It is a person's three views.
When an event occurs, it is when personality is expressed. It determines the choices we make at countless crossroads in our lives. And the result of these choices is our whole life.
Before leaving, I had a whim and asked Yan Li another question: "Do you still have any wishes?"”
Yan Li motioned for me to look behind. I turned my head to see that on the wall like the bark of a plane tree, there was a posthumous photograph of a woman with short hair.
Yan Li's eyes flashed with tears, and he said, "My mother left at the age of 62, and now, I have lived to this age. I want to go and sweep my mother's grave, kneel in front of my mother's grave, and tell me about the past few years......”
Yan Li choked up, he looked at the ceiling and fell silent.
The room was quiet, only the sound of the air conditioning vent and the sound of rainwater dripping on the loquat leaves outside the window.
After a long time, he slowly spoke: "I hope everyone listens to my story, take it as a warning, don't learn from me, I'm too late." ”
Saying goodbye to Yan Li, I put on my schoolbag and went downstairs. The rain had stopped outside, and at the exit, a bright light slowly shone into the old house.