Wen Qin Zhenzi.
Human beings are instinctively afraid of the night, where the eyes can't see, and always feel insecure and uncertain.
After midnight, the night is dark, and most people fall asleep in the vast land of China, but there are still some who maintain the myriad certainties of contemporary social life at night.
During the Chinese New Year, people move, gather and celebrate, and they are full of energy day and night.
At night, public services continue to be stable, the water and electricity networks will not be interrupted, transportation will not stop, there are small shops that do not close, there are doctors on duty all night, and the police and fire situations are handled; The night is also ready for the day, the streets are cleaned, fruits, vegetables, eggs and milk are put on the shelves, public facilities are overhauled, and the ski resorts, shopping malls and playgrounds are ready to welcome the new year.
In the story that our reporter came back from, there was an emergency surgeon who stitched up the wound of a small patient after midnight; There are subway car maintenance personnel who complete the "full body physical examination" of 33 trains in the middle of the night; There are snowmakers who are busy until the early hours of the morning to create a "fairy tale kingdom" for the scenic spot.
In a sense, the more developed industrial civilization, the more dynamic the market economy, the richer social life, the more diverse individual needs, and the more stable public services—the time interval of people's activities will be more flexible. The biological clock of "sunrise and sunrise" generally exists, but it has a personalized and flexible version.
After midnight, someone is the keeper of safety.
At the turn of the old and the new, fireworks light up the night sky. Around the corner of the block, a tall fire truck is parked. The firefighters, clad in flame-blue, did not sleep, and they had to stay on duty all night to make sure that every cluster of fire burned only for joy.
On the border, the police force patrols, and the police dogs do not sleep, following the footsteps of those who walk through the night to protect their homes.
The few hours when the subway is out of service is a precious time for maintenance. The lights open the professional battlefield, and the staff strives to make the risks disappear before the arrival of the first train carrying life.
A friend of mine, who spent several Chinese New Year nights in the hospital, specialized in helping children who were born into trouble in the world, trying to get through the first difficult hurdle of their lives.
The whole of China welcomes the new year, and he welcomes new life in this new year.
After midnight, life that is still linear forward needs to be dragged by someone.
Spring Festival, hundreds of millions of ** migration. A night train connects the distant and the home. After the lights were turned off, the carriage was quiet, and someone went to sleep. The conductor goes through the layers of dreams and accompanies them to reality.
Wherever the train passed, countless windows were hidden in the night, and behind one of them, a sleeping child got up to drink milk. Father lightly pressed the night light, and the small cloud of brightness came from the 24-hour power system.
In the city, strong winds blow through the streets. Temperatures are lower, nights are deeper, and even close to dawn. Between the street lamps and street lamps, some orange is moving slowly, and everywhere you go, the road surface is cleaned inch by inch, waiting for the hurried steps of the day.
After midnight, there are still people working hard for themselves, and at the same time supporting more people's daily lives.
At the wholesale market in the early hours of the morning, fresh baskets boarded the bus, and the hard-working fruit stall owners had high hopes for the value of each strawberry.
The night market is full of fireworks, old friends get together, and the wine is over three rounds. The remuneration of the substitute driver is quite good, and when it comes to the children who go to school in their hometown, they feel that they will go back after a few years.
There were people at the hotel front desk all night, and the young waiter's face, delicate makeup resisted the tired look, she said, she wanted to work more overtime, and strive to become a foreman next year.
Fresh milk with the date of the day is lined up in the freezer, the roasted sausages begin to tumble out their aroma, the temperature of the braised egg pot reaches its boiling point, the buns are put into the drawer, and the bread is put into the oven. The livelihood of these convenience stores, breakfast stalls, and snack shops opens at night.
Their sleepless nights also bring fresh fruits to customers, send late returnees home, give travelers a place to live, and let more people have a warm and full feeling in the morning.
Countless certainties are born one such night after another, and the rising and setting of the sun is no longer a strict marker of life and dormancy. These certainties make people feel safe.
A perceptual and cursory look shows that places where social life is still abundant after midnight and where public services remain stable are indeed more developed and more dynamic. Some people go to the cinema late at night, and some people run the cinema late at night. Those certainties that are born after zero point mean a more inclusive, more reliable, more respectful and satisfying social environment that meets the needs of the individual.
Of course, we should also realize that appreciating the vitality of midnight and enjoying the value of after midnight is not encouraging the sacrifice of personal health and breaking the bottom line of the laws of nature. Employees who stay up late and work overtime should have their legitimate labor rights and interests protected; Can workers who stay up late to patrol the line be replaced by smarter technology; Young people who stay up late to deliver meals can have more employment options ......Instead of praising and thanking people after zero o'clock for their contributions, we should think more about what technology can do, what functional departments should do, and what the whole society should do.
Chinese people are hardworking, flexible and creative. No matter when, where, and how people struggle, make sure they have the time, space, and healthy ways to rest without worry.
The day will understand the darkness of the night. ”
The New Year's bell strikes at midnight, which is midnight, but zero is always the starting point of a new date.
*: China Youth Daily client.