Junsha, a city with a 3,000-year history, had never changed its name. Liu Chang’an remembered the Shang Dynasty era, when Junsha belonged to the Yangyue region, a branch of the Baiyue tribe.
During the Spring and Autumn period, Junsha was part of the Qin State’s Quanjing Prefecture. Of the 36 prefectures of the Qin Dynasty, Junsha was one of them. Later, during the Western Han dynasty, Junsha became a kingdom, with its own king, and had 13 counties under its jurisdiction.
Today’s Junsha, apart from the relics in the museum, no longer retains any ancient artifacts. During the Anti-Japanese War, Junsha suffered a great fire, along with the flood at Huayuan Bridge and the catastrophic air raid incident in Chongqing, earning it the reputation as one of the three most severely damaged cities in World War II.
The city, which had been ravaged by the atomic bomb, should not have been forgotten, but after its reconstruction, it seemed to have erased the scars of war and pain. It was as if the city had been gradually forgotten.
This was the place where Liu Chang’an had fought amidst blood and fire.
More memories slowly resurfaced in Liu Chang’an’s mind as he lay motionless in the construction site next to the Baolong Center, his entire body aching. He took a deep breath, feeling a sharp pain in his chest and back, making him aware of the severity of his injuries.
Looking up, he saw the Baolong Center towering above, its lights shining like a stairway to heaven. Today, he could finally see the starry sky, with the Milky Way stretching from northeast to south, like a river of stars.
As the stars moved, the moonlight gradually dimmed, and the towering city’s skyline blocked the sun’s rays and the first light of dawn.
Liu Chang’an opened his eyes again, feeling the morning air, which, even in the heavily polluted city, seemed to carry a different air after dawn.
He heard the sound of machinery starting up in the distance, looked up at the Baolong Center, and then got up, jumped over the wall, and landed smoothly.
He patted his buttocks, finding his pants were torn and tattered. Liu Chang’an took off his jacket, wrapped it around his waist, and covered his exposed buttocks. He then walked along the construction site’s wall, looking like any other young worker.
The only difference was his smooth, unweathered skin, without the roughness and dark pigmentation of someone who had labored under the sun for years.
Liu Chang’an turned his head, and a middle-aged man wearing a blue work uniform shouted, “Hey, kid, want to find work?”
Liu Chang’an looked down at his mud-stained pants, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. “What work?”
The man said, “Clean up that pile of broken bricks and dump them into the pit.” Seeing Liu Chang’an’s hesitant expression, he added impatiently, “Just one day’s work, and I’ll pay you daily wages.”
Liu Chang’an smiled, showing his white teeth.
This type of large-scale construction mainly used steel reinforced concrete, and only the temporary construction walls used grey bricks. The construction equipment couldn’t reach this pit, so it had to be filled by hand.
Liu Chang’an didn’t change into a work uniform, but Fan Jian gave him a safety helmet to wear. He couldn’t enter the construction site without the helmet, even though it was just the outer perimeter.
Liu Chang’an worked for half a day, filling the pit, and then went to find Fan Jian to settle the payment.
“You finished the work in half a day?” Fan Jian was incredulous, checking on the work, and then smiled. “You’re quite skilled, what’s your name?”
“Liu Chang’an.” Liu Chang’an received the 200 yuan payment, signed, and prepared to leave.
“Leave your phone number, and I’ll call you if there’s more work.” Fan Jian said casually, as he couldn’t just recruit anyone, and today was only an exception due to the lack of manpower.
Liu Chang’an smiled, wrote his phone number on a slip of paper, and knew that he probably wouldn’t get more work in the future, and today was just a coincidence.
Fan Jian thought Liu Chang’an’s smile was quite charming, with his white and clean teeth, and estimated that he had just started working and was still fresh out of school.
Fan Jian casually put the slip of paper in a pile of receipts, continuing his patrol of the construction site.
As he turned around, he saw a woman in a black uniform walking towards him, greeting him.
Fan Jian unconsciously touched the betel nut in his pocket, then laughed, “Hello, what’s up?”
“I’m looking for a young worker who was just doing labor here,” the woman said, pointing to the direction.
Fan Jian was taken aback – wasn’t that where Liu Chang’an was working just now? Fan Jian couldn’t help but take another look at the woman, with her standard secretary or assistant demeanor, tall and slender, with a pair of black high heels and no excessive embellishments on her body. Her face was stern, but not too cold.
The key was her youthful and beautiful face, wearing rimless glasses.
Fan Jian had seen female secretaries accompanying high-ranking company officials, but this woman’s aura and figure were in a different league.
“She’s asking about Liu Chang’an, the kid who was just doing labor,” Fan Jian thought to himself, wondering what connection this beautiful woman had with Liu Chang’an.
The woman frowned, looked back, and then asked, “Do you have his contact information?”
“Yes,” Fan Jian replied, quickly searching for the slip of paper.
After a while, Fan Jian found the slip and reported the phone number to the woman.
“Thank you,” the woman said, turned around, and left.
Fan Jian took out a betel nut from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and looked at the woman’s swaying waist, savoring the taste and the sight.
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