Age of Legends

Chapter 1 Three Losses in Life
The red steel windows with peeling paint and rust spots divide the view outside the window, where the eaves of old residential buildings occupy half of the sky, and the messy thatched roofs of the opposite buildings are scattered around.

The light from this southwest-facing window is not very good, so the whole room is bathed in semi-darkness on summer afternoons.

On the left side of the table with a glass plate next to the window, against the wall, there is a bulky three-body tape radio with a red label "Seagull" on it.

The tape storage boxes on this radio and the radio frequency bands with noise that it could receive accompanied Zhang Chen throughout his student days.

Secondly, how should I describe the layout of this room? It’s quite standard.

There is an old mahogany wardrobe that has survived several moves, followed by a bedside table, a bookcase, and a handmade wooden-framed single bed that Zhang Chen has slept on since he was a child.

This is the room Zhang Chen grew up in. If it weren't for the rumors about the demolition compensation policy in this area, Zhang Chen would have disposed of this old house long ago.

Sometimes what I am even more reluctant to face is the 7-inch photo placed on the edge of the table.

It was a photo of his mother Huang Huifen holding him in the park when he was five years old. The photo had turned yellow due to the passage of time.

This was the only photo of Huang Huifen he displayed. Apart from that, he had long since stuffed the black-and-white portraits of her into the innermost drawer of his bookcase.

His own eccentric mother Huang Huifen really brought him endless "unforgettable" memories. It is not an exaggeration to describe the relationship between mother and son as chaotic, a pair of enemies, thorns between the needle and wheat, and a copper pea and an iron frying pan. They can't bear to be apart, nor can they bear to see each other.

Zhang Chen has always been a tough kid. His school records are very important, and most schools give him good reviews. When he was a student, the kindergarten teacher commented that he wanted him to fight less, leave his footprints in the air, and pay more attention to the ground. Sometimes the parents were called twice a week, and Huang Huifen would often take him with her. Zhang Chen would often run around in the corridor, and Huang Huifen would follow him with a clothes hanger, shouting and fighting.

In fact, Zhang Chen did cause them a lot of worry. From childhood to adulthood, he never read serious books, but only read unconventional books, such as historical novels and various imported Doraemon works. As a result, he always lived in a dream and had an inexplicably high opinion of himself. As I said, what they are afraid of is not that you have the aura of the protagonist, but that you think you have the aura of the protagonist and then run into a tiger.

I neglected my studies and never did well in grades. I failed the college entrance exam and barely got into a university that allowed me to pay for admission.

Later, when I entered society and hit a wall, I would always go back to the old house to get drunk, like I did today, and curl myself up and get drunk.

Alcohol caused a severe headache. Zhang Chen lay in bed, not seeking sudden enlightenment. In fact, even if one had sudden enlightenment in life, there would still be many pitfalls to avoid.

Zhang Chen, who was already covered in scars, summed up his first half of life and deeply understood what the three losses in life meant.

I had great ambitions but little talent, and I didn't use my intelligence in the right way. Although I achieved some success later, when I think of the hardships I suffered, I still regret that I had wasted my youth.

The second mistake was being too ambitious. There were many opportunities right in front of me, but I turned a blind eye to them and couldn't see the path I wanted to take. As a result, I missed a lot of good opportunities and let down some people.

The third mistake is probably the debt to parents, poor grades, setbacks everywhere, and making parents worry about their future all day long.

His mother Huang Huifen set up a fruit stall for him, and her health was ruined during that time.

In order to get good products in the fruit shop, you have to get up at two or three in the morning to pick up the goods. If you are late, the good ones will be taken away by the previous batch. The goods have to be brought back to the store at five o'clock for preparation and replenishment. You often have an irregular lifestyle when you are stalled or in the store, and you cannot eat on time. You can't bear to throw away some rotten fruits, and you will eat those that contain toxins yourself. People at that time were not so particular.

Huang Huifen later suffered from long-term stomach pain and neglected to check her body. The last check-up showed that her condition was in the late stage.

At that time, Zhang Chen was living in Beijing, and he hurried back. His father Zhang Zhonghua was also taking care of him despite his illness. Zhang Chen accompanied Huang Huifen on her last journey. He saw her gradually lose weight from a plump figure to a clothes rack. He was exhausted. He saw her finally run out of energy, draining the last vitality of this family and passing away suddenly.

Zhang Chen still can't forget the last words she said as she held his hand. It was not a summary of life, an exhortation to him, or a mother's guilt or hope for her child.

Instead, say, "I'm so hungry, Chenchen, I'm so hungry..."

Zhang Chen's eyebrows and nose wrinkled, and tears burst out again.

He couldn't tell how many times he had been in this state of confusion in the old house. It turned out that the most painful thing in life, the greatest loss, was not wasting the years and time, and was lonely in his youth, or that his desire to buy osmanthus flowers and carry wine could never be like the travels of his youth.

The greatest loss in life is that the tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop, and the son wants to support his parents but they are no longer there.

Zhang Chen experienced three losses in life in the first half of his life.

……

The dim light in this half-dark room gradually faded away as dusk penetrated through the grids of the red steel windows. Zhang Chen fell asleep on the bed drunkenly without knowing when.

The dusk light and shadows reflected on the wall were moving visibly, from the gloomy scarlet light, gradually changing into orange, yellow, red and yellow, and then into a grid-like pattern of light spots, slowly forming a bright and light color.

There are tiny particles of dust in the beam of light, which is crystal clear.

There were knocks on the door, and they became more rapid and continuous.

Zhang Chen was gradually awakened by the noise. He squinted at the light entering the room and wondered if it was the collector who read the water meter and came to collect the water and electricity bills?
I only go back to this old house once every few months, and I never live here. How can I still owe water and electricity bills? Could it be that the water company is stealing from me? I need to call 12345!

Zhang Chen's anger grew suddenly, gradually diluting the seal on his brain after the hangover.

He opened his mouth and shouted, "Who is it? What a psychopath!"

However, this voice was not as hoarse and deep as his original voice. Instead, it sounded somewhat tender. Zhang Chen was stunned as soon as the voice came out, because his body did not have the usual heavy reaction after a hangover, and there was no smell of stale alcohol in his mouth.

This reaction seemed to arouse the temper of the person knocking on the door. The key that had been hanging in the lock was turned, and the door handle was pushed down and thrown open with a "click!"

A round, angry woman with curly hair appeared at the door. "Zhang Chen, what time is it? The sun is already shining on your butt and you haven't gotten up yet! Your dad has already gone to work early. The noodles I cooked for you are almost greasy. Hurry up and get up, eat the noodles and go to school!"

Where is the light and shadow dividing the dusk?

It was clearly another early morning school day.

On the other side of the light, the woman looked at him coldly.

On the bed on the other side was a young man who looked lost and at a loss as if time was falling.

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(End of this chapter)