County Town | Bottom-Rung Life · Chat

Trembling in the night of the urban village. At Construction Site No. 2 on Heping Road, the shadows of the scaffolding twist into the shape of iron cages under the dim yellow streetlights, trapping this group of shirtless men in a prison of desire built of concrete and rebar. "Fuck! Was this damn pork raised on shit?" Wang Tiedan squats on a cement bag, poking at the glistening slices of fatty meat in his lunchbox with mud-caked chopsticks, looking particularly glaring under the dim light. Sweat slides down his wheat-colored chest, pooling in the crevices of his abs. "Cut the fucking crap!" Foreman Old Zhang has half a cigarette dangling from his mouth, the sweat-blackened fabric of his pants stretched tight. "You only have energy to work at night if you eat your fill! We're working overtime until 3 AM tonight, finish up and you get an extra fifty!" Fifty bucks—those words make everyone's eyes light up like a shot of adrenaline. Ali Mamut wipes his smooth, bald forehead, the full pecs beneath his tight tank top heaving with his breath: "Fifty bucks is enough for me to get a good meal over at Sister Guilan's..." He licks his lips, his gaze drifting toward the smoking barbecue stand not far away, where a woman's coquettish laughter can be heard. "Hehe, bro, don't just focus on eating..." Chen Xiaochuan's lean body leans in slyly, his eyelashes trembling like a startled rabbit, but he still can't help joining in the jeering, "I was squatting outside the underground clinic last night and saw Cripple Liu hooking someone up to an IV. That girl who came to get her dressing changed was so pale, tsk tsk..." The greasy smoke from the barbecue stand mixes with the smell of cheap sheep fat, fermenting in the air. Various colored neon signs flicker with murky light in the night, dyeing the entire urban village in a lewd shade of pink. "Sister Guilan! Ten skewers of kidneys! Put a shit ton of chili on 'em!" Wang Tiedan throws down his empty lunchbox, wiping the grease from the corner of his mouth as he strides toward the barbecue stand. Liu Guilan's forty-something body still retains its charm beneath her greasy apron, jiggling with the motions of her grilling. She looks up, her lips painted with cheap red lipstick curling into a flirtatious arc: "Yo, Tiedan hit the jackpot today? Did you secretly sell scrap iron wire again?" "Hehe..." Wang Tiedan's bright, sly eyes stare straight at her neckline, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulps. "Just making a little extra on the side... Widow Sister, wanna grab a drink together after you close up shop tonight?" Just then, Wang Dapao drives by in a gravel truck with a rumble, vulgar songs drifting out from the window. He sticks his head out. "Fuck, it's hot as a damn steamer out here." He blows out a smoke ring. Night falls completely...