Here you go: The city begins from here

Author: Old Cat
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: This is a mind-blowing novel. On the edge of the city and at the junction of urban and rural areas, garden apartment communities have been built, inhabited by cultural figures and white-collar women who have moved from the city center. Surrounding them are gradually urbanized villages and villagers with ever-evolving lifestyles. The patchwork of life, humorous and lighthearted jokes all contrast with the profound emotions and the enterprising human nature. A new "city begins here."
The sentences in the work:
"Our village is twenty kilometers north of the city. Old Cat uses a painter who speaks Beijing dialect as the 'narrator,' giving the reading a bright and vivid 'full of color and sound' feel. The theme of the novel is very broad: human nature, fate, and interpersonal relationships in urban expansion—or the 'urbanization comprehensive process' from social patterns to personal lives to housing. But the author's storytelling method reminds one of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The tone sometimes resembles Kerouac, and through ordinary yet sometimes whimsical characters, we feel that what truly drives the 'urbanization comprehensive process' is profit, and profit is actually the composition of numerous desires." — Southern Metropolis Daily
Old Cat is like a skillful storyteller, delivering each segment with perfect diction, turning the laws of historical progression into a fascinating and relatable story. The crisp language, vivid characters, and masterful handling of narrative joints—this technique of transforming grand narratives into legendary tales reminds one of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. But When the City Begins is not just a product of talent. As one said, judging whether life is worth experiencing itself answers the fundamental question of philosophy. "When we feel interesting in reading, we feel that our individual lives and the history we are experiencing are intertwined as one." — Dazhe Magazine
In this work, the talented novelist Old Cat, with concise and adept writing, an accurate and unique perspective, and a humorous yet profound tone, reflects on an unavoidable corner of urban life in reality. The storyline is rich, the atmosphere of "urban news" is prominent, and with artistic sensitivity, this is the greatest feature of the work. — Book Editors
Unfortunately, few are as perceptive as I, Bai Jingjing, or the little fairy. Whether in Bird Tail Village or Dandelion Garden, they are still confined to traditional thinking patterns. Although the villagers are eager to become residents, they still hold a grudge against us outsiders, sometimes admiring us, sometimes feeling inferior. For example, Xu Squirrel, who lives in Dandelion Garden, doesn’t even think about helping a ponytail who comes to ask for assistance as proof of her superiority. Otherwise, who would she even know Li Xiaocui? These concepts, far behind economic development, manifest in concrete forms as the sentries set up by Dandelion Garden and Bird Tail Village. Now, both sides are on high alert, making Bird Tail Village and Dandelion Garden resemble India and Pakistan, with border soldiers glaring at each other in Kashmir. And Dahuangdeng and Li Xiaocui, like border traders braving gunfire, one running a small shop and the other selling soy milk and fried dough sticks. The profits from border trade are substantial, and Dahuangdeng is the beneficiary. He makes a living by reselling goods from Bird Tail Village at higher prices to Dandelion Garden residents. Since the residents of Dandelion Garden are all white-collar workers who rarely ask for prices, Dahuangdeng makes a killing.
The power of role models is immense in profit-making, and all villagers in Bird Tail Village believe that border trade has great potential for development. As Dahuangdeng plans to buy a billiard table to expand his business and variety, various businesses also emerge, such as Wang Fugui’s hairdressing and beauty salon (including traditional Chinese massage, scraping, cupping, blind massage, and foot massage), small restaurants, tea and water purification stores, laundromats, and even companies that also offer printing, typing, and business card design. Among them, the most impressive is the "car army" led by Ma Tailed.
The so-called "car army" is simply a "black car" service. In the group car purchase, Bird Tail Village bought a total of seventeen cars. A few were used by villagers who ran businesses, but the other dozen were neatly lined up outside Dandelion Garden. Whenever someone came out of Dandelion Garden, a driver would shout, "Going? Or need a ride?" This exposed Bird Tail Village’s intention to exploit Dandelion Garden, with the exploitation taking place in the 300-meter stretch from the garden entrance to the village entrance.
Once this dynamic of exploitation and being exploited formed, I felt that every villager in Bird Tail Village held a firm belief in "waiting for wealth and equalizing poverty." However, in reality, Bird Tail Village’s economic strength had already surpassed Dandelion Garden, so the game they were playing was actually "accumulating wealth." Dandelion Garden is good in every way, except for its poor public transportation. Located in the suburbs, it has no buses or taxis passing by. If you don’t drive yourself, you must take the traditional three-wheeled "skip-skips" to Zhengbaiqi Town to transfer to a public bus. These skip-skips are not from Bird Tail Village (which, even in the countryside, is a model of high living standards and would never have people driving them). They are from nearby villages and roam the rural roads, looking fragile.
Recently, due to large-scale urban development in the area, the number of heavy-duty trucks has surged. Most are transporting construction waste and building materials, while many others are coal transport trucks from other places. On the narrow rural roads, the skip-skips navigate between these fast-moving giants, neither safe nor appropriate. Especially, many white-collar residents of Dandelion Garden are accustomed to a life of luxury and usually take taxis, as their companies reimburse a certain amount of taxi fares each month. Now, they are often forced to take skip-skips, which is a severe blow to their morale.
Imagine their destinations are usually high-end office buildings in the city, and they usually discuss and strive for a modern lifestyle. Yet now, they must wake up every morning and take a skip-skip, enduring wind and rain. If they are involved in accidents like collisions or rear-end collisions, they risk being late and getting deducted from their salaries. Navigating between these trucks sometimes even puts their lives at risk. How could they accept this? Public transportation is a nightmare for Dandelion Garden.