2002, March.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Port of Neum.
On the narrow coastal plain, the Dalmatian coast is the primary location for port construction in this region.
However, compared to the long coastline, Bosnia and Herzegovina only has 24 kilometers of coastline and a bay called the Port of Neum.
It is also the only port for Bosnian fishermen and fleets.
At night, the sky is dotted with stars, and a bright moon emits its pure light surrounded by the stars.
But the faint light cannot dispel the darkness of the vast sea.
A lighthouse stands on the sea, which seems to swallow everything.
The faint light emitted from the top of the lighthouse becomes the only light source on the entire dark sea, like a sign welcoming sailors home.
Before long, a low horn broke the silence of the sea.
Whoosh ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~!
The low sound of the ship's horn spread continuously forward, and soon reached the port.
In an instant, the quiet port suddenly became lively.
Lamps shone down from the dome, and workers and sailors who were asleep got up one after another.
"Returning to port! They are returning to port!"
"Everyone get up, start working!"
"Get up quickly, the fleet is returning to port."
The workers got up, skillfully put on their bib waterproof pants, put on their rain boots, pulled a wheelbarrow from the side, grasped the handle tightly with both hands, and prepared to rush out at any time.
The workers in these ports all have dark skin tanned by the sun, messy hair, and bright eyes staring at the fleet returning to the port in front.
But in the crowd, there was a discordant figure.
This is a child of about 150 centimeters, with yellow skin and black hair, and a thin body wearing a pair of wide bib waterproof pants. The suspenders are tied very tightly, knotted and hung on both sides of the body, trying to lift the clothes as much as possible, but even so, the crotch still droops seriously, like a dwarf.
Under the extremely funny scene, the surrounding workers turned a blind eye to him.
The little guy has a round head with baby fat on his cheeks, and he looks like he is only twelve or thirteen years old, but his eyes are firmly looking forward, as if he wants to make a way out among this group of workers.
At this time, fishing boats began to enter the port and dock at the port. With the shouts of the managers in front, the workers rushed forward like a flood.
"I'm coming!"
"First come, first served!"
"If you run slowly, you won't get anything!"
The workers quickly pushed the wheelbarrow forward. In a port lacking mechanical operations, manpower is the most reliable transportation force.
These workers gather here every time the fleet returns to port, after all, they can earn 10 marks for just one move, and a few more trips can top half a month's salary.
Therefore, every time the fleet returns to port, it is a good time for these workers to make quick money.
Soon, the fastest running workers broke through and formed the first echelon, but surprisingly, the boy was among them.
The boy's legs are short, but the frequency under his feet is very fast. He pushes the wheelbarrow and dodges flexibly in the crowd to avoid being confronted by strong workers, while maintaining enough speed to keep up with the first echelon.
The workers in the first echelon quickly arrived in front of the fleet.
The boy also found a boat docked on the shore and shouted loudly: "Kovacevic, hurry! Hurry up and load me up!"
A head poked out from the boat. This was a young man of about 25 years old, wearing a sailor hat. When he saw the boy, he couldn't help laughing and said, "Hey! Suk, long time no see!"
"Long time no see, hurry up and load!"
The boy named Suk waved his hand perfunctorily and continued to urge.
Kovacevic shrugged and turned to shout: "Captain, get ready to load!"
A man with a thick beard smiled, turned his head and shouted: "Guys, Suk is here to urge us to load!"
Hearing this, laughter broke out on the ship.
Suk's round face showed a trace of dissatisfaction, but the crew's movements were not slow. They opened the sink cover and began to simply sort out the fish, then shoveled part of it into the cargo hold of the wheelbarrow with a shovel. Finally, the boy Suk covered it with a wooden board and turned around and rushed to the other side.
Suk has a flexible body, but his body is obviously not fully developed, and his strength is also extremely weak. Therefore, the process of pushing the cart is very difficult, and the speed is greatly reduced, and he is quickly left behind by other workers.
Looking at the distant delivery point under the light in front, Suk couldn't help but mutter and curse:
"Stupid port, why put the delivery point so far away!"
He was cursing in his mouth, but his feet were still trying to run forward. However, the frequency of his short legs was greatly reduced under the load, and after one trip, he directly fell into the last echelon.
Whoosh!
Suk came to the delivery point, a row of delivery points, with ten sinks marked from 1-10. Each sink was facing a recorder. When the worker finished unloading, they would write down the other party's name.
Suk's movements were very smooth. He quickly jammed the wheel of the wheelbarrow on the wooden board, raised the handle upwards, and directly tilted the fish into the plastic sink, then turned around and ran wildly.
"Suk! One time!"
The recorder opposite the sink said softly, and then recorded it in the case.
Soon, with the hard work of the workers, the fish was transported away in just one hour.
After finishing the handling work, it was time for the popular stage of collecting money.
The morning sun shines all over the port, and merchants are satisfied with collecting fish to prepare for sale, and some local residents come to buy fish to sell in the market.
The entire port became even more lively.
On the other side, the workers lined up in a long queue, and a person in charge at the front was distributing commissions.
"Sesic, 15 times, 150 marks!"
A Bosnian Muslim man happily took the money from the person in charge, and after confirming that it was correct, he turned his head and left happily. This hard work early in the morning was enough to Worth it his half-month's salary.
"Svekovic, 13 times, 130 marks!"
This is a Croatian man. Bosnia and Herzegovina borders Croatia. Many Croatians live in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The workers received their wages in an orderly manner.
Soon, the short Suk stood in front of the person in charge.
The man glanced at Suk and took out a stack of banknotes and said: "Suk, 10 times, 100 marks!"
Suk widened his eyes and shouted: "No, I moved it 12 times in total, you counted two times less."
The person in charge frowned and said: "It is clearly recorded above, only 10 times."
"He remembered it wrong!" Suk shouted loudly: "You can't deduct wages. If you do this, who will come here to work in the future?"
The person in charge had a cold face, and the workers behind him looked at Suk impatiently.
But Suk was still unrelenting. The little guy was not tall, but his voice was loud and bright, and he quickly attracted a group of people watching the excitement.
Seeing that more and more people were gathering, the person in charge also felt Tricky. He lowered his head and said coldly to Suk: "Only 10 times. If you want to continue doing this job in the future, then take the money and get out!"
The other party's eyes were full of threats. Suk lowered his head and looked at the money. Finally, he snatched the money and made an international greeting gesture to the person in charge, and immediately turned and left.
A good man does not suffer immediate losses. Suk knew very well that if he continued to pester, not only would he not get the money, but he might even get a beating.
With Suk's departure, the farce also came to an end, and the workers continued to line up to receive their wages.
At this time, Suk came to a step on the edge of the port and sat down, looking down at the money in his hand, looking regretful and said: "20 marks less, that's enough for 10 glasses of milk!"
"Black-hearted Harun, why is this guy staring at me?"
Suk became more and more melancholy, and his little head drooped dejectedly.
"Less money is better than losing your job!"
Suddenly, a voice came from next to him.
Suk turned his head and saw the young man named Kovacevic from the boat standing next to him.
Kovacevic threw the milk in his hand over. Seeing the milk, Suk's eyes lit up, and he immediately took it, unscrewed the bottle cap, and poured it up and drank it all.
Watching Suk drink the milk in one gulp, Kovacevic looked up and down and said: "Why haven't you grown at all? I was over 170 centimeters tall when I was 16 years old."
"It will!" Suk licked the milk residue on his lips, turned his head and said seriously: "I'm just developing later."
Kovacevic grinned: "Who would believe that this 150-centimeter-tall guy is actually a professional player who plays in the third level league in Bosnia and Herzegovina."
Suk stretched out his index finger and shook it left and right, and said seriously: "Is the top scorer!"
Kovacevic raised his eyebrows: "How many goals have you scored this season?"
"Eight goals so far!"
"The league should have progressed to 12 rounds, right?" Kovacevic looked slightly surprised.
Suk: "11 rounds, eight goals!"
Kovacevic gave a thumbs up: "Awesome."
Suk turned his head and smiled: "Guys like me are still persisting. Do you have any thoughts of coming back to play football?"
Kovacevic smiled: "What kind of football are you playing? I'm still playing in the third level at the age of 25. To put it nicely, it's the third level, but in the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, except for the Super League, the rest are amateur. I don't want to play football while working to make a living."
Suk: "I still miss your passing, that smooth long pass!"
Kovacevic smiled, supported his body and sat next to Suk, and said: "I have given up football. I think I have made the right decision. You should bless me."
Suk said helplessly: "Okay, then I bless you."
After a pause, Suk turned his head and showed a smile to Kovacevic: "As a former teammate, can you help me with a favor?"
Kovacevic asked curiously: "What favor?"
A trace of ferocity appeared on Suk's tender face, and he said fiercely: "Help me testify, I want to report Harun for employing child labor!"
Kovacevic opened his mouth and said in surprise: "Are you serious?"
Suk: "That guy deducted a lot of my commission, I want him to spit it out twice."