The rumbling bulldozer leveled the house, smashing large sections of brick and tile, breaking the wooden beams on the eaves, and causing billowing dust to rise up.
This kind of commotion attracted a crowd of onlookers, various neighbors and locals. Old folks with cloth bags buying groceries, office workers munching on fried cakes and chive boxes, all gathered in small groups, whispering to each other.
"How come the shelter renovation notice hasn't come down yet, but Old Zhang's house is being torn down?"
"Seems like his son is in a hurry to get married and couldn't gather enough dowry, so he sold the house."
"What a waste, they'll be moving into a new house soon."
"Hey, who can say for sure? They talk about renovating the Old Town District every year..."
Qin Shi was slightly taken aback. The topic of the Old Factory Street demolition had been hotly debated recently, but he didn't expect a bulldozer to show up today.
