07 She wants to change other people’s lives by taking a bath

Soon, a week passed.

The "Shangshan Ruoshui" trio spans several districts in Pudong and Puxi, serving about seven or eight clients.

The situation of each client is different, so the sisters record them in mobile phone memos and Excel spreadsheets.

However, Zhang Chenling was not impressed by Ni Yue's sentimental, delicate and slightly pretentious writings. Her mind was full of numbers, and she was always thinking about how to quickly increase the number of customers.

I think about it while eating, while smoking, while taking a toilet, while taking a bath...

Perhaps it was the bathing gene in the bones of Northeastern people that Zhang Chenling figured out many of the difficult problems in her life while soaking in the water.

Sometimes, when you lie completely in the water, thinking of nothing and completely emptying your brain, you will suddenly have a flash of inspiration, and come up with some ideas that have no reason, no logic, but can unexpectedly bring you success.

So, her famous saying is: There is nothing that a big bath can't solve!

The decision to leave Northeast China and go south to make a living was a sudden inspiration she had while taking a bath in a bathhouse.

She always remembers that day twenty years ago.

In the bathhouse near their home, she and Chen Hongmei took a bath in a large pool that could accommodate dozens of people.

Through the dense mist, she vaguely saw two old ladies outside the pool scrubbing each other.

Their breasts sagged to their waists like shriveled hot-water bottles, their skin so loose that it rolled around with the mud rubbed off by the bath towels.

...Then he turned his head to look at Chen Hongmei beside him. She rested her two strong arms on the edge of the bathtub, her eyes half closed and half open, beads of sweat dripping down her rough red face. She was enjoying it very much.

Her husband died young, and she worked hard for half her life to raise a pair of children. Spending five dollars to take a bath in the bathhouse is a rare reward for herself.

This year, Zhang Chenling was about to graduate from high school. Like everyone else in her family, she was not born to be an academic. Chen Hongmei asked her to go to a junior college to get a degree, and after graduation, ask her brother to help find her a job in the city.

Zhang Chenguang drives a taxi in the city and earns his money through hard work. His income has been steadily increasing in recent years. He also has a girlfriend and his life is on the right track.

But Zhang Chenling didn't think her brother could arrange any good job for her. She would just have to do hard labor like him.

…

Looking around, she saw countless old ladies and countless pairs of shriveled hot water bottles, and she suddenly felt a deep fear.

It was as if they were rehearsing their own lives: born and raised in the countryside, after adulthood, they went to the county town to work a random job to earn some pocket money, then, arranged by their families, married and had children early, spending their entire lives raising them. In old age, they would run to the bathhouse near their home and scrub each other's bodies with old ladies, both known and unknown, until their hot water bottles swayed back and forth...

This is the life of almost every rural woman in Northeast China. It is also Chen Hongmei's life.

But such a life makes Zhang Chenling afraid.

The fear in her body was like the steam in a bathhouse, slowly evaporating and accumulating, and finally condensing into a concrete and bold idea in her mind.

Before she had time to think about it, she blurted out:

"Mom, I want to leave Northeast China."

Chen Hongmei still squinted her eyes, smacked her lips twice, and said nothing.

…

So, Zhang Chenling did not go to college. After graduating from high school, she packed her bag and went south to make a living.

She often feels that it was taking a bath that changed her life.

Now, she wants to change other people's lives through bathing.

Among the three people of "Shangshan Ruoshui", there is also Xiao Ma Ge who counts on his fingers as soon as he opens his eyes every morning like Zhang Chenling.

He never mentioned to Sister Ling that his decision to start a business with her was not a well-considered one.

That night, his wife had argued with him over a trivial matter, and then she used the situation as an excuse to lash out at him, saying that not only was he becoming increasingly perfunctory in his tax payments, but he had also lost all drive to make money. She said a man under 40 was so dejected every day, less energetic than the old men dancing in the park... She also tearfully said that she was now hesitant to even buy a crepe cake because she was trying to save money, and that the family's savings weren't enough to send their children abroad for education in the future...

After being sold to Sister Ling, the performance of the housekeeping company where Xiao Ma Ge worked took a sharp turn for the worse. In just over a year, his salary was reduced, his bonuses shrank, and he saw his job was on the verge of collapse. Although his wife was a civil servant with a relatively stable income, the couple still had to tighten their belts to make ends meet. Not only did their living standards decline, but their relationship was also affected.

Xiao Ma Ge cried silently in the darkness all night. The next morning, he made up his mind and went to the company to hand in his resignation letter. Then, he found Sister Ling and wanted to start a business with her to recreate the glory of the past.

After all, in his heart, Sister Ling's name is almost equivalent to the word "success".

However, after several weeks of preparation and trial, the number of orders for Shangshanruoshui was lower than expected, and Xiao Ma Ge's confidence inevitably began to waver.

Like Zhang Chenling, he secretly counts on his fingers every day, and then remains calm for most of the rest of the time.

There were no orders that day, and it happened that the "Old People's Expo" was being held in Shanghai. Xiao Ma Ge had just finished breakfast and suggested in the group that the three of them go shopping together.

Zhang Chenling: Okay, that's what I was going to say! Let's go join in the fun, learn a little, and hand out some flyers about "Shangshan Ruoshui" (Supreme Goodness is Like Water)!

Half an hour later, Xiao Ma Ge's van stopped at the entrance of the alley, picked up the two sisters, and went to the "Old Expo" at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

The full name of the "Shanghai International Elderly Care, Assistive Devices and Rehabilitation Medical Expo" is "Shanghai International Elderly Care, Assistive Devices and Rehabilitation Medical Expo". It is held once a year for three days. Major brands and service providers from all over the world will participate in the exhibition. It is considered to be the top event in the elderly care industry.

This year's "Old Age Expo" has set up different exhibition areas around themes such as elderly care, assistive devices, and rehabilitation medicine.

The three people walked into the elderly care exhibition area. Before they had been there for a few minutes, they were covered with canvas bags. The bags contained introductions to various manufacturers and brands, and some even came with small gifts.

They didn't even give out many of the "Shangshan Ruoshui" leaflets they had.

However, the bustling and bustling scene in the exhibition area gave Zhang Chenling and Xiao Ma Ge a great reassurance, easing their recent anxiety - they had made the right choice in the elderly care industry!

The three people stopped in the rest area between the elderly care and assistive devices exhibition areas, where a large roundtable forum was being held.

The theme of the forum was [Pain Points and Opportunities in my country's Elderly Care Industry]. A white-haired male guest was speaking eloquently:

"my country has nearly 300 million people aged 60 and above, of whom 40 million are disabled or suffering from dementia. 90% of them live at home. However, despite this large population, very few have ever enjoyed home-based assisted bathing services. The bathing needs of the vast majority of severely disabled elderly people are neglected, and there are very few institutions in the market that can provide professional assisted bathing services..."

Zhang Chenling and Xiao Ma Ge smiled at each other.

Looking at Ni Yue on the side, she was taking notes on the memo on her mobile phone with a slightly frown on her face, looking a little more serious than when she was arguing with netizens.

The guest continued, "Here, I want to share a story about my family: My wife passed away two years ago. Before that, she was paralyzed in bed for many years. She usually cleaned herself with a hot towel. She kept saying she wanted a hot bath. One day, my daughter and I took great pains to get her into a chair and took a shower. She was so happy that she passed away contentedly on the third day..."

The guest took off his glasses and wiped his tears, and applause broke out in the venue.

Ni Yue's eyes were red.

Zhang Chenling looked around while clapping and found that in the assistive device exhibition area, there was a booth from the Japanese organization where she bought the bathing equipment. So she said hello to her two teammates and turned to walk towards the booth.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know Zhang Chenling, the exhibitor sent by the organization, so I just exchanged a few simple greetings, visited their latest bathing aid products, and took a walk around other booths.

Looking back, Xiao Ma Ge and Ni Yue were still there listening attentively.

Feeling a little sleepy, Zhang Chenling decided to sneak out to smoke a cigarette and get some fresh air.

She smoked much less when Ni Yue was around.

May is the most comfortable season in Shanghai. The sun is warm but not too strong, the breeze is gentle but not too dry, and the outdoor feeling is very comfortable.

She took out a cigarette and was about to light it when she saw an open-air job fair being held in the open space next to her.

——[Shanghai Small and Medium-sized Internet Enterprise Job Fair]

It looked like there were about a dozen booths of recruiting companies, and hundreds of people were walking around with resumes in their hands, ranging from college students to middle-aged office workers of all ages.

Whether recruiters or applicants, their expressions were serious and empty.

Huh! Zhang Chenling couldn't help but sneer.

On one side is the "Old People's Expo" and on the other side is the "Job Fair". No matter what stage people are in, they are just meat on the chopping board. How ironic!

The next second, an idea suddenly struck her. She thought: I can also use this opportunity to promote it! Those ambitious young people who have been rejected by internet companies can also join us!

As a person of action, she immediately put the cigarette back in her pocket, walked to the end of the longest line, and asked everyone in the queue: "Young lady, are you interested in the elderly care industry?", "Classmate, would you like to know about job opportunities in the silver industry?", "Sir, do you want to join a startup company in the elderly care industry?"...

Everyone's expression was the same: they glanced sideways at the leaflet in her hand, then immediately looked away.

This team is so ambitious!

However, Zhang Chenling was not discouraged. She turned around and planned to attack another team. The people in that team looked older.

Suddenly, a somewhat familiar figure came into view.

The man was tall, wearing a dark blue suit, carrying a black computer bag, and wearing frameless glasses. The profile of his face seemed familiar, and the white hair on his temples was particularly familiar.

Zhang Chenling was in a trance for a moment.

The man seemed to feel her gaze and turned to look in her direction.

He was facing away from the light, his features were shadowed and his expression unclear, while she was completely exposed to the sunlight.

Today she was wearing a long-sleeved plaid shirt and black yoga pants. She had several canvas bags hanging from each arm and a dozen Shangshanruoshui leaflets in her hands - a stark contrast to her graceful and sexy appearance in the dress she wore in the night.

But the man's hesitant gesture showed that he recognized her.

The team moved forward slowly, and a large open space was left in front of them. However, he didn't notice it at all. He still stood there, staring at her blankly.

"Let's go! Are you stupid?"

The young man in the queue behind him roared loudly, looking extremely ferocious as if his way to wealth had been blocked.

Only then did he move sideways a few steps like a crab.

Zhang Chenling came to her senses, turned around and tried to escape.

Unexpectedly, she bumped into the person behind her, staggered, and the flyers in her hand fell to the ground.

After hesitating for two seconds, he bent down to pick it up.

A hand reached out from the side to help pick up the items, and handed them to her as they picked up the items. She lowered her head and kept thanking them until both of their hands reached out to the last piece at the same time, and then she raised her eyes.

After confirming with her eyes, she found that it was the loser in the youth hostel who was exploited by her all night long.

He has a name that is full of oil - Xu Zhiqian.

The next morning after a night of passion, Zhang Chenling was awakened by the sound of the shower in the bathroom.

She rolled off the bed and saw that the suit that had been hanging on the bed railing had been moved to the hook behind the door, revealing the desk under the bed.

The desk lamp was on, and under the lamp, two cups of soy milk and fried dough sticks were steaming.

There was an A4 paper under the fried dough stick bag, which was covered with oil stains of varying sizes and depths, and it was obvious that it had been reused many times.

A few lines of words were visible, and she took a look curiously:

Xu Zhiqian

A senior human-computer interaction engineer with thirteen years of experience in major internet companies, specializing in wearable hardware and software. He excels at product lifecycle management and cross-business and cross-technical team collaboration.

It should be his resume.

The deadline for my previous job was the end of last year.

A man with a high degree from a top university like 985 became unemployed in middle age, homeless, lived in a youth hostel, used his resume as a cover for fried dough sticks, drank cheap street craft beer, and became a tool for strange women to satisfy their sexual desires - a loser, a loser even worse than himself!

She laughed silently, put on her skirt quickly, picked up her cell phone, opened the door and ran away without looking back.

It was raining outside, but luckily the youth hostel was not far from home. She jogged all the way, and water splashed on her calves.

After entering the house, she went straight to the bathroom, walked into the shower, picked up the large bath brush, and scrubbed her body vigorously until her skin turned red. Only then did she stop to take a breath.

Still not satisfied, he filled the bathtub with water and started smoking while taking a bath.

When Ni Yue came in with a lot of bags that day, he happened to see this scene.

However, she certainly would not tell Ni Yue about such a private matter as a one-night stand. That ruthless outburst, along with that man, would always be a secret that could not be told.

Now, the secret has been exposed to the light of day.

Her heart thumped twice, then she pretended to be calm, with a relaxed smile on her lips.

The two people grabbed the same piece of paper, slowly stood up, and said at the same time: "What a coincidence."

Although she appeared calm on the surface, she was secretly exerting force on her wrist, trying to get the paper back.

Unexpectedly, Xu Zhiqian also held the other end tightly.

Zhang Chenling glared at him fiercely, but saw a gentle smile on his face and his eyes were also seductive.

This is what happens when a strong woman meets a clingy man!

If the phone in her pocket hadn't suddenly vibrated, Zhang Chenling would probably have continued to stalemate with him.

Her phone kept buzzing, probably because her two teammates were looking for her.

So, she gave up this meaningless fight and said in a casual tone, "You can have it. I don't want it anymore!"

He let go of my hand and turned and ran away.

Xu Zhiqian followed her for two steps, and seeing that her running posture was like a 100-meter race, he wished he could evaporate on the spot, so he stopped.

He sighed silently and looked down at the leaflet in his hand:

The best is like water, providing bathing services