09 No one is qualified to act as the moral police
The smell in the customer's house is probably a mixture of mold, feces, urine, and fart, as well as stinky feet, stinky eggs, and stinky leftovers.
Ni Yue vomited instinctively.
Since moving to Shanghai, the rhinitis that had been bothering her has been cured, and now she is extremely sensitive to smells.
Fortunately, no one noticed her vomiting except Zhang Chenling. The latter just frowned slightly and greeted the person who opened the door as if nothing had happened.
He was a middle-aged man, about the same age as Xiao Ma Ge? Maybe even younger.
But he was very sloppy, his hair was greasy as if he hadn't washed it for several days, and his T-shirt and shorts were covered in stains.
The three of them immediately understood why his father hadn't taken a bath in two years.
The man said that the floor at home had not been cleaned for several days, so there was no need to change shoes.
Zhang Chenling agreed and followed him in first.
Every step I took made the soles of my feet sticky, and the stains of varying shades on the floor were like a minefield, impossible to avoid.
If I take a few more steps, the soles of my shoes will probably stick to each other! Zhang Chenling complained in her heart, thinking that the claim that the floor hadn't been mopped in several days was a lie, this floor hadn't been mopped since the day Pangu created the world.
Brother Xiao Ma followed closely behind, carrying the bathing equipment.
Ni Yue was the last one to enter. She silently reached into her apron pocket, took out an N95 mask, took it apart and hung it on her ear.
The three people never expected that an even stronger shock was yet to come. As soon as they walked into Uncle Qian's room, they were completely dumbfounded!
The room was about a few square meters, narrow and dark, with only one very thin window. The window glass was dirty and half blocked by thick curtains, allowing almost no light to penetrate.
Everywhere was littered with daily necessities: toilet paper in various packages, opened and unopened express boxes, dirty and smelly basketball shoes, old leather boots stained with mud...
Obviously most of them are not Uncle Qian’s belongings.
He huddled on a single bed in the corner, barely two square meters of living space. The bed was also cluttered with debris, and the bedding hadn't been changed or washed in ages. The edge of the quilt, pressed against his chin, was greasy and black, as if it had been coated with starch.
Zhang Chenling asked Ni Yue to go to the living room to install the bathtub and fill it with water, while she and Xiao Ma Ge stayed behind to make preparations for the bath.
Uncle Qian lay on the bed, like a zombie, emitting a faint sour smell. They turned him over with great difficulty and lifted up his pajamas. Zhang Chenling shuddered with fear.
——The back half of his body is almost rotten!
There were bedsores all over his body, even on the two shriveled buttocks. Some of the bedsores had begun to fester, and the flesh and blood had become a mess.
The stench that penetrates into the nasal cavity, coupled with the strong visual impact, is more unbearable than feces, urine and fart.
Zhang Chenling glanced towards the bedroom door as if asking for help, expecting Ni Yue to come over and hand her a mask - unfortunately, the familiar figure did not appear, as Ni Yue was busy installing the bathtub!
Turning his head, his eyes fell on the crevice between the two buttocks - huh?
"What is that?" she asked Xiao Ma Ge, pointing at a black unidentified object.
A dark piece, as long as an adult's middle finger, was pressed flatly in the crack.
Xiao Ma Ge didn't notice it either. He took out disposable gloves from his pocket, put them on, and then reached out to grab it.
As the black object gradually separated from Uncle Qian's body, their eyes changed from curiosity to horror - it was a shriveled, deformed, gecko-like corpse!
The two people almost collapsed.
Suddenly, Uncle Qian made a series of weak sounds, and Zhang Chenling hurriedly leaned over to him.
Listening carefully, he was actually apologizing: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
I guess he is apologizing for being dirty and smelly.
Zhang Chenling's nose felt sore, and she quickly comforted him, "Uncle Qian, let us take care of your bedsore first before you take a shower. Please bear with the pain."
Fortunately, dealing with bedsores is one of the important contents of bathing assistance training, and everyone is familiar with it.
She took out medical supplies from the tool kit she carried with her, first cleaned the wound with medical cotton swabs and saline solution, then used medical sterile liquid dressing to dissolve the necrotic tissue, and finally applied a waterproof patch on the wound to prevent water from entering when taking a bath.
Brother Xiao Ma helped on the side. After treating the bedsore, he gave Uncle Qian a simple haircut and shaved off the few remaining stubbles on his chin.
Then, as usual, his physical indicators were checked, he was covered with a large bath towel, and carried out on a stretcher.
In the equally cramped and dark living room, Ni Yue had already prepared the bathtub.
After all the operations on Meng Ruhu just now, she was so hot that sweat was running down her face.
Uncle Qian's son completely gave up and after leading them in, he went back to his room without even looking at them.
The door was not closed tightly, and soon the sound of keyboard typing could be heard from inside. It was so loud that it seemed as if the keyboard could be smashed to pieces every minute, mixed with ugly curses - he was playing games.
The three people carefully immersed Uncle Qian in the water.
The old eyes suddenly lit up. He hadn't taken a bath for so long that he probably had forgotten what it felt like to immerse his body in water.
Ni Yue guessed that the feeling at this moment could only be described as "like a fish in water"!
But he seemed to have a hard time relaxing, and kept apologizing in a weak voice: "I'm sorry to have caused you trouble," "I'm sorry, I'm so dirty," "I'm sorry to have wasted your time"...
Ni Yue held his dry hand, but did not dare to look directly into his eyes.
She felt a little sad—sad for the situation he was in, and even more sad for his apology.
This must be how he usually apologizes to his son - he is always afraid of causing trouble to others. This has become his habit, or perhaps a survival instinct.
Although Zhang Chenling tried to comfort Uncle Qian softly, she was still unhappy in this situation.
Xiao Ma Ge's face turned ashen and his cheeks were clenched tightly.
This was probably the most heartbreaking bath they had ever taken.
...After scrubbing Uncle Qian's front and limbs, everyone was about to work together to turn him over, when suddenly, a strong smell of smoke came out from under the door of his son's room and unexpectedly penetrated into his nostrils.
"Cough cough..." Uncle Qian was the first to cough a few times due to choking, and rolled his eyes unconsciously.
The pressure cooker in Ni Yue's heart exploded. She stood up and tore off her mask.
The two teammates looked at each other, and before they could react, they saw her swept into the room like a tornado.
"What are you thinking about, you big idiot? Can you please stop smoking?!" she cursed in a crying voice.
As soon as the words came out, Ni Yue was dumbfounded.
She was both excited and scared.
Uncle Qian's son jumped up from his gaming chair, unable to believe his ears. "Who are you talking to? Say it again?"
Ni Yue took the plunge, puffing out the thick sponge pad on his chest to give himself courage, and said word by word: "I'm talking to you. Your cigarettes have filled the room. Your father is very uncomfortable. Please put out the cigarette immediately!"
"It's none of your business. Who the hell are you?" The man walked towards her with a vicious look on his face.
In a flash, Xiao Ma rushed into the room and stood in front of Ni Yue to act as a peacemaker. "Brother, let's talk it out nicely. You can't fight with a woman."
Ni Yue was stunned when he heard this. Was Xiao Ma taking sides? He wasn't helping him scold that son of a bitch? He was even secretly degrading women?
She got angry and squeezed in front of Xiao Ma Ge again, firing a machine gun: "I don't care what's wrong with you! Haven't you seen what's happened to your father? He's almost rotting in his bed! And you're still playing games! Smoking! And glaring at me, who are you trying to scare? I'm calling the police right now and reporting you for elder abuse!"
The man's face flushed red, even redder than the burning tobacco in his hand. "What kind of bullshit are you talking about? I play games just to earn money to bathe him, don't I? Where else do you think the money comes from? I made it all by typing it out on my keyboard, dollar for dollar! You, a stinky bather, don't just take your own bath, why are you meddling in other people's business?"
As he spoke and gestured, cigarette ashes were scattered all over the floor.
"He stinks so badly, and you just remembered to wash him. What qualifications do you have to be so confident?!" Ni Yue shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm just a bather, but the dirtiest, smelliest, and most disgusting person in this house is not me, but you! You're just a stinking beast..."
"Ni Yue!" Zhang Chenling growled behind her, interrupting her, "Stop talking!"
Of course, Zhang Chenling was also very angry about this unruly son.
But Ni Yue crossed the line and committed the biggest taboo in the service industry!
Zhang Chenling didn't stand up. She was still pouring water on Uncle Qian, but her eyes were fixed on Ni Yue. She lowered her voice and called to her, "Come back quickly. Don't scare Uncle. Let's finish the bath first and discuss other matters later!"
Then he raised his voice and said to the son of a bitch, "Everyone, let's talk it over. Arguing and getting violent won't solve the problem! Please put out the cigarette if you can. The old man is not feeling well!"
After hearing his cousin's rational and restrained voice, Ni Yue finally came to his senses and behaved himself.
After several minutes of thrilling roller coaster ride, my feet dropped back to the ground.
She silently turned back to the bathtub and held Uncle Qian's hand again.
He widened his already yellow eyes, focused them with difficulty, and locked onto Ni Yue's face, wanting to take a closer look at her.
He muttered, "Little girl, I'm sorry..."
Saliva flowed down the corners of his mouth, and Ni Yue hurriedly wiped it with a tissue. Unexpectedly, the next second, two lines of tears flowed out from the wrinkled corners of his eyes.
Ni Yue's nose felt sore and he started crying too.
Tears rolled down uncontrollably, falling into the bathtub like raindrops, creating ripples one after another.
...Uncle Qian's son got angry and started cursing at Ni Yue, wanting to sort things out. Brother Ma pushed him back onto the gaming chair and closed the door.
The two sisters heard two men arguing fiercely in the room, but soon, Uncle Qian's son stopped moving and Xiao Ma Ge opened the door and walked out.
Zhang Chenling tilted her head and glimpsed through the crack in the door as the bastard reluctantly put out his cigarette.
On the way home, the three of them were silent.
The air pressure in the car is extremely low.
As soon as the car stopped at Xiangyang South Road, Ni Yue opened the door and jumped out. He neither said goodbye to Xiao Ma Ge as usual nor waited for Zhang Chenling to join him.
She ran home, went straight to her room, locked the door, and lay on the bed sobbing.
…
An hour later, she came out with swollen eyes.
Zhang Chenling was sitting at the dining table, updating a customer data sheet.
Hearing Ni Yue's footsteps, without even raising his eyelids, he asked softly, "Have you cried enough?"
Ni Yue snorted, not wanting to pay attention. He walked over and opened the refrigerator door to look for food.
I saw two takeout boxes inside: cold beef and cold noodles.
My cousin's voice came faintly from behind me: "I just ordered takeout. Crying for too long has drained your energy. Eat some beef to replenish your energy!"
Ni Yue's nose felt sore, and the hard shell she had deliberately disguised was easily shattered...
I wanted to cry, but then I held it back.
She took out the takeout box and put it on the dining table. Then she sat down next to Zhang Chenling and apologized softly: "I'm sorry, cousin. Uncle Qian was so pitiful today. I couldn't help myself..."
"Oh, you!" Zhang Chenling sighed heavily. "Do you think you can change his son's character? Do you think he doesn't know what his father is like? If you scold him like that, he might turn around and take it out on his father! We can never wake up someone who's pretending to be asleep. It's such a simple truth, don't you understand?"
Looking at her cousin's face that was intimidating without even being angry, Ni Yue felt awe for the first time. The corners of her mouth twitched twice, and she didn't dare to say a word.
Zhang Chenling picked up the thermos cup at hand and took a sip of the wolfberry and chrysanthemum tea that Ni Yue had brewed for her that morning. After moistening her throat, she continued, "It's not that you're completely wrong, but there are some things we might be able to solve in a better way. There are some things that you might not be able to say, and I might not be able to say them either. We can discuss it privately first and then ask Xiao Ma to do the talking. There are also some things that might not be appropriate to say in person, so we can mention them over the phone afterwards. What do you think?"
"You are right!" Ni Yue agreed from the bottom of his heart.
"Also, don't be angry with Brother Xiao Ma. He is definitely an honest and kind person like you!"
Ni Yue looked annoyed and quickly denied it, "I'm not angry with Xiao Ma..."
"You know, Xiao Ma told me that just now in the room, he put the photo of bedsores on his phone in that idiot's face and rolled up his sleeves to show off his muscles. Otherwise, that idiot wouldn't have put out his cigarette!"
Hearing this, Ni Yue was happy.
In fact, she had just reflected on this. Even if she was in the right, it was always inappropriate to intervene in the client's family affairs so forcefully. If a fight had broken out, Xiao Ma might have been the first to get hurt. Wouldn't she have been a burden to her teammates?
"Also," Zhang Chenling picked up her phone and showed her the call log, "while you were crying your heart out, I contacted the neighborhood committee where Uncle Qian lives and reported the situation to them..."
Ni Yue's face turned red with embarrassment. Her cousin always did big things quietly.
On second thought, I still felt uneasy. "How much of a deterrent can the neighborhood committee lady really have? Why not just call the police?"
"You, you, you're here again... What's the reason for us to call the police? Is it because the son is unfilial and caused the elderly man to have bedsores? Or is it because he smokes without closing the door? Or is it because he doesn't like to clean and the house looks like a pigsty? Which of these is illegal or criminal? The police can only give him a few words of advice, they can't arrest him and send him to labor camp..."
Indeed, no one is qualified to act as the moral police.
"Don't underestimate the neighborhood committee. They know all about his family. They say Uncle Qian is a veteran whose wife died young. Before he got sick, his home was immaculate, with the quilt on his bed neatly folded like a block of tofu. But then he got sick and couldn't take care of himself. His son used to work in a high-end office building, but he lost his job a few years ago and hasn't found one. He stays at home all day and his mental state is getting worse and worse... They said they'll be paying more attention to his family and will arrange for someone to visit in the next few days."
This is all we can do. I don’t know when his family will help with bathing next time, and I guess they won’t ask Shangshanruoshui for help again. It will be difficult to follow up in the future.
Thinking of this, Ni Yue became dejected.
"Let's keep in touch with the neighborhood committee first. They deal with these matters all day long, and they're all very shrewd. If we visit his house more often, we might be able to make some progress..."
As Zhang Chenling spoke, she quickly updated the notes column of the form: [Dirty, messy, and smelly. The neighborhood committee will follow up...]
She couldn't help but laugh when she saw Ni Yue standing aside with his head down and his arms drooping.
She knew, of course, that Ni Yue was so angry today, not only because of her simple values of compassion, but also because she saw herself in Uncle Qian—that insignificant, unloved, neglected, and damaged self. Ni Yue stood up, and to some extent, she was also defending herself.
Projecting pain onto others is more difficult than bearing it on yourself.
Zhang Chenling can certainly empathize with this, as she has had similar experiences:
The year she first arrived in Shanghai, she was hired as a factory girl through an introduction. Within a few days, she saw her roommate being bullied by the foreman, so she stood up to him. Unexpectedly, the price of her tactical approach was heavy: she was immediately fired. That day, she walked out of the factory gates, her bedding under her arm, with only a few dozen yuan in her pocket. But just a few days before, she had paid her introducer 500 yuan as a referral fee to get the job.
At that time, she was more impulsive, reckless, and tragic than Ni Yue.
…
Zhang Chenling sighed softly, painted Uncle Qian's row of boxes light blue, then clicked save and turned off the computer.
Turning around, he gently rubbed Ni Yue's head like comforting a puppy, and said in an unusually gentle tone, "You scolded me very well today, don't scold me next time..."
Unexpectedly, Ni Yue burst into tears with a "wow".
Tears fell like beads from a broken string, crackling everywhere. She cried and retched at the same time, even more hoarse than before in her room.
Zhang Chenling was dumbfounded and quickly took a tissue to wipe her tears. "What's wrong? The matter has already been resolved. Why are you crying again?"
After a while, Ni Yue finally calmed down, clutching a tissue and sobbing softly, "Cousin, actually, there's something I've always wanted to tell you..."
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