At Gu Jingyan's signal, Xiao Dingdong did not stop writing.
It seemed to be the first time she had ever told someone her story. If it were someone else, she probably wouldn't have said so much, but this customer was a bit special. He had some similar experiences to her, so rather than saying she was playing the victim, it was more like she was communicating with him about her condition.
[The second year after I became mute, some outsiders carrying equipment came to the village. I later learned they were there to film a program. They had chosen our impoverished mountain village to send wealthy children from the city for rehabilitation and exchange programs. They initially came to my house, probably through the village chief's introduction, but after the exchange, I heard them say my family's situation was too poor to afford it. So they chose the family next door, my good friend, named Qianqian. Qianqian got the opportunity to live in the city for a period of time.]
Gu Jingyan was stunned for a moment.
"Wait a minute, the show you're talking about... it's called 'Life Swap,' right?"
Xiao Dingdong nodded.
Gu Jingyan exclaimed in shock, "That friend's name is Wang Qianqian??"
Xiao Dingdong was stunned when he said Wang Qianqian's name.
Chen Zhe, who was watching from the monitoring room, was also somewhat surprised.
[Wang Qianqian? Could it be someone with the same name? It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it?]
“When I was 17, my dad also signed up that woman’s son. The boy was 12 at the time. My dad told me that he was my cousin. Later I found out that he was his illegitimate son. At the time, the woman wanted me to participate, but I didn’t have time and I didn’t want to participate, so I went abroad to ski. When I came back, I had become a cripple. At this time, there was a country-style little girl in the family. Her name was Wang Qianqian.”
Xiao Dingdong was very surprised. She didn't expect that the two of them would have shared memories. She had no idea about this before.
Chen Zhe, who was in the monitoring room, really wanted to call and ask Wang Qianqian about it.
But since they were all at work at this time, I held back and continued watching.
...
Upon learning that they shared common memories, the atmosphere between the two improved considerably, and Gu Jingyan became convinced that what Xiao Dingdong said was true.
[After the show finished filming, before those people left, a kind-hearted older brother came to see me. He said he could sponsor my schooling. I was so happy at the time, because of him, I stepped into the school gate for the first time when I was 12 years old...]
Upon hearing that Xiao Dingdong only started school at the age of 12, Gu Jingyan's lips moved slightly, but he couldn't interrupt her.
[I initially attended a regular school for a year or two, but I couldn't keep up with the pace, so I went to a school for the deaf and mute in the county. That's when I learned sign language. After graduating from elementary school, I was already 18 years old. Perhaps due to financial difficulties, the older boy who had been sponsoring me stopped supporting me, so I wanted to go out and work. But because I'm mute, I looked for many jobs, but no one wanted me. My first job was as a dishwasher. I worked there for three months and finally earned two thousand yuan...]
Upon seeing that he would only earn 2,000 yuan after working for three months, Gu Jingyan was so angry he almost slammed his fist on the table. "Is this some kind of swindler?"
Xiao Dingdong smiled wryly and continued writing: "At the time, I didn't feel very sad. I was quite happy. This was my first income in my life, and I was very satisfied. Later, I went to work in a factory where I didn't have to talk. I could earn 4,000 yuan a month. I worked there for a year and saved 45,000 yuan."
"Wait a minute! Are you kidding me? You earn 4,000 yuan a month, and you can save 45,000 yuan a year?"
Gu Jingyan was very skeptical.
[The factory provides room and board, so I don't spend much money.]
"Um...you only spend 3,000 yuan a year? My god, what kind of life is that?"
Gu Jingyan couldn't understand it. He couldn't even imagine this kind of life. He could spend 3,000 yuan on a single breakfast, and this little mute in front of him only spent 3,000 yuan a year??
[I was so excited, thinking I'd saved a lot of money and was finally going to have a good life. But when I happily went home for the New Year, my mother's condition worsened. She was so sick she didn't even recognize me. To make matters worse, my younger brother was returned to his family because his treatment was very expensive, and the family that had adopted him had another child and didn't want to raise him anymore. All the money I'd saved for a year was gone on the day I went home.]
Seeing this, Gu Jingyan's eyes showed a hint of heartache.
But he wasn't the kind of person who knew how to comfort people.
[I was really upset at the time because the doctor told me that continued treatment would cost a lot of money, and I didn't know if I could afford it. During the few days I stayed at home, my childhood friend Wang Qianqian came back. She was dressed very nicely, drove a nice car, and I heard she had even bought a house in the county. We're the same age, but she earns so much more money than me. I was very envious, so I went over to ask her how she managed to earn so much money.]
What did she say?
[She was initially reluctant to tell me, but I desperately needed the money, so I kept pestering her. Finally, she got annoyed and told me she worked at the Linglong Club, specifically instructing me not to tell anyone. I wanted her to take me there, but she said that someone like me couldn't possibly work there...]
Gu Jingyan sighed a little. He had previously thought that Xiao Dingdong was not qualified to work here.
[I was resentful because I really wanted to make money, so I came to Donghai alone. I didn't want to work in the factory anymore; I really needed a lot of money. After arriving in Donghai, I asked around and ended up at Linglong Club. During the interview, I lied and said I had a sore throat and hadn't been able to speak for a while.]
[That's how I got the job. I was so happy, but also a little scared. After a month of training, I started working. We were on the second floor then, but I made a mistake on my first day. When a customer tried to touch me, I hit him back. Just as the supervisor on the second floor was about to fire me, Sister Li came over. They finally discovered that I was mute, and they kicked me out. I was so sad. Thinking of my mother and my younger brother, I felt I couldn't go back like this, so I stood at the door all night. It was winter then, and that night was so cold and so long. Sister Li took pity on me and finally took me in. She took me to the fifth floor...]
Seeing this, Gu Jingyan suddenly wanted to hug the girl. He wanted to apologize for the hurtful things he had said before, but he couldn't bring himself to say them.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
[Technician #26 is on duty!]
...
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