Hao Li is usually kind and gentle, and rarely loses her temper, whether with Wu Yuanyuan or with anyone else.
Anyway, Wu Yuanyuan rarely saw her like this.
Hao Li took out a pack of women's cigarettes from her pocket, took one out, and lit it.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled the smoke; her deep eyes seemed to hold many stories.
“I may not have told you this, but when I was your age, I also worked as a technician. I came out with a friend and we went to the same club. I was 18 and she was 19.”
"We both came from the countryside. When we came to Donghai, this big city, it was like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden. We found many things to be very magical and fashionable. We were dressed in a rustic way, like country bumpkins. We were very self-conscious, but at the same time, we encouraged each other to make something of ourselves. At first, we both worked as waitresses in the club. Back then, the salary wasn't as high as it is now. We only earned 500 yuan a month, while the technicians could earn seven or eight thousand yuan a month. To be honest, we were very envious. The manager could tell that, so he came over and encouraged us to become technicians."
“I saw that the technicians were dressed very provocatively, and I was reluctant. I was still very naive at the time, and my values hadn’t become so distorted yet. But my friend was different. She followed the manager’s instructions without hesitation and became a technician. That month, she earned 7,000 yuan. She took me shopping and bought herself a lot of beautiful clothes.”
“I was standing in front of a trendy store, looking at my dowdy clothes, and I didn’t even dare to step inside. I just stood there watching her happily pick out her clothes. When she paid, she spent over 3,000 yuan, which was half a year’s salary for me…”
"She told me, 'Ali, it's not as scary as you think. It's just being touched. You can't do anything about it. Just think of it as being bitten by a dog. It's nothing serious.' With her encouragement, I agreed to become a technician. The first few months at work were indeed very good. I earned a high salary, bought beautiful clothes, and even bought myself expensive cosmetics."
“When I saw my fellow villagers who came out to work and earned a few hundred yuan a month, I felt very proud. I was so much better than them!”
“We are both full of expectations for life. When we see others talking about buying houses, we start talking about it too. This is something I could never have imagined before. My friend told me that another massage therapist who does special massages has already bought a house and started paying it off. She also wants to buy one, and the manager suggested that she also do special massages.”
"She couldn't resist the temptation and went too. That night, she gave herself to a man in his fifties. Although she felt uncomfortable, she earned 20,000 yuan that month, which was much more than me. After doing special massages for five months, she actually bought a house in Donghai..."
Hao Li spoke while smoking, her eyes filled with memories of the past.
"After she bought the house, I couldn't hold back anymore and finally succumbed. I also got a special massage and had my virginity taken by an older man."
At this point, Hao Li's eyes reddened.
Yuanyuan didn't speak; she lowered her head, seemingly recalling some past experience.
"That night I went back and took a lot of showers, trying to get myself clean. I cried all night and started to think that my decision was wrong. The next day, I went to the manager and told him that I was quitting. But he told me that doing it once or twice was the same as doing it once or twice, so why think so much? Just make money!"
"Haha, he really knows how to say those kinds of things. At the same time, my friend also advised me that once I make money, I can just move to a different place and no one will know what we do."
"So I continued doing it, but then I encountered a client who was a pervert. He beat me up and left me covered in bruises. At that moment, I felt like I didn't deserve to be a human being. Would I really sell anything for money?"
“I thought a lot while I was in the hospital, and finally decided to leave that place. I had saved up some money, probably around 100,000 yuan. Although I couldn’t afford a house, it was a lot of money at the time. I wanted to start my life anew. I rented a shop in Donghai to sell clothes. I chose to do this because many of my sisters had already done this after leaving the country. After opening the shop, I rekindled my hope for my life.”
“I felt different again. My identity had changed from a factory worker to a prostitute and then to a boss. Business was good when I first opened the shop. I thought I would definitely have a bright future. But the shop closed down in less than half a year. It proved that I was not suitable to be a boss. That year was a wave of bankruptcies in the clothing industry. Many of the sisters who had worked with me before were also having trouble with their clothing stores. We discussed going back to running clubs. Although my friend did not open a shop, she lost a lot of money gambling and also had a boyfriend who cheated her a lot. She sold her house and we got back together.”
"She was in debt for over 500,000 yuan. She had no choice but to go back to her old job. I have a lingering fear of doing that kind of work again. Fortunately, I have some connections. I begged the manager to let me work as a receptionist, earning about 1,000 yuan a month. But at least it can comfort me, since I don't have much debt."
“Every day I stood at the front desk watching my scantily clad colleagues come and go, and I found that I no longer felt the same aversion as before. I was scared, afraid that I would fall into the trap again, so I quit my job and moved to another place. Although I was still working in a club, I didn’t see the same people as before, and I felt a little better. Later, I worked at several clubs, from front desk to supervisor and then slowly worked my way up to manager. It was through hard work that I managed to save up a little money. As for my former colleagues… they… sigh… they repeated the same mistakes over and over again, and didn’t leave with a single penny.”
"Last year, while I was shopping, I passed by a street and saw my old friend. She was sitting with her legs crossed in front of a dirty, cramped hair salon. She was already 40 years old, dressed scantily, and her eyes were full of world-weariness. As I walked over, she beckoned an older man inside. Inadvertently, our eyes met. She recognized me, and I recognized her, but we both pretended not to know each other, even though we used to be such good friends..."
By this point, several cigarette butts had already accumulated on the ground.
Wu Yuanyuan was deeply moved. She had almost sold herself several times when she was at the Dream Jiangnan Club, but fortunately Sister Li stopped her.
Hearing about Sister Li's experience, she felt a little sad and took a tissue from the side and gave it to Hao Li.
Hao Li took the tissue and looked at her.
“Yuanyuan, I brought you here. Although the rules here are strict, it’s much better than where we used to live. You should learn to be content. I’ve always treated you like my daughter. I don’t want you to follow the path I took before. That’s a path of no return, you know?”
Wu Yuanyuan nodded with tears in her eyes; "I'm sorry, Sister Li, I was too impulsive. I apologize for my attitude these past few days. Don't worry, I won't go to that Paradise on Earth club!"
Hearing her say that, Hao Li breathed a sigh of relief, then hugged her and comforted her; "I'll go see that Manager Chen tomorrow. I'm going all out. No matter what, I'll make sure you stay."
At this point, Wu Yuanyuan was so moved that she hugged Hao Li and cried.
Hao Li's eyes flickered, and from an angle that Wu Yuanyuan couldn't see, a smile appeared on her lips.
...
In the monitoring room, Chen Zhe smiled as he recalled the conversation he had with Hao Li in the office earlier.
...
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