In March 2000, in the chilly early spring, my son Guan Ningyu was born.
As a new father, what he felt was not joy, but a sigh for his son's misfortune and an invisible pressure.
Zhang Fangfang's nutrition during the confinement period, her son's milk powder and diapers...
All the necessities of life must ultimately be exchanged for banknotes.
At this time, there was no difference between those who had not resigned and those who had resigned, as the factory had not paid them a penny for three months.
As the pillar of the family, you cannot just sit there and wait for death.
I submitted an application for resignation to the factory without telling Zhang Fangfang.
Section Chief Xin is still as enthusiastic as ever, but he can no longer earn the minimum respect from his superiors.
She coldly placed the application in front of him.
He read it once, nodded, and said in an official tone: "Guan Hongjun, I didn't misjudge you. You have a high level of awareness and take the lead in solving problems for the factory. You deserve praise. Your application has been approved. You can go to the next door to complete the formalities."
Before leaving, he left a message: "It's not that I have a high level of awareness, it's that your awareness is too low."
He was startled at first, and then he said something to 놖's back that hurt 놖's self-esteem: "Young man, even if 놖 is out of work, 놖 will live a more comfortable life than you, because 놖 has enough."
Although what he said was unpleasant to hear, it was the truth.
He bought a second-hand human-powered tricycle with the only 40 yuan in his pocket and worked at the gate of the furniture city every day.
As soon as they see a customer, the group of people waiting for work will rush over, shouting and bargaining with each other, and if there is no work, they will disperse with disappointed expressions.
These people are all laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises. Few of them understand the rules of the market. They can only struggle for an uneven and precarious livelihood in the disorderly and vicious competition.
What's more serious is that the team is growing bigger and bigger, with new members joining constantly.
So he raised his arms and shouted: "Brothers, fellow workers, we are all laid-off workers, just to make a living. If you continue to bargain, you won't make any money. How many of you didn't do any work today?"
More than half of the people in the crowd raised their hands.
"Look, this is the consequence of our lack of unity. It doesn't matter if we go hungry for a meal or two, but what about our wives and children at home?"
People in the crowd said: "Yeah, what should we do?", "Brother, just tell me, don't keep us in suspense."
He looked around the crowd and said, "Industrial workers are very disciplined. From today on, we will also set a rule that you are not allowed to bargain for a job or take a job on your own. Today, we will set up a workers' committee, which will be responsible for negotiating the price, and then we will take turns to do the work in order. This way, we can make money and everyone can work. What do you think of this method?"
There was enthusiastic applause and cheers from the crowd.
Everyone followed the order of the number and then worked in sequence. If someone passed the number, no one would ask why and they would just have to wait for the next round.
Some people say this is inhumane.
Everyone patiently explained that the rules were set by everyone and that they could not be broken just for personal reasons. Once a loophole was opened, it would give those in the working committee who had the final say space to rent, and money-for-power transactions would occur.
Everyone may not quite understand the truth of the law, but they are deeply disgusted by the term "money for power" and insist on doing things impartially.
Unexpectedly, not long after leaving the job, with the support of his fellow workers, he became the head of the Workers' Committee.
Everyone said that the way 놖 raised his arms was too much like Lenin in the movie "Lenin in 1918", so they gave 놖 the nickname "Vladimir".
Tang Xiaomei asked if he would still follow the rules after becoming a leader.
I can say with certainty that as long as I was a chief officer, I always adhered to this principle and never sought fame by being a so-called "good man".
She defines this as taking responsibility.
The paper could not contain the truth, and soon Zhang Fangfang found out that he had taken the initiative to go down to work as a mover.
She was very unhappy, thinking it was shameful for a university student to earn money by doing hard labor.
When he put all the money he earned every day into her hands, her expression was no longer so ugly, and she tacitly agreed to his choice.
In this way, we spent a period of peaceful days. During the day, I went to work in the furniture store while she stayed at home to take care of the children. At night, I lay in bed, supporting my tired body and satisfying her endless demands.
Sex between men and women has become a routine here and no longer inspires any passion.
Gradually, she began to understand her better. A female worker who used to work regularly in a workshop suddenly became a housewife. She lost herself in the clueless and chaotic housework. She could only find a little comfort in her father's body at night, and was interrupted from time to time by the crying of her children.
One day, a rickshaw driver called out, "Vladimir, Mr. Liu from the furniture store wants to see you."
놖 was very surprised. Boss Liu is the largest merchant in the furniture mall. I heard that in this building, the floors would tremble if he shouted.
I occasionally met her twice during my work. She was a woman in her thirties. She was always cold as ice and never smiled. I had never seen her smile.
In her heart, she had forgotten her shop and was catching up with the salesperson she was training.
Seeing 놖 coming in, she waved and chased the girl who was being scolded away.
After taking a look at him, she asked, "Are you Vladimir?"
놖 said 놖 yes.
"Come on, let's talk in the office."
Entering her spacious and clean office, she sat in the boss's chair and was too lazy to even ask for a seat.
He took a deep breath, sat down on the chair opposite him without hesitation, and crossed his legs solemnly.
No matter what her purpose is, at least she can't lose her momentum.
"Tell me, why are you raising prices?"
She used a questioning tone and her eyes were very sharp.
He laughed and replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "We make money by hard work and have never sold any goods."
She snorted contemptuously and asked, "Have you read Capitalism?"
"I have read it."
"So you should know that labor is a commodity."
She wanted to use Marx to suppress 놖, and 놖 could only use his own spear to attack his shield.
놖 replied righteously: "놖 is based on Marx's viewpoint and is using struggle to reduce the surplus value that you have exploited."
She actually chuckled and smiled.
This was the first time I saw her smile, and also the first time I realized that she was a very elegant and beautiful woman.