Chapter 15 Your Name
He Xiaolan looked at her salary, which had just been deposited into her bank account, and after a delighted half-hour, she began to plan her budget. If she planned well, she might be able to get the new car she'd been eyeing by the end of the year. That dream car had a display in a mall near her company, and every time she passed by, she'd stop outside to take a look. Both the exterior and interior captivated He Xiaolan.
The family car was bought outright by Wang Qingwei. He Xiaolan felt uncomfortable every time she drove Wang Qingwei's car, feeling like she hadn't paid for it, that it wasn't hers. Hua Hudie and Qin Tiantian thought she was calculating too much; their children were already in elementary school, yet they were still agonizing over who paid for the car. However, if they bought a new car, taking some from the family fund and some from their own savings, they would feel completely at ease driving it themselves.
Six months ago, Qin Tiantian gave He Xiaolan a book to help cover the weight of her package. She only occasionally flipped through it. The book described how Woolf bought a Persian cat with her first royalties. The joy of earning money made her love her work even more intense. Her ambitions grew, too. "A Persian cat would be nice, but a Persian cat isn't enough. I want a car." Although He Xiaolan didn't know much about Woolf's life, she felt she had a point.
"Earn money to buy what you want. It's too much to rely on a man." This was the first principle about relationships between men and women that Ms. Zhang Xinrong taught He Xiaolan, and she kept it in mind until it became a habit.
When she first started college, He Xiaolan went to the public bathroom on campus to take a shower, but realized she had forgotten her facial cleanser. A gentle art student next to her handed her a Shiseido cleanser with no Chinese characters on it. After washing, her face felt smooth and tender, completely different from the feeling of washing with soap. He Xiaolan vowed to herself then and there that she would settle down in Beijing. And when she had children, she would also do so.
Now she knew it was a trap of consumerism, but He Xiaolan had fallen into it willingly. Having seen others have things she couldn't, this desire for material things made He Xiaolan work even harder, trying to get scholarships and taking on part-time tutoring jobs.
When I felt I had enough money, I went straight to the counter. When I pointed at the bottle of facial cleanser and carefully told the clerk to pack it up, I felt completely integrated into Beijing. And that bottle of facial cleanser was not as expensive as I had imagined. With hard work, wishes can always be realized one by one.
When He Xiaolan first started working, she went to Watsons and bought herself a set of Shiseido skincare products after receiving her internship salary. That had been her dream for many years. She put a complete set of skincare products with bottles of exactly the same color on her dressing table. From then on, she had taken the first step towards becoming an urban beauty.
The following year, when "Go Lala Goes to Work" was released, He Xiaolan sat in the cinema and imagined her future career would be as glamorous as in the movies. Not only were the ten-centimeter heels, but even the tight business suits captivated her. She immediately placed an order and went to the mall to shop. Finally, she sat in her small shared apartment, looking at her brand new heels and beautiful clothes spread out on her bed, dreaming of a loving CEO who would one day save her from disaster. In the end, only the company was in the China World Trade Center; none of the others were even close.
First, commuting defeated the need for expensive stiletto heels, and overtime defeated the need for exquisite suits. Until today, He Xiaolan, wearing loose jeans and a cotton and linen shirt, sat on one side of the conference room, pretending to be serious about having a regular Monday meeting with her annoying boss.
Yang Fan was a typical boss: he wanted everything he wanted, but he didn't give anything in return. He would throw a bunch of problems at He Xiaolan on Monday, then tell her to "solve them all quickly." At the end of August, he calculated the entire Q2 labor costs and realized they were overpriced. He insisted that He Xiaolan reduce costs by the next quarter, and that she "reduced expenses while maintaining savings."
He Xiaolan sat in the office, pulling her hair almost bald, but she couldn't think of a better solution. The main reason was that Yang Fan thought the headhunting fees were too expensive, so he asked He Xiaolan to think of a way to contact the talents she liked herself, so that she could save some money.
"Why doesn't he just contact them himself? A real boss-direct hire." Ge Lin's complaining voice came from behind He Xiaolan's computer. When she looked up, her dark circles were almost reaching her cheeks.
"If he really goes, we'll be left with nothing. Do you have any ideas? We've adjusted our business lines this quarter, but we still haven't found a suitable supervisor." In order to save costs, there are only four people left in their human resources department: He Xiaolan, Ge Lin, and two interns.
Ge Lin started pulling her hair and sighed for a long time. The salary quoted by the finance department was one-third of the original salary. When He Xiaolan asked them to meet, they chatted about many things but didn't feel comfortable talking about salary. But the applicant asked about it first. He Xiaolan regretted it after she finished speaking. It would have been better to find a reason not to meet. The other party was already showing mercy to He Xiaolan by not posting a complaint on Xiaohongshu.
There are quite a few resumes in the mailbox, but not many suitable ones. He Xiaolan feels tired after reading so many that she can't even recognize the words. She wants to stand in front of the window to enjoy the scenery and relax her eyes, but there are still buildings opposite the building, and people in the opposite building are constantly shuttling back and forth, selling their souls for their dreams. These souls have built every building in the CBD. At night, the tired souls have to light themselves up and illuminate the night of Beijing.
If I ran a little faster, I could catch the last subway, but forget about the bus. I resolutely carpooled. I wondered if Wang Qingwei had gotten home yet. While sitting on the subway, I suddenly felt hungry. I'd already digested the little I had for dinner. On the subway, I looked through all the takeout options near my home. For a delivery fee of three and a half yuan, I might as well go home and make some instant noodles.
Wang Qingwei hadn't returned home. He left a message but didn't reply, suggesting he was still struggling with the bug. By the time I'd finished washing myself up, it was almost two o'clock. I didn't have the energy for instant noodles anymore, so I decided to spend the night on the couch. It wasn't long before the alarm went off, and I opened my eyes to another tiring day.
When He Xiaolan first became pregnant, He Lianhua mentioned to her, intentionally or unintentionally, that she should stop working and stay at home to look after the child. When the child grew up and Yueyue went to kindergarten, she could go out and find a job. He Xiaolan did not say anything, but conveyed He Lianhua's words to Wang Qingwei verbatim, and said that she did not want to work anymore, that work was very tiring, and that if she quit, Wang Qingwei could support the family alone.
After hearing these words, Wang Qingwei was so scared that he went to talk to his mother and told her not to speak so carelessly in the future. If only one person worked, after paying off the mortgage, the two of them would not dare to ask for eggs when eating pancakes. He Xiaolan knew Wang Qingwei's selfishness, but as long as she persisted in working, she would feel at ease spending every penny she earned.
The best thing Ms. Zhang Xinrong did was to persevere and work hard. Even during the years when He Guoqiang was at his most shabby, and the rumors at work were rampant, she remained unmoved and persevered in her work. During those years, Ms. Zhang Xinrong's salary kept her and He Xiaolan well-fed and clothed, unaffected by any turmoil.
Zhang Hang's wife, however, didn't understand the situation. Wang Qingwei wasn't working overtime at the company when he didn't answer the phone, but rather was undergoing training. Zhang Hang's family changed their strategy, deciding that making a scene was pointless and would easily cross the line of public security. The old man came up with a dirty trick: he asked his daughter-in-law, who was about to give birth, to sit in the company until they got the money.
Tao Lin told Wang Qingwei to find a solution. If he couldn't resolve the issue with Zhang Hang's wife, Wang Qingwei wouldn't have to work anymore. Wang Qingwei offered her psychological counseling in the conference room, laying out the facts and reasoning with her, but she simply cried and refused to leave or give in. Wang Qingwei had no choice but to call Qian Helin, the most eloquent person, after work to help him persuade her.
Qian Helin was usually talkative, but at this moment, seeing the woman opposite him crying her heart out, he didn't have any idea what to do. The three of them just sat opposite each other, occasionally refilling her glass of water, talking about other things to lighten the mood, and even said that after she gave birth to the child, he would help her ask her friends around if they had any suitable jobs to recommend to her.
She looked at Wang Qingwei helplessly and said, "I can only raise children if I get money. Zhang Hang and I have been married for over a year, and I still haven't gotten my salary card back from my parents-in-law. The house we bought now doesn't have my name on it. My parents-in-law paid part of the down payment, but I don't have a job and can't repay the loan. My parents-in-law just won't add my name to the house."
"Why did you agree to get married then?" Qian Helin frowned as he listened. Wang Qingwei sighed and added, "If you were my daughter, with his family like this, I would have fought them to the death long ago."
"My parents think I'm pregnant and have already informed all relatives about the wedding. It would be too embarrassing to cancel the engagement now," Zhang Hang's wife said. She was about to slide off the chair and kneel down before Wang Qingwei and Qian Helin. Wang Qingwei was quick to push her back onto the chair. "Brother Wang, I'm really not being unreasonable. I'm just at my wit's end. Can you please talk to Mr. Tao again? As long as I can get the work injury compensation, I promise I won't come here again."
She became increasingly excited as she spoke, and then her water broke. When Wang Qingwei and Qian Helin rushed her to the hospital, the doctor asked what the mother's name was. Wang Qingwei was stunned. He seemed to have never asked her name before. He always called her Zhang Hang's wife or Zhang Hang's lover. It was as if she was just Zhang Hang's accessory. After the baby was born, she would be someone's mother. What would her name be?
"My name is Lin Yaping and I am 31 years old."
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