Chapter 2 An Uncertain Future
He Xiaolan's hometown is a small northern county town, so small that you can ride your electric scooter around the city for only 30 percent of its charge. Fallen poplar leaves along the roadside can cover half the street. Life in the county town is slow. Ms. Zhang Xinrong walks her shedding Pekingese every day, and she catches up on the neighborhood's daily gossip.
He Xiaolan bought a house and a car in Beijing, and she got married and had children. This became Zhang Xinrong's strongest confidence. When she visited her sisters, she always carried a jar of pickled vegetables she had made at home. The glass jar jingled against the basket of the electric bike, and her words were all about "my Xiaolan" and "my granddaughter." Occasionally, she would go back to her rural hometown to plow the land. There were more stones than soil in the land. The corn seedlings planted in the spring were eaten by insects before they could even form cobs. In the autumn, she only harvested half a bag of corn cobs, which could not even be lit for burning. She was not annoyed. She patted the dirt on her trouser legs and said, "I'm just planting for fun. As long as Xiaolan lives well in Beijing, that's enough."
When He Xiaolan bought her house outside the South Sixth Ring Road in Daxing, Beijing, Zhang Xinrong never said a single critical word, at least not to her face. He Xiaolan had seen it all on social media. Open any social media app and search for Zhang Xinrong's username, "Sister Rong loves life," and the front page will undoubtedly feature the red property certificate, along with a dazzling photo. He Xiaolan knew Ms. Zhang Xinrong's vanity was completely satisfied.
The sweltering heat of Shanghai sobered He Xiaolan up instantly. Qin Tiantian had no plans for the day, so she came to the airport to pick her up. She was still wearing a long skirt and a shirt, and the gold-rimmed glasses on her face always made people bow to her and say, "Thank you for your hard work, teacher."
The two sat side by side in the back seat of the taxi, chatting casually.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't come to Shanghai? Why are you here anyway?" He Xiaolan texted her boss back and began to organize the documents in her bag, which she'd need at the branch office. She stuffed the documents into her bag, but the zipper got stuck halfway through, and it took two tugs to close it.
"I don't want to come either, but there's nothing I can do. I wrote a monograph and six C-level journals last academic year, but I haven't been promoted this year. My salary is several thousand yuan less than others. My leader said he is busy, so I volunteered to come here quickly so that he can remember me."
"How did your school become like this? When you first started working, Wang Qingwei and I were so envious. We thought you had a stable and leisurely life."
"What are you thinking about? My mother still thinks I'm just playing around at home during the winter and summer vacations. She thinks I'm too idle and should have a baby as soon as possible so as not to delay anything." Qin Tiantian's mother's message came very timely. Qin Tiantian opened the receiver and the old lady's strong voice burst out from the receiver, "My daughter, I asked your Aunt Zhang to find a nice young man for you. When you are free, go and meet him."
Qin Tiantian's parents have had no other hobby since they retired, which is to introduce Qin Tiantian to a partner. After so many years, the old couple's career has not been completed.
"We had another fight in the car this morning. I just couldn't stand the way he lay there. You know what? I think I've said more to you in these forty minutes than I have to Wang Qingwei this week."
"Why don't you two just get a divorce? You're getting tired of each other because you're together every day."
"How to divorce? Four elderly people, one child, and millions of dollars in debt, how to divorce?" Filing for divorce is the only way to survive a marriage, but reality always gives couples a big blow.
"You can get a divorce if you make up your mind. Whether this can be accomplished depends mainly on how determined you are."
The taxi driver suddenly snorted coldly and glanced at Qin Tiantian in the rearview mirror. "Girl, we say it's better to demolish a temple than to break up a marriage. You're always here trying to persuade people to divorce. Isn't that a good deed?"
"I advised her that escaping from the sea of suffering is the true merit. Worrying so much every day that you can't even open your eyes, how can you live like this?"
I don't know whether the days ahead will be easy, but today's work was very sad. He Xiaolan sat in the C position, without a spotlight, only pairs of slightly resentful eyes staring at her closely. When He Xiaolan first started working in HR, the first time she followed her boss to talk to someone about resignation, He Xiaolan sat next to them and didn't dare to breathe.
The more you do your job, the more proficient you become. In the end, you feel like a cold-blooded killer, able to strike without blinking an eye. But at night, He Xiaolan always feels uncomfortable, and the guilt makes her toss and turn and unable to sleep.
"I've worked in the company for nineteen years and eleven months, and you guys just fire me? I'm too old to even be able to grind a millstone?" He Xiaolan looked at the portly middle-aged man opposite her. The sparse hair on his head could not hide the beads of sweat from his anxious face. The lights in the conference room shone on the man's exposed scalp, reflecting a resentful light.
"Sister, sister...sister, please say something," said the younger sister sitting next to He Xiaolan. She had long curly hair and big eyes, her pupils full of exploration of the world. Jasmine must be her nickname at the company; He Xiaolan had long forgotten her real name. Jasmine was young after all, having just joined the company, and she was still a little intimidated by this kind of scene.
"Mr. Li, we've known each other for a few years. It's really useless for you to complain to me here. I just follow orders from above and pass on messages. To be honest, we're both in the same age group. Your compensation conditions are not bad. Sign the contract and it won't delay your search for another job."
"Next job, where can I find the next job? I am 41 years old. What other jobs can I do besides security and cleaning?"
When Li Gong stood up, he was a little unsteady and almost fell to the ground. It was Jasmine who rushed over and supported Li Gong. Then she helped Li Gong to the table. He Xiaolan had already arranged the contract on the table. It was on the table, and only the last two signatures were needed.
Li carefully counted the digits of the compensation and gave a wry smile. The chipped corner of his front tooth was from a fall while playing basketball with his son, and he hadn't had time to get it fixed. "I still have a conscience," he said. "After paying off the mortgage, I can still afford to send my son to fifth grade."
The weather in Shanghai is so hot that there's barely a breath of wind. The two buildings are so close together that you can almost feel the clamor from the offices across the street.
He Xiaolan ticked a box on her itinerary. This was just the beginning of today's schedule, with four more to come. Each of them was over 40 years old, with elderly parents and young children at home, and it was the time when they needed money the most.
Just like what Ms. He, who was fired, said, "When I could earn money back then, I didn't take money seriously at all. I spent more than 10,000 yuan on a bag, and I still thought I got a bargain. Now looking at the small amount of compensation, I remember that I have to live a tight life."
But many things have already been shot towards the bull's eye. Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. It is uncertain where the arrow will hit the bull's eye in the end.
When He Xiaolan repeated these words to Qin Tiantian, the two of them were sitting in a restaurant eating Shengjian. He Xiaolan liked Shengjian very much and felt that it was a great sense of accomplishment to eat it without letting the juice come out.
Qin Tiantian's face was full of unhappiness. Her mother called her again and said that her father was hit by an electric bike when he went out to buy vegetables and fell down. It must be because Qin Tiantian did not get married.
"Just look at how many different ways of urging people to get married there are now. My mom said that my dad fell down because I didn't get married and it affected the feng shui of our family. I'm really impressed."
"Why don't you just find someone to marry? Even if you get divorced later, you've had so many boyfriends, but none of them satisfied you?"
"What you said is ridiculous. If I had my heart set on something, I would have gotten married a long time ago. How about you lend me your husband? I'll take him home and tell my mom he's my marriage partner. That way I don't have to go out and look for someone else."
"If you think your mother likes it, you can use it as you like."
"Sister! You are eating here too!" A sudden voice from behind startled He Xiaolan. He Xiaolan looked up following the voice and found that Jasmine was standing beside her with a boy, smiling and carrying an lingering breath of youth.
"Oh, this is your boyfriend. Are you guys here to eat too?" He Xiaolan moved to the side. There were no empty seats in the shengjian restaurant, and only two people could squeeze in next to them.
"Yes, he just returned to China yesterday and said he wanted to eat shengjian, so we came here." Jasmine glanced at the not-so-big store. There were no empty seats inside, and the only two seats left were next to He Xiaolan and Qin Tiantian.
He Xiaolan winked at Qin Tiantian, and the two of them moved their seats to let Jasmine and her boyfriend sit down.
"Just sit here. You are not outsiders."
The boy glanced at the seat next to Qin Tiantian, and when he saw Jasmine sitting there, he sat down too.
"Is your boyfriend on a business trip abroad?" Qin Tiantian looked at the boy next to Jasmine and expressed her guess.
"He is a documentary director. He just came back from Africa after filming the great animal migration. Sister, you are so awesome." After hearing what Qin Tiantian said, Jasmine quickly agreed. It must be said that Jasmine is a person who can give people enough emotional value. No matter what you say to her, she can praise it to the fullest.
"No wonder he looks like Justice Bao." Qin Tiantian suddenly interrupted and took a sip of porridge, making the atmosphere at the table a little awkward.
"Yes, the ultraviolet rays there are very strong. Sometimes we are in a hurry to shoot and don't have time to wear sun protection clothes..." The boy opened his mouth to speak, and his voice was somewhat inconsistent with his gentle appearance. It was low and a little magnetic.
"Then I think a tan would be more manly." Jasmine spoke softly, with the tenderness that is unique to Jiangnan women. Every word was like the powder in Baihua Softening Powder, making people feel numb all over. Jasmine looked at her boyfriend with admiration, and the feeling of love was so strong that it seemed to overwhelm the whole shengjian shop.
He Xiaolan was so absorbed in the excitement that she took a bite of the shengjian (a fried dumpling) and splattered herself with juice. Jasmine quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped the broth off He Xiaolan, but it was greasy and wouldn't come off. She had a feeling she was going to have a bad start today; she'd have to buy an almanac.
"It's okay, it's okay, don't worry about it, just go buy another one." The frying pan was still sizzling with the fried dumplings, tormenting everyone's thoughts.
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