Chapter Eight
To make ends meet, Zuo Xutong found a part-time job online, handing out flyers on weekends for 50 yuan an hour, paid daily. There were other more suitable job opportunities, but those were mostly paid monthly, and she was running out of money for food and couldn't afford to wait.
Saturday was a cloudy day, with dark clouds obscuring the sun. It was unclear whether it would rain or snow soon. When Zuo Xutong arrived at the bus stop, a long queue had already formed. This was the starting station, and usually, as soon as an empty bus arrived, the carriage would be immediately packed with people.
Because the route was long, the fare had increased from two yuan to three yuan a few years ago. Zuo Xutong didn't have a seat and stood near the rear door. The bus swayed and bumped its way for half the journey when a woman around fifty years old boarded. She held two coins in her hand and tossed them into the coin box. The driver, who had been watching her closely, quickly said, "The fare is three yuan!"
The woman walked forward, ignoring him, and stopped next to Zuo Xutong. The driver, thinking she hadn't heard him, turned around and shouted, "The lady in the blue dress, you've shortchanged yourself by one yuan."
All eyes in the carriage were fixed on the woman, but she remained calm and composed, as if none of this concerned her.
The driver frowned, realizing he'd encountered a scoundrel, and raised his voice, "Hurry up, don't waste everyone's time!"
The woman finally moved her lips and retorted, "I got on at a middle stop and it's only a few stops, what's wrong with giving me two yuan?"
"No matter where you get on the bus, it's three yuan. Even if you get on from the Polytechnic Institute, you still have to pay three yuan!" The Polytechnic Institute is the second to last stop, and the next stop is the final stop.
The woman fell silent again, staring blankly out the window, motionless like a stone statue, only gripping her worn-out PU handbag even tighter.
The driver's eyebrows were lowered even further, and the veins on his forehead bulged, making one suspect that he might jump out of the driver's seat at any moment and beat her up.
"Get off the bus if you don't pay!" he roared.
The woman's feet seemed glued to the ground; she turned her head, her profile now the back of her head, instead of facing the driver. After a brief standoff, the driver finally gave in, cursing as he drove off: "Damn it, I've never seen anyone so shameless."
Zuo Xutong was astonished. How poor could a person be to disregard their dignity and do such a thing? Before getting off the bus, she witnessed the woman successfully grab a priority seat and sit down comfortably in front of everyone.
The clouds in the sky thinned a bit, and a few rays of sunlight squeezed through the gaps in the clouds, trying their best to shine on the earth and cover the entire city, but still leaving many places shrouded in gloom.
She looked up, watching the crack in the clouds widen, and she stood on its edge; one step forward, sunlight streamed in; one step back, dark clouds enveloped her. Poverty dulls and numbs the pain of life, making things like dignity and dreams seem ethereal. When someone can't even afford to eat, how can they have the energy to look up at the sky and contemplate ultimate questions?
She suddenly remembered the woman in the car. She felt no disgust or contempt, only fear. She was afraid that one day she would become like her, poor and lacking ambition, and that the project she had devoted years of effort to would end in failure.
The flyer distribution point was on a bustling commercial street. Zuo Xutong took the flyer but didn't look at it carefully, only glancing at it briefly; it was a sales flyer for Yujing Coral Bay. She stood in the cold wind for more than five hours, finally finishing distributing the flyers, and went to collect her money on an empty stomach.
The person in charge took off his leather gloves, bent down and opened his waist bag, counted out 260 yuan, and handed it to Zuo Xutong: "Here's ten more yuan for you, 250 is unlucky."
Zuo Xutong knew she had been sending money for more than five hours, so she accepted the money without a word.
The person in charge then asked, "There's another job tomorrow, would you like to come?"
"Still here?"
"The sales office is not far from here."
"Okay, I'll do it."
"Meet here at seven o'clock tomorrow morning, don't be late." After saying that, the person in charge added inexplicably, "Wear something nice."
Zuo Xutong was so hungry that she didn't even bother to think carefully about the meaning of those words.
The next day, as she walked to the entrance of the commercial street, she saw a large group of people gathered in the distance, numbering about twenty or thirty. She couldn't help but wonder, why would handing out flyers require so many people?
Once everyone was present, the person in charge led them into an empty storefront for a meeting. After listening for a while, Zuo Xutong finally understood that today's task wasn't to hand out flyers, but to queue up to "buy apartments." Yujing Coral Bay was opening at eight o'clock, and to create an atmosphere of booming sales, they were to go to the sales office to "snap up" apartments.
It's laughable to think that someone as penniless as herself, with so little money she couldn't even afford a toilet, let alone a house, was now competing with others for apartments worth millions. Even more ironically, just as she was squeezed in the crowd listening to the saleswoman's enthusiastic explanation of the development, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned her head and saw Luan Mingfeng's surprised expression.
"Are you here to buy a house?" he asked.
Just as Zuo Xutong was about to deny it, she caught a glimpse of someone staring at her from a distance. She looked up and saw the person in charge standing there, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, scanning the crowd. Zuo Xutong knew she couldn't reveal her identity as a room fraudster, or all her work that morning would be for nothing.
So she nodded slightly: "You're here to buy a house too?"
When she realized that she had shamelessly used the word "also," her face instantly turned red.
Luan Mingfeng shook his head and pointed to a huge backdrop behind him: "This is a real estate development project of our group."
“You don’t need to queue here if you want to buy a house. Come with me, you can choose any floor and apartment.” Luan Mingfeng’s voice was deep and his tone was steady, but every word sounded harsh to her.
"Mr. Luan, what brings you here?" At this moment, a saleswoman recognized Luan Mingfeng and quickly came over with small, quick steps. Her young and innocent baby face appeared hypocritical and cunning due to her excessive flattery, as if she were wearing a strange mask.
"Is this lady your friend?" the saleswoman asked with a beaming smile.
"Hmm." Luan Mingfeng looked displeased, indicating that he was not too keen on having his conversation interrupted.
The saleswoman, oblivious to her own bluff, turned to Zuo Xutong and asked with a smile, "What is your surname?"
"My surname is Zuo." Zuo Xutong also forced a smile at her.
"Miss Zuo is so beautiful. At first glance, I thought she was a movie star," the saleswoman complimented exaggeratedly. Zuo Xutong knew, of course, that even if she were Luan Mingfeng's bull terrier, the saleswoman would still say that the dog was really cute.
"What type of apartment are you looking for? Let me introduce them to you." The saleswoman, completely oblivious to President Luan's increasingly ashen face, continued speaking. Having finally seized an opportunity to showcase herself in front of the group's top management, she couldn't remain silent, regardless of whether the other party wanted to listen, liked to listen, or whether the timing was right. She was like a giant advertising screen hanging on the street, ready to assault the eyes and ears of passersby at any moment.
"No need to trouble yourself, thank you." Zuo Xutong couldn't keep up the act any longer. She wanted to leave, but she couldn't bear to part with the money.
The saleswoman stepped forward and grabbed her, insisting, "No trouble at all, no trouble at all. Which floor do you prefer? How many people live in your household? What's your actual budget? We have four different apartment types in this newly launched multi-story building. If you have children, we recommend the small three-bedroom apartment with a study..."
Zuo Xutong watched that mouth open and close, feeling as if every cell in it was mocking her, as if it saw through her lies and knew that she was a penniless woman who couldn't even afford a toilet.
She dared not look at Luan Mingfeng's expression. She still wanted to maintain her dignity in front of this man and did not want him to see her penniless and pathetic state. However, the saleswoman's constant pressure made her worry that she would eventually reveal her true colors.
"I'm sorry, I have something to do, goodbye." After saying this, Zuo Xutong hurriedly fled the sales center.
A few drops of rain fell sporadically from the sky. Zuo Xutong subconsciously reached out to shield her head, and at the same time, her stomach rumbled a few times.
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