The jeep stopped on Minzhu Road. Dai Donglin helped her unload her bicycle and sacks. Chu Yu noticed that his steps were a little strange as he got into the car, so she said:
"Leave it there, I'll do it myself."
"Why are you being so polite with me? With your skinny arms and legs, how could you possibly lift a sack?"
Chu Yu thought to herself that she was only being polite to him, since they were strangers who had only met three times. How could she possibly hitch a ride and free labor? However, she could tell that Dai Donglin was not someone who would easily change his mind, so she didn't try to take it from him and let him carry the sack onto the scale at the Chinese medicine purchasing station.
In front of the Chinese herbal medicine purchasing station stood a row of large banyan trees, their shadows lush and verdant, yet Chu Yu was still drenched in sweat from the heat.
Several staff members were preparing to leave work when a male staff member spotted Chu Yu from afar and winked at Xiao Wang.
"Hey, Xiao Wang, your sweetheart's here!" Xiao Wang's colleagues teased him.
Xiao Wang specially switched shifts with his colleague to work the early shift, but after waiting all morning, he still hadn't seen Chu Yu. Feeling uneasy, he blushed when his colleague called out to him like that.
"Don't talk nonsense, I didn't mean that. If the girl hears this, she'll misunderstand."
These days, men and women value restraint. Even boyfriends and girlfriends need to know their limits. Going too far can easily make you look like a hooligan. Having just come from the 1970s, everyone is on edge and afraid of being labeled. Even dating is done with great care, let alone Xiao Wang and Chu Yu, who are at most strangers.
Although Xiao Wang said this, his eyes kept glancing outside, and in that glance he caught sight of a man following behind Chu Yu.
The man was tall and wild, looked intimidating, and came from an unusual background.
Xiao Wang was able to make this judgment because the man was wearing a polyester shirt and Western-style trousers made of imported fabric.
These days, fabric is in short supply, and there are only two or three types of fabric commonly found on the market.
You can tell someone's family background just by looking at the fabric of their trousers. That's why people say, "When officials meet, they compare their Western-style trousers." Western-style trousers are made of foreign fabric, which ordinary people can't afford.
People from the countryside, like Chu Yu, wore the cheapest, most rustic coarse cloth trousers, clearly indicating they weren't from wealthy families. Xiao Wang thus concluded that Chu Yu was not on his level; they were fine as friends, but when it came to marriage, Chu Yu's circumstances were far inferior to his own. Of course, Chu Yu possessed such exquisite beauty that even in coarse cloth, she was captivating.
Children of well-off workers, like Xiao Wang, could afford decent cotton shirts and domestically made polyester fabric, but the fabric of their trousers might not be of high quality. Even so, they were still more presentable than people from the countryside.
The man in front of him was dressed in expensive clothes and had an unusual demeanor. He looked like someone not to be trifled with. Xiao Wang immediately judged that his background was extraordinary. It was obvious that he was better than him, but how much better was beyond Xiao Wang's level to judge.
Xiao Wang's young heart was shattered. Although he had no intention of marrying Chu Yu, it was too materialistic for her to climb up to such a powerful and influential man so quickly!
Indeed, many rural women have married into urban families who receive government-subsidized food rations, using this opportunity to rise above their circumstances and change their lives in the city.
But how could a woman as pure and untainted as her be as vulgar as an ordinary person?
I've been treating her like a fairy.
The more Xiao Wang thought about it, the more he felt he had been deceived by Chu Yu's beautiful appearance; this woman was all show and no substance.
The colleagues exchanged glances, and someone whispered:
"Wow, is this woman trying to climb the social ladder? A country girl who sells night-shining sand has managed to snag such a high-status partner, she's got some nerve! Being pretty really does have its advantages..."
Xiao Wang's complexion worsened.
Chu Yu was completely unaware of his boyish thoughts. In her eyes, Xiao Wang was just a stranger she had met by chance, and she might never see him again in this lifetime if she stopped selling Night-Shining Sand.
Xiao Wang looked down on her rural background, but how could she possibly look up to Xiao Wang?
Back in the 1980s, she wanted to make money and build her career, go to school and change her household registration, and ride the wave of opportunity to fly freely. She wished she could make one day last several days. How could she have time to think about personal matters?
The old nest was once shared by swallows carrying mud, but now they fly to the branches and transform into phoenixes.
While taking shortcuts based on good looks may get you to the top, whether you become a phoenix or not depends on your own abilities.
Zhou Jian'an is a good example. Shu Hui sacrificed herself to support his education, and the first thing he did after achieving success was to divorce Shu Hui. Men are much more realistic than women, and Chu Yu couldn't gamble her future on a man.
Chu Yu smiled as always and said, "Comrade, hello, I'm here to be weighed."
Xiao Wang adjusted the weight on the scale, his face darkening, and said:
"Two hundred and fifty jin!"
"What?"
Chu Yu wondered if she had misheard. Two hundred and fifty jin? Usually, it was one thing to deduct ten or twenty jin, but this time they had deducted a full fifty jin. As a result, she lost a full one yuan and fifty cents!
If you earn less than 1.5 yuan per trip, that adds up to more than 30 yuan less per month!
She worked so hard to transport it from the village, but before she could do anything, one-sixth of it was deducted.
In her past life, when she encountered company leaders who demanded bribes and favors, she would always try to smooth things over by spending money to appease them.
Back then, her business was booming. She would earn a million and give the other party a kickback of 50,000 or 100,000. She felt bad about it, but she was still making money. She could still make a fortune.
Selling night-shining sand is hard-earned money. If they deduct 1.5 yuan from a 9-yuan item, it's like taking a piece of her flesh, making her feel more and more heartbroken.
Dai Donglin also frowned. He leaned over, cigarette between his fingers, and adjusted the weight on the scale, squinting as he examined it.
"Comrade, are you sure you're not mistaken? This is clearly 300 jin (150 kg), take a closer look!"
He, Dai Donglin, has always been the one to scheme against others; how could anyone else scheme against him? Even though he and Chu Yu aren't in a romantic relationship yet, he considers her one of his own, so he can't let her suffer in silence.
Dai Donglin's words gave Xiao Wang a way out. These kinds of things happen all the time, so it's not a big deal. Don't be too ruthless. As long as the other party is willing to accept the offer, everyone can still get along peacefully.
However, Xiao Wang was assigned to such a lucrative job as weighing scales, which inevitably involved connections within his family. But when it comes to work experience and social skills, he is far from adequate. In fact, he has only been working for a little over two months and doesn't yet understand the concept of "climbing the ladder by taking advantage of others."
Even though his colleague kept giving him meaningful glances, implying that this person was not to be trifled with, he didn't understand what his colleague meant and continued to hold his chin high, saying:
"Where did you misread it? It's 250 jin!"
Xiao Wang's eyes were unfriendly, and Dai Donglin understood the reason after a moment's thought.
Is this a case of unrequited love turning into jealousy and resentment?
I never expected that helping her come to Deyang would backfire. But this girl is quite something. Looking at Xiao Wang's indignant eyes, it's as if she's dug up his ancestral grave!
Dai Donglin laughed in anger, "Fine, call your station manager over. I want to ask him if the scales at your Deyang Chinese Medicine Purchasing Station are different from the national standard. How come the same thing shrinks so much on your scale!"
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