Chapter 17 Chapter 17 You made new friends today when you went out...
Sunday was Lin Anran's regular day off. Half a month had passed since her mom and dad called her, but she still hadn't received a call from the twins, so she planned to call home and ask for the twins' contact information.
As a result, Lin Anran didn't have time to call back before she received a call from the twins.
"Hello! Sister, it's me."
Lin Anran took a moment to react before hesitantly saying, "Anli?"
Lin Anli's crisp laughter immediately reached her. "Anhua is right here with me, too. Sister, to cut a long story short, the call was from the factory. We waited in line for a long time before we got the call. After two weeks, Anhua and I got our wages, and we came to visit you during our break."
"How's the factory going for you?" Lin Anran spoke very unnaturally, and really didn't know how to talk to the twins.
Lin Anhua answered loudly on the other end of the phone, "Don't worry, sister. The electronics factory is doing well. We both work overtime every day and get paid for overtime. We can earn hundreds of dollars a month. We both want to work hard to make 500. It's much better than staying back home and farming!"
Lin Anli also agreed, saying that they were doing well now and had promising jobs. The twins in turn asked if Lin Anran was doing well.
Lin Anran could only reply, "Very good."
After a brief exchange of words, Lin Anran asked for the address and contact information of the electronics factory before hanging up the phone: "Shall I come to you?"
Lin Anli gave the address, but objected: "Sister, Anhua and I are working overtime today, so we won't be able to see you even if you come to see us. Why don't you wait until we get paid and go play downtown? We'll treat you."
Lin Anran raised his eyebrows and said, "Okay, I'll wait."
It turns out that among the four siblings of the Lin family, the youngest Lin Anli is the one with the most opinions. When the original owner was divorced, Lin Anli was the first to rush up and beat the original owner's ex-husband into a pig's head. Perhaps it is because children from poor families grow up early. The four children of the Lin family are all sensible and hardworking. Lin's mother and father taught their children very well, but their vision is limited. When the four children said they didn't want to study, they just let them go. They often said that as long as they have hands and feet, as long as they work hard and are willing to work hard, they will not starve. They could not think of such a distant future for their children.
Looking at the address written on the small piece of paper, Lin Anran shook her head. Since the twins liked to work overtime, she would let them work overtime first. She would not try to persuade them to turn back and become a saint. The twins would know which choice was better after they were beaten by society. If she tried to persuade them to go back to school, it might have the opposite effect and be a thankless task.
Lin Anran put the small note away and went back to her room to pack her things to take with her out. While hiding the money on her body, she couldn't help but take out her passbook to have a look. She now had 1,500 yuan in her passbook. Last month, her salary doubled to 1,000 yuan, plus an extra 200 yuan bonus. She set aside 300 yuan from her previous savings and added it to the account. She kept a few hundred yuan with her, which was enough. She didn't have much money to spend. She wanted to spend a lot of money to buy a house in Shenzhen, but she had very little money, so she could only think about it.
"Uncle Zhao, thank you for saving breakfast for me." Lin Anran carried her bag and went to the kitchen, just as everyone was having breakfast together.
Uncle Wang saw Lin Anran sitting down, and asked her with concern: "Xiao Lin, is everything okay at home?"
Lin Anran thought about it and told the truth about the situation of Lin Anhua and Lin Anli. Uncle Wang would keep abreast of the situation of his subordinates. Although the family situations of employees like Lin Anran had nothing to do with the work at the villa, Uncle Wang was conscientious in his work and was responsible to his boss Zhou Heyuan. When he recruited employees, he would consider their personal situations, which naturally included their family situations.
It was not something that could not be mentioned that Lin Anhua and Lin Anli worked in an electronics factory in Shenzhen. Lin Anran had not mentioned it before because she felt it was unnecessary, but since Uncle Wang asked, it would be better for her to say it directly.
Uncle Wang nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He just said, "I hope their work goes well."
Lin Anran smiled and said, "So far, it seems to be going smoothly. They even said they would take me to the city center after they get their salary."
"So, Xiaolin, your younger brother and sister dropped out of school and came to Shenzhen to work?" Aunt Li asked.
Lin Anran: "That's right."
Aunt Li looked at Lin Anran and sighed. She wanted to say something, but stopped herself in time and said, "You three siblings are in Shenzhen, so you can take care of each other."
Lin Anran laughed out loud. She knew what Aunt Li was struggling with. Aunt Li was a caring person, and she was hesitant and struggling because she cared about her.
"Aunt Li, I'm trying hard to learn English, and I want to get into a night school run by a good university in the future. I know the importance of studying, so my idea is to persuade my brother and sister-in-law to go back to school and try to get into university. But I haven't met them yet. I called them and I could tell they were very excited about the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. They even took the initiative to sign up for overtime work today during the holiday. They said that the jobs they were assigned in the electronics factory were very simple." Lin Anran explained, shaking his head helplessly.
The confusion on Aunt Li's face vanished as she smiled. "Yes, you study hard every day and make progress, so how could you leave your younger siblings behind? If you ask me, it's better to study and get into college. You can get a better and easier job after you graduate. Working can make money, but it's definitely not hard work. If my two little ones told me they wanted to drop out of school to work, I'd break their legs."
Lin Anran thought of Lin's mom and dad. These two would never have such an idea. Lin's mom and dad also knew the benefits of going to college, but the four siblings of the Lin family did not seem to be good at studying. Therefore, Lin's mom and dad did not have the idea of selling everything they had to send their children to college, and they would not force their children to study. If they failed to get into college, no matter how much they sold everything they had, it would be useless. The Lin family did not attach so much importance to learning, and there was no such family learning atmosphere.
"You have to go to college to find an office job. Neither of my two children wants to learn cooking from me, and I don't force them. They don't have the talent. Let them study hard." Chef Zhao also came to join in the fun.
Uncle Ding looked at Lin Anran and said, "Xiao Lin, if you can, you should persuade your sister-in-law to study more before doing anything else."
Lin Anran nodded. She had already figured out what to do.
If the twins have experienced the hardship of being assembly line workers in a factory and still think that being a worker is better than studying, Lin Anran will still persuade them. She will only persuade them twice, but she will not persuade them a third time. She will only change her mindset and tell them not to spend money recklessly after making money, but to save it. If possible, take out a loan to buy an apartment in Shenzhen. When housing prices skyrocket in the future, they will be homeowners in Shenzhen and have confidence. Or they can save money to buy a house in their hometown or provincial capital. In short, buy a house. Having assets in hand is always better than spending all the money.
"Uncle Zhao, do you know where I can get better honey?" Lin Anran thought about what he was going to buy today and looked at Chef Zhao.
Chef Zhao perked up. "You want to buy honey? I know several places. The best honey is still wild honey, but it's more expensive. Do you want that? I'll tell you a few shops... Just tell me their names."
"Thank you, Uncle Zhao. I've noted the name of the store. I want to buy the best wild honey." Lin Anran bought honey for herself. Of course, she had to use the best wild honey. Aloe vera honey gel was effective, and honey was indispensable. Because Zhou Heyuan liked sweet things, the villa always had the best wild honey on hand. It was just right for her to get a ride with the boss. Hee hee, thank you, boss.
"Xiao Lin."
Lin Anran paused in his cheerful steps, quickly stood up straight, and raised his head slightly to look at Zhou Heyuan: "Mr. Zhou, good morning."
Zhou Heyuan watched her change into her own clothes and the bag she was carrying: "Good morning, are you going out?"
"Yes, today is Sunday, and I have classes at night university." Lin Anran had been with Zhou Heyuan for several times, and her interactions with him had increased significantly. Therefore, she felt more natural around him and even dared to say a few more words with a smile, "Mr. Zhou, you have the day off today. You should get some rest."
Zhou Heyuan's gaze fell on her smiling eyes: "You have a day off today too."
Lin Anran joked to himself, "Because I'm a poor student, I'm so far behind, I have to catch up. I didn't go to class all day today, I went out to play."
Zhou Heyuan asked: "The classmate who took English class with you?"
Lin Anran was stunned and nodded: "It's her."
"Go ahead, and be careful on the road." Zhou Heyuan said.
Lin Anran walked out of the villa with light steps and looked back at Boss Zhou's beautiful villa with a puzzled look on her face. Zhou Heyuan cared so much about her, a little nanny. If she didn't have a general understanding of what kind of person Zhou Heyuan was, she would have thought that he had some unspeakable thoughts about her.
But that's impossible. Mr. Zhou must care about his employees, and because she had helped Zhou Yunxue a little, and the two of them happened to meet in the living room of the villa, Boss Zhou would not ignore her as a living person, so he would only politely stop and say a few words to her.
Yes, that's it.
Lin Anran, having figured it out, felt instantly relieved. It wasn't that she looked down on herself; she had always been confident and clear-headed. Given her current situation, did she really expect others to see her inner beauty only through her outward appearance? Of course, she wasn't saying she was ugly. She looked a little older and darker now, but she was still very pretty!
But she herself cannot see the inner beauty of others through their appearance, because she is a face control. When she looks at a man, she first looks at his appearance. Only those who she likes will be considered as the next step. She studied at a key university in her previous life, and hopes to find a partner with a university degree so that they will have more common topics. Yes, her ideas are vulgar and ordinary.
She admitted that Zhou Heyuan's looks were very much to her liking. If she weren't worried about money and wasn't working for him, she would have chased him and confessed her feelings long ago. Whether she succeeded or not was another matter, but she would give it a try. If it didn't work out? Then she would end it and turn her eyes to the bigger forest.
These thoughts flashed through Lin Anran's mind, leaving no trace. Compared to love affairs, she now had more important things to do - making money.
"An Ran, it's really hard to make money. I always hear my mother say that so-and-so makes one thousand, two thousand or three thousand a day by setting up a stall, and fifty thousand a month. I thought at the time, how can money be so easy to make? Are people picking up money on the ground?" Yu Jing sighed softly.
Lin Anran's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "Where can I find money to pick up? Yu Jing, remember to take me with you to pick it up."
Yu Jing was stunned, looking at Lin Anran with a mixture of laughter and tears: "I have never picked up a penny in my life."
Lin Anran: "Hahaha~" She laughed enough, and seeing Yu Jing glaring at her, she slowly stopped laughing, "Your mother told you this because she wants to set up a stall too?"
"Oh, I don't know. Our factory hasn't paid wages for a month. Many workers went to the factory leaders to make trouble, but they couldn't even see the leaders. There were also workers who stole clothes from the factory to sell, and were caught by the security department. They were not afraid and said they didn't want wages. They used the money from selling things to offset their wages, which caused another commotion. I guess many workers have some thoughts in their minds. My job now is difficult. My mother is afraid that the factory will go bankrupt one day and the whole family will starve." Yu Jing explained.
Lin Anran asked curiously, "Does everyone in your family work in this factory?"
Yu Jing shook her head, frowning. "My brother isn't, but me, my parents, and my sister-in-law all work in factories. I never imagined it would be so difficult to work in a garment factory. Last year, our factory was able to take on quite a few orders, and we even received good benefits during the Lunar New Year. But this year, right after the start of the year... it seemed like things were suddenly going south. The situation has been getting worse this month, with no orders at all. If we don't start working again, the machines in the workshop will be gathering dust."
Lin Anran remembers that there was a wave of layoffs in the 1990s. State-owned factories could hardly maintain themselves, and many private factories opened up. Competition in the clothing market was particularly fierce. State-owned clothing factories could not keep up with the trend of the times and could not continue to operate. Being eliminated was perhaps inevitable.
"If you can't do anything, you can study English well, master a skill, and have another way out." Lin Anran didn't have any better ideas. Her job was found for her by her mother and father through their connections.
Yu Jing: "My parents also told me to study English well and not to get involved in factory affairs, let alone steal things from the factory. We are just ordinary workers in the garment factory. We ordinary workers cannot interfere in the affairs of the leadership. If there is a decision from above, we will only be notified."
Lin Anran: "Yes, that's true. It's not the ordinary workers' turn to worry about the leaders' affairs. You just need to do your job well. If this way out is gone, you can always find another way out."
After Lin Anran and Yu Jing finished their English class, they left the night university together. Lin Anran took Yu Jing to the rental bookstore and asked, "How's it going? You've never been here before, have you?"
Yu Jing was very surprised: "I didn't expect there was a rental bookstore at the end of Book Alley. What a pity, I didn't know about it before."
"Now you know, this is a great place to relax and study." Lin Anran winked and smiled at her. He recommended a treasure rental bookstore to his friend, which made her feel a sense of accomplishment.
Yu Jing was immersed in the rental bookstore. Lin Anran smiled happily. She came to the bookshelf she often visited, but found that there was already someone there. She looked closely and felt that he looked familiar. Before she could remember his name,
"Ms. Lin, long time no see."
When Lin Anran saw him smiling at her, she immediately thought of that night: "Mr. Tang?"
Tang Rui: "Fortunately, Miss Lin didn't forget me."
In reality, Lin Anran had completely forgotten about him. After all, it was only a one-time encounter. She blinked to cover it up, "I still remember I'm standing in Teacher Xu and Teacher Zhou's rental bookstore."
Tang Rui was startled, then looked at Lin Anran, his smile growing wider. "Don't worry, even if you forget me, Miss Lin, your grandparents won't kick you out of the rental bookstore. You're more welcome here than a grandson like me. According to them, you're a customer who comes to read books, and I'm just a dispensable book mover who can't be easily replaced."
Lin Anran was amused: "Mr. Tang's words are really interesting."
"To tell you the truth, I'm not lying. Grandma often mentioned you to me, and Grandpa also liked you. He said that you were studious and motivated, and you were delayed in the past. Otherwise, you would definitely be a good candidate for the university entrance exam." Tang Rui said seriously.
Lin Anran instinctively turned his head towards the rental bookstore entrance, but the bookshelves blocked his view of the two teachers. He could only turn back and said with a smile, "It seems that the two teachers think highly of me, a mid-term student. This way, I can feel more at ease asking them questions."
Tang Rui: "If you go and ask them questions, they will definitely be happy. If my mom and uncle hadn't disagreed before, they would definitely accept the re-employment and return to school to teach. They have never been idle. Although they opened this rental bookstore, they still can't adapt to the leisurely life. Now they are taking classes in night university like you to learn painting. They are very energetic every day. Grandma said it was you who encouraged them to go to night university. My mom and the others are very happy and say thank you. They feel that teaching takes a lot of energy from grandpa and grandma, and they hope that grandpa and grandma can enjoy their retirement happily."
Lin Anran waved her hands repeatedly: "No, I just said that there is no age limit for studying in night college. It's mainly because Teacher Xu and Teacher Zhou want to learn new knowledge on their own. Mr. Tang, I'll go over there and won't disturb you." She chose the book she wanted to read today and pointed to the table and chairs. She saw Yu Jing looking up and around from time to time, she must be looking for her.
"Okay, Miss Lin, if you don't understand something, you can come to me. Although I don't have decades of teaching experience, I have learned this knowledge." Tang Rui looked at Lin Anran and said sincerely.
Lin Anran nodded repeatedly and thanked him.
When she saw Lin Anran, Yu Jing immediately waved silently. Lin Anran sat down lightly and quickly in the empty seat next to her. The two of them smiled at each other without making any noise to disturb others. Lin Anran had already read the junior high school textbooks, while Yu Jing was reading a foreign classic.
Lin Anran and his friend spent the rest of the morning in the rental bookstore, and went out to the snack street for food at noon.
Leaving the rental bookstore, Lin Anran led Yu Jing to the snack street and thought about what to eat for lunch. She hadn't had beef noodles in a while and missed it a little, but braised pork knuckles were also delicious, and...
"An Ran, who was the man who greeted you just now?" Yu Jing asked.
"How about some boiled chicken? Who?" Lin Anran tapped the corner of his mouth with his finger. He turned his head to look at Yu Jing, and saw the word "gossip" written in her eyes. He turned back to look at the door of the rental bookstore and happened to see Tang Rui's back. "You mean Tang Rui?"
Yu Jing: "So his name is Tang Rui. He's quite handsome, a bit like a Hong Kong celebrity. His movie is showing in theaters right now."
Tang Rui has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he has a very handsome and dignified appearance, which makes people feel that he is very reliable, but Lin Anran prefers Zhou Heyuan, a handsome and elegant guy.
Although he has his preferences, Lin Anran has the advantage of appreciating all kinds of beauty: "He is indeed handsome. Which celebrity does he look like?"
Yu Jing simply said, "After we finish our meal, shall we go to the cinema to watch a movie together?"
"Okay, let's go, let's go see a movie!" Lin Anran clapped her hands and laughed happily. Yes, how could she have forgotten about the entertainment activity of watching movies? She had never played much since she came here, mainly because she was busy with too many things on her own. Her only day off was also very full, so she couldn't squeeze in time for fun. Recently, she had some free time, and she happened to have some money and friends to go with her. Okay, let's go play.
Lin Anran and his friend had a good lunch and walked towards the cinema hand in hand.
Looking at the male lead on the movie screen, Lin Anran gave his evaluation: "At first glance, they do look a bit alike. They both have the same look type, but if you look closely, they're not alike anymore. The movie is great, the fighting is intense and exciting, and each actor is good in his own way."
Although the facilities and experience in cinemas nowadays cannot compare to those in the future, Lin Anran feels that it is another wonderful experience. Visually speaking, it is a great enjoyment. The handsome men and beautiful women in the movie are all beautiful in their own unique ways, the plot is exciting, the actors' acting skills are online, and the money is well spent.
Yu Jing laughed softly: "I should have dragged you to the cinema earlier."
Lin Anran: "It's not too late now. I didn't have time before."
After Meimei finished watching the movie, Lin Anran and Yu Jing went shopping for a while. Yu Jing wanted to go back first. "I don't know why, but when I left home this morning, my mom insisted that I be home before four o'clock. I have to go back early, otherwise she'll be mad at me. She's been very irritable lately and gets angry at the slightest thing. Anran, next time we make an appointment to play, we can go to Xiangmi Lake. There's more fun there."
"Okay, be careful on the road."
"Know."
Lin Anran waved and turned to walk towards the hair salon. She hadn't been there for half a month, but Li Jia was still as enthusiastic as the first time she saw her. "Ms. Lin, welcome."
Lin Anran was quite familiar with Li Jia, mainly because she got a lot of gossip from Li Jia: "Long time no see, this time I am still the same as before, thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard, not hard at all. Thank you, Miss Lin, for choosing me," Li Jia quickly shook her head. She knew Lin Anran liked to hear gossip, so she naturally started chatting about the latest news from the commercial street. "The hair salon across the street was raided. A customer had an affair with a hairdresser, so the ex-wife brought a group of people to beat him up. They sent him to the hospital. Both the customer and the hairdresser are still hospitalized. Then the police..."
Lin Anran didn't even frown when he heard this explosive news. In this era, hair salons are considered special places by some people. The hair salon where Li Jia works is run by a female boss who only hires female employees and does business in a serious manner. If any indecent customer touches the hair salon staff, the boss will personally beat the person out. She really beats people. The boss is very good at fighting and can be called the big sister of this street. She also refuses indecent customers to come to consume in the salon again. Although this has lost some customers, it has also gained a lot of new customers.
Lin Anran was very satisfied with the service of this hair salon. She just wanted proper hair care and didn't want to see other people messing around with her hair. That's why she was a repeat customer. Although she only came once every two weeks now, she was still a loyal customer of this hair salon. "Then why hasn't this hair salon closed down yet?"
Li Jia suppressed her laughter and said, "Ms. Lin, you can't let the people at the hair salon across the street hear this. The boss has some connections and a few thugs, and they're really ruthless."
Lin Anran listened to the advice and zipped up his mouth manually: "I didn't say anything."
"Yes, yes, I didn't hear anything." Li Jia cooperated very well.
Li Jia massaged Lin Anran's scalp again, making it incredibly comfortable. "With your massage skills, you could open a massage parlor."
Li Jia smiled from ear to ear: "Ms. Lin, you think too highly of me."
Lin Anran left the hair salon feeling refreshed. She bought everything she needed, walked out of the commercial street, and then walked through several more blocks. Thanks to Uncle Zhao's reputation, she bought some precious wild honey. However, she didn't expect to run into Tang Rui who had just entered the store. "Mr. Tang?"
Tang Rui looked at her in surprise: "Ms. Lin? Are you here to buy honey?" He saw the small jar of honey she was carrying.
"Xiao Rui, you're back?"
"mom."
Lin Anran: “?”
Tang Rui smiled at Lin Anran and introduced her, "Ms. Lin, this shop is owned by my parents. Mom, this is the Miss Lin Anran that my grandparents mentioned."
Tang Rui's mother looked at Lin Anran with surprise and said enthusiastically, "What a coincidence." She took out another jar of honey to give to Lin Anran.
Lin Anran refused repeatedly before finally succeeding. She immediately asked to leave and decided to go to another store that Uncle Zhao mentioned to buy wild honey next time. Even though that store was farther away, she had two legs.
"Xiao Rui, take Miss Lin back." Tang Rui's mother said, and sent the two of them out of the store together.
Lin Anran and Tang Rui looked at each other, and for a moment, no one spoke.
"Mr. Tang, the place I want to go back to is not far from here, and it's not too late now." Lin Anran broke the silence and politely refused Tang Rui's offer to give her a ride.
Tang Rui shook his head: "It's not far, but I have to take you back, Miss Lin. It's hard to disobey my mother's orders. I'm afraid I'll be kicked out of the house tonight if I go back like this."
Lin Anran had no choice but to agree: "Thank you for your help."
"No trouble, I walk fast."
Lin Anran and Tang Rui are both talkative people. The two strangers who met for the second time surprisingly did not have a dull moment. Instead, they had a lot of topics to talk about. They chatted all the way back to the villa area. Tang Rui looked at Lin Anran with a little surprise.
Lin Anran smiled brightly and said frankly: "I work there as a nanny. The salary is high, the work is easy, the boss is easy to get along with, and my colleagues take good care of me."
Tang Rui told her, "I'm now unemployed, without a salary, and living off my parents. My neighbors say I didn't want a government-assigned job after graduating from university, and that I've become stupid from studying."
The two smiled at each other and acted like friends.
"A car drove out from inside." Tang Rui reminded her to be careful.
Lin Anran had his back to the villa area. Hearing this, he turned around and saw a familiar luxury car: "It's my boss's car."
Tang Rui: "What are you going to do?"
"No need, the boss can't see me, I'll just be a tree on the roadside." Lin Anran joked. She knew that this luxury car would pass by her smoothly. She was an experienced nanny.
But Lin Anran never expected that the boss's luxury car would stop in front of her, and the rear window would slowly roll down, revealing Boss Zhou's handsome, three-dimensional profile. Lin Anran's face turned pale. If the boss stopped the car, it might be because there was something wrong with the car, but if it stopped in front of her, an employee, it might not be a problem with the car, so - did the boss have something to talk to her about?
Lin Anran bent down and looked at the person sitting in the back seat of the car, and asked diligently: "Mr. Zhou? Do you have something to tell me?" Tell me, Mr. Zhou, what do you want me to do overtime on my day off, and then you must remember to give me a bonus!
Lin Anran's eyes were shining brightly, and she believed that her shining eyes could definitely convey her intention - Mr. Zhou, here's the bonus!
Zhou Heyuan turned his head and looked at Lin Anran's face with a deep gaze, especially lingering on her eyes: "Did you make any new friends when you went out today?"
Lin Anran blinked: "Huh?"
bonus? !
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
