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The first time I met Ma Li was ten years ago. At that time, I found my first job in my life at the frozen goods wholesale market and gave a boss named Bai a odd job. Ma Li was an elevator manager in the warehouse at that time. When I shipped and purchased goods, I had to meet her. After a while, I gradually became familiar with her.
But I have a weak impression of Ma Li ten years ago. This is just because we are all workers and we are doing insignificant jobs. In addition, we have a big age difference and we have no common words. I only remember that ten years ago, Ma Li liked to wear a big red sweater with long hair and had no impression of her.
I worked with Boss Bai for a year and a half. When I was twenty-four years old, I learned interior decoration with a boss named Yang and left the frozen goods wholesale market.
Boss Yang (that is, my former father-in-law) is a good person. When he saw that I was young and had the strength, he only found me some work that was easy to save trouble but hard work, such as moving things and helping the master. I followed his decoration team for two years. When I was twenty-six years old, he married my daughter to me. As a result, I became his son-in-law and seemed to have become the second-in-command of the decoration team.
In fact, after I got married with his daughter Yang Mingming, I became the leader. My father-in-law said this:
"Xiaojun, you are not young anymore, and it's time to make a breakthrough by yourself. I will leave this job to you in the future."
I refused and said I couldn't do it. When my wife Yang Mingming found out, she scolded me for being stupid.
"Xiaojun, are you in a lack of soul? My father gave you my life. Isn't the money you earn all ours?"
When I was twenty-six years old, I thought it was the same. I just need to do my things well and respect the elderly. I am very happy, by chance, I reached the peak of my life.
But in fact, this is not the case. Yes, Yang Mingming's father handed over the decoration team to me for management, but he has the conditions. He said I would give him five thousand yuan a month, and the remaining money I earned was mine. I worked in the decoration team for two years and knew about my approximate income every year. I calculated it with a pen. Except for giving him 60,000 yuan a year, I could earn 70,000 or 80,000 (if it doesn’t work, I can earn 50,000), so I agreed to his conditions.
But this is just Yang Mingming’s father’s request. In addition, Yang Mingming also asked me to give her six thousand yuan a month. She said this:
"Husband, give me the money you earn. I will save a regular note. We will use it when the time comes, and then take it out."
Yang Mingming couldn’t say too much. I have calculated the annual income of the decoration team. I can pay the fee, so I agreed to her happily. To make my wife happy, why don’t I do it? Besides, my life is given to them today, and I never forget to dig wells when I drank water.
However, my misfortune started from that day.
Any industry has tricks. You may not necessarily make money in industries where others make money. By the same token, if others don’t make money, you may not be able to make money (but if you don’t make much money). Although I worked with Yang Mingming's father for two years, I was a layman after all. The decoration industry is very deep, and it is not something that I am a ignorant of the world. In addition, my former father-in-law didn't tell me the tricks of the industry, so I could only go downhill.
In the first three months, I wanted my previous account and I could barely survive. Later on, it was difficult for me to maintain my monthly expenditure of more than 10,000 yuan. As a last resort, I put in the money I had for my job. But after all, it was a drop in the bucket. In less than half a year, I was in a difficult situation.
I told Yang Mingming and his daughter about the difficulties. At the beginning, Yang's father smiled at me and said that I had just done it and everything had a process and I would solve the difficulties. His daughter directly scolded me:
"Are you a fool? If you hand over a good deal to you, it will become like this! No matter what you do, I only need the money I deserve every month!"
I was bored. I originally wanted to find solutions to the problem through the people closest to me, but what I got was either sarcasm or sarcasm.In the following months, the decoration team became worse and worse. Because the workers had no living and had no money to make money, they left and scattered, and I became a lonely man.
My former father-in-law finally had an attack. He shouted at me for how I did it and how I could have done a good career. I lowered my head and didn't say anything. My ex-wife even spoke harshly to me. She asked me to pay back the money and threatened me with divorce. I am desperate and have the heart to die. In the end, my former father-in-law was inspired. He proposed a compromise solution, asking me to write an IOU for 200,000 to his father and daughter.
"Xiaojun, this is just a form to stimulate your enthusiasm. If you think of your father's money, you will give it to you couple in the future. If you can pass this IOU, it will be a good thing for the prodigal son to turn back."
Yang Mingming also encouraged me to write it. I myself thought they were right, so I cruelly wrote the 200,000 IOU.
But my nightmare starts from the moment IOU is written.
First, Yang Mingming divorced me at the speed of cutting the mess with a quick knife. Her reason was: I have no bondage with my children's love, so I can give it a try.
"Xiaojun, when you pay back the money, we will remarry."
I disagree with the divorce, but she forced her to death and held a knife on her neck. As a last resort, we ended our marriage for less than three years. It’s easy for Yang Mingming and I to divorce. She takes her things and I take mine. But by the last calculation, I almost had nothing to do with me except a few worn torn clothes. This is not troublesome.
After Yang's father found out, he asked me hypocritically:
"You are doing well, why do you say you are divorced?"
Then he immediately revealed his true face:
"Xiaojun, you have to pay back the money if you divorce. I have an IOU you wrote in person. If you don't pay it back then, I won't forgive you!"
Just like that, I owe a lot of debt for no reason. After leaving Yang Mingming and his daughter, I was not ashamed to go home because my parents also thought it was wrong for me. They said that I didn’t have the ability, so I shouldn’t have taken on this porcelain job and put myself in a desperate situation. In a fit of anger, I went to S City and actually met Ma Li again by chance.
I found a job in S City to deliver water. The basic salary is 800 yuan, and I will give you two yuan a bucket of water. There are about 35 or kilograms of water in a barrel, so as long as you are not afraid of being tired and can endure hardship, you can still make money. My boss and his wife are not a few years older than me. The male boss is Wang Jian. He works like me and also delivers water. His wife was watching the store, answering the phone and dispatching jobs.
Wang Jian took me for a day and told me the delivery community. The next day, he asked me to ride a tricycle and get started by myself. He smiled and said to me:
"Brother, this job is very simple. Take your time and take a break when you are tired."
The boss is so nice to me, and I have no reason not to do it well. In addition, I also need money, so how can I be lazy and sloppy? I was on track very quickly. At the beginning, I gave me twenty or thirty barrels a day, and I was so tired that my waist and back were sore that I couldn't get up when I crawled on the bed. Later, for the sake of life and to pay back my debts, I gritted my teeth and gave me one or two hundred barrels. Although I was so tired that I didn’t want to stand, I could no longer get up in the bed with a backache like I did at the beginning. So, no matter how great the difficulties are, they will pass. Life always forces us to learn ways to overcome difficulties.
Boss Wang is in charge of food here, and I basically have no expenses every month. I paid back most of the money I earned, and I was squandering my own expenses and couldn't bear to buy even a box of good cigarettes. But even so, when I paid back the money, my ex-father-in-law still cursed and said that I was "incompetent" and I could only bear it. Living in me has no color at all.
Boss Wang and his wife once asked me if there was any difficulty, and I smiled and said to them, "No". They must have seen that my family is in poor condition, so they did their best to help me, such as treating me to drink and have a meal, giving me the clothes my boss has worn, and so on. The couple are good people, but they are also in the struggle stage. All they can give me is the care they live in is human nature.
I have worked with Boss Wang and his wife for three years and have understood this truth. People who are truly good to you will not use generous money to tempt you. He will only tell you that only by working hard can you make money. On the contrary, it is either a great fortune or a scam.
But no matter how good the people and the good things are, there will be a day when the songs are gone. That was when Boss Wang and his wife were working until the third year, when the Chinese New Year was about to be celebrated, the boss's wife personally cooked a table of dishes. Boss Wang took out two bottles of good wine and greeted me with a smile:
"Xiaojun, let's have some good drinks tonight!"
So that night, Boss Wang and I got drunk. During the drinking, he told me that they would not come to S City next year and the water delivery shop was also transferred to someone else.
"Xiaojun, if you want to continue doing it next year, it is naturally welcome. But I think it's too inexpensive to do this job. You are still young and should go out and do your own career!"
I nodded and said yes. Finally, Boss Wang gave me a red envelope worth 1,000 yuan, and I don’t want it. Both of them insisted that I accept it.
"Brother, don't think it's too little. This is the little intention of my brother and your sister-in-law. You must accept it!"
In the end, I could only accept it with tears. The next day, Boss Wang and his wife left City S. As the end of the year approaches, the city is full of people returning home by shopping. Since I came to S City, I have never been home for the Chinese New Year. There were Boss Wang and his wife before, but now I am the only one left, so I can't help but be lonely. I walked to the station with my luggage on my back and looked at the bustling crowd, and I wanted to join their return tide. But I suddenly realized that I was criticized when I went back, and my feelings for returning home came to an abrupt end. I stood at the station for thirty minutes and returned to the city.
I used to live in Boss Wang’s water sales store, but now they have transferred the store, so naturally I can’t live there anymore. I wandered aimlessly along the street. For three years, I could name this land with my eyes closed, but now I have become homeless. I was thinking of finding a hotel, settle down for the time being, and make plans tomorrow. But at this moment, Brother Hu, an old customer who used to deliver water, called me:
"Xiaojun, it's almost the Chinese New Year, aren't you going home yet?"
Brother Hu was standing in front of me, carrying a plastic bag from XXX supermarket in his left hand.
I stammered and didn't know how to answer him.
"What's wrong with Xiaojun, is there any difficulties?" Brother Hu stopped smiling.
I smiled bitterly and said no, it was like escaping from him. But Brother Hu is a very enthusiastic person. He stopped me and refused to let me go, and insisted on asking me what was wrong. In the end, I could only tell him about his own difficulties, but I just chose the light.
Brother Hu stopped talking after hearing this. For about ten seconds, he suddenly smiled and said to me:
"Xiaojun, I'll find you a job. During the Chinese New Year, I will definitely make you earn some money."
I said "That's great", and Brother Hu introduced me to Ma Li's hotel.
Mali's hotel is in the southwest corner of the city. This area is not in my water delivery piece, so I rarely come here. Her restaurant is about 60 square meters, mainly engaged in staple foods such as noodles and fried cakes, plus a small variety of stir-fried dishes. When I first saw her, I felt a little familiar, but I couldn't remember who she was. Similarly, she also thought I looked familiar and didn't think of who I was. We had a few simple conversations, then turned our heads and thought about each other's worries. For about one minute, we both turned our heads at the same time and said to each other with a smile:
"You are..."
That's it. We left for about seven or eight years and met again.
After a long separation, we were naturally very happy. In addition to telling each other about our experiences over the years, we are more about looking forward to the future. Ma Li told me that this small restaurant is the fourth year she has run it, and every Chinese New Year, there are a lot of customers.
"A few years ago, a fellow villager was here to help. He cooked food, and I served food. But this year he went home and got married, so I had to hire people to help."
I smiled and said, "I don't know how to cook." She smiled and said it was okay, she was there. In this way, I finally settled down as the Spring Festival approached.
I lived in Mali's hotel. I didn't ask her how much it cost to open for me, and she didn't say it. Both of us hid their main personal information, and although we knew each other before, we were not so good that we could talk about everything. For example, what has Ma Li experienced, why did she open this restaurant by herself, and what about her husband? Another example is the matter of owing money. But this is normal.
The Spring Festival that year was indeed as Ma Li said that the hotel was so busy. At the beginning, Ma Li cooked and cooked, but she was a woman after all. I tried to cook it a few times, but the response was OK, so she let go of her hands completely and kept me busy in the kitchen. Fortunately, the people who came to our restaurant to have dinner were all migrant workers from left-behind cities. They didn’t ask for it to be delicious, they just needed to eat a lot and be able to eat enough. This is the lovely thing about urban farmers.
We were busy from the first day of the lunar month to the eighth day of the lunar month, and the abortion of people gradually decreased. Ma Li and I had free time and started to chat more. Naturally, we care most about both families. But we speak very tactfully.
"After so many years, you haven't found another one?" She stroked the yellowed hair curtain on her forehead and asked me.
I smiled and said:
"No, I don't have money, which girl will like me."
She smiled, and her right hand held her chi and looked at me tilted her head. "One day my sister will introduce you to a girlfriend."
I didn't say anything. When I thought of the money I owe, which girl would like me. This matter was just a matter of apology.
On the evening of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, it was already eleven o'clock in the evening when we saw off the last table of guests. We were well hygienic, Ma Li called me and handed me a bulging red envelope. She smiled and said,
"This is an extra gift to you during the Chinese New Year, and the salary is calculated separately."
I don't want it. I think there is too much money in the red envelope, and I shouldn't have taken so much.
"Check it, it doesn't cost much." She forced me to
However, there was 3,000 yuan in the red envelope, so I could only double my work to compensate her.
The sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Ma Li told me to take a day off today. I asked her if there was anything. She smiled and said:
"We have been busy for more than half a month, can't we take a day off?"
She suggested taking me shopping. I refused at first, and she said angrily:
"I asked you to help me get something, is it that hard?"
I could only agree to go. But she didn't buy her own things. When we went to the mall, she took me to the men's clothing counter. After she looked at the clothes, she asked me to try it. If I don't try, she gets angry. When we finally got home, I was carrying a large bag of small bags and my inner and outer clothes, and Ma Li only bought a cheap lipstick. At that time, she stood in front of the counter selling cosmetics for a long time. After my strong instigation, she decided to buy it. She held the lipstick and said happily like a child:
"I'm covered in oil smoke, there's really no need to buy such a good lipstick."
I thought to myself, what a kind woman can only say.
That night, I cooked three dishes and opened two bottles of beer. We ate and chatted in an empty restaurant. I don’t know if I’m drunk too much, so I accidentally told me about the money I owe. Ma Li immediately asked me about the incident. I didn't want to say it at first, but now that I have come to this, I can only briefly tell her the story. After hearing this, she didn't say anything for a long time, and finally said to me with a smile:
"Let's go out and see the moon?"
We were walking on the deserted streets of the city on the sixth day of the first lunar month, looking at the moon as big as a cooking plate, until eleven o'clock in the evening, when I went back to the hotel and she went home. This experience became the most romantic between us, and in the next two years, nothing like this happened between us.
Winter goes to spring, late summer and winter solstice, I worked in Mali’s hotel for two years, and I am already thirty-two years old. In the past two years, we have been getting along very well. We don’t see each other every day, just like a psychological shortcoming. I don’t know if this is the beginning of love, but it is at least the sublimation of our friendship.In the past two years, I seem to have vaguely known her story. She is an unfortunate woman who was abandoned by a man. However, her indomitable personality did not make her admit defeat to life, and she became stronger. She seems to be more unfortunate than me, but everything is over because the ultimate beauty belongs to us after all.
That was the third Spring Festival I had at Mali Hotel. We were busy that day until the New Year bell was about to ring. Mali said, let’s have a meal together and bid farewell to the old. I said yes and fryed a few ready-made dishes. Ma Li opened a bottle of expensive white wine (the "expensive" is just for us), and we sat at the table, watching the Spring Festival Gala, waiting for the midnight bell to ring.
When the clock rang, Ma Li put a bank card in my hand. I asked her in surprise, what is this for? She smiled at me, put her right hand on the back of my left hand, and said:
"There are twenty in the card. This is your salary in the past few years. Please pay back the debt!"
"Don't you pay me a salary every month?" I said.
"The three thousand yuan I only give you a month is not a salary... Listen to my sister, please pay back the account!"
I don't want it, Ma Li forced me to do it, but I still don't want it, because this is not a matter of a few pieces of clothes, it's a lot of money. Finally, Ma Li hugged me and whispered in my ear:
"Please accept it, sister..."
She said the last few words in a vague way, she drank too much.
ending
Three months later, Ma Li and I got married. Two years later, we opened a larger hotel. Three years later, Ma Li gave birth to a boy for me. I didn't want this child because she was forty-eight years old at that time. But Ma Li said that this was the crystallization of our love, so she walked around the gates of hell.
From now on, our family of three is very happy!
