Zhao Ermei picked up the paper cup on the table again and took a sip of water, when she felt unbalanced, she always habitually wanted to drink water. I've been used to it since I was young, and it seems that I want to use that small sip of water to suppress my easily agitated emotions and slowly calm myself down.

She looked at Dongfang Siyi and explained: "At that time, I was really worried that I would be fired from the factory. Temporary workers like me, there was no legal protection in those days, and if you lost that job, you would have nothing left, just like my sisters who were also temporary workers. If that happens, all my wishes will come to naught, which I don't want to do. ”

After getting off work that day, Zhao Ermei walked out of the factory gate with a heavy heart, and after walking a short distance, she turned into an alley. Because she is not a regular worker, the factory will not assign her a dormitory, so she can only rent a house outside. In order to make it easier to commute to work, the house she rented was not far from the factory, across a road, a few hundred meters away, there was a long alley, and she walked to the end of the alley.

The street lamp at the end of the alley broke down a few days ago, and no one paid attention to it or bothered to do it. The light was very dim, and when Zhao Ermei took out the key and was about to open the door, she noticed that there was a figure not far away, and then walked towards her, and she settled down to see that it was her cousin Liu Ping.

"Cousin, why are you here?" Zhao Ermei was still thinking about her own thoughts, and she was a little surprised when she saw her cousin, she hadn't seen her cousin for a long time. "It's your birthday, don't you remember it yourself?" Cousin Liu Ping looked at her with a bouquet of yellow roses in one hand and a box of birthday cakes in the other, and then looked back at the unlit street lamp next to the alley.

Zhao Ermei's eyes were a little moist, she didn't tell her cousin Liu Ping about her birthday, Liu Ping only found out after looking at her ID card in the process of looking for a job for her. Since then, every time it is her birthday, her cousin Liu Ping will always appear in front of her. Sometimes he can't leave for a while because he is busy with work, but even if it's late, he still shows up with a bouquet of flowers.

Only her cousin still remembered her birthday, and even she didn't care about it anymore, "Thank you, cousin, you always care about me so much, and I don't know how to thank you." Zhao Ermei is grateful to her cousin from the bottom of her heart, this man in the city always remembers her, and thinks of ways to take care of her carefully, so that she often feels a different kind of warmth. He always appears quietly in front of her when she needs it most.

Liu Ping looked at the street lamp not far away and asked, "How long has this lamp been broken?" There are no lights, the alley is too dark, you often work night shifts, and you come back late, it's too unsafe. I'll call the municipality tomorrow and ask them to send someone to fix it. ”

Zhao Ermei also took a look at the street lamp: "It's been broken for a long time, about two months, and no one seems to care about it." At first, I was a little unaccustomed to it, and I was very scared, but at night it was dark and blind, and it was indeed unsafe to walk. I couldn't help it, so I bought a flashlight. ”

Zhao Ermei opened the door, turned on the light in the house casually, and the two entered the house while talking. Liu Ping put the birthday cake on a small table in the room, turned around and held the bouquet of yellow roses and handed it to Zhao Ermei with both hands and said, "I wish Ermei a happy birthday!" Zhao Ermei's eyes were a little moist again, and she hurriedly took it with both hands: "Thank you, cousin, thank you for the flowers and cake." ”

Liu Ping smiled: "It's so late, it's not convenient to go out, I brought some bento over, let's eat together, I haven't eaten it at night, it's a little simpler, and I wish you a happy birthday." As he spoke, Liu Ping took out a few bento boxes he had bought from a few plastic bags and placed them on the small table.

Zhao Ermei smiled: "Thank you, cousin, I didn't eat at night, and when I saw these delicious foods, I felt really hungry." Thank you cousin for being so thoughtful, several temporary workers in the factory have been fired these days, and I don't know how long I can work, so I'm always panicking. I can't eat, and I can't sleep well. ”

Liu Ping put the fast food he bought, and after listening to Zhao Ermei's words, he comforted her and said: "I know some of the things in your factory, you don't have to think too much, let me talk to your factory director, there is no special situation, there is no problem to take care of you." Come on, wash your hands and come over, let's eat together, by the way, I also brought a bottle of red wine, bring two glasses, I'll drink a little with you and relax. ”

Zhao Ermei knew that her cousin worked in the county government and was very familiar with the factory director, so she put her mind at ease, found two glasses, took the red wine handed over by her cousin, filled the two glasses, raised the glass in her hand and said gratefully: "I will express my gratitude to my cousin through my cousin's wine." ”

After Liu Ping raised his glass and took a sip of wine, he smiled and said, "I have good news for you, which is the best wish for your birthday." Liu Ping always had a smile on his face, and Zhao Ermei never seemed to see him reveal his sorrows and troubles.

In Zhao Ermei's impression, cousin Liu Ping always brings positive good news, prices have risen, he won't complain about why they are rising? It shouldn't go up! He will only say that the bank interest has increased again, everyone's wages have risen again, the tide has risen, and it is normal for prices to rise a little. If the bus ticket has gone up, he won't question why it has gone up? It's not right to go up like that! He will only say that the road has doubled wider, it is much flatter than before, and the buses have been replaced with new ones, which will require a large amount of financial expenditure. He is a man who never likes to complain, always brings hope and always gives people a good future.

After getting married, Zhao Ermei's heart seemed to be hollowed out, and her previous desire to be a city person no longer had a shadow, she felt that it was the fantasy of a rural girl. The reason why she hasn't left this small county town for the time being, but she is still reluctant to leave the work she has done for more than five years, she has become accustomed to life on the assembly line, and she has become accustomed to counting the days day by day in the sound of the machine turning. She feels that such a day is steady, and it can still bring her a little hope.

"What's the good news for my cousin? What kind of good news will be relevant to me? Zhao Ermei looked at her cousin Liu Ping suspiciously, what good news could it have to do with her? Can it have something to do with her birthday? She was grateful for the man in front of her, and although this man always brought her warmth, she knew very well that she didn't belong to him, and he didn't belong to her.

"Since it's your birthday today, then you should make a wish in your heart first. Don't be afraid to think about it, you must think boldly, and make a wish for whatever you want. Maybe your wish will come true soon. Cousin Liu Ping put the birthday cake on the table, lit the birthday candle with his hands, and then looked at Zhao Ermei with some joy and said.

Zhao Ermei saw that her cousin Liu Ping was so happy, and she also forgot her worries about being laid off, the unhappiness of not having birthday leave, and the dissatisfaction of not having a birthday gift from the trade union. She closed her eyes and silently prayed in her heart that the god of fate would bring her the same fairness and happiness as the girls in the city.

"You can apply for a town hukou." Cousin Liu Ping opened his eyes after watching Zhao Ermei make a wish, and looked at her with a smile, the corners of his mouth were a little exaggerated to the sides, and his expression was a little exaggerated.

Zhao Ermei felt that her cousin Liu Ping was coaxing her to be happy: "How can you guess the wish I made?" Cousin is coaxing me, right? Pie in the sky? I think about it, every day, every night, and I am still thinking about it when I made my wish just now. But how is this possible? It's impossible. Unless there's a new policy? ”

"It's not pie in the sky, there is no pie in the sky, even if there is pie in the sky, if it falls, because there are too many people robbing it, you may not be able to grab it. It's like winning a 5 million jackpot, and the probability is close to zero. Now, what I'm going to tell you is that there is a pie, but it is not a pie that falls from the sky, it is a pie with policy regulations, you guessed it right, and there are some new provisions in this regard. It is these new regulations that bring hope. ”

"With a new rule? Does it have anything to do with me? Zhao Ermei has heard some rumors in the past few days, and she looked at her cousin Liu Ping with some doubts.

Liu Ping smiled and said: "The Standing Committee of the county party committee held a meeting overnight last night to study the matters that were decided, and the minutes of the meeting were issued this afternoon. Zhao Ermei half-opened her mouth: "Really? Liu Ping told Zhao Ermei: "I personally printed and distributed the minutes of the meeting, doesn't my little sister believe it?" Zhao Ermei asked, "Is this like me eligible?" ”

Liu Ping explained earnestly: "If the conditions are met, the main reason for relaxing the conditions for settling down in the city this time is to solve the problem of some people who have worked in urban enterprises for many years but do not have an urban hukou, and the problem of not having an urban hukou for business activities in the town, because the lack of an urban hukou has caused unfair treatment in work and life, and there is no way to solve the problem of children going to school." This is not just a personal issue, but also an issue that affects the development of the city. However, because the state has not yet made clear regulations, it cannot officially issue documents, and can only be sent to the relevant departments in the form of meeting minutes, and first try to liberalize part of it, which is a local temporary policy, and whether there will be any changes in the future, it is difficult to say now, no one dares to say, and it is impossible to say. The government's meaning is to be able to release and receive. Therefore, some conditions are limited, not only as long as you have money to buy, but also limited the fee standard, not only so that some people can afford it, but also to discourage people who do not have an urgent need to solve the hukou. Specifically, it costs more than 6,000 yuan to convert a rural household registration to a non-resident household, but it is much less than in some places, and I have heard that a city in a neighboring province has to pay tens of thousands of yuan in urban construction fees if it wants to open the same urban household registration. More than 6,000 yuan is not a small number, it is your salary for three or four years, you have to think about it, if you want to do it, you have to seize this opportunity, and you have to hurry up, you will start doing it next week, and it may end at any time. ”

Zhao Ermei understood, the real opportunity was in front of her, she had to seize it if she needed it, maybe there would be no more shops in this village after that. For her, a town hukou is not only a matter of identity, but also involves an unfairness that she experienced as a child, and also involves whether she can become a regular employee of the county-run state-owned enterprise Xinfeng Textile Factory, if she can become a regular employee, her salary will be doubled, and it will rise every year in the future, she will enjoy the treatment of a trade union member, her vacation will not be half less than others, and no one will discriminate against her as a village girl. Three years of salary can be earned back, but this opportunity may be fleeting.

The next day, Zhao Ermei took advantage of her time off to return to the town. Although she thought about using the money she had saved to open this account, she thought that this was also a major event for her and her family, and she thought that she should discuss it with Yao Dabao.

Yao Dabao was busy placing goods in his department store, and when he heard Zhao Ermei say that he wanted to take 6,000 yuan to open an account, he refused without raising his head: "Are you crazy, do you want to spend so much money to open an account?" Can I make money with my account? ”

He opened a package of all kinds of fashions that he had just entered, and counted his account at Zhao Ermei: "I take 6,000 yuan to buy some goods, and if I sell it, it becomes more than 10,000 yuan, and after a few years, a few thousand will become tens of thousands, tens of thousands will become hundreds of thousands, and hundreds of thousands will become millions." Tell me, what are the benefits of having an account? ”

Zhao Ermei looked at Yao Dabao, who was thinking about her business in her heart all day long: "Cousin Liu Ping said that you are also eligible, you can also use money to run one, the two of us need 12,000, 12,000 can solve the problem of the two of us's urban hukou, this is something you didn't dare to think about before." In the future, our children will naturally have a town hukou. ”

Yao Dabao stopped what he was doing: "I never thought about asking for this urban hukou, I didn't think about it before, and I don't think about it now." What problems can a one-town hukou solve? Can I give you something to eat? Or can I wear it for you? Or is there any other benefit? You said that you can change to a regular job, what is so great about this regular job, is it as much money as I earn? Let's just say that your cousin Liu Ping, he is still a national cadre, and he doesn't earn as much money as me. Why do you want me to do anything that doesn't do any good? ”

Zhao Ermei looked at Yao Dabao, who had been married to her for more than a year, she suddenly felt that he was so strange, this man had now become a money-making machine, and a despair that surged up from the depths of her heart made her shudder: "You can't understand the question I want at all, and you don't want to understand it." If you say so, then you can make your fortune, I have my own money, I am willing to open an account for myself, you don't need to worry about it. ”

For the first time, she and him had irretrievable differences over their goals in life, and since then, Yao Dabao has become a passerby outside of the life she pursues.

(Next Episode: Chapter 25: Helplessness and Despair)