Two months passed in the blink of an eye, and it was the end of December. Dongguan is a city that has been completely forgotten by winter. At this time, the temperature is still above 20 degrees. The industrial park is still verdant.

The surrounding industrial areas have undergone major changes.

Due to the increase in costs and the appreciation of the RMB, many export-oriented enterprises have felt the cold that does not match the temperature, the cost of a shirt is not as low as it was back then, the export exchange rate difference, tariffs, these may not be terrible, but the height of operating costs is so fast, even if the enterprise does not reduce it again, it is beyond reach. The rapid rise in housing prices has led to higher rents, ground rents, and labor costs. In the framework of globalization, the rise in oil (energy) and housing prices can push up all costs. Raw materials, logistics, electricity, water, gas, ......, including labor, changes in the cost of each link converge into orders of magnitude of cost changes. As a direct result, the cost of a shirt can be raised by 10%~20% instantly. The cost of a circuit board increases by 5%, the cost of a toy increases by 10%, and so on. Many companies are forced by the situation to constantly innovate, lean, 5s, kaizen, all kinds of streamlining concepts began to popularize, but a drop in the bucket can not resist, and in the end can only make greater changes.

The company has decided to abolish the dormitories for engineers and above, and the housing subsidy can only cover about 50% of the current rent.

This decision was not resisted by the majority. Because the rent in Dongguan was too low at that time, 500 yuan for an ordinary two-bedroom apartment was more than enough, coupled with the demand for cohabitation, the constraints of company management were lost, and in disguise, this policy was not resisted in private.

Huang Jing is already arranging the handover and preparing to transfer to the night shift, and Xiang Yang Hua must be with him. Although Sun Ning still wanted to keep Chu Li on the day shift, there seemed to be no good reason, so he asked Chu Li to explain briefly and arranged to transfer shifts according to the rules.

One Sunday, Chu Li took the bus as always, went to the Houjie Bookstore to read books, and ate at Grandma Ye's shop at noon, Xiao Ye was still silent, and Grandma was still enthusiastic. Everything was unremarkable, and after eating and drinking, he said goodbye to his grandmother Xiaoye, and prepared to enter the World Trade Mall. Chu Li looked around boredly, and there was a row of gold shops on the street, with overly thick golden characters, flamboyant, laughing at poverty. Looking at his phone, it was still very early, Chu Li finished eating and walked in the direction that was more away from the main street.

Chu Li is only interested in three kinds of shops, computer accessories, bookstores, and snacks. The most in Houjie are gold shops, foot baths, massages, beauty salons, and herbal tea shops. I walked until the end of the corner, and there was no store I liked, and I was just about to turn around and go back to the World Trade Mall, and two people walked out of the door of the largest gold store. The woman's face was expressionless, tall and plump, her short hair curled around her neck and ears, a glittering necklace hung from her fair neck, and her big goblin-like eyes were indifferent and unfocused.

"Daji! It's Huang Jing," Chu Li's heart shook. This dress is far from the image of the production team leader in the workshop.

The man had a big belly, a thick gold chain, and a bag much larger than a purse and smaller than a briefcase under his arm. His hair was meticulously combed, his face was dark, his skin was like the surface of the moon, he was wearing a loose suit, his legs rubbed against each other when he swung back and forth due to obesity, and he made a squirming sound with every step. Unhurriedly followed Huang Jing.

There are not many people at the end of the street, and the two will definitely take a photo. Is it polite to come forward and say hello? Or pretend not to see it? I thought about it a lot, and finally just stood in a daze, and when I saw Huang Jing walking towards him, I was just about to raise my hand, when Huang Jing's legs suddenly stopped, and when the man in the suit came closer, he slowly held his arm and walked forward, although he was head-on towards Chu Li, and only a few meters away, Huang Jing's eyes looked strange and defensive. Chu Li's half-stretched hand slowly put down, his eyes pretending to look away. The moment he passed by, Chu Li felt Huang Jing's head leaning towards him, and glanced back, Huang Jing also looked back at himself, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he barely squeezed out a trace of intentional smile, and then immediately turned his head and walked forward. A strong smell of betel nut faded away.

Chu Li looked at Huang Jing, who was wearing a long skirt and high heels, and was gradually moving away, and suddenly remembered Xiang Yang Hua. The smell of betel nut spreads from the air to the tip of the tongue, and there is a hint of bitterness.

When I arrived at the World Trade Mall, I took two books and sat in a familiar position, but I didn't have the heart to read them. Looking out of the floor-to-ceiling glass window on the stool, there was a sea of people, everyone's expression was different, and there was some helplessness in the joy, anger and sorrow. I've been here for more than half a year, and in all fairness, I like this job very much, but no matter how hard I study and work, I still have an irresistible sense of loneliness. My father died of illness six years ago, and my mother supported me strongly. My father worked very hard before his death, and learned Chinese medicine from his grandfather since he was a child, because of his gentle personality, he was deeply loved by his neighbors, but because it was not a regular clinic, he was gradually pressured by the policy of cooperative medical treatment, and was recognized as a three-no-black clinic, and finally had to close his doors. The father hopes that his son will become a Chan and hope that Chu will be admitted to medical school. However, Chu Li had no interest in practicing medicine at all, and was disobediently admitted to the police academy for public security. After graduating, his wish is to engage in police work. However, the next year, he got into trouble...... Now 25 years old, ordinary people should have lived their current life 4 years ago, although there are no gains and losses, but the guilt of his father has never been reduced. The family is not difficult, the clinic was very prosperous and wealthy during his father's lifetime, and later the cost of the lawsuit was very large, but it was not so poor, although the mother lived alone, she was not poor. Chu sent some clothes to his mother every other day, and his mother always said on the phone that she didn't need to buy so many new clothes when she was old, so that she could save some money. Chu Li always said that clothes in Guangdong were much cheaper than in Wuhan. The mother never asks if she has a girlfriend, gets married, or has children. Maybe the mother knows that Chu Li is different from ordinary people.

After a while, Chu Li thought of the scene he saw Huang Jing just now, and his heart was a little blocked. I can't say how it feels. I'm used to seeing people's warmth and coldness, so I naturally know what's going on. Xiang Yanghua couldn't tell him that he couldn't walk into Huang Jing, it turned out that he couldn't give Huang Jing what he wanted. I once heard that her family was very poor, and she had a younger sister and a younger brother. But after all, it was already the 21st century, and Chu Li was still a little surprised. The man just now looked to be in his 40s, and his relationship with Huang Jing was definitely not ordinary. Hand in hand on the street, you can judge that it is not a local because there is no need to avoid it, according to the cut and ironing of the suit in place, it should be a high-end hotel. The leather shoes were very clean and seemed to walk very little. The skin is purple and red, and the potholes are like the surface of the moon, which belongs to the marine climate living environment, and may be overseas Chinese from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan or Southeast Asia. Chu Li thought about it, laughed at his nervousness all of a sudden, and suddenly began to analyze it carefully.

When Chu Li went downstairs, it was already dark, so he cleaned up and went straight downstairs to Grandma Ye's roast shop. I didn't talk while eating, Grandma Ye was a little busy today and didn't come to play haha. Xiao Ye quietly cleaned up the guests' dishes, chopsticks and pans, and swept Chu Li with his afterglow from time to time. There were fewer and fewer guests, and Chu Li ate very slowly. Xiao Ye took a deep breath and sat down opposite Chu Li.

"Brother Chu?"

Chu Li raised his head violently and saw Xiao Ye's round eyes and bangs on the noodles in the clear soup. Smiled, "What's wrong, Xiao Ye?" ”

"Those two girls were here last time."

"Oh, really?"

"Well, I asked if you had ever come to dinner."

"It's okay, they're all my colleagues, working in the same company."

"What's their name? I want to get acquainted with it too. "Xiao Ye has a lot to talk about today.

"One is my sister, named Chen Si, and the small but tall one is called Chen Jing."

"They're so beautiful. Especially Chen Jing, it's so good-looking. “

Chu Li laughed all of a sudden, "You are also good-looking." ”

Xiao Ye's eyes flashed, "I'm not as good-looking as them." Come and bring them with you next time. “

"We're just colleagues, so we don't have to come if we want to invite them. How do you want to make friends? Chu Li was a little surprised

"Oh, then I see." Xiao Ye suddenly got up and left.

Grandma was watching Chu Li smile from a distance, Chu Li didn't know what grandma was laughing at, so he had to open his mouth to smile.

"Three bowls of roasted rice, don't you want to!"

Xiao Ye felt as if he had been shot by an arrow, and his body stiffened. A very energetic man walked in quickly. Visually in his 30s, lean, short-haired, wearing a black tank top and jeans. He is in his early 170cm. Sitting at the outermost table with his back to Chu Li.

"Duan Sheng, why are you here, long time no see!" Grandma suddenly became a lot more serious.

What really surprised Chu Li was that a person who came in behind him was the "betel nut man" who Daji was holding at noon.

The two lowered their voices and talked in Cantonese, and they couldn't hear very clearly, but the cowboy man in the vest asked the betel nut man, "Do you like it?" The betel nut man grinned and grinned, and the young man remained silent, his eyes fixed on the table. After a while, Chu Li heard the sound of zippers. The man in the vest took a stack of money and counted it in a hurry.

"A roast goose, 3 bottles of beer." The betel nut man suddenly said to his grandmother.

Grandma respectfully took it over, and the man in the vest glanced at grandma and said, "Let Xiaoye bring it over." ”

Grandma said embarrassedly: "Aren't they all the same, Duan Sheng, how has your luck been lately?" ”

"Let Xiaoye bring it over!" The man in the vest smiled and said again.

Xiao Ye turned around, took grandma's plate, and gently put it on the table. The thin shoulders are extraordinarily straight.

"Why haven't you been here lately?"

"I didn't ...... I don't have time, so I have to help my grandmother look after the store. ”

"Mrs. Ye, are you too busy?" The man in the vest looked at Xiao Ye with his eyes, but he called out his grandmother in his mouth.

"It's a bit busy."

"Isn't it just a guest?" The man in the vest turned around and glanced at Chu Li quickly out of the corner of his eye.

"It's so busy during the day," Grandma quickly explained.

"Come over tomorrow." There is a kind of oppression in the tone of the man in the vest that cannot be refused.

“……”

Chu Li had already eaten, but he had no intention of leaving at all. I asked my grandmother for tea and drank it slowly.

"Xiao Ye, you have to come over to help more, we can't be busy over there. Shortage of manpower. ”

"Well, I'll come over when I have time." Turn around and get ready to go to the kitchen. The man in the vest snapped and slapped Xiao Ye's buttocks. Xiao Ye walked past Chu Li with his head down.

Chu Li felt a burst of blood rush to the top of his head. A wave of anger rushed to his head. Clasp your hands. His eyes looked down at the back of the man in the waistcoat. Grandma walked over, gently pressed her hand on Chu Li's fist, and said, "Is there enough tea, let's go, it'll be closed immediately." ”

If you asked me if it was enough, why did it close immediately? Chu Li felt the tide of his grandmother's hand, and seemed to be very nervous, and his tone revealed that he hoped to leave.

"Let's have another drink, thank you, grandma."

Grandma held Chu Li's fingers tightly, and her eyes were full of urging. Grandma turned around and went to get tea.

The two of them didn't eat much, and after drinking for more than ten minutes, they shouted "Xiao Ye!" ”

Grandma hurriedly asked, "What else do you need?" ”

The vest man continued to shout Xiao Ye.

Xiao Ye walked out of the kitchen, his shoulders shrunk together. Ask, "Brother Duan, what's the matter!" ”

"I know it's called brother, then don't forget, come over tomorrow." Turning to grandma, "Pay the bill!" “

Grandma laughed dryly, "It's okay, I'm in for a treat, haha......"

The man in the vest threw a hundred yuan, glanced at Xiao Ye, and then glanced at Chu Li. Walk away.

Xiao Ye's pale face gradually turned red. Grandma slowed down for a while before scolding: "Ye Sheng, what a fool!" “

Chu Li was silent, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

"Chu Li, I let you go just now, don't you understand?"

"Grandma, are you in trouble?"

"Alas!" Grandma sighed

Xiao Ye suddenly cried and went to the kitchen.

"Let's go back quickly, remember to come to dinner next time." Grandma glanced at the direction of the kitchen and said to Chu Li.

"Xiaoye can't go to a messy place." Chu Li blurted out.

"It's okay, just serving tea and water."

Chu Li didn't know what to say, what grandma said was so light-hearted.

Xiao Ye walked out, his swollen eyes shining with tears, and said, "Thank you, Brother Chu, it is indeed serving tea and water, don't worry." “

"What if you don't go? In today's society under the rule of law, is it still forcing you to fail? ”

Xiao Ye and grandma were silent, and after a long time, grandma suddenly smiled and said, "Chu Li, this is our family matter, don't ask." “

Xiao Ye looked at her grandmother, and then at Chu Li. Hanging his head, the strand of hair behind his ears was like a released tide, instantly submerging most of his face.

When Chu Li came out of the store, it was already close to half past seven, and he was already late for work. took out his mobile phone and asked Yang Hua for leave, suddenly thought of Huang Jing, and felt panicked, and the other end of the phone had been connected: "Xiang Gong, I will take two hours off." ”

Sitting on the bus back, looking at the bustling streets, brightly lit buildings, pedestrians coming and going, and girls wearing heavy makeup. Is this the place to chase your dreams? Xiao Ye is so helpless. Will Huang Jing be happier with that person than with Xiang Yanghua? How important are the answers to these questions to you?

When I arrived at the company to change my clothes and entered the workshop, my mobile phone suddenly rang, and I hurriedly walked out, it was a text message from Chen Jing. Questioning why didn't you see yourself going to eat at Xiao Ye's? Where did you go to pick up girls? Chu Li simply replied. Seeing Xiang Yang Hua and Xiao Gao walking out with a server, they knew that it was down again, so they hurriedly joined the maintenance team. It wasn't completely fixed until it was close to 12 o'clock at dinner time.

One of the biggest advantages of working night shifts is not the night shift allowance, but that after things are done, you can do almost anything you want without violating the company's discipline. Xiang Yang Hua ran to the assembly workshop next door to find the team leader to smoke, saying that he was smoking, basically drinking tea and smoking for two or three hours, after eating, Xiao Gao and Duan Xia were all hiding in the corner and napping, Guo Yiming and Chen Cheng Zhao Xu, Chu Li were on duty in the workshop. said that he was on duty, but in fact, only Zhao Xu was watching the machine, and Chen Cheng was repairing the PCBA. Chu Li had nothing to do, walked to a corner of the machine forest in the workshop, took out a notebook and read the words.

Since he did not sleep during the day, he was very tired from such a blunt shift, and by 2 o'clock, he was already drowsy. The vast majority of manufacturing companies here work night shifts. Everyone has a sleep mechanism, and when the night comes, even if it is as bright as day, the body still honestly tells you that you are tired. So unlike any other city, the workers here are very young, frankly, very young. It shouldn't even be so young. Even many people are under the age of 18, holding their family members' ID cards, and entering the company through channels that are not visible to some enterprises. These energetic young forces can be reversed at will during the day shift and night shifts without obvious burnout and employment moods. Chu Li is already 25 years old, and he is actually too big in this workshop. Under the hypnosis of unfamiliar idiosyncratic words, standing is a little sleepy.

Suddenly, he was tapped on the shoulder, and he turned his head to see the excessively large eyes on the mask staring at him, it was Daji.

"Huang Jing, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing, I didn't say hello to you today, I'm sorry ......"

"It's okay,...... Understandable. Chu Li regretted it after speaking, what do you understand? Is it difficult for a colleague to be a second wife to debunk?

"Do you have my phone number?"

"No, I'm here anyway, if there's anything to do with me, just come to me"

"Give!" Huang Jing handed over a note.

"No need, hehe" Chu Li was embarrassed and at a loss.

"Not really, right?" Huang Jing was stunned by Chu Li's rejection. "Can't you make a friend?"

"No, thank you for telling me the number." Chu Li hurriedly accepted the note.

Huang Jing turned around and left. Chu Li was more surprised that Huang Jing did not have that betel nut smell on his body.

Xiang Yanghua entered the workshop with a residual smell of smoke, followed by Xiao Gao holding a tray of products. Xiang Yang Hua found Chu Li and Guo Yiming and told them that these products were defective products and needed to be scrapped. Chen Chao took Huang Jing to receive these products and went to the innermost end of the workshop. Chu Li and Xiang Yang Hua followed in. A small female worker pushes over a machine, the design is very simple, an impact hammer at the top, a simple fixture at the bottom to fix the product, and a glass cover automatically lowers to isolate people and impact hammers when the machine is started, so as to protect the safety of the operator. Chen Chao returned to his seat after explaining, and introduced that the little girl was named Fan Ming, she and Huang Jing stayed, took out a notebook to Yang Hua, and checked the quantity. Then he said to Huang Jing, "After scrapping, we must update the accounts, the quantity is ......, and the actual quantity is ......."

"Fan Ming and I will do a good job, Chu Li will operate the equipment, okay?" Huang Jing proposed.

"......, okay." glanced at Chu Li at Yang Hua and motioned for him to step forward to operate the equipment.

The scrapping of foreign companies has always been very strict and cautious, if the operation is not proper, the accounts will be lost, which will lead to customs and tax troubles. Moreover, the products have technical secrets, so the scrapping of many special products is carried out in the field. Some companies even ship directly abroad for scrapping.

During the process, Huang Jing kept looking at Xiang Yanghua from time to time with the corner of his eyes, and at Chu Li from time to time. And Chu Li seriously used this equipment for more than 3 hours to scrap.

When he got off work, it was already 7 o'clock in the morning, and when Chu Li came out of the workshop, he was top-heavy and groggy. When he saw Chen Jing, who had long hair fluttering, walking over with white teeth and a smile, he shook his head vigorously.

"Why are you here? Chen Jing? ”

"Go to work, or I'll come to see you?" Smiling like a child, Chen Jing, who had no heart and no lungs, looked very happy.

"I'm here to see you!" Sun Xiaomei appeared from behind. "She's the most active in getting up, you know?"

Chen Jing turned around and hammered Xiaomei on the shoulder with her fist, and Xiaomei laughed and dodged.

Chu Li was completely sleepy in an instant, watching Chen Jing busy changing masks, wearing gloves, carefully tucking her long hair into her hat, running to the mirror to take a look, walking towards the workshop with satisfaction, and quietly looking back at Chu Li, her eyes were shining.

Huang Jing didn't know where to come from, "Do you like the type?" ”

"What?"

"Don't play stupid, I see your eyes are straight." Huang Jing's mask had been removed, and he covered his mouth with his hand and smiled. Mysteriously elbowed Chu Li, "I think the little girl is really beautiful!" Both sisters are beautiful! Do you know his sister? It's called Chen Si, and many people are chasing him. “

"Why aren't you off work yet?"

"You'll give me a call later." Huang Jing put away his smile and tilted his head to look at Chu Li, the kind of side face with a 45-degree angle, with a hint of waiting.

"Okay." Chu Li knew that she had something to explain about yesterday's Houjie unexpectedly.

When I go out, the harsh sunlight makes it difficult to open my eyes. Chu Li went to the residence in a groggy state, breakfast was still dinner, he had no appetite, and fell asleep. I don't know when, the alarm clock rang, when I opened my eyes, I was shocked, I picked up my phone and looked, it was 5 o'clock, I quickly cleaned up, found the note given by Huang Jing, and was just about to dial it, but the phone shook and rang.

"Why haven't you called so late? I thought you would call after work, so that I could invite you to dinner," Huang Jingle said hehehe, "so I will save money for inviting you to dinner." ”

"You don't need to eat, are you okay?"

"Why didn't you tell Xiang Yanghua? That way he won't bother me anymore. Huang Jing said ill-intentionedly.

"Do you need me to tell him? You can tell him yourself! “

There was a silence on the phone ......, "You're right, you college students just have good brains." I have nothing to say."

Chu Li didn't know what to say, so he simply didn't say anything.

"Do you know who that person is? He gives me money every month, and I just have to spend the weekend with him. “

"You don't have to tell me, everyone has the right to have a boyfriend."

"What are you pretending? Do you know he's not my boyfriend, is there anyone looking for that kind of boyfriend? You look down on me and say it directly, don't pretend to be high-minded. Aren't you all the same? "The phone was getting louder and louder.

Chu Li looked out the window, the wind was blowing, and the leaves of the camphor tree were hitting the edge of the window, making a rattling sound.

"I'm sorry, I didn't look down on you. Don't be angry, I won't tell Xiang Yanghua. “

"You can tell whoever you want, I didn't call you to ask you to help me keep it a secret."

"Then you call me?"

......" suddenly there was another silence "It's nothing, so be it." Huang Jing hung up the phone.

Do you look down on her? Absolutely not, not even a little disgusted, the only thing to worry about is Xiao Ye. The identity of the betel nut man should actually be asked, even if it is for Xiaoye, he should know a little more. I regretted it slightly, but I guess Huang Jing wouldn't be willing to say it again.

It was a long time before I received a call from Huang Jing again.

The streets of Dongguan are prosperous and lively, and the large and complex foreign population makes the food and living culture diverse. Dongguan has a permanent population of more than 8 million, and the registered population is less than 2 million, accounting for more than 20 percent, and the foreign population accounts for nearly 80 percent. According to unofficial statistics, Hunan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Henan, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangxi, AH, HLJ, XJ, Mongolia, BJ, Shanghai, Fujian, and the most surprising thing is that there are more than 100,000 people living in Dongguan in Hong Kong.

Houjie is the most special, and it is called Ermao Street. As the name suggests, there is a flood of places of sound and sex, and many container truck drivers in Hong Kong like to spend money to raise mistresses in Houjie, but it is not very easy for buyers and sellers to catch the strings, there are generally middlemen, and often such middlemen have Pengda's network, they are different from ordinary nightclub bustards, often group. The people who take the second wife are not necessarily businessmen and rich people, many of them are ordinary middle-aged men in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, who live a rich life and don't like to take risks. Therefore, it is more suitable for young and beautiful and simple working girls, but not every middle-aged man who comes to hunt colors can know a young girl who is willing to date. It is said that they all have one - the guide.