1999

Wu Jiusheng made a total of "night visits" like that for Jiujiu barbecue four times, until the word "barbecue" on the signboard at the front of the store was removed by the electric welders, sparks were everywhere, and there was a lot of noise.

People watching the excitement nearby also gathered one after another.They didn't know what happened to Mr. Hu, the owner of the barbecue restaurant. They only heard that the barbecue restaurant had closed down, and they thought that Huda was going to move to another place. They only saw the piles of old tables and chairs being transported. When I got out, I asked the small truck used to recycle old appliances to tow away, and saw a new truck, and the unloading workers brought in several lengths of long steel pipes bundled together, and I didn't know what they were used for.

A few days later, when the rolling door in front was completely closed again, the barbecue shop had completely changed its appearance.

The first floor has been repainted, and the place where the tables and chairs used to be placed in the lobby is completely vacant. There are several steel structure shelves that reach the height of the ceiling. There is a second-hand printer attached to the computer, and behind the registration desk are rows of glass cabinets stacked against the wall. Now all the shelves and cabinets are empty, and there is no way to see that the empty room will be used. What's the use.

With one arm hanging in the plaster, Hu Da ignored the inquiring and complicated eyes of the people outside the door, and set up a simple light box signboard that had just been made against the front door, plugged in the electricity, and the words "Pingxiang Express Collection Point" lit up. up.The crowd looked at me and I looked at you. The disgust that crawled into the eyes when Huda appeared in a big way earlier was uncontrollably replaced by deep doubts.

At the same time, Wu Jiusheng squeezed into the crowded cafeteria of the electronics factory with a dozen freshly printed leaflets in his arms.

"A new courier collection point in Life Street?" The workers whispered the latest news, and the few who needed it were so anxious that they didn't even eat. Wu Jiusheng, who stood up and distributed the leaflets, chased after him In the past, he was surrounded by water.

"This collection point really provides courier collection services? Any courier will do?"

"Is it true that you don't need money, just give the registration phone number?"

"Working hours are from [-]:[-] am to [-]:[-] pm every day. What if you don't pick it up after [-]:[-] pm?"

"Do you need a deposit, do you need personal information, will there be a file record when you sign for the express delivery, and what if you lose it?"

Questions like these rushed into Wu Jiusheng's ears in an instant. He hastily spread out the three-fold leaflet in his hand and gestured towards those people.On the back of the leaflet was densely packed text. Wu Jiusheng had already prepared for the questions just now, and he had written all the answers in advance.

The Pingxiang express collection point receives deliveries from all the express companies currently in operation in Shenzhen, and provides express collection and storage services for workers in all factory areas. Workers do not need to pay fees or do any prior information entry. They are only used for online shopping. Fill in the address of the package at the collection point and leave personal information. After the express delivery receives the SMS notification, take your personal ID card to the collection point. After confirming that the identity information matches the recipient's information, you can pick up the package.The free storage time for each express is 24 hours, and a late payment fee of one yuan will be charged for express delivery exceeding the time. In addition, all losses caused by lost items and broken packaging will be compensated by the collection point according to the price.

When the workers heard this, their eyes lit up.Is there such a good thing?Working for others without spending money, and being able to compensate according to the price, and just in time for this juncture, really solved their urgent need.

A few impatient ones, unwilling to wait even a second longer, grabbed Wu Jiusheng's arm and asked him where the address of the collection point was.

"It's Life Street. Cross the bridge on the other side of the river and turn to the second alley. There is a red signboard. It turns out to be a barbecue shop, Jiujiu BBQ."

Hearing the young man's words, the roommate who was closest to him and the most energetic was taken aback for a moment.

"Jiujiu barbecue? Isn't that just Hu..." The words were cut off in the middle of the mouth, and Wu Jiusheng's scrutinizing eyes did not know whether to say it or not.

Rumors about Hu Da and him have spread throughout the small land of Ping Township in the past few weeks, and everyone who works in the surrounding factories knows about it.The specific details vary, but at least everyone can be sure that the owner of the Jiujiu Barbecue restaurant was caught doing rough things with a man in the wild. Not the same, I don't like girls.

Originally, Wu Jiusheng lived on the second floor of Huda's store, which also attracted a lot of criticism, but recently he has made meritorious service, the topic has changed, and people have returned to live in the dormitory, and they have to look up with others all day long. Don't look down, everyone sees that there is nothing unusual about him, gradually forgetting that fact, and now Wu Jiusheng himself has rediscovered it, and it always feels weird to his ears.

"I said, didn't you all move out? How come you still can't figure it out with that person?" The roommate persuaded kindly, fearing that the young man's nerves would be too rough, and he wouldn't know if he stepped on the thunder. Haven't you heard about him?"

"Have you heard? What have you heard?" Wu Jiusheng put on a calm look, and asked without blushing, "I don't care what's going on outside? I'm following Boss Hu now, and I'm making money. Why should I fight with money?" make life difficult for?"

As soon as his words came out, the eyes of the few people who had strange expressions just now changed.

Earn money, those are three sensitive words, money is such a good thing, who doesn't want it, but they didn't understand it for a while, how can they still make money by following Hu Da?

"Collect it on behalf of me," the young man tucked the unfinished leaflets under his arm, and raised his chin proudly at the people in front of him, "I've become a shareholder—!"

Share? !People's eyes instantly focused on the young man.

The young man nodded.

"I have a share of the collection point. I think it's a good idea. It just so happened that Boss Hu was short on hand, so he invested all the bonus from the factory last time and the salary that was just started on the 15th of this month. , According to the agreement, all the revenue of the collection point will be distributed to me in proportion. Boss Hu is generous. I only need to take care of the publicity. He does all the pre-decoration and operation work himself. You can still get the money, but you can’t hang out with him? I still plan to hug this thigh, is there any problem?”

What he said was so natural, and the little thought of being lazy, greedy for cheap and wanting to make money was written in his eyes, no one could refute it, let alone have any doubts.

Yes, what Wu Jiusheng said is also right, Boss Hu just likes men is weird, but so what, he doesn’t eat people, before that, he had to open a shop in Pingxiang by himself It's been more than five years, hasn't anything happened?Why don't you make money if you have money?

The words had already been thrown out, and Wu Jiusheng was very satisfied to observe the changes in the expressions of several spectators. Become an aboveboard business partner.Now everyone knows that Wu Jiusheng invested a "huge sum" of 1 yuan in order to start a small business. There are many legitimate reasons to sell Hu Da's collection point. Going to Life Street to find him does not need to deceive people. Tatsu couldn't fault it.

At the end of the day, Wu Jiusheng repeated the above statement to different people and did not know how many times.By the time they got off work, almost half of the workers in the electronics factory knew the news that a new shop offering courier collection services would soon be opened in Life Street.

When people heard the good news, they were very happy for a moment, but after the joy passed, they seemed to understand——

It is clearly agreed that the collection point will provide all services for free, how can you still make money back?Isn't it a loss that there are no pants left?

Wu Jiusheng ignored those doubts.Of course, he's not a fool, how could he make fun of Huda and the bonus he had worked so hard to get?

The free service provided by the collection point is just a cover, as a means of attracting early passenger flow, first of all, to reduce people's vigilance against Huda, so that workers are willing to walk into that store.

In the remodeled collection point of the barbecue restaurant, Wu Jiusheng posted Huda’s health certificate in the most conspicuous position, and there is a row of test reports from third-level hospitals below, as long as the person who comes to pick up the courier checks his identity information in Huda When I was in a daze with nothing to do, I looked around, and it was easy to notice the row of report cards.

He had to let people know that Huda was doing well, that there was nothing wrong with him.

Then there is the shipping service provided by the collection point.Wu Jiusheng talked with several couriers who were in charge of the courier delivery in Pingxiang before, and collected a lot of business cards and phone numbers. Wu Jiusheng is enthusiastic, smart, and sweet-mouthed. He had mixed up with those couriers earlier. He was a familiar face, and several people revealed to him that the courier will receive a commission calculated according to the number of packages when picking up and receiving orders. If he is in charge of a region, there will be a total quarterly turnover commission based on the order situation in the region.In the past, the workers in Ping Township used the money they earned to buy things and send them home. They usually took them to a long-distance bus or a courier near the train station to send them away. Most of the employees only leave a WeChat account while delivering the express to promote their door-to-door pick-up service. Now that all factories have introduced new access control measures, it is even more difficult for them to expand their performance.But after having a collection point, it will be different. If a large number of couriers will flood into the collection point in a short period of time, Hu Da and the others can use the counted number of signed orders to ask various courier companies for delivery. Offer a contract wholesale price that is far below the market price.Once the workers of each factory get used to the service of the collection point and develop the habit of visiting regularly, when they have any needs to send items, they will naturally bring the items to be sent directly to the collection point according to their habits. Click to send the order.

The collection point can not only earn the price difference, but also according to the prior agreement, put all the signed orders into the name of the courier in charge of the local area, and get their quarterly rebates.

Although Ping Township's economic conditions are backward, the advantage is that the number of workers is very large, and almost all of them are foreigners from all over the country. Most of them have the need to carry things and give gifts to their hometown from time to time. , Just looking at the flow of various parcels, the potential is huge. Although there is no statistics on the specific business scale that can be eaten by the collection point and the final reserve price that can be negotiated, Wu Jiusheng always has a hunch that then It will be a very exciting number.

Of course, he will not disclose all this to others at will, even Huda, he has not explained it carefully.

The business had just started, and although the man had made all the preparations after listening to his words, his uneasy expression was written on his face all day long. Wu Jiusheng knew that Hu Da was not used to this fast-paced mode of operation, and he also knew that he was very worried about it. attempts will fail,

Wu Jiusheng didn't like that kind of worried temperament appearing on Hu Da's body. He pressed all the figures corresponding to costs and profits in the bottom of his heart, and wanted to wait for the dust to settle and the business to be on track before giving Hu Da a surprise.

The Pingxiang express collection point officially opened for business on that Wednesday, and Wu Jiusheng was also there. He arrived every morning before the work number rang on the radio, personally confirmed all the details, and hurried back.

The young man squatted down to inspect every row of shelves and counters. Standing behind those shelves, Huda was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear.

He had been unable to figure out what the glass cabinets that the young man specially told him to prepare were for, and then he realized that Wu Jiusheng had arranged the one-third of the space behind the registration desk as a simple small shop. shop.

There are not many items for sale, but they are all the most frequently consumed items by workers living in Ping Township - all kinds of beverages, snacks, instant food such as instant noodles, beer, and body wash and shampoo. daily necessities.They are placed at the back of the large shelves at a glance, and just a few minutes of waiting for the express to be picked up, can help ordinary people rely on the two kinds of "just take two steps less" or "see what you want to buy by the way". If the mentality steals half of the business of the Life Street Supermarket, it will be another income.

Hu Da couldn't figure out where the youth came up with so many ghost ideas.At present, they have not obtained a license to sell tobacco products. The young man mentioned it to him once. After the application is approved, he must buy another batch of cigarettes to sell. There is no need to worry about no sales. In the future, he plans to sell the remaining vacant cabinets Prepare some gift-packed local specialties in the store, so that workers in need can buy them directly and send them away on the spot.

"Needs are all created by people. When people are alive, there will always be various needs. We are the people who live in this place, and we know better than anyone else what is going on in the minds of people here. We just need to find a way Satisfy them one by one, and you won’t worry about no business.”

It was just a sentence casually mentioned by the young man at a certain inadvertent moment. When he said that, the young man still had fried noodles cooked by Huda himself in his mouth. But it was full of flashes of infinite longing for the future, making his whole face bright.That youthful, fiery energy was like a torch, and Huda felt as if he was sitting next to the fire, feeling dazzling and warm all over.

At this moment, he was standing alone at the door of the newly opened collection point, watching the back of the young man bluffing away and rushing to check in, with infinitely complicated emotions.

There is no doubt about the mountains and rivers, but it seems that everything is not so terrible.Even Hu Da wondered if he had stayed with Wu Jiusheng for too long, and he had also been infected with the naivety of youthful recklessness, as if as long as he said that there was no problem, everything would really be the same.His whole body and mind seemed to be riding in the wind, lightly, and ran behind the young man's buttocks, like the long tail of a kite floating in the sky, wherever the wind took him, he would settle there go.

For the first time in his thirties, he felt light and free.It would be nice if there was someone else around.

Huda would not admit it, and his joy also longed to be shared by one person, leaving all the risks and money aside, what he wanted most was to be upright, without using any reason to cover up, with his loved ones. People standing shoulder to shoulder.

God has given him so many extra things, Huda knew that he was getting greedy.

Wu Jiusheng sat in the dormitory and listened to a worker in the same workshop mention the grand occasion of the first week of operation of the collection point.Although there are still discussions about Huda, but the need is right in front of them, and the physical examination report confirms Huda's health. People can't bear the exchange of just a few minutes caused by just picking up one or two couriers.

More and more people have started to use the service of collection points, and even the downwind business of small shops is doing well.

At this time, those who knew Wu Jiusheng understood what he meant by "doing business in partnership with Boss Hu". With a regretful face, he lamented why he couldn't turn his mind so fast, and missed the opportunity to invest in Huda's collection point for nothing.

Wu Jiusheng just smiled and didn't respond too much.In the eyes of outsiders, he just got on a ride with the friendship he had rented in Huda's house in the past. The word money is too exciting, and it is strong enough to blur everyone's focus. Wu Jiusheng Now that he wants to leave the factory and go to the living street to find Hu Da, he no longer needs to choose a time when the night is quiet, and he has to climb over the wall and go through the back door.

He was carrying a plastic bag of fruit, humming a song as he walked, and went there in a fair manner.

Hu Da didn't expect the young man to come suddenly. When Wu Jiusheng walked in, he had just checked a row of boxes on the shelf, and sat down to continue the work he hadn't finished before.

Hu Da was doing calculations. Unlike Wu Jiusheng, he was always insensitive to things like numbers, and he started to get dizzy and headache after only a few calculations.But if you don't want to do it, you have to stick to it - in front of him, there is a list of service prices for the nursing home.

He didn't forget about Ye Hao.

The nursing home that Lin Jianhua found for Ye Hao in Dongguan charged staggering fees. The pre-payment fee for the stay alone started at 20 yuan, and there was a fixed fee of more than 2 yuan per month. Filled with black money, it is simply impossible to afford it.

At present, the verdict of Lin Jianhua has not yet come down. Hu Da secretly inquired about it from Yan Tian. After Hu Da was released from prison, the first problem he had to face was to transfer Ye Hao to another hospital.

He found a relatively affordable rehabilitation center in Pingxi Community not far away. He needs to pay a deposit of 1 yuan to check in. The monthly fee after formal occupancy is about [-] yuan, but he needs to pay half a year in a lump sum.The distance between Pingxi Community and Ping Township is moderate, which is convenient for Hu Da to take care of both sides, and he can also take time to visit once in a while, but the charging standard of [-] is not much, and it is not something that can be taken generously without consideration. number.

Hu Da has been running a small restaurant in Ping Township for five years, and has some savings on hand, but after deducting the one-time payment for the rehabilitation center, there is not much left.Although the current form of collection points looks good, there are still many uncertainties. After the savings are exhausted, he will have to bear such a large amount of expenses every six months. He has no idea and doesn't know if he can do it.

Wu Jiusheng approached him quietly, saw Hu Da's frowning face, bent down, poked two fingers between Hu Da's brows, and gently, little by little, smoothed out those wrinkles. smoothen.

Huda was startled by him, and grabbed the young man's hand.Wu Jiusheng was grinning, his fingertips were stained with the water sprayed on the surface of some fresh fruits, which was cold, and Huda pinched them one by one in the palm of his hand.

"What are you thinking about?" Wu Jiusheng asked.

He saw the price list, also saw Huda's passbook and account book, and guessed the connection, but he didn't care about those, he just didn't want to see Huda's expression.

He remembered that Huda used to always say things like "it's okay, just leave it to me", that's not good, no one is omnipotent forever, everyone is weak, just Because of this, I need to find someone to accompany me through my life.

"Didn't you ask me before, what are the customs in my hometown?" He suddenly sat directly opposite Hu Da, and said to Hu Da with his chin in his hands.

Huda was a little taken aback.Yes, he asked, the day after the two had delivered each other's bodies for the first time in the small room on the second floor of the barbecue shop.

He was the young man's first man, so when he asked, he had the feeling of wanting to marry someone in a big sedan chair.

"Actually, it's not that complicated," Wu Jiusheng replied, "First of all, we need to prepare sugar and cigarettes, and bring them to the villagers in the village to deliver them door to door. We also need to make dumplings. Everyone has to get one. Eating it is considered a blessing. To set up a running water banquet, according to the specification, there are one-day to three-day banquets. Sometimes people from neighboring villages will come over, and the food can’t be repeated in three days. A special performance team has to be invited to perform on the spot, so that everyone can have a good time. , You have to manage enough alcohol and drink, so come on as lively as you want."

Hu Da nodded, imagining the scene of the flowing water banquet described by the young man in a somewhat ignorant way, and he was afraid that it would be quite lively.

"Uncle——I told you everything." Wu Jiusheng blew on Hu Da's face, and knocked on the desktop where the receipts were spread out in disorder, "Don't you, don't you have a wife?"

Huda's face became embarrassed.He lowered his eyes in embarrassment, scratched his forehead, and didn't know what to say for a while.

The young man sitting across from him grinned, and with a slight movement, he smiled.

"You're stupid," he giggled, poking Huda's red and hot face with his heated fingers, "You don't marry a wife, what do you want your wife to do."

Huda glanced at him.

Wu Jiusheng's expression didn't change at all, he looked into Hu Da's eyes, as if afraid that he wouldn't believe it, he repeated it seriously.

"You don't need to marry a wife."

"But..." Hu Da's words were cut off in half.

Because at some point the young man got off the stool and stood up, the tip of his nose stuck in front of his eyes, and his two hands cupped both sides of his face.

"What are you thinking, Uncle Hu. I am your man, and I have been for a long time."

Huda was speechless.There was a kiss, it silently disappeared between the lips, accompanied by the sudden heartbeat in the chest, it appeared in the blue sky and white day with a heinous posture, not afraid of death.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze.

The life street on the weekend was empty, and the workers all ran to the city for leisure and play. In the narrow alley, there was only the noise of the air conditioner and insects, and the gate was half-closed. Face, the world is quiet, no one notices the lover's lust.