The Pentium Era - South to North

"He is right. My father, two sisters, and one brother, we do have a big family to support." Jiajia looked at Zhang Chen and said, "When I agreed to marry him, he agreed to help me support my family. , he has indeed done this for so many years, and he has never taken back a penny from his own family."

"When I was in junior high school, my father was crushed by a stone. He was helping his boss collect stones in a quarry. A large piece of stone fell down, killing one and injuring two others. The boss of the quarry ran away. I didn't pay a penny for medical expenses. My father saved his life because I went to relatives' houses and borrowed money from door to door. My life was saved, but I was paralyzed and couldn't even get out of bed.

"Two younger sisters and one younger brother are still in elementary school, and I am the only one who relies on me at home. I have no choice but to not go to school. I take care of my father at home while also raising my younger brother and younger sister. Our place is full of mountains. There is very little land and life is very difficult. The family simply cannot survive on what little there is in the land.”

"Where's your mother?" Zhang Chen asked.

"She was working outside. Knowing this, she didn't even return home. She ran away with another man and no one knows where she went." Jiajia said, "I had no choice but to go out and find a job. Then When I was fifteen years old, I had never even been to the town, so I had no idea what it was like outside. I knew there was work to do in the county town, so I walked all day and night by myself before reaching the county town.

"When I arrived in the county, I didn't know how to find a job, and I didn't know anyone. It's funny. I walked past the shops on the street and saw the word "recruitment" hanging on the door. I didn't know they were recruiting people. , I don’t know the word ‘hiring’, and I don’t know that recruiting means recruiting people. I won’t know until you write “recruiting” or “hiring”.

"At that time, it was my first time to go out and I was timid. When I arrived in the county, I thought why this place was so big and the houses were so nice. It was probably the biggest and best place in the world. Hmm, look at it now, it's all in tatters. Yes, I didn’t even dare to ask people at that time.

"Later I was so hungry and tired that I couldn't walk any more. I was sitting next to a fruit stall and almost fainted. The auntie selling fruit was very nice. She felt sorry for my little girl and gave me two to eat. A banana makes people better. That was the first time I ate a banana in my life. Isn’t it funny?

“That aunt knew that I was looking for something to do, and she told me that those shops with cardboard signs saying ‘recruitment’ hanging on the door were looking for people.

"I found a hotel and worked as a handyman, washing dishes and vegetables. In the first month, I didn't get any salary. I just ate and lived in the hotel at night. From the second month on, I only earned 18 yuan a month. I got my salary and mailed it home. I didn’t keep a penny, but I was very happy, thinking that my family finally had food to eat and could survive.”

"Did we meet Jianqiang in that restaurant?" Zhang Chen asked.

"No, he worked in the restaurant behind me. I was no longer a busboy at that time, but a waiter. He has been pursuing me and said he wanted to marry me. I told him about my family situation, and he promised to be with me. I only agreed to this to support my family.”

"You just went to register?"

"What are you registering for? No one in our place registers their marriages. They just call a few relatives over, and they get married once they have dinner. Jianqiang just stepped in. During the meal, no one from his family came."

Zhang Chen understood, and asked: "Then why did you come to Haicheng again?"

"The money is not enough. My father needs medical treatment, my younger brothers and sisters need to study and eat, and we have to pay off the debt we incurred when I rescued my father. Just the two of us, our combined monthly salary is 100 yuan." If not, there won’t be enough. One of his senior brothers opened a restaurant here and wrote a letter asking us two to help. He also said that the wages here are high, so we came.

"When we got here, his senior brother's restaurant was closed, and no one knew where he was."

Zhang Chen knew what happened next. He thought, it was really not easy for these two people. What Liu Ligan did was too fucked up.

"What's next? Are you really not going to live with Jianqiang?" Zhang Chen asked Jiajia.

"If you don't live with him, who will you live with? Will Brother Ganzi want me? Humph, I never thought about it. It's okay. Brother Zhang Chen, don't worry. I won't rely on Brother Ganzi."

"That was not what I meant."

"It's not the first time we've had an argument. We're used to it. It's okay, brother Zhang Chen."

Zhang Chen stood up, went to pour a glass of water for Jiajia, and handed it to Jiajia when he came back. When Jiajia saw it, he quickly took his feet out of the cushion and put them on the ground, and sat down to pick them up.

As soon as Jiajia's feet moved, there was a squeaking sound. Zhang Chen was shocked. He saw a red rope on Jiajia's ankle. There were two bells on the red rope. Zhang Chen stared at the two bells. , it feels familiar.

Jiajia saw Zhang Chen staring at the bell on her ankle, smiled, and said to Zhang Chen: "It's cute, my guests all like this bell, Brother Zhanzi also likes it very much, so I wear it." "

As Jiajia spoke, she straightened her legs and shook them twice, squeaking...

Zhang Chen suddenly remembered everything. That night turned out not to be a dream. He remembered that he was so drunk that the security guard handed him over to Jiajia, who was just at the elevator entrance about to go downstairs. Jiajia seemed to be taking him with her, and then After taking the elevator, he was helped into the room and placed on the bed.

Zhang Chen stood up. He looked at Jiajia and said incoherently: "Jiajia, one night at Wanghai Tower, I drank too much. By the way, it was the security guard who helped me up to the guest room above, right? Did I meet you at the elevator entrance...?"

"Yeah, that's right." Jiajia said, "The security guard handed you over to me, and I helped you into the room. Haha, the room number you told me was still wrong, and I ended up in someone else's room. I was Look at the key tag and you’ll find the right one.”

"Then shall we still..." Zhang Chen looked at Jiajia and his face turned pale. He said half of the sentence and could no longer say it.

Jiajia knew what Zhang Chen wanted to say, so she nodded.

"I... I was all fragmented." Zhang Chen murmured, "Why didn't you tell me later?"

"Tell you what, you made a mistake that day and always thought of me as Sister Lili." Jiajia looked at Zhang Chen with a smile in her eyes and continued: "However, I am very happy. I am very happy that you recognized the wrong person, Zhang Brother Chen, I like you too."

Zhang Chen was completely confused and stood there at a loss. Jiajia looked at him and seemed to understand something. Her eyes darkened: "I understand, brother Zhang Chen, do you dislike me?"

"No, no, I am... you are very good, really, Jiajia, you are very good!" After Zhang Chen said this, he turned around quickly and walked out.

He hurriedly returned to Liu Ligan's room. Liu Ligan and Wenwen were sitting on the edge of the bed. Wenwen was covering Liu Ligan's eyes with a wet towel.

Zhang Chen sat down opposite them, looked at Liu Ligan, and didn't know what to say. His own mind was still in a mess.

After a long time, Zhang Chen asked: "Gangzi, do you like Jiajia?"

Before Liu Ligan spoke, Wenwen shouted: "How is it possible? Brother Ganzi likes me."

Liu Ligan glanced at Wenwen and cursed: "Don't talk nonsense, I don't like anyone."

Wenwen was so angry that she took a towel and slapped Liu Ligan's eyes, causing Liu Ligan to scream in pain.

"I don't like you either. You are just a toy that Qianqian and I play with every day." Wenwen cursed. After she finished cursing, she turned and walked out.

After a while, Xiao Wu and Jian Qiang came out of Wenwen and Qianqian's room together. Jian Qiang went back to his room. Xiao Wu walked in and asked, "What's wrong with Wen Wen? When he got back to the room, he Jianqiang and I were kicked out?"

"Ask him." Zhang Chen pointed at Liu Ligan and said angrily.

Liu Ligan looked at Zhang Chen and Xiao Wu, but said nothing. Xiao Wu cursed: "I'm too lazy to ask. This rabbit even eats the grass beside the nest. It deserves a bad end. If I were Jianqiang, I would have chopped him into pieces." .”

Zhang Chen himself was really embarrassed to face Jiajia again, but today's matter cannot be solved unless it is resolved, otherwise something will happen if they leave. Zhang Chen thought for a while and said to Xiao Wu, "Xiao Wu, please help me." Go and call Jianqiang over.

Xiao Wu walked out, and after a while, Jianqiang followed Xiao Wu in. Xiao Wu took a stool and asked Jianqiang to sit on it. He sat next to Liu Ligan, where Wenwen originally sat.

Zhang Chen and Liu Ligan said, "Gangzi, today we all must speak clearly. From today on, you promise not to flirt with Jiajia again. Can you fucking do it?"

Liu Li lowered his head and nodded.

Zhang Chen looked at Jianqiang again and said, "Jianqiang, for the sake of Xiao Wu and I, let's just forget about today's incident, okay?"

Jianqiang said angrily: "Okay, I will listen to Brother Zhang Chen."

"How can such a good thing happen?" Xiao Wu looked at Jianqiang, then looked at Liu Ligan and said, "Give money to others."

Liu Ligan sat still and said nothing. Xiaowu reached out and took out Liu Ligan's wallet from his butt pocket, opened it, and handed the wad of money inside to Jianqiang without even counting it. , Jianqiang shrank back, and Zhang Chen shouted:

"Take it, Jianqiang."

After calling out, Zhang Chen himself was stunned for a moment, cursing himself in his mind: "Damn it, shouldn't you be giving money to others too!?"