Lin Qile asked Yu Qiao what being laid off meant.
Yu Qiao said that being laid off means no longer having a job provided by the government: "Didn't Qin Yeyun's father get laid off?"
Lin Qile thought for a while and said, "Why not let Uncle Wang open a small shop at the construction site?"
"My dad said that Uncle Qin's situation was special and he stayed because the construction site took special care of him," Yu Qiao said. "Also, there was already a small shop on the construction site, so it was impossible to open another one. We can only say that Uncle Wang was unlucky."
Bad luck, Lin Qile thought. "Luck" is such a cruel word.
"My dad also lent him money," Yu Qiao said, "I don't know when he will come to borrow money again."
Uncle Wang first came to the construction site in June. In July, he called Electrician Lin and told him that he had arrived in Guangxi and had made his first small business.
"Brother Lin!" Uncle Wang was overjoyed on the phone, no longer depressed when he came to Lin's house that day, "Thank you and sister-in-law for lending me the money that day, including the principal and interest, and the money for my dishwashing liquid. I will return it all to you when I return to Qunshan next week!"
He was so happy. Electrician Lin was still a little confused when he heard the phone call.
Electrician Lin asked, "Did you really make money?" He said, "No, no interest. What interest is there for two of us brothers? You don't have to pay for the dishwashing liquid either. Your sister-in-law said that your dishwashing liquid is quite useful."
Uncle Wang said on the phone, "Brother Lin, don't push it. Don't I know that you and your sister-in-law work so hard on the construction site to earn so little money? Life is hard and tiring for those working in the power construction industry. I bought a set of imported cosmetics for your sister-in-law from Guangxi, just to make up for the last time I suddenly asked you to borrow money!"
Uncle Wang made money in Guangxi. He was a laid-off worker who was considered unlucky by everyone, and he became a serious businessman with a mobile phone and a car. Lin Qile sat on the heating pipe on the roadside, drinking grape juice and watching Jiang Qiaoxi and Yu Qiao play football. The electric construction workers who came and went behind him were all talking about Uncle Wang.
Jiang Qiaoxi played football for a while and started sweating. He simply sat down next to Lin Qile.
"You didn't bring any water?" he asked her.
Lin Qile shook her head. Seeing that Jiang Qiaoxi even had sweat on his eyelashes, she handed him the grape juice in her hand.
Jiang Qiaoxi took it and gulped down the remaining half bottle of Lin Qile's.
A group of kids went to the construction site store to buy water. Before they even entered the store, they heard people talking inside.
Uncle Qin asked, "How much money did he make?"
"I don't know," said the customer who came to buy cigarettes. "I heard that after this business trip, he will go to the provincial capital to buy a house when he comes back!"
Lin Qile walked into this secluded small shop. Yu Qiao had said before that Uncle Qin had a special situation and was "lucky" to be able to contract such a small shop on the company's construction site.
But when Lin Qile looked at Uncle Qin's situation, he didn't think he was very lucky.
Construction is a dangerous business that kills and injures hundreds of people every year.
Uncle Qin is one of them. He suffered a work-related injury and became disabled in his left leg. Not only did he lose his job, but his family was also broken up.
If it weren't for Yu Qiao's father saying a lot of good things and using his connections to get things done, Uncle Qin probably wouldn't even have the chance to stay on the construction site and open a small shop.
Uncle Qin always wanted to cure his leg and return to work. He went to the hospital for treatment every two weeks, spending a lot of his savings, but his leg could not be cured.
By the time Lin Qile met him, he had stopped going to the hospital. He practiced Qigong to cure his illnesses every day, just like the local residents in Qunshan.
One day before the summer vacation, Uncle Wang returned home in glory. He parked his car at the intersection near Lin's house. Uncle Wang was wearing a nice suit and no longer carrying Amway products, but tea and imported cosmetics. He had lunch at Lin Qile's house.
Lin Qile sat in front of her house, chewing a large piece of Lipu taro, which Uncle Wang had brought from Guangxi. Her mother called her from inside the house, saying that the taro had been steamed more and asked her to take some to each of her uncles and aunts.
Uncle Wang said, "Brother Lin, I went to several construction sites to borrow money. To be honest, among so many colleagues, only you guys were willing to lend me money. I have learned a little bit about Guangxi. Look at the accommodation conditions on the construction site, brick and tile bungalows. You and your sister-in-law will not make much money in your lifetime with Cherry, and Cherry is still so young—"
Electrician Lin hesitated and said, "You want to..."
Uncle Wang said, "I'm thinking that I'll need manpower when I do business in Guangxi. I don't trust other people, let alone our own family! I'm absolutely confident in the character of you and Brother Yu! Do you want to work hard on the construction site for the rest of your life, or do you want to go out and try your luck together?"
Lin Qile was carrying Lipu taro towards Cai Fangyuan's house when he heard Cai Fangyuan's mother say, "Yingtao said she wanted to buy a trip to Mount Tai, but you bought it. Lin Haifeng didn't buy one himself?"
Uncle Cai sighed and said, "No. That's why I feel a little embarrassed."
Cai Fangyuan's mother laughed: "This Lin Haifeng, he has suffered all the losses. He finally gave birth to a smart daughter, but he still can't get any credit!"
Uncle Wang finished his meal and was leaving. Mother Lin said, "Cherry, come and see Uncle Wang off."
Lin Qile walked over and thanked Uncle Wang for the toys and imported schoolbag he gave her.
Uncle Wang touched her hair and looked up and said, "Brother Lin, when you figure it out, call me again!"
That night, Lin Qile was sleeping in the small room. Through the big closet, she heard her father and mother discussing something in a low voice.
Mom sighed softly, and Dad smiled from time to time to comfort her.
Lin Qile woke up in the middle of the night and found that his father was still awake.
Electrician Lin was sitting by the bed, reading a book by the light of a small lamp. Seeing his daughter getting up, he asked, "Are there mosquitoes?"
Lin Yingtao shook her head and walked to her father.
The book Dad was reading was called Steppenwolf, and the spine had a Workers' Library label on it. Lin Yingtao sat in his arms and read along, but she started to feel sleepy after reading half a sentence.
The next morning, Electrician Lin and his wife got up early again to go to work. Lin Qile was about to take her final exams, and her father asked her to read the textbooks more before the exams and not just play around.
"Dad," Lin Qile asked, "are you going to Guangxi too?"
Electrician Lin had his work badge hung around his neck. After hearing this, he squatted down.
"Dad won't go," Lin the electrician said to her, his eyes drooping and apologetically smiling. He asked, "Cherry, do you have enough pocket money recently?"
"Enough for spending." Lin Yingtao replied.
Electrician Lin smiled and nodded.
Lin Yingtao said, "Dad, how about we have Nanjing duck tonight?"
"Okay," Lin the electrician agreed, "I'll go buy it after work today, but I don't know if the pressed duck chef will come."
Lin Qile held her father's hand and walked to the intersection before going to school with her friends.
In the summer of 2000, Jiang Qiaoxi did not plan to go back to the provincial capital. He planned to stay at his cousin's house in Hong Kong for a while, and then return to Qunshan City.
After he left, Lin Qile became idle and could never muster the energy to play with Yu Qiao and the others.
She read the comic book "Journey to the West" at home from lunch to dinner, and cried until night. Electrician Lin held up the phone and called her, saying that Qiaoxi called from Hong Kong.
Lin Qile wiped the tears from her face, but she couldn't hide her crying voice when she spoke.
"Sun Wukong's master doesn't want him anymore..." Lin Qile choked up into the phone.
Jiang Qiaoxi in Hong Kong was silent for a while and said, "You've just started watching."
"Have you finished reading it all?" Lin Qile asked.
Jiang Qiaoxi said "hmm".
"He's going to be great," he said.
"Really?" Lin Qile asked.
"He is the Great Sage Equaling Heaven," Jiang Qiaoxi said, "No one can defeat him, no matter where he goes."
Jiang Qiaoxi said that he would bring gifts back to Lin Qile from Hong Kong and asked Lin Qile to stop crying. After hearing this, Lin Qile finally burst into laughter.
This was the first time Jiang Qiaoxi called. The next day, Lin Qile got up early and started reading Journey to the West again. She hadn't read two sentences when she suddenly thought of Jiang Qiaoxi.
Lin Qile sat on a stool holding the phone and dialed the phone number of her cousin's home in Hong Kong that Jiang Qiaoxi had left for her.
When the call was picked up, Jiang Qiaoxi's sleepy and tired voice came out: "Hello?"
Lin Qile was stunned. She didn't know why Jiang Qiaoxi made such a sound when he woke up. "Jiang Qiaoxi!" she called him.
Jiang Qiaoxi was like he had seen a ghost and hung up the phone instantly.
Lin Qile didn't understand what was going on, so she called Hong Kong again. No one answered, so she had to give up.
Jiang Qiaoxi said he would return to the mountains in early August. Lin Qile was looking forward to August at home every day and was absent-minded in everything he did.
One day in late July, Electrician Lin was very happy because Manager Cai said that the house allocated by the provincial headquarters to Electrician Lin and his wife had finally been finalized.
It was July 29th. Lin Yingtao sat on her father's lap, looking at the map of the provincial capital headquarters community spread out on the coffee table. Uncle Cai was circling the map with a pen, telling Lin Yingtao and her family which houses were in the best locations.
"Has Brother Yu picked one?"
"We've already picked them," said Uncle Cai, "and yours is the only one left. Hurry up, or the next construction site will come and grab them."
Electrician Lin asked, "Cherry, which building do you want to live in?"
Lin Yingtao didn't know either, so she asked, "Which building does Jiang Qiaoxi live in?"
Uncle Cai laughed and said, "He lives in the cadre building, across the street from you."
Lin Yingtao listened, nodded, and said, "Then I can live anywhere."
When she went to the backyard to feed the little rabbits, she heard Uncle Cai whisper in the living room: "Cherry has grown up and is now a little girl."
"What do you mean by growing up?" Mother Lin laughed. "You are just a kid, talking nonsense."
Uncle Cai said: "Juanzi, you guys look at the situation... take care of her a little..."
Before going to bed that night, Lin Qile crossed out another day in his diary. July 30th was coming soon. Was Jiang Qiaoxi coming back soon
Maybe it was because he was always thinking about him. Lin Qile was sleeping in the middle of the night when he was awakened by a thumping sound beside his ear.
The sound was very light but very regular, knocking on the small window beside Lin Qile's bed that was covered by the leaves of evergreen.
Lin Qile opened the curtains, rubbed her eyes and looked out the window. She turned around and got out of bed in her nightgown, stepped on her slippers, walked around the big bed where her parents were sleeping, and walked into the living room.
She unlocked the outside door.
The construction site in the mountains had entered the late night. Jiang Qiaoxi was wearing his summer black shorts and a black short-sleeved shirt. He was holding a box in his hands and standing outside Lin Qile's house.
Lin Qile heard the chirping of cicadas in the trees, and perhaps the snoring of an uncle from a nearby house.
"You're back?" Lin Qile asked.
Jiang Qiaoxi looked at Lin Qile's face, then looked behind him, and asked, "Are uncle and aunt asleep?"
Lin Qile quietly closed the door, tiptoed past his parents' bed, and entered his own small bedroom.
She turned on the bedside lamp, and in the dim light, she took the toy box from Jiang Qiaoxi's hand.
"Is this for me?" She looked at the Barbie doll in the box.
"This is given to you by my cousin." Jiang Qiaoxi also sat down beside the bed.
Lin Qile looked at the doll curiously, and saw Jiang Qiaoxi take out a smaller box from his trouser pocket.
It's a music tape.
"I gave this to you," he said.
Lin Qile put down the doll and took the tape to watch.
She had never seen the singer on the cover.
"Why did you give me this?" she asked.
Jiang Qiaoxi's voice was very soft, but because it was very quiet at night, it was clear, so clear that Lin Qile could even hear his breathing.
“I heard one of her songs in Hong Kong,” he said, “and it suddenly reminded me of you.”
"Why did you think of me?" Lin Qile asked.
"I don't know either."
There were mosquitoes biting people in the bedroom. Lin Qile sat on the bed and let down the mosquito net curtain. Jiang Qiaoxi followed her and sat in the mosquito net.
Lin Qile's hair was not tied into a ponytail, but was draped over her shoulders. She took the Walkman from the bedside, took out the half-played tape, and then opened the one that Jiang Qiaoxi gave her and put it in.
Jiang Qiaoxi came closer, and Lin Qile smelled a very faint fragrance from him, which seemed to be the grassy scent of men's shower gel.
Jiang Qiaoxi took one of Lin Qile's earphones and put it into his own ear.
"It seems to be the third song." He took Lin Qile's Walkman and pressed the fast-forward button directly.
Lin Qile turned off the bedside lamp and lay down on the pillow. She moved aside and Jiang Qiaoxi lay down beside her.
The prelude was the sound of piano. Lin Qile unfolded the lyrics book and put it in front of her eyes. Without light, she could vaguely see the photo of a new female singer named Stefanie Sun. Lin Qile asked, "Jiang Qiaoxi, is Hong Kong good?"
"Okay." Jiang Qiaoxi whispered in the darkness.
"Is it fun?" Lin Qile asked.
"It's not about whether it's fun or not."
"Where is the best place?" Lin Qile asked.
Jiang Qiaoxi stopped talking, perhaps because he was tired of Lin Qile's questions, or perhaps because he didn't know how to answer. He squeezed in beside Lin Qile, in this small mountain city, on a small bed. The female singer kept singing, and Jiang Qiaoxi listened and slowly closed his eyes.