The temperature in winter is a bit ruthless, especially at the end of the year, when the temperature drops sharply. In the dilapidated and cold hut, large areas of mold have grown on the walls at the corners, and the whole house has a lingering dusty smell.
Accompanied by the darkness and the occasional noise from outside the window, Gu Yan turned over and sat up, lit a cigarette, turned the little sun to the maximum, pointed it at himself, squinted his eyes and took out his phone.
Gu Yan's unresponsive mobile phone has never rang except for Lin Xiaotian's phone in the past few days.
Basically, with a tentative heart in mind, Gu Yan called Brother Wang.
There was a ringing over there for a while, and the phone was about to hang up before Brother Wang answered it with a loud voice.
"Hello?"
Gu Yan licked his dry lips and said hesitantly, "Brother Wang, it's me, Gu Yan."
"Brother, I dropped my phone, the screen is cracked and I can't see clearly, what's the matter?" Brother Wang's rough voice was filled with urgency, as if he was busy with something on the other side of the phone.
Gu Yan is inexplicably unwilling to open his mouth to ask. He has been waiting for a call these days. Brother Wang's original name is Wang Shangjin. He is a northerner. He is straightforward and generous. Most of the chores he does are given by Wang Shangjin. He built a bridge, and occasionally asked him for some extra wages. They knew each other on the construction site, and Wang Shangjin felt that he worked hard and didn't talk much, which was very satisfying. He became familiar with him after coming and going. In her whole life, she took care of Gu Yan more.
Listening to Gu Yan's voice on the phone, Wang Shangjin continued to ask loudly: "The phone is broken? Gu Yan?"
"Brother Wang." Gu Yan pinched the tip of his cold nose with his hand, and said in a steady tone, "I just wish you a New Year's greeting in advance, and then I will tell you something happy."
"Yo, I haven't seen you for a few days, are you looking for something fun?" Wang Shangjin laughed several times at the top of his voice: "Tell me."
"Thanks to Brother Wang, I can earn some money along with you. Someone I met recently recommended a relatively stable job to me. I don't want to bother you anymore. I've been worrying about it."
When Wang Shangjin heard it, he understood what Gu Yan meant: "You boy..."
"Brother." Gu Yan leaned against the wall, stared at a certain place in the house, and continued in the silence and desolation: "Didn't you shout to go back to your hometown before, go back early, sister-in-law has been waiting for you for many years."
Wang Shangjin was at a loss for words, and after a few seconds, he smiled calmly: "Those who have read books are different. In fact, I also think about it. Your sister-in-law has rheumatic legs, and the two children at home are taken care of by her. The less you cry, the more distressed I feel. Listen to you, I will go back early to help."
"Bring one for me."
"Gu Yan." Wang Shangjin suddenly changed his tone, and said, "You're going to be thirty soon, so it's not a big deal if you go on like this."
Gu Yan was silent.
"Brother knows you are a human being. In fact, I have been thinking about how to contact you for the past two days. It is almost the end of the year. Many factories and so on have stopped. There is really no work. Brother was still there before. I think, you have been to school and high school, and I helped you find a job that is not tiring. Now that you have found it yourself, that is really good, but as someone who has experienced it, I still want to say, let go if you can, What do you want to live in this life, you see, I have a daughter-in-law and two children in my life, you are still young, don’t compete with the past, brother is going back soon, and I will talk to you from the bottom of my heart, you are not a bad person, you have made mistakes It’s not necessarily bad people, ah, you know?”
Gu Yan covered his face, took a few deep breaths, and replied in a muffled voice: "Yes."
"Hang up, let's have a meal together before I leave, and think about what I said."
"Um."
"Happy New Year." Wang Shangjin sighed and hung up the phone after speaking.
Gu Yan remained motionless, huddled there, as if he had entered a different dimension.
He called Wang Shangjin, in fact, he just wanted to ask for a job from Wang Shangjin, but the moment the call was connected, Gu Yan felt that he was a beggar who had been stripped of his skin and exposed flesh and blood all over his body.
He is about to enter his thirties, but he still has nothing, no car, no house, no savings, he is huddled in his shell, unwilling to let others approach him, and unwilling to go out by himself.
For the first time, Gu Yan examined himself from the bottom of his heart, did he want to live like this forever
Reaching out to take the alms others handed to him, not working hard or paying, and giving up on himself.
When the phone was picked up once, Gu Yan faced the dim room, the little sun, and Lin Xiaotian exclaimed in surprise on the other side of the phone, Gu Yan couldn't help crying.
——
Jian Jie's WeChat push rang more than a dozen times in a row, except for a few WeChat group messages at work, there were seven or eight messages from Jia Bei.
The quarrel between him and Jia Bei that night seemed to be a war without gunpowder. Only he himself was still immersed in that night, but Jia Bei acted as if nothing happened, and the next day was still the same. Call or call.
Even Jane Jie didn't care about her cold attitude, and even went to take wedding photos first.
Yes, there are no wedding photos of the groom.
The contents of WeChat were dazzling and pitiful, Jian Jie put his hands on his forehead, and there were ripples deep in his heart.
- Husband, I took the wedding photos for a single person first, and then I will take re-shoots together when you have time.
- I'm going on a business trip next week, do you want to have a meal together before I go
-I'm going to a meeting now and I'll call you when it's over.
Jian Jie took a deep breath, and turned off the phone cruelly.
"Brother Jane!"
The voice of my colleague Xiao Zhao came from outside the office, and Jian Jie turned her head to hide her mood.
Xiao Zhao came in and pointed at the clock hanging on the wall: "Brother Jian, the partner has sent some representatives. We have an appointment at six o'clock in the evening. We will sing K together after the contract is signed. What do you think?"
Jane nodded: "We have cooperated several times, if there is no problem, you can handle it, and I will determine the position."
"Alright then, I'll call our team."
Seeing Xiao Zhao turn around to leave, Jian Jie suddenly stopped him: "Otherwise you go, I feel a little uncomfortable."
When Xiao Zhao heard this, his face showed embarrassment, and he murmured with a sullen face, "Brother Jian, you are the project team leader. The contract is signed, and the leader is not there during the karaoke. It's not easy for us laymen to make trouble. Alright... The three groups next door are hoping that we will have an accident every day. Although it is said that we have cooperated a few times, the funds this time are only a lot more. Come up with an idea, look at this... "
"knew."
"However, Brother Jian, do you have something on your mind these days? It seems that your complexion is not right."
"Back off." Jane smiled and waved her hand.
Xiao Zhao clasped his hands together and bent down: "Hey."
Jian Jie works in an advertising company and is in charge of design. There are three teams for this project. A while ago, a list came over. The three teams who have been competing fiercely with Jian Jie and his team have seen Jian Jie take the list away again. , Now I'm waiting for Jane Jie's good show with the cracks on the wall, the main reason is that the order I took this time is more difficult to explain, and the person in charge is very demanding.
It was more than two hours away from the time Xiao Zhao said, and Jian Jie searched online for several popular KTVs, but couldn't find anything she was satisfied with.
It is estimated that there are a lot of things going on recently, and Jane Jie can pick out some thorns in everything she sees.
Just as I was getting annoyed, the phone beeped several times again.
Recently, Jane is a little afraid of mobile phones. Anyone he doesn't want to contact will find him through the mobile phone, so that when he hears the phone ringing, he will inexplicably resist it.
Most importantly, he didn't know how to deal with phone calls or text messages from Jane's parents.
After he had a quarrel at home that day, he and Jane's parents seemed to have broken off the relationship, and neither of them contacted each other. Guilt and firmness were like white angels and black angels, opposing each other and not letting the other, Jane On the one hand, Jie wants to stick to his position, on the other hand, even in the dream, Jane's father and mother are hurt and disappointed.
This situation of being stuck in the middle and unable to advance or retreat made Jian Jie breathless.
The caller ID showed a phone number without notes, Jian Jie hesitated and picked it up.
——
After Gu Yan changed his clothes, he came out of the changing room. Lin Xiaotian sat on the wooden stool outside with a big grin, and looked at Gu Yan several times: "Yes, you can make money with your face, you must be a waiter."
"When you're about to go bankrupt, I'm using my nirvana." Gu Yan tied the waiter's little bow tie, tossed his hairstyle in front of the mirror, and said with a smile, "Don't say it, your KTV looks good, lobby manager Thirty thousand a month is not out of the question."
"Feeling a few words, I told you at the time that you still didn't believe me." Lin Xiaotian leaned back, propping his hands behind his back: "What's the matter, this is also a high-end consumer place, a club integrating catering, entertainment, and services, don't make excuses A KTV hat, low."
Gu Yan lit a cigarette and looked up at the clock.
"What time is the night shift?"
"You have the final say." Lin Xiaotian disagreed.
Gu Yan sighed: "Xiaotian, as I said, do whatever you want."
"From six in the evening to three in the morning." Lin Xiaotian waved his hand: "There is a rest room on the sixth floor, and I have specially explained it. If you are sleepy, go to sleep for a while, and someone will take over, and... Getting in touch with those older aunts scared me away of three staff members."
"What auntie?"
"Wealthy people, after applying for an annual card, they come here four times a month on average, seven days at a time, and the VIP lounge is full." Lin Xiaotian stood up and stretched his waist: "You will know later, Come to me whenever you need something, there are too many rich people, and there are also many strange flowers, so if you can hide when you meet them, just hide."
Gu Yan extinguished the butt of his cigarette, and followed Lin Xiaotian out of the changing room.
"The foreman will come over to take you later, there is no work, just sell drinks, you just put the tip in your pocket, and if you meet a lady looking for a lady, you can be thrown out, we are also a serious consumer place, not tidy Those fake ones." Lin Xiaotian glanced at his watch; "I have to hurry back, my ancestors are still waiting to slip away, and I'll come back when I'm done."
"Go." Gu Yan said.
Lin Xiaotian patted Gu Yan's shoulder worriedly.
Following what Lin Xiaotian said about the foreman, Gu Yan roughly knew the process. The floor he was in charge of added him to three night shifts. When the guests entered the box, he would go in and be responsible for ordering, selling, and occasionally renewing the fee. , Sitting there to rest when you have nothing to do, and if you want to drink something, go to the freezer to get it yourself, which is very comfortable.
The girl who is working with Gu Yan now is a girl who is pretty and has a nice voice. Seeing that Gu Yan is quite handsome, and she is a newcomer, she couldn't help but come up to talk to her.
As the time approached ten o'clock in the evening, the people who were eating, drinking and having fun turned on the entertainment mode, and Gu Yan could hear the heart-piercing shouts in the private room through the door of the private room.
"Brother Gu, how old are you?"
Gu Yan knocked on the table with his fingers, and was about to answer when the calling bell hanging on the wall rang: "Guess."
Seeing that Gu Yan was unwilling to answer, the girl curled her lips, looked at the box number corresponding to the calling bell, and stood up to go to that box.
Gu Yan thought that the people entering that box were some old men and two women, so he reached out to stop the girl, and said, "I'll go, you go to pick up the table downstairs."
After entering the private room, the inside was filled with smoke, and people like Gu Yan who smoked all the year round felt the smell of smoke in the private room was choking.
Several men and women danced wildly to the music, but Gu Yan didn't see it, and asked calmly amidst the booing; "What do you need?"
"One more dozen of wine." A man held a glass, waved his hand, and said selflessly.
There was still wine in the wine glass, and almost all of it was sprinkled on Gu Yan with a wave of the man.
Gu Yan subconsciously frowned, but didn't say anything, and signed an extra service fee on the form for the box.
When he got out of the box, he happened to see the girl who was working with him lead a few people into the box at the innermost part of the corridor. Gu Yan felt uncomfortable with the pungent smell of alcohol and turned into the bathroom.
——
After Jane made the arrangements, he told Xiao Zhao to let the people on the partner side order casually, get up and get ready to go out and relax. Just now Xiao Zhao ordered a smoking ban in the restaurant. He held back for more than three hours, and now he urgently needs cigarettes to comfort him. .
The girl who brought them into the box pointed him to the location of the bathroom and said, "Come down to the front desk and register."
Jane nodded and walked towards the bathroom.
The noisy human voice disappeared from my ears, and I was immediately calm and relaxed.
Pushing open the door of the bathroom, Jane only saw a waiter with his back facing him, with his arms back and forth vigorously, and suddenly froze in place.
What kind of high-end consumer place is this
The waiter is actually doing hand exercises in the bathroom by himself
Gu Yan was washing the corner of his clothes with hand sanitizer, when he heard the sound of the door being pushed, he subconsciously turned around.
After a few seconds, the world was silent.