Before the Chinese New Year, Wang Jiexiang received her salary and a Chinese New Year fee of 50 yuan.
The business of the seafood factory is still not improving, and the boss told her not to come to work again after the next year.
Earlier, she had been mentally prepared for this, but the eldest sister who taught Wang Jiexiang to knit sweaters was quite reluctant to part with her.
"Why can't I see you anymore, your sweater hasn't been knitted yet."
After hugging the eldest sister, Wang Jiexiang comforted her in turn.
"It's almost finished, there is a little flower missing. Even if I don't work here, I can still come to see you, and we will see you again when we have a chance."
Speaking of that little flower.
Originally, Wang Jiexiang was thinking, like the sweater her mother knitted for her, with other colors of wool in the middle of knitting, and knit flowers directly into the sweater.
But that way, firstly, the steps are complicated, and secondly, she is worried that Yin Xian doesn't like wearing sweaters with small flowers.
In the end, the solution she decided on was to weave the flowers separately and sew them onto the sweater.
"Have you decided where to work in the future?" The eldest sister has a little understanding of the situation in Wang Jiexiang's family. If she loses this job, her life must be even more difficult.
"I saw a restaurant near my home was collecting dishwashers, with daily wages written..."
Wang Jiexiang really didn't find a suitable way out, so she didn't talk any more.
The first snow fell exactly on New Year's Eve.
At that time, Wang Jiexiang was squatting in the back kitchen of the restaurant, wearing plastic gloves. There was a lot of voices in her ears, and she was brushing the piles of bowls.
Yin Xian worked overtime at the lighting company, rushing to read the documents and check the plans. He didn't know how long the bowl of soaked instant noodles had been on the table, so he picked it up and drank a few mouthfuls of the cold soup in a hurry.
After the New Year's countdown, large fireworks bloomed over the city.
Wang Jiexiang looked at the sky from the window of the back kitchen, and Yin Xian looked out from the office building. Only then did they realize that it was snowing.
In the silvery snow, gorgeous fireworks rushed into the sky.
The fireworks rose to the apex and burst into scattered crystal stars; then, with the silent falling track, the ashes followed the snowflakes and sprinkled to the world.
They looked at the night sky, watched other people's lively New Year's Eve, and thought of each other's faces in unison.
With a smile, Yin Xian lowered his head and returned to work.
Wang Jiexiang sniffed and brushed the rest of the bowl vigorously.
The morning of the first day of the new year.
Yin Xian finally received his new sweater from Wang Jiexiang.
The color of the sweater is a special smoke blue.
It was neatly folded and placed next to his pillow.
There was a note on the sweater, Wang Jiexiang's font was fat and round:
[To my favorite Yin Xian: This is a sweater I knitted by myself, I wish you a happy new year.]
After reading that line, he sat up, held the sweater in front of his eyes, unfolded it, and looked at it carefully.
The sweater with round neck and long sleeves feels soft and comfortable.
He stroked every inch of the sweater, and it was hard to imagine that it was hand-knitted by her, with regular and even stitches.
Fingers touched the hem of the sweater, and he felt a small bump. Turning the hem over, Yin Xian saw a yellow-white ball-shaped fluffy flower.
Wang Jiexiang just walked back to the room.
Seeing him awake and looking at the sweater she knitted, she felt embarrassed immediately.
"If you don't like that flower, you can cut it off."
She scratched her head embarrassingly, and had to admit that adding a three-dimensional flower to the inside of the sweater was a bit nondescript.
"What kind of flower is this?" he asked.
Wang Jiexiang smiled and said nothing.
She will tell him next time when they have a chance to see the flower with their own eyes.
"Put it on and try it on," she said.
Yin Xian should be fine.
He didn't take off his pajamas, just put the sweater on outside.
"..."
Seeing that he was struggling to dress, she came over to help him.
This sweater is worn inside.
It doesn't fit well though. It was supposed to be a loose fit, but it wrapped tightly around him, the neckline was too small and the sleeves were too short.
"It's because I'm wearing clothes inside."
Yin Xian took off his new sweater and unbuttoned his pajamas.
When he put on the sweater again, those problems still existed.
Wang Jiexiang sighed.
"No, the sleeves are too short."
She scolded herself for being an idiot in her heart, thinking about this and that, but failed to measure the most important size.
"Take it off, I'll reprocess it and make it bigger."
"Need not."
Yin Xian tugged at his sleeves, forcibly creating the illusion that they were about the same size.
"It's okay. Wear it and wash it, and it will grow big."
"Oh, how can I wear this?"
She walked over sullenly and began to take off his sweater.
"can wear."
He hugged her and shook her.
Wang Jiexiang looked up at him.
Yin Xian patted her head and said softly.
"Thanks."
She blinked, and the smile on her face came back a little.
"Okay. Where are the flowers? Do you want to cut them?"
He shook his head.
Wang Jiexiang's heart fell back to her stomach, she hugged him back and shook him left and right.
Throughout the winter, Yin Xian basically wore that sweater every day.
He wears it inside the coat and puts it on the outside of the shirt; when he is working overtime, when he is bored, and when he loses energy, he makes a habit of opening the hem of the sweater to see the little flower hidden in the clothes.
The sweater is not like what Yin Xian said, it will get bigger after wearing and washing.
The more it was washed, the smaller it became due to shrinkage, until he couldn't wear it at all.
Taking off their warm sweaters and putting on light spring clothes, they held each other's hands and marched towards spring together.
Yin Xian's outstanding ability and hard work performance are obvious to all in the company. In the spring of the new year, he was promoted by the leader to be an engineer, and his salary tripled at once.
The eldest sister of the seafood factory and Wang Jiexiang still keep in touch. The eldest sister's daughter sells clothes in a department store, and told her that the counter selling cosmetics is recruiting, and the eldest sister told Wang Jiexiang the news.
"At my age and my appearance, I can't sell cosmetics. Go to an interview, maybe you can."
The elder sister's words moved Wang Jiexiang very much. She sells things in the mall, the environment is good, she earns a lot of money, and her working hours are regular.
The dishwashing she is doing now, only when the business is good, the store will ask her to go to work, and her job and income are not stable.
"I don't wear makeup, and I don't know anything about maintenance and brands. Will they accept me?"
The eldest sister looked at her plain little face, but she was not sure.
"Think about it, anyway, there is such a job opportunity."
When Yin Xian came home in the evening, Wang Jiexiang discussed with him, and he thought she could go for an interview.
"You have experience in selling oil, and it's selling well. Selling cosmetics is also selling things."
She flattened her mouth: "What's the difference between selling these two things? Besides, I don't have confidence in dealing with people."
Yin Xian had heard about Wang Jiexiang's previous experience.
He clearly knew that she was more yearning for a job where she could get paid for her physical exertion. Her character was not shrewd, and it was too easy to be taken advantage of when dealing with people.
Encourage her, she will definitely be able to do the job, maybe it will be counterproductive, and she will become less confident.
So he said: "If you don't go to the interview, you work in the restaurant; if you fail the interview, you go back to work in the restaurant. A successful interview is the best outcome, but a bad outcome, you have nothing to lose."
Wang Jiexiang was instantly persuaded by Yin Xian.
The next day, she took a few hours off from the restaurant to interview at the department store.
As soon as she entered the department store, Wang Jiexiang began to urinate urgently. Bright lights, large white marble tiles, approaching the cosmetics counter, a scent that smells very expensive... She has been in the city for many years, but this is the first time she has been to a department store.
She was interviewed by a slender female manager.
There was no special interview place, so she stood in the cosmetics sales area and had a face-to-face conversation with Wang Jiexiang.
The question asked by the female manager had nothing to do with her background, education, or personal information. She first assumed some situations and asked Wang Jiexiang how to deal with it.
When Wang Jiexiang gave the answer, she didn't nod or shake her head. She didn't comment on her answer and continued to ask the next question.
This kind of interviewer who does not express approval or negative attitude clearly will make the interviewer feel uncomfortable, start to question what he said, and fall into hesitation and tension.
Wang Jiexiang can cope with it freely, thanks to her boyfriend Yin Xian.
On weekdays, she and Yin Xian had conflicts, and she often talked to herself while he stood aside and listened expressionlessly. Therefore, Wang Jiexiang has already practiced a speaking mode that does not require much feedback. She didn't know what he thought, so she just expressed her opinion seriously.
Facing the stern-faced female manager, Wang Jiexiang maintained a good attitude and a peaceful smile throughout the process.
After she finished asking the last question, the female manager asked Wang Jiexiang to leave her mobile phone number, and she would be notified of the interview result by text message. Wang Jiexiang didn't buy a mobile phone, so she wrote Yin Xian's number.
At noon three days later.
She was washing dishes in a restaurant, and the proprietress called her, saying that her boyfriend was looking for her.
Wang Jiexiang took off the gloves, feeling strange, shouldn't Yin Xian be in his company at this point
She ran out to see that it was really him standing in the lobby.
Yin Xian seemed to be running all the way, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
"What happened?" Her heart was beating wildly.
He handed her his cell phone.
"You go to work at the department store tomorrow."
Wang Jiexiang's eyes widened.
She took the phone, carefully read the text message informing her of her admission, and said two "good things" in a row.
The foam-stained apron couldn't be untied, she held Yin Xian's hand, bouncing up and down.
"I got off work today and told the restaurant owner about resigning."
He smiled: "Fool, don't wait for get off work."
Wang Jiexiang was stunned.
"Okay, then I'll tell him after washing the dishes."
"You don't need to wash the dishes," he pulled her back, "let's talk to them now."
She is solid-minded, and she doesn't feel at ease until things are done.
"How can I do that? There are so many bowls in the back kitchen, who will wash them?"
The boss is also her rhetoric.
Yin Xian took Wang Jiexiang to find the restaurant owner, but he was obviously not happy.
"I don't have anyone to wash my dishes today. If you leave now, it will be a waste of time during the day. I can't give you the wages."
Yin Xian shook Wang Jiexiang's hand instead.
Her hands were cold, and her fingers were wrinkled from the water.
"Today's wages are gone."
His expression is cool, and his words are also cool.
Wang Jiexiang followed Yin Xian out of the restaurant.
He said to her: "I will pay you today's wages. I took half a day off and took you to buy high heels and cosmetics, which you don't have. Tomorrow you have to dress up and go to work."
Wang Jiexiang felt that Yin Xian was like a prince!
The handsome, tall and mighty prince in fairy tales. He dragged her out of the corner in gray and invited her to a gorgeous dinner.
The sun is so bright at noon.
The world outside the restaurant is bright.
Their future is bright.