When I was killing fish in a restaurant, my boss only cared about the workers’ food and accommodation but did not pay them. I occasionally make a few small bucks by running errands for people and doing short work.
When I have money, I save it, and I don’t even want to spend it. I searched hard for myself, for no other reason than to buy a decent apprenticeship gift for Mr. Ye in the future.
In those days, no matter how poor a family was, they had to cut a pound of meat and catch a chicken as a ceremony to become a disciple. Mr. Ye saved me twice. No matter what, I have to buy him something decent.
That day, when I was busy in the kitchen, the shopkeeper came: "Xiao Qi, someone called you to deliver a box to Zhazikou, and rewarded you with one dollar. Hurry over."
"You want me to deliver a box?" I was stunned.
In those days, in Abacus City, there were not necessarily rivers and lakes everywhere, but there were rules everywhere.
The rule of doing business is that you cannot "eat alone" and must leave a mouthful of food for others.
The restaurant delivers boxes every day, but the people who deliver the boxes are not the restaurant's waiters, but people from outside. At meal time, someone is sitting at the door of the restaurant with a small stool, waiting to deliver the boxes.
The diners pay for delivering the boxes, and the "servant" outside also guarantees that the items will be delivered to you. It's good for both parties. If the restaurant doesn't give people this meal, not only will the guy who delivers the box have his legs broken, but he won't even have to do business in the restaurant.
The shopkeeper is not a person who doesn't understand the rules. Why did he ask me to deliver the box?
When the shopkeeper saw me in a daze, he immediately said, "Don't worry, I asked you to give it to me this time. It's not a bad rule. I'll give you the reward as well."
As the shopkeeper spoke, he put one yuan on the table.
As soon as I saw this, I felt even more wrong.
It is common for diners to give rewards, but the rewards are not limited to how much they are given to you, and you can keep them. The boss has to keep at least 70%.
If you give me all the rewards, isn't this breaking the rules?
Seeing me not moving, the shopkeeper suddenly became impatient: "I still can't help you? Go quickly."
I immediately laughed and said, "Shopkeeper, I have to change my clothes when I go to deliver the boxes, right? I smell fishy, why don't I make people feel disgusted when I go there?"
The shopkeeper thought the same thing: "What the hell! The customers are waiting!"
I returned to the big shop where my clerk lived, and first took out the money I usually saved and took it with me.
I always feel that if I don’t get it right tonight, I’ll have to skate as soon as possible, and I can’t leave the money to others.
After I finished changing my clothes, I thought about it and took out a knife from under the bed and hid it on my body. I went back to the front desk and took the one yuan the shopkeeper gave me, and walked out with my food box.
When I went out, I glanced at the wall. The people sitting by the wall waiting for work seemed to have agreed upon it. They all turned their heads to the side without even looking at me.
My heart suddenly sank: Someone broke the rules!
When I thought about it again, I felt something was wrong. I was just a fish-killing worker in a restaurant. I only needed money but no treasure. I only had this life. Even if someone plots against me, what else can they plot against me?
Could it be that things between the two men were not over five years ago? That's not right. If the murderer was anxious to get what he lost, he wouldn't have waited five years to come to me.
I had the intention not to go to Zhaizikou, but if I ran away halfway, I would have to leave Abacus City. What if Mr. Ye comes back and I can't find him?
What if things are not as complicated as I thought?
I was thinking as I walked towards the gate.
Not long after, I saw the light on the other side of the gate from a distance.
Zhazikou is a famous pier in Abacus City. There are boats coming and going in the middle of the night. It has not yet reached midnight, and there is no one on the pier at Zhazikou. So a boat lantern is blowing in the wind on the edge of the pier. Shake.
When I was thinking about whether to move forward, I heard someone from behind shouting: "Hey, have you asked us if you were delivering the box to the dock?"
When I saw that the man blocking the road was about the same age as me and about the same height, I immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother, I understand the rules. I won't enter. Please take a few more steps."
As I spoke, I took out fifty cents from my body and handed it over along with the food box. When the man saw the fifty cents, his eyes suddenly lit up and he took the money happily: "Okay, you understand the rules. This is your first time. I won't accept these from you next time."
If you meet someone in a restaurant who tips you 50 cents, they are all big customers. If you give them a food box and eat some dessert, you might be able to get a few cents. Is it strange that people are unhappy?
The man carried the food box to the dock, and I hid behind a cargo box and quietly stared at the man.
I didn't run, not because I was too curious, but because my master taught me this: after choosing a scapegoat, don't run away. The scapegoat is not stupid. If you run, he will have to run. If both of them run away, maybe no one can escape.
I watched as the man walked to a pile of cargo boxes, and four or five people came out from behind the cargo boxes. They gave the man a stick head-on, and he fell to the ground without saying a word.
As soon as the person next to him took out the sack, the leader shouted: "Wait!"
The leader squatted on the ground, picked up the man's hand and smelled it: "It's not him! Let the duck fly. You two kill him and throw him into the water. The rest of you will find someone with me."
I was suddenly frightened and broke into a cold sweat. I hid behind the container and moved slightly to the side. When the footsteps of those people started to approach, I had already moved to one side of the container.
I estimated that those people should be able to run past the container, but I heard someone shout: "Stop!"
My heart suddenly jumped, but the man said: "The man is behind the box over there, surrounded by me."
As soon as I heard "no," I stood up and climbed to the top of the box. I ran a few steps and jumped onto the opposite box. The people behind me also chased after me. I relied on my agility to jump on the box like a monkey. I jumped up and down on the pile, but more and more people were chasing me. At first, there were still four or five people chasing me. After a while, there were twenty or thirty people surrounding me from different directions. Come over.
Seeing that I had no way to escape, I pulled out the knife from my body and threw it at one of the people.
The sharp knife flashed a white light in front of a group of people, and I turned around and rushed towards the edge of the container.
I just calculated the position, and I can jump into the water from that position. If I jump, I might be able to find a way out.
Before I could reach the edge of the container, I was caught in a fishing net that fell from the sky. Several people dragged the fishing net and pulled me back. The person who was scared by the knife I threw just now walked up and stepped on me. He took off one of my legs: "You can run really well! I'm picking on your hamstring now, how can you still run?"
