New Year's Eve, Yanbei Commercial Plaza, Yancheng City.
Shao Xi sat in the guard box in the parking lot, with his neck curled up and wrapped in a cotton coat, shaking his legs unconsciously while looking out the window at the rows of neatly arranged cars.
The space in the guard box is very small. Apart from the small table in front of me and the chair under my butt, the only thing left is the electric heater next to it. This post box looks like a fresh-keeping cabinet in winter and an electric steamer in summer. Shao Xi doesn't understand why such a large commercial plaza can't even bear to install an air conditioner?
Shao Xi glanced at the time on his phone, then looked up at the crowded shopping malls and food courts in the distance. He couldn't help curling his lips, "New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, others celebrate the New Year while I celebrate."
Shao Xi, 26 years old, is from the north. He has been working in Yancheng for more than a year and has been working as a security guard at Yanbei Commercial Plaza for almost a year. Shao Xi originally worked in a chemical factory after graduating from a technical secondary school in his hometown. Unexpectedly, the factory closed down within a few years of working.
Shao Xi comes from a single-parent family. His father passed away a few years ago due to alcoholism. His mother took care of Shao Xi until he finished technical secondary school and started working. But there is an old saying: "The house leaks only when it rains all night, and the boat is late when there is a strong wind."
Just when the chemical plant closed down and Shao Xi lost his job, his mother was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. The family has been living a difficult life over the past few years and has little savings. My mother's serious illness became the straw that broke the camel's back. Although he knew that his efforts were meaningless, Shao Xi still visited all his relatives and friends, hoping to borrow money to treat his mother's illness. But he underestimated the indifference of human nature. Even though everyone in the world was bowing and kneeling, his life was not rich, so his widowed aunt lent him 20,000 yuan.
From then on, he understood that fate never favors those who suffer. The only thing you can do is to keep fighting against fate. Shao Xi sold the only house in his family without hesitation and stayed with his mother until she sent her on her last journey.
When a person has nothing, will he still suffer from loss? At least Shao Xi won't, and now he is living a very optimistic life. For him, the happiness he lives every day is what he earns, and from then on his playful nature was revealed.
What I have to say is the name Shao Xi. When he asked his mother, did it mean that he hoped that he would be as energetic as the morning sun? As a result, his mother told him that he was overthinking.
He was named this because on the day he was born, more than a dozen soldiers took turns carrying a military stretcher to help carry his mother to the hospital. When Shao Xi's father went to buy cigarettes to thank the soldiers, he saw the soldiers arranging a queue in the hospital yard and preparing to leave. That sonorous "Take a break, stand at attention!" inspired my father, so he gave him this name.
This made Shao Xi feel very nonsensical. It was said that he inherited the funny gene from his father.
Shao Xi took out the safety buckle hanging around his neck with a leather cord. It was a relic left by his mother. It is the size of a silver round, feels round and full, and looks warm and transparent. It does not look like agate, nor does it look like jade. It has white, yellow, orange, red, purple, black, green, blue, and green nines arranged in parallel. different colors. My mother said it was an ancestral inheritance and told him to keep it well and never lose it.
At this moment, Shao Xi looked at the festive scene with lights and colorful decorations around him, and muttered secretly in his heart, "Does the Chinese New Year have anything to do with a homeless migrant worker like me? The cafeteria gets off work at noon, where are the New Year's Eve dumplings we promised?" On New Year’s Eve, we have to eat instant noodles in the dormitory again.”
While Shao Xi was complaining, the door of the security booth was pushed open. What opened the door was a young man in his early twenties, not tall, with a baby face full of smiles.
"Brother Shao, you are here! It's so cold today!"
As soon as the young man came in, he squatted in front of the electric heater and started to warm his hands, shaking his body while doing so.
"You're not patrolling outside, but you came to my place to be lazy. It would be strange if the captain didn't kill you if he found out." Shao Xi smiled when he saw it was him.
"I'm not an animal. I've been wandering around outside for a long time and I'm freezing to death. If the captain asks me, I'll just come to your place and take a rest." This young man looks very familiar with Shao Xi.
"Ouch! Your uncle Xia Junqi still dares to make fun of my name, as if your name is any better than mine." As he said that, Shao Xi raised his hand and slapped the kid on the back of the head.
Xia Junqi chuckled, "I just play military chess. I'm used to being laughed at by them. I can't change the name my dad gave me. I admit it. Brother Shao, I came here mainly because I have something to tell you."
"Wouldn't it be more convenient to say something on the walkie-talkie?"
"It's inconvenient to talk about private matters on the walkie-talkie, it will have adverse effects." Xia Junqi scratched his head, still smiling.
In fact, even the pig knew that he was afraid that the captain would hear him.
"Hurry up! It's just you, Xia Junqi, who has a private matter? Isn't it inconvenient? And will it have a negative impact? Who do you think you are? A big star?"
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, brother Shao, you keep your word. I'm not even that. I'm just a small security guard. Please be kind and let me go." Xia Junqi smiled playfully and looked like he was begging for mercy.
Shao Xi also sat upright and asked in a serious manner: "Well! Tell me! Why do you want to see me?"
Seeing this, Xia Junqi hurriedly patted his sleeves with both hands alternately, then threw both hands at the same time, kneeling on one knee and making a greeting gesture.
"For the record, Lafayette! The brothers on duty today plan to have a dinner together after get off work to celebrate New Year's Eve. I wonder if Lafayette will allow it?"
I don’t know how many palace fighting dramas this kid has watched, but he still acted decently.
Shao Xi suppressed a smile and said, "Well, I see that you guys work very hard on weekdays. I will grant you what you asked for today."
Just after he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong again, "Wait a minute! What did you call me just now? Lafayette? I am a male!"
Xia Junqi had an expression that said, "That doesn't matter." "Everyone else has already agreed, but Brother Shao is the only one left. You just have to say whether you want to go or not!"
"Then let's meet in the dormitory after get off work."
"Don't bother! We're celebrating the Chinese New Year, can we not be so shabby? We can only have some atmosphere by eating outside!" Xia Junqi looked at Shao Xi with the look of an iron rooster.
"Holy crap! Apart from those high-end restaurants, where else will be open on New Year's Eve? People don't celebrate the Chinese New Year? Do you usually go to too many barbecue restaurants and your brains are spoiled?"
"Sister Hua! We called and asked. The couple won't be going back this year. Let's go over and spend New Year's Eve with them in a lively way." Xia Junqi looked confident.
Shao Xi rolled his eyes at Xia Junqi, "So you all planned it, so why are you talking so much nonsense to me? Let's meet at Sister Hua's place!"
"Okay! It's settled then. Let's see you after get off work. Weichen, please leave!"
"Well, kneel down." Shao Xi looked at Xia Junqi's unruly face and was quite cooperative.
Xia Junqi slammed open the door of the security guard booth and ran out. Before leaving, he did not forget to pose strangely in front of the window. Shao Xi also couldn't laugh or cry.
Shao Xi picked up his phone and looked at the time. It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon. There weren't many cars coming in and out at the moment, so I simply opened the novel website and started reading the series I'd been following recently.
This kind of thing can only be done secretly. If the captain finds out, it will be followed by a spiel about how attitude determines life. Speaking of which, the captain's own life seems to be unsatisfactory. I wonder if changing his attitude towards others will help him?
Shao Xi was looking down at his phone when a "dong dong dong" knocking sound came from the window, which frightened him so much that he almost threw his phone away.
"Did the captain discover it?" Shao Xi felt a little uneasy.
Looking up at the window, what I saw was a pretty face with willow eyebrows, a beautiful nose, a small cherry mouth, a pair of big eyes, and long eyelashes fluttering, as if saying hello to me.
"Holy shit, people are scary." I thought as I got up and opened the door and walked out.
When I first looked at the girl, my eyes were filled with red. He wears a red woolen short windbreaker, red trousers, a pair of red cotton leather boots on his feet, and a red woolen hat on his head. There are two woolen balls dangling from time to time on the head of the hat.
"Here, is this a Fuwa?" This was the first sentence Shao Xi shouted in his heart, but the Winter Olympics had already ended!
The girl didn't seem to mind the way Shao Xi looked at her, and said to him with a smile: "Brother security guard, can I ask you a favor?"
This "brother" was very helpful to Shao Xi.
"What difficulties did you encounter?"
It's usually hard to refuse a beautiful woman's request, especially when the beautiful woman in front of you doesn't look like the kind of girl with princess disease.
"I can't drive my car."
After Shao Xi heard the other party's answer, he secretly said in his heart, "Oh, it's a female driver again."
Although I thought so in my heart, I still asked, "Why can't it be opened?"
"I parked the car at the very end, right next to the green belt." The girl raised her hand and pointed in the direction of the green belt in the parking lot.
After hearing the girl's answer, Shao Xi probably understood the reason.
Due to the increase in the number of cars in the parking lot, some parking spaces had to be added earlier, and the aisle on the side of the green belt has now been designated as parking spaces. Therefore, the car that drives to the innermost part cannot back into the parking space. It can only go in front first, and when it comes out, it can only back up towards the exit. It cannot turn around until it reaches the small square of the parking lot. This may not be a big deal for male drivers, but it is a problem for many female drivers.
"Let's go, I'll help you drive it out."
After Shao Xi finished speaking, he walked towards the innermost parking space in that direction, and the girl quickly followed.
Shao Xi turned around and asked again, "There are not many cars in the parking lot today, why did you park at the very back?"
The girl laughed when she heard this question and explained insightfully: "No matter where I go, I always park my car at the very back. This way I have only one parking space next to me, which can reduce the risk of scratches when other people open their doors." The probability of hitting my car. I don’t like to park outside because there are too many cars coming and going outside, which also increases the probability of hitting my car.”
Shao Xi couldn't laugh or cry when he heard the girl's explanation, so he smiled and said to the girl: "If you don't practice reversing properly, it will increase the chance that you will not be able to get out."
I don’t know if this sentence made the girl laugh. She covered her mouth and kept laughing.
Shao Xi was dumbfounded when he saw the car. This was the latest BMW 740Li. He didn't know anything else, except that this car started at a million dollars. A girl in her twenties drives this car out?
"Uh--, I've never driven this car before. Can you tell me the basic operation?"
High-end ingredients often use the simplest cooking methods, and high-end cars often use the simplest operating methods. Under the guidance of the girl, Shao Xi quickly mastered the operation of the gears.
He first backed the car out of the existing parking space, then found an empty parking space, backed the car into it, and when he came out of the parking space, the front of the car was already facing the direction of the exit.
Shao Xi got out of the car and said to the girl, "Okay, you can leave now."
But the girl was not in a hurry to leave, but tilted her head and said thoughtfully: "It's so simple, why didn't I think of it?"
"Obsession!" Shao Xi said smoothly.
"That makes sense. Thank you very much for today. I'm leaving." The girl playfully extended her right hand.
Shao Xi shook hands with the other party politely, and asked to pay attention to safety on the road. Then he watched the girl drive away, repeating the previous sentence in his heart, "Oh, female driver."
Shao Xi was the last one to arrive at "Sister Hua" because she went back to the dormitory to change clothes. As soon as she entered the door, she was called by Xia Junqi to sit down. Because there were no other customers in the store today, the colleague who arrived first put the two tables inside together.
After Sister Hua came over to say hello, she saw that everyone was already here, so she and her husband were busy preparing barbecue, skewers, and processing some cold dishes, as well as the most important thing on this day, dumplings.
The group of colleagues at the table had already been chatting. Shao Xi and Xia Junqi also followed suit, making jokes, bragging, and making all kinds of funny quotes. A group of migrant workers living at the bottom of society in a foreign land vent their inner emotions to their heart's content on this day.
Xia Junqi's face was red from drinking, his eyes were straight, and with a silly smile on his face, he put his arm on Shao Xi's shoulder and asked, "Brother Shao, do you know why I call you Xia Junqi?"
"Isn't it true that your father was playing military chess when your mother gave birth to you?" As he spoke, Shao Xi also made a chess-playing gesture.
"Come on! It has nothing to do with that shit."
Xia Junqi waved his hand and continued: "My father graduated from a normal technical secondary school. He has the same academic qualifications as you, Brother Shao. He is considered a well-educated person in our valley."
"Over the years, he has been teaching us children from the mountains to read in private primary schools. He just wants to teach a few promising students so that they can get out of this mountainous valley and come back to build their hometown when they have the ability in the future."
Xia Junqi's eyes became wet when he said this.
"When I was born, my father said, 'A gentleman is upright and clever,' and he hoped that his son would not be like him in the future. To be a smart person, he must be able to accomplish what he wants to do and what he wants to do. I wanted to do my job well, so I chose Junqi as my name. God testifies, my dad never plays military chess."
"It's nothing more than military chess. It's a noun after all, but my surname is Xia. The noun has turned into a verb. Who should I ask to reason?"
Shao Xi looked at Xia Junqi with incredible eyes and said, "Brother, it was originally a good inspirational and sensational story, but you seem to be talking about it and it's going crazy!"
"Huh? Is there any? Oh, forget it, let's not talk about this anymore." Xia Junqi scratched his head and started to giggle again.
After midnight, everyone ate the dumplings made by Sister Hua. Everyone put the money together to settle the bill, and gave Sister Hua and his wife an extra red envelope of 200 yuan. This was perhaps the most wanton spending of these people in a year.
After leaving Sister Hua's BBQ restaurant, Xia Junqi was almost carried back to the dormitory by several people. Shao Xi did not go back with everyone. He wanted to take a walk on this usually busy street.
His mother is gone and the house has been sold. Now he is a man without a home. He doesn't know if he has a future in this city.
Shao Xi, who was thinking about something and drunk, stepped on the zebra crossing and walked to the other side of the street. At this moment, he felt a black shadow rushing toward him.
The first thing he saw was the black BMW, and the second thing he saw was the woman sitting in the car, a woman wearing red clothes. After a sharp friction sound between tires and the ground, he was sure that what he saw for the third time was a street light. Next came the sound of car doors and footsteps, and then the sound of panicked phone calls.
When Shao Xi confirmed the last sight he saw, he sighed helplessly: "Oh, why is it a female driver again?"
