Article/Xu Da Xiaoyue
#When I first started working on the street, it was a good time. Customers kept coming, and all I had to do was sit in my room and listen to them shouting outside, "Xiaoyue, someone is looking for you! Xiaoyue! Mr. Wang is calling you!"
Sometimes I didn't really want to go, back then I still had the qualifications to be picky. "Oh, I'm busy, oh, I have a customer!" In reality, I didn't have much to do, I just followed my own instincts to find someone I found acceptable.
But then the economic situation started to decline, the so-called overall environment wasn't good anymore. Others might not know, but we knew it in our hearts. Xiao Wang told me, "Don't invest in funds now, it's a guaranteed loss. The economy is in a slump, just look at how I've lost half of my customers. Xiao Wang is the young master of a KTV, and I trust what he says. When the river is warm, the ducks know it first."
With the overall environment deteriorating, I couldn't stay in my little room anymore. I had to go to the KTV and work as a hostess. That's where I met Xiao Wang. I used to dislike this job, low pay and lots of work, and most of the customers were drunkards.
I really hate people who drink. My father used to love drinking, and when he came home after drinking, he would act crazy. Normally, he was a bit abnormal, but I could always understand what he wanted to do. When his face turned dark, he was about to scold someone. When he clenched his fist, he was about to hit me. When he smiled happily, it meant he won money playing mahjong, and that was when I could ask him for some change to buy candy. But after he drank, I couldn't understand him anymore. He might suddenly hit me when he was smiling happily, or come to kiss me with a dark face, or laugh while clenching his fist.
I was really scared when my father drank. I didn't know what he would do, so I couldn't do anything to please him. I could only be afraid.
I really wished I could do something, do something to make my life better. What a naive and beautiful wish.
And now, here I am, making a living by persuading people to drink. A bunch of drunken people, talking nonsense, touching and grabbing randomly. But the more they drink, the happier I am. The more they drink, the more I earn. They are better than my father. And even though I can't understand what they're saying, I always know what they're going to do. As long as I know, I'm not as afraid. They are better than my father.
Although I work hard and contribute to the GDP, the economy can't rely on just me. I can't single-handedly turn the tide. The number of customers at the KTV keeps decreasing, so we all have to go out on the street to attract customers. But I have a strange talent for this. I mainly rely on my ability to judge people. If someone on the street looks like my father, I grab their hand and bring them in. I'm always right.
I've recruited quite a few people by running around like this, and it's quite lively when we gather together. The ones who sing touch my thighs, and the ones who don't sing touch my thighs and chat. They say, "Hey little sister, your thighs are thick." I smile and say, "You're saying that, but I haven't seen you hug me less."
The big brother jokes and says, "These Northeastern women, let me tell you, Southern girls are better, gentle, cute. Isn't it popular online? Southern little potatoes, so cute."
I continue, "Oh my god, big brother, what does that make me?"
He says, "You, with your hardworking spirit, should be a Northeastern wandering chicken."
Everyone starts laughing, and I laugh along. I say, "Big brother, you're so annoying. I'm angry now! You owe me an apology!"
But I'm not really angry. I'm happy when the customers are happy. When the customers are happy, I can drink more and earn more. And it's actually quite interesting. This big brother is quick-witted.
Being a wandering chicken is good, I like being a wandering chicken. My grandmother used to raise a few in the countryside, not many, but she couldn't take care of them because she was old. Every time I went to visit her, she would kill one and stew it for me to eat. A chicken can lay an egg every day. My grandmother could sell an egg for fifty cents in the village, and if she took it to the city to sell, she could get one yuan. Killing one chicken meant waiting three months for another one to grow up, and three months is ninety yuan. Ninety yuan can buy sixty kilograms of rice, thirty bags of salt, enough for my grandmother to eat for a month.
Being a wandering chicken is so good. Every time I think about how it's a month's worth of food for my grandmother, I eat a few more bites with all my might. It's so delicious, who else can taste such a good flavor? It's a month's worth of life for one person.
I didn't expect that by calling myself a wandering chicken, I would become well-known. People in the industry have heard of my name, and I have many customers looking for me. So I guess that big brother was quite quick-witted, he was my benefactor.
There are many people who know me on the street, but of course, they pretend not to recognize me.
One day, I was walking on the road and saw a car stop. The driver called out, "Princess, get in the car." I thought to myself, I must be really famous now, I have fans everywhere, they're calling for me. Little did I know, when I opened the car door, the driver laughed and said, "Who told you that you're a princess? Wandering chicken, get in, I'll treat you." I looked and saw two little girls sitting next to him, and the driver's voice had changed, he spoke gently and said, "Little potato, where are you going?"
It was quite interesting, I almost burst out laughing. It's better to be a wandering chicken, potatoes are only worth a few dollars.
Xiao Wang patted me from behind and said, "Just kidding." I said, "Wait for the car." He said, "Let's go together," and we rented a shared electric scooter.
I said, "You said 'Princess, get in the car.'"
He said, "Are you crazy? You're not a princess."
I suddenly got a little angry and said, "Go to hell, how am I not a princess? Am I not worthy of being a princess? If I'm not a princess, then you're not my mother!"
Xiao Wang said, "You're a person, a strong and beautiful woman."
I was stunned for a moment, and for some reason, I couldn't get angry anymore. I gave him a pat on the head and said, "You're crazy." Then I sat on his electric scooter and we went home.
Xiao Wang is the closest person to me, I don't know what we are to each other, but we get along well. Xiao Wang is also very hardworking. Even though the economic environment is not good, he still has a few regular customers. One day, he was sick, but Zhang Jie and Li Jie wanted to see him, so he came to work with an IV drip. As soon as the older sister called him, he pulled out the needle and went. When he came back, he put the needle back in himself.
Maybe because we're always together, others have given him a nickname, "Tianjin Saline Duck."
Saline Duck has a good temper and a strong work ethic. That's rare in this industry. I love playing with him. Since I was little, I've always loved playing with good kids. My colleagues say, "You two, a wandering chicken and a saline duck, are a perfect match." I'm happy when I hear that, I like him.
After a few days, we started living together. Saline Duck is really good, he lives frugally, never wasting money. If he can ride an electric scooter, he won't take a taxi. If he can cook for himself, he won't eat out. He also has a good temper. I call him Saline Duck and he doesn't get angry, he just smiles at me and says, "Come on, take a bite, I'll make you salty."
A guy who doesn't spend your money, doesn't beat you, and can sleep with you at night and talk to you. I feel like there's nothing more I can ask for.
But Saline Duck is the only one who doesn't like it when I call myself a wandering chicken. Every time I mention it, he gets angry. But who doesn't have some strange quirks? I forgive him, I forgive him for insisting on seeing me as a person.
Sometimes I give him money to help me manage it. Saline Duck likes to study this stuff, funds, banks, government bonds, insurance. He doesn't do much, and he doesn't earn much. According to him, it's called being "stable." I don't understand, but when I see the money slowly accumulating in the account, I suddenly feel inexplicably happy.
Who would have thought that we would have a little bit of savings, which is even rarer in our line of work. I also started to stop wasting money, smoking less. Occasionally, if someone gives me a cigarette, I'll take it, but I never buy them myself. If I can eat the food Saline Duck cooks, I won't eat out. If I can ride on his electric scooter, I won't take a taxi.
For one month, the two of us only spent less than two thousand yuan. The two of us, we, we, it feels like we're really living our lives.
Saline Duck is good in every way, except for that strange quirk. It wasn't a big deal at first, but that day, a customer had drunk too much. I walked the customer out, and as they were leaving, they patted my face and said, "Wandering chicken, why are you so lonely? Next time, I'll come find you again." It was a small matter, but Saline Duck happened to be coming off stage and heard it.
He said, "You're full of shit, you look like a big soft-shelled turtle."
The customer was stunned, and not just the customer, even I was stunned.
The customer, who was still a bit drunk, asked, "What did you say?"
He said, "I said you're an old turtle."
I couldn't help but laugh, and with a "pu chi" sound, the two of them started fighting.
In the end, they made peace at the police station and had to pay the customer two thousand yuan. Two thousand yuan, a meal costs twenty, sixty a day, one thousand eight hundred a month, two thousand yuan is a month's worth of food. How precious this nickname is, it's a month's worth of food for Xiao Wang and me.
I punched him when we went out. I said, "Xiao Wang, are you stupid?"
He endured the punches and asked me, "Why are you crying?"
I said, "I miss my grandmother."
He rented an electric scooter, and we went home. He kept talking in the car, saying it's okay, if you miss your grandmother, let's go back and see her. It's almost Chinese New Year, it's a good time to go back. He talked a lot, and I couldn't find a chance to speak.
After a while, he stopped talking, and I took the opportunity to speak. I wanted to ask him if he would love me forever.
Just as I was about to speak, the wind rushed over from a distance and pressed my mouth shut. I thought to myself, no wonder this guy isn't talking anymore.
Unfortunately, the wind was really strong that day, and it pressed back the words I wanted to say, choking out tears instead.
I hugged his waist and pressed my face against his back. I thought, luckily the wind is strong today, it carried away my tears as well.
"Essays"
Written by "Pocket Writing"