(1)
“Zhao Lao’er, you actually went to the province capital?” Zhao Lao’er held a brick-like Nokia phone to his ear, and on the other end came Li Fayuan’s voice, tinged with helplessness.
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you I was coming?” “Didn’t you have a teahouse in the small city?”
“Fuck that!” Zhao Lao’er spat onto the concrete floor. “Those half-assed Japanese invaders just take and extort—today it’s one bureau, tomorrow it’s another. I’d only been open a month when they shut me down for failing the fire safety inspection. What the hell were they checking before I opened?”
“…Maybe you should get in touch with Officer Chen.”
“Touch my ass. Do I look like that kind of person? Even if I wanted a backer, I’d need one with real pull—what the hell good is some petty cop?”
“…So you came to the province capital?”
“At least it’s fair and square here, right? It’s the province capital after all.” “You do know the costs of running a shop here are way higher than back there.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll just work for someone else first—what the hell is there to be afraid of!” Zhao Lao’er cursed and spat again. “When I was doing bad shit, they didn’t come after me. Now I want to be a decent person, and they won’t give me a chance. This world just won’t let good people live!” “Since when are you a good person…? What about Ning Ning? If you have to work, who’s going to take care of her?” “I will.”
“How the hell are you supposed to take care of her while working?”
“Don’t you worry one bit! I’ve got plenty of ways!”
“You… seriously, you just have to make the kid suffer.” “Get out of here, I don’t have time to waste on your nonsense. I’ve gotta go to work!” “You already found a job?”
“Yeah.”
“Starting this early in the morning?”
“Yep.” “Doing what?”
“Running errands for people.” “Errands? Do you need to drive?”
“Drive, of course—but it’s an electric bike. The company provides it. Hey, you know what, the benefits aren’t bad, didn’t even have to pay a deposit!” Zhao Lao’er moved the phone a bit away from his ear. “Alright, alright, I’ll waste time talking to you some other day!”
“You…”
“Beep, beep, beep…”
“Dad, was that Uncle the barber on the phone?”
“It’s Li Fayuan… whatever, call him what you want.” Zhao Lao’er rubbed Bie Ningning’s head like he was kneading a watermelon. “Come on, today you’re going to work with Dad.” “Yay~! Going to work with Dad!”
To adults, going to work with a parent might seem like a hardship.
But to a child… at least for now, it doesn’t feel like a chore at all—it even feels fun.
Kids really don’t want much. As long as they can be with their parents, it doesn’t matter how tough it gets. Besides, kids have endless energy—even if they’re tired, it’s a happy kind of tired. Completely different from adults.
(2)
“Hello, Group Leader, I’m the one from yesterday. You told me last night I could start today…”
“Right, I know. You start today. This is the key to your electric bike.” The man in the well-fitted suit swiveled his chair to look at the scrawny, shifty-eyed man before him. He didn’t look like someone cut out for this kind of work, but the pay was so low that nobody else had applied, so they had to make do with what they got. “There are already two orders from last night waiting this morning…”
“So where’s the electric bike?”
“Right outside the company entrance. There’s a row of blue-black ones. Press the remote lock—the one that beeps is yours.” “Got it!”
“These are two delivery orders. You need to pick up the items and deliver them to the specified locations. Remember, what you’re delivering is usually important documents, so absolutely do not lose them, and make sure you deliver them before the deadline.”
“Alright, no problem. But what if the electric bike runs out of battery?”
“Come back to the company and swap it. Hand the dead battery to the front desk, and they’ll give you a fully charged one.” The man in the suit frowned, pausing for a few seconds. “Any questions?”
“No more questions!” Zhao Lao’er immediately straightened his back. “The specific addresses are all on the orders.”
“Group Leader, didn’t you say these were important documents? How come the second one is asking me to pick up a cake from a shop and deliver it?”
“I said ‘usually,’ not ‘always.’ This is a courier job—if it’s something to be delivered, we take it. Sometimes you’ll even be asked to pick up someone’s kid from school. Don’t make a fuss over nothing.”
“You even pick up kids? That trusting?”
The group leader pushed up his black-rimmed glasses again, looking at Zhao Lao’er meaningfully: “No courier would cause trouble for the company… Our company’s main business is debt collection.”
“Alright, mission guaranteed!” Zhao Lao’er snapped his legs together and gave a salute like a traitor soldier. “I’m off then!” “Hurry it up…”
Only after Zhao Lao’er walked out of the office’s glass door did someone finally crack up laughing: “Group Leader, why are we even hiring guys like that, all skin and bones?” “No shit. The base pay is only five hundred a month. We barely have any business coming in, and each order pays next to nothing. Last month a guy worked a full month and only made a thousand—he quit on the spot. Would you take the job?”
“Why is the pay so low?”
“We’re still expanding this division. Can’t take too big a step at once.”
“I don’t know, he doesn’t look like a good guy. Why not put him in the debt collection department?” “Him? With that frame of his? He’d get thrown out by the debtors the moment he showed up. He can’t even stand as muscle.”
(3)
Zhao Lao’er walked into the stairwell and patted Bie Ningning’s head: “Ning Ning’s been so good, not running around.” “Dad, is work about to start?”
“Yep, we’re picking up the goods first, then delivering them!” Zhao Lao’er puffed out his chest. “Work hard, and I can pull in three to five thousand in commissions a month!” “Yay~! Dad, what kind of job is yours?” “Courier!”
“Courier?”
“Yeah, running errands. It’s a good job—way easier than chasing down debts.” Zhao Lao’er spat at the trash can by the elevator, just as the elevator dinged open.
A middle-aged man in a well-fitted suit stepped out, with a fierce look on his face, while the pretty woman beside him in professional attire shot Zhao Lao’er a contemptuous sideways glance before clicking away in her high heels.
“Heh, that woman’s pretty. Would you want a woman that pretty to be your new mom?” Zhao Lao’er took Bie Ningning’s hand and stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the first floor. “No!” Bie Ningning immediately clutched Zhao Lao’er’s arm in a panic. “Ning Ning has a mom. Ning Ning doesn’t want a new mom!” “Alright, alright, no new mom then. But don’t hold on so tight—aren’t you hot?” “Dad’s always so flirtatious!”
“A man who isn’t into women isn’t a man at all!” Zhao Lao’er said with complete conviction.
(4)
The courier work wasn’t too much, but it wasn’t too little either.
For Zhao Lao’er, new to the province capital, finding his way around was the biggest challenge.
“Dad, go faster, go faster~!” “If I go too fast, we’ll end up taking the wrong road again.” “But going faster makes the wind feel great!”
“Don’t rush. Let me check… after this, we should keep going down this road…” Zhao Lao’er stopped the bike at the curb and unfolded a detailed map of the province capital big enough to wrap around Bie Ningning like a blanket, carefully scanning the streets. “It’s on Dongxin Road… Dongxin Road… this way… right, that’s it. We just keep going straight.”
“Can we go faster now?”
“Fine, fine. Let’s go faster.”
“Yay~!” Bie Ningning was thrilled. Even though she spent the whole ride standing, leaning over the electric bike’s dashboard, she didn’t feel tired at all.
“Are you hot?”
“It’s still early morning, so no!”
“Heh, you’ll be singing a different tune by noon.” “That’s okay. When I’m with Dad, I don’t feel hot!” “Oh?”
“Being at work with Dad is so much fun. Other dads and moms don’t take their kids to work—they just leave them at home, all alone and lonely…” “It’s way more comfortable at home.”
“Not as comfortable as being with Dad~”
“You can turn on the air conditioning at home.” “Air conditioning is too expensive!”
“Who taught you to be so frugal?” “Mom taught me!”
“Oh, I… ha, you remember that clearly.” “Ning Ning never forgets!”
“Then do you remember what I say?” “I remember all the useful things Dad says!”
“You’re just a little kid. How do you know what’s useful and what’s not?” “Don’t underestimate Ning Ning. Ning Ning is very smart! Even my kindergarten teacher says so!”
“Look at you, all proud of yourself.” Zhao Lao’er ruffled Bie Ningning’s head affectionately. “Alright, sit tight or stand steady—it’s a green light!” “Speed up~!”
(5)
It was just past 8:00 PM.
Zhao Lao’er had been busy all day. He hadn’t delivered many orders, but he’d covered a lot of ground—counting all the stairs he’d climbed, it was at least a hundred floors. Even though this was the province capital, there still weren’t many residential buildings with elevators.
“Dad, you’re sweating so much?”
“Who knew the battery would die halfway? The piece of crap they swapped in wasn’t even fully charged. Fucking hell…” “What do we do? Are we going to make it in time?”
“Don’t worry, it’s just up ahead. But getting back is going to be a problem… I’ll see if I can find a fast charging spot on the road.” Zhao Lao’er gritted his teeth and pushed the electric bike forward bit by bit—this was more tiring than walking.
After all, an electric bike that big was pretty damn heavy. “Dad, I want to walk by myself.”
“No need, just stay on there and hold on tight.” “Let me walk, Dad. I’ll help you push…” “Haha… you little runt, how could you possibly push it?” “Then I’ll get off and walk, so Dad has an easier time.”
“You’re not even that heavy—whether you get off or not doesn’t matter!” Zhao Lao’er wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a long breath. “We’re almost there. See that gate up ahead?” “I see it!”
“See that sign up there?”
“Dad… I can’t read yet…”
“Oh, right. I forgot you’re still illiterate.” “I just haven’t learned yet. That doesn’t make me illiterate!” “Haha, either way, right now you can’t read a single word.” “Hmph…”
Zhao Lao’er stopped the electric bike, wiped his sweat, and took a short breather. He looked up at the line of text by the gate and let out a long sigh: “Xinyan Garden Community… we finally fucking made it…”