Chapter 4 Section 03

Wang Qiming went to the restaurant early in the morning, and Guo Yan was bored in the basement alone. I want to go out for a walk, but I am really afraid that I will lose my way and never get back.She walked back and forth in the basement, like a dog in a cage, standing on tiptoes for a while, leaning on the only small window, looking out, and pacing up and down in the basement for a while. In the morning, she casually swallowed a few unfinished biscuits brought along the road; in the afternoon, she was really lonely, so she sneaked into the street alone. Women are indeed bolder than men.

She saw a grocery store run by a Chinese on the street and pushed the door in. Unexpectedly, the person who received her was a retired Kuomintang general named Liu who was on the record.A few words chatted up.The boss surnamed Liu has long since lost the demeanor of the previous general, and what remains is the dexterity of a small businessman.After hearing Guo Yan's self-introduction, he persuaded her. "Mrs. Wang!" Boss Liu called Guo Yan politely, but Guo Yan felt very awkward. "Ms. Wang," Boss Liu said, "you have just arrived here, and you don't understand the rules of this place. This place has to make money first. Without money, it is difficult to move an inch, and you have to wait for death. This place in the United States does not support people."

The words made Guo Yan shrink her neck. "But don't be afraid, at least you have to find something to do; don't worry about good or bad, as long as you have something to do, food, drink and shelter, there is absolutely no problem." "Can you help me? I don't know the place..." "I have to go in and make a phone call, please wait a moment." With that said, Boss Liu entered the back room. Guo Yan stood there dumbfounded, thinking about Boss Liu's words. After a while, Boss Liu came out and handed her a small note: "This is the address, go, and say that Mr. Yao asked you to come."

Guo Yan kept thanking her, and walked out of the house. Boss Liu told him, "Just do what you have, don't think it's bad. In the United States, just staying without making money is almost like committing suicide." Guo Yan thanked her all the way, and walked out from inside. New York, this is New York. Along the way, she kept thinking so in her heart. Boss Liu introduced Guo Yan to a garment factory.That afternoon, Guo Yan brought back a large bag of semi-finished sweaters from the garment factory and sat in the basement, concentrating on hooking the needles.For hours on end, I just sat there, rarely moving.Tired is very tired, but the fear and anxiety lingering in her heart seem to be dispelled.

The battle for lunch in the Xiangyuan Building did not come to an end until 2:30 in the afternoon.Everyone eats lunch around a round table. Wang Qiming was so tired that he didn't have any appetite, so he just sat there and ate soup. "Eat, it's such a tiring job, what can I do if I don't eat." The proprietress said, and put a piece of fish into Wang Qiming's bowl.The business is good, and the eel is a special dish that the proprietress rewards everyone. Wang Qiming thanked him and ate without looking up. "Mr. Wang, I'm new here. It's finally nailed down. It's not bad. I just need someone. Mr. Wang is young and strong, work hard."

Everyone listened to the proprietress talking, bowed their heads to eat, and did not interrupt. But after the boss left the table, the guys started to make fun of what the boss wife said.First, Xiao Li, imitating the good tone of the boss, praised Wang Qiming, and everyone really laughed for a while. Wang Qiming was embarrassed, and Xiao Li told him: "If someone else worked like you today, he would have been fired long ago!" The chef puffed on his cigarette and said in a very experienced tone: "I think this girl has taken a fancy to Mr. Wang." "Wok" spoke more directly: "Needless to say, I can tell at a glance. This bitch can talk with a flirtatious ass, and her tits can flirt. Mr. Wang, your good luck has come, and it doesn't cost money. Playing for nothing - fun!"

"I'm married," Wang Qiming argued, "my daughter is eleven years old..." "What are you afraid of?" "Wok" said, "You don't care about these things, and neither does she." Xiao Li said: "I'm afraid the proprietress is just playing for fun, not serious." The chef said: "It doesn't matter if she doesn't move, it's true to play first, look at how gorgeous that bitch's tits are..." The chef stopped talking suddenly, it turned out that the proprietress was behind him. "I said, are you bored and dare to spoil the old lady behind your back? If you are bored and panic, spend two dollars to find a place to make a fuss, and don't get addicted to the proprietress here! I have a crush on him? Think about it Beauty! Is my wife the kind of person who doesn't open her eyes?"

Wang Qiming held back his temper, did not speak, and glanced at this fiery woman out of the corner of his eye. From her bright forehead and between her brows, he judged her to be a shrewd woman; from her bare chest and sexy waist and arms, he thought she was a bohemian woman. "You all work hard with me, the business is good, there is no harm from you!" "What good is that?" Chef's quick response made everyone laugh out loud. "Shameless bastard. Ballshit!" (meaning shit) Even though she said that, she still had a smile on her face. "A mysterious woman", Wang Qiming said in his heart.

Throughout the afternoon, Wang Qiming continued to clean the stove, wash the dishes, clean the toilet, sweep the carpet, chop onions, and peel frozen shrimp.The white shirt had just been put on in the morning, and it had turned yellowish-brown by the time I got off work.Wang Qiming was exhausted. It was nine o'clock in the evening, and everyone bid farewell to the proprietress with a "goodbye" and went home. Wang Qiming is doing the final finishing work. The proprietress would do the accounting, and she walked over lazily and asked, "Do you know how to get back?" "Know."

"Shall I give you a drive?" "I think, I can touch it back." He was about to leave when the proprietress stopped him. "etc!" He stopped. "Help me lock the door." "Yes," Wang Qiming obeyed all her orders. That night, Wang Qiming walked towards his "home" with heavy legs. His legs were heavy, his fingers were stiff, and his head was heavy. The main thing is the head. The head seems to be full of pulp, and it is very heavy.He tried to make himself think clearly, but he couldn't.His head was as woody as a tree, a block of steel.

"Is this the way to live?" he asked himself. "Did I come to America to be a dishwasher?" He walked, raised his hands, and looked at his hands through the light. These hands, which have been playing the violin since they were eight years old, have been protected all the time. Today, they were destroyed by bleach, detergent and dirty dishes, and they lost all consciousness. "What to do, my violin? What to do, my playing? What to do, my career? What to do? No, I must find an opportunity to go back to my old business! I can't leave my career." At some point, he walked into a subway tunnel, he suddenly stopped and listened. A violin played. Oh, it's Beethoven's Violin Concerto, the third movement. The sound is pure, beautiful, and the technique is good.It should be said, very good. Wang Qiming thought it was a record played by a loudspeaker, but when he listened carefully, it didn't look like there was no concerto band. He took a few steps and turned a corner. It was a blond man playing.He played carefully and deeply, his tousled hair covering his forehead but not his eyes.There was a light in his eyes, the fire that had been lit by Beethoven. Wang Qiming was attracted by this person's skillful playing skills and touching music performance.He stands opposite the player. Passers-by in a hurry dismissed the music and the performers, but this did not affect the passion of the performers and Wang Qiming's focused appreciation. The performer played the cadenza in the concerto and gave Wang Qiming a knowing smile. Wang Qiming also smiled back. In the subway tunnel, there is a concert where one person plays and one person appreciates. In front of the performer's feet, in an open piano case, several coins glowed coldly. It's hard to believe that such a talented performer is playing on the street.And Wang Qiming, who deeply felt that he was far inferior to this person in terms of talent and skills, felt a painful feeling at this time. He took out a ten-dollar bill from his jacket pocket, put it in the performer's piano case, and ran away in a hurry. The music rang behind him without interruption. Wang Qiming ran out of the subway without looking back. A kind of disappointment, a feeling of despair welled up in my heart. From the blond player, he saw the end of his career. He ran, and he couldn't even explain what he was running away from. He ran, ran, and ran. When Wang Qiming returned to his "home", Guo Yan was crocheting a sweater.Wang Qiming did not tell Guo Yan the details of his work, but lit a cigarette with trembling hands. Guo Yan ran to the bathroom to put hot water for him, and talked loudly to Wang Qiming about her day's experience. "Qi Ming! I also have a job. Crocheting sweaters, one dollar and seventy cents a piece; I crochet four in one afternoon, and that's six dollars and eighty cents. It's a good deal for you. It's almost half the price of an orchestra." monthly salary." She came out of the bathroom happily and found that Wang Qiming was already fast asleep and snoring. She gently undressed him and pulled a quilt to cover him.She sits next to him, crocheting a sweater. Outside, the cold wind from the Atlantic howled against the dry branches. On the street, cars passed by one after another, shaking the basement with a bang, and Mom seemed to be driving into the room. Guo Yan just sat and crocheted a sweater.She leaned on the little lamp and kept crocheting sweaters until late at night. Wang Qiming's three-day trial period expired.On the afternoon of the third day, Wang Qiming was cleaning the ground with a vacuum cleaner.In his heart, he was waiting for the proprietress to appear, but he was very afraid of her appearance.Her appearance will determine her own destiny.He dreaded the arrival of this moment and looked forward to the arrival of this moment.He vaguely felt that this kind of inner state only existed in the music academy.At that time, he couldn't wait to be admitted, but he was afraid that what he was waiting for was a notice of not being admitted. Thinking that waiting to be admitted to a conservatory of music and waiting to be hired as a dishwasher in a restaurant is exactly the same state of hope and fear, Wang Qiming couldn't help but a wry smile crossed his lips. The vacuum cleaner hums. This kind of sound that put an end to people's thoughts made Wang Qiming's mind blank. This blankness just happened to be a barrier for Wang Qiming to escape reality and get rid of anxiety in his heart. Someone tapped him on the shoulder.The movement of patting the shoulder was so gentle that Wang Qiming didn't pay attention to it for a while. It's still the vacuum cleaner making the roar that prevents people from thinking. Someone was still patting him on the shoulder.This shot was so hard that Wang Qiming turned his head in shock.The landlady's face was so close to him that the hot air exhaled from her mouth could spray on his face sweetly. "What did you say?" Wang Qiming asked loudly, trying to suppress the roar of the vacuum cleaner. The proprietress stretched out her foot and stepped on the switch of the vacuum cleaner. "Won't you turn off the goddamn vacuum first?" she yelled angrily. "Yes... I, I didn't hear." "you are stupid!" "No! Madame..." "Don't call me Mrs." "I think……" "Think? Can you think too? I think you are an ass, you don't think at all! You won't even want to understand the obvious things! " "No, I..." Wang Qiming blushed, facing such an eloquent woman, he was at a loss for words for a while, and had nothing to say. Seeing Wang Qiming's naive look, the proprietress finally couldn't hold back a "puchi" and laughed out loud. "I said you are a stupid donkey, you are a stupid donkey!" She said here, lowering her voice, "Come back to work tomorrow, I will see if you can become smarter in my Xiangyuan building! I think Unlucky, I'll give you another hundred." Wang Qiming's eyes lit up, and he looked at the pungent woman in front of him in disbelief. "Why are you staring at me? Don't scare me!" She smiled and said like a child, "Maybe I'm too stupid, why do I like you so much!" After finishing speaking, she took a piece of thread from his hair with her hand, flicked it away with her slender fingertips, gave Wang Qiming a meaningful look, turned and walked away. One month, thirty days, not so easy to mess with. Especially for people like Wang Qiming, who work desperately, wash the dishes with water and wash themselves with sweat at the same time, the days pass more slowly. But, having said that, when I think that I have a job anyway, and when I think that many buddies from the mainland may not have such a job, I feel somewhat satisfied in my heart. To pass the time—maybe not just to pass the time—Wang Qiming always likes to think about the proprietress when he has nothing to do.This handsome, pungent, and capable woman ruled the restaurant and enslaved many men. On the one hand, she made these men have decent jobs in order to gain a foothold in the United States; she. When Wang Qiming heard the proprietress's name—A Chun—for the first time, he felt that the name was very appropriate.Ah Chun, Chun, not only brings warmth to people, but also still has a bit of chill. "Salary is paid!" Ah Chun said to Wang Qiming who walked into the door, "Nine hundred yuan, put it away, don't let someone rob you on the road. Wang Qiming took an envelope from Ah Chun, which contained nine hundred dollars.Twenty-dollar banknotes were remitted into a thick stack.He likes these one-dollar bills very much.It gives people the impression of being heavy, rich, and rich. Even if this impression is unreal, even though the nine hundred yuan did not increase by a penny because of the thick form, it makes him feel full and confident, and makes him feel full. When he was a freshman, he felt a kind of supporting force for a moment, which made him temporarily forget the fatigue deep in his bones, and made him straighten his waist. It's not easy, nine hundred dollars, and it's such a thick stack! He put the money in the safest underwear pocket, which is close to the heart, and walked on the avenue of Manhattan.In the subway, he crossed his arms again and put them on his chest, protecting it tightly. He understands that the wad in his underwear pocket is more important than anything else. He felt hot on his chest, and he didn't know whether his own body temperature warmed the money, or the real green banknotes warmed his chest.In short, his chest was hot, his head was a little dizzy, and his throat and eyes were dry. During this day, he understood how important money is to a person, and how important it is to a person who wants to survive in the United States. He knew that this stack of banknotes was the heel of his foothold in the United States. Inexplicably, he was afraid that someone would snatch his nine hundred yuan; he unconsciously stretched out his hand to cover his chest, and looked at the people around him vigilantly.In the eyes of others, he must look like a well-trained police dog at this time. He stepped out of the mild subway into the still wet March in New York. He was still wearing the parka he brought from Beijing, and a pair of washed white jeans.There are big chunks of grease all over the clothes.Oh, by the way, and those sneakers that used to be white are now dark gray. He walked briskly on the streets of New York.No one paid attention to him, no one imagined the excitement in his heart, no one knew his origin.If someone glanced at him out of sheer chance, he saw nothing more than a typical New York wage earner. The same is true. Money laughed aloud in their dank basement. When Wang Qiming handed the stack of banknotes to his wife's face, unexpectedly his wife also took out a check and flashed it in front of his eyes. "What?" Wang Qiming guessed what it was, but still asked, the question was full of joy. "Check! $485! I earned it!" Guo Yan danced the check proudly, jumping onto the wooden box on the ground, rolling to the other side of the bed, like a bouncing bunny, hopping here and there until Wang Qiming hugged him. stopped her. They hugged each other, letting each other's breath spray their faces. "Listen to me," Guo Yan pushed away Wang Qiming who was kissing her, "The nine hundred will be returned to my aunt; the two hundred will be paid for the rent, and the remaining one hundred will be sent to Ningning." "Okay!" Wang Qiming fully agreed. "Okay!" Guo Yan got up, sat on the wooden box, continued to crochet sweaters, humming "Ode to Beijing" excitedly, "I have to work." "Work? Driving late again?" "Yes! Drive the night train!" "Let your boss drive it yourself. We are humans, not machines!" He knocked on the wooden box angrily. "Is his surname Ma? Tell Ma that you are a human being, not a cow or a horse, let him understand this!" "Why are you so angry? Boss Ma didn't force me to do it. I was willing to earn a few more dollars!" Wang Qiming sighed with emotion: "Oh! People, for the sake of living, they can endure any hardships and swallow all anger." "It's not just us who suffer so much, don't all the newcomers look like this? After a year of suffering, save money and send you to school, so you don't have to suffer!" "Forget it, I'm only half-baked at English. It takes three or four years to pass the TOEFL, go to college at thirty-five six, and graduate at forty. Who wants me? Besides, what's the use of really learning to start? Restaurant Li, That's a master's degree in marine biology. She has studied hard for five years and still washes the dishes! Let's talk about the proprietress Ah Chun. She is a graduate of Columbia University in New York, but she has too strong a personality and can't stand foreigners' anger. I just changed my career and started a business. As for me, I also changed to go to school, so I just went straight into business and made money!" Guo Yan listened, hooked her sweater, and didn't answer anything. "Don't get carried away, madam, it's Sunday tomorrow, and we've got to go and see." "Look at what?" "Look at the American sun!" "The American sun?" "I took the subway to the restaurant early in the morning, washed the dishes when I arrived at the restaurant, and it was dark again when I got home—it's been a month, and I still don't know whether the sun in the United States is round or square! No, what to say, I have to see it tomorrow Look at the American sun!"