Chapter 2 Chapter One

The woman wandering in the self-selection store didn't know that the male clerk of this store had noticed her. She thought she was careful, that she wasn't attractive enough, that she could get her easily.But she didn't know that the male clerk was very experienced and could distinguish ordinary customers from thieves through clothing, eyes and some subtle movements. woman in a corner.Stuffing the luncheon meat and sausage on the shelf into his coat pocket quietly - this scene was clearly recorded in the surveillance video in front of the cash register. The male clerk sneered inwardly, and caught another one today.He didn't say anything immediately.

The woman pretended to circle the shelves a few times. When a customer was checking out at the cashier, she put her hands in her coat pockets, held the stolen food tightly, and walked out of the store. The evidence is conclusive, the male clerk was at the moment of closing the net.He strode out, stopped in front of the woman who was about to go out, and said gently: "Ma'am, I'm afraid you forgot something?" The woman showed a terrified expression. She realized that she had been exposed, and said tremblingly, "What did you say...?" The male clerk wanted to save face for her. "Can you come with me to the office?"

"No, I want to go home." The woman walked quickly to the door. The male clerk grabbed her arm and shook his head helplessly.There is no other way, he unceremoniously pulled the woman's left hand out of the coat pocket, took out two cans of luncheon meat, showed it to the customers in the store as if he had won some spoils, and then said to the woman : "The ham sausage in your other pocket, can you take it out yourself?" The woman was extremely embarrassed, and the other customers in the store looked at her in surprise at the moment, a female thief, a thief who stole food like a mouse - she knew what they were thinking.

The male clerk did not let go of the woman's arm.He shouted to another colleague in the store: "Go to the cashier and help me first, and I will take her to see the boss." The young clerk came over and began pricing and collecting money for the other customers.The male clerk grabbed the woman and almost dragged her to an office inside. After the male clerk entered the door, he said to a man in his thirties sitting at the desk in the office: "Boss, a thief has been caught." The man looked broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, wearing a suit and leather shoes. He looked away from the TV screen, glanced at the woman who was brought in, and said to the male clerk, "Okay, let her go, what did she steal?"

"Two cans of luncheon meat and a bag of ham." The male clerk put the luncheon meat on the boss's table. "The ham is still in the pocket on her right side." "that's it?" "that's it." The boss shook his head slowly, and said to the male clerk, "Okay, you go back to work, and I'll take care of it." "Okay, boss." The male clerk walked out of the office and gently closed the door. The man stood up from the leather chair, walked in front of the woman, and looked at her carefully—a black woolen coat that was extremely dirty, and old leather shoes with slits under his feet.At this moment, the woman buried her head deeply in shame, unable to see her face clearly, only her disheveled hair.The man sighed in his heart—a poor woman living at the bottom of society.She wasn't some nasty villain, and from what she'd stolen, she was just starving and trying to fill her stomach—that's all.

Thinking of this, his compassion made him unable to make severe accusations against this woman.He wanted to warn her about her behavior, but he didn't even think that he turned around and picked up a can of luncheon meat, handed it to the woman, and said, "Eat it." The woman raised her head slightly and looked at the male boss in surprise. "I mean it. If you're hungry, eat." The woman lowered her head again, shook her head slowly, and said in a low voice, "Don't you blame me for stealing from your shop?" "The sum of the things you stole is less than thirty yuan," the man said. "Of course, I'm not saying that this is reasonable, but I can see that you are not the kind of habitual thief with bad intentions. You must have met someone. This kind of predicament, forced to do this kind of behavior."

The woman trembled when she heard him say this.Her lips twitched, and tears fell down - it seemed that she had been told the sad part.She still didn't dare to lift her head up, and after sobbing for a while, she said something that surprised the man: "No, you're wrong. I'm a habitual thief. I almost buy all the supermarkets, shops, and small grocery stores in this area. Stealing all over. Although, as you said, I did not steal anything valuable, my behavior is a shameful thief, and I should be cast aside like a rat in the sewer." The man stared at her blankly. He was shocked and puzzled by this confession: "You...you don't seem to have lost your self-esteem and shame. Why do you have to live by stealing for a long time? Why don't you find a job?"

The woman said sadly, "I tried to find a job, I tried many times. But no one offered me a job." The man asked strangely: "Why?" "Because I'm a foreigner, I don't have a fixed place to live, and I don't have an ID card..." She paused, bit her lips tightly, and said with difficulty after a long time, "Besides, I am alone, with a sick daughter. A lot of inconvenience..." "What? You have a daughter?" the man said in surprise. "You don't look very old...how old are you?" The woman replied, "Twenty-two years old."

"Where's your daughter?" The woman hesitated for a moment: "Seven years old..." Oh my God.The man was extremely surprised, "So, when you were fifteen, you just..." "Yes." The topic seemed to pain her. "Please, stop talking." They were silent for a while.The woman said, "Thank you for not holding me accountable for the theft. I won't be stealing from your store again. Can I... can I go?" The man was in a complicated mood at the moment. He thought for a moment and said, "Can you raise your head?" The woman hesitated for a moment, raised her head, and her gaze collided with the man's.

The man was shocked—this woman, although she claimed to be a habitual thief, had a pair of clear and transparent eyes like lake water.Although her face, hair, and clothes are all greasy and dirty, her brows and eyes reveal a refined beauty. If a little modification and a little makeup are applied, she will be a charming beauty. The man was stunned, and he couldn't help imagining the handsome appearance of this woman after some dressing up in his mind.The woman was a little embarrassed by being stared at, and lowered her head again. The man shook his head, realizing he was in a trance.He said, "My name is Marvin, what's your name?"

The woman said slowly, "My name is... Ni Ke." Marvin nodded lightly, and after a few seconds, he said, "Okay, Ni Ke—if I let you work in my shop, would you be willing?" Ni Ke looked at Marvin in surprise, feeling unbelievable, "You...are you serious?" "certainly." "Ah..." Ni Ke was trembling with excitement, it seemed that she had been looking forward to the job for a long time.At this moment, she didn't know how to express her touch and gratitude, so she knelt down and said gratefully: "Thank you... thank you! After so long, someone finally no longer looks down on me... Willing to give me a chance to work. " Marvin quickly helped her up and said, "No need to do this, I just want to give you a chance to work hard like ordinary people and earn money to support your family. You don't need to steal anything in the future, and you can live a normal life." Ni Ke nodded his thanks again and again, but said awkwardly: "But I don't have an ID card, and I don't have money to pay a security deposit. Can you trust me and let me work here?" No. I trust my own judgment. I also believe that you will tell me with practical actions that I am not mistaken." Ni Ke felt that she shed tears again, and she swore: "I will definitely prove it to you." "That's really great." Marvin said with satisfaction, "This self-selected store of mine now has two male shop assistants, and I'm thinking of recruiting another female shop assistant, who can introduce some women's products to customers. One month's basic salary Two thousand yuan, with dividends and commissions at the end of the month, is that okay?" "Yes, yes." Ni Ke agreed without hesitation, looking very happy. "Working hours are 9 am to 9 pm every day. We provide lunch and dinner. There are two optional breaks a month - is there a problem?" "no problem." Ma Wen nodded in satisfaction, walked to the desk, opened the drawer, took out a thousand yuan from it, and handed it to Ni Ke. "I will pay you one thousand yuan in advance for this month's salary. There is a bathing center near us. I suggest you take a good bath and then change into the work clothes of our shop. In addition, you can buy some comparison clothes in the shop. Cheap daily necessities and cosmetics. In short, I hope you can start today with a refreshed mind and body. Is it possible?" "En!" Ni Ke nodded affirmatively, "That's exactly what I thought!" Marvin handed her the money. "Okay, you go—oh, right." He stopped Ni Ke who was about to turn around, "One more thing—where do you live now?" Ni Ke was stunned, looking very embarrassed.Marvin speculated through her embarrassed expression: "Why, don't you have a place to live now?" Ni Ke shook his head and said, "No, I have a place to live." "Is it far from here?" "...not too far away." "That's good." Marvin said, "I plan to go to your house to see your sick daughter after get off work today. If there is anything that needs help, I hope I can do my part." Hearing Marvin say this , Ni Ke suddenly changed color.She trembled all over, and her face was frightened, as if she was terrified by Marvin's proposal. Ma Wen was puzzled by Ni Ke's reaction. He was out of good intentions and wanted to help the poor mother and daughter.He asked in wonder, "What's the matter? Can't it?" Ni Ke lowered his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness. But...my daughter, I'm afraid I won't be able to see anyone." Marvin frowned. "What's the meaning?" "I'm sorry... I can't say." Ma Wen frowned and looked at Ni Ke intently.After a while, he said: "Ni Ke, I trust you and sincerely want to help you. But your current behavior has to make me doubt—is what you said to me just now true? ? You really have a seven-year-old daughter?" Ni Ke's tears poured from his eyes. "In the end, you still suspect that I'm lying to you? Do you think I said those things to you in exchange for sympathy, so that I can get this job, or... this thousand yuan?" She put the money on Marvin's table, weeping, shook her head and said, "It's okay, I can give it all up. I just hope you don't think of me like that. I can steal because I'm hungry, but I won't." Lie. Please let me save the last of my self-esteem." After speaking, she turned around and was about to leave.Marvin sighed irritably, grabbed her, and said, "Okay, I believe you. I won't ask about your daughter any more. But can you promise me something—if you get in touch with me in the future, Increase, if you are willing to trust me, can you please open your heart and accept my care and help?" Ni Ke stared at Marvin, seeing the sincere emotion in the man's eyes.She nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I promise." Ma Wen breathed a sigh of relief, and stuffed the one thousand yuan on the table into her hand again, and then took out a set of work clothes from the cabinet on the right side of the desk. "You go to the bathing center to take a bath first, then change into this, and then come to see me." Ni Ke nodded, took the clothes and money and went out. Marvin let out a long breath, sat back on the leather swivel chair, supported his head with one hand, and shook his head slowly. He really didn't know what was wrong with him, why he had to keep a woman who stole from his shop more than ten minutes ago to work here.It's sympathy, it's curiosity.Or impulsive?He really couldn't figure it out. Marvin's self-selection store opened in the outskirts of the city. Although it is not as lively and prosperous as the city center, as a new development zone, there are many people working and living nearby.Relatively speaking, the cost and competition of opening a store here are much smaller than those in the city center.This store has nearly 400 square meters. It is a relatively large small supermarket in this area, and its business has been good. Financially, Marvin is carefree.But his marriage and relationship are not satisfactory.He was married once, and before he had time to have children, he divorced his strong wife.Since then, I have never met a suitable marriage partner. Now thirty-five years old, still alone. He believes in fate, in life.One day there will be someone who belongs to him. Now, he sits in his office, fingers crossed, chin resting on his knuckles. Within an hour after Ni Ke went out, he was actually thinking about this woman he just met.Ridiculously, the thought seemed overwhelming. A twenty-two-year-old, young and beautiful woman with a seven-year-old daughter.They left their hometowns and came to other places to live in a mysterious place that cannot be disclosed - because their daughter suffered from some kind of strange disease and could not see people... Oh my god, who else in the world is more mysterious than her, making people want to go to A woman who explores and understands?There are as many mysteries about this woman as there are Baimo triangles.The mysterious allure she exudes is simply irresistible. Finally, Marvin found that he could no longer think about her like this.He got up from the leather swivel chair and walked out of the office. It is just after three o'clock in the afternoon, and there are not many customers in the store.Marvin summoned the two male shop assistants and said that he was going to keep the woman who just stole the food here to work.He selectively told them about the woman and said that he just wanted to help the poor mother and daughter. For the male clerk who had just caught the female thief, this dramatic change was difficult for him to accept.But this is the boss's absoluteness, he can't object, he can only say awkwardly: "Boss, I really don't know how to get along with her." "Forget about the past, just get along with ordinary colleagues, everyone makes mistakes, I believe she is not a bad person." Marvin said. Another young male clerk said: "Boss, I know you have good intentions. But after all, you don't know her background, and you only had contact with her for a short ten minutes. Do you really think she can be completely trusted?" ?” "Yes, it's like trusting you." Marvin said firmly, "I trust my intuition, and I hope you can trust my judgment." The two male shop assistants had nothing to say. They chatted for a while.Scattered customers in and out of the store didn't pay much attention. Until a young woman wearing a clerk's uniform appeared at the door, the three men standing at the cash register and chatting all stopped and stared at her blankly. Is this really the dirty female thief just now?The three of them couldn't believe their eyes. At this moment, she seemed to have washed away all the lead and dust, and she was as fresh and refined as a lotus flower, and she looked radiant and charming. Ni Ke didn't seem to realize why the three men stared blankly.She lowered her head to look at her clothes, and said shyly, "What's wrong? Doesn't the clothes fit you well?" "No, no, it fits very well." The male shop assistant who caught her at first completely forgot what happened before, and he sincerely praised: "You are very smart and beautiful." Ni Ke remembered the embarrassing things that happened before.He lowered his head, not daring to meet the male clerk's eyes. Ma Wen said: "Ni Ke, don't feel embarrassed. I've told them just now, and the previous incident should be treated as if it never happened. From now on, you will be an employee here, so work hard." "Yeah." Ni Ke nodded. "Today, you should familiarize yourself with the products in our store first—especially women's products. You should get to know them as soon as possible so that you can introduce them to customers. If you don't understand anything, just ask them." Marvin pointed to the slightly older The male clerk said, "His name is Zhou Yi, and he has been working here for six years." Pointing to the young male clerk, "He is Xiao He, and he has only been here for more than three months." "Hello, my name is Ni Ke." Ni Ke nodded to them. "Hey, hello, hello." The two male shop assistants smiled back. Marvin nodded in satisfaction. "I'm going back to the office first. Zhou Yi, Xiao He, please take care of her." The two male shop assistants nodded hurriedly, obviously very happy.