Chapter Thirty-Four: Tears in Front of Jiang's Gate

  Liu Handong returned to Tiegu Street at midnight, and Mei's 10-yuan massage parlor was still lit with a dim red light. Two idle men sat inside smoking, occasionally waving at passersby, scaring away the night-shift workers who were hurrying home.

  A tricycle motorcycle passed by, and a man who had just stood up with his pants already pulled up to his waist, pulled down his short skirt and beckoned, shouting: "Dong Ge, come on, you come."

  Liu Handong stopped his motorcycle and walked over: "What's up?"

  "Hehe, why are you back so late? Where did you go?" Yisi laughed and asked.

  "It's nothing, I'm leaving." Liu Handong didn't want to get entangled with them.

  "Hey, wait a minute, your sister is looking for you." Shī Zú said.

  Liu Handong was taken aback, he didn't have a sister, could it be that they were talking about Lan Huaxi?

  "What's wrong?"

  "Come on in, come on." Two of them rushed forward together, pulling and dragging Liu Handong into the hair salon. One of them shouted from behind: "Sister Mei, Brother Dong is here."

  Mei Jie brought Hong Xi out and said with a smile: "Hey, Dong Ge is quite busy, just got off work, have you eaten? Relax!"

  Liu Handong said: "I've eaten, nothing's wrong, I'm going back to sleep."

  Mei said: "Sleeping so early is called letting your sisters serve you."

  Liu Handong panicked: "Really no need, I'm leaving."

  Mei jie nodded, and the two of them giggled as they pinned Liu Handong to his chair. Huan Xi brought over a basin of water and began helping Liu Handong take off his shoes. Mei jie stood behind him, massaging his shoulders, saying: "Don't worry, big brother, we're a legitimate barber shop, we don't do that sort of thing."

  Liu Handong said: "Is this a barber shop, a massage parlor, or a foot bath? Give me a clear answer."

  Mei said: "Anyway, just relax and let your sister take care of you, otherwise she won't be able to sleep."

  Looking at Huanxi again, she lowered her head and helped Liu Handong wash his feet, a bit awkward but very diligent.

  Mei Jie was behind him, knocking on his back and pinching his shoulders. The two clumsy Nana and Xiao Ya, one on the left and one on the right, helped Liu Handong massage his thighs, occasionally touching sensitive areas, and asked him: "Dong Ge, is the force too heavy or too light? Speak up."

  "It's almost done, you two can go and attend to other things."

  The two were reluctant to leave, but after Mei Jie gave them a signal with her eyes, they obediently left and continued to sit at the door to solicit customers.

  After washing her feet, Mei Jie said: "Dong Ge, sleep here tonight, there's air conditioning, and let Huan Xi accompany you."

  "Sleep tight!" Liu Handong put on his shoes and was about to leave when he suddenly turned back and threw down a 10-yuan note.

  Mei Jie and Nana Xiao Ya were stunned, how could this Dong Ge change his face so quickly? Hu Xi hung her head low, as if she had done something wrong.

  "Behave, don't look down on us, don't come in. Don't cry, Meixi, tomorrow sister will take you to town to buy clothes." said Mei Jie.

  Outside, Liu Handong kicked off his motorcycle and drove away with a series of loud revs, leaving behind a trail of blue smoke.

  The next day, Liu Handong got up early to go for a run and found that Tu Ji's store had been renovated overnight. The signboard had been replaced with a brand new one, accompanied by a large advertisement board of Huaijiang Beer, looking very stylish. At the entrance, there were two flower baskets with the words "Peng Cheng Engineering Company congratulates" written on them. It seemed that Shan Pao and Hua Bao had completely made up.

  The phone rang, it was Ma Ling's message, asking him to go to Huaijiang Taxi Company for registration. So he went back and rode a motorcycle. On the way, he saw that Mei Jie's 10 yuan leisure shop had closed its doors. He felt annoyed in his heart. He gave Xianxi 3,000 yuan, just to let her go home. Unexpectedly, this girl was so unambitious and still stayed in the hair salon doing this business. It was a waste of his kindness.

  At noon, the girls finally got up, dressed up, high heels and short skirts, went shopping in town together. Xī Qī didn't have any good-looking clothes, low-quality jeans with large flowers embroidered on them, very much like a rural migrant worker's style. Mei Jie wore a leopard-print outfit, carrying a small handbag, high heels 12 cm high, walking down the street with a noticeable swagger, attracting many passersby's attention.

  Three barefooted women, accompanied by a young girl, boarded the 520 bus heading into town. Along the way, they munched on melon seeds and chatted, arriving at Jin'e Plaza in the city center, which was considered one of the best shopping malls in Jiangjin City. However, it wasn't a place where the barefooted women would buy clothes; instead, they just came to window shop and soak up some aristocratic atmosphere.

  After wandering around for a while, the four of them found a alley entrance, each had a bowl of Liangpi to fill their stomachs, then they took a taxi to Jinqiao Clothing Wholesale City, which was their final destination.

  On the way to the bus station, they met two blonde-haired and blue-eyed foreign backpackers who were holding a map and gesturing to ask for directions. The passersby were all helpless, and Mei said: "Nier, you studied high school, you go."

  Zhen just went up and communicated with two foreign tourists in English for a while, asking Mei sister: "Sister, how to get to Yuejiang Tower? They want to walk there."

  Yujiang Building is an ancient building in the Kangxi period, one of the scenic spots near Jiang City. Mei had been mixed up in the provincial capital for many years and naturally knew it. So she said that Huanxi translated it, after a round of communication, finally let the foreign tourists understand the route. Before leaving, the two foreign tourists picked up their thumbs and praised them for a few sentences.

  "Nier, your English is really fluent." Mei Jie sincerely praised.

  "No way, my spoken language is not standard, I speak randomly."

  Mei said: "You're talking nonsense, they all understand, that's not nonsense. Look at them two, they won't even talk nonsense."

  Nana said: "Cheh, Mei Jie, I also know English, come on, hundred times, fuck me."

  Mei laughed loudly, and Huanxi lowered her head.

  Xiao Ya said: "Jin Qiao Market is not far away, let's go on foot."

  The four of them walked forward, passing through a lush area with trees, where there was a tennis court and a basketball court. The green trees shaded the buildings, which were surrounded by clusters of flowers. There were several ancient-style buildings here, but no walls, only a huge granite stone with powerful calligraphy engraved on it.

  "Jiangdong University" signed by Chen Zikun, March of the year of Bingzi.

  He stood still with his feet in the stream, gazing at the four characters for a long time without speaking.

  Mei and others surrounded them, chattering: "This is Jiang University, why isn't there a wall? There are so many students, and they're all dressed so fashionably."

  Suddenly, Mei Jie found that Yu Xi's eyes were filled with tears. This girl liked to cry, but this time it seemed different. She saw deep resentment and deep despair in Yu Xi's eyes.

  As a fellow villager, Mei knew that Huanxi had been an excellent student since childhood and was always at the top of her class in school. However, fate played a trick on her, and this time she unexpectedly failed to get into college, not even getting into a vocational school. Her family conditions were also poor, her mother had been bedridden for over a decade, and her father had fallen ill again. There was still a younger brother who needed to continue his studies. According to the traditional rural customs, boys should carry on the family line, so if they could study, they would definitely do so. Girls not getting into college were just considered unlucky. Otherwise, with Huanxi's grades, she would have definitely gotten into university next year.

  This child shouldn't be helping men wash and massage their feet in a bathhouse, but should be studying at this beautiful university that's like a garden.

  A silent sigh, Nana and Xiao Ya also fell silent.

  Mei sister hugged Bian Xi's shoulder and said in a low voice: "Niece, don't look anymore, let's go."

  Hong Qiu tightly bit her lip and followed Mei Jie away.

  At Jinqiao Clothing Wholesale City, Mei Jie helped Xixi buy a lot of clothes, all brand new inside and out, even including two sets of completely new lingerie with mesh eyes.

  ……

  Today, Ma Ling took Liu Handong to the Huaijiang Taxi Company, which is the largest taxi company in the city. The company has more than a thousand taxis, including Santana, Jetta and Elate models. The drivers are of the highest quality in the city and are required to wear white shirts and ties.

  Huaijiang Taxi is recruiting drivers all year round, and some people in the company are already queuing up. It's not easy to be a taxi driver. First of all, you need to have a driver's license, then pass the professional examination of the transportation management department, go through the company's on-the-job training, pay a certain deposit, and then drive a taxi. Liu Handong is still in the first step.

  The first step was blocked by a stout middle-level cadre holding a piece of paper and shouting: "Who is Liu Handong?"

  "It's me." Liu Handong stood out.

  "Your driver's license does not meet the requirements." The officer tossed the registration form over to him, his work ID hanging from his chest showing he was a department manager.

  Ma Lingdao said: "Manager Bian, although this driver's license is a military license, it can be exchanged for a local driver's license in minutes."

  Manager Bian said: "Then hurry up and change, don't waste time."

  Liu Handong turned around and left, Ma Ling followed closely behind: "Really unlucky, originally thought familiar people could help, didn't expect not a bit of flexibility."

  "It's okay, let's go change it." Liu Handong said, driving a tricycle with Ma Ling to the Jiang City Traffic Management Department. The hall was packed with people handling driver's licenses, vehicle registrations, and replacement certificates. They were all waiting in line to pay and process their transactions, but no one knew how many years it would take to get through the queue.

  Several scalpers came up and said, "I can get it done for you for 100 yuan." Liu Handong ignored them, thinking that 100 yuan was too much of a rip-off. The official price for changing the license plate was only 10 yuan for labor costs.

  "If you don't know me, then line up and die in line." The scalper sneered and went to find others.

  Liu Handong took a queue number and waited with Ma Ling. There were still one hundred and eighty people in front of them, they might have to wait until tomorrow.

  Suddenly a familiar figure passed by in front of him, it was traffic police officer Tan Jiaxing. Liu Handong hastily called out: "Officer Tan."

  Tan Jiaxing stopped him: "Oh, it's you Liu Handong, what brings you here?"

  "Come and exchange licenses, I'm a military driver, can't drive civilian cars."

  "Give me the documents." Tan Jiaxing took over the red leather-covered People's Liberation Army vehicle driver's license handed over by Liu Handong. On the ID card, Liu Handong was wearing a crisp 07-style uniform, with the rank of sergeant, and the licensed vehicle types were A2 and D.

  "Discharge certificate." Tan Jiaxing stretched out his hand again. "All vehicle management regulations, military personnel change local driver's licenses through the green channel, you don't know?"

  "I really don't know." Liu Handong shook his head.

  "I'll help you change, you go take a picture."

  "Thank you."

  Things didn't go so smoothly, because Liu Handong's household registration was not in Jinjiang but in Jiangbei, and without a local temporary residence permit, he couldn't get a driver's license in Jinjiang. However, the provincial department had a regulation that allowed for the handling of driver's licenses across different locations within the province. It was just that the temporary worker handling the business wasn't familiar with it and didn't want to bother. Tan Jiaxing found an acquaintance who helped him get it done smoothly, and he got his new license in 10 minutes.

  "Thank you, Officer Tan." Liu Handong shook his hand, truly grateful. This policeman was very kind and always enthusiastic about helping him.

  "By the way, I also borrowed 50 yuan from you." Liu Handong took out a 50-yuan bill and handed it over.

  "Don't give it to me here, people might think I'm taking bribes." Tan Jiaxing joked and still accepted the money. He took a look at Ma Ling: "Your girlfriend is pretty, why does she seem familiar?"

  Ma Lingdao said: "I think I've seen you before, I drive the 520 bus."

  Tan Jiaxing said: "Oh, you're the 520 female Schumacher of the bus company."