My Terrible Life in Those Years

Wan Ning didn't come back until I got off work.

I collected my wages for the day from the boss, and smelling strongly of barbecue, I went home to rest!

I'm really tired today. I got drunk at noon and then did several hours of manual labor in the evening. I can't take it anymore.

I had a dream, and all I saw were pillows and little ponytails!

And that arrogant face!

As that face drew closer, I couldn't hold back any longer and threw a punch right at him. Then I attacked with both hands, beating him so badly that his own mother wouldn't recognize him. Just then, Wan Ning arrived, her scream waking me up!

I glanced at my alarm clock; it was 3:30 AM.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, shook his head, and slightly woke up from his dream.

Then I saw something familiar lying horizontally on the iron bars of my windowsill.

I was completely stunned. Wasn't this my little wallet that holds my money? How did it grow legs and get to the windowsill by itself?

I felt a chill run down my spine and quickly got up.

I strode to the window, took out my empty wallet, and found that my two hundred dollars, which I had kept hidden away, had vanished.

Inside the wallet, the ID card was still there, but there was an extra note that read: "You're welcome. Here's your ID, you temporary worker who's sleeping like a toad! Remember, next time put more money in your wallet. A grown man with so little money, have you no shame!"

I exploded on the spot!

You bastard, you son of a bitch!

These familiar words immediately tell you that it was definitely not something that some young master Cheng hired to do it; otherwise, something fishy would happen.

Just a few hours ago, they didn't get anything out of me, and they immediately turned around and had someone teach me a lesson!

I quickly got up, went downstairs, and knocked on the landlady's door!

The noise almost woke up the entire rental building.

The landlady, dressed in oversized pajamas and slippers, yawned and muttered to herself.

"Who is it? Why are you making so much noise so late?"

He was about to yell at me when he opened the door, but when he saw it was me, his anger subsided a little, though his tone was still not very good.

"What are you making so much noise in the middle of the night?"

"Landlady, my wallet has been stolen!"

I was furious, anxious, and enraged! This is just too arrogant!

He stole my money and left a humiliating note, clearly indicating that he wanted me to know he did it, but there was nothing I could do about it.

When the landlady heard that the theft had happened, her eyes, which were usually only a slit wide, finally opened a crack.

"How much money was stolen?"

I handed her my empty wallet to show her, along with the note.

"You stole them all? How much money would that be?" The landlady was stunned.

At this moment, the noise from my neighboring room also woke up the tenants. The room next door was a single room, occupied by a young woman. She was peeking out from her half-open door, looking around. Judging from her neatly dressed appearance, she seemed to have just returned and wasn't asleep yet.

In the other room lived an elderly couple who ran a stall. Hearing that a neighbor had been robbed, they all got up to check if anything was missing from their own rooms.

I blushed slightly and lowered my voice: "Two hundred silver dollars!"

The landlady immediately raised her voice: "What? Two hundred dollars? What's the big deal? You're making such a racket that everyone in the building is yelling at you?!"

Good grief, are you looking down on my two hundred dollars?

She had already entered my room and saw the half-open window: "You don't even close the window when you sleep?"

I just realized it wasn't turned off; I was too tired last night.

The uncle and aunt next door checked that their belongings were not missing, said goodbye to the landlady, and then closed the door to go to sleep.

The girl was very energetic. When she saw my figure and face, her eyes lit up. She leaned against the door, watching what was happening in my direction.

"Whether the window is closed or not, I've still been robbed. Can I call the police?"

The landlady snorted, "The amount of money stolen isn't even enough to warrant a police report, okay? Besides, you didn't close your window properly, so you can't blame anyone else. Just be more careful in the future. In Xiancun, there are at least eighty or a hundred such cases every day. If they all went to the police, they'd be exhausted. Even the community security officers wouldn't bother with something like this, let alone the police!"

He threw the wallet and note back at me, then went downstairs to continue sleeping.

I was speechless!

It seems that this kind of thing is really commonplace in their eyes.

I felt a little lost.

The petite girl next door finally came out, wearing a white shirt and shorts. The room's lights were a dim pink, the kind of color young girls like.

"Forget it, nobody cares about this kind of thing. Just be careful. Make sure to lock the doors and windows properly."

Her Mandarin wasn't very standard; she sounded like someone from the Sichuan region.

"If I knew who did it, wouldn't I be able to call the police?"

She was startled: "Do you know who did it?"

I handed her the note: "I know who wrote this, I know what he said, and I know why he sent people to mess with me!"

She read the note several times before handing it back to me.

"There's no name written on it, and it might not even have been written by the person you're talking about. Calling the police based on this won't do any good. No one will take it into account," the girl kindly advised me.

I felt a chill in my heart and a pang of sadness.

Damn it, I've never suffered such a loss in my entire life.

Fine, I won't call the police. Then let's see if you come to the barbecue stand tomorrow night, and I'll settle the score with you then!

He angrily tucked the note into his wallet, said goodbye to the girl, went back to his room, locked the door, and closed the window.

But I just can't fall asleep!

All I have left is the thirty yuan I earned last night. What should I do?

Today is only the 20th, and I heard that at Huihuang GG's place, last month's salary won't be paid until the 10th. Moreover, my meager salary from last month isn't even enough to compensate Aunt Shu. It would be much easier if I could get that 10,000 yuan bonus. Everything would be much easier then.

I didn't spend any money yesterday because I ate lunch with Aunt Shu.

In that area, whether I order food delivery or eat out, lunch would cost at least ten yuan, breakfast three yuan, and dinner at least seven or eight yuan. I also have to take a bus and be prepared for unexpected situations. If Aunt Shu assigns me an outing or something, I'll need to have some money for transportation on hand.

Right now, the only job that can actually bring in money is the barbecue stall, which only pays about thirty yuan a day. After deducting food expenses, how much is left?

If the boss of Corning can't withstand the pressure from that bastard Xiao Cheng and really fires me, my meals the next day will immediately become a big problem!

My God, you bastard, you've stirred up a hornet's nest! Even if you don't come looking for trouble this time, I'm going to settle the score with you.

Only four words came to mind: penniless!