1994: Starting with unpaid leave

Dong Jianguo knew that there were no streetlights outside his alley, and the only light source was the moon in the sky.

Although the moon is big enough tonight, there is still a risk of being attacked.

The key question is, who knows if Wang Gaofei called for backup?!

Therefore, Dong Jianguo did not open the door rashly, but instead directly removed a steel rod from the rain shelter.

With weapons in hand, their courage grew considerably.

Reaching the door, Dong Jianguo asked through the door:

"What? Didn't you have enough this afternoon?"

"I've had enough. I've come to ask you for a favor."

Wang Gaofei's tone outside the door was surprisingly calm, and he was much less arrogant than usual.

Feeling that the other party didn't seem to be looking for trouble, Dong Jianguo used his key to open the door and went out carrying a steel rod.

The view in the alley under the moonlight was quite good, and Wang Gaofei was standing all alone.

He had a large bandage on his face, and his glasses were cracked; he looked just as disheveled as when he left in the evening.

"What's up?"

"Let's chat first."

Wang Gaofei didn't even glance at the steel rod in Dong Jianguo's hand. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it over.

Dong Jianguo could see clearly that it was Hongtashan.

What's wrong with this guy?

Why would someone offer me cigarettes of this quality?

However, since he was already there, he might as well make the best of it. He figured the other party couldn't pull out any tricks, so he took a cigarette from the pack with one hand and let Wang Gaofei light it for him with a lighter.

"You'd better hurry up and tell me, I'm exhausted after a long day, and I need to go home and hug my wife later."

As Dong Jianguo spoke, he squinted to observe the other person's expression.

By the moonlight, even the slightest change in expression could be seen up close.

Strangely, despite his deliberate mention of Xiuyun, Wang Gaofei didn't react at all.

Wang Gaofei lit a cigarette for himself, took a deep drag, and then tilted his head back to exhale a cloud of white smoke. The smoke swirled in the moonlight, blurring his features.

"You might not believe it, but I've been smoking for five years, and this last puff was the most satisfying."

Wang Gaofei leaned against the wall outside Dong Jianguo's courtyard gate, squinting as he watched the smoke gradually dissipate before him and spoke softly.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that this guy's face was covered in graffiti, the composition and styling would actually look pretty good.

"Jianguo, what year were you born? 71 or 72?"

"It was in 1970, the year Dongfanghong-1 was launched," Dong Jianguo replied casually, exhaling a smoke ring.

"Youth is wonderful... I'm five years older than you, and it feels like half my life has already passed..."

Wang Gaofei took another drag of his cigarette, this time smoking off half of it.

Dong Jianguo was puzzled:

"No way, what are you trying to do? Are you planning to slap yourself to death in front of my house?!"

"No, I've just figured out a lot of things, and I wanted to talk to someone, but I realized that I've been hanging around the factory leaders for so many years, and I don't have a single friend I can talk to. After thinking about it, it seems like you're the only one I can confide in..."

"Really? When you were a secretary in the factory office, didn't you have plenty of people trying to curry favor with you? All this time, and you haven't made a single friend?"

Wang Gaofei shook his head with a wry smile and said dejectedly, "They're not trying to curry favor with me, they're just trying to get the position of factory director's secretary."

"Well, you're really in a bad situation. Even Qin Hui had three friends..."

As Dong Jianguo smoked his cigarette, he couldn't help but search his memory for his childhood friends and close classmates.

Since being reborn, I haven't had time to see them yet, and I wonder how they are doing.

Although Dong Jianguo's words were still quite harsh, Wang Gaofei didn't care. He talked to himself while smoking:

"I'm five years older than you. After graduating from university, I was among the first batch of recent graduates in the city to be assigned jobs by the Labor Bureau. You might not believe it, but I was a pretty good person back then."

Dong Jianguo rolled his eyes and let out a cold laugh: "Heh..."

"Seriously, I'm not kidding. Back then, I was as naive as a blank sheet of paper. I didn't know anything, and I couldn't do anything. I used to be a skilled worker, and I learned whatever my mentor taught me. Even though I didn't eat much, I always felt energetic!"

"Once, my master took me to repair a cutting machine in the factory. He wasn't paying attention and his hand got caught in the machine's gears. When he pulled his hand out of the machine, half of his palm was gone. My master's blood sprayed all over my face and even got into my eyes... I almost peed my pants from fear! I still dream about it in my nightmares!"

"Later, the factory sent people down to investigate, and the final conclusion was that my master was mainly responsible for improper operation. After compensating my master a few hundred yuan, they let him retire early."

"I was with my mentor when he was retiring. He told me that this job was too dangerous. Even if you are careful a hundred times, a thousand times, who can guarantee that you won't make a mistake ten thousand times? He suggested that I transfer to another department."

"I thought about it for several days, and finally gritted my teeth and gave Director Zhao half a year's salary. At that time, I had good writing skills and a quick mind, so I was actually transferred to the factory office and started working in an office."

"Ahem," Dong Jianguo coughed lightly, "No, why are you coming here to talk about this so late at night?! I'm not interested in your past."

Wang Gaofei glanced at Dong Jianguo and smiled:

"You'll be interested."

"After joining the factory office, I always felt that I should make a good impression on the leaders since I had been transferred to their side. But as a newcomer, I didn't have any opportunities to show my abilities except for writing reports. That was until Master Wang Xiang's accident."

"Actually, when Master Wang had the accident, the driver in the car was not him, but Zhao Ruidong."

"He hadn't gotten his driver's license yet, but he was itching to drive."

"As a result, the car overturned into the ditch. Zhao Ruidong, the driver, only suffered minor scrapes, while Wang Xiang, the passenger, had a branch from the ditch impale his head..."

Dong Jianguo was taken aback, then narrowed his eyes warily: "How did you know?"

"When Zhao Ruidong called the factory director's office, I helped transfer the line. I heard him sound flustered on the phone, and out of curiosity, I used the splitter to eavesdrop on his conversation with Director Zhao."

"At that time, the city was focusing on safety production in enterprises. If Master Wang had an accident, Director Zhao would definitely be affected."

"Moreover, his son was driving without a license, and Director Zhao definitely couldn't accept the consequences, so in the end all the blame was poured on Master Wang."

"Master Wang's widow, Zhao Hongmei, knew that there was probably more than just Master Wang Xiang on the bus that night, so she kept making a scene. Director Zhao wanted someone to stop her, but no one in the factory office was willing to do it. I had just been transferred here and didn't have any connections, so in the end, this task was assigned to me."

"I really had no other choice at the time."

"If Director Zhao dares to do this, he must have already made arrangements. Even if Zhao Hongmei makes a scene at the provincial level, it won't lead to anything. That's why I advised her to stop making a fuss and instead take the opportunity to adjust her job to a less demanding one like a quality inspector, so that she can have more energy to take care of her children after get off work."

As he spoke, several cigarette butts had already appeared at Wang Gaofei's feet.

Dong Jianguo frowned; he could tell that Wang Gaofei wasn't lying.

But he still didn't understand why this guy was coming to his doorstep late at night and saying all this. He frowned and tentatively asked:

"Secretary Wang, are you trying to tell me you're a good person?"

Wang Gaofei gave a bitter smile:

"A good person? How could a good person not report it? You were right when you hit me this afternoon. If there weren't so many lackeys, how many people could the leader have bitten off with his dog mouth?"

As he spoke, Wang Gaofei took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it over:

"There is three thousand yuan in here. Please give it to Zhao Hongmei for me, and please say sorry to her for me."

Dong Jianguo didn't answer: "Why don't you just tell her yourself?"

"Because I'm ashamed!"

Wang Gaofei smiled bitterly. Seeing that Dong Jianguo was unwilling to accept it, he simply threw the envelope into Dong Jianguo's yard.

"Because I persuaded Zhao Hongmei, Director Zhao thought I did a good job, so he gradually gave me more responsibilities. So in a way, I also benefited from Master Wang Xiang's suffering, how could I face his wife and children?"

"I just never imagined that Master Wang's child would grow up so fast..."

Seeing his sincerity, Dong Jianguo spoke softly:

"This happened several years ago, and you didn't even think to visit them during that time. Why did you suddenly have a change of heart today?"

"This isn't out of kindness, it's because you woke me up."

"Jianguo, do you know? Over the years, I've kept telling myself that I didn't do anything wrong, and I even got some benefits for Zhao Hongmei and her daughter."

"But frankly, it's all just self-deception."

"I made a mistake regarding Master Wang Xiang's matter. If I had been brave enough to stand up for him back then, perhaps things could have turned out much better!"

Dong Jianguo knew he was right.

Once Zhao Ruidong is found responsible, at least Zhao Hongmei and her daughter will not only receive compensation from the factory, but also a substantial sum from Zhao Ruidong, which should make their lives much easier in the next few years.

However, the probability of this happening is still too small.

Wang Gaofei also lacked concrete evidence; it was ultimately just one side of the story.

Zhao Ruidong was able to escape unscathed; his father, Factory Director Zhao, must have done a lot of work with the police.

In the 90s, the security situation in Hecheng was still somewhat chaotic.

If Wang Gaofei had spoken out what he heard on the phone, things probably wouldn't have turned out this way; in fact, it might have only backfired on him.

What can I say?

Perhaps this is fate...

However, this guy at least has some conscience; he knows to compensate Zhao Hongmei and her daughter with some money so that he can have peace of mind.

"Compared to the Zhao family father and son, you're not so bad; at least you still have a conscience."

Dong Jianguo said calmly.

"No, if I hadn't accidentally cursed at that girl today and then been beaten up by you, I would have kept this to myself."

"I did a lot of things for these two factory directors, but this is the one thing I least want to talk about."

"But you know what? What I've experienced these past few days has made me see things for who they really are."

"Even if I do a hundred or a thousand things for them, when they no longer need me, they'll still throw me away like trash!"

"I'm almost thirty, and all I've done is live a life against my conscience for a bunch of strangers. All those years of schooling, all that hardship, shouldn't be spent cleaning up the messes of those bastards!"

As he spoke, Wang Gaofei suddenly bent over, covered his face, and burst into tears, just like a boiled shrimp.

Humans have seven emotions and six desires, and they also have a moral bottom line.

Therefore, humans are destined not to be like machines, doing whatever others tell them to do without any psychological burden.

When you cross the line too often, it's inevitable that you'll eventually break down.

Especially for people like Wang Gaofei, the more reserved they are usually, the more violently they tend to break down once their threshold is crossed.

Actually, that's nothing. In his previous life, Dong Jianguo had even heard people say that many American soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan had their heads slapped because they did too many inhuman things under the orders of their superiors...

In comparison, Wang Gaofei's situation can at most be considered a form of venting.

Dong Jianguo didn't say anything, but turned around to pick up the envelope, then stood quietly beside him, watching the man who had been shattered slowly rebuild himself.

After Wang Gaofei had cried enough, he spoke again:

"I've figured it out. I don't want to waste my time here anymore."

"Life is too short to waste any more time with these people!"

"I'm going to develop my career in the south! I've heard there are tons of opportunities there now. As long as you're willing to work hard, you can make something of yourself even without being someone's lackey!"

Dong Jianguo looked at him, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

He knew that Wang Gaofei's departure might actually allow him to make a name for himself.

Unfortunately, he is now penniless, and the little money he earns from selling eggs is all on credit. Moreover, his wife is heavily pregnant, so he is not in a position to go south.

Where are you going?

"Shenzhen, I've heard it's developing very fast there, and there are lots of opportunities!"

He twirled the envelope in his hand. Seeing that this guy still had some conscience, Dong Jianguo nodded and offered him a free piece of advice:

"If you really make money, don't think about anything else, just buy as many houses as possible!"

"Buy a house? What kind of house?!"

Xiuyun's voice came from behind them without warning, startling them.

She had been waiting for so long that she couldn't help but worry, so she brought out the emergency light from her house to check.

When the light shone on her, Wang Gaofei, who had come to see Dong Jianguo, appeared. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and her expression immediately turned sour.

"What are you doing here again?!"

"N-nothing..."

Seeing this, Dong Jianguo took the initiative to explain on Wang Gaofei's behalf:

"Secretary Wang is going south to make some money. Before he left, he specifically came to tell me to take good care of you."

"real?"

"Ah, it's true." Wang Gaofei nodded.

Xiuyun immediately linked her arm with Dong Jianguo's, then glared at Wang Gaofei again: "My man treats me very well, it's none of your business!"

Wang Gaofei was immediately speechless.

He greeted Dong Jianguo, "Well, Jianguo, I'm leaving now. Don't forget about that matter..."

Knowing he was talking about money, Dong Jianguo nodded, indicating that he would definitely deliver it to Sister Hongmei.

Wang Gaofei understood immediately and strode away, but after taking only five or six steps, he quickly turned back:

"Oh right, I forgot to mention, don't go to the morning market tomorrow. I ran into Zhao Ruidong and his group when I was getting my wound treated at the clinic, and they said they were going to the morning market to ambush you tomorrow."

"Block me? Why? I'm just selling eggs, what's the big deal?"

Dong Jianguo and his wife Xiuyun looked at each other in bewilderment.

"I don't know. His father is the former factory director, so it seems Zhao Ruidong doesn't need any reason to get rid of anyone. You...you guys should be careful lately."

After giving his instructions, Wang Gaofei turned and left.

Although things had been unpleasant in the evening, this time the other party had at least given a kind reminder, so seeing that he was really about to leave, Xiuyun couldn't help but call out from the doorway:

"Hey, when you get to the South, don't act like you used to. Be a good person!"

Under the bright moonlight, Wang Gaofei paused, then strode quickly towards his unknown fate without turning his head...