1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 107 Interlude and Fuse (2)

Xinhu in Texas is certainly a city center, both now and in the future. But like most second- and third-tier cities in the north, this leisure and cultural park does not have any more "protective measures" other than the most basic low fence.

Therefore, during a certain period of time, this free park belonged to the general public during the day, but after eight o'clock in the evening, it belonged to all kinds of people.

………………

Looking from afar at the two children eating leftovers in the bushes near the water in a corner of the park, Wang Jing asked incredulously, "Are there beggars in Texas now?"

The two children did not look very old. The boy was about eleven or twelve years old. They were all dirty and their hair was tangled. Anyone could recognize each other at first sight.

Although life is not easy for everyone these days, it is fair to say that beggars are still a rare sight nowadays... It is not the 1950s or 1960s anymore. Although everyone is poor, few of them have to beg on the streets.

Changhong chased away the mosquitoes in front of him and explained, "We are not beggars. We don't beg for food. But this kid is still a bit sinful. He was driven out. He can't talk. He can only pick up garbage to sell. He even has to share a steamed bun. He looks very pitiful."

No need to beg for food?

Wang Jing looked at them in surprise and found that there were several fertilizer bags scattered next to the two people. Judging from the uneven shape of the fertilizer bags, they should contain things such as waste paper and iron wire.

Sure enough, this is a scavenger, not a beggar... Although the two look similar in the eyes of most people, in fact, there are still big differences.

"Can't speak...what does that mean?" Wang Jing asked in surprise, but her tone was no longer as angry as before.

Having dirty hands and doing good deeds with the store's worthless leftovers are two different concepts.

Although the management manual issued by the Quality Control Department clearly stipulates that franchise stores' scraps and leftovers must not be handled privately for any reason, Wang Jing thinks this rule is ridiculous and inexplicable.

Changhong saw that his store manager didn't seem angry, so he quickly explained: "This kid is disabled and dumb, and he's from the neighboring province. It seems that he followed his old man to the city to work, but I don't know what happened, his old man left him behind and ran away!"

As he said this, Chang Hong sighed, "He's a kid who can't talk. He doesn't know anything and his brain doesn't work well. The day before yesterday, when Fatty and I were taking out the trash, we met him. In order to pick up a cardboard box, he almost got into the garbage. He didn't even know his head was covered with egg shells and toilet paper... It was really sad to see him like that."

"You know, Fatty is a timid person, not like a Sichuanese woman at all, but she is very soft-hearted. Plus, her second sister fled to the Northeast to escape famine, and when she saw the doll, she thought of her second sister, so she pulled the doll out and bought something for him to eat with her own money."

As if recalling the scene at that time, Chang Hong almost cried: "You don't know how sinful this kid is. The fat lady gave him four buns, but he didn't dare to take them until the fat lady forced them into his hands. Then he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the fat lady. He babbled, his head was red, and even his nose was running... That scene was heartbreaking to see."

At this point, Chang Hong looked at the ugly face in the distance with a gentle look in his eyes: "Although this kid is a little dumb, he is still sensible. He has been guarding the garbage dump near our store for the past two days. He usually picks up garbage. At noon and in the evening, when he sees the fat lady coming out, he immediately runs over to take the garbage bag in her hand, throws it away, and then runs away."

"You know, our store has a lot of garbage every day, and the garbage bags are full of soup and water, which are very heavy. A kid of 11 or 12 years old, who is only as tall as my waist, drags four or five smelly garbage bags for more than 100 meters. It looks tiring... But every time this kid helps the fat lady to throw away the garbage, he seems very happy, and then walks away without begging for food from the fat lady."

"When you meet a kid like this, not only the fat lady, but even I feel soft-hearted. After a while, we wanted to take care of him... But you know, not everyone in the company is rich. The fat lady's family is also in financial difficulty. There is also a kid in the house who is studying, and she doesn't have much money to give to the kid."

"So... these past two days, the fat lady has been taking advantage of other people not noticing to pack up the leftover but still clean food from the guests and feed it to this baby."

"Neither Fatty nor I have any special abilities, and we can't help this kid in any way. Even when this kid was bullied on the street, Fatty wasn't there. But at least... we can't watch this kid starve to death!"

At the end, Chang Hong sniffed and said, "Manager Wang, I know the company has regulations that we can't deal with leftovers casually, but I think that instead of throwing those things away, it's better to do some good deeds with them, which can also be regarded as accumulating merits... So, can I ask you for a favor this time and don't punish the fat girl? I will go back and tell her, and she will never dare to do it again!"

Wang Jing listened to the whole story quietly and turned his gaze to the two people in the distance.

In the distance, the new clerk named Fatty was patiently helping the dirty kid to drive away the mosquitoes on his head. After gesturing clumsily with her hands, she took out a brand new toothbrush from her skirt pocket, squeezed some newly bought toothpaste, held the kid's little head, and began to help him brush his teeth.

The little boy with slightly ugly facial features was very well behaved and didn't move, allowing the fat girl to brush his teeth. He held the big bowl that had been licked clean with a happy look on his face, and then made gestures and smiled foolishly at the fat girl with his face covered with foam.

Both of them were laughing happily, and both of them were moving awkwardly.

If an outsider didn't know the inside story, they would probably think that this was a mother playing some sign language game with her stupid son.

Looking at this scene and feeling the strange and warm atmosphere between the two of them, Wang Jing suddenly felt a little suffocated in her heart.

Just when Wang Jing was hesitating whether to go over, the fat lady turned back inadvertently and immediately found her store manager.

Suddenly, his face began to look unnatural and his whole body began to shake.

Seeing this woman in her forties looking so useless, Wang Jing snorted.
Chang Hong is right, this fat girl is indeed a coward... She is a disgrace to us Bashu women!

Wang Jing thought angrily,
Then he walked towards the two of them with a hostile look on his face.

………………“What’s the name of this doll?”

To the surprise of the fat lady, after being caught on the spot by her own store manager, the first thing Wang Jing did was not to make trouble for herself, but to ask about the child sitting opposite her with an impatient look on her face.

The fat lady said in a trembling voice: "The store manager, his name is, his name is, Erbao."

Second treasure?

Listening to this common nickname that you can't even find in a crowd,
Wang Jing glanced at the clean bowl in the child's hand and the foam on his face that he hadn't had time to wash off, and snorted, "Kid, are you full?"

The fat girl's body was shaking more and more violently. She tremblingly made a few signs that she had figured out at the anxious child. After getting a reply, she said in a crying voice: "Manager, I'm full!"

"Are you full? As long as you are full!"

Wang Jing curled her lips, then said in an angry voice: "Since you are full, why are you still sitting here? Go back to work!"

When the fat lady heard this, she felt as if she had been pardoned. She stood up and hurried back.

Before he even took a step, Wang Jing's impatient voice came from behind him: "Come back! Why are you in such a hurry? I'm telling you to take this kid back to work!"

Huh?
As if she understood something, the fat lady turned her head and looked at her store manager in disbelief.

Seeing this, Wang Jing's tone became even more vicious: "What are you looking at! Can you eat the food in the store for free? Hurry up, take this kid back... From now on, ask him to do the washing of vegetables and wiping of the table!"

Seeing the fat lady at a loss, Chang Hong looked at his store manager with a smile and said, "Manager, according to the regulations, our store can hire external employees. So how will Erbao's salary be calculated in the future? Will it be the same as ours?"

Wang Jing glared at him fiercely: "Same as bullshit! How much can a little kid do! ... Your salary is 100, Erbao can only get 50 at most... No more, at most the store will pay for him to rent a house, buy him two sets of clothes, provide food, accommodation and clothes, 50 yuan is enough!"

When the fat lady heard this, she was overjoyed. She quickly hugged Erbao and kept thanking Wang Jing.

Seeing this, Wang Jing snorted unhappily, then left angrily...

………………

So starting from the afternoon of the next day, there was suddenly a child worker with a not-so-remarkable appearance in the Momo Baizha NO:49 franchise store.

Although this child laborer was not very handsome and had never been heard to speak, he was very diligent in his work.

He helped to carry frozen ingredients, clean vegetables, wash dishes, sweep the floor, and collect plates. As long as it was a job that did not require any technical skills, this skinny little child laborer did it all and helped whenever he could.

What impressed the guests, especially those who ate silently, was that although the little child worker who never spoke looked a little sorry for the audience, apart from being extremely diligent, the smile on his face was rare and bright... Infected by that silly but extremely bright smile, no matter how unhappy they felt, their mood inexplicably improved a lot after eating a meal here.

Thus, the news that "Momo Baizha has a hardworking little guy who looks ugly but has a pleasant smile" spread like wildfire, and in just two days, it became a hot topic on Sanba Road.

But things in this world are always unpredictable.

On the third day, just as the employees of Mo Mo Bai Chao were busy preparing ingredients for lunch, several men in uniform walked straight into the store.

"Who is in charge here?" The leading man said with a contemptuous tone and a hint of impatience.

Hearing this, Wang Jing quickly wiped her hands and walked out of the small kitchen: "Leader, I am the manager of this store."

The man looked the middle-aged woman up and down, then took out a stack of blank receipts from his briefcase, put them on the counter and began to write: "Copy of business license, health permit, catering processing permit, bring them here for me to see."

Wang Jing was stunned, and glanced at the ticket in the man's hand. She didn't rush to get the documents, but asked with a smile: "Leader, I want to ask, what happened to our store?"

The man continued writing and drawing. "We received a report from the public that your store is using child labor in violation of regulations!"

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked around, pointing at Erbao who was helping to wash the side dishes: "Look, you should be talking about that kid...Looking at his appearance, let alone eighteen, even whether he is twelve years old needs a big question mark!"

"Heh, as a well-known restaurant chain, you knowingly broke the law, ignored the state's employment regulations, and blatantly used child labor...Isn't it too much to fine you 500 yuan?"

! ! ! !
Hearing that it was because of this, Wang Jing frowned immediately...

(End of this chapter)