Which way to go is the road?

In a daze, he heard an alarm clock ring. The dark basement was suddenly illuminated by a bright light, which made his sleepy eyes uncomfortable. Xiang Fei pulled the blanket up to cover his head and continued his unfinished erotic dream, but Lao You patted the headboard.

"Ugh, time to go to work!"

"Oh, bye-bye, have a safe trip!"

"What are you talking about? Get up and wash up, don't you want to work?"

"Yes!" Xiang Fei suddenly remembered that he had gone to the internet cafe with Lao You to meet the boss earlier that day, and sat up abruptly.

After a quick wash and a haircut, Xiang Fei found a new set of clothes in his bag and changed into them. Then, he and Lao You walked out of the basement and headed towards the internet cafe.

Xiang Fei discovered that this route was the opposite of the route he had taken north yesterday while looking for a job. Passing by a breakfast stall, Lao You and Xiang Fei ordered two fried dough sticks and two bowls of soy milk. The fried dough sticks soaked in the soy milk not only made them soft and delicious, but also made the soy milk more flavorful. The two of them ate with great relish.

"Did you hear anything yesterday?"

"Looks like you heard me. No wonder you've been so listless today! This basement is made of fake walls, so the soundproofing is terrible. Any noise from the side can get through, and it's even clearer at night when it's quiet!"

"But the noise yesterday was so unrestrained. Knowing the soundproofing wasn't good, couldn't they have kept it down a bit while doing that kind of thing?"

"It's their own home, what business is it of theirs if they're being affectionate? That's just how basements are. You'll get used to it eventually," Old You said, chewing on half a fried dough stick. "Society is more open now. Couples don't hide their little things anymore. As long as it's not too much, nobody cares. Look at the sidewalk across the street!"

Xiang Fei turned around and saw two middle school students hugging each other, pulling up their jackets to cover their heads. Although he couldn't see what they were doing, it was obvious. Xiang Fei was stunned for a moment and stared at them! Lao You saw this and smiled helplessly, patting him on the shoulder.

"Enough with the looking, stop staring at them like that!"

Xiang Fei blushed slightly, turned around and stammered, "This is too blatant! Aren't you afraid the adults will see us?"

"You even know how to blush and be shy, what a good girl! That's not what you should be worrying about. What you should be thinking about is what kind of impression you'll make on the boss today!" Old You said meaningfully.

After finishing breakfast, they continued south for less than five minutes until they reached an intersection.

While waiting at the red light, Xiang Fei looked up and saw a two-story building across the street. In Yandu, skyscrapers are not particularly eye-catching, but a two-story building standing out amidst the towering buildings, especially on the main street, is like a patch of green among a sea of ​​flowers, quite rare and worthy of a second glance.

Across the street from the ginkgo trees, you can see that the exterior walls of these two-story buildings are covered with ivy, which climbs all the way up to the roof, obscuring the original color of the walls. Four vermilion windows with glass accents the lush greenery, and even the central revolving door is vermilion. People are constantly going in and out. There is no sign above the door, only a name welded straight out. From a distance, you can only see the three large characters "Shuiyunjian," but you have no idea what kind of business is inside.

When the light turned green and I crossed the intersection, I saw two small characters: "Internet Cafe".

Without time to think of an elegant name, Xiang Fei followed Lao You inside. As soon as he entered, he saw Dong Lu standing at the front desk. Dong Lu smiled at him, gave him a thumbs-up, and then quickly started helping customers log in and top up their accounts. It was just past breakfast time, and customers were coming in droves to log in.

Old You made a phone call and then led him inside. They passed a fairly large fish pond with swaying aquatic plants and various fish swimming around. In the middle, an electric waterwheel stirred up layers of ripples, making people feel refreshed! After walking up the stairs to the second floor without stopping, they opened a door and went directly to the rooftop. It turned out that there was also an attic here, but it was located inside and could not be seen from the street.

The rooftop had been transformed into a small garden, planted with some exotic flowers and plants that Xiang Fei couldn't name. In the center stood a large parasol, under which rested a wicker chair. Reclining on the chair was a woman wearing sunglasses, with long, flowing hair and a long dress. A section of her pale legs was crossed and exposed, her delicate feet, clad in sandals, were painted with blue nail polish.

"Boss, this is Xiang Fei. He's here to clean for us. Take a look! If he's suitable, he can start work today!"

"Oh, your name is Xiang Fei, right? Where are you from? What's your education level?" The female boss remained in the same position, glancing sideways at Xiang Fei.

"I'm from Hebei, I only have a high school diploma, and I left home after failing the college entrance exam. Boss, don't worry, I can do any job well!"

"That's what they say when they're job hunting, and that's how you do it when you're actually working. Okay, give it a try. Three-month probation period, salary 1500. If you're still here after probation, it'll increase to 2000. If it's good, go downstairs, find a contract, sign it, and bring it back!"

"Okay, thank you, boss!"

Lao You said a word of thanks, and Xiang Fei echoed it. The female boss waved to them, and they went downstairs together. That's how Xiang Fei started his first job.

Back on the first floor, Lao You led Xiang Fei to the front desk again, and Lao You walked directly to Dong Lu with a big smile on his face.

"Print out a contract for me; Xiang Fei will be our colleague from now on!"

"Really? Congratulations, Xiang Fei, you finally have a job!"

"Thank you, I'll do my best. And with both of you as colleagues, I feel confident!"

"Yes, I can earn money to pay off my debts! Can I collect some interest?" Old You shook his head and counted on his fingers how much interest he should get.

"You big dummy, are you obsessed with money? With your 300 yuan, can you build a house or get married? Xiang Fei, don't listen to him, no rush, spend the money first! If it's not enough, I can spare another 200!" Dong Lu kicked Lao You as she spoke.

"Dong Lu, let me tell you, no one will want you looking like this, you'll never get married!" Dong Lu's invisible kick made Lao You wince. Don't underestimate Dong Lu just because she's a girl; when she hits someone, she can really give Lao You a hard time.

"It's none of your business if you can't get married! You should worry about whether you can find a wife yourself! You look like Pigsy's uncle, who would be blind to hire you!" Dong Lu said as she handed the printed employment contract to Xiang Fei and pointed to the place where he needed to sign.

"Okay, Dong Lu! Hey, Xiang Fei, do you know who Lu Lu's sweetheart is?..." Lao You patted Xiang Fei, speaking mysteriously while glancing at Dong Lu.

Dong Lu rushed over, her face instantly turning red, and whispered in Lao You's ear, "If you tell anyone, we're no longer friends!"

"Who gave you the right to bully me? Tell me, weren't you in the wrong?"

"Okay, I was wrong!"

"Huh? I can't hear you."

"I was wrong!" Dong Lu said loudly, then added in a half-threatening tone, "Don't push your luck!"

Old You stopped there and walked away with the contract Xiang Fei had signed, but Xiang Fei was not satisfied. He had been intrigued by what he had just witnessed and quickly caught up with Old You.

"Hey, who's Lulu's crush? Why is she reacting so strongly? And why is she apologizing to you?"

"Hey Xiang Fei, you're getting more and more of a gossip. What's it to you? It's not your business anyway. Hurry up and clean up. The cleaning tools are in that corner. Be more proactive, or the boss could fire you anytime. You won't even pass your three-month probation period!"

"Oh, okay!" Xiang Fei suppressed his curiosity and quickly walked towards his work station.

The "Shuiyunjian" internet cafe has two floors, totaling 600 square meters. The overall layout is fresh and elegant. There is a pot of green vine in the gap between each row of computers, and pots of orchids hang from the ropes above. It is fresh and elegant. Because of these green plants, the computers are not arranged as closely as in other internet cafes. The spacious personal space makes people feel very comfortable.

On the first floor, a special waiting area for internet access has been set up. In addition to the necessary facilities such as sofas and coffee tables, there is also a widescreen TV for customers to relax! Smoking is not allowed in public areas of the internet cafe, so a smoking area has been set up on the second floor to accommodate smokers. The ventilation here is also better than other places, so it is not very pungent, but the smell of smoke is very strong!

The bathroom is on the first floor. It is spacious and has new facilities, but it smells bad because no one has cleaned it for the past few days. The floor is not very clean either, and all the cleaning tools are piled up in a corner of the bathroom.

Xiang Fei's work began in the bathroom. He first found a rag and wiped down the toilet stalls, urinals, doors, windows and other facilities. He wiped them once with a wet rag and then once with a dry rag to make sure there were no stains. Then he picked up a broom and swept the floor, and then mopped it twice until the floor was so clean that you could see your reflection. Only then was the cleaning of the bathroom finished.

Since customers were sitting at the computer stations, it was impossible to clean. So Xiang Fei found a clean cloth and tidied up the internet cafe waiting area and around the fish pond, organizing scattered newspapers and magazines, sweeping up trash left on the floor, and wiping down the potted plants, sofas, and the edges of the fish pond. ...

On his first day at work, Xiang Fei didn't know what it meant for a cleaner to be conscientious and responsible. He just did his best to do everything he could see and think of!

After tidying everything up, Xiang Fei looked back at his work – the various odds and ends looked much better after being reorganized and arranged. The potted plants, sofas, and corner furniture were free of dust and looked brand new, making the whole environment fresher and more pleasant.

Looking at the fruits of his labor over three and a half hours, Xiang Fei felt a sense of accomplishment. This sense of accomplishment was a reward for the enthusiasm and effort he had put into his work. It had nothing to do with what kind of work he did, but it had to be carried out through a job.