My Dongguan Love Story

Li Jie sincerely admired Da Zhuang. Not only did he have several girlfriends, but even a beautiful and sexy woman like Lin Guilian would actively come up to him and try to please him.

He himself had been pursuing Cuihua for so long, but still hadn't been able to win her over. He felt a mix of envy and loneliness.

Hearing Li Jie's flattery, I shook my head helplessly and sighed softly, "Sigh! The situation is out of control!"

Li Jie would never understand my troubles; we've only just met. I don't want to tell him too much.

Before coming to Dongguan, my wishes were simple: make money and get married. But after arriving, I discovered that there are more women than men here, and they are not only beautiful but also incredibly enthusiastic and proactive. I've inadvertently offended several people, leaving me in a terrible mess.

Right now, Lin Guilian has only discovered that I'm juggling multiple relationships. I can't even imagine what would happen if all those relationships were to collide and discover each other's secrets.

After we finished eating, I noticed Li Jie had packed two more servings of braised pork knuckle rice, and I looked at him with some confusion: "Aren't you full yet?"

"No," Li Jie shook his head. "I packed it for someone else."

I didn't think much of what he said, assuming he was just packing it up for one of his colleagues at the factory. I never imagined he was actually packing it for Cuihua, and for two portions at that.

I was a little taken aback. What kind of figure does Cuihua have that she can eat two bowls of pork trotter rice for lunch?

When I walked with him to the factory and saw Zhang Cuihua, I was completely stunned.

Zhang Cuihua is nineteen years old this year, a native of Guangdong. Her face is dark and rough, her cheekbones protrude, and there is a large black mole on the corner of her mouth, which looks particularly eye-catching.

Her hair was casually gathered at the back of her head and loosely tied into a messy bun, with stray hairs scattered everywhere. She never bothered to take care of herself or dress up.

Her old, floral dress couldn't hide her bulky figure at all.

Judging by my estimation, he must weigh at least 130 or 140 pounds. He's considerably heavier than Li Jie.

When Li Jie saw Zhang Cuihua, his eyes crinkled with a smile. He quickly ran forward and handed her two steaming bowls of braised pork trotters with rice.

Without hesitation, Zhang Cuihua accepted the braised pork trotter rice, and her eyes immediately lit up as her face broke into a wide smile.

She grinned widely, her cheeks puffed out, and the mole on her lip twitched as she said, "Thank you, Li Jie. I'm going to eat now."

"Okay." Li Jie smiled as he watched Zhang Cuihua walk into the factory.

After Zhang Cuihua left, I couldn't help but walk over to Li Jie, stare at him for a while, and then said:

"Um, Li Jie, the woman you like is indeed a bit unusual."

This Cuihua is so beautiful that it's hard to describe; I don't know how to put it into words right now.

Hearing my words, Li Jie smiled and looked at the doorway Zhang Cuihua had turned into: "Cuihua is the most beautiful girl in our village. I've known her since I was a child, and I've always liked her. It's because of her that I came to Dongguan."

She said she'd agree to be my girlfriend if I kept bringing her meals for a year; there are still 112 days left.

I was somewhat taken aback by what he said.

Li Jie looked at me and said, "I was quite envious of you at first, but everyone has their own destiny. You have your Tang Yan, Lin Guilian, and Sister Zhao, and I have my Cuihua."

Looking at his expression as he spoke, his face was pale and he looked as if he had drunk bitter medicine, with a troubled look between his brows as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. I almost burst out laughing on the spot.

After witnessing how gentle and considerate Lin Guilian and Lin Huimin were to me, he must have felt envious of me, and perhaps even disliked Zhang Cuihua a little. He was just stubbornly holding back, a last vestige of boyish pride.

I didn't want to call him out on it.

After we returned to the security room, we noticed Zhou Zhengtao and the others were gone, assuming they had gone to eat. However, they hadn't returned by 4 PM. I couldn't help but look at Li Jie with some confusion:

"Do Zhou Zhengtao and the others have the afternoon off?"

A day shift is a full-day shift; it's impossible to work in the morning and not in the afternoon. Unless someone has something to do in the afternoon and needs to take leave. But for five people to take leave together seems a bit outrageous, doesn't it?

Li Jie listened to what I said and shook his head:

"What do you mean by taking time off? The security guard's attendance is managed by the team leader. He comes back to clock in after his shift ends, but who knows if he's left his post without permission?"

Hearing his words, my face darkened: "You skipped work and are planning to come back to clock in at the designated time?"

I never imagined there was such a way to be lazy and slack off.

So you're saying people get paid even when they're not at their posts?

If it were anyone else as the boss, I wouldn't bother getting involved at all. But this is Sister Zhao's factory, and she specifically entrusted me to manage the factory's affairs. How could I just stand by and watch these chaotic situations go unchecked?

Li Jie listened to my words, shrugged, and didn't think much of it:

"They often skip work like this, and we don't know where they go. Anyway, the security team is run by the captain, so we can't do anything about it."

Whether he skips work or not, Li Jie doesn't care. He's not the one getting paid, so he's not the one losing money. He'll just sit here and wait until the end of the workday; he'll have his twenty-odd yuan in wages for today.

I secretly made a mental note that I would fire Zhou Zhengtao when I took office as factory director. As for the others, I would have to investigate them further. If they were just like Zhou Zhengtao, there was no point in keeping them; they would all have to be replaced.

After sitting in the security room with Li Jie for a while, I went out to patrol the factory twice more.

By the time I returned to the security room after patrolling, it was already past closing time. Suddenly, my phone rang.

When I saw that the caller ID was Secretary Su, I couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Was Secretary Su afraid that I would stand her up again?

I picked up my phone and answered: "Secretary Weisu."

A gentle, soothing voice came from the phone: "Dazhuang, are you off work?"

I listened to Secretary Su's words and said with a smile, "It's time to go home, it's time to go home."

I was going to tell her not to worry, that I definitely wouldn't stand her up today. But since I'm not very familiar with her, I didn't say that.

Unexpectedly, Secretary Su said, "Dazhuang, I've arrived at the gate of the Second Factory."

"Huh?" I was taken aback and stood up from my chair. "You're already at the gate of Factory No. 2?"

I didn't expect Secretary Su to be here.

Secretary Su smiled sweetly: "Yes, I was out running some business nearby today, and I was thinking of hitching a ride on your motorcycle to get back, so I came over first."

She phrased it tactfully, but in reality, she was afraid that Dazhuang would stand her up again.

Brother Nan has already given instructions: if she can't get a date with Dazhuang today, she'll be in big trouble.

How could Secretary Su dare disobey Brother Nan's orders? Afraid that Da Zhuang would stand her up, she simply stood guard at the entrance of the Second Factory.

As soon as Dazhuang gets off work, I can get straight into his car.

Hearing Secretary Su's words, I was a little suspicious, but I didn't think much of it. It was just a ride, no big deal. I said to her, "Wait a minute, I'll ride my bike out."

Li Jie overheard my conversation and seemed a little puzzled. Was it that beautiful girl waiting for Dazhuang at the door at noon?

He walked out of the security room full of curiosity and happened to see Dazhuang parked at the factory gate on his motorcycle. A slender and beautiful figure, dressed in a neat business suit, gracefully lifted her leg and straddled the back of Dazhuang's motorcycle.

Witnessing this scene, Li Jie's composure instantly crumbled. He gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, "Da Zhuang's luck with women is too good! Another beautiful girl is picking him up from get off work. He's so lucky!"