My Dongguan Love Story

The father of sisters Chen Siyao and Chen Siqi died unexpectedly two years ago, and the family is now entirely supported by their mother, Wu Lijuan.

To support her family, Wu Lijuan works manual labor on construction sites year-round, working hard to earn money to support them.

To make matters worse, she fell from a height while working, severely injuring her right leg and completely losing her ability to work, requiring long-term hospitalization for recovery.

Little did she know that the construction site boss was malicious. Not only did he refuse to pay compensation for her work injury, he also owed her six months' salary without cause.

The family was already struggling financially, and now that the only person in the family who could earn money has fallen ill, their income has completely stopped, making life even more difficult.

The daily hospitalization costs, coupled with various daily expenses, quickly depleted the family's savings, leaving them unable to even afford the tuition for the two sisters' schooling.

With their hospital bills running out and no other options left, the two sisters had no choice but to go to work to earn money.

But ever since her two daughters went out to work and earn money, Wu Lijuan has been constantly worried about them.

She knew the children were young, innocent, and inexperienced, and she was most afraid that they would be fooled and bullied by others.

These days she's been restless and anxious, unable to relax for even a moment.

When Wu Lijuan saw her two daughters return together, she was initially overjoyed, but her heart was filled with worry.

When she saw Chen Siqi intimately linking arms with a tall, handsome man, she immediately frowned and her face darkened.

Her twin daughters are pretty and have a slender figure, and have always been very popular.

In the past two years, neighbors have been coming to the door, wanting to arrange marriages between the two sisters with their own sons or young men from relatives.

Seeing Chen Siqi take the stranger's hand, her guard immediately went up. She quickly looked at Chen Siqi, her voice filled with urgency and confusion, and asked, "Siqi, what... why are you holding hands?"

Upon hearing her mother's words, Chen Siqi subconsciously looked down and saw that she was still tightly holding Dazhuang's hand. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she shyly stuck out her tongue. She quickly let go of his hand and explained softly with a smile, "Oh, Mom, I was in such a hurry going upstairs that I forgot about it."

Hearing this, Chen Siyao, who was standing behind her, rolled her eyes helplessly. She thought to herself that her sister had been holding hands with him all the way here without feeling awkward at all, but now she was embarrassed to come.

But she knew her younger sister was simple-minded and straightforward, so she could only shrug and walk over to the bedside to speak softly to Wu Lijuan.

"Mom, this is the security captain of Dingsheng Factory No. 2. My sister and I went to the factory for job interviews today, and he was very kind and took extra care of us, making an exception and hiring us. When he learned that you were sick and hospitalized, he specially brought fruit to visit you."

Chen Siyao is insightful and has high emotional intelligence. In front of her mother, she praised Dazhuang for being honest and warm-hearted. Her words were sincere and appropriate, which made me smile shyly.

I thought to myself, if I hadn't unintentionally taken advantage of Chen Siyao earlier, I wouldn't have bothered coming to the hospital with them.

After hearing her eldest daughter's words, Wu Lijuan's brows furrowed even more deeply instead of relaxing. Especially upon hearing the words "special recruitment," she immediately felt a surge of defensiveness.

Having lived for over forty years, she had long seen through the ways of the world and knew that most men were easily blinded by beauty. This extra care and preferential treatment was clearly because she valued her daughters' good looks, not because she genuinely appreciated their abilities.

Thinking of this, she didn't want her daughter to work for Dazhuang from the bottom of her heart, but she still pretended to be calm and turned to look at Dazhuang, tentatively probing him in a polite tone:

"You must be Dazhuang, right? My two daughters have always been pampered at home; they're both innocent and spoiled. I hope they didn't cause you any trouble at the factory today?"

I smiled gently, shook my head slightly, and looked at the two sisters frankly, saying, "Auntie, don't worry, there's no trouble at all. The two sisters are very hardworking and diligent. When they have nothing to do, they even go to the workshop to lend a hand. They are much more reliable than the security guards in the factory before."

I was speaking from the heart. Thinking back to Zhou Zhengtao and his gang, they spent all their time slacking off in the duty room, either sitting and reading or lying down and sleeping. They were too lazy to even do their assigned patrols. Compared to these two sisters, they were far inferior.

My sincere words sounded off to Wu Lijuan. She knew her daughter's appearance and abilities all too well.

The two sisters were indeed hardworking and diligent, but security guard duties were traditionally done by men. The two girls were frail; the combined strength of their four hands might not even equal that of her single hand. How much could they, so weak and powerless, possibly help the factory?

In her opinion, Dazhuang was just saying nice things; in the end, he just wanted to keep his two daughters by his side.

She recalled how she had strongly opposed her daughter's offer to apply for a security guard job. What kind of job was this for a perfectly good young woman? Night shifts were in the factory area, which was already remote and quiet; her daughters, with their striking looks, would not only fail to command respect but would also easily attract ill-intentioned people.

They're barely able to take care of themselves, let alone maintain security in the factory area. Besides, the security team is full of young, strong men; if two pretty girls suddenly walk in, it's like lambs to the slaughter, with danger lurking everywhere.

Despite her repeated attempts to dissuade and persuade them, her daughters insisted on taking the job. Wu Lijuan felt helpless and sighed softly to herself.

She looked up and stared intently at Da Zhuang in front of her, trying to see through his true thoughts. A subtle tension fell over the ward.

After a moment, she spoke solemnly: "Dazhuang, I know my own daughter best. She doesn't have any extraordinary abilities. If she does well at work, she can stay. If she doesn't meet the job requirements, you can dismiss her according to the rules. Don't show any special favoritism or accommodation for any other reason."

She spoke tactfully and subtly, every word carrying a hidden meaning, confident that Dazhuang would understand her intention.

The simple-minded Chen Siqi couldn't understand the concerns in her mother's words at all. She immediately pouted and looked at Wu Lijuan with a wronged and unconvinced expression: "Mom, why do you keep saying such discouraging things? We are doing very well, and the people in the factory all approve of us."

Chen Siyao quickly and quietly grabbed her younger sister's wrist, gently signaling her to stop talking. She had already understood her mother's unspoken meaning and didn't want her sister to interrupt and make the atmosphere awkward.

Upon hearing her words, I immediately understood Wu Lijuan's thoughts. I realized that she was worried that I coveted the two sisters' beauty and was deliberately showing them favoritism.

I smiled calmly and stated frankly, "Auntie, please rest assured. I am entrusted by General Manager Zhao to manage the factory affairs, and I have always acted impartially and will never let personal feelings interfere."

As I finished speaking, I gently placed the fruit I was carrying on the bedside table and said with a warm smile, "Since this is your first visit, I didn't prepare anything special. This bag of strawberries is sweet and delicious, please try some. My girlfriend especially loves them."

My words were clearly a statement, a direct message to Wu Lijuan that I already had a girlfriend, and that even though the twin sisters were exceptionally beautiful, I had absolutely no improper thoughts about them.

Wu Lijuan instantly understood the intention, and her anxiety immediately subsided, her expression relaxing. She thought to herself that any man with ulterior motives would deliberately conceal his relationship status, or even use the excuse of being pressured by his family to get married and settle down to plot something illicit. No one would openly admit to having a girlfriend.

Once her worries were resolved, a gentle smile gradually spread across her face. She politely declined, saying, "Dazhuang, since your girlfriend likes it, why don't you take it back for her to try? I'm getting old, and fruit tends to be cooling; eating it might upset my stomach."

Seeing the plump, red strawberries, Chen Siqi pursed her lips, her cheeks puffed out slightly, and she muttered to herself, feeling wronged. These tempting strawberries were right in front of her, yet her mother insisted on refusing them; she felt incredibly disappointed, her mind filled with the desire to eat them.

At this moment, Chen Siyao's mind was in complete disarray. Dazhuang's words about having a girlfriend kept echoing in her ears, and a strange, inexplicable bitterness welled up in her heart. It was as if a piece of her heart had suddenly been emptied, and she felt a strange sense of loss and melancholy.