Chapter 71: Words Spoken Without Thought

Wang Wenyu considered that someone as wealthy and extravagant as Zeng Sheng would usually have breakfast in a restaurant or bring his own meal to the factory, not frequent a breakfast shop patronized by the working class. She sensed that Zeng Sheng might have ulterior motives. To avoid further trouble, as she stepped out the door, she gave Jiang Fan a kiss on the cheek and affectionately linked her arm with his, quietly signaling to Zeng Sheng across the street that she had a boyfriend, hoping he would back off.

Jiang Fan, surprised by Wang Wenyu’s public display of affection, responded with a kiss of his own and teased her, “You used to be so shy about me holding you in front of strangers, and now you dare to show affection on the street?”

Wang Wenyu pretended to be annoyed, pulling her arm away. “I gave you a little reward and you’re already getting cheeky. From now on, you have to keep two meters away from me in public.”

Jiang Fan slapped his own mouth and put his arm around her waist, saying with mock humility, “My lady, I was wrong. I’ll punish myself. Is that enough?”

She glanced at the spot where Zeng Sheng was sitting and saw him leering at her, confirming her suspicions. She promptly put her arm around Jiang Fan again, reinforcing her message to Zeng Sheng.

At the roadside bus stop, Wang Wenyu said to Jiang Fan, “Tomorrow, I’m going to Guangzhou to visit some elders and offer early New Year’s greetings. You’ll have to behave yourself at home these next two days!”

“When are you leaving? And when will you be back? I need to know so I can pick you up.”

“I’ll be in Guangzhou for about two days. No need to pick me up—my uncle’s arranged a car for me and will come get me in the morning.”

Hearing that Wang Wenyu would be away for two days, Jiang Fan grumbled, “Why does it take two days to visit family? How am I supposed to sleep without you at night?”

She playfully punched his chest. “You used to sleep soundly beside the graveyard before we were together. Now you can’t sleep without me?”

Jiang Fan pouted, “That’s different. Now that you’re not by my side, I feel restless. Even when I was at the factory yesterday, I felt like a blockhead, just thinking about you all day.”

Wang Wenyu thought for a moment. “Besides seeing my uncle and aunt, I have to visit two uncles on behalf of my father. I’ll try to hurry back and see if I can return the next day.”

A minibus pulled up in front of them, its conductor holding a sign listing stops: Humen, Nanzha, Xiagang, and Chang’an. In a Cantonese-accented Mandarin, he called out, “Humen, Chang’an—anyone going?”

Wang Wenyu replied politely, “I’m heading into Humen town, your bus doesn’t go there.”

The minibus started up, and the conductor, shutting the door, leaned out the window and called loudly, “Hey beautiful! You’re too pretty to be with that man. I’m single, you know!”

Jiang Fan let go of Wang Wenyu’s waist and chased after the bus, shouting, “You dog, if you’ve got guts, stop the bus and see what happens!”

But with his injuries and the speed of the bus, he couldn’t catch up. Only when the bus had disappeared did he return to Wang Wenyu’s side, giving her a playful slap on the backside. “Having a pretty wife is nothing but trouble.”

Wang Wenyu pouted, snapping back, “You’re not handsome either, but you still get into plenty of trouble. Don’t talk about me, hmph!”

A direct bus to Humen arrived. Wang Wenyu boarded, noticing Jiang Fan following her. “I’m already on the bus. Why are you still following me?”

In this city at the forefront of reform, nearly ten million migrants had poured into Dongguan, making all public transport perpetually crowded. Every minibus shuttling between the towns was packed to capacity.

Jiang Fan used both his sore arms to brace against the side of the bus, sheltering Wang Wenyu within them. “My wife’s too beautiful—she attracts trouble. I’ll take you to work to be sure you’re safe.”

Wang Wenyu teased, “Not worried about spending two yuan on bus fare now?”

“My wife is more important than money.”

With Jiang Fan’s arms creating some space, Wang Wenyu rested her head on his shoulder, gently reminding him, “You’re sweet, but be careful not to strain your left arm and reopen your wound.”

The minibus to Humen would pass by the entrance of her workplace. Jiang Fan watched Wang Wenyu walk in before taking the bus back to Baisha, then walked over a hundred meters to Dafeng.

Back at the factory, remembering Deputy General Manager Tang’s invitation, Jiang Fan decided to go to his office to check when he’d be available, so he wouldn’t be left waiting.

Passing by the second-floor HR department, he saw Shen Tingting staring blankly, a pen between her lips, deep in thought.

Feeling guilty for being too harsh with Manager Liu yesterday, Jiang Fan hesitated to go in and decided to head straight to the third floor.

But Manager Liu spotted him and came out to greet him. “Deputy Manager Jiang, do you need anything?”

Though he didn’t care much for Manager Liu, Jiang Fan regretted being so harsh to a woman and, hearing her warm greeting, replied softly, “Nothing, I’m just passing by on my way to see Deputy General Manager Tang.”

Manager Liu hesitated, a bit timid. “Are you free this evening? Captain Gou said he owes you an apology and wants to invite you to dinner. I was rude to you yesterday too, and I’d like to apologize as well. I hope you’ll do us the honor.”

Noticing Manager Liu’s timid gaze, Jiang Fan replied pointedly, “A grown man who sends a woman to speak for him because he can’t own up to his actions—what kind of man is that? Take my advice, whether you heed it or not is up to you. I’ll never be friends with him, and we’ll never share a table. You can pass that along to him. Also, tell him not to play any more dirty tricks, or I’ll make more trouble for him.”

It wasn’t until Jiang Fan’s figure disappeared around the stairwell that Manager Liu snapped out of her daze. She shook her head with a sigh, then went to Shen Tingting, who was still watching the door, and quietly said, “I was wrong before. Please don’t take it to heart. I hope we can be good colleagues.”

Shen Tingting looked at her in surprise, unable to believe the usually overbearing Manager Liu would say such a thing.

Jiang Fan reached the door of Deputy General Manager Tang’s office and knocked.

But Tang’s door remained closed. Instead, the door to Chen Anlong’s office two rooms down opened, and A Ping poked her head out, winking at him. “Deputy Manager Jiang, the boss wants to see you.”

Jiang Fan went to Chen Anlong’s door and asked, “Why are you winking?”

A Ping, seeing he hadn’t understood her hint, shot him a reproachful look.

From behind her, Chen Anlong’s voice called out, “Deputy Manager Jiang, please come in. I have something to discuss with you.”

Jiang Fan then saw Chen Anlong standing at the inner office door, watching both him and A Ping. He realized A Ping had been warning him with her winks that the boss was present, to keep him from saying anything careless.

The three of them entered the office together. Chen Anlong invited Jiang Fan to sit on the guest sofa. A Ping made tea for them and quietly left.

Only after A Ping had left did Chen Anlong sit across from Jiang Fan and say, “In a few days, it’s the 28th of the lunar month. Deputy General Manager Tang suggested we hold a year-end celebration before the factory break, so everyone can have some fun. Do you think we should do it?”

Jiang Fan was only a subordinate. He knew nothing about management or organizing events. Only one thought crossed his mind: no one does you a favor for nothing.

He wasn’t sure what Chen Anlong’s purpose was, but he had begun to suspect the boss wanted to win him over, and that his words might carry some weight now. “I really don’t know anything about factory management or whether such an event is necessary. But if you want my opinion, I do have a suggestion.”

Chen Anlong noticed that Jiang Fan’s tone was less hard-edged than before and even sounded humble. He assumed that letting him draw an advance on his salary yesterday had worked, so he responded encouragingly, “What is it? As long as it’s within my power, it won’t be a problem.”

“What migrant workers like us care about most is our wages. There are less than ten days till the New Year, but hardly anyone in the factory has taken leave to go home. That’s because the factory is behind on wages—people can’t even afford the trip home.

I hope you’ll consider the employees and pay what’s owed before the year-end. Everyone will be grateful, and so will I.”

The mention of wages immediately darkened Chen Anlong’s face, and his words grew colder. “Let alone the branch plants—the main factory alone has over fifty thousand workers. One month’s wages comes to nearly ten million. Where can the factory get that much money?

I’m negotiating with the shareholders now, trying to scrape together enough. We’ll pay a little before the New Year, but we can’t pay it all—at least a month’s wages will have to wait until after the holiday.”

Despite hearing the anger in Chen Anlong’s voice, Jiang Fan pressed on, “There are only twelve months in a year, and the factory already withholds a month and a half’s wages. Now you want to delay another month—that’s two and a half months’ pay withheld.

Most of us left home to work because our families were struggling. With wages owed for so long, many employees have had to borrow just to get by. If the factory can’t pay on time, a lot of people won’t even have money for a new set of clothes, let alone the trip home. How are they supposed to celebrate the New Year?”