nycdaug Chapter 133: Middle-aged Unemployment
Chapter 133: Middle-aged Unemployment
"Mom, let's hurry up! If the driver doesn't wait for us, we will have to stay here!" The little girl urged her mother.
"Just stay here, Mom thinks it's nice here!" There was a hint of joking in the girl's mother's tone.
But the little girl was unwilling and retorted with a frown: "That won't do. Grandpa, grandma and dad will miss me!"
As Mei Ling'er listened to the heartwarming conversation between the mother and daughter, the gloom on the subway dissipated for the most part. Her mood improved and she got off the train with the crowd.
She went to the restroom first, and sure enough, there were a lot of people queuing up.
Looking at the men's restroom, there is no need to wait at all, there are plenty of empty seats.
After going to the toilet, Mei Ling'er felt a little hungry. She looked around the snack street in the service area, but there was nothing she wanted to eat, so she ran to the stall at the door and bought a grilled sausage.
There were too many people in the snack street, so she walked to the exit next to the water supply, put two napkins on the stairs at the exit, and then sat down.
The grilled sausage was not as delicious as the Zhengxin chicken steak, and Mei Ling'er didn't want to eat it after eating half of it.
Just as she was about to throw it into the trash can next to her, the man who sat next to her on the bus came towards her. Without even looking at her, he took two steps at a time and went upstairs.
Mei Ling'er glanced up. Did this guy know someone upstairs? She turned the sausage stick around in her hands.
When we turned the second circle, the little girl in the back seat ran over alone, walking up the stairs.
Deng Deng Deng!
Does this little girl know anyone upstairs?
Mei Ling'er was very puzzled, but the little girl was no match for the man who was an adult, so she followed him worriedly.
The little girl was already out of breath when she climbed the last flight of stairs. Mei Ling'er looked at her red ears and chuckled.
Squeak!
The door on the rooftop was opened by the little girl, "Uncle, do you want some candy?"
"do not come!"
Mei Ling'er was startled at the corner of the stairs and had a bad feeling in her heart.
She was now in a position where the man could not see her, and neither the man nor the little girl knew that she had followed them.
The little girl ignored the man's words and quickened her pace to rush towards him.
"Uncle! This candy is delicious, let's eat it together!"
"Uncle! Okay?"
The man stood on the railing on the roof, looking at the little girl at his feet with an embarrassed expression.
After thinking for a moment, he finally jumped down and pulled the little girl to sit down on the stone pier on the rooftop. The big and small figures huddled together tightly.
"Uncle, is it delicious?" the little girl asked, tilting her head.
"Delicious." The man responded with a smile.
"Every time I get an injection, my mother buys me candy, and this time the candy is the best."
"The doctor always praises me for being a good boy, but I'm actually very afraid of pain. I always grit my teeth and hold back my tears because I know that if I cry, Mom will cry even more sadly at night. Mom always cries at night and she thinks I don't know, but actually I know everything."
The little girl's legs swung back and forth, and her feet touched each other from time to time.
The man put his hand on the other's little head with heartache, looked at the clouds in the sky, and wondered whether his mid-life setbacks were not worth mentioning compared to the little girl's illness.
40-year-old Cao Xurong is a suit-dressed office worker with a decent job as an Internet engineer.
Having a happy family, kissing my wife goodbye every morning, driving to work with high spirits, and not having to worry about my children, life is wonderful.
Until he was N+1.
He was embarrassed to tell his family, so he hid it from everyone from the beginning. Every day, he would put on a suit and tie, kiss his wife goodbye, and go out after getting everything ready.
In the eyes of his family, he goes out to work.
After driving out of the community, he went to his previous office building, but in fact he sat in the coffee shop all day, frantically browsing recruitment software and not talking to anyone else.
A week passed and he didn't even want to spend money on a cup of coffee. All the resumes he submitted seemed to have fallen into the sea, and no headhunter contacted him for an interview.
Cao Xurong was so afraid that his family would know that he was laid off, and that fear tormented him so much that he couldn't sit still.
Every day he has to sit and wait in the car because he often has to attend meetings and cannot go home too early.
He didn't know where to go and was very confused.
When he finally returned home after a long time, his wife and children welcomed him happily.
His wife left delicious meals for him and his children shared their excellent report cards with him, but he felt extremely ashamed. He had no salary this month and he could not give them the life they wanted.
On the day Cao Xurong usually handed in his salary, which was today, he went out in a suit and tie, just like before.
After kissing his wife goodbye, he did not start his car, but took public transportation to the bus station, randomly chose a bus, and got on it.
He did not leave any words or any written documents for his family, and his family thought he just went to work as usual.
"Uncle, are you happier now?"
The little girl's clear voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Uncle, don't go to such dangerous places in the future, otherwise your mother will worry about you."
Cao Xurong lowered his head in shame. He didn't know what had happened just now. He actually wanted to...
"Uncle?" Seeing that he didn't answer, the little girl pulled his arm.
The man smiled slightly and said gently: "Thank you, uncle is much happier now."
After Cao Xurong recovered, he remembered the little girl's mother. She would be very worried when she found out that the little girl was missing. He quickly took the little girl's hand and left the rooftop.
Before the two of them noticed, Mei Ling'er had already returned to the stairs to the first floor with half a sausage.
When the two men passed by her, she pretended not to see them.
"Sister, isn't the sausage delicious?"
Hearing the little girl's question, Mei Ling'er was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
"Yeah, it's not tasty at all," she answered honestly, forcing a smile.
The little girl and the man laughed at the same time.
The three of them returned to the car together. The little girl's mother sat in her seat with a smile on her face, not looking anxious at all.
The little girl skipped back to her mother and fastened her seat belt obediently.
The man dialed his wife's number while sitting in his seat, and the other party answered the call soon.
"Baby, I'm not going home tonight." The man paused, then continued, "No, it's not about work. I'm going out for two days. You can wait for me at home. I'll be back the day after tomorrow." The man paused again, then said in a compromising tone, "Okay, then. I'll listen to you. Buy the high-speed rail ticket and come over. I'll book a hotel there and wait for you."