Ye Qian chuckled, not revealing much.
“Brother, where are you from?” Wan Chun Hua asked.
“Me? From Shanghai.” Ye Qian replied.
Wann Chun Hua looked at him blankly, then exclaimed in astonishment, “There aren’t many locals who become security guards. The land is worth a lot - it’s a land of golden opportunity. It’s enough so that locals can just rebuild some run-down apartments and collect from monthly rent.”
Ye Qian smiled lightly and said, “There are also people in prosperous places, and I just happen to be among the poor people.” Ye Qian really wanted to say that Shanghai, from time immemorial, was an unstable place. It’s a land of golden opportunity, but underneath this gold was buried a pile of bones. “What about you? Where are you from?” Ye Qian asked him back.
“I’m from An Hui, the same province as the Chairman.” Wan Chun Hua said with a pleased expression, as though China’s Chairman were his own cousin. In China, if a person from the same town became a high official, let alone a Chairman, it naturally made people happy. Not to speak of the attitude of the central authorities, those local official also tried to win favors. They would work hard to develop the Chairman’s hometown so that the Chairman would not lose face.
“Brother, where are you from?” Ye Qian went to the security guard who had not spoken a word. While Ye Qian had never been a soldier, his experiences practically made him equivalent to one. He felt the aura of a soldier from that security guard. He guess that he must be a discharged military man. Soldiers will inevitably have a kind of special feeling. Even if they have never met before, if two people were to encounter each other they would declare they are from this or that unit. In the army there were many such cattle-breaking (powerful) incidents, as if they were old friends that hadn’t seen each other in years. So many soldiers had this type of special disposition, they liked to exaggerate and liked to shared in other people’s experiences, whether it was good or bad. It all felt like it was a glorious thing. Of course, the prerequisite of the bad stories were limited to how bad they were at fighting alongside their paizhang.
“From the Northeast! Fu Jun Sheng” The silent security guard answered. In his his eyes, one could see that life had exerted pressures on him, yet there seemed to be that unswerving determination that belonged only to soldiers. A very rough looking man from the Northeast. That he had such an erudite and scholarly named made hearing it a bit awkward.
TL: Jun Sheng sorta means Birth of Eminence
“This person doesn’t like to talk much, he’s not very relevant, don’t bother with introductions.” Wan Chu Hua said with a laugh.
“Today is my first day. It gives me pleasure to get to know everybody. How about I treat everybody to dinner after work?” Ye Qian said.
“Sure. A free meal is a free meal! I know barbecue place with the best barbecue! They have the best barbecued goat penis, goat balls, let’s go eat those.” Wan Chun Hua replied happily.
Ye Qian laughed and said: “Aren’t you afraid that eating that you won't be able to contain yourself if you eat those things?"
“What’s there to be afraid of? If I can’t contain myself I’ll just find a xiaojie. One hundred dollars, cheap. Add 50 and can even finish in her mouth.” Wan Chun Hua said offhandedly.
Ye Qian liked this type of fellow, not the scheming type, the typical straightforward guy. He helplessly laughed then replied: “Looking for stuff like that in the streets, aren’t you afraid of getting sick? Because of these habits, seems like your one month salary won’t be enough.”
“There’s no helping it, what can we do when we don’t have much capability? Girls don’t like us. Without finding a xiaojie how can it be resolved ah.” Wan Chun Hua said a little sadly.
What he said was indeed the truth. The blue-collar workers in China all lived under these similar circumstances. Whether they were married or not, they were all the same. For living, they had to leave their hometown, so they could give their families a good life, but in the end they discovered that the money they struggled to earn would be used up in the city they worked at in the end. For a lot of people, they would work for many years and would go home yet still having nothing to show.
Ye Qian smiled faintly and did not say more. Wan Chun Hua exclaimed: “Let’s stop talking about these damn things, it’s upsetting. Brother, you just got here. Let me take you around to get familiar with the surroundings.”
Ye Qian nodded and replied: “Just call me Ye Qian.”
“Okay, you call me my nickname Ermao.” Wan Chun Hua finished speaking and picked up his hat and then went into the security office. Ye Qian looked at Fu Jun Sheng, he seemed to notice Ye Qian watching him and looked back at him. He received the look by nodding his head slightly in acknowledgement then continued to watch the monitors with footage from the surveillance cameras.
Tian Ya Conglomerate was a large compound, the scope of their business was very wide. They were into real estate, distribution/logistics, clothing, etc. In Shanghai, Tian Ya Conglomerate could be considered as the number one company. In the ranking of privately-run companies in China it was among the top 100. This 60-floor skyscraper was all filled with Tian Ya Conglomerate’s own offices, and the underground levels were used as carparks. The penthouse itself was the office of the chairman of the board, Zhao Tian Ya.
All the way, Wan Chun Hua continuously explained to Ye Qian the details of their job. There were those areas needed patrol and those areas they were prohibited from entering. He even shared some of the gossip of Tian Ya Conglomerate as there were some sex scandals. Which of the girls were the prettiest, which girls were the flirtiest etc. His manner of speaking had the burning passion of youth, but also had a hint of hopelessness, this Thousand Mile Horse hasn’t met its connoisseur.
Ye Qian listened to him quietly the whole time, not expressing any of his own opinion. Ye Qian got himself a job here only to make Laodie feel that he had a real job so he could relax. He did not wish to be entangled in any disputes in the Tian Ya Conglomerate. Furthermore, as a mercenary, he was not really interested in these sex scandals, it was just for after-tea talks.
After making a tour of the Tian Ya Conglomerate skyscraper, Ye Qian and Wan Chun Hua returned to the security office.
“Hey!” A loveable and pampered voice cried out. The two people looked on in surprise. Before them was a girl, fashionably and sexily dressed and carrying some files. She looked at them with knitted brows. “Don’t you have eyes, watch where you’re going. Bumping into people and not knowing how to say sorry, you are severely lacking manners.” The girl looked at Ye Qian and rebuked him.
Ye Qian’s brows wrinkled slightly, it was clear that she was the one that hurriedly rushed forward earlier. The guilty party was blaming them, and it made him feel indignant.
He didn’t wait for Ye Qian to reply, Wan Chun Hua hurriedly replied: “Secretary Li, sorry, sorry, he’s new here. Please excuse his faults.”
“Was I talking to you?” Li Xiu Qin glared at Wan Chun Hua, intimidating him into shutting his mouth. Li Xiu Qin turned her eyes back towards Ye Qian, rebuking him: “Are you mute? You seem to not know how to talk? You don’t even have any quality?”
Note: Thousand Mile Horse hasn’t met its horse connoisseur - this means someone who hasn’t found the right mentor who could bring out his potential
Final note: Goat penis is a legit delicacy in case some of you may be wondering.