He didn't speak. He lowered his head, gazing at his feet, lost in thought.
"Alright, enough already. You call someone else limping, but you've got an ear that can't hear." Lao Wang scolded the troublemaker and then turned to Xiao Tian. "Our place isn't as complicated as the inside. You just need to focus on doing your own tasks properly."
"I understand," Xiao Tian nodded.
"So, what do security guards do?"
"Our security tasks involve monitoring, patrolling, and standing guard. Monitoring means watching the closed-circuit television in the security office for any unusual situations. If there's anything, report it promptly. Patrolling means during the night shift, you need to patrol the factory area every hour, checking if the water and electricity switches and main power circuit breaker are turned off, whether the warehouse doors are locked properly, and so on. Standing guard means standing at the front and back gates during shift changes to ensure that employees leave in an orderly manner and that there's no traffic congestion at the gate. Oh, by the way, when cars are leaving the factory, you need to open each car compartment one by one to check for any suspicious items. Only if there are none can you let them pass." Lao Wang explained in detail to Xiao Tian, who listened carefully.
"Yeah, yeah, you must check thoroughly. You, the newbie, might not know, but there was a warehouse theft incident before. They searched everywhere and couldn't catch the thief. Later, they found out it was an inside job. One of the employees hid the materials from the warehouse in his own car and sold them!" When talking about this, Lao Quan became animated, like he was relishing a juicy piece of gossip.
"Ah, how could someone do that?" Xiao Tian exclaimed in disbelief, while also engraving the matter of checking the car compartments deeply in his mind.
Then Lao Wang explained more rules, all of which Xiao Tian diligently remembered.
"Tomorrow, Xiao Tian, you'll stand guard at the back gate. Take a notebook and record the employee IDs of those who don't wear the factory uniform when they come to work and issue warnings. Lao Quan, you'll stand guard at the front gate. I'll oversee." Lao Wang instructed, taking the duty roster book hanging on the wall and making a few new entries.
"Oh, alright," Xiao Tian often entered and exited through the back gate, but he had such low self-esteem that he walked with his head slightly lowered, lacking the courage to make eye contact. Hence, he had never paid attention to the guards on duty. If he had greeted them a few times, he would have been more familiar with Lao Wang and Lao Quan and not feel like a complete stranger.
"Don't be impulsive if anything happens. Contact first, got it?" Lao Wang added another word of caution.
Xiao Tian nodded.
He spent the entire afternoon in the security room, staring at the monitors. His eyes were getting tired.
"Hey, silly, you don't need to stare like that. Just take a glance occasionally." Lao Quan, from somewhere, pulled out a frozen bottle of Wang Lao Ji herbal tea and handed it to him.
"Thank you, Lao Quan, I won't drink it," Xiao Tian rubbed his eyes. He wished he had eye drops.
"Why not drink it? Don't worry, it's not expired." Lao Quan wiped off the slight layer of dust that had accumulated on the bottle cap with his sleeve and then placed it in front of Xiao Tian.
"Thank you, Lao Quan." Xiao Tian had intended to decline again, but he ended up accepting it. He wasn't in the best of health, to begin with eating spicy food and drinking cold beverages were surefire ways to upset his stomach, so he avoided such stimulants at all costs.
But when someone offers something with warmth, it's hard to refuse, so he reluctantly opened the bottle and took a sip.
It was really cold as if it had reached his heart.
Xiao Tian couldn't help but shiver.
"Hey, it's almost time to finish. Stop chatting, get ready to stand guard," Lao Wang entered while taking a drag from his cigarette. He then put on his coat and tidied up his appearance in front of the mirror, looking ready for action.
"Xiao Tian, you'll be at the front gate today, and I'll be at the back gate. Lao Quan, you keep monitoring in here." Lao Wang issued the orders.
"Alright," Lao Quan responded, "so I'll keep an eye on the newbie here, uh, I mean, I'll watch the monitors." Lao Quan adopted the demeanor of a seasoned pro and said with a cheeky grin.
"Both of you watch out for each other, one inside and one outside, working in tandem." Lao Wang extinguished his cigarette, put on his security cap, and left.
"Tch, pretending to be so serious," Lao Quan muttered under his breath.
"Well, Lao Quan, I'm also heading out to stand guard," Xiao Tian started to tidy up his appearance. He was feeling a bit nervous, initially afraid of being assigned to the back gate to stand guard all alone. However, it seemed that Lao Wang was a decent person, someone with a calm exterior and a warm interior. This arrangement was, in a way, a consideration for him.
Standing guard at the front gate, at least Lao Quan would be inside the room, offering him some company.
"Go ahead," Lao Quan waved his hand dismissively. "I'm here. If there's anything, just call me."
As quitting time approached, employees began to gradually exit the spacious factory road.
Some were walking in groups of three or five, some were riding motorcycles or bicycles, and a few were leaving in their cars. The entrance was bustling with a constant stream of people, a lively scene.
Most of the employees leaving in cars were from the office building. They had gotten used to stopping at the gate, popping open their trunks, undergoing the security check, and then leaving. Occasionally, there might be one or two cars that forgot, prompting them to be stopped for inspection. However, the drivers' etiquette was generally quite high, making Xiao Tian's inspections go rather smoothly without any hassles.
After about ten to twenty minutes, the rush was over, and the number of employees leaving began to dwindle. The once lively entrance gradually became quiet and desolate.
Xiao Tian initially thought that there wouldn't be any more cars leaving. But then, a shiny black sedan suddenly shot out from some corner and headed straight for the entrance without slowing down.
Xiao Tian gestured for the car to stop, but it seemed like the driver inside the car hadn't noticed him. The car continued speeding towards him.
Xiao Tian used his own short stature as a barrier, causing the car to abruptly slam on the brakes and come to a halt. Fortunately, the car had excellent performance; otherwise, it could have led to an accident.
"Hello, please open the trunk for inspection," Xiao Tian regained his composure, then hobbled over to the driver's side and gently tapped the car window with politeness.
However, the person inside the car remained unmoved. Through the window, Xiao Tian saw the face of a young man, with deep features and an extraordinary presence.
Stuck at this standstill for a while, the window didn't roll down, the trunk didn't open, and the car just stayed put, the person inside only staring at him without any reaction.
This person is really strange, Xiao Tian thought to himself.
Judging by his attire, he should be some high-ranking individual, but he's so young and doesn't really fit the bill.
Just as Xiao Tian was lost in thought, the car window finally started to lower slowly.
Suddenly, Lao Quan rushed out from the security room upon seeing the license plate, his eyes widening in shock.
"You limp fool! This is the big boss's car! Hurry up and let it through!" Lao Quan shouted at Xiao Tian. Then, he glanced at the face that bore some resemblance to the big boss's and was momentarily taken aback. He quickly corrected himself, "Oh my, it's the young boss! Quickly, let it through, let it through!"
Xiao Tian scratched his head and then belatedly said, "Oh," quickly stepping back a few paces.
The man inside the car didn't say a word, not a single word. Yet, an invisible aura of authority emanated from him.
His deep gaze gave Xiao Tian another look, and then he pressed the accelerator, causing the car to roar like an arrow released from a bow, swiftly departing from the factory gate.
"Oh, my heavens! Don't you know that there are two cars you can't stop?" Lao Quan exclaimed.
"Huh?" Xiao Tian scratched his head in confusion. No one had told him about this before. His mind vividly remembered what Lao Quan had said about the recent warehouse theft, which made him think that inspecting the trunks of cars was particularly important.
However, nobody had told him which cars should be stopped and which shouldn't.
"Remember it well from now on. License plate numbers 6888 and 3386 are absolutely untouchable. If those two cars come and go, it's best to show some respect," Lao Quan said sternly and seriously.
Xiao Tian looked up at the end of the road. The shiny black car with license plate number 6888 was gradually shrinking into a small black dot, disappearing beyond the horizon. He absentmindedly muttered, "6888."
"That 6888 is the Mercedes-Benz from earlier. It's the big boss's car, usually driven by his chauffeur. I don't know what's happened today. The young boss drove it instead. Maybe it's because the young boss just got back from abroad a couple of days ago and doesn't have a car for the moment," Lao Quan speculated.
"The young boss?" Xiao Tian turned back to Lao Quan, unable to see the black dot anymore.
"Yes, haven't you heard? The big boss's only son. He just graduated from overseas a couple of days ago," Lao Quan said. "Rumor has it that he was the top student at Harvard. Truly talented and promising, with a bright future ahead."
"What about 3386?" Xiao Tian curiously asked.
"3386? That's Director Yao from the Marketing Department's car. He's a playboy who's charmed so many young ladies in our company," Lao Quan continued to educate Xiao Tian. "It's a red convertible sports car, very easy to recognize. You'll know it when you see it next time. He's infamous for being a womanizer. So, just pretend you didn't see anything and avoid offending him."
"Okay," Xiao Tian silently repeated the license plate numbers to himself twice, determined to remember them and not forget them again.
"But don't worry, he's been out of the country on a business trip lately. He probably won't be back for a while," Lao Quan yawned, then strolled back to the security room to monitor the cameras.
Thus, the first day after Xiao Tian's shift change came to an end. Lao Wang was on duty tonight, so Xiao Tian and Lao Quan finished their shifts and went about their business.
Xiao Tian adapted fairly well. The job was simple, just the longer hours of standing guard made his back and feet a bit sore. However, he would get used to it eventually.
After returning to his dormitory, Xiao Tian took a comfortable shower and planned to head to the cafeteria to get some food.
The canteen only had bland vegetables, and a few pieces of fatty pork skin hanging up were deemed as having meat. It tasted like chewing wax and lacked any nutritional value.
Nevertheless, the advantage was that it was affordable. Employees like Xiao Tian, with low incomes, preferred the factory cafeteria meals that cost 5 yuan per meal over fast food stalls outside that charged over ten yuan.
However, eating like this in the long term could only fill the stomach, as there was hardly any nutrition to absorb. Xiao Tian grew up here since childhood, always eating in the cafeteria. He only occasionally improved his diet by going out with his father, but even then, it was often oily and unhealthy street food.
This was extremely detrimental to a child's health. His father lacked awareness about nutrition, so it's no wonder his son had grown up to be so skinny. Missing out on essential nutrients during growth was something that was hard to make up for later.
And now Xiao Tian was a full-fledged adult man, but he was much shorter than the average adult male, pale and thin-skinned. On top of that, he had a limp, which added a few more layers of self-doubt to his psyche.
Mechanically, Xiao Tian spooned the food into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. The canteen's hygiene wasn't great; there was often a foul smell of spoiled food, very unpleasant, and there were mice and cockroaches. The environment was extremely harsh. But unknowingly, Xiao Tian had been eating like this for so many years.
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