Making a Call 3

The man on the other end of the line chuckled upon hearing this. "It's fine, the conditions here are very good. There's food and drink, and I'm earning quite a bit of money. Don't overthink things."

Jiang Ru wasn't very convinced. "Really?"

"Mm."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Jiang Ru said, "Then you must be careful when you're out there alone. It's okay if you don't earn much money, as long as you're safe. Come back soon, alright?"

Perhaps due to a slow connection, it was a long while before the person on the other end replied with a soft "Okay."

"Then I'll hang up now."

"Mm."

—

The light in the room was dim.

After the other end of the line fell silent, the man reluctantly put down the receiver.

The skinny, dark man beside him saw this and immediately bared his yellowed teeth, smiling obsequiously. "Brother, I didn't lie to you, did I? If you work with us, we're family. When you earn a lot of money later, you can also give Sister-in-law a better life, right?"

Li Xiao chuckled at these words, crossing his legs and leaning back, casually taking the cigarette tucked behind his ear and putting it to his mouth.

The man beside him was very perceptive, quickly grabbing the matchbox from the table and obsequiously lighting the cigarette for him.

Li Xiao took a drag, exhaled a puff of white smoke, and smirked indifferently. "Family?"

The skinny, dark man affirmed resolutely, "Family!"

He thought to himself, this man looks handsome but has a heart of stone. I've been brainwashing him for two days, and he hasn't reacted at all. On the contrary, I've willingly become his subordinate. With this capability, if he were to trick others, he'd surely win over every single person.

Li Xiao curled his lips, his expression nonchalant. "Alright."

With that, he kicked the table in front of him. The rickety old table couldn't withstand the force and let out a "creak." The glass of water and the bowl of plain steamed buns on it rattled violently.

He stood up and walked away. "Then let me see what it means to be family."

The skinny, dark man thought he had agreed and quickly followed.

In the room, there were still twenty or thirty people huddled in the corners, each one dirty. Each held a bowl of watery porridge with barely any rice. Seeing the two of them leave, no one dared to secretly take the steamed buns from the table.

Zhou Qiang, in a corner, watched Li Xiao's retreating back with longing, a bitter ache in his heart. They had both been tricked into this place, yet now Li Xiao had become the boss, while he could only slurp watery porridge.

--

Jiang Ru put down the phone. As soon as she looked up, she saw Auntie Wang opposite her, smiling broadly, still holding a cloth to wipe the table. "Finished talking, child?"

"..."

Jiang Ru also smiled. "Yes, Auntie. Auntie Wang, I'm going home now."

She didn't know if making phone calls cost money in this era, but she had, after all, troubled someone to make the trip, so she took out fifty cents from her pocket. "Thank you for your trouble today, Auntie."

"Oh, it's nothing, child, making phone calls doesn't cost money."

Auntie Wang quickly pushed the money on the table back to Jiang Ru. Jiang Ru pushed it back and forth twice, then said, "I might have to use your phone again in the future, I can't keep troubling you for free. If you keep doing this, I won't dare to come anymore."

Auntie Wang saw she couldn't refuse, so she had to accept it, but told her to wait a moment. She turned and went into the kitchen, took out some pork intestines, and said with a hearty laugh, "There's nothing good at home, just a lot of pork offal that people don't eat. Your Uncle brought these back this morning after butchering a pig in the village; they're very fresh. Take them home and stir-fry them with some dried chilies, and they'll be delicious."

After all, her family ran a business and always prioritized harmony. Of course, it was mainly because Jiang Ru was polite, sensible, and didn't like to take advantage of others. Many neighbors came to her house to make calls, but only Jiang Ru paid.

Auntie Wang casually tied the pork intestines with two strands of straw and handed them to Jiang Ru.

Since she had said so, Jiang Ru couldn't keep refusing, so she accepted them with a smile. "Thank you, Auntie."

"Mm."

After chatting a few more sentences, Jiang Ru supported her belly and returned home. Auntie Wang saw her off to the gate, telling her to be careful on the way.

Jiang Ru waved her hand. "No need to see me off, Auntie, I'm fine."

She carried the pork intestines back to the house next door.