C5 (1/2)

My name is Xia Mimin. When I was sixteen, I came out to work, and now I'm partnered with a sister to open a clothing store.

In these ten years, I have lived a very ordinary life. There is only one thing that has left a deep impression on me.

That was the most horrible experience of my life.

I used to be a fruit girl and especially an orange, but because of this, I didn't touch any more fruit, or even see any more fruit, it made me want to vomit.

Yes, it had something to do with fruit.

About eight or nine years ago, the factory I worked for went out of business and I had to look for another job. Because it was too hot, one day when I went under a stone bridge to enjoy the cool, I saw the recruitment message posted in front of the store.

In retrospect, if he hadn't seen the hiring information and walked into the store, nothing would have happened.

It was a fruit shop.

At first I wondered why a fruit shop would open under a bridge. Was there really a business there? But soon I was paralyzed by the Lady Boss's warm smile. The next day, I became the only salesperson in the shop.

At the beginning, I was naturally kept in the dark. I didn't know the secret behind the fruit shop and only felt that the business was very cold. However, the Lady Boss didn't seem to care at all. Logically speaking, the place I worked at was a backward city, and this area was also quite remote. Other than a hospital on the other side of the river, the rest of the area was basically factories, and the Lady Boss even opened a fruit shop under the bridge.

However, I soon understood the real intention of the Lady Boss.

So how long have I been aware that something is wrong? He remembered that about half a month later, a forty-year-old woman from Shenzhen met with the Lady Boss.

He still remembered that day, the Lady Boss dressed up beautifully in bright clothes. When the woman saw her, she immediately called her Elder Sister Wu. It was only then that I learned that the Lady Boss's surname was Wu.

The landlady was just as polite, and called her sister affectionately.

Different from the other guests, after the woman entered, she did not even look at the fruits but followed the Elder Sister Wu into the inner room. The inner room was curtained off. I had never stepped into the room that I thought was the Elder Sister Wu's room.

”Did Mrs Ma introduce you?”

”Yes.”

When we went into the inner room, I heard a conversation and couldn't hear anything else.

When the woman came out, she held a transparent bag in her hand with a round wooden box inside. Elder Sister Wu laughed and said, ”Take this Fruit Jelly back and tell your mother to eat it quickly, don't put it away for too long.”

I thought it sounded weird. Why was the fruit shop selling jelly?

After the woman left, the Elder Sister Wu saw my doubt and finally explained it to me. It turned out that although this store sold fruits in name, they were actually selling a type of medicine to treat various kinds of eye diseases, and the price was extremely expensive. There was once a 54 year old cataract patient who didn't even have surgery on it. As a result, he took her medicine seven or eight times for three years before regaining his sight. When the news spread, many people came to ask for medicine. Elder Sister Wu felt that the sales market was not bad, so she started to do this business, and the fruit shop was only there to deceive people. Elder Sister Wu even gave the medicine a sweet name called ”Honey Fruit Jelly”.

The Elder Sister Wu continued to say that although the Nectar Fruit Jelly was bought by other people, she did not want to show off too much for fear of accidents. The woman from before was a friend of an old customer who had treated her old mother for her cataract.

After listening, I finally understood. No wonder the store was located under a secluded bridge. Ever since that day, I have had one more thing to do, which was to help Elder Sister Wu record and ask the customer who bought the honey Jelly. Through the phone, I asked them about the efficacy of the medicine but there weren't many people, with an average of two or three a month, so it was relatively easy. However, even though I have become the Elder Sister Wu's assistant, I still do not know what the Honey Fruit Jelly is until a Miss Fang Fang arrives.

That winter, early in the morning, we saw a woman in her twenties scurry into the shop. She wore a down jacket, her hair dyed yellow, her slender legs covered with black silk exposed to the wind, and there was a hole in the black silk. Her name was Fang Fang, and she was a bar hostess. She heard that we were selling eye medicine, so she came over.

Elder Sister Wu was curious about who she heard it from, because according to the past rules, honey jelly could only be sold to regular customers or friends. Fang Fang said that a customer at a bar told her that the customer was a former customer of the Elder Sister Wu, so she could be considered to have just introduced her.

Elder Sister Wu thought Fang Fang Fang's words were reasonable. Seeing her anxious look, she agreed. Then she asked her who the medicine was for.

”Who can I give it to, me!” Fang Fang Fang pushed her eyelids open, her eyes bloodshot.

”What's going on?” Elder Sister Wu asked.

”I don't know …” In any case, my eyes had been sore for a while, and I often saw things blurry. At first I suspected it was the drinking, but then it got worse and worse. When I woke up in the morning, my eyes were red. ”I'm really afraid that one day I will be blind. What should I do?”

”Don't worry, no matter what illness your eyes are, my medicine will cure it.” ”But I don't have any stock today, so you won't be able to get the medicine.”

”Ah?” How could that be okay?! I took a taxi all night! Just to buy medicine here. ”Big sister, please help me. I live far away, it's inconvenient for me to come over …”

Fang Fang was anxious and shamelessly begged. In the end, the Elder Sister Wu had no other choice but to cook a serving for her, but she had to wait for a few hours.

”It's fine. You take your time. I'll take care of it in the evening.” Fang Fang finally smiled.

The Elder Sister Wu did not waste any time, she held my hand and lifted the curtain. It was the first time I had ever been inside. To be honest, the inner room was more ordinary than I'd expected. There was only a bed, a cabinet, and a mini-refrigerator. The room felt crowded.

Elder Sister Wu told me that the customer came suddenly today and she really didn't prepare any goods, so I had to help her get the ingredients while she entertained the guest. When I asked where I could get the ingredients, she told me to look for Huang Feng, a junior high school friend of hers, at the hospital across the river.

I set off immediately.

Arriving at the hospital, I met up with Chairman Huang without a hitch. After explaining the purpose of my visit, Director Huang became a little nervous and hurriedly pulled me out of the office to talk to me in the corridor.

With this situation, I immediately understood that her business deal with the Elder Sister Wu should have been done privately, bypassing the hospital.

Afterwards, Chairman Huang told me to go to the toilet on the first level of the basement to wait. She would bring the things that Elder Sister Wu needed later.

In the end, I waited for more than 40 minutes before she returned with a wet bag containing a metal box.

”Tell Mr. Wu that there aren't many goods these few days. Only one serving, but I guarantee it will be fresh.” Director Huang said as he handed me the bag.

”Go on, try not to let anyone see you.” she finally said.

On the way back to the shop, I was particularly curious about the metal box and wondered if I should open it.

In particular, when Director Huang mentioned ”fresh”, I wondered what the hospital had that could be described in these three words.