July 15, 2023.
Location, Hunan Province, Changsha City.
"Creak~~ creak! Creak~~ creak! Creak..."
It was the height of summer, and the cicadas on the distant tree were making that annoying, loud noise.
Mu Rufeng wiped the sweat from his forehead and squinted up at the sun.
His lips were chapped, and his head was dripping with sweat.
His steps were a bit unsteady, and his head felt a little dizzy.
"Almost there."
Mu Rufeng withdrew his gaze and looked toward the People's Pharmacy a hundred meters away.
Outside the People's Pharmacy, there was also a Furong Convenience Store.
Mu Rufeng quickened his pace.
Soon, he entered the pharmacy.
A refreshing cool breeze hit him, revitalizing Mu Rufeng.
"Hello, what would you like to buy?"
A young woman in a white lab coat sitting at the counter lifted her gaze from her phone and asked.
"Do you have Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid?" Mu Rufeng asked directly.
"Yes, I'll get it for you."
After saying that, the young woman stood up, turned around, and took out a box of Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid from the glass cabinet behind her.
"Fifteen yuan, I'll scan you."
Mu Rufeng didn't say a word, he took the Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid and immediately opened it, taking out a bottle.
As the little bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid entered his mouth, its pungent smell shot straight to his head.
At that moment, Mu Rufeng's face contorted.
It was precisely this smell that cleared Mu Rufeng's head a lot.
Then the second bottle, the third bottle.
With three bottles of Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid consumed, Mu Rufeng felt like he was about to lose his sense of taste.
"You don't need to drink that much, one bottle is enough," the young woman hurriedly said upon seeing this.
"This damn weather, it's so hot, I can't bear it without drinking a couple more bottles."
Mu Rufeng grimaced and then displayed the payment code.
"Beep! Scan completed! Customer paid fifteen yuan via WeChat."
"Yes, it's hot, I get all sweaty just walking a few steps outside," the young woman looked at Mu Rufeng with some sympathy.
Mu Rufeng nodded, took the box of Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid, and turned to leave the pharmacy.
After exiting the pharmacy, Mu Rufeng did not leave, but turned and entered the adjacent store.
He went to the freezer and took a 1-liter bottle of iced jasmine tea.
Twisting the cap, Mu Rufeng drank half the bottle in one go.
A thoroughly cooling sensation spread throughout his body.
At the same time, the bitterness in his mouth was greatly suppressed, and Mu Rufeng finally felt alive again.
He also picked up three bottles of 1.5-liter iced Nongfu Spring Water and went to the counter.
"Jasmine tea is 3.5 yuan, water is 7.5 yuan, a total of 11 yuan, I'll scan you."
Mu Rufeng responded, scanned the code to pay, and left.
...
Mu Rufeng, male, 24 years old, graduated two years ago with a bachelor's degree.
University taught Mu Rufeng certain social skills, but in the current environment, it's too hard to find a good job.
An initial salary of three thousand, are you scared yet?
Nine to nine workdays, are you scared yet?
A meeting in the morning, one at noon, one at night, are you scared yet?
A report every day, are you scared yet?
Anyway, Mu Rufeng was scared, so he didn't choose a job in line with his major.
Nowadays, Mu Rufeng worked as a loader in a community group-buy warehouse.
He worked twelve hours a day, and after a day, his whole body was sore, completely earning with blood and sweat.
It was very tiring, really tiring, but he made money!
There weren't as many tedious headaches.
Like several of his university classmates, who also worked in Changsha, two years later, their highest salary was barely over five thousand, with some as low as over two thousand.
As for him, he earned seven thousand a month, with meals and accommodation included.
This was because the community group-buy competition was fierce, and business had become somewhat bleak.
Like last year, when business was good, his monthly salary could average over ten thousand, with even higher pay during festive occasions.
Of course, the high salary was hard-earned.
Just like in this thirty-eight-degree weather, unloading a truck in the scorching sun.
This loader job saw one batch leave and another come, most of them middle-aged people.
Only middle-aged people could endure hardship.
Like Mu Rufeng, he was considered very enduring, sticking it out for two years.
The cousin who brought him into this line of work quit in his third month, unable to persist.
Of course, Mu Rufeng wasn't without his gains.
Two years of work turned the once slightly chubby Mu Rufeng into a strong man, and with less drinking, he actually had abs.
"Xiao Mu, are you feeling better, or do you want to rest a bit more, we can unload this half truck by ourselves,"
a tall, somewhat tanned man stood on the platform and immediately spoke as he saw Mu Rufeng walk over.
"Uncle Liu, I'm fine, after drinking Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid, I'm okay."
"Come on, you both drink a bottle too, I even bought you iced water, take a sip and rest a bit."
Mu Rufeng followed Uncle Liu into the semi-trailer and handed them Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid and two bottles of Nongfu Spring Water.
"Keep the iced water for yourself, when you get older, your stomach isn't well—I brought my own herbal tea."
Uncle Liu said, putting the pallet down on the ground, then took the Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid, drinking it.
After finishing, he picked up a big water jug from the ground on one side and drank a couple of sips of herbal tea.
"I'm strong, just give it all to me, hehe!"
After drinking the Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid, Uncle Wang stepped forward and grabbed both bottles of water, opening one and gulping down a big sip.
Seeing this, Mu Rufeng smiled but said nothing.
The three of them took a few steps toward the platform, arriving at the semi-trailer's rear.
In this place, just in time, the iron-roofed eaves above the warehouse could block the sunlight.
As for the unloading area ahead, sorry, there was no shade, and the sun was blazing.
Uncle Wang was a relatively skinny man, over forty years old, with a penchant for small advantages.
As for Uncle Liu, he was a rather honest but somewhat stubborn uncle, aged three to five years older than Uncle Wang.
"Xiao Mu, you are 24 this year right, have you got a girlfriend yet?" Uncle Wang suddenly said.
"Not yet."
"At this age, you should start looking. Xiao Mu can endure hardships, is strong and doesn't look bad, I'll introduce you to someone tomorrow." Uncle Liu smiled and said.
"That would be great," Mu Rufeng replied with a smile.
"I remember Old Liu, isn't your daughter about to graduate, why not introduce her to Xiao Mu," Uncle Wang said suddenly.
Hearing this, Uncle Liu felt a bit awkward and was about to speak when Mu Rufeng smiled and said, "Uncle Liu's daughter is from a 211 university, how can I be worthy, I'm just doing manual labor."
"Let's not talk about that, I'll introduce you to a good girl tomorrow," Uncle Liu patted Mu Rufeng and said.
"Oh, by the way, have you heard? Another driver died in the Alcohol Warehouse," Uncle Wang suddenly whispered.
"Huh? Another one? Really? I remember someone just died there a few days ago," Uncle Liu's voice also became somewhat subdued.