usatvline Chapter 17: Too Many People, Too Little Life
Chapter 17: Too Many People, Too Little Life
"It's you. If you do a good job, you can come to my place tomorrow."
The man was immediately delighted and replied loudly in a deep voice: "Okay!"
The others didn't even have time to show their envy as they immediately shifted their gaze to the other captains and shouted at the top of their lungs.
The sound swirled around the building like a wave.
The people who were called immediately followed the captain. At least their income for the day was guaranteed.
Anjiu withdrew her gaze and looked at the other captains. She jumped up and waved her hands desperately, shouting until her throat was itchy and painful.
At this moment, she felt that it was more difficult than for college students to find a job.
Everyone living on the 48th floor is in urgent need of contribution points, whether it is for eating, drinking water or renting a house. It can be said that they cannot survive without contribution points.
So you can imagine how hot the scene was.
The number of people far exceeded the workload, and the recruitment site soon ended. The team leaders took their people away, leaving behind a large number of exhausted people sitting on the ground gasping for breath.
Anjiu lifted up his sweat-soaked hair, his eardrums still buzzing.
Her throat is very uncomfortable now, dry and itchy, probably because of shouting for a long time.
With a hoarse voice, he randomly found someone who looked easy to talk to and asked if there were any more job openings coming. The other person slightly opened his lips and said "no" with his mouth.
Anjiu had no choice but to go back.
After passing the winding passage, she saw Grandma An sitting at the door at the end of the corridor and looking at this place.
She paused, and when she got closer, she pretended to be nonchalant and said in her usual tone, "Today there are too many people and too little work. I'll go over earlier tomorrow."
Grandma An stood up tremblingly and followed her, trying to smile with wrinkles on her face. "I saw you were sleeping soundly this morning, so I didn't wake you up. I thought it wouldn't be a problem to wake you up later... I'll wake you up early tomorrow."
Grandma An thought about it again and again, and finally closed the iron gate, drew the curtain, took out the slightly broken peach biscuit from her bosom and handed it over.
"Are you hungry? Eat this."
Anjiu walked past her, went to the red plastic bucket and opened the lid.
Inside were two sets of bowls and chopsticks, an aluminum lunch box, and a cup half filled with yellowish water.
If you run out of water, you can only go to the unified place on the 30th floor to get water. It is open once in the morning and once in the evening. Water is sold by volume, with one contribution value for every milliliters.
Anjiu looked at the empty balance displayed on his virtual watch and realized the urgency of the need for work.
"If you're thirsty, drink. I don't eat much, so my mouth isn't dry."
"No need." Anjiu put the lid back on and looked at the peach cake in her palm. Finally, he did not refuse. He picked up half of it and put it in his mouth, chewing it carefully.
There was a glimmer of joy in Grandma An's eyes, and she wanted to repack the remaining peach cakes and eat them later.
An Jiu frowned and simply put all the peach cakes into her mouth. "Eat it. I'll figure out the food issue."
There are still some snacks put in the space before, which can satisfy your hunger.
But if I took it out rashly, I wouldn't be able to explain to Grandma An, and I didn't want to reveal that I had space.
It seems I have to go out and try my luck later.
The beehive has fixed exit opening hours every day, and there are no restrictions, so people can enter and exit freely.
The purpose is to give those in the building who are about to go hungry a slim chance to go out and find food.
After a short rest, Anjiu prepared to leave.
"Be careful on the road. It's okay if you can't find anything. Just come home on time." Grandma An stuffed the cup of water into her arms in a tough manner, slid down to the ground, tilted her head against the door railing, and watched her leave.
According to her memory, Anjiu returned to the platform again. There were still so many people waiting for the elevator. She stuck to the edge to avoid being taken into the elevator and walked along the aisle to the other side of the platform.
The entire 48th floor is divided into five areas: A, B, C, and D. Among them, Area A has the largest houses, the best location, and the most expensive rent.
Just like Xiaojiu has never understood why some people can afford such high rent, Anjiu is also wondering now, how can some people live so well?
After all, she is now struggling to fill her stomach and pay the rent she owes...
The exit is located in a separate spacious room.
There was an elevator entrance on the opposite wall, with sunlight shining through it, illuminating the entire room. An iron gate as thick as a baby's arm was hung on the top, which would be closed and locked during curfew.
The guards here only control the number of people boarding the elevator to go out, and don't take care of anything else.
The long queue moved slowly.
After a few waves, Anjiu put her water cup in her pocket and walked in. She tried to stand in the corner of the elevator. Through the gap in the perforated board, she saw the wasteland and smelled the dust.
The elevator descended very quickly and reached the ground in just over ten seconds.
As soon as the door opened, everyone walked out together and soon dispersed in different directions.
I can't tell any difference from the wine.
Every place was the same. After walking for a distance in a random direction, she looked back - a huge oval building stood in front of her, like an enlarged version of a rugby ball with its tip flattened.
The entire building is made of glass, but in the lower half, there is an extra layer of steel bars on the outside for protection.
More than fifty 'Spider-Men' sat on wooden boards with thick ropes tied around their waists, starting from the rooftop and clearing the accumulated dust between the gaps bit by bit.
Looking at them swaying in the wind, struggling to hold the long brushes steady to clean their work areas, and only getting 15 contribution points for a day's work, Anjiu felt that the pay was too low.
But she couldn't get such a job.
Withdrawing his gaze, Anjiu continued walking forward.
The ground under my feet was extremely hard. Even though the edges were warped, a person could stand on it without breaking a muscle. The humidity in the air was very low. After only a few breaths, I felt my nasal cavity was dry and my respiratory tract was burning with pain.
Anjiu pinched his nose several times but to no avail.
In the distance, there was a person squatting on the ground, digging downwards with his bare hands, rubbing his fingertips here and there, and no one knew what he was looking for.
Judging from the way he kept looking up and alertly observing his surroundings, he was very worried that someone was approaching.
Anjiu didn't want to cause any trouble, so he turned on his toes and went in another direction.
All you can see is yellow earth and dry gullies everywhere. There is no vegetation, no animals, not even a rat hole.
It is very barren land.
She wanted to dig up no grass roots.
And as the sun rose higher and higher, the temperature began to rise, and there was no shelter around, and the ultraviolet rays seemed to be stronger.
Under the dazzling sunlight, the water in her body quickly dissipated. Anjiu licked her dry and chapped lips. She touched the water cup in her arms, hesitated for a long time, and suppressed her thirst. At the same time, a feeling of dejection rose in her heart.
She thought she was different, but reality slapped her in the face.
One is the one who thinks that he is the only one who has the space, and the other is the one who cannot even get or snatch food and work.
Her only assets at the moment were the things in the space: a fruit knife, a rubber stick, jam-filled bread, shriveled oranges, and two packs of instant noodles.
If two people eat it, they won't be able to last for a few days.
And she had to find an excuse to hide it from Grandma An.
An Jiu experienced the existence of something that was more choking than a mortgage.