Sunflower Seeds, Tea, and US Dollars
Around nine o'clock in the morning, the sun was shining brightly, dispelling the chill of New Year's Eve. Warm rays streamed into the living room through the clean windows. The coffee table was already laden with food for guests.
Four fruit platters were piled up like small mountains, with loose dishes of peanuts, melon seeds, and candies each occupying one side. Two open boxes of Zhonghua cigarettes were prominently displayed in the center, next to which were several sets of clean glass teacups and a pot of freshly brewed jasmine tea, steaming gently.
The doorbell rang loudly.
First to arrive were my third aunt's family. My third aunt's husband was an honest, unassuming truck driver, not much of a talker, with a simple, honest smile, carrying a carton of milk. My third aunt was a slightly plump, amiable middle-aged woman who immediately took Zhang Fen's hand upon entering, chatting incessantly about everyday matters. Their daughter was two years younger than Lin Feng, a freshman in college, and still a bit shy. She greeted him with "Auntie and Uncle" and "Brother Feng," then quietly sat to the side playing on her phone.
Immediately afterward, Aunt Wang Guifang's loud voice rang out in the hallway. "Sister! Open the door! We're here!" Her voice preceded her arrival.
As soon as the door opened, my aunt's family of three rushed in. My aunt's husband was wearing a leather jacket, his hair was neatly combed, and he was carrying two beautifully packaged boxes of pastries. My aunt, Wang Guifang, had a fashionable perm and was wearing a maroon wool coat. She was wearing makeup, and as soon as she entered, her eyes quickly scanned the living room. She lingered for a moment on the two boxes of Zhonghua cigarettes and the obviously newly bought fruit on the coffee table, and her smile widened.
Following behind her was their son, Sun Penghui, two years older than Lin Feng. He was quite tall, dressed in an expensive-looking tracksuit, his hair styled with gel, holding the latest smartphone, and wearing wireless earphones. Upon entering, he casually greeted "Auntie, Uncle," nodded to Lin Feng, and then his gaze returned to his phone screen, appearing somewhat absent-minded, or rather, carrying a worldly-wise detachment.
"Come, come, sit down! Take off your coat, it's hot inside!" Zhang Fen greeted them warmly, and Lin Jianguo also got up to offer them a seat and a cigarette.
The living room suddenly became crowded and lively. The adults occupied the sofas and chairs, while the children (Lin Feng and Sun Penghui could be considered children) sat on stools a little further away. The air was filled with the scents of jasmine tea, melon seeds, and a mixture of perfume and cigarette smoke.
The conversation always started with New Year's greetings, health, and the weather. Soon, a small pile of sunflower seed shells accumulated in front of everyone, and tea was refilled round after round. Auntie San chatted about her daughter's exciting experiences at university, while Uncle Er whispered to Auntie Er about stocks or funds. Lin Jianguo and Uncle San occasionally chimed in, but mostly remained silent, drinking tea and smoking.
It's unclear who started it, but the conversation gradually shifted to the younger generation. Lin Feng, in particular, was the only one still "in school" present, besides his aunt's daughter who was in college, and naturally became the focus of attention.
"What year is Xiao Feng in college now? Will he graduate soon?" Auntie asked with concern, peeling an orange in her hand.
"Second year," Lin Feng replied briefly.
"Oh, so there are still two years left. What are you studying? Law, right? The one with Lawyer Zhou? That's good, it gives you direction." Auntie nodded.
Aunt Wang Guifang, cracking sunflower seeds, glanced at Lin Feng upon hearing this and interjected, "Studying law is good! You can become a lawyer and make a lot of money! But I've heard the bar exam is incredibly difficult, even harder than university entrance exams! Xiao Feng, are you confident?"
Her tone sounded concerned, but her probing gaze and slightly raised voice made it seem like there was more to her words than met the eye.
"Still learning, we'll see later." Lin Feng said calmly, picking up the teapot and adding some water to his cup.
"Sigh, college graduates aren't like they were back then; they're everywhere," my second aunt's husband said, exhaling a smoke ring. "The competition for jobs is fierce."
"That's right!" Aunt Wang Guifang immediately seemed to have found a breakthrough in the conversation. Her voice unconsciously rose a little, and she stopped cracking the sunflower seeds, put them back on the plate, and patted the crumbs off her hands. "If you ask me, a degree is just a stepping stone. When you actually enter society, you still need skills and opportunities! Just being good at studying is useless!"
As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Zhang Fen, and said earnestly, "Sister, let me tell you the truth, and you may not like what I'm saying. Times have changed. Going to university isn't necessarily the only way out; sometimes it's even a detour!"
Zhang Fen's smile faltered slightly, but she maintained it, chuckling awkwardly, "Hey, if the child wants to learn, let him learn. There's no harm in reading more..."
"Studying is good, but it might interfere with making money!" Auntie interrupted her, leaning forward with a radiant glow on her face—a mixture of superiority and eagerness to share. "Look at our Penghui!"
Her voice suddenly rose, successfully attracting everyone's attention. Sun Penghui, who was playing on his phone, seemed used to his mother's "recommendations," only frowning slightly without looking up.
"Penghui's score on the college entrance exam was high enough to get into a university! But we thought about it, what could you do after graduating from an ordinary university? Compete with thousands of others for a single-plank bridge, earning only three to five thousand yuan a month?" Aunt Wang Guifang said dramatically, gesturing with her hands. "So we made a decisive decision: we didn't go to university! We went straight for a technical route, studied computer science, and then found an opportunity to go abroad!"
She paused deliberately, basking in the gazes of the crowd (mainly Zhang Fen and Lin Jianguo), before continuing in that revealing tone, "Now over there, it's a legitimate foreign company! They're high-tech! They earn US dollars!"
"US dollars?" Auntie San exclaimed in surprise at the opportune moment, then asked, "That must be quite a lot of money, right?"
"Base salary! The base salary alone is over 1,600!" Aunt Wang Guifang held up two fingers, her face beaming, as if she had earned that money herself. "Don't think 1,600 is a small amount! That's US dollars! Converted to our currency, that's about 10,000 yuan! And this is just the base salary; you can earn that just by sitting in an office!"
She specifically looked at Zhang Fen, tugged at Zhang Fen's arm, and emphasized:
"Sis, don't think a little over a thousand US dollars is nothing. Here, that's almost ten thousand in base salary! Not to mention commissions and bonuses! Penghui called the other day and said he just closed a big deal, and the commission alone..."
She paused deliberately, lowering her voice so everyone could hear, "It's several hundred thousand! RMB! Several hundred thousand! In our county, that's enough to buy a decent house!"
"Wow! So much!" Auntie San and Uncle San, who hadn't said much until now, exclaimed in surprise. Lin Jianguo paused in his smoking. Zhang Fen's smile became even more forced, and she could only nod repeatedly, "Really... that's really great... Penghui is promising..."
Second Aunt Wang Guifang got the reaction she wanted and was satisfied. Her gaze finally turned to Lin Feng, who hadn't said much, and her tone became more "heart-to-heart":
"Xiao Feng, if you ask me, your university education... is really meaningless. Listen to me, why don't you just drop out as soon as possible! Then, I'll have Penghui look for opportunities for you abroad and introduce you to some opportunities! Don't worry, with Penghui there to look after you, he'll definitely take care of you! There are more opportunities there, and you can earn more. Isn't that better than you struggling through university in China, only to find a job that pays three or four thousand yuan a month? You'll have to put up with your boss's attitude, and you might not be able to afford a house even if you save your whole life!"
She spoke quickly and rapidly, as if she truly cared for Lin Feng and had charted a "bright path" for him. A moment of silence fell over the living room as everyone's eyes turned to Lin Feng. The third aunt's family showed curiosity and a hint of approval (after all, the impact of hundreds of thousands was too great); Zhang Fen was nervous and embarrassed; Lin Jianguo frowned slightly, silently smoking. Sun Penghui continued playing on his phone, seemingly oblivious to the topic.
Lin Feng sat there, his face still expressionless. Even while his second aunt was speaking, he slowly peeled a tangerine, the peel cracking open and releasing a sweet aroma.
After listening to his aunt's long speech full of boasting and "planning," Lin Feng's initial reaction was actually quite indifferent. Comparisons and the tendency to be a know-it-all among relatives are all too common. He didn't care how much money her son earned, nor did he feel that he needed others to criticize his path.
However, when his second aunt described keywords like "foreign company," "high technology," "earning US dollars," "base salary of 1,600," and "commission of hundreds of thousands on a single order" in such an excited tone, Lin Feng's fingers, which were peeling an orange, paused almost imperceptibly for 0.1 seconds.
These descriptions... taken together, somehow evoke a strange sense of familiarity the more you listen to them?
What flashed through his mind in an instant was not the standard salary structure of any legitimate lawyer, engineer, or finance professional, but rather the shadow of certain "recruitment tactics" and "success stories" often heard in another, darker, and more chaotic world.
High base salary (which sounds impressive after conversion), high commission (often hundreds of thousands), overseas work, introductions from relatives and friends, emphasis on getting rich quickly... these elements, when pieced together, often point not to a glamorous "foreign high-tech company," but to those shady industries hidden in certain corners of Southeast Asia —telecom fraud, online gambling, or even worse.
K is currently hiding in that kind of place.
Lin Feng calmly divided the peeled orange into several segments, then picked up a segment and naturally handed it to his second aunt, Wang Guifang, even showing a faint smile on his face, as if he had been persuaded.
"Second Aunt, have some oranges." He said calmly.
Wang Guifang was talking until her throat was dry when she saw this and was taken aback. Then her smile widened, thinking that Lin Feng had been persuaded by her, or at least had listened to her. She took the orange and said, "Oh, good, Xiao Feng is so sensible."
Lin Feng withdrew his hand, picked up another segment of orange, and slowly ate it, the sweet juice melting in his mouth.
He lowered his eyelids, concealing the fleeting thought that crossed his eyes.