Chapter 12 Having nothing better to do
The gardener still continued to work diligently every day, giving candies to the children. There were already several children who had become very close to the gardener and would take the initiative to find the gardener to play with. Yang Jiabo was secretly worried, fearing that these naive kids would fall into the gardener's trap.
Yang Jiaobo's current approach had its limitations, relying on chance and progressing too slowly. As he hesitated about whether to change tactics, a notice was posted on the bulletin board of Wujiaohua Company.
Comrade Zhang Gangqiang has been expelled for stealing collective property.
In this era, employee expulsions were rare, and the notice sparked widespread discussion. A crowd gathered around the bulletin board, pointing and whispering to each other. It was then that Yang Jiaobo finally learned the gardener's name: Zhang Gangqiang.
Yang Jiabo felt that this notice was somewhat suspicious. Perhaps the gardener's true nature had been exposed, and the company used the theft as an excuse to fire him. It was a predictable tactic, there was no creativity at all.
"Comrade Xiao Zhang is good at gardening. Look how well he takes care of the garden."
"Anyone who can grow vegetables can also grow flowers. Any farmer near our unit is no worse than him."
"Xiao Zhang is a kind and hardworking person. Last time I lost my wallet, he was the one who found it and returned it to me."
"Don't be so naive, you can know a person's face but not their heart. Who knows, maybe he was the one who stole your wallet, but he said he picked it up."
[知人知面不知心 zhī rén zhī miàn bù zhī xīn: lit. To know a person's face but not their heart; fig. you can't judge someone's true nature just by how they look]
Yang Jiabo felt that this man was simply a king of imagination, his ability to spin a story was so impressive, and Yang Jiabo couldn't help but give him thumb up. He wondered who this person was, and saw that he was a bald man with fierce look on his face. It was obvious at first glance that he was not a good person, and he was indeed not a good guy.
This man's name was Zhang Youliang, and his parents were old employees of Wujiaohua, but he himself had no job. Before marriage, he relied on his parents for support, and after marriage, he was supported by his wife. His wife's name was Li Mei. She came from the countryside of Lin County. She was a hardworking and kind-hearted person. She ran a fruit stall and did a good business.
Zhang Youliang spent his days playing cards and drinking, and enjoyed beating his wife. At first, when Zhang Youliang beat his wife, their neighbors and colleagues would intervene, pulling them apart and mediating the dispute. Those who were closer to them would even offer Li Mei a place to hide.
He didn't know what Li Mei was thinking. After being beaten half to death, Zhang Youliang would kneel down to apologize and admit his mistake, and then Li Mei would go back to live with him again. Gradually, other people stopped caring about their family affairs.
Yang Jiabo had deep understanding of this situation because his mother had a good relationship with Li Mei. When he was in the third grade of junior high school, Li Mei was chased and beaten half to death by Zhang Youliang and hid in his room. Yang Jiabo felt sorry for her, so he grabbed a three-finger-thick wooden stick and confronted Zhang Youliang.
At that time, Yang Jiabo was furious and not afraid of anything. Zhang Youliang, on the other hand, was a coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong. When Yang Jiabo confronted him, Zhang Youliang became timid. At that time he was very naive and thought he was a hero for acting heroically, but it turned out that he was just an idiot.
However as soon as he turned around, Li Mei followed the coward Zhang Youliang home happily without even a word of thanks. She might have even blamed him for meddling in their affairs. Indeed he was still too young and naive. He should have been like everyone else, minding his own business and ignoring the couple's domestic dispute, treating it as their hobby.
Yang Jiabo thought to himself, damn it, this is another piece of my black history. Yang Jiabo swore that he would never meddle in the affairs of this couple again in his life.
"That makes sense. If it's really like that, it's despicable."
"I don't think so. He often gives kids snacks. Someone who likes kids can't be a bad person."
"Everyone knows kids are easy to deceive. A few pieces of candy and they'll spill the beans about what's going on at home."
"That's true, we should all be more careful."
"Look at how cunning this guy is. His technique is so smooth, it's definitely not his first time committing a crime." Zhang Youliang became more and more convinced that he had discovered the truth.
This time, Yang Jiabo no longer felt that Zhang Youliang's spinning story was impressive. Instead, he thought Zhang Youliang was indeed not a good person, with a dark and twisted mind. Yang Jiabo didn’t think there was anything wrong with such a change, he believed he had seed through the truth.
"Yes, yes, yes, our unit leader should really investigate this person." The crowd had been led astray by Zhang Youliang.
"Everyone should warn their relatives and friends."
Zhang Gangqiang's true face hadn't been exposed, but under Zhang Youliang's description, he became a habitual offender with deep scheming, despicable means and bad character. Suddenly, children had one more negative example to teach them. Strangers who gave them candy were not only human traffickers but also thieves with ulterior motives. In short, strangers who gave them candy were not good people.
With such a bad reputation, it would be more difficult for the gardener to get a job, but he would probably continue to deceive children elsewhere. This outcome was neither good nor bad, at least his childhood friends were safe. Just like he said before, he wasn't a savior.
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