In the afternoon, while taking a walk, I passed by a job market where a large number of middle-aged workers had gathered. As soon as I stopped, four or five people approached me. Among them were porters, cement workers, carpenters, and so on.
As more and more people came over, I made it clear that I had no intention of hiring anyone and planned to leave. They didn't seem upset, probably used to it.
Suddenly, I noticed a woman in the crowd who stood out among the men. She walked over to me when I stayed, perhaps sensing that I had no intention of hiring, and quietly went back.
She was a woman who was almost sixty years old (later I found out she was actually only forty-nine). Her clothes were a bit thin, and combined with today's snowfall, she seemed a bit shrunken.
Feeling my gaze, she immediately stood up and tried to straighten her body, as if she were a commodity waiting for customers to choose.
I couldn't help but tremble inside and secretly decided to help her as much as I could.
During our conversation, I learned that her husband had injured his back while working on a construction site a few years ago, so she took over his position. However, she only did odd jobs at the construction site and had some experience in tiling.
After speaking, my mind raced and I finally came up with a plan - to have her help me carry a box of milk. I pretended to have an injured arm and said it was inconvenient for me to carry it, and mentioned that my home was nearby.
She gladly agreed and took out an old-fashioned cellphone, conveying her good news to a friend. At this moment, her actions and demeanor were clearly mischievous and cute, like that of a young girl.
We arrived at the convenience store downstairs in the residential area and bought a box of milk, along with some cash.
When she helped me deliver it, I asked about the price, and she hesitated slightly, saying, "Can ten yuan be okay?"
"Ten yuan?" I was somewhat surprised. Although my home wasn't far away, it was over a kilometer and involved climbing stairs. Clearly, this was far below the price I had in mind.
"Then eight yuan is also fine." She said again, obviously lacking confidence.
In the end, she insisted on only accepting a maximum of ten yuan. And she warned me that ten yuan was already a lot, as she only earned seventy-five yuan for a day of odd jobs, and ten yuan could buy her a day's worth of meals. Upon further inquiry, I learned that she had only eaten two steamed buns and a bowl of noodles so far, which made me feel a bitter sadness in my heart.
Suddenly, I slapped my forehead and said, "I made a mistake, I bought pure milk instead. Take it back and drink it, I'll buy it another day."
Looking at her half-believing expression, I reassured her multiple times that I was serious, and only then did she accept it. However, no matter what, she returned the ten yuan to me.
Worried that she wouldn't find the entrance to the residential area, I went downstairs with her and watched her leave. I took out the ten yuan bill that had come and gone from my pocket and carefully examined it, feeling lost.
Her strength seemed to be very small, so small that it wasn't even worth ten yuan. But her strength also seemed to be very strong, strong enough to support a family.