A day like any other

  Twenty-eight-year-old Li Ming's greatest wish in this life is to have an iron rice bowl!

  If she had to say what she regretted most in her life, it would be - why did I have such grand ambitions when I was young?!

  Why are you so unreasonable!

  Now, every day she drags her tired body, leaving early and returning late. Although her unit is a joint venture with good salary and benefits, the endless days of tension and busyness still make her feel overwhelmed with pressure.

  Especially when the rare weekend comes, her girlfriend who works in a company starts resting from Friday afternoon, while she has to stick to her post until Saturday night and can only rest for one day a week. Laborers have the right to rest!

  Why do the big bosses dare to break the law, while these small workers don't dare to speak out? Who said it, capital comes into this world dripping with blood and filth from head to toe.

  How could I deceive you!

  One wrong step after another, thinking back to those years... Li Ming attended a local chemical engineering college with excellent job prospects. Graduates were always snapped up by a well-known national chemical company, especially those with undergraduate degrees like hers, who were assigned good jobs. Even the specialized secondary school students had plenty of opportunities, and their future looked bright.

  But many things go wrong because of this "but".

  Li Ming did not realize at that time that he was out of luck.

  The year she graduated, coincidentally, the country implemented a two-way selection and autonomous employment system for the first time. All graduates in this batch entered the talent market to negotiate with employers on their own. Overnight, all national units suddenly had higher thresholds, while university students everywhere seemed to have lost value overnight.

  Li Ming's greatest regret in this life is that when he was reading university, his grades were mediocre and he just mixed up the days until graduation. He was so naive and ambitious, wanting to rely on himself and not on his parents.

  The country doesn't care about us now. It's just as well. Look at the place. We have to rely on ourselves and work hard to make a good life for ourselves.

  Struggling is struggling. Worked for four years. Switched two jobs. The last one lasted less than three years. In short, exhausting!

  At this time, Li Ming realized that, alas, ambition must match ability.

  But myself, actually just a bit of an empty shell with some ambition but no ability. Fortunately, I am content to enjoy the comforts and avoid hard work, that's all!

  Too late for regrets.

  But now, look, you know how hard it is to get into a state-owned unit, and how hard it is to take the civil service exam!

  How carefree and comfortable is Jiahui that dead girl working in the municipal education commission every day!

  Her heart is bleeding, why didn't she listen to her mother's words, and after walking through the back door, get a solid and easy meal!

  Although she earns a few hundred more than Jiahui every month, the two of them don't have enough money to buy makeup and overtime snacks. Looking at the endless reports in front of her, it's so tiring!

  Life is hard, can't blame society, in fact, it's not bad at all. Looking around, she's been with her boyfriend for almost half a year now, and they're already talking about marriage. Although this guy doesn't look great, no house, no car, but he's really good, excellent in both character and learning, has a great reputation in the company, and most importantly, he takes care of Li Ming like treasure, supporting her wholeheartedly. No matter how you look at it, this guy is a big potential stock.

  This Labor Day holiday is two days off, the couple discussed and decided to take this opportunity to settle their marriage with their parents. The boyfriend's family is in another province, so everything depends on themselves, so they listened to Li Ming's side.

  The two of them are no longer young, if nothing unexpected happens, they plan to get married on National Day, then buy a house and have a child, I guess that's it for this lifetime.

  After finishing lunch, Li Ming cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks. She saw her boyfriend playing mahjong with her younger brother and sister as well as their father, and they were all having a great time. He had already blended in with their family atmosphere quite well. Her parents were also basically satisfied with him, after all, their daughter was almost thirty years old, and just when it seemed like she would be left on the shelf, someone wanted to marry her, and they agreed to their marriage without much hesitation.

  Li Ming somewhat gloomily carried the trash can to the ditch outside the gate to dump the garbage.

  Her family is considered a wealthy household in their village, and her parents became millionaires in the early years. Although the small two-story building they built during that era looks a bit outdated now, it's valuable due to its good location: at the head of the village on the main road, with Lin Village Primary School as its neighbor to the right, the village committee office building to the left, and overlooking the town government building and the only agricultural market in the west. It can be said that it is located at the center of transportation hubs and politics, economy, and culture.

  And that so-called garbage ditch was originally a pond, a good patch of clear water. Because it's close to the school, it became the school's garbage dump. Over time, the garbage accumulated and the water disappeared, becoming a real garbage dump. The surrounding villagers also followed suit and used it as a public garbage dump without hesitation.

  Li Ming finished dumping the trash and couldn't help but sigh at how time flies and things are no longer the same.

  Suddenly, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of the elm forest on the east side of the pond, which had been gloomy for decades. A large stone well platform was faintly visible.

  That was one of the two water sources in the village in the past.

  But every time Li Ming went to fetch water with the adults, he always felt a sense of fear from deep down in his heart. He couldn't explain why, but every time they passed by that place, his heart would feel like it was covered in goosebumps. At night, he would rather take a detour than dare to pass by that place again.

  In the warm sunshine of May, Li Ming suddenly felt amused and thought of his timid self when he was a child. He looked down on himself slightly, and to prove that he had indeed grown up and become braver, he put down the small trash can in his hand and strode towards the well in the small woods with his head held high.

  She didn't believe that she could still see some weird things, it was just a well, but it scared her for many years, so she had to take advantage of the clear sky and sunny day to get rid of the psychological shadow.

  They soon arrived at the edge of the well, where the trees shaded the ground and it was still a bit cool. Li Ming lay down on the stone slab of the well platform, looking down with his eyes wide open. The well had been abandoned for many years and was also sealed to prevent mischievous children from falling in, leaving only a narrow slit less than the width of a palm.

  Li Ming leaned over the gap, staring down with all his might. Below him was a dark and mysterious space, and as sunlight entered, he could see a faint glimmer of water at the bottom of the well. The wide stone walls were still rough-hewn, exuding a cool damp air that made Li Ming shiver, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin. He forced himself to stare down, his nearsighted and possibly double-lidded eyes straining to see into the depths of the well, trying to overcome the unease in his heart.

  The water seemed to be a bit green or black, it was unclear, but it used to be very clear. In an instant, the calm surface of the water appeared to ripple, and waves began to spread out in circles, making Li Ming think she had blurred vision. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, only to see that the ripples were spreading even more violently, making anyone who saw them dizzy. Li Ming felt something was off, and wanted to turn away, but it seemed as though the water had a magnetic pull, and no matter what, she couldn't tear her gaze away. Moreover, what made things worse was that Li Ming felt the ripples were sinking downwards with an unknown force, pulling her in along with them, making her feel like she was being sucked into the depths of the water, spinning around and around as she went further and further down.

  Li Ming's last consciousness was that she knew she had conflicted with this broken well!

  If there is an afterlife, she must have filled up this broken well. If there is an afterlife, she must have gotten a stable job. But, however, she didn't think of jumping into the well...

  After an unknown period of time, Li Ming's whole body ached and his eyes fluttered open with stars in front of them. It took him at least five seconds to regain consciousness. After calming down, he found that the sky was very high and blue... No, pulling back his gaze, he discovered himself lying on the ground, next to a bicycle whose wheels were still spinning.

  A rather pretty woman's face suddenly appeared above her head, concerned:

  "Xiao Ming, how are you?" This woman actually knew him, from the same village, and she was also the wife of that Eight-Pole-Da-Shu's brother-in-law, which made her Xiao Ming's Eight-Pole-Da-Shu's sister-in-law.

  Li Ming was still a bit unclear about the situation, wanted to get up, but felt a little weak, his back hurt badly, and his hands also hurt.

  The big aunt saw Li Ming struggling and hurriedly stretched out her hand to help her up.

  Li Ming moved his hands and feet slightly, still okay, can be summoned, it's just a bit hot.

  Also saw another bicycle lying in front, leaning against a courtyard wall corner with its own bicycle head-to-head on the ground, understood, traffic accident.

  Two bicycles meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins, and I fell.

  Li Ming stood up with the support of his elder sister-in-law:

  "Oh, Aunt, it's nothing, just a little pain."

  Let's comfort the anxious aunt first.

  The big aunt helped Li Ming pick up the bicycle, and after repeatedly confirming that Li Ming was fine, she decided to leave. Li Ming had some doubts in his heart, what if there were internal injuries or something, let's be cautious first, so he hurriedly called out to stop the big aunt:

  "If I get sick after going home, I'll come to you for treatment and ask for medical expenses, okay?"

  The elder sister-in-law smiled warmly:

  "Alright, Aunt has promised to take responsibility for it, don't worry."

  This little guy still has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

  Li Ming watched as his aunt's figure gradually disappeared, feeling a strange sensation in his heart. This aunt hadn't been seen for many years and was still so young, but it seemed... she had actually experienced something like this when she was a child.

  That was when she had just learned to ride the big permanent bicycle at home on the beam, and it was considered that she had learned half of it. One day, she rushed out to play and collided with her aunt. Later, when she was in high school, math and physics were not going well, and she suspected that she might have damaged her brain at that time.

  But today... Li Ming lifted his scorching palm, looking at the small hand heart that had oozed out blood beads, it still hurts!

  My goodness, no need to pinch myself, she's not dreaming, she's back to her childhood.