"Good heavens, look at that—what is it!"
A handful of workers newly summoned from Xinjingshi walked side by side across the plaza in the evening darkness.
But the dim amber night was suddenly scattered by a blaze of light.
The men looked up in astonishment and saw the top of the tall pole standing at the center of the plaza glowing brilliantly.
"Is that... is that the sun?"
The people around them had clearly long since grown used to it—some strolling, some exercising, none of them paying the slightest attention.
Only newcomers made such a fuss.
"There are lights inside the township office up ahead too—how can it be so bright?"
Someone nearby laughed and said, "That's nothing. If you ever get the chance, go have a look at Longcheng. Plenty of people call it the city that never sleeps these days. Now *that* is a truly beautiful night."
"Longcheng..." A small seed took root in the hearts of these newly arrived Xinjingshi men.
Wave after wave of people were recruited to Wangjing Township, and began a way of living and working unlike anything they had ever known.
Almost none of them needed more than a few days before they fell deeply in love with the place.
…
The general workforce at Wangjing Township hovered somewhere between four and five thousand people.
The positions were filled in under a month.
Many people were left kicking themselves for having missed their chance.
As these workers gradually settled into their jobs, the contingent that had been sent from Longcheng began being arranged over to Xinjingshi, steadily bringing the commercial street there to life.
That side of things had entertainment and dining of every variety as well, and needed people too.
Wangjing Township was planned to accommodate a maximum of thirty thousand residents, yet the service staff numbered only four or five thousand.
The greater part of the space was reserved for ordinary residents.
In Xinjingshi, however, Taoyuan Street was a different story entirely—of its planned ten thousand occupants, half were service workers.
It had been conceived from the start as one grand commercial thoroughfare.
Day and night it would receive Xinjingshi's residents for recreation, entertainment, and shopping.
Dining, drinking, amusements, all under one roof, with a modest number of hotel rooms besides.
…
Longcheng. The Zhao residence.
Master Zhao Baihui was stretched out on a reclining chair in the ground-floor hall, making sounds of deep contentment.
"Lighter, lighter..."
"Harder here—you can go harder here..."
"Hss—*that's* the spot..."
A young woman sat opposite him, her hands glistening with oil, pressing and kneading and scraping and rubbing at his feet.
Jinxiu sat in a nearby chair, eating fruit while reviewing documents and financial statements from the bank.
"Master, we're back." Jinyuan and Jinwen had finished work and come home together, hand in hand.
"Where is Jinyi?"
"Elder Sister still has a few things to finish up. She'll be back later."
Jinyuan leaned over, staring with unabashed curiosity at the girl working on the Master's feet, staring so intently the girl began to feel embarrassed.
Had she not been told it was for the Master, she would never have agreed to do this sort of work.
"Master, is this what you call a foot massage?"
Zhao Baihui said with displeasure, "Reflexology! Reflexology! How many times do I have to tell you? This is a therapeutic treatment!"
Jinyuan pouted and muttered, "It's obviously just a foot massage."
Zhao Baihui said with feeling, "Past thirty, the days go by like afternoon slipping into evening—I'm thirty-seven already, and lately my body feels heavy all the time."
"Master, that might just be because you've put on weight! You really are far too lazy. You should be getting up and exercising more."
Zhao Baihui shot Jinyuan a look and turned his head away, refusing to dignify that with a response.
"This pressure is exactly right! Don't press any harder—hold it there. I'm going to rest my eyes for a bit."
He had barely begun to drift off when a sudden sharp pain jolted him wide awake.
"Ha ha! Does it hurt that much, Master? Your kidneys must not be in very good shape."
"And this spot here is the urinary system? What is the urinary system? It doesn't seem too healthy either. Ha, what's so funny?"
Somehow, without his noticing, Jinyuan had dragged a little stool over and was now sitting shoulder to shoulder with the young woman. She had seized the Master's right foot and, face flushed red with effort, was grinding her knuckle into it with all her might.
"Jinyuan!!!"
Zhao Baihui sprang up, pinned Jinyuan down on the sofa, and proceeded to pull off her little white shoes.
"Master, Master, please don't—I'm sorry, Master, I'm ticklish!"
"Don't worry, don't be afraid. It'll only hurt. It won't tickle at all."
"Oh dear, Jinyuan, your kidneys aren't looking so good, ha ha..."
"My, my, Jinyuan, your lower back seems to be in quite a state, ha ha ha..."
Ten minutes later, Jinyuan had laughed and cried by turns, and now gazed at the Master with wounded resentment. "Master, I'm angry. I really am angry. I—I'm not going to speak to you for a whole day..."
"Here, sweetheart, have some candy. Just look at that face—you've cried yourself into a little calico cat."
Jinyuan tucked the lollipop the Master pressed into her hand into her mouth, let out a single emphatic "hmph," and turned her head away.
She had said she wouldn't speak to him, and she wouldn't. Even if she ate his candy, she still wouldn't speak to him!
"Jinxiu, Jinwen—having your feet worked on feels wonderful, and it's good for you too. Would you like to try?"
"If the Master recommends it, then we'll give it a go."
"Two more people..."
"Hmph! Hmph! Hmph!"
"Make that three—let's get all the young ladies sorted out."
The four of them settled side by side in the reclining chairs and began enjoying the attentions of several girls on their feet.
A little while later, Jinyi came home from work and, at the Master's warm insistence, joined the ranks of the pampered.
"Now let me tell you all something," said Zhao Baihui. "There's a secret to this foot massage—*pah*, reflexology, I mean."
"For the best results, you shouldn't eat or drink anything for an hour before or after the session—but you should drink plain water, plenty of plain water. That's what makes the treatment really work."
"Keep it up for five, seven, eight days, and everything clears up—insomnia, restless dreams, irritability, loose stools, constipation, all of it. Your whole body feels light and open, completely unobstructed, and you can sleep straight through till broad daylight!"
Zhao Baihui grew more and more animated as he spoke—until Jinyuan opened her mouth.
"Master, how do you know all this so well? Go on, confess—have you been sneaking off behind our backs and massaging some other girl's feet?"
"Jinyuan, didn't you say you weren't going to speak to me for a whole day? Then kindly keep your word. I, for my part, also refuse to communicate with you."