Early Friday morning, Lin Yuhui went downstairs and bought four steamed buns for breakfast. Though the area was remote, small businesses still operated here to make ends meet. He ate his buns while opening his computer to listen to the news—never wasting a moment. Even as an ordinary citizen, he kept abreast of domestic and international events, especially during this period when he paid close attention to pandemic-related developments.
星期五一早醒来,林语晖下楼买了四个包子当作早餐.虽然这里很偏僻,但是依然有人在做着小生意赖以生存.一边吃包子一边打开电脑,听新闻,他从不浪费时间.虽然是小市民,依然关注国内国际有什么事情发生,尤其在这个时期更是注重了解疫情相关的动态.
After listening to the news over breakfast, I realized I'd bought four steamed buns—two would have been plenty. I'm no longer young; my metabolism has slowed considerably, and breakfast doesn't require a full meal portion.
听着新闻吃完早餐才意识到,四个包子买多了,其实早上吃两个就行了,自己早已过了年轻的时候,新陈代谢放缓了很多,早餐根本不需要正餐的饭量.
Before heading out, take nattokinase to reduce blood viscosity and alleviate cardiac insufficiency, hydroxychloroquine sulfate to prevent and treat COVID-19, azithromycin for upper respiratory infections, and Zhenchangsheng to prevent antibiotic-induced diarrhea. As long as you're alive, your body requires maintenance to keep running smoothly—it's up to you to figure out how to keep it in good working order.
出门前吃纳豆激酶,降低血液黏度缓解心脏供血不足,硫酸羟氯喹,防治新冠病毒,阿奇霉素针对上呼吸道感染,整肠生防止抗生素导致的腹泻副作用.人还活着,身体还需要维护才能持续无故障运行,只有自己想办法维护它.
As he stepped outside, a light drizzle was falling, and the air felt thick with humidity. Fortunately, the temperature wasn't too high. Lin Yuhui checked how his body felt—heart and all—and found it manageable, aside from feeling a bit stuffed from eating.
出门恰巧下着蒙蒙细雨,空气湿度很大,还好温度不算高,林语晖体会了一下身体负荷心脏的感觉,还好,除了吃的有点撑.
With the delight of a morning drizzle and the anticipation of embarking on a new chapter in life, Lin Yuhui walked along the rain-soaked road.
带着清晨小雨的欣喜和即将开启人生新旅程的期盼,林语晖沿着雨水沾湿的道路一路走了下去.
But when time and distance seemed about right, he still hadn't seen the factory gate he'd passed yesterday. Lin Yuhui realized he'd taken a wrong turn and had no choice but to retrace his steps. But where exactly had he gone wrong?
但是当时间和距离都感觉差不多了的时候却依然没有见到昨天见到的厂门,林语晖意识到自己走错了路,只能原路走回去,但是自己错在哪了呢?
He looked around, trying to determine his location. This was an industrial development zone, where roads should intersect in a grid pattern. Glancing about, he realized he seemed to be on the road behind the factory buildings he'd seen yesterday. Facing that structure, the factory gates should be to his right front. It then dawned on him that he'd turned left immediately upon exiting—he should have turned left at the main road intersection outside the gate.
他环顾四周,试图确定自己的位置,这是一个工业开发区,应该都是平行和垂直相交的道路.环顾四周他发现自己似乎在昨天看到的工厂大院内建筑的后方道路上,面对那个建筑,工厂大门应该在自己右前方,这时他意识到了自己出门直接左转了,应该是出门上主干道路口左转.
On the way back, Hr Safir had already sent a WeChat asking where they were. Lin Yuhui could only answer truthfully and assure him they'd arrive shortly. Thankfully, the boss hadn't shown up yet—otherwise, what would they do about that first impression? Haha.
返程中Hr萨菲尔已经发来了微信询问到哪里了,林语晖只好如实回答并保证一会儿能到,不过还好老板还没来,不然这第一印象可怎么办,呵呵.
When he arrived at the factory gate again, the temperature had risen, and the air was stiflingly humid. Lin Yuhui had initially considered wearing his N95 mask, unsure if others might mind, but soon pulled it down. The dampness had already made it completely non-breathable.
当再次来到厂门前,气温已经上来了,天气闷热,本来林语晖想带着N95口罩,因为不知道别人是否会介意,但是没一会儿他又把口罩拉了下来,潮湿已经使得它一点也不透气了.
After waiting a while at the factory gate, Safir came to pick me up. It wasn't raining, but she held a large black umbrella—perhaps to shield herself from the sun.
在厂门前等了一会儿,萨菲尔来门卫接人了,没有下雨但是她举着一把大黑伞,或许是为了防晒吧,
As Safir signed the security log, Lin Yuhui took the umbrella. On the way back, he held it for her—after all, you couldn't have a lady holding an umbrella for you. Yet she seemed unusually distant, saying nothing as she kept her head down, staring at her phone's WeChat app the entire way. At least the umbrella was large enough that Lin Yuhui, walking slightly behind her, couldn't peek at anyone's private chats.
在萨菲尔给保安签字的时候林语晖接过了雨伞,回程中林语晖为她撑着雨伞,总不能让女士给自己撑伞吧.但是她似乎异乎寻常地与自己保持着距离,什么也没说,只是一路低头看着手机微信,反正这把雨伞真的够大,林语晖跟在她的侧后方也不会窥探到别人的聊天隐私.
The new office featured two rows of desks and chairs facing each other, with a total of twelve seats, though not all were occupied. Lin Yuhui was led to his own seat. As he passed by a colleague, he didn't look directly but caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye—she was a real beauty. To his left front sat Laila, a somewhat inexperienced young woman in the market procurement role. To his right front was Stephanie, a middle-aged lady who seemed quiet and cool—she belonged to the project department.
新的办公室有两排对置的办公桌椅,总共有12个座位但是并没有坐满.林语晖被带到自己的座位,走过身旁同事的时候他没有直接看,走过的余光里就知道她是个大美女.自己座位左前方是莱拉,看起来有些青涩的一个小姑娘属于市场采购职位,右前方是斯蒂芬妮,一位中年女士,看起来好像话不多有些酷的样子,她属于项目部.
To my left sat a man named Dylan—solidly built but not exactly handsome. He handled procurement and was the supervisor of the woman across from him. To my right was indeed a beauty: Ceres, with fair skin, a round face, and large eyes. She was wearing makeup and also belonged to the project department, reporting to the woman across from her.
自己左侧是一位男士,迪伦,体格结实就是长得丑,他负责采购工作,是他对面女生的领导.右侧果然是一位美女,瑟瑞斯,皮肤白皙圆脸大眼睛,她化妆了,她也属于项目部,归她对面的女士领导.
Lin Yuhui merely nodded to her without shaking hands like the other colleagues. She had applied false eyelashes, straightened her long, straight hair, and meticulously applied lipstick, eyeshadow, blush, and manicured her nails—her appearance was exquisitely polished.
林语晖只是对她点了一下头,没有跟其他同事一样握手,她贴了睫毛,压了长直披肩发,口红眼影腮红加美甲,打扮十分精致.
The two colleagues seated behind me at another row of tables and chairs were in charge of quality control. Jin Yan and Mu Shangzhi didn't have English names because they didn't want to adopt them.
身后坐在另一排桌椅的两位同事是负责质量工作的,金彦和穆尚志他们都没有自己的英文名子,因为不想取.
When Lin Yuhui was brought to Safir and handed meal tickets and temporary ID badges, he suddenly thought to say,
"Could you write the new colleagues' names on paper based on their deeds? I'm not very good at remembering people and names."
当林语晖被带到了萨菲尔,分发饭票和临时胸卡的时候,他忽然想到说,
"能不能把新同事的名字按他们的作为写在纸上,我不太擅长记住人和名字,"
"Sure thing," she said, tearing off a sheet from her notepad. She jotted down the seat number and name of the colleague next door, adding her own name and that of the boss's wife, Gina.
"好啊,"说着她扯了记事本一张纸,写了隔壁同事的座位和名字,还把自己和老板娘的名字吉娜也写上了.
After finishing everything, when Lin Yuhui returned to her desk in the office with the employment contract that needed signing, a voice suddenly came from behind her.
做完一切,当林语晖拿着需要签署的劳动合同回到办公室自己座位上,忽然身后有个声音,
Lin Yuhui, has Engineer Lin arrived yet?
"林语晖,林工已经过来啦?"
Lin Yuhui stood up and turned to see a woman smiling at him. She continued,
"Hope your trip went smoothly. I'm Gina," she said cheerfully. She seemed quite talkative—no doubt the owner's wife.
林语晖站起转身一看是一位女士,面带笑容,接着说,
"一路上还顺利吧,我是吉娜,"很健谈的样子,想必她就是老板娘,
"Hello, hello, it's me," he said, hastily reaching out to shake her hand.
"你好你好,是我,"说着急忙伸手与她握手,
"Hey, do you have an English name?"
"哎,你有没有英文名字,"
"Not yet,"
"还没有啊,"
"Think of one where the boss is a foreigner—an English name would be easier for him to remember."
"想一个,老板是外国人,英文名字对他来说容易记一点,"
"Alright, then call me David."
"好,那就叫我大卫吧"
Christian hasn't arrived yet, but he'll be here shortly. Just sit down for a moment and don't worry. I'm right next door—if you need anything, just come find me.
"克里斯蒂安还没过来,一会儿就能到,你下坐一会儿别着急,我就在隔壁,有事的话就过去找我,"
"Alright, alright," Lin Yuhui replied as he saw her off.
"好的好的,"林语晖一边答应着,一边送她离开,
Before she could write a single word on her safety education exam, Lin Yuhui heard someone call her name from behind.
"Lin, you're already here."
安全教育的答卷还没写几个字,林语晖又听见后面叫自己,
"林,你已经到了,"
"Yes, it's great to see you," Lin Yuhui replied. It was the boss, Christian, who had arrived—a middle-aged Western man, somewhat thin, with short hair and a sharp face that gave him a sharp, alert look.
"是啊,很高兴见到你,"林语晖回答着,是老板克里斯蒂安到了,中年西方男子,有点瘦,短发瓜子脸看起来很精神,
"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you. Finally, we've met. Come into my office and let's sit down and talk."
"是啊,幸会,终于见面了,来到我办公室坐下聊吧,"
After a brief courtesy chat with the boss in his office, Lin Yuhui returned to her own office just in time for lunch.
"Who can show me the way to the cafeteria? I don't know the route yet," Lin Yuhui asked her new colleagues.
经过与老板的办公室简单礼节性交谈之后,林语晖回到办公室已经到了午饭时间,
"谁能带我去食堂,我还不知道路怎么走,"林语晖问新同事们,
"You take him," Safir whispered to Stephanie, "I'm getting married soon."
"你带他去吧,我快结婚了," 萨菲尔小声跟斯蒂芬妮说,
Lin Yuhui said nothing, thinking to himself: I'm just a down-and-out old man—anyone can see I'm not worthy of such a fair maiden. Is it really necessary to...
林语晖没说什么,心想我一个落魄老男人,谁都能看出来我配不上人家如花似玉大姑娘,至于这么...
"Come with me," Stephanie said, rising to lead the way before Lin Yuhui could think of anything else.
"跟我走吧,"还没等林语晖在想什么,斯蒂芬妮说着起身带路了,
"Okay, thank you."
"好的,谢谢."
For most of the afternoon, Christian primarily briefed Lin Yuhui on the company's operations and its various series of graphite heat exchanger products. By the time they returned to his office, it was nearly quitting time.
下午大部分时间克里斯蒂安主要给林语晖介绍了公司情况和不同系列的石墨换热器产品,回到自己的办公室已经是快下班了.
"David, how did you end up at this company?" Dylan beside him seemed quite talkative. Before Lin Yuhui had even settled into his seat, Dylan eagerly fired off the question.
"大卫,你是怎么到这家公司的,"旁边的迪伦似乎很健谈,林语晖的屁股还没坐牢他就兴冲冲地问上了,
"Oh, I applied online," Lin Yuhui said, turning to continue the conversation. He noticed the girl across from him had also looked over.
"哦,网上投的简历,"扭头交谈中,林语晖注意到对面的女生也看了过来,
"Alright, welcome aboard so quickly,"
"好,这么快加入,欢迎,"
What do you mean so fast? Lin Yuhui was a bit puzzled by the question, but he didn't feel comfortable asking for details.
这么快什么意思,林语晖听着有点纳闷,但是也不好细问.