The other day I came across one of my former colleagues in the street. He left our company several years ago, too. We haven’t seen each other for many years. Now he is doing some private business. Through our conversation, I could see that he is not doing well.

After chatting for half an hour standing in the street, we parted. We expressed good wishes to each other.

First marriage

I met him for the first time in 1993. He had been a demobilized soldier and worked nightshifts for 2 years in the Chlorine and Caustic Soda plant of Qilu Company. And he tried his best to transfer to our office.

He was married and had a boy aged about 7. His wife was from Tianjia, a village not far from Zhangdian. The wife worked very hard by herself at home, doing all kinds of field work, and bringing up the boy, and looking after his parents.

He was talkative and liked to drink and play. Days after days, he started to chase one woman colleague in our office. This woman divorced, living alone with a 3-year-old boy. Finally this love affair came out into the open and this guy divorced his wife after a long time dispute. The custody of his son was awarded to him by law.

Second marriage

After this marriage, this guy had had two boys already. They had a wonderful life at the beginning. Before long they gave the birth to the twins, one boy and one girl. Now this guy had 4 children. My God!

But good times didn’t last long. They went to Shanghai to seek good fortune together. Because the guy couldn’t meet the demand of the employer and soon he was fired, leaving the wife working alone in shanghai. So he came home. He started to do some private business, selling computers. He hired one girl to take care of his shop. Again,  days in and nights out, he fell in love with this shop assistant.

Good works most frequently remain hidden, while evil deeds become known even at a distance of one thousand li. The second wife would be an ex-wife soon!

Somebody told the love affair to the second wife working in Shanghai by phone in secret, and one day night they got caught in bed.

Divorce! They each had the custody of one child.

Third marriage

He has been married with the shop girl. And one baby girl was born one year ago. Now he is doing something private, which he didn’t tell me specifically. I didn’t feel free to ask more, only being told that he and his newly married wife live in Zhangdian and doing something related to chemicals business.  

I intended to make a joke with him, “Hi, buddy, family planning!” But finally I said nothing.

Is he regretting something? At least I didn’t find it from his words.

Construction destroys a family and divorce makes a man poor!

Good luck! To my ex-workmate!