A while ago, I was accompanying my wife to Changsha to care for her 88-year-old mother-in-law. We'd be staying there for four months, and I took the opportunity to renovate our old house in Chenzhou in a trendy style.
The renovation was being done by a young couple; the man's name was Xiao Wu. I led them into the old house, pointed out what I wanted to keep, and asked them to gather and preserve it, and to take away what they didn't need. After outlining my renovation requirements to Xiao Wu, I left four cases of bottled water, a 60,000 yuan deposit, a lock, and my phone number. I told Xiao Wu to call me if there were any problems, and that I would return immediately if he gave me two days' notice. My wife and neighbors didn't understand my approach. Some privately told me that I shouldn't trust renovation workers too much, and my wife also suggested that I occasionally come home from Changsha to supervise the work, otherwise, we'd be the ones who suffer if the workers tampered with things.
Some of my colleagues regularly went to the construction site to oversee their renovations. Even so, problems kept arising, and they were full of complaints. Seeing how exhausted they were from the renovation, I thought long and hard and decided to "trust those you employ, and not employ those you don't trust."
A while later, Xiao Wu called me, saying the masonry work on the floors and walls was almost finished, and the plumbing, electrical, and painting work was nearing completion. He wanted me to come back and check on things in preparation for the inspection. When I got home, I found that Xiao Wu and his wife had cleaned the floor spotlessly, and they had covered the things I wanted to keep with the bed sheets I was planning to throw away. A neighbor also came to visit and said enviously, "You're really lucky despite your laziness! I've never seen you supervise the renovation so closely, yet the work is so well done."
I touched the wall tiles; the surface was smooth and flat, the lines were straight, and the edges were sharp. I was very satisfied. Xiao Wu pointed to the floor tiles in the corner and said, "Uncle, this tile had a noticeable dent on one side when it was brought in. I moved it here so it would be covered when the baseboard was installed, making it look much nicer." Xiao Wu then walked to the corner of the bathroom, where a light about ten centimeters from the ground had automatically turned on. He explained, "Uncle, I considered that you're all getting old and might get up at night. This light automatically turns on when you walk to the bathroom. It's only 2 watts and automatically turns off, so it doesn't use much electricity. You didn't originally request it, but I thought it was inexpensive and convenient, so I took the liberty of installing it."
I was touched by Xiao Wu's thoughtfulness, and the neighbors said I was lucky to have met such a good renovation worker. Xiao Wu smiled and said, "Uncle trusts me so much; if I don't do a good job, I'll be letting him down."
Trust is a form of respect, and my trust in Xiao Wu inspired his enthusiasm and sense of responsibility. If people could trust each other more, wouldn't our lives be more perfect and harmonious?
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