3: Chapter 3 Human Relationships

Leaving the company where he had his interview, Zhao Jian chose not to wait for the bus.

It wasn't far from the Vegetable Market, and by walking there, he could save enough money to buy three steamed buns, enough to last him until tomorrow morning.

When he saw the Tofu Beauty, she had just set up her stall and was dragging a slab of tofu onto it.

Zhao Jian walked over to lend a hand.

"Did you finish all those you bought this morning? I'll give you another piece on the house."

The Tofu Beauty wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve and smiled as she reached for the knife.

"If you want good tofu, it has to be yours. The tofu from other places is enough to break your teeth."

"Really?"

Being praised always makes one happy; the smile on the Tofu Beauty's face never faded.

She cut off two jin of tofu, didn't even weigh it, and handed it over in a plastic bag.

"Of course. At noon, I was interviewing for a sales clerk position at the Zhenpin Grain and Oil Shop, and a customer personally told me that the tofu made from their beans is hard enough to break your teeth."

Taking the tofu, Zhao Jian scanned the QR code to pay the corresponding price.

The Tofu Beauty was still caught up in the gossip, her expression no longer as bright as before.

She furrowed her brows and asked, "That can't be right, can it? I've bought from the Zhenpin Grain and Oil Shop a few times; their quality is high and the price is low. Could it be that she bought them from somewhere else?"

Zhao Jian didn't argue; it's hard for people to believe things outside their own experience. He sighed and said, "I didn't believe it at first either, but that customer was adamant. She only used beans from the Zhenpin Grain and Oil Shop."

"She was even holding a bag with the number 5 spray-painted on it in red."

Upon hearing this, the Tofu Beauty hurriedly took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Mom, it's me, Lingzi. Go to the storage room, open a bag of soybeans, and check if it's clean inside."

Then, a few gasps and cries came from the phone: "So much dirt! How can perfectly good soybeans have so much dirt in them!"

She stood frozen in place, the veins on her forehead visible through her fair, delicate skin.

Fearing she might get so angry she'd have a heart attack, Zhao Jian walked over and patted her back. "Actually, tofu mixed with dirt isn't necessarily inedible. You have great skills and are beautiful; you could sell a few slabs of 'enhanced' tofu..."

Before he could finish, the Tofu Beauty turned her head to glare at him, on the verge of tears.

Her tone was aggrieved, with a hint of coquetry: "Is that even human language?"

She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve and choked out, "Actually, the Shop Owner of the Zhenpin Grain and Oil Shop is my own uncle. I even lent him the money to lease the shop. I trusted him so much!"

Even an honest official finds it hard to resolve family disputes.

Zhao Jian helped her tuck the hair falling over her forehead behind her shoulder and said nothing more.

The Tofu Beauty wiped away more tears, her eyes red-rimmed as she said, "Xiao Zhao, help me pack up the stall. I need to go find him, get to the bottom of this, and get my money back!"

The three slabs of tofu were moved onto the tricycle by Zhao Jian. He pondered for a moment and advised, "You are relatives, after all. I think you should ask your parents to go with you."

In reality, he was worried that the Tofu Beauty, being a slender girl, would be taken advantage of.

"Mm, I know. I'll have my uncles go with me when I get back."

After leaving the tofu stall, Zhao Jian bought a few steamed buns and a bunch of cilantro.

He returned home, ate a simple meal, and lay on his bed, feeling drowsy.

He had just graduated from university, at the prime of his youth, yet he felt as if his body were already decaying.

He forced himself to transfer 1,000 yuan to Bao Bao.

"Bao Bao, I'm paying back one thousand first. I'll pay the rest when I have money."

There was over 900 yuan left in his phone, which would be enough for this month's expenses if he was frugal.

After chatting with Bao Bao for a bit and ending the call, a notification popped up on his phone app.

【Transfer】 Please accept the payment.

The sender was his mother.

He clicked it, and there was also a voice message.

"Son, when you asked me for 200 yuan a few days ago, I didn't have it. Today, I found some work through a friend and earned 42 yuan in wages. I'm giving it to you first."

The transfer was for exactly 42 yuan.

"Mom, I have money now. You don't need to work anymore. I found a job that pays over ten thousand a month. I'll cover your living expenses from now on."

Zhao Jian transferred 500 yuan to her.

For a moment, his eyes grew moist.

The Zhao family had him late in life and had spoiled him as much as they could since he was a child.

Sending him to school, to university.

It was common for other children in the village to drop out after middle school, many of whom were not necessarily worse students than him.

Now that he had finally graduated from university, he was still making his parents worry.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Zhao Jian was preparing to sleep.

However, there was a knock at the door.

The Tofu Beauty was standing outside with a takeout box, a shy smile on her face: "Getting ready for bed?"

"Your place was quite hard to find. I had to ask several people before I knew you lived here."

Zhao Jian gave a soft "Mm" and stepped away from the doorway to signal for her to come in.

The rented single room wasn't large; as soon as you entered, there was a table and a bed. The Tofu Beauty placed the takeout box on the table, then pulled two hundred yuan from her small purse and handed it to Zhao Jian.

"Thank you for reminding me today, otherwise my reputation would have been ruined. This money and the two boxes of Mapo Tofu I made myself are a token of my gratitude."

Zhao Jian didn't take the money and said with a smile, "I'll keep the tofu, but take the money back."

Although he really needed the money, he felt uncomfortable accepting money for a favor like this.

The Mapo Tofu, however, was worth a taste.

Seeing that he wouldn't take it, the Tofu Beauty didn't insist and left after sitting for a while.

Zhao Jian opened the dish she had brought and took a bite: Delicious!

He had intended to go to sleep, but with the delay caused by the Tofu Beauty, it was already midnight.

He silently recited "Intelligence" in his heart, and a light screen unfolded before his eyes.

【Today's Intelligence (Blue): Tianxuan Animation Company is actively trying to win over the investor, President Li. Clerk Xiao Zhang has been tasked with a budget of 5,000 yuan to prepare a home-cooked dish that President Li loves, but she doesn't know that President Li loves Mapo Tofu, and she is currently too worried to sleep.】

It was still blue intelligence without any money.

"Clerk Xiao Zhang, is that the pretty girl who showed me a small kindness?"

Zhao Jian remembered her saying that in order to please an investor who liked home-cooked meals, the boss required every employee to prepare one dish.

At the time, he only thought of it as repaying the bottle of mineral water and didn't listen carefully.

He didn't even ask for her name.

He only remembered that when she spoke of the difficulty, her eyes held no sorrow, only fighting spirit.

As for the Mapo Tofu?

Zhao Jian's eyes involuntarily glanced toward the takeout box on the table.

No sleep then!

He went out that night and found a 24-hour supermarket.

"Do you have red ribbons and colored paper?"

For food intended for a big boss, it not only had to look, smell, and taste good, but the packaging also had to be meticulously prepared.

"Go inside to the stationery section and have a look." The clerk was sleepy and not very enthusiastic.

For night-shift workers, having no customers at night was the best arrangement by heaven.

Zhao Jian saw various colors of colored paper and ribbons in the stationery section.

During his four years of university, he had given his ex-girlfriend gifts countless times.

He had done all the packaging himself.

He could save a few dozen yuan.

He selected the materials with practiced ease, scanned, paid, and completed the process in one go.

When he returned to the rental, he was so sleepy he couldn't open his eyes.

He would leave the packaging for tomorrow.

Lying on the bed, Zhao Jian took out his phone to check the time: 0:43 AM.

His mind was filled with the anticipation of earning five thousand yuan tomorrow, and he then drifted into a deep sleep.