Reminder to Wu Huiliang, business trip!

“It’s nothing, I’m not some capitalist’s spoiled daughter. I’m used to roughing it. Many women in our village still work in the fields with big bellies! What I’m doing is nothing, I’m already enjoying a good life!” Shufen said with a chuckle, patting her large belly.

Zhao Dongchuan was busy at the stove in the inner room. Since he was hosting today, he was naturally the one cooking. Du Lili and Wu Huiliang wanted to help, but he turned them away. How could guests cook for him?

Zhao Dongchuan had culinary skills. Although the cooking skills obtained from the system treasure chest were only primary, making some home-style dishes was a piece of cake.

As Zhao Dongchuan brought a plate of braised pork to the table, the dishes were all ready. For five people, he had prepared eight dishes: three meat, three vegetable, an egg drop soup, and a cold appetizer.

He then took out a bottle of xifeng liquor from the cabinet on the kang, and with that, the food and drinks were complete!

The five of them took off their shoes, got onto the kang, and sat around the small dining table. Smelling the aroma of the delicious food on the table and feeling the warmth of the heated kang below, everyone’s appetite was greatly stimulated.

“I’ll take advantage of my age and propose the first toast. First, let’s congratulate our Teacher Zhao on his new home!” Jia Bing said with a chuckle, raising a glass of wine.

Everyone else also raised their glasses in celebration!

“Teacher Jia, what are you saying? In front of you, I’m still little Zhao!” Zhao Dongchuan said with a smile, downing the wine in his glass.

“For the second toast, I’ll go. I wish our Teacher Jia and Sister-in-law Shufen a big, chubby baby boy next month!” Zhao Dongchuan refilled everyone’s glasses and raised his own.

In the original work, Teacher Jia had three sons, but their specific ages, or who raised them, were not mentioned, only briefly touched upon.

Du Lili and Wu Huiliang also offered their blessings.

After everyone had eaten a few bites, Zhao Dongchuan then said to Du Lili and Wu Huiliang, “I’ll also wish Sister Lili and Brother Huiliang eternal unity and a hundred years of harmony in advance!”

“…………”

Amidst laughter and joy, this simple housewarming meal was eaten in harmony, and everyone was very happy.

Since they had to go back that night, Zhao Dongchuan didn’t let Jia Bing drink too much, and he himself was well aware of his own alcohol tolerance, so he only had a taste.

By the time the banquet ended, it was already dark, but Huangyuan City had streetlights, though not many, it was still clear enough to see.

“Teacher Jia, Sister-in-law Shufen, please be careful on your way home!”

Zhao Dongchuan waved his hand, watching Jia Bing ride his bicycle with Sister-in-law Shufen, slowly disappearing into the orange glow of the streetlights.

“Brother Huiliang, Sister Lili, why don’t you ride my bicycle? It’s not convenient to walk at night! It’s quite a distance!”

Since Wu Huiliang’s father had given them a ride on the way there, they didn’t have a bicycle for their return trip that night.

Hearing Zhao Dongchuan say this, Wu Huiliang didn’t act coy and nodded in agreement.

“Alright, then I’ll trouble you! Tomorrow, I’ll have Lili ride it to the Cultural Center to return it to you!”

As Zhao Dongchuan led Wu Huiliang to where the bicycles were parked in the corner of the courtyard, he said with a smile, “I heard from Teacher Jia that Sister Lili’s poetry is getting better and better. Brother Huiliang, you could also learn with her. Then, when you recite poems and compose couplets together, it will surely become a beautiful story!”

Wu Huiliang looked at Zhao Dongchuan in surprise, somewhat unclear why he would suddenly bring this up.

How could he know that this was Zhao Dongchuan’s painstaking effort, deliberately hinting at him?

In the original work, Du Lili was captivated by Gu Fengling’s poetic sentiments and sweet words, and after some coaxing, she willingly gave herself to him, spending many days together. After being discovered by her husband Wu Huiliang in a hotel, she remained unrepentant, believing she had found her soulmate.

In reality, she was just one of Gu Fengling’s “friends with benefits” in Huangyuan City, and he simply left without a trace.

Because of this, Wu Huiliang was tormented beyond recognition, lost his will to work, and almost became auseless person. Eventually, the two divorced, but even in the end, Du Lili stubbornly maintained contact with Gu Fengling.

When Zhao Dongchuan read this part of the plot, he felt very sorry for Wu Huiliang. Such a good man, young and promising, handsome, from a good family, and with good character—a typical tall, rich, and handsome good man. How could he be ruined by such a shameless person?

Looking at it now, the main reason was that Wu Huiliang’s character was somewhat weak. If only he had been a bit tougher and used his connections to deal with them, Du Lili and Gu Fengling, this adulterous couple, would have been disgraced long ago.

No matter the era, a poet destroying someone’s family and a woman becoming a mistress—such scandals could not be smoothed over with a few kind words, especially in the more traditional 1970s.

Of course, Zhao Dongchuan didn’t want to interfere too much in such domestic matters, so he only subtly hinted at Wu Huiliang a few times, hoping he would realize some potential problems.

He believed that with Wu Huiliang’s intelligence, once he realized the problem, he would definitely take some measures to gradually change things.

After all, he later became a high-ranking official, which showed that his abilities were commendable and he was not a foolish person.

Zhao Dongchuan didn’t care about anything else; he wasn’t their nanny.

Waving goodbye to Du Lili and Wu Huiliang, Zhao Dongchuan returned to the courtyard to clean up the dishes…

The next afternoon, Zhao Dongchuan worked as usual at the Cultural Center in the morning and received his bicycle back from Du Lili.

“Thank you, little Zhao!” Du Lili said to Zhao Dongchuan with a smile, a hint of something unidentifiable flashing in her eyes.

“Sister Lili, you’re too polite. Brother Huiliang already thanked me yesterday. It’s no big deal!”

“He is he, and I am I!”

“Hahaha, you two are about to get married! Once you’re married, you’ll be family… Why speak as two separate families? Brother Huiliang is young and promising, and has good character. I don’t know how many young women and wives envy you!” Zhao Dongchuan said with a laugh, hinting at something.

“I’m off work now, I have to catch a train soon!”

“Little Zhao, I heard that place is quite chaotic, please be careful!”

During their drinks yesterday, Zhao Dongchuan had mentioned his business trip to Pengcheng, and Du Lili had also learned some things about Pengcheng from her father.

Zhao Dongchuan pushed his bicycle, smiled, and waved his hand, not speaking, and walked straight away.

Du Lili remained standing there, feeling a sense of loss. She thought again of what Zhao Dongchuan had just said… She stood there in a daze for a long time!

…………

Zhao Dongchuan, with his satchel on his back, followed the crowd onto the train. After nearly half a year, he once again boarded a train bound for Pengcheng.

Finding his bunk, Zhao Dongchuan placed his bag at the head of the bed, then sat down and took out a book from his bag to read. In those days, there were no mobile phones, and he couldn’t scroll through TikTok, so reading was the only option.

“Toot! Toot! Toot!” As the train whistle blew and the rumbling of the wheels came, the train slowly moved, and the scenery outside the window slid past, from slow to fast.

…………

“Arrived! Arrived! Passengers getting off, please mind your luggage!” As the train arrived at the station, the attendant picked up a simple megaphone, large at one end and small at the other, and shouted to the crowd!