uninvited guest
It was already noon when Zhao Dongchuan returned to Huangyuan City. He first went back to his dormitory, washed up, and tidied up the room.
No one had lived in the room for several days, and there was already a lot of dust.
After cleaning up, Zhao Dongchuan rode his bicycle towards Li Huiying's house. He had said he would bring a batch of goods a week later, and it had been ten days since he left. Li Huiying should have returned by now.
Arriving in Li Huiying's courtyard, Zhao Dongchuan indeed saw Li Huiying. At this moment, Cao Yuan was in the courtyard, holding a book and doing her homework.
“Xiao Yuan, are you doing your homework?” Zhao Dongchuan asked, knowing the answer.
“Brother Zhao!” Cao Yuan put down her pen and happily shouted towards the house, “Mom, Brother Zhao is here!”
Hearing the sound, Li Huiying also came out of the house.
“Xiao Zhao, you’re here, please come in!”
Cao Yuan also stopped doing her homework and went into the house with her mother.
“This time I’ve got a lot of goods, you won’t have to worry about not having anything to sell in the future,” Zhao Dongchuan said, taking out 10 watches from his backpack and handing them to Li Huiying.
Li Huiying’s face lit up with a smile. She had previously earned several hundred yuan selling watches, which not only paid off all the family’s debts but also covered her daughter’s tuition fees for school. The family had also acquired many new things, and their situation was much better than before.
Just looking at the clothes Cao Yuan and Li Huiying were wearing, one could tell. Their old patched clothes had been replaced by the colorful garments worn by city dwellers.
Cao Yuan also looked even more adorable.
Li Huiying also seemed much younger, with fewer wrinkles. Yes, Li Huiying was only in her thirties, but the hardships of life had made her look like she was in her forties or fifties.
“Then I’ll get ready to start working!”
Cao Yuan listened from the side. Zhao Dongchuan and Li Huiying did not avoid her when they discussed. They were all family, and she would know sooner or later. After cautioning Li Huiying to be careful and also giving Cao Yuan some instructions, Zhao Dongchuan left some local specialties he brought from Peng City and rode his bicycle back to the dormitory.
The next day, Zhao Dongchuan started working as usual.
No one asked him much about not coming to work these past few days. Some full-time writers at the Cultural Center often didn't come to the office, and some even went out for inspiration and didn't return for a month.
Jia Bing happened to be in the office today. Zhao Dongchuan greeted Jia Bing and then got busy with work. Although he didn’t have to keep regular office hours, he still had to catch up on the work he had fallen behind on.
In the following days, Zhao Dongchuan lived a two-point-one-line life: catching up on work in the office, doing practice problems at home, and practicing Wuqinxi and Qi Refining Introduction. He hadn't yet developed a qi sensation, but it was easier for him to calm his mind than before.
Occasionally, he would go to Li Huiying’s house to collect the payment for the goods and his commission. After these days of sales, more than twenty watches had already been sold.
Currently, demand still outstrips supply, but Zhao Dongchuan limits the supply. At present, only a minority in Huangyuan City are willing to spend over a hundred yuan on an electronic watch. Zhao Dongchuan estimates that selling 1,000 units would be the maximum.
It seems he still needs to open up new markets and get some new goods. Radios are quite good; electronic watches are popular with young people, but radios are suitable for all ages. Next time he goes to Peng City, he can get some. With the space, none of these are problems.
Zhao Dongchuan thought to himself while continuing to do practice problems.
Such days passed for about half a month. He had originally planned to stay in Huangyuan like this until one day a sudden “uninvited guest” arrived.
This person was Sun Shaoan.
It was Du Lili who led him in.
Sun Shaoan came to the Cultural Center to find Zhao Dongchuan. The doorman let him in after he registered, and he happened to run into Du Lili.
When Du Lili heard he was looking for Zhao Dongchuan, she eagerly led Sun Shaoan to Zhao Dongchuan’s office.
“Brother Shaoan, why are you here? I was just saying I’d find time to visit you all in Shuangshui Village!” Zhao Dongchuan said, a look of pleasant surprise on his face.
“I just happened to be passing by and wanted to see you. You’re working for the public now, so there aren’t many chances to meet.” Sun Shaoan’s complexion was noticeably poor, and he looked a bit haggard.
Zhao Dongchuan didn’t stay at work; he immediately took Sun Shaoan to the Huangyuan Hotel. He understood Sun Shaoan’s character; he must have encountered difficulties, or he wouldn’t have come to the Cultural Center to find him.
The fact that Sun Shaoan came to him when he was in trouble showed that he considered Zhao Dongchuan a friend.
Zhao Dongchuan had been busy with side hustles and making money during this time, almost forgetting that he was currently in the ordinary world.
Thinking of this, Zhao Dongchuan felt a little abashed. He had paid too little attention to Yuanxi County’s Shuangshui Village during this period.
Whether from the perspective of system tasks or personal feelings, he should go back and see. Moreover, he knew some plot developments, and with a little attention, he could save several lives.
“Brother Shaoan, what happened? Why are you so haggard? Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll try to think of a solution for you.” Zhao Dongchuan said, pulling Sun Shaoan towards the Huangyuan Hotel.
“Xiao Zhao, no need, I brought dry rations. No need to eat here, it’s too expensive! It’s not easy for you to earn your salary, save some money to marry a wife,” Shaoan demurred.
“Brother Shaoan, since you’ve come to Huangyuan, I must fulfill my duty as a host. How can I let you eat those dry, black steamed buns?” Zhao Dongchuan used a bit of force and directly pushed Sun Shaoan into the restaurant.
Zhao Dongchuan ordered five or six dishes, two plates of white flour buns, and a bottle of xifeng liquor.
Looking at the table full of food and wine, Sun Shaoan’s eyes reddened involuntarily.
Zhao Dongchuan naturally noticed, but Sun Shaoan didn’t bring it up, so Zhao Dongchuan didn’t ask, only urged him to eat and drink.
Sun Shaoan was no longer reserved at this point and began to eat. He alone finished two plates of steamed buns and several dishes. During this time, Zhao Dongchuan added a few more dishes and steamed buns.
When he had eaten his fill, Sun Shaoan wiped his mouth with his hand and spoke to Zhao Dongchuan.
“Xiao Zhao, thank you for your hospitality. I originally didn’t want to trouble you this time!”
Zhao Dongchuan didn’t interrupt, just listened quietly.
“But when I arrived in Huangyuan by bus, I couldn’t help but want to find you.”
So Sun Shaoan began to tell Zhao Dongchuan what had happened.
It was then that Zhao Dongchuan learned that it was because of Tian Runye. During the time he had been away from Shuangshui Village, Runye had repeatedly asked Sun Shaoping to pass messages to Shaoan. Once, when she went to find Sun Shaoan, she was even caught by her father, Tian Futang.
From then on, Tian Futang remembered this incident. He found an opportunity to go to the Commune and reported Shaoan for privately dividing pig feed land, giving Sun Shaoan a warning.
Because of this incident, Sun Shaoan was even brought to the Commune for a struggle session.
Sun Shaoan and Tian Runye had been childhood sweethearts. He had never dared to imagine Runye becoming his wife his entire life.
No matter how one looked at it, this was absolutely impossible. Because it was impossible, it was also impossible to even think about it.
Unexpectedly, happiness fell from the sky, and Runye handed him a blank piece of paper, confessing her feelings.
The disparity was already too great, and after Tian Futang reported him, Sun Shaoan was completely despairing. Men are always more realistic than women in this regard, and they understand their respective differences better. If he wasn't good enough for her, he just wasn't good enough. For Runye's sake, he couldn't continue to “pester” her.