Night.91 (5900+) (1 post every 48 hours) [End of article]

A white towel gently swept away the yellow sand on the tombstone. The paint that had just been applied two months ago on Qingming Festival was still bright in color. Chen Shanye squatted down and wiped the photo of Zhong Mang on the tombstone clean.

"The new young village official has organized a square dance troupe for senior citizens. Grandma has joined, and she's the oldest among them. Every evening, she dances in the big square at the entrance of the village. Grandma's health is getting better and better, so don't worry."

A bowl of mixed rice noodles and two cans of Wanglaoji were placed in front of the tombstone. Chen Shanye ignored the dirt on the ground and sat directly in front of the tomb. With a click, he opened both cans of herbal tea, placed one in front of the tombstone, and took the other one in his own hand, tapping it against the one on the ground with a crisp sound.

"By the way, Luo Rui contacted me a few days ago. A nail salon in Jiangmen has poached her. They said the base salary and commission are much higher than her previous one. I didn't ask for the exact amount, but she seemed quite satisfied."

Chen Shanye raised his head and took a few sips before continuing, "She said that after her work settles down, she'll find a vacation to come and see you."

He opened the Lock-and-Lock box containing the mixed rice noodles. He had cooked them at home that morning and brought them over. The rice noodles were all mushy, but he didn't care. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating them.

Chewing something, Chen Shanye spoke vaguely: "Brother Long said that there is a new gang in Guangzhou selling some new drug recently. What's so good about this thing? They are all like crazy... The blind man died only a few days ago, and someone has made a comeback..."

Almost half a year after returning to his hometown, Chen Shanye received a call from Long Bei, saying that the large-scale drug trafficking gang in which Zhong Mang lost his life had been cracked by the police. Several major suspects in the case had been arrested, and only the blind leader had escaped. Announcements and news about this had already been released online.

But what was not made public was that the blind man, who was thought to have escaped long ago, died in his own club that night. He was shot in the sun, and the pistol was in his own hand. It was said that he committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

Long Bei asked many people about what happened on the night of Zhong Mang's death. After all, Zhong Mang was too insignificant to those people. Finally, he asked the question from the mouth of the henchman beside Razor.

Zhong Mang did not take drugs, but was forced to drink alcohol mixed with methamphetamine by a blind man.

The light amber-colored herbal tea poured out from the red can and splashed onto the loess.

Chen Shanye smiled softly and said, "I'm leaving tomorrow. I'll come to see you next time I come back. If you need anything, tell me in your dreams and I'll make it for you later."

The leaves rustled, as if someone was answering something. A green leaf fell on the tombstone like a feather. Chen Shanye reached out to brush it off, but gave up and let the green leaf lie quietly on the tombstone.

After he cleaned up the things in front of the tomb, he went down the mountain and slowly walked towards his grandmother's house. From a distance, he saw Cai Xiaofeng sweeping the street at the door with a big broom.

The loess road that once splashed mud all over him and Ruan Mei has now been paved with cement. The road is now flat and easy to walk on without raising dust. Even on rainy days, it is not as bumpy as the surface of the moon.

"Brother Shanye, you're back."

"Well, where's grandma?"

"In the yard, enjoying the cool air."

Chen Shanye walked into the yard. His grandmother was lying on a wicker chair under a tree, taking a nap with her eyes closed. The breeze blew her silver hair to her ears, and a small radio at her feet was playing Teresa Teng's songs.

Chen Shanye pulled a low stool and sat beside her. Grandma Zhong opened her eyes slightly and waved the palm-leaf fan in her hand: "Have you finished chatting with that kid Zhong Mang?"

"Um."

"You have helped me, an old lady, so much in the past two years. You have done enough for me. Next time, if you don't bring Xiaomei with you, don't come back." Grandma closed her eyes again, with wrinkles of smile on her lips.

Chen Shanye raised his head, and the golden powder shaken off by the mottled shadows of the trees fell on his brow and eyes. He smiled back, "I know."

After lunch, Chen Shanye and Cai Xiaofeng left the village. The young man, who had just obtained his driver's license, held the steering wheel tightly and dared not be distracted. Chen Shanye taught him the skills of turning on mountain roads from time to time, and only talked to him about other things after they passed a series of bends.

"Although you're young, you've been with me the longest, and you know a lot about the store best. Be tough. If someone in the store disagrees with you, you can stand up straight and refute them, okay?"

Cai Xiaofeng didn't dare to take his eyes off the road ahead. He swallowed hard and replied, "I know. Don't worry about going to Guangzhou. I'll help you with the online sales."

"Mountain Food" has not been smooth sailing in the past two years.

There were smear campaigns from competitors, complaints from customers, poor responses to new product launches, a sharp drop in orders, and problems with logistics time adjustments... But Chen Shanye and his team overcame and solved each difficulty one by one, and now the company has expanded several times in scale.

They rented a vacant factory, renovated it and moved there. Now, the kitchen, customer service, packaging, copywriting and art are all managed by dedicated personnel. Cai Xiaofeng was also promoted to supervisor. Currently, the store sends out an average of 600 to 700 tickets a day. If there are activities, the average daily sales will exceed 1,000. Thousands of customized gift boxes can be pre-sold for every holiday, and the store also collaborates with some young artists from time to time.

Currently, "Shanshi" is not affiliated with any shopping platform, and all its customers are on seven WeChat accounts. This year, Ruan Mei plans to find someone to write a program to create a shopping platform for "Shanshi".

Cai Xiaofeng sent Chen Shanye to the gate of the community: "Then I will pick you up and take you to the high-speed rail station tomorrow morning."

Chen Shanye unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door: "Okay, see you tomorrow."

The elevator went up to the twelfth floor. When Chen Shanye returned home, there was no one at home. His parents had gone for a stroll and would not come back until Chen Siyang finished school.

He went into the room to pack his luggage, but he still didn't have much. According to his wife, he didn't even need to bring underwear, because she would buy it for him when he got here.

After closing the suitcase, he checked his wallet to make sure he had all the documents and bank cards.

The black wallet looked even older. After checking it, he peeled back the inner layer and pulled out a piece of white paper folded into small pieces.

Because it was often taken out for reading, the creases on the paper had become a little rough. Chen Shanye opened it carefully. The handwriting on it was still beautiful, and the fingerprints were still bright red.

He took a picture with his cell phone and sent it to Ruan Mei.

"It's time to start paying back the money."

I folded the IOU and put it back in its place, and received a message on my phone.

"Oh, Master Chen, I don't have the money to pay you back. Can I pay the debt with my body?"

Chen Shanye lowered his head and smiled, then sent her a voice message: "Okay, but for a lifetime."

The orange afterglow flowed into the house from the balcony, and the unlit living room was filled with the early summer heat. Chen Shanye turned on the air conditioner in advance, fearing that Chen Siyang would get prickly heat.

I walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner for tonight, and heard the sound of keys opening the door.

Chen Siyang rushed into the house like a cannonball, climbed onto the dining table, picked up the glass of boiled water and took a few gulps of boiled water. Chen Hechuan and Shen Qing followed him into the house.

Chen Shanye poked his head out from the kitchen: "Wash your face and hands, Chen Siyang."

The little boy stuck out his tongue and said, "I know, Daddy," imitating the Hong Kong stars on TV.

Four dishes and one soup, which were delicious and attractive in appearance, aroma and taste, were soon served on the table. They were all simple home-cooked dishes, but they could always evoke the taste that people missed most in their hearts.

Shen Qing poured a bowl of soup for Chen Siyang and gave his son, who was about to leave home again, a warning: "Yangyang, don't worry, your father and I are watching over you. You and Xiaoruan should live a good life. If Xiaoruan finds a house he likes but it's beyond your budget, just let your family know. We'll give you a little more when the demolition compensation for our old house comes in a few days."

"Mom, Ruan Mei and I have discussed the budget. We won't choose a house we can't afford."

"Yes, yes, you two are big bosses, you're really capable." Shen Qing's face was relieved, and he also poured a bowl of soup for his son: "Wait until your restaurant is stable and you have settled down, then consider the issue of Yangyang's education. Don't put too much pressure on yourself and Xiao Ruan. It's better for you two to live well than anything else."

Chen Shanye took a sip of the bone soup and said "OK" with a smile.

Chen Siyang was already able to sleep in the children's room by himself. Chen Shanye turned up the air conditioner by one degree, tucked him in with a thin blanket, and walked to the desk to help him put his textbooks into his schoolbag.

The schoolbag was also given by Ruan Mei. It is a spine-protecting schoolbag suitable for primary school students. There is a Lightning McQueen badge on the bag cover, shining under the reading light.

After turning off the lights, Chen Shanye took a last look at the sleeping child and walked out of the room.

He walked back to his bedroom. His suitcase and black backpack were packed. Nothing seemed to have changed, except for the thermos cup stuck in the side pocket of the backpack. The paint on the cup had peeled off more.

Oh, I forgot one thing.

He opened the bedside table and took out the white headphones that had long run out of battery.

Every time he met Ruan Mei during this period of being apart, Chen Shanye would deliberately not return the headphones to her, which made Ruan Mei so angry that she stomped her feet and said it was too awkward to listen to music with only one headphone, and she said she would go buy a new model.

But in the end I didn't buy it, and I was so angry that I looked like a pufferfish with only one earphone in my head.

He put the headphones that had been left alone for a long time into his schoolbag and walked to the computer desk.

There is a desk calendar placed in a prominent position next to the computer, similar to the one-way calendar that has been very popular in recent years, the kind that has one page torn off per day.

But there was no date printed on the calendar, only the number "1". At the bottom of the paper was a monochrome line illustration of rolling hills covered with roses, but there was a small area that was empty and had no flowers.

Chen Shanye reached out and tore off the page in advance.

*

Ruan Mei reached out and tore off the paper with the number "1" written on it.

The room was dimly lit because the curtains were not drawn. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, looked at the desk calendar with only one page left on the bedside table, and a beautiful smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

She spent an unforgettable Christmas in the small county town that time. Not long after returning to Guangzhou, she received this gift. It was a desk calendar made of sulfuric acid paper, designed and customized by a designer contacted by Chen Shanye privately. She had one and Chen Shanye had one.

The first page I opened had "900" written on it. The mountains in the illustration were blank, with only a few pitiful black dots that looked like lonely grass. Every few pages thereafter, there would be a rose growing on the mountains.

Ruan Mei quickly understood the significance of this gift.

This is the time given by Chen Shanye, a total of nine hundred days.

Today we finally reached "0".

And the blooming roses finally covered the mountains and plains.

There are already several messages from Chen Shanye in the mobile phone, from when he left home, to when he got on the highway, to when he arrived at the station, and when he drove.

Ruan Mei looked at the time and realized she had been driving for two hours. She replied to the message saying she was awake.

The sliding track of the shower door has not been repaired yet. It makes a clanging sound when it is opened. Chen Shanye repaired it once when he came back during the Chinese New Year this year, but it broke again. Ruan Mei did not find someone to repair it and asked Chen Shanye to fix it when he came back this time.

The shower head sprayed out a stream of cool water, pouring down like rain on the inextinguishable rose-red hair. The fine grapefruit-flavored foam stirred up by ten fingers flowed from the fiery red hair ends to the snow-white shoulders and back like curdled milk.

While washing her body, her fingers slid across the slightly raised skin on the inside of her left forearm. Ruan Mei thought, I'll have it removed in a year.

The moisture in her hair had not yet dried when the cell phone in the room rang. Ruan Mei ran naked to answer the call.

"Hey...baby...I just fell asleep..."

Because of the poor signal, the voice on the other end of the microphone was intermittent. The man's voice, having just woken up, was low and lazy, flowing into Ruan Mei's ears like rich wine.

"Master Chen, the signal is not good over there." Ruan Mei clamped the phone between her neck and tilted her head to continue wiping her wet hair.

"Cave...then...dinner...later..."

After going back and forth several times over the past two years, Ruan Mei could remember where to see mountains, rivers and lakes during the nearly six-hour high-speed train ride, and where to eat gummy bears before entering a cave.

Traveling over a thousand kilometers, passing through many cities and towns, she went to find Chen Shanye, or Chen Shanye came to find her, or the two of them set off for another city separately. They were grateful that they were financially independent adults who could arrange their own holidays, allowing blue train tickets and plane tickets to connect each other's beating hearts.

It's not that they haven't had arguments, but they were rare and basically one-sided. Chen Shanye hurt her so much that twice in the first year she got drunk late at night and cried for her husband. The next day Chen Shanye appeared in front of her who was still hungover. Looking at the man's slightly tired eyes, Ruan Mei muttered with red eyes, "Why did you come here suddenly?" Chen Shanye smiled and said, "I'm afraid you can't find your husband and cry like a baby."

They make love non-stop in the limited time, no matter it is day or night, no matter it is sunny or rainy, rubbing you into my body, smashing you hard, leaving my mark on you inside and out, making the blazing flames feel inferior when seeing our heat, and making the bright stars ashamed to see our lingering and dim their light.

Once, when the two people were climbing a mountain, they had not yet escaped from the wave of passion. Chen Shanye was panting like a wild beast. He lay on her back, kissed her wet neck and asked, "Do you think what we are doing counts as a sex buddy turning into true love?"

Ruan Mei wiped her snot bubbles and tears on the pillow, thought carefully for a while before answering, "Rounding off... should count, right?"

The small river that has been winding around my heart unknowingly has long since become a vast ocean. Every time a wave rises in the moonlight, it is a sentence saying "I love you".

The phone automatically hung up after entering the cave. Ruan Mei didn't care. She sent a message to remind Chen Shanye not to eat only instant noodles at noon, but to at least buy a chicken leg and some meat in the car.

She quickly dried her hair, put on shorts, a white T-shirt and a baseball cap, took a bottle of yogurt from the refrigerator, bit a piece of toast spread with Ovaltine sauce, and went out.

Only half of June has passed, and the Flower City is already shrouded in the surging sound of cicadas. Ruan Mei walked on the swaying shadows of the trees and went to "Rose Slave" first. The store was already open. This year's 618 promotion had more orders than in previous years. Amy, who had twin ponytails, and Iris, a girl with tattoos on her arms, were picking out the goods according to the list. The packed cartons were neatly stacked on the ground.

Amy immediately burst into tears when she saw Ruan Mei: "Boss, we are almost dying of exhaustion..."

"Thank you for your hard work! What would you like to eat for lunch? How about I order you a sushi platter?"

"Wow, you're welcome then!"

Ruan Mei looked for a while and then left the store. She walked along the inner street past the old lady's house, wrinkled her nose and made a face at the Pomeranian barking inside the iron gate, continued forward, turned left at the end of the road, and came to the door of a store that was being renovated.

Xu Ziling, wearing leather slippers, was standing by the roadside under an old banyan tree, fanning herself with the breeze. Her black sunglasses covered most of her face. Seeing Ruan Mei approaching, she pushed her sunglasses up to the top of her head and asked, "Are you here?"

"Well, where are the masters?"

"The lights are being installed today. That brass lamp you spent so much money on. Look, it's being installed now."

Through the transparent round glass on the white wall, Ruan Mei saw the decorators adjusting the length of the electrical wires of the chandelier above the island.

She took a few steps back. The all-white storefront stood out among the old houses. The sign was covered with cloth, which would be removed after the renovation workers left.

After leaving the company, Xu Ziling began to invest in various small shops. Some of them were very profitable, some were not so profitable, but the overall income showed positive growth. She originally wanted to invest in Ruan Mei to open a branch, but when she heard that "Shanshi" was going to open a private restaurant, she had to get involved.

"By the way, Little Bear asked if you could drink at tonight's welcome party. If you can, he'll bring whiskey and sake."

Ruan Mei's eyes lit up: "Drink, it's rare for Chen Shanye to come back, even if I get drunk, there will be someone to carry me back."

"Then all three of us drink? Lao Chen will send us home separately?"

"Hey, sure, sure. Master Chen doesn't drink and drive."

When Ruan Mei smiled, the scorching sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, flickering and dancing in the corners of her eyes.

The two of them made an appointment to try out a private restaurant at noon. Xu Ziling said that knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle.

Most of the private restaurants in the city are luxurious and exquisite dishes such as bird's nest, shark's fin and abalone. The dishes of the restaurant they arranged are more homely, and there are even one or two dishes that collide with the dishes that Chen Shanye is going to serve. The taste is not bad, but Ruan Mei has the eyes of beauty, and Chen Shanye's dishes are the best.

Just like the time a long time ago when she saw Chen Shanye squatting on the ground making a fire, Ruan Mei thought he was so handsome.

After dinner, they returned to the Jiangnan West business district, and Ruan Mei made an appointment with an agent to view a second-hand high-rise house.

Ruan Mei and Chen Shanye had discussed that both of their stores were here, and if they bought a house nearby, it would save a lot of commuting time. There were also several elementary schools nearby, giving Chen Siyang many options for transferring to other schools.

The community is not big and the house is a bit old, but the layout and orientation are good. In addition to the master suite and the second bedroom, there is also a small study. It is a five-minute walk from the subway entrance. The price is within her and Chen Shanye's budget, and they can even pay a larger down payment with their current savings.

Ruan Mei took some photos of the house and sent them to Chen Shanye. She told the agent that she would go back and discuss it with her husband, and then left with Xu Ziling.

Xu Ziling had to go to another store to follow up on the progress of the renovation, so she put Ruan Mei at the door of "Rose Slave" and drove away in the red Audi with a hum.

The two girls who had just finished packing were taking a break to smoke on the cement steps at the door. Iris threw a cigarette to the boss, and Ruan Mei took out her lighter, lit it, and joined them.

Older neighbors passing by would always take a second look at these three girls. Their hair was bright red and purple, and each one had more tattoos than the other. The dirty talk they spewed out while smoking cigarettes might be heard by the elderly, who would call them "ignorant of ugliness", but only they knew what they looked like.

They are frank, passionate and real, just like the sunshine that is everywhere.

The courier boy made his last trip to deliver the large and small cartons. Ruan Mei gave the two store clerks a day off in advance. They joked, "Boss, if you can't get out of bed tomorrow, just lie down at home and they will try their best to send out all the orders."

The ground was still hot in the summer evening, but there was wind, so Ruan Mei moved a chair under the awning and waited for people.

The wind was also hot, making Ruan Mei's eyelids warm. When she closed her eyes, the warmth made her eyes feel comfortable and cozy.

She hummed along with the song in one earphone, and the sound of the crashing sea filled the other ear, which was not wearing an earphone. It was the wind that pushed aside the leaves, ruffled her hair, and penetrated into her heart.

The aroma of cooking wafted out from someone's house. A mother was walking her children home from school. A delivery boy's electric bike whizzed by. An old man walking his dog asked someone in a loud voice, "Have you eaten yet?"

After a long time, the sky darkened again, and the sound of suitcase wheels dragging on the ground could be heard, making a rattling sound.

Ruan Mei's ears twitched and she opened her eyes.

The man probably thought that dragging the suitcase on the trail was too noisy and slow, so he just picked up the suitcase, and the noise stopped immediately.

The wind in the sunset blew away the stars in Ruan Mei's eyes, like a dandelion flying lightly into the sky.

She jumped off the chair, put on her slippers and ran towards the iron gate. The carved patterns on the iron gate were hot from the sun. She could feel the heat before her fingers touched it, and even her heart was numb.

The man had long legs, and when Ruan Mei opened the iron gate, Chen Shanye had already walked in front of her.

He put the box in his hand on the ground, Chen Shanye's white teeth were still like the crescent moon in the sky, and he opened his arms to her.

Ruan Mei's raised arms were like seabird wings, cutting through the warm summer breeze and the noisy cicadas, and pounced on the isolated island in the sea of ​​people.

"Hey, I'm sweating." Chen Shanye walked out of the subway station and once again felt the familiar and terrible humidity and heat in the south.

Ruan Mei hooked her arm around his sweaty neck and head, tiptoed to kiss his lips, and whispered softly, "You're back."

Chen Shanye lifted her up, her straight black eyelashes casting a clean shadow on his lower eyelid, and his voice melted into the rosy sunset: "Well, I'm back."

[End of Text]