Chapter 69 Catching the Big Goose

To get from the provincial capital airport of Province K to Khe Sanh, theoretically you need to take a green train and then a tricycle.

But both of them are public figures now, and it is really inappropriate for them to appear in this way again.

So Shu Ming transferred some money to his childhood friend in advance and asked him to drive over to pick him up.

“It used to feel so far away.”

They both had a small luggage, just a light suitcase each. Liang Ruwen declined the airport service and took care of everything himself. Shu Ming didn't hesitate to be polite with him.

While waiting for the car to pick him up, Shu Ming leaned relaxedly against the suitcase.

The trip went south and the temperature rose. He rolled up his sleeves in the October heat.

The exposed forearms have beautiful muscle lines, and the faint blue veins run all the way to the back of the hands.

Liang Ruowen rarely had the opportunity to observe him so closely. Today he discovered that Shu Ming's arms, which were very precious, had many inconspicuous scars.

It has almost disappeared, so I don’t see it normally.

After a long sleep, Shu Ming felt better.

Liang Ruwen pinched his nose when he saw him, and said in a muffled voice:

"Normally, if we were to go back from here, we would take the green train, which would take an entire night! Then we would take a three-wheeled rickshaw to town..."

Now I realize it only takes four hours to drive there.”

The journey would take him at least a day and a half. If he encountered an unfavorable departure time, he would have to curl up with his legs propped up and take a nap in the station lobby.

It turns out that such a messy journey can be replaced by just a four-hour drive.

Shu Ming couldn't tell whether he wanted to cry or laugh, he just narrated the story calmly.

Liang Ruwen felt a bit of heartache, but also thought that his choice of words was very cute. When he said "bengbeng" seriously, there was a little nasal sound, which was very childish.

The two of them chatted casually about various things.

While they were talking, the phone in Shu Ming's pocket rang.

A fat boy with a flexible figure walked in from outside, holding up his mobile phone and looking around for a while. His eyes lit up and he shouted towards this side.

Even though he couldn't understand it, Liang Ruowen could still tell that it was Ningyu.

The fat boy, Qian Zhuang, was terrified as he drove in.

He and Shu Ming were classmates in elementary school, and thanks to the care of Shu's aunt, he considered himself to be close friends since childhood.

Later, he failed to get into high school, so he went to Wenhe City to work as a car mechanic apprentice. He was also one of the few people in his area who had a driver's license.

Shu Ming asked him to do something, and Qian Zhuang of course agreed without hesitation. At first, he didn't even intend to take the money. It was Shu Ming who knew his bank card number and forced the money into his account.

Qian Zhuang stared at the money in his bank card in amazement, and counted the number of zeros over and over again - this was two months' salary for him!

Shu Xiaoming, Shu Xiaoming, you have really fulfilled the promise you made when you were a child. You are really successful!

When he heard that they had to use the VIP channel at the airport, he was afraid of losing face for Xiao Shu, so he specially washed the body of his oil truck until it had a mirror-like finish. He was quite satisfied before leaving.

As a result, when we drove into the special channel, we found that all the cars on the road were good.

Qian Zhuangxue is good at car repair. Although he has never actually touched most of the cars here, he can at least recognize the brands.

Especially since the car in front of him is a famous luxury brand, and the one behind him is a luxury nanny car with an intimidating size...

His little, broken oil truck was mixed in with the others, short and shrunk, and it felt out of place.

For a brief moment, he didn't even want to open the car door - it was so embarrassing.

When they were led into the hall by the service staff, Qian Zhuang saw Shu Ming standing there from afar, with a man with a very imposing aura standing next to him. The two of them stood out like a crane among chickens, extremely conspicuous!

Several uniformed staff members were bent over and serving in soft voices. He originally wanted to help Shu Ming pull the suitcase, but in the end it was not even his turn to carry the luggage.

Qian Zhuang withdrew his hands a little disappointedly, rubbed them, and had to lead the way in front and point out the direction of parking.

After they walked out of the airport's electric gate, the young waiter opened his gray old car door with white gloves. The contrast was so great that Qian Zhuang's face turned red.

It’s really... It’s really true that Qian Zhuang has never seen such a situation in his life!

A car like his is really mismatched with this level of service.

What's more, when others come to serve him, he becomes so restless that he wishes he could be even more servile than them.

In addition to feeling uncomfortable, Qian Zhuang was also nervous.

Although he knew Shu Ming would definitely not be that kind of person, Qian Zhuang still subconsciously observed the expressions of the waiters around him. These people probably had never seen such a shabby car as his -

Will Xiao Shu feel that she has embarrassed him?

Since childhood, Shu Ming has been the most independent and decisive person among his peers.

Today is no exception - the boy nodded gently, neither hurried nor slow.

He first politely declined the staff's service and put the luggage into the trunk with one hand.

Then he formally introduced the two parties: "This is my childhood friend, Qian Zhuang."

"Liang Ruwen, Teacher Liang."

Shu Ming's cherishing attitude instantly gave Qian Zhuang great confidence!

Qian Zhuang smiled innocently, his heart at ease, and he no longer felt ashamed of his old car. Even his voice was not weak: "Hello, hello."

This man with a strong aura also gave Shu Ming a lot of face and shook hands and greeted him respectfully.

Seeing that neither of them thought there was anything wrong, Qian Zhuang skillfully sat back in the driver's seat.

After starting, the car flexibly weaved into the traffic flow.

"Xiao Shu, why didn't Brother Zhuang come back with you?"

Qian Zhuang glanced at the central rearview mirror. Shu Ming had explained to him that they had to take the guests' feelings into consideration today, so he followed Mr. Liang and sat in the back seat.

He didn't care, but the car was too quiet and weird, so he picked up a random topic.

They communicated with each other in their native language, so Qian Zhuang naturally spoke in Ningyu.

Normally, Shu Ming would have replied in his native dialect, but for once, he used Mandarin: "My eldest brother is staying in the capital to attend classes. He's become interested in photography lately, and it's just right that he has time to learn it... so I simply didn't bring him back."

This time Shu Ming came to complete the publicity task in K Province, and secondly to take Liang Ruwen out for some fun, so he simply didn't bring anyone with him.

Hearing Shu Ming's Mandarin... oh yes, there were other people present.

Qian Zhuang immediately followed suit and switched back to Mandarin.

He spoke Mandarin with a slight accent, but it was quite fluent. He was afraid of a dull moment, so he unskillfully complimented Leo Liang, saying that Mr. Liang's songs were very popular.

It’s not as if he doesn’t know Liang Ruowen.

Just now, when I was driving here, the radio was full of Leo Leung’s songs, both in Mandarin and Cantonese, and he even knew how to sing a few lines.

He didn't recognize her when they first met, but he knew her as soon as Shu Ming mentioned her name.

It’s just that Mr. Liang was probably not very interested in bragging about himself, but when he mentioned Xiao Shu, he was obviously much more excited.

Qian Zhuang realized this and immediately changed the subject, bringing the discussion to Shu Ming: "Yes, we were classmates in elementary and junior high school."

As he was talking, he couldn't help but look at the rearview mirror.

The nose, eyes, mouth... the facial features are still the same, and it's only been over a year since we last met, but Shu Ming has become unfamiliar. His temperament is somewhat similar to that of Mr. Liang next to him, but also different.

As if there was some magic, Qian Zhuangzhen couldn't help but look and glance again and again - and finally came to the conclusion that Shu Ming was really different.

It’s not that he is unfathomable, but even though the boy is still smiling, Qian Zhuang can no longer tell what he is thinking from his eyes and brows.

In fact, compared to all the smart people in the industry, Shu Ming is really a child! He is very sensible and shows it all on his face when something happens.

Therefore, Shu Ming was also led away by them, but he still felt that he was one of those people who showed his emotions, and he had more to practice and learn.

He didn't realize how shocking these changes in himself were in the eyes of outsiders.

Shu Ming closed his eyes and said nothing. Qian Zhuang took it as his consent and picked out some interesting childhood stories to tell Liang Ruowen.

He talked about how he was laughed at by his older classmates when he was a child, but he couldn't win in a fight.

Shu Ming couldn't beat them, but he was still determined to help him get revenge, so he secretly hid behind a tree and shot with a slingshot, beating those kids so hard that they were stunned. Shu Ming then grabbed them and ran away, saying proudly that this was called a tactic.

It is said that Shu Ming was chased by a goose when he was a child.

Geese are creatures with a strong sense of revenge. They bite people and it hurts. He was watching the joke from the side, and was discovered by Shu Ming. The boy was so angry that he dragged him away with him...

That afternoon, the two of them and a goose ran around the village four times and almost vomited.

When he was a child, Shu Ming was naughty and lively. He could make his elders happy and dominate among other children.

Liang Ruwen thought about it and felt his heart soften, so he suddenly asked, "Xiao Shu, do you still have any photos of you as a child?"

ah?

Shu Ming blinked slowly, a little confused and unable to react.

Childhood photos?

**

...childhood photos?

At the dinner table, my aunt put down her chopsticks and said, "Oh, you don't have many photos. Maybe just a few graduation photos... Let me look for them."

In early October, Liang Ruowen met the only elder in Shu Ming's family for the first time.

Zhuang Yan, this woman with her hair tied up, has a straightforward personality, and is a bit tough on the outside but soft on the inside.

Liang Ruowen was finally able to get a glimpse of Shu Ming's past and realize how Shu Ming's character was shaped.

Because my aunt is an optimistic person, she never complains and solves problems decisively, so Shu Ming always shows his optimistic and cheerful side.

Also because my aunt is not good at expressing her emotions.

Even Liang Ruwen could see that she missed Shu Ming very much, but she couldn't say it. So Shu Ming chose to complement her, becoming a considerate puppy who was good at playing straight, and using his own softness to express his aunt.

This is Shu Ming's survival wisdom.

The two sides hit it off very well the first day they met.

My aunt could understand Mandarin but she was not very good at speaking it. Liang Ruowen patiently chatted with her, helped Shu Ming cooperate, and told her that Xiao Shu was doing well outside to comfort her.

Liang Ruowen guessed that his aunt's friendly attitude was probably because Shu Ming kept speaking well of him.

Because while Shu Ming went to the kitchen to check on the pot, she patted Liang Ruwen's hand and tried hard to say "thank you" over and over again in her not very fluent Mandarin.

Thank you for taking care of our Xiao Shu.

Sometimes Zhuang Yan couldn’t sleep at night and would look through her phone and think about how much suffering Shu Ming had to endure when he was alone outside at the beginning, with no relatives or friends.

How come the child she raised with great difficulty lost so much weight every time she came back?

Are you used to eating here so far in the north?

Maybe it would be better if I had some new friends to help me.

Liang Ruowen saw a flash of tears in her eyes, and then it disappeared.

Just like the dewdrops hanging in the wheat fields in the early morning, they disappear as soon as the sun comes out.

**

Somehow, we started talking about photos at the dinner table.

Auntie was about to go look for him, but Shu Ming stopped her: "Don't worry, wait until after dinner."

This was the first time Shu Ming brought friends back from outside his hometown.

She had known Shu Ming since he was little. Didn't Zhuang Yan understand him? This kid was actually very defensive. He rarely even took his classmates home. The few who were still okay with him were like Qian Zhuang and Xiao Lin...

I never brought any of them back as guests.

It was a rare opportunity to bring people back, so Zhuang Yan wanted to prepare 108 dishes to entertain them. Fortunately, Shu Ming stopped her and said that two people would definitely not be able to eat after a whole day of flying and driving, so she changed it to a simple meal.

At this moment, Liang Ruowen was just asking about the photo. Zhuang Yan didn't even want to eat and wanted to go look for it, but was stopped by Shu Ming after much persuasion.

Unfortunately, I searched through all the drawers and cabinets after dinner but still couldn’t find it.

It's a bit hot during the day, but the breeze is cool at night.

Shu Ming moved two rocking chairs to the yard, rocked them back and forth, and covered himself with a small blanket. He felt so comfortable that he was about to fall asleep.

Liang Ruwen came out of the shower and sat down on the chair next to him, his voice tinged with laughter: "Teacher Xiaoshu, what a pity... I didn't see the photo. I wanted to see what the goose that chased you looked like when you were little."

"Want to see the geese?" Shu Ming opened his eyes at some point and hummed vaguely.

Liang Ruowen could see that he felt much more comfortable after returning home, and his speech became more relaxed and bolder than before.

"Easy, I'll personally take you to catch one tomorrow, how about that?"

What a smug tone.

Liang Ruwen coaxed him: "Are you not afraid of geese anymore? I thought you might have some childhood trauma..."

Shu Ming jumped up from the rocking chair.

Liang Ruowen even felt that he was a little angry and embarrassed. His lips were moist after licking them. The lights in the yard were not bright, but he could vaguely see that they were red from being bitten by Shu Ming.

Shu Xiaoming put his hands on his hips, feeling embarrassed and anxious. "Who's afraid? I'll take you to catch them tomorrow, and catch the biggest one!"

It's so rare to see him like this! And he calls himself that... Ha.

Liang Ruwen couldn't suppress the corners of his lips and tried to tease him: "Really? It's a deal. What if Teacher Xiaoshu can't catch it?"

Who is Shu Ming?

Even if I was anxious, I would never fall into his trap.

The boy stretched out his hands, as if to die a heroic death: "If you can't catch me, then arrest me!"

How could Liang Ruowen be willing to arrest him?

He had no choice but to invite Teacher Xiao Shu back to his seat, and offered him tea and water, begging him to protect him. He said that he had never caught chickens, ducks, or geese before, and if Teacher Xiao Shu didn't protect him, he would probably make a fool of himself!

Shu Ming glanced at him sideways, pursed his lips and said nothing.

Humph, that’s pretty good!

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The author has something to say: If I say there will be an update, there will definitely be one.

I stayed up all night, writing from 11 o'clock to 6 o'clock in the morning, and finally finished it...

I'll correct the typos and grammatical errors after get off work. Now I'm going to work miserably.

P.S. Don't worry, these two are still a long way from being in a relationship.