Chapter 30
◎ Bei Bitang went out, but did not go straight to the Tiger Stove.
She carries a thermos
Bei Bitang went out, but did not go straight to the Tiger Stove.
She walked aimlessly in the alley with a thermos in her hand. She had no idea where she was going. She just walked along the alley, turning or not as she pleased.
Bei Bitang didn't want to stay at home. She just wanted to kill time outside, as long as she could, and it would be best if she could go back home at bedtime.
The alley gradually became lively, with more people than in the house.
Men, women, young and old, some were enjoying the cool breeze, some were eating dinner with bowls and chopsticks, and some were playing the glass bead game.
"Where is Bitang going?"
Faced with such questions from others, Bei Bitang could only smile and remain silent, carrying the thermos to the tiger stove.
The Tiger Stove was crowded with people, mostly children. Parents would place a large iron basin outside the Tiger Stove, wait for a bottle of hot water, then turn on the nearby tap to add cold water and bathe their two- or three-year-old children right there. It was convenient, saving the trouble of getting hot water home and getting the house wet—three birds with one stone.
There were also a few grown men wearing only boxer shorts, standing outside under the row of faucets, a bar of soap, treating the public space like their own bathroom, whistling without regard for others' feelings as they took cold showers.
Bei Bitang only looked straight ahead, never glancing around, walked straight into the tiger stove, filled two bottles of hot water for use in the evening, and walked out straight again.
When I walked downstairs to my house, I saw Feng Guangmei lying on a bamboo lounge chair, fanning herself with a fan.
Feng Guangmei also saw her and quickly waved to Bei Bitang and said, "Bitang, come here and talk to me."
Bei Bitang walked over, stood in front of her, and said jokingly with a smile, "So you're free?"
Feng Guangmei made room for Bei Bitang, motioning for her to sit down. She said happily, "That's right. Bitang, I've inquired about this. Thanks for your kind words. The night shift is free. As long as you meet the enrollment requirements, you can go in the evening."
"This is my last free night. Starting tomorrow night I have to study hard at night."
Bei Bitang sat down next to Feng Guangmei and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Guangmei. You will definitely do well in next year's college entrance examination."
Feng Guangmei said with a smile: "Thank you for your good wishes."
As she spoke, she looked around, leaned close to Bei Bitang's ear, and whispered, "Bitang, I have something to tell you. This afternoon, my second brother brought my future second sister-in-law to our house, so I went home for lunch. I saw the new family that moved in—the union chairman from your eldest sister's factory—came to your house."
Bei Bitang was shocked, remembering that the man in the attic that day was from the same family as Feng Jiaqing. So Feng Jiaqing should be his mother, right?
This thought flashed through Bei Bitang's mind, but she remained calm on her face. She said nonchalantly, "Somehow, my mother and Chairman Feng get along well. This isn't the first time she's come to my house."
Feng Guangmei said anxiously, "It's nothing for her to visit your house, but she didn't come alone. She was with her only child, He Dafei. His hair is so shiny and sleek that I think he poured a bottle of hairspray on his head and it would drip out."
Seeing Bei Bitang's expression, she added, "Think about it, why would he come to your house? He's a grown man. There aren't any men in your family. Huang Dashan is a man, but is he close to Huang Dashan? Judging from his family situation, it's impossible for him to be friends with Huang Dashan."
Finally, Feng Guangmei said, "He doesn't want to get to know you, does he?"
Bei Bitang's expression changed slightly, and she quickly denied it, saying, "Nonsense, it's impossible."
Feng Guangmei softened her tone and said seriously, "Bitang, you better be more careful."
Bei Bitang nodded and said, "Would you like some watermelon? The fruit shop at the end of the alley has some top-quality Nanhui watermelons cut and sold in a glass cabinet. I'll treat you. You'll have a night shift review tomorrow. It's sweet at first, then bitter. Eat a bite of the sweet watermelon. I hope you can stick with it."
Feng Guangmei shook her head and refused. She bent down, picked up the enamel water cup on the ground, and opened it to show Bei Bitang.
Bei Bitang saw that it was rose tea.
Feng Guangmei said, "I added some honey. How's that? Not bad, right? I'll drink this, and I won't have to eat your watermelon. I'm really worried that you'll be in debt before you even get your first month's salary."
She knew that Bei Bitang liked to be clean and didn't like to drink with others, so she didn't ask Bei Bitang to take a sip to taste it.
Bei Bitang smiled and said, "I won't owe you any debt. You can enjoy the cool breeze. I'm going to go back first. The little one needs to take a bath later, but can't find a thermos."
As Bei Bitang walked back, she thought about Feng Guangmei's words and suddenly laughed. It was a pity that Guangmei didn't go to write the storybook. When Feng Jiaqing came to her house, Guangmei could think of the things that men and women would think about when they saw each other.
Bei Bitang raised her eyes inadvertently and saw Xue Guizhi and Huang Dashan sitting under the roots of a tree. They were talking about something, and their sleeves were touching.
When Huang Dashan saw Bei Bitang approaching, he became nervous, even sitting stiffly. Xue Guizhi, on the other hand, looked at Bei Bitang, raised her chin and smiled at her. Was this smile innocent or provocative?
Bei Bitang had a cold face and didn't look at them. She looked up at the roof of her house. It was gray and the corner that was not close to the street light was hidden in the darkness.
Lin Bilan watched Bei Bitang carry two bottles of hot water back to the house and couldn't help but complain, "Why is it taking so long?"
Bei Bitang didn't hand the water bottle to her directly. Instead, she placed it on the chest of drawers and said calmly, "Big sister, do you think I'm slow in fetching water? Then from now on, you can go to the Tiger Stove to fetch water yourself."
A bottle of hot water cost a penny, which wasn't much, but it wasn't durable. I had to go to the tiger stove at least three times a day, and in winter, the number of visits doubled. Over time, the cost of fetching water was not a small amount.
After returning from Bei Bitang, whenever she was at her house, she was the one who fetched the hot water. Lin Bilan and Miao Xiuxiu simply refused to go. As for Huang Dashan, haha, let alone go, if he came back one day and found the thermos empty, he would immediately scream.
Lin Bilan stopped talking, took the thermos and poured hot water into the wooden bath tub on the floor.
The room suddenly became quiet. Miao Xiuxiu couldn't bear to see Lin Bilan and Bei Bitang quarreling.
She took a sip of her cold tea and looked at Bei Bitang, saying, "The small fish I brought back are cooked very well. My son-in-law likes them. Small fish are also cheap. A small pot won't cost much. You can buy some more tomorrow."
Bei Bitang replied as she packed her clothes, "I didn't buy these little fish. My master gave them to me and asked me to take them home."
Hearing this, Miao Xiuxiu smiled and said, "It seems that working at the small vegetable market does have some benefits. You can eat free fish. It's better to be assigned to the fish stall than the vegetable stall."
Lin Bilan said sarcastically, "Oh, that's a rare treat. I've been working at the fish stall for so long, and I only brought back a few small fish, and you're already praising me. You're biased, Mom."
The little kid, splashing water in the wooden basin, didn't fully understand what the adults said. He said in a daze, "Fish, delicious!"
Miao Xiuxiu said, "Study hard, little brat. When you become successful, you can eat as much as you want. Eat big fish."
Gu Wangxi returned to Shanghai again. The decoration of the company building in Shanghai was nearing completion. After a month or two of ventilation, the employees of the Shanghai branch would move in from the temporary office.
After getting off the plane, he went back to his suite at the Peace Hotel to wash up. Without a break, he went out to meet with higher-ups. After leaving the administrative office, he went to the Shanghai Old Hotel for a social gathering, where he had a meal with several business partners.
After the meal, the mess of cups and plates was cleared away, and the waiter brought a pot of pre-rain Longjing tea, a fruit plate, a nut plate, and some snacks.
We chatted for more than two hours and were about to leave when, by chance, I ran into an acquaintance.
A Taiwanese businessman who had worked with Gu Wangxi walked into the box with a young lady and greeted people.
Zhao Gangcheng introduced the young lady beside him and said, "This is the daughter of a family friend of mine, Zhou Lechan. Her father is also in the real estate business. Lechan came to Shanghai this time to help her father."
Zhou Lechan was dressed in designer clothes and carrying a black platinum bag. She was a beauty, not bad looking. As soon as she entered, she had a comforting smile on her face and waited for Zhao Chenggang to finish his introduction.
She took out a business card box from her bag and generously distributed business cards to everyone in the box one by one. At the same time, she also received a few business cards from other people.
Throughout this process, Zhou Lechan maintained a humble demeanor, performing the act naturally and expertly, without a trace of the arrogance of a wealthy family's child. She looked like a seasoned businessman, though her features suggested she had only just graduated from college, making her the same age as Gu Wangxi.
Huo Shixun glanced at Gu Wangxi, then at Zhou Lechan, a beautiful, young woman who matched Gu Wangxi in many ways. He was eager to see the fun and said, "Mr. Zhao, Ms. Zhou, if you don't have an appointment, why don't you sit down and have some tea together? It's more fun when there are more people."
Gu Wangxi felt the gaze of his college classmate and friend, and understood what Huo Shixun was up to. He looked down at the business card in his hand, smiling silently. Two seconds later, he gracefully put the card into his suit pocket.
Zhao Chenggang smiled and said, "Since Mr. Huo has invited me, I won't hesitate to sit down. It just so happens that Le Chan is about the same age as Mr. Huo and Mr. Gu, so you young people have something to talk about."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Gu Wangxi at the same time. Gu Wangxi still had that calm and gentle face.
Zhao Chenggang sat down on the chair next to Huo Shixun, and Zhou Lechan showed a determined smile and walked up to Gu Wangxi confidently.
She looked at Gu Wangxi, tilted her head slightly, and said with a faint smile: "Mr. Gu, can I sit next to you?"
Gu Wangxi didn't even look at the empty chair to his right, and said coldly, "Okay."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lechan immediately put on her high heels and sat next to Gu Wangxi.
One of the CEOs laughed jokingly.
Huo Shixun asked, "Miss Zhou, where are your ancestors from?"
Zhou Lechan turned to look at Gu Wangxi and said, "Why don't we let Mr. Gu guess?"
Gu Wangxi added tea to his cup without answering.
Huo Shixun said, "Miss Zhou, Wangxi's least favorite game is guessing riddles."
Zhou Lechan's face immediately showed a trace of regret. She said, "My parents are both from Shaoxing, Zhejiang."
Someone said: "No wonder Miss Zhou went to Shanghai. Since ancient times, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai have been inseparable and are always connected."
Zhou Lechan said: "My parents wanted to contribute to our hometown and make Shaoxing the first stop in the Yangtze River Delta. It's a pity that the development of our hometown is so slow."
Someone agreed, saying, "That's right. When we, overseas Chinese, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese businesspeople, return to the mainland, the first thing we do is visit our hometowns. But when it comes to doing business, we can only go south to Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Even Beijing and Shanghai can't compare to these two cities."
Someone chimed in, "But how bad can Shanghai be? After all, this business can still be done."
Everyone in the room agreed. Otherwise, why would they live in Shanghai? Some were even planning to bring their wives and children over. They couldn't just be coming to Shanghai to enjoy life, right?
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