Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Tsk, she's quite pretty.
Chapter Seven: Tsk, she's quite pretty.
Holding the heavy watermelon in her arms, Lin Su turned around as she left and asked, "Manager, would you like some watermelon?"
Zhou Yunqi said, "You guys eat, I'm going to take a shower."
Lin Su: "Okay, thank you, Manager."
After saying that, he turned and walked quickly in that direction, and a series of cheerful laughs came from outside the door.
Watching her graceful figure, Zhou Yunqi felt gratified. After only a few days of recuperation, she had gone from being on the verge of death to being full of energy. It was like raising a child; she was changing every day.
Wang Ping specially cut a large piece of watermelon for Lin Su, and cut the rest into small pieces. They ate and chatted.
Zhou Yunqi glanced at the crowd of onlookers from afar.
In the dim light, Lin Su, holding a watermelon, seemed to stand out in the crowd. The man then realized that the girl was wearing a light-colored short-sleeved dress, which was completely different from her simple image of wearing a shirt and pants and having her hair in braids a few days ago. No wonder she seemed so light and graceful just now.
At this moment, her long, black hair was spread out, her calves were slender and straight, and her face was fair and clean. Compared to the other people whose skin was yellow or dark, she was radiant.
Wow, she's quite pretty.
Zhou Yunqi averted his gaze.
...
The next morning, Zhou Yunqi was sitting in the driver's seat when he saw her walking over, dressed in simple clothes and carrying her little schoolbag, looking like a primary school student on her way to school. He couldn't help but give her a wry smile.
Lin Su was completely bewildered by the strange smile. She glanced around and realized she was the only one outside the car.
Is it because of her walking posture?
Or was her hair not tied up properly, or was there something on her face?
But it didn't happen.
"What are you standing there for? Get in the car now," he said.
"Oh." Lin Su opened the car door and sat in the back seat.
The car continued along the gravel and dirt county road as usual, dust swirling outside the window. Only when they approached the county town did a stretch of paved road appear.
Today, Lin Su had to present the decision she had made after careful consideration last night to the manager. Sitting in the back seat, she looked at the man's sharply defined profile and clenched her fist.
In the morning, the deliveryman was delivering goods to various places in the county. A nearby unit called to say that they urgently needed to send some white sugar over. Xu Yaodong drove his jeep to deliver it, and Lin Su and Zhou Yunqi walked to eat lunch nearby.
After finishing my meal, I walked for a while when suddenly dark clouds rolled in and a torrential downpour began.
The two ran to the eaves of a house to take shelter from the rain.
Lin Su wiped the rain off her face and straightened her clothes. Zhou Yunqi asked, "Are you wet?"
"No, just a few raindrops."
The rain was very thick. Zhou Yunqi looked ahead and said, "This rain came quickly and went quickly. It should stop soon."
Lin Su responded.
After a while, remembering what she wanted to say, she suddenly looked up at him.
He turned around and chuckled, "What's wrong?"
Lin Su lowered her eyes, gathering her thoughts.
He spoke first: "Sister Cheng said you're very quick-witted and are even planning to take the college entrance exam next year."
Lin Su said, "That is the plan."
"Taking the college entrance exam is a good idea, but it would be best to get into a university in Beijing."
Lin Su asked curiously, "Director, why don't you take the college entrance exam?" With his intelligence, he could have taken it in the first batch in 1977 or this year, right? Wouldn't it be better to go back to Beijing?
Zhou Yunqi sighed, "After running a sugar factory for so long, my thinking has become different from that of students, and I have lost interest in academic matters."
Lin Su agrees with this principle. He is a practical person and may have his own plans and ideas for the future.
"If I return to Beijing in the future, and conditions permit, I might go to university for further studies and learn some management knowledge."
Lin Su nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, that's fine."
He lit a cigarette: "You're still young, it's the perfect time for you to take the college entrance exam, but it would be best if you started studying now."
Hearing these words of concern for the younger generation, Lin Su paused for a moment and said, "Farm manager, I can go back to work on the farm tomorrow."
Zhou Yunqi took the cigarette, puzzled: "Didn't you learn it quite well at the factory? Do you want to go back to carrying a hoe?"
Lin Su had no choice but to say, "I came here initially because I wasn't feeling well, and you gave me this opportunity to rest. Now that I'm feeling better, I can go back."
"All better?" The man looked at her questioningly, flicking away the ash from his cigarette. "You've gotten so thin, it'll take at least a hundred days or so of recuperation to get better."
One hundred and eighty days... that means she'd have to eat and drink for free for three months.
Lin Su fell silent.
Zhou Yunqi turned to look at her: "Are you burdened?"
Lin Su nodded honestly: "After all, I don't have any money right now, so you have to pay for all the food."
The man couldn't help but sneer: "Interesting. I treat you to the best food and drinks, something others would beg for, yet you still feel burdened. You're too honest and timid. Have you ever seen Xu Yaodong feel burdened? That brat is very cunning, he'd love to empty my wallet."
Hearing these words, Lin Su couldn't help but laugh again.
To be fair, Xu Yaodong does indeed have this style.
However, she is not Xu Yaodong; people are different.
After laughing, Lin Su didn't know what to say.
Seeing that she remained silent again, Zhou Yunqi asked, "Did you overhear something being said?"
Lin Su was taken aback, opened her eyes and looked at him, then shook her head and said no.
Tsk, the answer was written in those clear eyes filled with surprise, and she was still quite stubborn. Zhou Yunqi continued to ask, "Do you think I'm treating you differently?"
As the rain pattered on the ground and roof, Lin Su said softly, "It is indeed special treatment. You wouldn't treat other educated youth this well. Is it because I'm also from Beijing?" she asked tentatively.
"Yes and no," Zhou Yunqi said, his voice lowering slightly.
He then exhaled a puff of smoke: "The reason I'm so good to you isn't just because you're from Beijing. Before I came back from visiting my family, I went to visit an elder in the staff quarters of the machinery factory. The name of that machinery factory is," he paused, looking at her, "Dongfeng Machinery Factory."
Upon hearing this name, Lin Su was startled and looked up at him intently.
“My elders told me that there was a young educated youth named Lin in the family compound who was also on our farm, and asked me to look after her if I had the time.”
Lin Su suddenly realized and hurriedly asked, "Who is that elder?"
His surname is Gu.
“Grandpa Gu!” Lin Su blurted out.
Zhou Yunqi nodded: "That bag of shortbread was forced on me by his wife."
Grandpa Gu and the original owner's father had a master-disciple relationship. Lin's father was a mechanical design engineer, and it was Grandpa Gu who mentored him when he entered the factory.
After a brief silence, Zhou Yunqi asked, "So, are you still burdened?"
Lin Su pondered for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I don't think it's necessary," he said nonchalantly.
"But I still want to go back to the farm, since there's no work to do at the sugar factory right now."
"Wouldn't it be good to learn more accounting knowledge and skills?" he asked again.
Lin Su said, "I've mastered the basics that Sister Cheng taught me."
She didn't understand her own feelings. She didn't really care about other people's opinions. Perhaps more importantly, she didn't want to get too close to him. She always felt that getting too close was not a good thing.
Zhou Yunqi took a deep breath and didn't press the matter further. He said, "It's already August. There's not much farm work to do, and there's no wasteland to clear nearby. If you don't want to come to the sugar factory, that's fine too. Just come for three more days, make it ten days, and get your body in better shape."
Lin Su nodded hurriedly, "Okay."
The rain has stopped, and sunlight is streaming through the clouds.
Lin Su looked at the tall, imposing man striding ahead and took a deep breath. She knew there was a reason this man was so good to her. With Grandpa Gu's connection, she felt much more at ease.
In the following days, she continued to go out early and return late with them. Sometimes Xu Yaodong would come along, and sometimes he wouldn't.
On the last day, we went out to eat after work. He ordered a stewed chicken soup in advance, with ingredients such as ginseng and goji berries in it. When we ate, he ladled out a big bowl for her and said, "Eat quickly. Next time I take you out, I'll have to find another reason."
He added, "Luckily, that brat Xu Yaodong isn't here today. He's hiding on the farm, slacking off and taking a nap. Otherwise, he would have eaten half of it all by himself."
Lin Su chuckled, then drank until his face was covered in sweat.
Zhou Yunqi watched as her cheeks flushed and her lips became even redder. Suddenly remembering something, he quickly finished his meal and said to her, "I'll be right back. You can eat slowly."
Lin Su assumed he had gone to buy cigarettes and didn't think much of it. She slowly drank her chicken soup, but Zhou Yunqi didn't return until she was almost finished.
Seeing the waiter's questioning look, Lin Su couldn't help but worry that something might have happened to him.
Trusting him, Lin Su ladled the last bowl of soup into her own bowl, intending to drink it more slowly and stall for time.
After a while, the familiar figure finally appeared, and Lin Su felt relieved.
"Why did you take so long to get here?" she asked instinctively.
He laughed: "What, afraid I'll skip out on the bill?"
"No, I'm afraid something might happen to you." After saying that, Lin Su paused, realizing that her tone and words were a bit off.
Zhou Yunqi paused slightly, then said in a low voice, "What could possibly happen to me..." He glanced at the table and asked, "Finished eating?"
"Um."
"Waiter, the bill, please."
Lin Su followed him to the car, opened the passenger door, and saw a bag on the seat. She picked it up and asked, "Did you just buy this?"
Zhou Yunqi got into the car: "Here you go, take it back and make some hot water to drink."
Lin Su curiously opened the oil paper package, which contained a packet of medicinal herbs, including Codonopsis pilosula, wolfberries, and red dates.
She was so surprised that she couldn't speak.
"Do you have a thermos?" he asked.
Lin Su shook her head: "No."
Zhou Yunqi said, "I'll go get one from my place later. I have one that's been sitting around and hasn't been used much. If you don't mind, I'll wash it."
Lin Su nodded, her nose starting to sting, and after sniffing, two tears rolled down her cheeks.
This person is really too good to her.
He and she were not related, and had never even met before. It was only because a mutual acquaintance mentioned her that he kept his promise and took meticulous care of her in various ways.
She turned her head to look out the window, raised her hand to wipe away her tears, and Zhou Yunqi looked over and clicked his tongue, "Crying?"
Lin Su looked outside and sniffed softly, "I didn't cry."
Her tears flowed even more freely, and she continued to turn her face to the side so he wouldn't see them.
The car didn't start, and Zhou Yunqi scoffed, "How old are you? You're so ambitious."
"Fasten your seatbelts quickly, we're heading back to the farm."
Lin Su wiped away her tears and fastened her seatbelt.
The two in the car remained silent at first. Zhou Yunqi's jaw was clenched as he drove intently. Lin Su calmed down before asking him, "Manager, how much did this packet of medicinal herbs cost?"
"What, you want to give it back to me?"
"Let me find out first, and I'll pay you back when I have the money. I don't have the money right now, so I can't pay you back," she said honestly.
It was already dark, and the car headlights illuminated the road. The man driving looked ahead and said, "You don't need to pay me back. When you're financially better off in the future, just treat me to a big meal."
Lin Su asked blankly, "How big is the meal?"
Zhou Yunqi glanced at her and smirked, "If you have money after we get back to Beijing, how about you treat me to a Western meal at the Beijing Hotel that hosts foreign guests?"
Lin Su said solemnly, "Okay! I will definitely invite you when I have money, but it may be several years later."
Zhou Yunqi: "No rush, I'm waiting for your feast."
...
A note from the author:
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