The next day, Xing Zhaozhao put the wild beehive she had picked in the mountains into a bag, stuffed it into her basket, and went back to the door.
Yesterday, when Gao Yang bought something from her, he gave her an extra thousand yuan, saying he would replace a wild beehive for him, and she would deliver it to him now.
It's still that familiar street.
It was the same old men again.
"Oh, the young lady is here." Several old men greeted Xing Zhaozhao familiarly.
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and replied, "Oh, hello gentlemen, it's nice to meet you again."
Several elderly men stared at her for a while, then breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, she's back to normal today."
Xing Zhaozhao was taken aback and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
One of the old men said, "Yesterday, after you went to see that old lady surnamed Hao, you suddenly came back crying your eyes out. I was worried that something had happened to you. When I asked you, you wouldn't say anything, like you were possessed by a ghost. I was so scared that I didn't sleep well last night."
The other elderly men chimed in, "That's right, that's right."
Xing Zhaozhao quickly apologized to them: "I'm sorry, gentlemen. I went to see that old lady yesterday and found out that she is indeed the distant relative I was looking for. After hearing her talk about her past, I realized that she had a hard life and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I didn't pay attention to anyone else and made you worry."
"Oh, is that so? Well, it's alright then. Seeing you crying like that, I thought you'd passed away." Several old men chimed in.
Xing Zhaozhao's lips twitched slightly.
That seems pretty sharp.
"By the way, what did you bring today? I was thinking about those wild strawberries I didn't manage to buy yesterday, do you have any left?" An old man peeked into her basket.
"The wild berries sold out yesterday, and I haven't had time to go back into the mountains to look for more, so we're out for now. I brought a wild beehive with me today, as we agreed yesterday to give it to them," Xing Zhaozhao said.
"Oh, I want a wild beehive too! Is there only one? Are there any more?" the old man asked regretfully.
"You want everything you see? They said they only brought one, and they agreed to give some to others, yet you still ask," an old man nearby couldn't help but grumble.
"What's wrong with me asking? What's it to you?" the old man rolled his eyes and replied.
"Yes, yes, yes, even if a dog is eating poop on the side of the road, you have to go over and take a look before you're satisfied."
"Old man Jiang, are you looking for trouble?"
"..."
Xing Zhaozhao was dumbfounded.
They're already arguing?
It was already because of her, and Xing Zhaozhao was hesitating whether to go up and mediate the fight, but was stopped by the old man next to her.
"Don't worry about them, they do this all the time, they'll be fine in a bit."
Xing Zhaozhao looked again and saw that, as expected, no one else intended to intervene or stop the fight. They were all watching with great interest, so she felt relieved and simply ignored it.
"Uncle Song, can I borrow your phone for a moment?" Xing Zhaozhao turned to the old man who had just tried to persuade her. The old man's surname was Song, and he was the one she had met at the supermarket before. She was more familiar with him than the other old men, so it was easier for her to ask.
Without saying a word, Grandpa Song took his phone out of his pocket and handed it over: "Here you go."
Xing Zhaozhao carefully took it, but when she looked at the black screen, she was troubled. She had never used it before and didn't know how to use it.
"Don't you know how to use it?" Grandpa Song asked upon seeing this.
Xing Zhaozhao smiled shyly and nodded.
Grandpa Song looked at Xing Zhaozhao with a face full of sympathy.
His five-year-old grandson can use it very well.
It's all because of poverty.
"Let me help you with the call," said Grandpa Song.
"Thank you for your trouble." Xing Zhaozhao handed Grandpa Song's phone back.
“If you make money and can afford it, you should buy yourself a phone. You’ll be doing small business here often, so a phone and a payment code will make receiving money easier. Phones aren’t expensive these days; you can get a decent one for a thousand yuan.” Grandpa Song took the phone and casually advised her.
"Okay, okay," Xing Zhaozhao replied verbally, but she didn't really take it seriously.
She's considered an unregistered resident here now; she can buy a phone, but she can't get a payment code or open a bank account.
"Who do you want to call? Give me their phone number," said Grandpa Song.
Xing Zhaozhao quickly found the business card Gao Yang had given her and handed it to Grandpa Song: "This..."
When Grandpa Song saw the name on the business card, his pupils contracted involuntarily. He looked at Xing Zhaozhao with a shocked expression: "You actually know someone from the Gao family of Zhaohong Group?"
Several elderly men nearby heard this, stopped arguing and watching the commotion, and gathered around.
"The Gao family of Zhaohong Group? Really?"
"Gao Yang? It seems to be true. My son works at Zhaohong. This seems to be Chairman Gao's youngest son, Little General Manager Gao."
"I didn't realize, young lady, that you knew Mr. Gao from Zhaohong."
Xing Zhaozhao smiled and said, "It's a coincidence, a coincidence. I ran into Mr. Gao and his nephew hunting wild boar on the mountain earlier. They were almost gored by the wild boar, so I helped them out."
"So, all your stuff was bought by Mr. Gao yesterday?" Grandpa Song asked in surprise.
Xing Zhaozhao nodded: "Yesterday, when I was being chased by the police, I ran into Mr. Gao's nephew again. He was being blocked by people because he refused to pay for the cut cake, so I went up and helped him out." Although it wasn't intentional.
Several old men stared at her incredulously: "Your luck is unbelievable."
"But is Mr. Gao's nephew really that unlucky? Will the Zhaohong Group go bankrupt when it's handed over to him?"
"..."
It seems that everyone, whether they knew Gao Lianzhou or not, shared the same level of approval.
Grandpa Song quickly dialed the number on the business card.
The call went through, but was quickly disconnected.
Grandpa Song: "..."
Why did you hang up?
"Is it because of an unfamiliar number?"
"Hit again."
At that moment, Gao Yang was on the street behind, at Hao Xiuning's house.
Yesterday, he brought the things he bought from Xing Zhaozhao home, and his father saw them and gave him a severe scolding.
"...You're not getting any younger, yet you're still not doing your job properly. You can't stand staying at the company, so you rush out and bring back this stuff? What kind of nonsense is this?"
Seeing her uncle being scolded, Gao Lianzhou was afraid that her grandfather would find out about her going to the police station and she would suffer the same fate. Without uttering a sound, she ran away.
It was his grandfather who came back from his walk, saw it, and was quite interested. He flipped through it and asked, "What are all these things?"
"I bought it from an older woman who lives in the mountains. It's all wild produce, like dried wild vegetables and mushrooms that she makes herself," Gao Yang answered honestly.
"Dried wild vegetables?" The old man opened the bag, took a sniff, and his expression immediately changed.
Gao Yang's father leaned closer curiously: "What's wrong, Dad?"
“This tastes so familiar. I remember back then, your Grandma Hao used to send these to your mother at the army base. It’s been so many years since I’ve had them,” the old man said.
Gao Yang's father smelled it and remained silent.
"You bought a good amount this time. If you come across this again, buy more next time," the old man said, giving Gao Yang a rare look of appreciation.
Since the old man had spoken, Gao Yang's father, as the son, naturally couldn't say anything.
“Okay, Grandpa,” Gao Yang replied.
"Send some to your great-aunt Hao tomorrow; she should like it," Gao Yang's father said after a moment of silence.
"Okay, Dad," Gao Yang said.
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