Chapter 19
Chen Lanjun was not idle this weekend.
After the exam, she simply packed some luggage and planned to run to a classmate who worked at the train station to borrow her bicycle to ride home.
Just as he was about to push open the dormitory door, he ran into Cao Hongyao head-on.
Cao Hongyao saw her carrying something and asked, "Are you going home?"
"Yes, I plan to go back."
Chen Lanjun said politely.
Cao Hongyao hesitated for a while and said, "Wait a minute. I want to go back too. Can I take you back with me?"
"You have a bicycle?" Chen Lanjun was a little surprised.
A roommate interrupted, "Yes, it's a gift from her family because she ranked first in the class exam."
...This girl's grades are really good, Chen Lanjun thought. She wanted to get a ride so she wouldn't have to go to the dormitory at the train station. But she was worried that it wouldn't be on the way, so she asked, "I wonder if it's convenient?"
"What's the inconvenience?" Cao Hongyao said, "I live in the village next to yours, so it's quite convenient."
After a conversation between the two, Chen Lanjun finally realized that Cao Hongyao was from the same village as her high school classmate He Miao.
This incident made Chen Lanjun reflect a little. She was so busy reviewing that she indeed neglected to communicate with her classmates. She needs to spend more time on her classmates in the future.
After all, fellow townsmen and classmates are valuable network resources.
The speed of a bicycle is much faster than walking, which greatly shortens the time it takes Chen Lanjun to get home.
Sitting on the back seat of Cao Hongyao's bicycle, Chen Lanjun chatted with her in a casual manner.
"So you're from the village next to ours. It's my fault. I didn't like to go out and meet people before. Even if I went to your village, I would go directly to find that classmate. Otherwise, I would have recognized you as soon as we met earlier."
"I guessed you didn't recognize me." Cao Hongyao said with a smile, "But I recognized you in advance."
"I'm so sorry. I will definitely treat you to a meal next time as an apology."
“Haha, no need.”
Cao Hongyao said, "We live in a few nearby villages, and there aren't many girls of my age who can go to the No. 1 Middle School in the county. You and Sister He Miao are a year older than me, so I used to go to and from school alone. Now it's better, we can go home together."
"I just don't want to trouble you too much."
"It doesn't matter, we are all classmates."
Before the sun completely set behind the horizon, the bicycle arrived under the banyan tree in front of the village.
To the left is the village of Cao Hongyao and He Miao, and to the right is the village where Chen Lanjun lives. Cao Hongyao was about to turn right, and Chen Lanjun hurriedly called her to stop.
"Let's go to your village first. I also want to go see He Miao."
"If you need to go home later, just call me. I have a flashlight at home that can be used to light your way at night."
Chen Lanjun appeared at He Miao's house again to trouble her.
He Miao's family had just finished their meal. When they saw Chen Lanjun coming over, He Miao was a little surprised, but still happy. He stood up and said, "You haven't eaten yet, sit down, I'll fry some eggs for you."
"No, I'm not hungry." Chen Lanjun was afraid that she would insist on going to the kitchen to fry a bowl of lard fried eggs, so she said, "I came here after having dinner at school."
"Actually, I want to ask you for help with something."
"Just tell me."
20 minutes later, the two appeared at the gate of the village primary school.
He Miao held up a kerosene lamp, shone it forward, and reminded Chen Lanjun, "There's a hole ahead, be careful not to step in it or your shoes will get dirty. The school said they were going to fill it up, but it's been almost a month and no one has come."
Chen Lanjun agreed while walking around the small earth pit in her familiar way. Not to mention that no one came to fill it in a month, she stayed in this school for more than a year, and no one came to fill the pit until the day she left.
The gatekeeper is an old man who has been working here since Chen Lanjun started primary school. He has a lot of experience, but because of his age, he is usually lazy and doesn't like to take care of things.
Hearing someone knocking on the door, the gatekeeper poked his head out to take a look.
His eyesight was blurry and his hearing was not very good, so he spoke loudly and asked in a hoarse voice: "Who is it, what do you do?"
"I'm He Miao, the new Chinese teacher this semester. I forgot to take my things at school."
The gatekeeper looked carefully and confirmed that it was a teacher from the school, then retreated back into the house and let them find the things by themselves.
He Miao opened a door with a key, pointed in a direction and said:
"Here, this is our mimeograph machine."
Seeing her old friend again, Chen Lanjun felt as if she were in another world.
At that time, she was a teacher in a village primary school and had used this roller-type hand-pushed mimeograph machine several times. It was very simple. At first glance, it looked like a wooden box. When you opened it, it was a black wax paper covered with ink, and the ink smelled faintly.
This is exactly what she needs right now.
Chen Lanjun walked over, gently pressed her fingers on the wooden box of the mimeograph machine, and asked, "Can I borrow it for two days? I'll bring it back to you when I go back to school on Sunday."
He Miao nodded and said, "That's fine. There are no exams these days, so this machine is just sitting here and nobody is using it. But you must return it before school. Be careful not to break it. Otherwise, I won't be able to explain myself."
"I promise Mao Diadia that it won't be damaged."
Chen Lanjun picked up the drum mimeograph machine as if she were holding a baby, with a very careful posture.
He Miao was a little worried at first. As a new teacher, she didn't dare to make her own decision. But since Chen Lanjun had brought her a gift before, she felt bad to refuse. But now, seeing Chen Lanjun's cautious look, she couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not that serious. There's still ink on it. Be careful not to stain your clothes."
"It doesn't matter if the clothes are dirty, but this is what you lent me, I will definitely take good care of it."
Chen Lanjun looked into her eyes and said sincerely.
He Miao was completely relieved and asked with a smile: "What do you want this mimeograph machine for?"
"I treat you as a friend, so I won't hide anything from you. But please keep it a secret for me." Chen Lanjun believed in He Miao's character, so she told her openly, "My schooling has caused some burden to my family, so I want to make some photocopies of my papers and see if I can sell them. That way I can help my family with some extra money."
"You want to sell it?" He Miao widened his eyes and said "but" several times.
"But... this doesn't seem to be in accordance with the rules, right?"
"Now it's open, with new rules. Besides, I'm just doing it for fun, just trying it out among acquaintances, so it shouldn't be a big problem." Chen Lanjun said, "Don't worry, if something really happens in the future and someone asks you, just tell them. You don't know what I'm going to do, I just lent it to you for my friend's sake."
She thought for a moment, then said, "Or you can just say you didn't know, and I stole it myself after I heard you talking about it."
He Miao's face darkened and he said, "Who do you think I am? Since I recognize you as my friend, I won't say something like this to shirk my responsibility."
He Miao was angry, but when he saw Chen Lanjun laughing, he got even angrier: "What are you laughing at? What are you doing?"
"Nothing, I just..." Chen Lanjun's eyes curved, "I'm just happy to have a friend like you."
Although it has changed in form, Chen Lanjun can feel that her friendship with He Miao will be restored through a new opportunity.
It’s great that we meet each other everywhere in life.
He Miao glared at her, picked up the kerosene lamp on the table, and muttered, "We thieves have to get away quickly."
"Let's go, let's go."
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