Chapter 35 Chapter 35 "Hmm? Me? When? ...
When Tan Du came over at noon, he glanced at the sideboard. Qiao Zhuoyi touched his head on the blanket and said, "Put it upstairs. Aren't you allergic to pollen?"
"I'm particularly sensitive to lilies. As long as I don't have direct contact with other things, I'll be fine." Tan Du smiled, and the bag in his hand made a rustling sound.
"Woof woof——" Blanket roared as he crawled backward.
Qiao Zhuo turned around and looked: "What did you buy?"
"Hairy crabs," Tan Du said. "Su Qi sent them over. Let me try something new."
"Coward." Qiao Zhuo pointed at the blanket and laughed. The blanket pretended to bite him, but Tan Du glared at it and it let out a "woof" and lay down in the corner.
"Is anyone there? Courier—"
"Put it at the door." Qiao Zhuoyi shouted outside. After Tan Du entered the kitchen, he went out to pick up the box and went upstairs in two or three steps.
The nutrient solution was scattered all over the floor. He studied it for a while, carefully added water, and put the flowers back into the vase.
The red flower by the windowsill was visited by the bedroom owner every morning and evening, so its flowering period lasted two days longer than expected.
"It is always hard to keep the souls of flowers and birds, the birds are speechless and the flowers are shy..." (Note)
Grandma Xu was lying in a rocking chair and singing a song. Her voice was not loud, but it was loud enough to reach the door of TD.
"It sounds really nice." Zhou Jue said.
"Do you understand?" Xiao Lu asked, shaking his head.
"I'm just listening to it, what are you laughing at?" Zhou Jue glared at him, "You understand it?"
She drew a straight line in the air following the ending of Grandma Xu's voice, exclaiming, "This aura! It's amazing!"
"That's right!" Xiao Luo came down carrying a tray. "Grandma Xu used to be in an opera troupe!"
"How do you know?" Zhou Jue asked, "We haven't heard of it."
"Brother Zhuo said so." Xiao Luo stuffed the tray into Xiao Lu's arms. "He also saw Grandma Xu singing on stage in costume."
"Grandma Xu sings opera?" Zhou Jue poked half of his face out to take a peek. "Grandma, with her temperament, will definitely look good in that costume."
"What are you all doing blocking the door? You're all not doing your job!"
Suddenly there was a roar behind them, which made the three of them jump up and their heads buzzed.
Zhou Jue patted his chest and said, "Master Guan! You're just trying to scare us. Didn't you want to talk to Brother Tan and kick us out?"
Old Man Guan glanced at Xiao Luo: "You...you are from upstairs?"
Xiao Luo instantly felt his hands and feet tied up with invisible ropes, and shrank behind Xiao Lu: "Master Guan, Master Guan."
"Hmm..." Old man Guan kept a straight face for a few seconds, then couldn't help laughing, "You can't stand being scared!"
After saying this, he walked away with his cane. The three of them poked their heads out and saw him diligently serving tea to Grandma Xu, coaxing her, "Take a break, you'll be tired from singing..."
"Grandpa Guan seems to be in a good mood today." Xiao Lu said to Xiao Luo, "Congratulations, you escaped a disaster."
"I was so scared!" Xiao Luo whispered, "I thought he was going to beat me up!"
"Don't be afraid, Grandpa is very kind." Tan Du said with a smile.
"Brother Tan, the word 'kind' has some connection with Uncle Qiang, but it is a million miles away from Grandpa Guan!" Zhou Jue replied with his hands on his hips.
Tan Du smiled and shook his head.
"Brother Tan, what does Master Guan want to talk to you about?" Zhou Jue asked.
Tan Du opened his mouth in anticipation and uttered two words: "Secret."
"Invite the opera troupe to celebrate your birthday?" Qiao Zhuo picked at the shredded carrots in the stewed rice. "Yes, Grandma Xu is sixty-nine this year."
"Yes, it still smells like this?" Tan Du ate quickly, holding the teacup and watching him eat.
"have."
"I won't let you go next time," Tan Du said after taking a sip of tea. "I heard from Xiao Luo that you've seen Grandma Xu perform?"
Qiao Zhuo paused. "Well, she retired late. I remember her birthday was still early. Is Lao Guangu preparing so early?"
"The venue needs to be reserved in advance. Grandpa Guan picked a few dates and asked me to ask Xiaozhu which one is convenient."
"Has the troupe been decided?"
"They said they wanted to gather together the old members of Grandma Xu's original troupe."
Qiao Zhuo responded muffledly, ate a few bites of rice, and put down his chopsticks.
"Not eating anymore?" Tan Du asked.
"I have no appetite." Qiao Zhuo glanced at him, "Don't look like that. It has nothing to do with you."
Tan Du smiled and said, "Okay."
Qiao Zhuo was feeling unhappy and was not satisfied with any of his drawings.
With another stroke of the pen, the lines inexplicably outlined the stage frame, and two little men holding marshmallows were below the stage.
His thoughts were pulled back to the time when he was listening to the babbling on the stage. Qiao Zhuoyi simply threw away his pen, curled up on the sofa and stared out the window in a daze.
The clouds in the sky gathered and dispersed.
Days are like rivers. They seem unchanged, but they flow thousands of miles without you noticing.
The high temperature weather was interrupted by the typhoon, and heavy rain and strong winds continued to alternate, eventually turning into continuous rain that lasted for a whole week.
For this purpose, Qiao Yuyi specially gave Qiao Zhuoyi a dryer. As he was unpacking the box, there was a knock on the door.
"Why are you here at this hour?"
"I just closed my stall. You haven't been to my place recently, so I have to come to you myself?" Fan Quan rushed in with a midnight snack in his left hand and a beer in his right hand.
He couldn't hide things, and after his eyes moved around twice, Qiao Zhuoyi saw it: "You have something to say?"
"Let's drink and talk!" Fan Quan pulled out a chair. "Come on, come on, don't be shy, sit down!"
After a lot of nonsense, when Qiao Zhuoyi's patience was exhausted, Fan Quan finally got to the point.
In fact, Xiao Fan wanted his younger cousin to plead for him in front of his father because of the store opening matter, and as soon as they started talking, they started talking about the ridiculous things he had done before.
"I was wondering why you suddenly asked me to change my last name that day! That brat looks exactly like me when I was young!" Fan Quan yelled, "He's so unstable and does such stupid things! If I had known about this earlier, I would have..."
"Just change your surname?" Qiao Zhuo took away his cup and said, "Drink less."
"Go to hell!" Fan Quan scolded with a smile, "I'm here to apologize to you, so you should drink! I've already informed your sister-in-law! I'm sleeping with you tonight!"
"...Shouldn't you report this to me?" Qiao Zhuo glared at him.
"Hey! What are we reporting?! Actually, this is also my fault!" Fan Quan rolled up his sleeves. "It's just this. You know, the first time I got a tattoo, I met a ruthless person. I got an infection and fell into a coma. It was my eldest brother Fan Tong who took me to the hospital. He scared me at the time...
"That's why he thinks tattoos are no good! I'm not talking about you...
"It's one thing for you not to bother with that brat, but I have to show you the formal etiquette of visiting him!
"My brother apologized to you for scolding your customer. If I had known that you were not welcome in the old street and that he was also a part of it, I would have...
"Ultimately, it's all my fault...
"My brother looks fierce, but he's very kind to me! He helped me a lot in the past. Really! He's also old-fashioned! Even to his own son..."
"Otherwise, Xiao Fan wouldn't be so afraid to tell him anything...
"Blame me..."
Qiao Zhuo is a soft-hearted person who only responds to soft words and does not respond to hard ones. Even grown men are almost crying in front of him, but he still has to coax them back and make them promise to patronize Xiao Fan's store.
Later, he got drunk and didn't even know when Fan Quan left.
Until he heard a knock on the door, he got up from the sofa and went to open the door in a daze.
Tan Du was about to open the door with his key when he saw the owner of the house unable to open his eyes. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Didn't you go to the store today?"
"Hmm..." Qiao Zhuoyi slipped on his slippers and went to wash up. After he was done, he walked into the kitchen and leaned against the sink to tell her what happened last night.
"That's great. More friends means more opportunities," Boss Tan concluded. "If Guiyi needs help in the future, Xiao Fan will definitely be at the forefront."
"I didn't help anyone." Qiao Zhuo shook his head.
"Compared to gratitude, guilt is more likely to make people let down their guard and even be willing to actively support," said Tan Duhui.
Qiao Zhuo nodded, Sister Sun is the best example.
He blinked and recalled the person who had ripped open the car door when he was angry. He said quietly, "Boss Tan is also a master at using this trick."
"Huh? Me? When?" Boss Tan pushed his glasses.
"Pretending." Qiao Zhuo snorted.
Tan Du smiled and said, "There are some cakes in the refrigerator. Let's eat first."
"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Qiao Zhuo took one out and ate it in one gulp. "This osmanthus flower isn't fragrant enough."
"The aged ones aren't as flavorful. Wait until Mid-Autumn Festival and I'll make you an osmanthus mooncake with fresh ones."
Mid-Autumn Festival? Qiao Zhuo lowered his head, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
After a few sunny days, the fragrance of osmanthus quietly broke into every household in the old street, just like the restaurant at the entrance of the alley, which closed down silently and was replaced by a snack shop.
"You're really good, kid. You bought this shop so easily!" Xiao Lu shook a chestnut and put it into his mouth before it cooled down. "Hiss—whoosh—hot, hot, hot—"
"No buddy, no one's competing with you!" Xiao Fan shouted, "Just blow it!"
"Smells good!" Xiao Lu ordered, "Give me a bag. Didn't you say you had a good job before? Why are you opening a shop again?"
"It was only after I found a good job and my uncle Quan interceded that my dad finally agreed," Xiao Fan said. "I started working a month later, so I took advantage of this time to open the store."
"Then what will happen to this store when you go to work?"
"Hiring! My workplace is not far from here, and my company has team-building events or something, and they can also help take care of my business."
"It's a good idea! But you've only been open for a short time, and you're already hiring someone to look after the store. Are you sure?"
Xiao Fan crossed his legs and said, "With my dad's personality, he would definitely come here three times a day!"
"That's right..." Xiao Lu sneered, "Boss! Weigh the chestnuts for me!"
"What kind of guest are you? We're all brothers, take it yourself!"
"Give me a bag."
Suddenly, an emotionless voice interrupted.
Xiao Fan stood up and said, "Boss Qiao! I'll weigh you right away. Wait a moment!"
"Don't be so hypocritical!" Xiao Lu was unhappy.
"Boss Qiao is my uncle! Actually, I should call him Qiao..."
Qiao Zhuo glanced over, successfully making the other party swallow the word "uncle", and asked: "How do I top up?"
"Here, here, here," Xiao Fan showed the QR code. "Opening promotion, top up 100, get 100 free."
“One hundred?!!!” Xiao Lu’s eyes almost popped out.
Qiao Zhuoyi took a step back and glanced at the banner above his head. "Give me 10 yuan. I can read. I've already said that it's over. Don't ask for special treatment."
"Hey, okay," Xiao Fan immediately took advantage of the situation and said, "Brother Zhuo, I'll give you a few mooncakes to try."
Qiao Zhuoyi took the bag and asked, "Mooncakes so early?"
"It's getting late, Boss Qiao," Xiao Lu interrupted while peeling chestnuts. "TD is already planning a promotion for the two holidays. If Brother Tan isn't here, we'll..."
"He's not here?" Qiao Zhuo frowned.
"Yeah, Brother Tan isn't from here," Xiao Lu replied. "I have to go back to my hometown for the Mid-Autumn Festival... Eh? Boss Qiao, are you leaving?"
He muttered to Xiao Fan, "What did I just say? Why does Boss Qiao look so weird?"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Yue Opera "Dream of Red Mansions. Burial of Flowers"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
