"Oh my, you're Miss Ling's relatives! You should have said so earlier! Quick, come this way, please come in!"
Unexpectedly, as soon as Ling's mother spoke, the two men, who had been as cold and aloof as door gods, immediately changed their attitude completely, their faces beaming with incredibly warm smiles. The one with the dark face even invited the Ling family members into their building.
The Ling family was a bit confused.
Ling's father asked cautiously, "Who are you?"
"My name is Liu Gang, Miss Ling's...neighbor. You can just call me Xiao Liu from now on." Liu Gang, who had been frowning just a moment ago, replied with a forced smile, but now he dared not act coquettishly anymore.
"Neighbors?" Ling Er asked in surprise, tilting his head to look at the sign hanging at the entrance of the building behind Liu Gang.
“Yes, we’re from this research institute. We live, eat, and work here,” Liu Gang explained. “We don’t live nearby, so we’ve become very familiar with each other over time.”
Ling's mother asked, "What, are you two very familiar with my daughter?" She sized them up; judging by their clothes and appearance, they didn't seem to be locals; and they even spoke with a Beijing accent…
"Yes!" Liu Gang nodded. "The final exams are coming up soon, and Miss Ling needs to study at school, so she'll be back a little late. If you had come a few days earlier, she would definitely be home!"
Ling's father was a little stunned. Only then did he realize why Chu Nian had told him to come here to find her if he needed anything. It turned out that she didn't attend school most of the time.
“She’s at home…can she keep up with her studies?” Ling’s father said with some concern.
In the past, he would have thought that girls going to school was just a formality, and they would get married as soon as they reached a certain age. Whether they went to school or not was not important. What was important was that they could cook and do housework, so that they wouldn't be disliked by the villagers and unable to get married.
However, lately everyone in the surrounding villages has been talking about software development. Apparently, it's high-tech, and only college graduates understand it. Now, many people in the village are hoping their children will get into university so they can get jobs at those big companies that invest in them from other places!
Liu Gang: "Don't worry about that. You should go inside quickly. Da Li and Xiao Wang, don't just stand there, hurry up and take the things. Why are you still letting your uncle and aunt carry them? You have no sense of propriety!" As he spoke, he stepped forward to enthusiastically take the luggage from Ling's parents.
With him came Da Li. After they led the Ling family into the building's reception room, there was another person, a younger one, Xiao Wang.
Although it's called a guardhouse, there are several bunk beds and long wooden benches, making it look a bit like a military barracks.
It's actually a military barracks. The people who can stay in this guardhouse are all special agents of the rank of major or above, all of whom possess extraordinary skills. However, their work here requires secrecy, so they don't easily reveal these abilities.
After Da Li and Xiao Wang took the bags and packages from the somewhat dumbfounded Ling family, Liu Gang repeatedly offered them his seats and then instructed Da Li and Xiao Wang, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and get some soda for Uncle and Aunt!"
"There's soda to drink!" Ling Er was overjoyed when he heard that. He had just sat down when he stood up again, his eyes lighting up.
Ling's mother clicked her tongue and scolded, "Sit down."
Ling Er awkwardly sat back down. Turning his head, he saw his father giving him a sharp glare. He felt a little annoyed. Was it his fault? Soda was so expensive at the corner store in the village—two cents for a small bottle, gone in two gulps. A large bottle cost fifty cents, and he'd never even had a large one.
Just as he was grumbling to himself, he saw that Xiao Wang had already carried in a large box of big bottles of soda.
He was excitedly about to get up to take it when Liu Gang yelled, "What are you doing with the big white pear? Take the Coke! Coke!"
"Oh, yes! Yes!" Xiao Wang replied, then turned around and carried the box out again. Then he turned around and came back, carrying a box of small bottles of soda.
Ling Er was unhappy and was about to question Liu Gang: "Why did you ask Xiao Wang to give us big bottles of soda, but you gave us small bottles instead? You don't want to give us any!" But then a sharp pain shot through his thigh.
He was all too familiar with this kind of excruciating pain; it was when his mother, when she didn't like him, would pinch him with her fingernails!
Liu Gang explained to the Ling family, "This young Wang just joined our office this year. He's a newbie and doesn't know much about things yet, so please don't mind!" He then picked up a bottle of Coke, opened it with a bottle opener, and handed it to Ling's mother, saying, "This Coke is an imported soda..."
Ling Er suddenly realized what was going on and exclaimed, "Foreign soda?" He then noticed that the bottle was covered in English.
Liu Gang said, "Yes, before, if we wanted to drink it, we could only drink imported ones, which cost one yuan and fifty cents a bottle. But their company has already built a factory in China, and it will be put into production soon."
Before long, cola won't be so expensive anymore, and ordinary people like us will be able to afford this kind of soda. Look, let's try it for now, but it's really better than Da Bai Li!
As he spoke, he had already opened several bottles of cola and handed them to the Ling family members.
"Little Liu, why aren't you drinking?" Ling's mother tugged at Ling Er, who was about to gulp down the bottle, and asked Liu Gang.
Liu Gang said, "This cola is for entertaining VIPs. We have to report how many people come and how many bottles of cola they open. We have a rule that our own people can't drink it casually!"
Ling Er's eyes lit up again: "Is it for entertaining VIPs? Has my sister had any?"
Liu Gang: "Of course she drank it. But her taste is strange. People her age, whether boys or girls, all like to drink soda, but she doesn't like it."
She loves tea, especially Pu'er tea, which is usually enjoyed by older people. Just last month, to make her happy, our director even made a special trip to Southwest China to find some of the best Pu'er tea for her.
Director? Ling Ma's eyes darted around, but she didn't say a word.
Ling Er lost all interest upon hearing this. You see, Ling Nian used to be considered a financial burden, holding the lowest status in the family, and her food and drink were naturally far inferior to her and her brother's. Although she had never truly gone hungry, she ate whatever was available and was never picky about food.
How can something she doesn't like to drink taste good?
He placed the Coke on the table with a dark expression.
Ling Da had already gulped down a bottle of cola; he was really thirsty after traveling all day.
After finishing the drink, he felt a surge of air rising from his throat. After burping a few times, he felt exceptionally comfortable. He smacked his lips a few times. It was a taste he had never had before—sweet and invigorating. It was definitely much better than the soda sold at the village store.
Seeing Ling Er's dark face, and his Coke still untouched on the table, Ling Da said, "Second brother, aren't you going to drink it? Then give it to me!"
Ling Er had never drunk cola before. Although he was a little dissatisfied with Liu Gang, he didn't want to give it to Ling Da without even having a taste. He wanted to at least try it, so he said, "Who said I don't drink it!" He then picked up the cola and took a sip.
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