Chapter 25 A Big Pancake
Chapter 25
After confirming that she could hear, and even after waking up from a few naps, the first thing Yu Pan did was sit down at the small square table and write a letter.
The recipients were an old lady from Baixi Town and a grandfather who ran a bookstore.
In Yu Pan's heart, they were all very good people.
He still remembered the first time he ate with the old lady, Shen Yanzhou mentioned that Yu Pan didn't know how to eat or be full, so the old lady asked him many times during the meal if he was full.
Even if he nods and writes "I'm full," the old lady will still urge him to eat a few more bites, saying, "You're growing, it's okay."
The old man at the bookstore was the same; he seemed a bit fierce at first, but he was very nice once you got to know him. He would read his manuscripts, say he wrote well, and even secretly slip him snacks like an old lady—all of this was unknown to Shen Yanzhou.
When Yu Pan first arrived in Lanzhou, she didn't touch the bag of snacks the old lady gave her for several days. It wasn't until she was diagnosed that she started to eat them again.
When he opened the bag, he found two red envelopes inside, given to him by the old lady and the bookstore owner, containing a total of two hundred yuan...
In this world, apart from Uncle Shen, Aunt Shen, and Shen Yanzhou, no one has ever cared about him like this, so he wants to tell them the good news he can hear so they won't worry.
Because Yu Pan's hearing suddenly returned, Shen Yanzhou did not go to the construction site from that day until the following week before his treatment.
Tuesday morning, the sunlight was just right in the clinic.
When Wang Hongjuan saw Yu Pan and Shen Yanzhou enter, she keenly noticed that Yu Pan looked through the creaking door as she came in.
Sure enough, after Yu Pan sat down, Shen Yanzhou said to her, "Director Wang, Panpan can hear me now."
A genuine smile spread across Wang Hongjuan's face. This time, instead of using sign language, she spoke in a clear, steady, and gentle voice: "That's wonderful! Congratulations, Panpan!"
Being praised to his face, Yu Pan scratched his head shyly.
“But he always feels that it’s noisy around him now,” Shen Yanzhou said with concern, “and he can’t sleep well at night.”
“This is normal,” Wang Hongjuan nodded. “He was not born deaf. His brain still has the ability to remember and interpret sounds. It’s just that his hearing function has been temporarily shut down for the past few months.”
"Now that it's suddenly turned on, all the auditory signals are flooding in. The brain needs some time to readjust and filter this information, so it's perfectly normal to feel irritable."
Yu Pan listened to Wang Hongjuan's words and nodded as if she understood but not quite.
During the subsequent consultation, Wang Hongjuan did not conduct any in-depth psychological probing. Instead, she chatted with Yu Pan as if they were friends.
Yu Pan listened attentively, occasionally responding in sign language, creating a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.
Before the consultation ended, Wang Hongjuan specifically instructed Shen Yanzhou, "Don't rush him to speak at this stage. The primary goal is to help him get through this adjustment period."
"If he finds it noisy, you can take him to a quiet environment to rest. Take your time talking to him, there's no rush."
"Okay, I've got it." Shen Yanzhou nodded in response. In his opinion, as long as Yu Pan could hear him, this treatment was worthwhile.
As they walked out of the hospital building and were about to go down the stairs, a tall man wearing a crisp wool coat and sunglasses suddenly ran over to greet them, his steps quick and hurried.
This eye-catching and strange outfit startled Yu Pan, and Shen Yanzhou instinctively shielded Yu Pan behind him.
"What have you been doing these past few days?" Lin Siyuan took off his sunglasses, revealing a handsome face, and said in a familiar tone, "I've gone to the construction site to look for you several times."
"Take my brother to see a doctor." Shen Yanzhou noticed that Yu Pan was still afraid, and quietly tightened his grip on Yu Pan's hand.
Lin Siyuan, oblivious to their subtle actions, said to himself, "I thought about it for a long time after I got back, and I felt that we couldn't just let it go like this."
Shen Yanzhou was puzzled.
"That's right, I still owe you my life! How could I let my savior do such hard work on the construction site!"
"I was just giving a friendly reminder; it wasn't a life-saving gesture," Shen Yanzhou said. He added that he would have given the same answer to anyone who asked him in that situation: he wouldn't have stopped them from continuing on their way.
"It also saved me!" Lin Siyuan felt a chill when he recalled the scene. His father had taken the wrong medicine and insisted that he start from the bottom, driving long-distance trucks.
Unexpectedly, he encountered heavy rain and a landslide on his first trip. He was about to head towards the mountain road when Shen Yanzhou reminded him, preventing him from forcing his way through.
When dawn broke, he saw the mountain peak that looked like it had been cut in half, and his back was soaked with cold sweat.
So Shen Yanzhou really saved his life. If it weren't for him, he would probably be a handful of mud in the ground by now. He saw Shen Yanzhou at the construction site a while ago, and when he got home, he talked about it with his brother.
His brother said that if he really wanted to repay the debt of gratitude, he should arrange a decent and reliable job for him. Lin Siyuan thought it was a good idea!
However, when he had time to go to the construction site, he didn't see Shen Yanzhou for several days in a row. When he asked the foreman, he was told that temporary workers were not under their jurisdiction.
I never expected to run into him at the hospital entrance when I went to visit his aunt today.
Lin Siyuan was, to put it bluntly, a rich kid from a privileged family. This time, he went to great lengths to persuade Shen Yanzhou to take a job at his family's workplace.
"The job I'm going to introduce you to will definitely pay more than a construction site job, and the hours will be flexible. You'll work eight hours a day and have one day off a week."
After Lin Siyuan finished speaking, he saw the person huddled behind Shen Yanzhou and, for some reason, said, "Isn't your brother in poor health? If you do this job, you'll definitely have time to spend with him. The job is just managing materials and keeping accounts, it's not difficult!"
Fearing that Shen Yanzhou might not believe him, Lin Siyuan emphasized again: "That job isn't tiring, and there's nothing major happening usually. You can bring your brother along too. Some colleagues at work bring their kids to work, it's no problem!"
That's a very...
Shen Yanzhou was indeed considering it.
Yu Pan is about to learn to speak, and it's unclear how long that will take. Wang Hongjuan told him privately that once he reaches that point, given Yu Pan's situation, he first needs a language environment and someone to accompany him.
To put it another way, he could simply stop working and stay home with Yu Pan, but that would completely cut off their source of income, and their savings would only last for seven or eight months.
A stable and leisurely job that also allows him to work with Yu Pan is a godsend for him.
"Okay, where is your workplace?" Shen Yanzhou asked.
"I mean really...?" Lin Siyuan was taken aback. "You agreed?"
Shen Yanzhou nodded, "Yes."
"Oh, okay." Lin Siyuan took out his business card again and pointed to the address on it. "Right here."
Shen Yanzhou glanced at the address: No. 115 Xisha Road, Lanzhou, Hengtu Building Materials Warehouse. "When will construction begin?"
"You can come anytime." Lin Siyuan waved his hand, looking quite dashing. "I'll be here these next few days. Just tell the security guard my name when you get there."
After saying that, Lin Siyuan remembered what he needed to do and quickly said, "I have to go now, I need to find someone. Remember to come!"
Shen Yanzhou nodded, watching Lin Siyuan run into the hospital entrance. His clothes were tugged, and he looked down at Yu Pan.
"Who is he?" Yu Pan gestured, a hint of wariness still lingering in her eyes.
“I ran into him on my way back from Linxian County,” Shen Yanzhou said. “He’s the one I told you about, the guy I was with who was parked on the side of the road waiting for the rain to stop.”
Now that you mention it, Yu Pan suddenly remembered that Shen Yanzhou had indeed said something after returning from Lin County, "He asked you to come work for him?"
"Hmm." Shen Yanzhou straightened his woolen hat. "I'll go take a look in a couple of days."
Yu Pan nodded, then frowned and gestured: "Don't go for a bad job."
The job that person just described sounded so easy and paid; it didn't seem very legitimate.
Yu Pan was taught by Aunt Shen from a young age that "there is no such thing as a huge golden dagger jumping around in the street."
He was just a child then, and had only learned some sign language from Teacher Ji. He couldn't understand such profound words, so he asked, "What is Jin□□?"
Aunt Chen smiled and changed the metaphor, "It's like a giant sesame seed cake! Imagine, everyone is starving, and suddenly a giant sesame seed cake appears, wandering around the streets, urging people to come and eat it. If you were in that situation, would you eat it?"
Big sesame seed cake...
Golden brown fried flatbread...
Yu Pan swallowed hard, nodded, and gestured as she imagined what the large sesame seed cake looked like: "Food."
Aunt Shen hugged him and laughed, "Oh my little Panpan, don't be fooled by a big pancake in the future!"
Yu Pan still didn't understand. If the big sesame seed cake was being eaten by others, why didn't she eat it?
It wasn't until he grew up that he understood this saying: there is no such thing as a free lunch in the world; don't expect something for nothing.
This matches the job that person just mentioned perfectly!
No work required, high pay—is there really such a great deal?
In fact, it did happen.
After Shen Yanzhou reported for duty at Hengtu Building Materials, he found that Lin Siyuan's words were not an exaggeration at all. His job was indeed very easy; he mainly checked the inbound and outbound data, signed off on items, and recorded the quantities each day.
There are other long-term employees in the warehouse, and there are people to do the heavy lifting and moving work. The clerical staff also each have a small office.
Most importantly, the work environment is quiet and the hours are regular. He goes to get off work and leaves on time every day, and as Lin Siyuan said, he can even bring Yu Pan with him.
It's true that some colleagues bring their children to work.
So in the days that followed, this scene was often seen in Shen Yanzhou's small office—
While Shen Yanzhou sat at his desk processing documents, Yu Pan sat quietly in the chair next to him reading or drawing in his notebook with the pencil Shen Yanzhou had bought for him.
Perhaps because a colleague's child lent him a few comic books, Yu Pan became engrossed in them. Now, he no longer draws individual pictures, but tries to create comic books.
He can imagine a scene based on a text, and although the drawing is a stick figure, it can still make the story understandable when paired with the text.
This leisurely period lasted until mid-December, when red lanterns gradually appeared on the streets, stalls selling Spring Festival couplets and the character "福" (fortune) increased, and the atmosphere of the New Year became stronger and stronger.
After much deliberation, Shen Yanzhou decided not to go back home for the New Year. Yu Pan's hearing had only recently recovered, and the long-distance train was crowded and noisy.
After listening, Yu Pan silently took out paper and pen to write letters to the old lady and the bookstore grandpa in Baixi Town, telling them that he and Shen Yanzhou would not be going back for the New Year. He also drew two little figures, a lantern and the character "福" (fortune) to represent him and Shen Yanzhou in the letter, and wished them a Happy New Year.
The 28th day of the lunar year, the day before the company stopped work and started the Spring Festival holiday.
As usual, Shen Yanzhou checked the documents and found that the quantity of cement entering and leaving the warehouse did not match. He checked it three times and compared it with the warehouse weighing records. After confirming that the data was indeed wrong, he sorted out the problematic documents and sent them to Lin Siyuan's office.
Lin Siyuan initially didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just a common mistake made during the busy year-end period.
When he received the documents from Shen Yanzhou and saw the differences clearly marked with different colored pens, as well as the approximate time of departure of the missing goods derived from the warehouse receipt and delivery note, the corners of his mouth, which was holding a cigarette, slowly tightened.
He abruptly raised his head and took another look at Shen Yanzhou standing in front of him. The man remained calm, as if he were simply handing him an ordinary daily report.
"Goodness..." Lin Siyuan's nonchalant expression vanished. He sat back in his chair and carefully flipped through each page. "You found all of this out?"
“Yes,” Shen Yanzhou nodded. “I checked the similar documents from the last two months and found that this is the fourth batch with a similar discrepancy. It’s just that the previous amounts were small and were mixed in with the losses so they went unnoticed. This time the amount is larger.”
Lin Siyuan's face grew darker and darker as he listened, and finally he slammed his hand on the table, "Damn it, his hand was practically touching my crotch!"
He paced restlessly around the office twice, then suddenly stopped, looking sharply at Shen Yanzhou: "Go back first, and don't make a fuss about this."
“Okay,” Shen Yanzhou replied, turning to leave.
"Wait!" Lin Siyuan called out to him, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and he hissed, "I originally thought you were the kind of person who was honest and family-oriented, but I didn't expect you to be so meticulous. It's a waste of your talent to have you go through the documents every day."
Shen Yanzhou just smiled and said, "If you've taken the salary, you should do your job well."
These words struck a chord with Lin Siyuan. He had quite a few relatives who were just coasting along, and of course, he was pretty much the same... But! Someone like Shen Yanzhou, who was capable yet unassuming, was truly a first.
Lin Siyuan stroked his chin, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
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Author's Note: A big sesame seed cake! Just one big sesame seed cake! That's enough to lure Panpan home!
Such a thing doesn't actually happen in reality.
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