Ma Chaoyang arrived faster than expected.
A week after receiving the letter, Qin Hanshu received a dinner invitation from Ma Chaoyang.
Qin Hanshu got up early in the morning, washed her hair, dried it, and then tried on her clothes.
When Zhou Weiguang returned from his run and saw this, he finally couldn't help but say, "It's not like you're meeting anyone important, why are you washing your hair? Washing your hair so early in the morning in this cold weather, aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"
His tone was rather resentful.
Qin Hanshu explained, "I haven't washed my hair for three days. Do you expect me to go out with greasy hair?"
Qin Hanshu always liked to dress herself neatly and cleanly, and never used hair oil or anything like that.
Zhou Weiguang touched his nose and said, "Anyway, I'm off today. Why don't I come with you? Your friend is my friend too."
Qin Hanshu looked at him in surprise, "Why the sudden break? Why didn't you say so before?"
Zhou Weiguang calmly said, "I was going to tell you this last night, but I forgot."
Qin Hanshu didn't suspect anything and nodded, "Okay, it's a bit difficult for me to take care of two kids by myself, it'll be good for you to come along."
"Are you taking the kids with you?"
"Yes, Ma Chaoyang said he wanted to see the children."
Zhou Weiguang subtly curled the corners of his lips.
It turns out it wasn't a one-on-one meeting.
After dressing Zhou Chi and Zhou Sheng, the family set off.
Zhou Weiguang carried Zhou Sheng, Zhou Chi walked on his own, and Qin Hanshu carried only her small bag.
The agreed meeting place was Guangdelou.
Just as I reached the top of the stairs, a figure rushed towards me.
"Sister Shu!"
Zhou Weiguang asked in a low voice, puzzled, "He looks so old, why is he calling you 'sister'?"
Qin Hanshu coughed lightly and said in a low voice, "It's just a form of address, no need to pursue it."
However, after not seeing him for several years, Ma Chaoyang has indeed matured a lot.
His skin was a bit darker, his hair was longer, he was wearing a brown leather jacket, and there was a light stubble around his mouth.
Noticing Qin Hanshu's scrutiny, Ma Chaoyang grinned and said, "Don't you think I've changed a lot?"
Qin Hanshu nodded hurriedly and said bluntly, "How can a young man in his twenties look so weathered?"
"Weathered?" Ma Chaoyang stroked his stubble. "Isn't that manly?"
Qin Hanshu rolled her eyes at him, then introduced Zhou Weiguang and her two children.
Zhou Chi politely greeted him, "Uncle Ma."
Zhou Sheng couldn't speak yet, but she was very interested in Ma Chaoyang, staring at him intently with her dark eyes.
Overjoyed, Ma Chaoyang reached out to hug him.
Zhou Sheng wasn't shy at all, and she giggled as she was teased in Ma Chaoyang's arms.
Compared to Zhou Chi, Zhou Sheng was noticeably more lively.
After sitting down, Ma Chaoyang took out gifts for the two children.
Qin Hanshu chuckled, "You're too kind. It's too much trouble to bring gifts from so far away."
“Not troublesome at all!” Ma Chaoyang chuckled, “because it was bought from the department store over there.”
Ma Chaoyang pointed in the direction, which was Qin Hanshu's workplace, Jiangcheng No. 1 Department Store.
However, the airplane model I bought was an imported one, which required foreign exchange certificates, and it was quite heavy.
"That's unnecessary," Qin Hanshu said after thanking him, then added, "Don't buy such expensive gifts next time."
Ma Chaoyang readily agreed.
Zhou Weiguang then had Zhou Chi say thank you again.
After ordering the food, Qin Hanshu began to inquire about Ma Chaoyang's recent situation.
"When I received your letter last time, you said you had already returned to the capital. What have you been doing since you got back?"
As Ma Chaoyang recalled, he said, "After resting for half a year, my mother arranged for me to study at the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University. After studying for three years, I found a job, and after a year, I changed jobs again."
"...So what company do you work for now?"
"Working in the government office, drinking tea and reading newspapers every day, it's so boring. I took a long leave this time and plan to spend the New Year in Jiangcheng before going back."
Do you have relatives in Jiangcheng?
My uncle's family lives in Jiangcheng.
At this point, Ma Chaoyang suddenly remembered, "Don't you work at a department store? My uncle is the director of the Municipal Bureau of Commerce, in charge of your department store."
Zhou Weiguang spoke first, "Is Director Qi your uncle?"
“Yes.” Ma Chaoyang didn’t shy away from Qin Hanshu, and even said, “Sister Shu, if you’re interested, I can introduce you to my uncle.”
Qin Hanshu laughed and said, "The world is too small. Although I have never met Director Qi, my wife has known him for many years."
She always gets into department stores through Director Qi's connections.
Ma Chaoyang looked at Zhou Weiguang in surprise: "Really?"
Zhou Weiguang said, "Director Qi is my former leader."
Ma Chaoyang already had a good impression of Zhou Weiguang, and now he felt even closer to him.
When three people are eating, there are many topics they can talk about.
Qin Hanshu inquired about the situation of the educated youth in Haowan Village.
Ma Chaoyang thought for a moment and said, "After I left, I didn't keep in touch with them much. I only know that most of them have returned to the city, some are recruiting workers... Oh, Zhang Yao stayed for a while, but she got into university after the college entrance examination was reinstated."
Where is Lin Zhiheng?
"He returned to the city in 1975 and was admitted to Tsinghua University when the college entrance examination was reinstated."
Qin Hanshu nodded, unsurprised.
A thought struck Qin Hanshu, who glanced at Ma Chaoyang and asked, "Where's Zhang Kangmei?"
Ma Chaoyang paused for a moment before saying, "She also returned to the city in 1975. I heard that her family forced her to return, but we haven't been in contact since then, so I don't know anything about her situation."
Ma Chaoyang's tone was indifferent, no different from when he talked about other educated youth.
It makes one wonder if that initial attraction ever truly existed.
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