Ding Lan happily made her own plans.
Ou Minglang and Ning Yuan went directly to the back gate of the school, to her store, Epoch Heart, which was opening today.
Yes, at this hour, Epoch Heart is still open.
After those two foreign scholars went back, they brought all seven or eight foreign exchange scholars and foreign teachers from Fudan University here.
The group enjoyed their drinks to their hearts' content, and were reluctant to leave until the evening, ordering everything on the coffee menu.
Coffee and snacks are free when the store opens in the morning, but they cost money in the afternoon, though the foreigners have plenty of cash.
Let alone paying for coffee and snacks.
These foreigners gave tips to the students who were working part-time and to Mr. Tang.
They would give out dollars one at a time, and everyone would get a few dollars.
Tang Lao, as a barista who greatly impressed them, received more than 100 US dollars, which was equivalent to 200 RMB, more than his monthly salary!
The students at the Heart of the Era who were working part-time were ecstatic—
I earned a month's living expenses in just one day of work today!
Foreign exchange is so damn easy to make!
Sitting at the coffee table, Ou Minglang still felt a little unreal.
"Minglang, it's been a long time." Grandpa Tang made him a cup of mocha coffee with less sugar.
Grandma Xia went home to rest after selling her sparkling water in the afternoon, while he, as the head barista, stayed here to oversee the business.
Ou Minglang also very politely said in Shanghainese, "Thank you, Grandpa. Hello, Grandpa."
"Oh, this child is really well-behaved." Grandpa Tang smiled and spoke in Shanghainese, patting him on the shoulder.
Ou Minglang froze for a moment. Oh well, it's not wrong for a grandfather to call his child.
"Where did you strike it rich to open a coffee shop like this? Did you rob a bank?" Ou Minglang asked, sipping his mocha.
He's been spending a lot of time with Ning Bingyu lately, and he's started speaking with a Hong Kong accent.
Ning Yuan rolled her eyes at him as she drank her water: "Can you think of me for once? It was Grandpa Tang who opened the restaurant."
In her past life, the somatization symptom of her severe depression was that she could not fall asleep at night without taking medication.
Although she has slept very well in her life, she is determined to prevent anything that might cause her to have trouble sleeping at night from entering her mouth!
Ou Minglang didn't really believe Ning Yuan's words; he had seen Ning Yuan's money-grubbing ways before.
But he has always been mindful of boundaries, and since his friend was unwilling to talk about it, he didn't press further.
"You know..." Ou Minglang hesitated, wanting to ask Ning Yuan if she knew that Rong Zhaonan was also in Shanghai.
But in the end, he thought about it and decided that Ning Yuan was doing well now, so why bother her with unnecessary troubles?
"What do you know?" Ning Yuan asked bluntly, seeing Ou Minglang's hesitant expression.
Ou Minglang simply changed the subject to cover up his true intentions—
"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask if there are many people with the surname Ning in Ningnan. It seems that this surname is not very common outside of Ningnan."
Ning Yuan said dismissively, "Not many. There are only two branches of the Ning family in Ningnan. One is the Ning family in Jintou Lane in Yongjiang."
“The Ning family of Baisha outside Yongjiang is not related by blood now, but they were on the same genealogy three hundred years ago and worship the same ancestor.”
Ou Minglang was taken aback. At first, he didn't think much of it and teased, "—"
"You seem to know quite a lot. The Ning family is a prominent family in Ningnan. Could it be that you are a young lady from the Ning family in Jintou Lane, or perhaps the Ning family in Baisha?"
Ning Yuan immediately made an X on her chest: "Come on, Marx behold, I have a very good family background. My maternal grandmother was a wet nurse, and my parents were servants in the Ning family. That's why I have the surname Ning! Don't try to label me!"
Ingredients are still a rather sensitive issue.
Although she didn't want to be recognized as an advanced worker or assigned a job, she also didn't want to attract unnecessary gossip and trouble!
As for whether she lied or not, she couldn't care less about whether Marx turned in his grave.
Ou Minglang paused in his actions, surprised to find someone connected to the Ning family so close by.
He was blind to his own shortcomings and didn't think about it carefully. Ning Yuan... also has the surname Ning.
Moreover, her maternal grandmother was also, coincidentally, the Ning family's wet nurse!
He asked casually, "Was your maternal grandmother the Ning family's wet nurse?"
Ning Yuan looked him over: "What's wrong?"
She keenly realized that her friend seemed quite interested in the Ning family despite only saying a few casual words.
She suddenly remembered that strange blind date he had with her in her past life.
But before, in the county town, she and Ou Minglang sold things together and went to school together for so long, so she subtly hinted at it.
She didn't notice that Ou Minglang looked like the type to go on a blind date with a silk factory worker in Ningnan who already had a boyfriend.
Ou Minglang was caught in a dilemma—should he tell Ning Yuan the truth?
Ning Bingyu had told him that this matter was a secret of the Ning family and they did not want to make a big fuss about it, for fear of encountering people who would impersonate relatives for money.
Even if we do find the missing Ning family girl, we need to find out more details first.
But Ning Yuan was his good friend, and he didn't want to lie to her.
In a flash, under Ning Yuan's suspicious gaze, Ou Minglang smiled—
"It's nothing. I'm just a little curious why I've never seen your parents and grandmother in the county town."
He ultimately decided—
He wanted to find out the truth himself before deciding whether to tell Ning Yuan or Ning Bingyu.
Ning Yuan said calmly, "It's nothing. My grandmother passed away a long time ago. My parents and I just didn't get along, and we cut ties."
She felt that Ou Minglang wasn't telling the truth, so she decided to test him.
Ou Minglang: "They severed ties? Why? How could biological parents bear to sever ties with their own children so easily?"
Unless they are not biological children.
Ning Yuan looked at Ou Minglang's thoughtful expression and remembered that he had mentioned before that he had lived in Hong Kong for a period of time.
She sighed inwardly; it seemed that Ou Minglang had been back in Shanghai for the past six months.
He probably received some information from an acquaintance in the Hong Kong government, asking him to investigate the Ning family's wet nurse.
Adding to that strange blind date in his past life, Ou Minglang's maternal grandmother's family is also in Ningnan, and there's also Ning Bingyu who's currently in Shanghai...
All the clues point to one thing—
"Ou Minglang." Ning Yuan put down her water glass and asked calmly—
"Is it possible that the eldest son of the Ning family in the Hong Kong government or someone in the Ning family in the Hong Kong government asked you to investigate the matter of the Ning family having a young daughter who was lost in mainland China and not taken with her?"
"Cough cough cough..." Ou Minglang was drinking coffee when he suddenly choked and started coughing violently.
He awkwardly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, looked up at Ning Yuan, and met a pair of bright, dark eyes that flashed with a calmness and penetrating power beyond their years.
A strange thought suddenly occurred to him—his friend in front of him really looked a lot like Brother Yu.
...
New Year's Day
1980 finally arrived, and the 1980s were closer to the spring of reform and opening up in Ning Yuan's memory.
She looked up at the man in front of her.
"I'm flying to Hong Kong this afternoon, but I'll try to pick you up from the train when you arrive in Guangzhou."
Rong Zhaonan's usually aloof expression was now unusually gentle.
He paused, then gave a reluctant snort: "If Ou Minglang is taking the train to Guangzhou with you, you should be careful of him."
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