Time flies, and Wang Peng never expected that he would have to wait until the following year.
A major announcement has been made: the State Drug Administration has been established, taking over the regulatory authority over condoms from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. From now on, as long as companies operate legally and compliantly, they can produce and sell condoms on their own.
Condoms have transitioned from the planned economy era to the market economy era. With enough money, you can wear as many as you want—enough to circle the Earth three times in a row! Condoms have also been included in the customs import catalog.
The policy finally came, and the whole family was very happy. So they set up a banquet at home to celebrate and invited Du Lei, Dong Shishi, and Huang Xiaolan.
There were eight dishes on the table, four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes. The men drank baijiu (Chinese liquor) and the women drank juice. Everyone toasted each other.
Huang Xiaolan stood up, raised the juice in her hand, and said, "Brother Peng, Mingzhu, thank you all for your care and concern. I toast you all."
After saying that, she drank the juice in the glass in one gulp, but it was a beer mug that could hold a bottle of beer.
"Drink slowly, what are you doing?" Duan Cuilu hurriedly handed her a tissue.
“Brother Peng, I am now officially resigning from my job. I’m leaving tomorrow to start a new life somewhere where nobody knows me.”
"Don't worry, I'm not upset, nor have I been wronged."
"I just want to move to a place where no one knows about my illness. I don't want anyone to know..."
The beer mug was placed on the table, and Huang Xiaolan burst into tears. Everyone quickly comforted her, some with tissues and others with towels.
Wang Peng let out a long sigh and couldn't help but shake his head.
For the past six months, Huang's family has stopped contacting her, and her parents have disowned her.
Wang Peng and others did not discriminate against her. Even Duan Cuilu, who initially disliked her the most, treated her as a normal person.
But how should I put it, as soon as she sees someone like Wang Peng who knows about her condition, she stops seeing herself as a normal person.
Wang Peng understood this feeling; he had known all along that she wouldn't stay long.
"Xiao Lan, where do you want to go? Can you tell us?" Wang Peng asked.
Huang Xiaolan wiped away her tears. "Brother Peng, I'm sorry, I don't want to."
“Okay, if you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t,” Li Mingzhu said with a smile. “No matter where you are, we’re still friends.”
"Yes, we'll always be friends." Huang Xiaolan felt like crying again.
"Xiao Lan, it's good for you to go out and explore for a few years." Duan Cuilu wiped away her tears and said, "Whenever you get tired, come back to work."
The celebration banquet turned into a farewell banquet, leaving everyone sighing with regret, and the banquet ended early.
Wang Peng first drove Du Lei and Dong Shishi to the tobacco and alcohol shop, and then took Huang Xiaolan back to her place.
An hour later, the car arrived at a residential area.
"Brother Peng, come to my house for a cup of tea," Huang Xiaolan said with a smile. "I'll show you something that will absolutely surprise you."
"What is it? Let me see." Wang Peng got out of the car, locked the door, and followed her into the house.
Normally, Wang Peng wouldn't come to her private residence, but today might be the last time they meet.
This is an 80-square-meter residential house. There is a large suitcase in the living room, where Huang Xiaolan has already packed her luggage.
"Brother Peng, do you want to know where I'm going?" Huang Xiaolan chuckled.
Wang Peng scratched his head. "It's not a matter of whether you want to or not. It mainly depends on your thoughts. Just say what you want to say."
"Brother Peng, take a look at this." Huang Xiaolan took a document out of her bag.
This is a work visa for England, with a five-year work period.
When Wang Peng saw that the company that hired her was James Bond, he was completely dumbfounded.
"This is my company, why don't you know about this?"
"Brother Peng, this is Sister Mengjiao's company. She currently owns 51% of the shares."
"Oh, I forgot about that."
The company was originally wholly owned by Wang Peng, but Li Mengjiao is pregnant with his child. The little guy is already seven months along and it's a boy.
Wang Peng gave him shares as a gift for his son.
"Sister Xiaolan, I'm curious, when did you two start contacting each other? Are you perhaps her spy?"
"No, that's not true. I've known her since I was a child. My hometown is Xiaowang Village, but I moved away later."
"Oh dear, I really didn't know that."
Wang Peng scratched his head. That made sense; he had arrived at Xiaowang Village later.
“Brother Peng, Sister Mengjiao doesn’t know about my illness. In this foreign land, no one knows about my illness,” Huang Xiaolan said with a bitter smile.
“It’s fine even if we’re in a foreign country, at least I can be with Mengjiao,” Wang Peng said. “You were working so hard to learn English before, so it was all planned out in advance. When did she contact you?”
Huang Xiaolan thought for a moment and said, "About five months ago, around the time Du Lei's grandfather passed away, I received a call from Sister Mengjiao. She was originally looking for you, but then she recognized my voice."
“She would call me every few days after that, and we had a good chat. She said she was very lonely over there, so I had the idea of going there to work.”
At this point, Huang Xiaolan chuckled softly, "Brother Peng, thank you for taking care of me."
Wang Peng remembered that during that time, Du Lei went home for a funeral, and coincidentally, Dong Shishi also had something to do at home, so Huang Xiaolan stayed at the shop.
"It's not a matter of who takes care of whom. You give me a job, and I give you a salary. That's all."
Wang Peng glanced at his watch and said, "You should get some rest. Do you want me to take you to the airport tomorrow?"
"No need, we've already parted once, I don't want to do it a second time." Huang Xiaolan opened her arms, "Brother Peng, can I have a hug?"
Wang Peng was taken aback, then smiled and nodded.
Huang Xiaolan immediately hugged Wang Peng and whispered in his ear, "Brother Peng, don't worry, I will definitely serve Sister Shishi like a slave, and I will definitely repay your kindness."
Her voice trembled slightly and sounded like she was about to cry.
Wang Peng gently patted her back, "Don't talk about gratitude anymore, you don't owe anyone anything. Sister Xiaolan, have a safe journey."
After embracing for a long time, the two wished each other well, and Wang Peng drove away from Huang Xiaolan's house.
With many thoughts swirling in my mind, I passed by a small shop and saw the words "public telephone".
He parked his car on the side of the road, greeted his boss, and then called Li Mengjiao.
Beep, beep, beep, the call is connected.
"Mengjiao, I am Wang Peng."
"Brother, are you outside?"
"Yes, I used a public phone. Have you had a check-up recently? Is the child doing well?"
Wang Peng felt a wave of helplessness when he thought of his child.
"I just had a physical exam yesterday, and everything was normal. Brother, does Mingzhu know about this?"
"I don't know, and I don't dare to tell her." Wang Peng couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Sometimes I really want to tell her, but I just can't muster the courage."
"Brother, I just want to ask you one question: do you want her to know or not?"
Wang Peng looked up at the stars in the sky, unsure how to respond.
After a long silence, he slowly spoke, "I've decided to tell her tomorrow, if she can't forgive me..."
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