Chapter 8 Taking the First Step: The First Step in the Plan...
The tea room at Ruixin Technology is small and located at the corner of a north-south corridor.
Since there are many male employees in the company, a smoking area has been set up near the window in the break room.
It was lunchtime, and no one was inside. Zhu Liushuang reached out and opened a window halfway, letting in slanting raindrops that dampened the windowsill.
She pulled the half-open window in a little further, leaving only a crack for ventilation. The damp, stuffy fresh air exchanged with the faint smell of smoke indoors, and her pounding heart finally calmed down.
The phone was warm from being held in her palm. Zhu Liushuang rubbed her hands together a few times to dry her fingers before unlocking the screen.
A white light appeared, but the homepage remained on the radio program list. As if she had made up her mind, she solemnly clicked on the first program.
Then I put on my Bluetooth headphones, leaned against the windowsill, and listened to the entire episode again.
More than ten minutes later, she pressed the stop button, reluctantly taking her eyes off the phone screen and turning to look at the crack in the window.
A vibrant green hue, glistening with water droplets, entered her field of vision, accompanied by a faint, delicate scent of herbs and plants.
After a moment's thought, Zhu Liushuang began writing a review of He Ming's first radio program, amidst the endless rain outside.
Right now, I'm listening to this program while inhaling the fragrance of camphor tree leaves and watching the damp plum rains of Gucheng. Suddenly, the world seems to quiet down. I hope that one day I can be like you, go to Qinghai Lake, set up camp in the wilderness, and fall asleep under a sky full of stars.
When Zhu Liushuang was in high school, she wrote excellent essays, which were circulated among classes in her grade several times as model essays in monthly exams. Unfortunately, she was two years behind He Ming, so no matter how hard she tried, her essays would never be circulated to the senior year.
Later, she studied finance in college and rarely wrote anything. Now, it's especially difficult for her to write a few brilliant and eye-catching comments.
But at the very least, sincerity is paramount.
Zhu Liushuang wanted to use this radio station as her personal confidante, listening to one episode each day and writing a comment. If He Ming hadn't responded by the time she heard the last episode, she planned to ask Ye Xingzhi for He Ming's WeChat ID.
This was the first step of the plan she wrote down last night: to take the initiative and attract He Ming's attention.
After staring at his phone screen and grinning foolishly for a while, Zhu Liushuang pressed the send button. Soon, the "Human World and Plants" radio station, which had been silent for many years, came back to life.
At the same time, He Ming, who was at Zhonghe Accounting Firm and guiding his fellow interns in preparing audit working papers, suddenly looked down at his vibrating phone on the table.
His gaze swept calmly across the phone notification bar, a hint of surprise flashing in his dark eyes behind his frameless glasses.
The intern had to call out "Teacher He" several times to bring him back to his senses.
As for Zhu Liushuang, the "instigator," she didn't have any telepathic connection. She was still feeling remorseful about her pretentious comment, wondering if she should delete it and rewrite it.
After struggling with herself for a long time, she gave up the idea of rewriting it.
Perhaps it was because—she didn't expect He Ming to see her comment immediately.
This radio station hasn't been updated in two years. Who knows if He Ming uninstalled the software a long time ago?
In that case—
Isn't what she's doing a bit foolish?
In Zhu Liushuang's mind, choosing to approach He Ming through a different path had a sense of "fate being predetermined," which was romantic and full of destiny.
Therefore, even though she knew the chances were slim, she still decided to give it a try.
What if He Ming hadn't uninstalled the software? What if one day he clicked on the radio and unexpectedly discovered a girl who listened to his program every single day without fail and left thoughtful comments? Would he feel even a little bit curious about her?
Then you become interested in getting to know her?
Thinking of this, Zhu Liushuang felt invigorated and filled with longing for love.
The door to the break room was pushed open from the outside, and the person who entered was Li Jingjia from the company's HR department. Her peach blossom eyes, which seemed to be smiling but weren't, were clearly surprised when she bumped into Zhu Liushuang.
"I thought no one was inside, it's so quiet." Li Jingjia smiled and walked to Zhu Liushuang's side, casually closing the window that was still ajar. "Why are you standing there, lost in thought?"
Zhu Liushuang smiled and walked around to the bar from the side. She removed the tea bags from the counter, picked up the kettle to make a cup of lemon tea, and then suddenly realized that she hadn't brought a water cup with her.
Under Li Jiajing's questioning gaze, she explained apologetically, "Look at my memory, I forgot my water cup. You go ahead with your work..." With that, she turned and walked out of the tea room.
Li Jingjia caught up to the door frame behind her, a friendly smile on her face: "Liu Shuang, could you please tell Sister Xiaoqian when you go back to the office that I have some things to do these two days, and I'll finish making the payroll for her later? Please, that will save me the trouble of making another trip."
This is something that could be solved by sending a message, so why make me relay it? Isn't that redundant? Zhu Liushuang was a little puzzled, but she still nodded in agreement.
Back in the finance office, Zhuang Xiaoqian teased her, "Why were you gone for so long? Is your friend going to give it his all?"
Zhu Liushuang dodged the question by giving a vague answer, and then relayed the matter that Li Jingjia had asked her to tell Zhuang Xiaoqian.
"I think she's too afraid to tell me herself, so she has to go through you," Zhuang Xiaoqian said indignantly. "HR is just doing trivial chores every day. I have to chase them up three or four times to make a payroll. It's like this every month. They're always busy or have something to do... They dress up so fancy every day, do they look like they're here to work?"
Sure enough, something was fishy. Zhu Liushuang thought to herself silently, and continued listening to Zhuang Xiaoqian's complaints.
"Payments are on the 15th, and she should have finished the forms by the 5th, but look, it's already the 6th! I'm definitely going to tell General Manager Guo about this at the meeting another day..."
Sometimes, Zhu Liushuang quite liked Zhuang Xiaoqian's straightforward personality; she said whatever she wanted. Unlike her, who always thought things through before speaking.
"Calm down, she probably really has something on her mind. If she didn't get paid on time, it's not your fault." Zhu Liushuang patted Zhuang Xiaoqian's shoulder. "Besides, she needs to get paid too, she knows that making payrolls is an important matter."
"I'm not going to urge her anymore, anyway, she won't submit it on time even if I do," Zhuang Xiaoqian said angrily. "It's a complete waste of breath."
Zhu Liushuang nodded in agreement and returned to her workstation to continue working on the list.
That afternoon was uneventful, except for sorting out some old accounts from a few years ago, which was quite taxing on the eyes.
Just before she was about to leave work, Zhuang Xiaoqian asked her to go to the movies that night: "Hey, this week is finally over. How about we go see the latest suspense movie tonight?"
The suspense film had a high rating, and she was interested in it. But thinking about having to get up early the next day to set up her stall, Zhu Liushuang made an excuse to decline.
"Are you free tomorrow afternoon? The weather forecast says it won't rain, how about we go shopping?" Zhuang Xiaoqian smiled warmly. "There's a women's clothing store in the city that has really pretty dresses."
"I'm sorry, Sister Zhuang..." Zhu Liushuang said awkwardly, "I have something to do at home tomorrow, and I really can't get away."
Her high spirits were dampened, and Zhuang Xiaoqian pretended to be angry: "Since you're so unfair, then I can only turn to someone else."
Zhu Liushuang knew, of course, that she wasn't really angry. She looked down and fiddled with the drawer for a while before saying, "I'll bring you some tiramisu I made on Monday as an apology."
Zhuang Xiaoqian grinned: "That's more like it. But you're such a young lady, how come you don't even have any leisure or recreational activities... How boring!"
Apart from Guo Yang, no one in the company knew about Zhu Liushuang's family situation. Although she shared an office with Zhuang Xiaoqian, their relationship was only slightly closer than that of ordinary colleagues.
Perhaps due to her pride, she didn't want to reveal too much about her family.
“Yes, I like running, hiking, making desserts… quieter activities,” Zhu Liushuang said softly, pursing her lips.
"I can't climb mountains, I have fluid buildup in my knees," Zhuang Xiaoqian said with a hint of regret, then invited her, "How about you come to my house sometime and teach me how to make desserts..."
Zhu Liushuang stammered and agreed.
————
Just as the weather forecast predicted, Sunday was sunny.
The dampness of the rain outside has disappeared, and even the wind feels refreshing.
After six days of continuous rain, the sky cleared up for the first time. Zhu Liushuang went out and jogged around the pedestrian path outside the community, returning home drenched in sweat.
When the weather is nice, it makes you want to live without a care in the world. Like her colleagues, you can go shopping after work, explore new shops on weekends, or visit a nearby tourist attraction...
However, Zhu Liushuang could not do it.
It was only a little past seven o'clock, and she had already finished showering and come out of the bathroom. She spent five minutes blow-drying her hair until it was half dry, and then went to the kitchen to get a bowl of millet porridge for her mother.
Gu Chunling leaned against the bed, her swollen face, marred by hormones, obscuring her original appearance. Her lips were chapped, and she looked extremely haggard.
She vomited twice shortly after taking methotrexate last night, and even this morning she still didn't look very well.
Immunosuppressants are highly irritating to the gastrointestinal tract, and such discomfort often occurs.
Zhu Liushuang placed the millet porridge on the bedside table and asked gently, "Are you still feeling unwell after taking your stomach medicine?"
Gu Chunling shook her head. Her mouth tasted bitter, and she still had little appetite. But seeing her daughter's hesitant expression, she picked up the porcelain bowl and forced down half a bowl of porridge.
Fortunately, he didn't throw up this time.
Zhu Liushuang massaged her mother's knees and calves, saying, "I need to go to the fruit shop to buy some ingredients later. It's a rare sunny day, and I'll be setting up a stall tonight."
When Gu Chunling is in good health, she goes to the fruit store with Zhu Liushuang on Sundays to buy fruit, and during the day she can also help her in the kitchen.
Today is clearly not an option.
She opened her mouth: "Didn't we call a plumber to come and fix the leak this morning?"
Zhu Liushuang hummed in agreement, glancing at her watch: "We agreed on 9 o'clock, I should probably be home by then. If Master arrives early..."
Gu Chunling patted her hand: "Don't worry, I'll open the door if you get here early. I've called the repairmen in previous years, so I know best what needs fixing."
Previously, it was always her mother who was in charge of the household, but in the last two years, her health has deteriorated, and it has become Zhu Liushuang's turn to take over the responsibilities.
A single word or glance is enough for the mother and daughter to understand each other. Zhu Liushuang didn't say anything more and went out to shop.
During her university years, she worked part-time at a dessert shop and learned a lot of skills from the owner. Last year, after seeing others making a lot of money selling tiramisu online via live streaming, she got the idea to set up a stall herself.
However, she only works part-time, setting up her stall once a week, so she doesn't earn much money; it's just enough to supplement her household income.
Although Gucheng is a third-tier city, it prioritizes public welfare projects, and the government has set up many free stalls in the city center. This is a huge benefit for young people who want to start a business by setting up a stall.
At first, Zhu Liushuang set up a stall on the street with a pushcart, and the tiramisu she made was small in both flavor and quantity.
Later, with more repeat customers, she thought about buying a tricycle to make things more convenient.
However, ready-made tricycles for street vending are expensive online, and custom-made ones cost at least ten thousand yuan.
So Zhu Liushuang asked Uncle Qiu, who worked at the secondhand market downstairs, to help her find a used tricycle, and also bought a high-capacity battery and a refrigerated display case online. After equipping the vehicle, she asked Lü Feng to modify it for her, based on a ready-made tricycle she found online.
After a series of steps, the stall cart was set up quite well, and several thousand yuan were saved.
Summer's humidity causes desserts to melt quickly, and insulated packaging boxes are expensive. Therefore, Zhu Liushuang plans to make fewer tiramisu and add some new items—fruit tea and iced glutinous rice balls.
She bought a bunch of ingredients from the fruit shop and brought them home, then began her daytime work. She worked on and off in the kitchen until evening before finally getting everything ready.
During this time, she also helped the repairman hold up the ladder and cooked lunch for her mother.
When there was no time left, she asked her mother to cut the fruit into pieces while she vigorously shaved ice into shaved ice using the ice crusher.
The free stall was booked in advance through a local convenience app and was located at a night market three blocks away from my home.
At 5:30 in the evening, it was still bright outside. Zhu Liushuang started carrying things downstairs by hand, making six or seven trips back and forth before finally loading all the food onto her stall cart.
Gu Chunling stood at the doorway, watching, and tried several times to lend a hand, but was stopped each time. In the midst of the chaos, Zhu Liushuang said, somewhat annoyed, "Mom, your leg hasn't fully recovered yet, don't make things worse. I can manage on my own..."
Her tone was somewhat impatient, and Gu Chunling's eyes dimmed; she felt she had become a burden to her daughter. However, Zhu Liushuang, busy moving things, didn't notice.
She pushed her mother through the door and told her to get some rest. Before leaving, she grabbed three pre-packed insulated bags and knocked on the security door across the street.
A note from the author:
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The original plan was to have the male lead appear in this chapter, but he only appeared briefly (covers face and runs away).
My friend pressed my head and asked, "Why haven't the male and female leads met yet?!" I'm thinking the same thing; they'll be able to meet soon!
Some friends even suggested I write farming novels after reading this chapter, hahaha. Do I have the potential to write farming novels?
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