Chapter 72
Fortunately, I asked a passerby and learned that the Hecheng Secondhand Market doesn't close until 7 p.m.
Han Shuo and his companions still had time, so the three of them explored the entire flea market from beginning to end and carefully compared the prices.
Han Shuo asked, "How many tables can we fit in that two-bedroom apartment we rent?"
Their apartment had two bedrooms, one about 20 square meters and the other about 10 square meters, and the living room was about 30 square meters.
Since enrollment hasn't started yet, Meng Yuxiu wasn't sure, so he said to Han Shuo, "Let's use the big room as a classroom first; it should be able to fit six or seven double desks."
He asked the shop owner, who told him that seven tickets would be enough for a 20-square-meter room.
“Okay.” Han Shuo said to Meng Yuxiu, “Then let’s buy seven seats first, which will be enough for twelve people plus a table to serve as a podium. If there are more people later, we can buy more tables and chairs to put in that small room and the living room.”
A wooden double desk, even though it was old, cost ten yuan, but this was the cheapest option Han Shuo and his friends had chosen after comparing prices at several stores. Fortunately, old stools were cheap, only two yuan each.
But Han Shuo still felt a sharp pain when he took out the money.
He took out eighty-four yuan from his bag and handed it to the shopkeeper.
When paying, he said to the shop owner, "Boss, your prices are reasonable. We'll definitely come back to buy from you again. Could you please deliver the tables and chairs to us?"
The boss readily agreed, "No problem, I'll transport it to you in my tricycle. But I'm alone, so you'll have to help me carry it when we get there."
Han Shuo: "Okay!"
The owner loaded all the desks and chairs onto the tricycle. Now that there was a tricycle, Gao Ze no longer needed to squeeze onto a bicycle. So, after telling the owner the address, Gao Ze got on the tricycle, while Meng Yuxiu drove Han Shuo away.
The rented house was on the fourth floor. After the tricycle was parked downstairs, Meng Yuxiu, Gao Ze, and the boss unloaded the goods from the tricycle and then carried the desks up the narrow stairs.
The house hadn't been cleaned, so to save time, Han Shuo grabbed two stools and went upstairs with them.
When Meng Yuxiu came downstairs, he saw Han Shuo carrying a stool in each hand, his belly protruding. He was panting after walking a few steps up the stairs, so he quickly went up to take it from him.
"Don't mention it."
"We're almost there."
Meng Yuxiu frowned. "Go sit inside the house."
"Okay, okay."
Meng Yuxiu quickly carried the stool upstairs, while Han Shuo slowly walked up the stairs, supporting himself against the wall.
After all the tables and chairs were brought up, Meng Yuxiu and Gao Ze moved them into the room and arranged them neatly against the walls on both sides, just like in a school classroom.
Han Shuo stood at the doorway, looking at the scene inside. Although the house was empty except for the tables and chairs, he could almost see the classroom filled with students in the future, and how they made a fortune.
The excitement of starting a business and the vision for the future ignited boundless passion in Han Shuo's heart.
Today, I was so busy buying tables and chairs that I forgot to bring brooms and mops. Since I'll be using them in the house anyway, I went downstairs to a small shop outside to buy them.
Han Shuo rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a rag, and was about to get to work when Meng Yuxiu told him to sit down and that he and Gao Ze would do the work.
"I'll just wipe the tables and chairs, you two go sweep and mop the floor," Han Shuo reassured Meng Yuxiu, while also saying excitedly, "Strictly speaking, this is my first job, and I won't feel involved if I don't do it myself. Okay, don't worry, hurry up and clean, the sooner we get the house clean, the sooner we can start work!"
"Great!" Gao Ze, now the director of admissions, was full of energy and immediately grabbed a broom to get to work.
Meng Yuxiu went to the kitchen, filled a bucket with tap water, soaked a rag, wrung it out, and began wiping every pane of glass in the house.
The three of them were busy with their own things, but even so, they were able to chat through the wall.
Gao Ze asked, "Han Shuo, Meng Yuxiu, is the place you're renting now as big as this house?"
Han Shuo replied while wiping the desk, "How could that be? The place we live in is just big enough for a bed and a dining table. We have to cook on the balcony."
Meng Yuxiu, clutching a rag, glanced around the house and said to Han Shuo, "Actually, we can move into that small room."
Han Shuo said nonchalantly, "Oh, it doesn't matter where we live. Anyway, it's not far from our rented house. It's just a few bus stops away. Besides, we don't know how many students they'll take in here. If there are too many students, we're afraid we won't be able to fit them all in, let alone the small rooms."
"Besides, we signed a one-year lease for the rental. If we cancel now, we won't get back the deposit Dad paid. That would be a huge loss."
“Okay.” Meng Yuxiu naturally followed Han Shuo’s opinion.
Han Shuo said to the two people sweeping and wiping the windows outside, "You two should clean it up a bit. Although we are just a small organization, we have to make sure our appearance is presentable."
Gao Ze shouted back, "Don't worry, Han Shuo! Since you and Meng Yuxiu have appointed me as the admissions director, I can lick the floor clean with my tongue even without a mop or broom!"
"Hahaha! You're awesome, Gao Ze!"
Meng Yuxiu couldn't help but twitch his cheek.
Han Shuo wrung out the rag and came back to wipe the desk a second time.
Meng Yuxiu grabbed a rag, walked into the room, stepped onto a stool, and started wiping the two windows.
Han Shuo reminded him, "Be careful, don't fall."
“No,” Meng Yuxiu said. “I’ll hold on.”
Once he was sure Meng Yuxiu had a firm grip on him, Han Shuo leisurely continued wiping the desks while humming a song.
Meng Yuxiu listened to Han Shuo's off-key singing while preparing for their business, and he felt happy. However, as he listened, Han Shuo's singing suddenly stopped.
He turned his head to look and saw Han Shuo slightly bent over, one hand covering his stomach.
Meng Yuxiu was immediately startled. He quickly jumped off the stool and rushed over to ask, "Han Shuo, what's wrong?"
Hearing this from outside, Gao Ze hurriedly came into the room to ask, "What's wrong?"
Meng Yuxiu subconsciously thought that there was something wrong with Han Shuo's stomach, and his heart immediately raced with fear.
"Is it a stomachache?"
"Let's go to the hospital." Meng Yuxiu hurriedly snatched the rag from Han Shuo's hand and started to pick Han Shuo up in his arms.
"No, no, no." Han Shuo reached out to stop him. He looked at Meng Yuxiu, then narrowed his eyes in confusion and hissed.
"Say something! What's wrong?"
Han Shuo noticed that Meng Yuxiu was so nervous that he looked like he was about to suffocate, so he patted the back of his hand to comfort him: "I'm fine, my stomach is fine."
Han Shuo's expression did not look like anything was wrong, and Meng Yuxiu and Gao Ze both breathed a sigh of relief.
Han Shuo looked at Meng Yuxiu and said, "I think I felt my stomach move just now."
The 18-year-old boy, who was becoming a father for the first time, didn't understand what this meant at first.
"Your belly is moving?" Meng Yuxiu stared at Han Shuo's protruding belly for a moment.
"It's the baby in my belly moving," Han Shuo said.
Meng Yuxiu's eyes widened immediately. He looked at Han Shuo's face, then looked down at Han Shuo's stomach.
He was speechless for several seconds, and finally he reached out and touched Han Shuo's stomach in a flustered manner. As he gently touched Han Shuo's stomach, he looked up and asked, "Did it move? How about now?"
Han Shuo said, "It seems like nothing's been moved now."
Meng Yuxiu seemed slightly unwilling, so he simply squatted down and put his ear to Han Shuo's stomach.
"..." Han Shuo looked down at the head pressed against his protruding belly, the sight making him cringe. He pushed Meng Yuxiu's head away, "Holy crap, what are you doing?"
Meng Yuxiu's head remained stubbornly fixed, and he said, "Let me listen to see if the child is moving."
Considering Gao Ze was still nearby, Han Shuo said awkwardly, "Oh dear, it's not moving now, how can anyone hear us?"
But Han Shuo felt that Meng Yuxiu's childish temper was acting up again at this moment, pushing his head away and then pressing it back.
"I just want to listen, I want to hear if there's any movement."
"Oh, I'll listen to it when I get home, I'll listen to it again when I get home."
"don't want."
Han Shuo really couldn't do anything with this kid. He had to get things done whenever the kid was interested in, or he could pester him for ages.
"Alright, alright," Han Shuo said with a smile. "I'll tell you. I'm really impressed."
Meng Yuxiu looked up and smiled at Han Shuo like a child, then pressed his face against Han Shuo's soft belly again. He quietly held his breath, trying to hear the baby's movements through the belly.
Han Shuo looked down at Meng Yuxiu's focused expression, and after watching his eyelashes tremble slightly for a moment, he looked up and asked, "How did he move just now?"
Han Shuo thought for a moment, "It's like an eel slipping through its muscles."
"Loach?" Upon hearing this, Meng Yuxiu pursed his lips and chuckled to himself.
Han Shuo shook his head, patted his shoulder, and said, "Alright, stop dawdling and get up to continue cleaning. Gao Ze is still watching. Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Right away," Meng Yuxiu said without looking up. "Listen a little longer, I'll go clean up right away."
Gao Ze watched the young couple being so intimate, oblivious to everyone else, and all he could think was, "..."
Actually, more than feeling speechless, Gao Ze felt something was very strange...
Not only did they find Han Shuo strange, but Meng Yuxiu was even more bizarrely strange.
He stood there, broom in hand, and thought for a moment.
Back in high school, Han Shuo used to play basketball with ease, running swiftly across the playground with agile movements. He just couldn't connect the person who was doting on Meng Yuxiu.
After all, if he made a mistake in the past, Han Shuo would immediately yell at him: "Are you a pig brain?"
And Meng Yuxiu...
In high school, Meng Yuxiu was the math class representative and ranked first in the grade. To be honest, Gao Ze was quite surprised to be called a groomsman, since in his eyes Meng Yuxiu was proud, aloof, and rarely smiled.
At school, the most frequent interaction between Meng Yuxiu and himself was when he looked up before finishing his test and saw Meng Yuxiu's cold face and emotionless eyes.
"I've handed in my paper."
Gao Ze: "It's not finished yet..."
Meng Yuxiu snatched the exam paper away without giving him any time to react.
Therefore, one can imagine how shocked he must have been by what he saw at that moment.
Hearing Meng Yuxiu say "Let me hear it" made Gao Ze's skin crawl...
Meng Yuxiu finally finished listening, and in a very good mood, he grabbed a rag and went to wash it in the kitchen sink.
Gao Ze also grabbed a broom and went out to sweep the living room floor.
After washing the rag, Meng Yuxiu went over to wipe the living room windows.
Gao Ze was working quietly when he suddenly heard Meng Yuxiu speak.
"Gao Ze".
"Huh, what's wrong?"
Meng Yuxiu pursed his lips and slowly curved them into a smile, "Do you know what my child's name is?"
“…Ah.” Gao Ze was taken aback. “Call me…call me Meng something…”
Meng Yuxiu smiled and said, "Call it a schoolbag."
Gao Ze forced a smile, then said, "Meng Shubao, that's quite a unique name..."
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