Chapter 82 Chapter 82 Humanized Company
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After finishing a roasted sweet potato, Gu Mengran got a handful of roasted peanuts. After sitting down, his mouth was always busy, either answering questions or eating.
Twenty minutes passed and Xiaodong sat next to him eating without even raising his head. Gu Mengran couldn't leave alone, so he had to sit down.
Fortunately, the roasted peanuts taste good. After peeling off the shell, rub it lightly with your fingertips, and the thin skin will fall off with a blow. When you put the still warm peanuts into your mouth, they are crispy, with a slight bitter and smoky taste, and a stronger peanut flavor than fried peanuts.
"How is it, Xiao Meng? Are you used to it? Doesn't it smell good?"
Before he could even swallow a peanut, Miss Wang, who was sitting opposite him, started asking questions.
Gu Mengran raised his lips slightly and nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "This is my first time eating peanuts like this. The taste is very special, burnt and fragrant. Very delicious."
It really tastes delicious, but even Gu Mengran himself feels that what he said is hypocritical.
If it were someone of the same age, they would just say it was delicious and there would be no need to waste so much time on it. Or maybe it was because the aunts were too enthusiastic, so enthusiastic that Gu Mengran could only treat them in a more polite and courteous manner.
His politeness and courtesy seemed to be an advantage in the eyes of the aunt. Hearing this, Miss Wang smiled from ear to ear and kept praising him: "Oh, this child has a really good personality, polite and patient, he can chat with us old ladies for a while, much better than Xiaoyan's impetuous temper."
"That's right." Miss Wu echoed, "With so many of us here, Xiaoyan probably won't be able to stay for even two minutes."
Xiaodong, who was chewing sweet potatoes, wiped his mouth and said in the midst of his busy schedule: "Don't drag me down, ladies. My brother Duan is a little impatient, but he is smart and reliable. Isn't it all thanks to my brother Duan that we can sit here comfortably now?"
"Just kidding, look how anxious you are."
"Xiaodong only has Brother Duan in his eyes, and no one else can say a word."
Xiao Dong smiled proudly, "My brother Duan is just good."
"Okay, okay." Miss Wang teased him, "It would be better if you could change your temper. If you were more steady and patient like Xiao Meng, then -"
"Don't."
Miss Wu, who was sitting next to Gu Mengran, interrupted Miss Wang.
As if she remembered something unpleasant, she curled her lips and a trace of imperceptible sarcasm flashed in her eyes: "I think Xiaoyan is very good like this. What's wrong with being impatient? At least he knows how to repay kindness and values friendship. He is not like some people who are treacherous and even kiss themselves--"
"Stop talking, Miss Wu!"
Half a sweet potato fell to the ground with a "pop". Xiaodong didn't bother to pick it up. He stood up and looked towards the corner in panic.
The atmosphere changed subtly. The aunt, who had been sitting in the inner corner and had said nothing the whole time, looked pale. The firelight illuminated her rough hands. Gu Mengran clearly saw that her hands, which were turning the fish, were shaking violently.
"Hey, why are you talking about this? You're just bringing up something irrelevant."
"Come on, come on, eat peanuts."
The other two aunts tried to ease the atmosphere, but their faces were also not very good. They glanced at the aunt in the corner intentionally or unintentionally, with a hint of hostility and resentment in their eyes.
The tea party ended in a bad mood. Carrying a basket of smoked fish and half a handful of roasted peanuts, Gu Mengran followed Xiaodong from the inner room to the main room, ready to continue working.
The fish had been strung together with hemp ropes, so they could just hang them on the bamboo rack. Gu Mengran picked up a string of smoked fish from the basket and was about to hang it on the bamboo rack when Xiaodong suddenly stopped him, "You, aren't you curious?"
Gu Mengran played dumb, "What are you curious about?"
“Do you know why there are not many young people in our village?”
Straight to the point?... Gu Mengran paused for a moment, hung the smoked fish on the bamboo rack, and shook his head, "I don't know."
Maybe because he was feeling uncomfortable or was about to give a brief confession, Xiaodong stepped away from the basket and leaned against the wall. He sighed heavily, "Our village is included in the scenic area, and many young people stayed in the village to develop. We were lucky during the earthquake. Although there were casualties, they were all locals who were familiar with the environment. At least they were not as miserable as the tourists."
"Our village is very united. After the earthquake, we worked together to rescue tourists and search for supplies. Every day was tiring and desperate, but every time we rescued a person from the rubble and found a bag of food, the sense of accomplishment was really exciting."
Xiaodong spoke very slowly, pausing after each sentence, which whetted Gu Mengran's appetite.
He endured it, but couldn't help it. During his pause, Gu Mengran asked, "And then?"
Xiaodong rubbed his brows and said helplessly, "The days passed one by one. The village had food reserves, the resort had shops, supermarkets, and snack bars. We found a lot of supplies in the ruins, and we never lacked food even when there were the most people. At the beginning, we agreed to stay in the village and not go anywhere, but we couldn't wait for rescue, and after the tourists left one after another, some of us began to waver."
"Some people think we should leave too. Staying in the village is just waiting for death. But Brother Duan thinks the situation outside is not optimistic. There are too many people in the village, especially the elderly, who are not suitable for running around."
One side advocated leaving, the other side advocated staying, and before they knew it, the people in the village were divided into two factions. There is a disagreement and no one can convince anyone else, so conflicts arise and escalate little by little over time.
The thick fog gradually dissipated, and before the extreme heat came, on a dark and windy night, the group of people who advocated leaving really left. They left very quickly without leaving a word, and took away most of the supplies collected by the villagers.
"In fact, the supplies don't matter. We can live off the land and water. If we run out of food, we can always find more. The key is..." Xiaodong clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, "They left as soon as they said they would, and so many people left at once, and most of them were young people."
"You can see the current situation in the village. Apart from those who go out to work every day, most of them are elderly. To put it nicely, they left. To put it bluntly... they abandoned us, the burden."
The topic was too heavy. Xiaodong hung his head, as if shrouded in a shadow. It can be seen that he was sad not only because of the loss of supplies, but what was even more difficult for him to accept was the betrayal by his companions.
After all, he was not from the same village, so Gu Mengran could not empathize with him. He comforted him from a rational perspective: "It's not worth being sad. We are just people living in the same village. We may have different ideals, but..."
"We are just from the same village?" Xiaodong sniffed and laughed. "Did you know? The one who took the lead in making a fuss about leaving was actually my cousin, as well as my childhood friend and cousin... Our village is really not that big. People of the same age have known each other since we wore open-crotch pants. We can say that we have been friends since we were young."
"If these relatives and friends are not important, then what about my family? I still can't figure out how they can be so cruel. Remember the aunt who didn't speak just now? She is my second aunt and my cousin's mother, her biological mother!"
Gu Mengran took a breath and his pupils shrank suddenly.
A village is not a collective. Whether to leave or stay, everyone has his or her own choice. Taking away the supplies you and your companions had collected might be unethical at best, but leaving your family behind and going away on your own? Wouldn't that be a bit too harsh?
The aunt just now... her own son took the lead and left her behind. The villagers whose supplies were taken away felt resentful. Even if they didn't say it openly, they probably wouldn't like her behind her back.
No wonder he had that attitude just now, hiss, this situation is too embarrassing.
Although it was none of his business, the impact of these words was too strong. It took Gu Mengran a long time to come back to his senses. He asked curiously, "None of them took their families with them? Could there be any misunderstanding?"
Xiaodong shook his head regretfully, "There is no misunderstanding. Most of them brought their families with them. Only a small number of them are worse than animals!"
"Why are people so different? My brother Duan has no parents and grew up eating at many people's homes. He always remembers the good things in the village and never thought of giving up on anyone no matter how hard or difficult the life was. My second aunt is a widow who saved money to send my cousin to school, but in the end, she raised such an ungrateful person."
It seemed like just a simple venting and confession. Gu Mengran was ready to be invited after listening to the story, but in the end Xiaodong didn't mention it at all.
At half past six in the evening, the sky gradually darkened.
When Gu Mengran, who had been drying fish for a day, came to the "canteen" with Xiaodong, everyone else had already started eating around the round table. There was no need to look for it specifically. Liang Zhao was standing aside holding two large bowls. He came forward to greet Gu Mengran as soon as he entered the room.
Dinner was still potatoes with dried fish. Gu Mengran took the bowl and chopsticks from Liang Zhao and turned around to walk out the door with him.
There were too many people in the room, and each one was speaking louder than the other, making my ears hurt.
They had to find a quiet place to eat, so they went outside and sat down on a step under the eaves that was not exposed to the rain.
Gu Mengran was really hungry. He ate several peeled potatoes and eggs one by one. He slowed down and asked Liang Zhao with puffed cheeks: "How was your day? Are you tired from chopping wood?"
"Not tired, a few people working together is much easier than chopping trees." Liang Zhao answered truthfully, and then turned his head to look at Gu Mengran, "But I would rather go up the mountain to chop trees."
Gu Mengran subconsciously asked back: "Why——"
Just after saying a word, he looked up and met Liang Zhao's half-smiley eyes. Gu Mengran understood instantly and nudged him lightly with his elbow, "You're disgusting."
A large piece of fish belly meat fell into the bowl. Gu Mengran was stunned for a moment, then he picked it up and put it to his mouth, a light laugh escaped from his throat, "You don't want to ask me what I did today? You don't care at all, right?"
Liang Zhao: "Smoked fish or dried fish?"
"How do you know!"
Liang Zhao chuckled, "You smell very fishy."
"Is it obvious?" Gu Mengran lifted his collar and sniffed. "It's been marinated. I can't smell it."
"It's okay, it smells good—"
"cough."
A light cough suddenly sounded from behind them. The two of them turned around at the same time with their bowls in hand, and the grumpy old brother Duan Yueyan was already standing behind them.
Is this person walking silently? Fortunately, we didn't talk about sensitive topics.
Gu Mengran raised his head and raised his chin towards him, "What's the matter?"
"What do you think?" Duan Yueyan raised his hands that were hanging at his sides.
He was carrying three bags in his hands, a large bag of potatoes, a large bag of sweet potatoes, and a small bag of dried fish. Yes, these were their daily wages for the day.
I always went to pick it up myself before, but today the boss actually delivered it to me personally?
Gu Mengran looked at him suspiciously, then forced a polite smile, "Thank you, just put it on the ground."
With a rustling sound, the salary was put behind him. However, Duan Yueyan had no intention of leaving. He stood there with a sullen face and said nothing.
This person's presence is so strong that I feel choked when eating potatoes.
After hesitating for a while, Gu Mengran turned his head to look at him again, and asked with some confusion: "What else?"
Seemingly a little embarrassed, Duan Yueyan touched his nose and licked his lips. He made eight hundred fake moves in one second, almost exhausting Gu Mengran's patience. He then slowly spoke: "Would it be convenient for us to chat?"
When his boss called him after get off work, Gu Mengran was more resentful than a ghost, and said in a sinister tone: "Is the company so inhumane? The meeting took up after get off work time."
The heavy rain that had lasted for a day was still continuing. Duan Yueyan seemed not to hear what he said. He looked at the dim sky through the eaves and murmured softly: "A humane company should take a holiday on a rainy day. I think it will rain a lot tomorrow. What do you think?"
Gu Mengran lifted his butt and moved towards Liang Zhao, patting the step beside him in a very servile manner:
"Boss, please take a seat."
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