Zhang Shouyi took Zhang Hongmei's hand and said, "Let's go, don't pay attention to him, let's go eat."
Zhang Hongmei snapped back to reality and smiled at Zhang Shouyi, but only Zhang Shouyi, who knew her well, knew how forced that smile was.
"Hongmei, I'll have Xiao Li take you to buy some seafood later. Didn't you want to bring it back?" Zhang Shouyi asked, trying to distract Zhang Hongmei by talking about a topic she liked.
"But we can only buy dried goods; we can't bring seafood. Won't it rot when we get home?"
"That's a problem."
"It would be nice to have ice, but we don't. But that's okay, dried goods have their own unique flavor."
"Then buy more. I'll find a car later and have Xiao Li drive it back. We can both drive back in one car."
"Sure, it would be nice to start a trading company, but it's unstable right now, so let's forget about it."
"You can give it a try; you can hand this plan over to Kong Mingde."
"The school principal approached me. I had just gotten the learning newspaper and clothing on track, but then all sorts of problems arose, so he asked me to start a new project. I held a class meeting, but it wasn't very successful. There were no good or novel projects."
"This needs to be done gradually."
"Yes, I have no ideas either."
The two sat down at the table. Xiao Li brought over two bowls of porridge, two boiled eggs, two steamed buns, a bowl of stir-fried small sea fish with pickled vegetables, and braised ribbonfish, a typical seaside specialty.
Zhang Hongmei only drank a bowl of porridge and ate an egg that Zhang Shouyi had peeled for her.
"No appetite?"
"Hmm, I don't want to eat."
Just then, Chengzi came over. "Old Master Gu wants the two of you to go to his room."
"Okay, I'll be right there."
As soon as the two entered, they saw Old Master Gu frowning as he drank his medicine.
Seeing the two people come in, she acted like a child, throwing a tantrum and pushing the medicine bowl aside.
"You two sit down. Hongmei, have you eaten yet?"
“I took the medicine, but I saw you were refusing to take it.”
"You've got it wrong. I was waiting for you to leave before I ate."
"That won't do, it'll taste even worse when it's cold. You should drink it now, I'll get you some water."
Seeing that he couldn't go any further, Gu Chuanming gave Zhang Hongmei a resentful look and drank it down in one gulp.
“That’s right. Why are you being so fussy about taking medicine? Honestly, even I, a little kid, am not afraid of taking medicine.”
"Yes, yes, you're the best."
"Hongmei, we're having a family reunion at noon. You don't have any complaints, do you?"
"No, as long as you're happy. But are you going to stay here forever? Or why don't you come back to the capital with me?"
“Okay, I’ll stay with you for a while when I go back this time. We’ll come back here when you’re on vacation. It’s more comfortable here in the summer.”
"That's great! I'll drive you home today."
"You can drive?"
"That's right, it's driving really well, isn't it, Brother Zhang?"
"Yes, they learn faster than I do."
Zhang Hongmei handed the peeled apple to Gu Chuanming. "Eat an apple. This is the best. As you get older, you should eat more fruits and vegetables."
Gu Chuanming felt a bitter taste in his mouth, but eating a bite of apple made him feel much better.
"Let's have a tea ceremony before lunch, and then have a big one when we get back to the capital."
Zhang Hongmei was about to open her mouth to refuse when Zhang Shouyi stopped her.
"Mr. Gu, if there's nothing else, let's go out and get some things ready. We'll leave after lunch."
"Okay, go ahead. I need to lie down for a while after I take my medicine."
"Grandpa, why don't you come back to Xinyuan with me? There are people cooking there. It's also close to our school."
"Okay, I'll stay wherever you stay."
The two left Gu Chuanming's room, and Xiao Li came to greet them.
"Boss, I found out that the head chef in the kitchen knows how to make ice. I just asked him, and he agreed to make ice."
"That's great! We can buy seafood now, even if it's just enough for tomorrow."
"Shall I go shopping with you?"
"No need, you go to work. Xiao Li will be fine with you."
"Okay, you have to be back by 9:30."
"Okay, we'll set off right away." This time, they went to the same dock as last time. If they didn't see Wang Dehai and the others, they bought octopus, sea cucumbers, and shrimp from other fishing boats, but not much. They didn't have anywhere to store them, and they didn't know how much ice the boats could make, so they didn't dare to buy anything recklessly.
Finally, we went to someone else's village and bought dried mantis shrimp, dried cockles, and a big bag of jellyfish. These are delicious with cucumber salad in the summer.
The two returned at 9:20. Zhang Hongmei went back to her room to wash up and change her clothes, which smelled strongly of the sea.
Zhang Shouyi arrived at 10:30. He saw that Hongmei was still dressed the same as before, only now she had changed into clean clothes.
"Should I get you some clothes?"
"No, this is fine for me. There's no need for this. Why did you interrupt me, Brother Zhang?"
"Because this is good for you. Don't worry, would I ever harm you?"
"But I don't like that. As long as I approve of it in my heart, everything else is secondary; it's just for show."
"It's for others to see, but have you ever thought that if you recognize your relatives here, it will quickly spread back to the capital? It's fine if Old Master Gu doesn't go back, but if he does, given his status, if he doesn't hold the ceremony, people in the capital will think you're not valued. That's terrible. It's better if you don't have this status, but if you do and are still not valued, you'll be very upset, and many people will take the opportunity to kick you while you're down."
"I don't work for them, and besides, am I someone anyone can step on?"
"Think it over carefully. If you really don't want to, it's not too late to go back to the capital and refuse."
"Fine, let's leave it at that. It wouldn't be good for me to go back on my word again."
"Okay, you decide for yourself, I'll support you no matter what."
"What kind of support do you mean? It means finding ways to get me to go along with your decisions."
"You're wronging me. I was just analyzing the pros and cons for you."
"Okay, okay, I know. You're good to me!" Does it have to be so serious? You have to admit it yourself.
"Chengzi just came over to inform us that the event will be held promptly at 11 o'clock. Don't worry, there aren't many people here, so it won't be a problem."
You said you're so young. Why are you afraid of trouble?
"Hehe, I'm very shy and introverted."
"You'll have to change this in the future. What will you do when you enter the workforce?"
"We'll see about the future later. Maybe I'll be able to adapt in the future."
"Yes. You're just a lazy person at heart."
"Brother Zhang, I admire you so much! How do you know me so well?"
"Hehe, of course you'll understand if you care. Let's go, we need to get there ahead of time."
The two arrived in the lobby, where almost everyone was already there. Zhang Hongmei thought to herself, "Isn't this their business? Why are they more anxious than I am, the person involved?"
However, with a polite smile on her face, Zhang Hongmei greeted everyone present, after all, they were all elders.
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