Chapter 153 Moving Party, Xiaolin is really here
In the days after my master left, I felt inexplicably anxious.
At first, I thought I was just not used to it and that I would get better with time, but the symptoms kept getting worse. In the past, every weekend, whether I had something to do or not, I would always go to Youranju for a stroll.
Even if I just sit there for three minutes, now I habitually touch my car keys, wanting to go to Youran Ju, and after searching for a long time, I find it funny.
The day before New Year's Day, Xiao Liming called me and said that on New Year's Day, he accompanied General Manager Deng to the provincial capital to visit some leaders' homes and would not come for dinner.
Master and his wife had left, and General Manager Deng and Xiao Liming weren't coming. Only Brother Shi, General Manager Tan, and Xiao Lin were left, and it wasn't clear if Xiao Lin would come.
At dinner, my mother said, "Whether they come or not, we still have to prepare."
I went downstairs to the studio, and Yifan was not there. I smiled bitterly. Oh, tomorrow is New Year's Day, everyone is on vacation, and no one will come to chat at night.
I was in a bad mood, thinking that if no one came, there would be too few guests and it would be embarrassing. I wanted to make a few phone calls to invite people, but I couldn't think of who to call.
Give it to Director Ming? That's not a good idea either. We didn't send him an invitation before, and even though you said you don't accept gifts, he won't come empty-handed. Forget it. He's already given too many gifts. Give it to Chairman Song? It's inconvenient. I've never exchanged favors with him.
Who should I call? It's like notifying someone to send a red envelope. Besides, it wouldn't make sense to call just any ordinary person. I thought about it and decided to call Mr. Xipo; he's a celebrity after all.
After a few pleasantries, he actually knew that Master had gone to Shenzhen, but judging by his tone, he didn't know much about the details. After chatting for a while, I invited him to visit me on New Year's Day, and he readily agreed.
By the way, Dongzi wants to inform you that he now lives in Fengyan Pavilion. It doesn’t matter whether he is close to his hometown people or not. After all, in the huge Wuxiang City, you can no longer find a person from Heshui County working in the government.
After deciding on the personnel, I will call each one to confirm.
What I didn't expect was Xiaolin. She said she could come over early to help. My heart warmed and I said, "Aren't you going home?"
"I'll go back in the afternoon. It's not far."
Then confirm with Mr. Tan. She said on the other end of the phone: "Master, I was just about to call you to ask for leave. My eldest brother has returned from Shaanxi. Sorry, I will visit you another day."
So, I called Dongzi. Dongzi said he had a girlfriend and was going to his girlfriend's home in the countryside, and would come back to congratulate her on January 2nd.
As a fortune teller, I often believe in premonitions. Since the master stopped coming, Mr. Deng stopped coming, Xiao Liming stopped coming, Mr. Tan stopped coming, and even Dongzi stopped coming.
Fortunately, Brother Shi remained unchanged, Mr. Xipo agreed to come, and Xiaolin was beyond my expectation.
After making a phone call, my brother-in-law came in.
I told him about the guests coming tomorrow. My brother-in-law smiled and said, "You have to be understanding of others. Everyone has things to do on New Year's Day."
However, he was surprised that Xiaolin was willing to come, and sighed: "If you find this Xiaolin, she would be a good helper. She is smart, capable, and beautiful."
I blushed and thought: It seems that Master has no intention of betrothing Lan Xin to me. If he really had this intention, he would have told Lan Xin's parents in person before leaving.
Judging from Lan Xin's mother's behavior, if Master and Mistress had conveyed this message to her before, she would not have acted so unkindly that day.
I gave my brother-in-law a cigarette and said, "Let me tell you a story about growing vegetables."
"Growing vegetables?"
"Yes, growing vegetables. Youranju has become a vegetable garden." I then told him about the day I was growing vegetables, how I was not allowed to take the book, and how I had to hand in the car for inspection for a long time.
My brother-in-law was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. He said, "That Lan Xin matter, was it all our speculation?"
I nodded.
My brother-in-law sighed, "There are still people like this in the world?"
I nodded and said, "Some people are polite and sensible until you have contact with them. But once you have contact with them, you will know what kind of person they are."
"If Xiaolin likes you, go find Xiaolin. You don't have any baggage now."
I didn't say anything.
…
The next day was New Year’s Day.
I chose to move at 9:08.
My brother-in-law drove a car and put a fire in it, which meant that he was bringing the fire over. Brother Shi drove another car to help me pick up and drop off people.
Outside in the yard, as soon as the firecrackers blasted, everyone got on the elevator and walked in. Brother Shi began to praise them, and he spoke the string of auspicious words very fluently.
Yifan, who had arrived early, had already turned on all the lights and the TV. I chatted with Shi Ge while the whole family was busy preparing lunch.
Aside from Shi Ge, Xiao Lin was the first to arrive. She was dressed smartly, clearly a kitchen helper. As soon as she opened the door, she greeted Uncle and Auntie with a bright smile and waved to everyone.
Maybe my brother-in-law told my mother those disgusting things about Lanxin's parents, so when my mother saw Xiaolin, she was very affectionate, holding her hand and looking at her constantly.
My mother absolutely wouldn't let her help in the kitchen, but Xiaolin said that she was here to help in the kitchen. After that, she really felt like she was at home and started helping my mother.
After a while, Mr. Xipo arrived. I introduced him to Brother Shi and took them to see the decoration of the main floor duplex. Brother Shi said that the decoration cost 400,000 yuan but the effect of 800,000 yuan was achieved. Xiaolin's design skills are quite good.
I was gazing out over the surroundings from the duplex balcony when my brother-in-law brought Director Ming up, a move that touched me greatly. He had already met Brother Shi and Mr. Xipo at the grand opening banquet, so no introduction was needed.
We found a few chairs and sat on the balcony to chat. The winter sun was warm and fluffy. Director Ming didn't understand what was going on and actually asked, "Your master didn't come?"
Brother Shi said, "Something happened at Master's house."
I tried to stop him, but it was too late. Director Ming was eager to hear more, so Brother Shi began to talk. He went into ever-greater detail. I was shocked: I'd assumed only a few people knew about this, but from what Brother Shi had said, it was now known to everyone.
Everyone felt sorry for Master Hongyi, saying he had been a hero his whole life, yet something like this had happened to him in his old age. However, after a few words of regret, no one talked about it any further. Suddenly, they seemed to understand that today was my day to move.
At this time, my brother-in-law came up and asked everyone to go downstairs and sit down.
My mother prepared a sumptuous meal. I brought out a bottle of good wine, and we enjoyed the meal to our heart's content. Everyone toasted back and forth, and unexpectedly, Xiaolin could hold her liquor quite well. She responded well to everyone's toasts, spoke appropriately, and didn't seem tipsy at all.
Shi Ge pretended to be drunk and said, "Xiao Lin, I'm drunk. You haven't found a partner yet, have you?"
Xiaolin blushed slightly and smiled.
Brother Shi picked up the wine glass and drank it all: "If you haven't found one yet, I'll introduce you to someone called Wan Shan Hong who is quite good.
Everyone at the table burst into laughter. Xiaolin's face flushed red. He lowered his head, bewildered.
My mother came out to smooth things over: "Xiao Lin, eat quickly. You've worked hard on the renovations, so you should eat a full meal." Then she put a piece of chicken into her bowl.
My sister deliberately rolled her eyes at Shi Ge: "Shi Ge, you are out of date. Young people nowadays don't need matchmakers. They are all free to fall in love."
My brother-in-law was smart. He said, "I invited Xiaolin to be my guest, and you guys are making fun of him. Don't you want to let him eat his fill?"
Xiao Lin raised his head and said, "I'm really full. You guys eat slowly."
My sister also put down her bowl and said, "Xiao Lin, let's go upstairs and sit for a while."
Shi Ge said: "I'm serious."
Director Ming said: "Smart, beautiful, and hardworking."
Mr. Xipo said, "Shanhong, take the initiative. This girl is really good. She has a nice dimple. She will bring good luck to her husband."
Director Ming became interested: "Dimples bring good luck to your husband?"
Mr. Xipo said slowly, "If a girl had a pair of peach blossom eyes, dimples would be a curse, but this girl has a pair of phoenix eyes, which will bring good luck to her husband. Her smile is charming and measured."
Director Ming slapped his thigh and said, "It would be fine if you didn't mention it, but now that you do, it really does look like it."
Everyone ate and chatted, and after finishing one bottle, they ordered another.
After a while, Xiaolin came downstairs and said she wanted to go home. My mother saw her out and kept asking her to come and play more often.
After the wine was finished, the guests said they were done eating and took their leave one by one. However, Mr. Xipo was old and worried that it would be inconvenient for him to drive, so Yifan volunteered and insisted on driving Mr. Xipo back. He also said that he could just take the shuttle bus back.
After the guests left, my mother said, "Shanhong, your brother-in-law told me about your master's relative. How can parents like that raise a good daughter? The master said you won't get married until you're 30. The master isn't a god. Go find Xiaolin."
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