Yonghe Road

Chapter 6 Bosom friend
Zhong Ziwang and Lin Yingying were newlyweds, but they did not indulge in the fleeting good night. On the third day, according to the wedding custom of "returning home on the third day", the two of them brought some gifts such as wine, meat, cakes, etc. and went to the Lin family as the "first guests".

The Lin family was not of the She ethnic group, so they could not sing or play drinking games with Zhong Ziwang. Instead, they hosted a banquet to entertain the new son-in-law. Lin Dangdang could not sing, but he was an expert at drinking, and he quickly got Zhong Ziwang drunk.

That night, the couple stayed at Lin's house for one night and completed the "Moon-facing" return ceremony.

The next morning, Zhong Ziwang sent Lin Yingying back to his home, and went to work at the materials company in the industrial park.

Now that he has started a family and is about to become a father, he must work hard. However, with only his hands and shoulders, how long will it take for him to pay off the hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt?

Zhong Ziwang seemed to be preoccupied while working the whole morning.

Originally, he was already very adept at handling various construction materials in the materials company, but today he was distracted for some reason and almost slipped while carrying a huge stone slab. The stone slab fell heavily on the transport truck. Fortunately, he pulled his hand out in time and only got a slight scratch. If he had not reacted quickly enough, I am afraid that this hand would have been disabled.

"Zi Wang, take it easy at night and save some energy for work during the day." Someone teased him deliberately, and the others followed suit and laughed.

Zhong Ziwang shook his aching palms, feeling a pang of fear in his heart.

When he was leaving get off work, he passed by the white tea factory and saw that it had closed down. The owner of the tea factory was standing at the door with a key in his hand, looking dejected, as if waiting for someone. When he saw Zhong Ziwang riding his electric donkey, he forced himself to greet Zhong Ziwang.

"Zi Wang, I'm so sorry. I didn't give you any gift for your wedding."

He has already been fired, so why should I give him a gift?

Zhong Ziwang only said in his heart that he was a gentle person and did not dare to confront others head-on. Even if he was right, he would not dare to say anything that would offend others.

Zhong Ziwang still showed a kind smile and said, "We don't have any personal connections, so there's nothing to be sorry about. Why did your tea factory close down?"

"sold."

Zhong Ziwang's electric scooter didn't stop, leaving the tea factory owner's voice on the wind. He couldn't continue to collect a second salary at the tea factory anyway, so he sold it, it was none of his business.

Zhong Ziwang didn't care about the tea factory owner's sadness. He was upset about his debts and bruised hands.

After leaving the industrial zone, Zhong Ziwang didn't go home first. Instead, he went to the village primary school guardhouse as usual to smoke with Old Xie. The two men, one old and one young, closed the door of the guardhouse and smoked while looking out the window at the campus scenery.

Most of the children have already finished lunch, and the few who stayed have already finished lunch and are taking a nap. The whole campus looks quiet and beautiful: the teaching building with light blue walls, the red and green plastic track, the playground surrounded by green trees, and the flower beds are full of pink, white and purple Gesang flowers.

Next to the teaching building is the library.

Floor-to-ceiling windows offer a panoramic view of the library's interiors and furnishings. Neat rows of shelves are filled with a wide variety of books, and between them are spacious reading areas equipped with comfortable sofas and chairs. There's even a small stage in the center. The entire library is bright and welcoming, stylishly reminiscent of a cafe.

If it weren't for the fact that this is a rural primary school, who would have known it was one just by looking at the campus environment? Apart from the inferior teaching staff, the hardware is not much different from that of schools in the city.

"Children nowadays are really blessed." Old Xie sighed sincerely.

How could he have had such educational conditions as a child? Back then, students attended classes in temples or ancestral halls, with no dedicated school buildings at all. Some even attended classes in dilapidated buildings. Teachers from the city didn't even have dormitories, living in villagers' houses, raising cattle downstairs and drying sweet potatoes upstairs. Even the quarters of the female teachers lacked doors, relying on bamboo curtains for privacy. Even in the early 90s, when Zhong Ziwang was born, schooling conditions were not as good as they are today. "One without, two with" was the goal of education in eastern Fujian: no dilapidated buildings, but with desks and chairs.

Old Xie sighed deeply, hating himself for being born in the wrong era and not catching up with the good times, so he could only be blind all his life.

When Old Xie sighed, Zhong Ziwang also hissed.

"Young people like you shouldn't sigh. All your blessings will be gone if you sigh." said Old Xie.

Zhong Ziwang extinguished the cigarette butt and raised his right hand. There was a long wound on the side of his palm, with the skin broken and blood faintly visible.

"I didn't sigh, it just hurt a little." Zhong Ziwang explained.

Old Xie asked, "What's wrong?"

"I accidentally scraped my skin while moving stones this morning. It was really dangerous."

Old Xie said nonchalantly, "Your job isn't dangerous at all. Back then, we were digging tunnels in the southwest, using rocks as roofs. A huge rock fell from the top of the tunnel, and I was placing explosives in the pit below. It was a split second before I could get out. If I had been a second slower, I would have been smashed into a meat pie. Fortunately, God was merciful, and only one foot was hit..."

Many years have passed since the incident, but when Mr. Xie talks about that work injury, he still feels a lingering fear.

"Uncle, why do you want to do such a dangerous job?"

"Because the money is high. I can earn in one year what others in the village would earn in several years. What else can I do? I'm a man and I have to support my family. I don't take risks. I need two houses and two wives for my two sons. Where will the money come from? I'm a father after all."

He's going to be a father soon.

After leaving Lao Xie, Zhong Ziwang made a decision in his mind.

■

When Zhong Ziqi handed the IOU to Wang Zian, Zhong Ziwang had already embarked on a journey to the southwest to work.

The IOU listed Wang Zian as the lender and Zhong Ziwang as the borrower. "My brother said he borrowed the money for his wedding, so he should have written the IOU. No matter who you borrowed the money from, to the Zhong family, you're the lender," Zhong Ziqi said, adding his own name after the borrower. "If my brother wasn't my brother, you wouldn't have helped him borrow 200,000 yuan. You lent me the money because of my kindness, so my brother and I will pay it back together."

Zhong Ziqi handed the IOU to Wang Zian.

Wang Zian was not vague either. He carefully read every word on the IOU and pointed to one of them and said, "There's a typo."

Zhong Ziqi hurriedly took the IOU back and checked it one by one. Although he was a sports student, he was not so likely to make a typo even on an IOU. He checked it over and over again, maybe thirty times, and asked in confusion, "Which word is wrong?"

Looking up, he saw Wang Zian trying to hold back his laughter. Zhong Ziqi knew he had been fooled. He hooked Wang Zian's neck with one hand and raised his foot to hook Wang Zian's foot, but Wang Zian turned him over with a backhand.

"After a few years of being a soldier, your skills are different. You want a fight, right? Wang Boya, I won't lose to you."

Zhong Ziqi was eager to compete with Wang Zian, but was pushed away by Wang Zian.

"Who wants to fight with you? You scoundrel, you turned around and had a nosebleed, and then you ran to Ye Shensu to act like a scoundrel and asked me to pay for your medical expenses, bah."

"Who's calling me?"

In the square under the steps of the Filial Piety Culture Park, a seven-member patrol team stood in neat rows. Leading them was Captain Ye Shensu, wearing a police uniform and with his hands behind his back, he looked intimidating without even getting angry.

"Are you two fighting again?" Ye Shensu raised his head and asked the two people on the steps.

"No, how is that possible? Captain Ye educated us last time, and we have reformed long ago. Captain Ye educated us well..." Zhong Ziqi grinned, walked down the stairs with Wang Zian arm in arm.

Wang Zian did not agree verbally, but he was very cooperative in his actions.

As they passed the patrol team, Ye Shensu stopped him and said, "Wang Zian, didn't I hear that after you retired, you were assigned to the township police station as a household registration officer? Why haven't I seen you report in?"

"Who told you that? How come I don't know?" Wang Zian said, pulling Zhong Ziqi away quickly.

Sitting on the back seat of Wang Zian's electric scooter, Zhong Ziqi suddenly patted Wang Zian on the back, scaring him.

"Zhong Ziqi, are you looking for death? I'm driving."

"You're riding a donkey."

"I'm riding you."

Zhong Ziqi did not continue to argue with Wang Zian, but asked Wang Zian to stop the car.

Wang Zian gripped the brakes, lifted his right foot from the pedal, and planted it firmly on the ground. He then followed suit with his left foot. He gripped the handlebars with both hands to steady the bike, then turned to look at Zhong Ziqi. Their eyes met through the transparent plastic visors of their helmets.

"I understand, Wang Boya. Did you give up the opportunity for post-retirement employment and directly take the pension to lend to my brother for the wedding?" Zhong Ziqi figured out where the 200,000 yuan came from. He was excited, touched, and angry. He raised his hand and patted Wang Zian on the back again. "Are you stupid? My brother's wedding is important, but I can't let you give up the official position. I've been trying to get it for years and I haven't been able to get it. Now you give up on me like this. Are you stupid?"

The corners of Wang Zian's mouth curled up slightly, but he said, "Don't be so self-indulgent. I gave up the official position and took the retirement pension directly for my own sake."

As Wang Zian spoke, he restarted the electric scooter. The sudden acceleration caught the person in the back seat off guard. His body suddenly leaned back, and he hurriedly hugged Wang Zian's waist with both hands, barely able to steady himself.

"Isn't it disgusting? You, a grown man, are doing this." Earlier, Wang Zian deliberately mocked Zhong Ziqi.

Zhong Ziqi quickly loosened his hands from Wang Zian's waist, an awkward smile on his face. He adjusted his sitting position to make sure he was sitting firmly before retorting, "I just disgust you."

"Repaying kindness with evil!" Wang Zian sped up the car to be naughty.

Zhong Ziqi had no choice but to hug Wang Zian's waist tightly with both hands and cursed: "Wang Zian, you pervert, where are you taking me?"

The small electric scooter sped all the way into the industrial area and stopped in front of the gate of a white tea factory.

The two got out of the car.

Wang Zian pointed at the tea factory sign with pride: "Dengdengdengcheng——"

"Zhiyin White Tea House," Zhong Ziqi thought, "Isn't this where my brother used to work? Why did they change the sign?"

"Because the owner has changed." Wang Zian said with a smile.

"Who's the new owner?" Zhong Ziqi saw a clue in Wang Zian's smile. "You? You bought this tea factory?"

"It's not just me, it's you too. If we only have Boya but no Ziqi, how can we call it 'Zhiyin White Tea House'?"

Zhong Ziqi was somewhat moved, but his mind still struggled for a moment, "But I don't have any money..."

"Then do your best." Wang Anzi put his arm around Zhong Ziqi's shoulders and said.

(End of this chapter)