Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 151 Helpers Hard to Find
Su Jin was free—this was such an important matter that Yan Hui immediately forgot about his cousin.

Before he returned, he told his cousin, but didn't specify what it was about. He mainly had an appointment with President Teng to discuss future cooperation issues tomorrow.

After all, it's already quite an achievement to have managed business this well through such remote communication; maintaining the relationship is still important. Yan Hui had one last gift in his bag: a pair of ginseng roots for President Teng, which he bought for 1500 yuan. When he bought the ginseng, Yan Hui almost laughed; he never imagined he'd actually be buying something like this himself.

Yan Hui bought a few books, which were quite heavy, so the two of them strolled around and first went to the timber market.

Yan Hui's hut had been untouched for a long time. When he opened the door and looked inside, he saw that it was overgrown with grass and the quilt was covered in mold.

"This place is no longer safe to stay in, is it? Are you planning to stay here tonight?" Su Jin asked with some concern.

"No, I'll find a hotel. I'm making money now, it's not that serious." When he got here, Yan Hui didn't even want to leave the book here anymore. "Wait for me a moment, I'll tidy up the room."

"I'll help you." Su Jin put down her bag and went inside to help Yan Hui pull weeds.

There wasn't much grass in the house, since it was quite dark and not much sunlight could get in.

Soon, the two finished weeding. Yan Hui then used the blanket to wipe the dust off the tables and chairs, found a trash can, and threw the blanket and the trash away.

After packing up, Yan Hui opened a hotel near the market entrance, put his things away, and then went out to play with Su Jin.

It was too hot, and there wasn't much to do in the afternoon, so the two went to the bowling alley and played until they were completely exhausted.

"Are you completely better from your cold?" Yan Hui asked with some concern while resting.

"It's nothing, it's all better now. I just don't really want to go to school, hey," Su Jin said, sitting in a chair and taking a sip of her cold soda.

"I remember you were a good student. Is it because the senior year courses are too difficult? Or do you find studying boring?" Yan Hui asked with some concern.

Learning is difficult; Yan Hui feels it's harder than moving logs. The most crucial reason is the lack of a reward system for learning. This reward system doesn't refer to money from parents or bonuses from schools, but rather the difficulty students have in establishing a logical framework for "why I should learn," and their own lack of belief that learning is useful.

After graduating from junior high school, Yan Hui continued to learn. At that time, the reward mechanism was very direct, and he clearly understood why he was learning.

"You're just like my dad," Su Jin chuckled, covering her mouth. "He's always worried about me being under too much academic pressure. No, I wasn't feeling well the past few days, probably a bit of heatstroke. I was thinking of going back to school tomorrow, but since you're finally back, it's perfect, you can spend a few days with me. Oh, right, I haven't asked you yet."

Su Jin suddenly became a little worried: "Did you come back this time because you have something very important to discuss? Will I be a bother to you?"

"I have a dinner engagement tomorrow night, and I'm not free this afternoon or evening. But I'm free tomorrow morning and the entire weekend. I can take care of my other things after next Monday." Yan Hui thought about it carefully; he indeed didn't have many things to do on the weekend.

"That's great! I saw the forecast, it's going to drizzle on Saturday and the weather will be quite cool. How about we go boating?" Su Jin suggested.

“Sure.” Yan Hui and Su Jin made the agreement.

After playing ball, Yan Hui treated Su Jin to dinner. The meal was very pleasant, but Yan Hui didn't expect that when he went to pay the bill, Su Jin had already paid.

“I’m a businessman, I go out and make a lot of money, how can you still treat me to a meal?” Yan Hui said confidently.

He carried over ten thousand yuan in cash with him. "No matter how much you earn, when you come back to Jianye from out of town, I'll still have to treat you to your first meal. I can afford it." Su Jin thought this was normal.

"Alright then, this meal is fine, the rest is mine."

"Okay, okay, I won't fight you for it."

As they talked, the two left the restaurant. Yan Hui decided to take Su Jin home, as it was only eight o'clock and there was still plenty of time.

"I didn't ask you all night, how have you been lately? Have you suffered a lot?" Su Jin asked Yan Hui quietly on the way.

"Didn't I say everything went smoothly?"

"You're saying that again? How is that possible? Can you explain it to me?" Su Jin looked at Yan Hui, full of anticipation.

"Alright then." Yan Hui decided to talk to Su Jin about it.

Su Jin knew a lot about Yan Hui's past in Fengtian. This time, Yan Hui gave a brief account of his experience going to Tangwanghe.

When Yan Hui recounted how someone had a gun pointed at his head, Su Jin was shocked: "Didn't you call the police?"

“Calling the police wouldn’t have helped, and in the end, it was this forest farm that helped me. Don’t interrupt me, let me explain slowly,” Yan Hui continued.

The story seemed long, but it was actually told in just over half an hour. Yan Hui had never spoken so freely before.

He couldn't talk about his grandparents and sister, and he didn't really want to talk about his friends either; everyone had their own struggles. Only with Su Jin was there someone Yan Hui wanted to talk to about everything, but he was worried about affecting her mood.

“Ah, doing business is really not easy. You must be working so hard,” Su Jin nodded gently. “But I’ve always believed in you and believed that you can make this a success on your own.”

"You have so much confidence in me?" Yan Hui asked with some curiosity.

“Yes, I mentioned you to my dad. He heard that you often go to bookstores to buy books and research information, and he said you're better than 95% of businessmen. He also said that most businessmen actually take shortcuts, thinking that as long as they manage their interpersonal relationships well, everything can be solved, but they forget that they should improve their personal abilities.” Su Jin said, feeling a little sorry for Yan Hui. “So, are you going to stay in Northeast China for the rest of the time? I looked up information about Yichun before, and the book said that the temperature there can drop to minus 30 or 40 degrees Celsius in winter, and water freezes instantly.”

“I went home for the New Year when it was that cold, but it really is cold there. I came back this time to expand my business. If all goes well, my company will need to hire more people. If someone can do these things for me, I can relax a bit. But that’s quite difficult. Commodity trading involves a lot of capital, and I don’t trust just anyone.” Yan Hui thought carefully and realized he didn’t have a suitable candidate.

"Have you found any reliable and down-to-earth people in the past few years?"

“Yes, but he still has to go to school. I think he should focus on his studies. I’ll consider having him help me after he graduates from university,” Yan Hui said after thinking for a moment.

"Really?" Su Jin blushed slightly. "Is the person you're talking about me?"

"Huh?" Yan Hui was taken aback. "No, his name is Song Zhiyuan."

(End of this chapter)