The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 131 Sun Xin and Sun Xiang

"The happiest person about this should be Chen Rui's mother, right? He's retaking the college entrance exam and getting into a prestigious university in Beijing. Whether he goes back to take the civil service exam or go into business after graduation, his family has already paved the way for him."

Shao Xingchi said with envy.

After finishing, I found that no one responded.

On second thought, I realized that both Xie Wanghe and Zhou Haikuo, deep down, envied Chen Rui's family, just like me.

Who wouldn't want a district chief as their mother?
We weren't originally from the same circle; we only came together because of Ma Siyi.

After the college entrance examination, Xie Wanghe and Zhou Haikuo must have breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that Chen Rui had scored over 600 points but only applied to a second-tier university.

At least when it comes to taking the college entrance exam, the two of them finally outperformed Chen Rui.

Chen Rui has now decided to retake the college entrance exam, and his score next year might be enough to get into Tsinghua University or Peking University.

As a result, Xie Wanghe and Zhou Haikuo were once again outmatched by Chen Rui.

Thinking about this, Shao Xingchi suddenly felt that it was actually quite good that he didn't take the college entrance examination. At least he wouldn't be like Xie Wanghe and Zhou Haikuo, always looking for something better.

At this moment, Xia Fenghua suddenly shouted.

"Oops!"

All eyes turned to Xia Fenghua.

"If Chen Rui comes during the National Day holiday, wouldn't he be just in time for the welcome party of Yanjing Business School?"

Xie Wanghe adjusted his glasses, somewhat speechless.

I thought it was something serious, but it turned out to be just this?

"Siyi will be performing on stage as a member of the Barbarian Band, and Siyi and I finally managed to get four tickets from President Yang."

According to Xia Fenghua's original plan, she and Ma Siyi would use two cards, and the remaining two would be given to Xie Wanghe and Zhou Haikuo.

Shao Xingchi and Chen Rui were not included at the time.

Zhou Haikuo spoke first: "I won't go. The 'Homework Helper' project team is quite busy. I only took leave today because I heard about Xingchi's accident."

Shao Xingchi also said that he still needs to look for a job and he won't go.

That way, the tickets will be just right.

Xia Fenghua was disappointed that her friends from Huajie couldn't go together, but that was all she could do for now.

The five of them arrived at the second floor of the Maple Tree Cafeteria. There were many students eating at this time, and a long queue had formed in front of one shop window.

Xie Wanghe and Zhou Haikuo weren't like this last time they came.

Xia Fenghua explained to the two that the shop sells braised pork trotters rice, which was already very famous on campus. After the episode of "A Bite of University Canteens" by Old Boys went viral online, the shop has become a famous "check-in spot" for Yanjingmao students.

I didn't expect everyone to come to Maple Tree Restaurant for a meal, otherwise Xia Fenghua would have come early to queue up.

In the end, the five of them ate at the Yangzhou fried rice restaurant recommended by Xia Fenghua.

The taste was indeed good, but Shao Xingchi still said that he felt it wasn't as good as Zhou Haikuo's father, Zhou Yanlin's.

Taking this opportunity, Shao Xingchi asked about Zhou Haikuo's mother, Luo Zhimei.

“She came to Yanjing. We met once before. Anyway, she kept repeating the same thing: she felt that her acting career had been delayed and hoped that I would stay in Yanjing after graduation to develop my career.”

"Then what about your father?" Xia Fenghua asked in return.

Zhou Haikuo shrugged:

“Let him stay by the canal. If he had wanted to come to Yanjing, he wouldn’t have divorced my mother.”

Shao Xingchi sighed: "At least they can get a divorce, and they did it after you finished your college entrance exam. Unlike my mom, who would rather endure my dad's endless domestic violence than get a divorce. Once I make something of myself in Yanjing, I will definitely bring her here."

Zhou Haikuo didn't want to talk about his parents anymore, so he asked Shao Xingchi about his experience of coming to Yanjing to find a job, and how he was tricked into joining a pyramid scheme.

Shao Xingchi said with a wry smile, "It's because I couldn't find a job, and then I heard that that company made a lot of money and didn't require any education or work experience, so I went there."

"Don't you think there's any such thing as a free lunch?" Xie Wanghe couldn't help but say.

The "fatherly" tone was a bit too much, and Shao Xingchi felt uncomfortable hearing it, so he replied with a self-deprecating remark:
"Yeah, even if a pie falls from the sky, it'll hit you college students first, not someone like me who only graduated from high school."

Seeing Shao Xingchi's reckless attitude, Xie Wanghe immediately became furious: "You've already fallen to this state, and you're still holding a grudge against your father? If I were you, I would go back and retake the college entrance exam for another year, at least get a bachelor's degree, otherwise what kind of good job can you find in the future?"

Before Shao Xingchi could say anything, Xia Fenghua became unhappy.

"Who says you can't find a good job after graduating from high school? Siyi and I both found jobs, didn't we?"

Just as Xie Wanghe was about to retort, Zhou Haikuo stepped forward and told the two to stop arguing.

Because of his parents' discord, Zhou Haikuo could understand Shao Xingchi's decision to run away from home and supported Shao Xingchi in continuing to look for work in Yanjing.

“Dahua, isn’t President Yang planning to expand Cainiao Stations to surrounding universities? Why don’t you talk to him and let the next pilot project be held at Yanhang University? Then let Xingchi go to the station there, and I’ll work with Xingchi.”

Xia Fenghua nodded vigorously, thinking this was a good idea.

Xie Wanghe immediately poured cold water on the idea: "You two are just employees, and you're actually arranging things for the boss?"

He first looked at Xia Fenghua, who looked unconvinced: "Even if we want to expand, we have to wait until the Yan Jingmao store is successfully operating and proves that the express delivery station model is feasible before we can roll it out to other universities. At the earliest, it will be next year, right?"

Then he looked at Zhou Haikuo: "You've only been with the 'Homework Helper' project team for a short time. You should at least wait until this project goes live before you have the energy to do anything else, right? Are you going to let Xingchi just wait around for the next year and a half?"

Before Zhou Haikuo could speak, Xia Fenghua interjected, "Xingchi can find another job nearby first."

Shao Xingchi suddenly said, "I actually looked for a job around here. You know Fairfield Hotel, right? I wanted to apply for a doorman position, but they said I needed a driver's license."

"Fairytale Hotel?"

Xia Fenghua and Ma Siyi exchanged a glance and were both stunned.

Isn't Yang Tao the lobby manager of Fairfield by Marriott?

If we can get her help, we should be able to solve Shao Xingchi's job problem.

Xia Fenghua revealed her plan, and Xie Wanghe immediately frowned.

"How do you know the lobby manager of Fairfield by Marriott Hotel?"

“She is a friend of General Manager Yang. When we went to the police station today, we couldn’t get a taxi, and she gave us a ride because she was passing by.”

The speaker was Ma Siyi.

Xie Wanghe then fell silent.

Ultimately, this matter still falls on Yang Muye's shoulders.

Whether Xia Fenghua or Ma Siyi speaks up, they will both owe Yang Muye a favor.

Moreover, the debt of gratitude will only grow larger and larger.

Xie Wanghe didn't want to see this happen, but he was powerless to stop it and could only watch helplessly as Ma Siyi sent a text message to Yang Muye.

I felt incredibly frustrated.

When Yang Muyi received Ma Siyi's text message, they had just arrived at the entrance of the alleyway of Wang Niulang's large courtyard.

The alley ahead is too narrow for cars to get through.

Fortunately, Wang Niulang was very familiar with the area and found a parking spot not far from the alley entrance.

The four got off the car and walked into the alley.

On both sides were those large, cramped courtyards, many where three generations of a family squeezed into two small rooms. They cooked outside, and had to walk a long way to a public toilet to relieve themselves. In Wang Niulang's self-deprecating words, this was the authentic old Beijing.

The hole-in-the-wall restaurant that Wang Niulang mentioned, which serves hot pot, is not far from the entrance of the alley.

The store environment is okay, and the tables and chairs look quite clean, but there aren't many customers.

There was no air conditioning, but two large fans were whirring overhead.

Wang Niulang greeted the shop owner familiarly and asked him to cut three catties of mutton first.

The copper pot, heated by charcoal, was steaming hot when it was served.

The key to Yanjing hot pot, besides the importance of fresh, tender, and non-gamey mutton, lies in the dipping sauce.

After sitting down, Wang Niulang told Yang Muyi that he had been craving the sesame paste from this shop since he was a child, and that the taste was absolutely amazing.

Following the recipe recommended by Wang Niulang, Yang Muye prepared a dipping sauce, picked up a piece of cooked mutton from the pot, dipped it in the sauce, and then took a sip.

The taste was actually pretty good.

However, for Yang Muyi, who comes from the Southwest F4, the northern hot pot and dipping sauce are still a bit hard to get used to.

Yang Tao and Lan Weiwei, both locals from Yanjing, praised the food as delicious.

Yang Muyi used serving chopsticks to pick up three slices of mutton, dipped them in the copper pot, and placed them on the plate in front of Yang Tao.

Seeing how Yang Muyi was taking such good care of Yang Tao, Lan Weiwei pretended to be jealous and said she wanted some too.

Just now in the car, Lan Weiwei kept looking for opportunities to chat with Yang Muye, and she thought they were quite familiar with each other.

Yang Muye ignored her and looked at Yang Tao, explaining, "Senior, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with."

Yang Tao knew that Yang Muyi wouldn't offer help for no reason.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

"I just ran into those two girls on the street. One of their friends also came to Yanjing to work after failing to get into university. He had previously inquired about finding a job at your hotel. Do the doormen at your hotel have to have a driver's license?"

"It depends on the situation. If you're only responsible for carrying luggage for guests, you don't necessarily need a driver's license. If you can park for guests, you can earn an extra two hundred dollars."

As soon as Yang Tao finished explaining, Wang Niulang immediately remembered the young man who had come to inquire about the doorman's job that night.

Just as he was wondering if it was the same person, Yang Muye brought up the matter.

"I've met that guy before, so his appearance is definitely not a problem."

Yang Tao nodded.

"I can help recommend him, but I can't guarantee that the hotel will hire him."

Wang Niulang then added, "If he's really hired, I can mentor him more."

Yang Muyi immediately texted Ma Siyi back and told her about it.

I put down my phone and noticed two more slices of mutton on my plate.

I cooked the star fruit and gave it to him.

Just as she was about to express her gratitude, Lan Weiwei also picked up two slices of mutton from the pot and put them over, saying that she was thanking Yang Muyi for helping her expose the scumbag today.

Yang Muyi glanced at Wang Niulang beside him and wondered if Lan Weiwei had thanked the wrong person.

Wang Niulang was a clever man. Seeing this, he also picked up two slices of mutton, cooked them, and put them in Yang Muye's bowl.

"I am the one who should thank Mr. Yang. If it weren't for your righteous words, I would have been fooled by that bastard Li Wei again."

Yang Tao and Lan Weiwei were both very curious.

What's with this "again"?

Wang Niulang then recounted how Li Wei had swindled him out of 100 yuan back in high school.

Lan Weiwei was indignant after hearing this: "Why didn't you say this at the police station? You should have brought all your high school classmates here. If the amount is over three thousand, you could have filed a case against him for fraud."

Wang Niulang explained with a smile that he only had five or six high school classmates he was still in contact with, and it would be too much trouble for them to make a long trip to the police station just to get back a couple hundred yuan; they might not even be willing to do so.

Lan Weiwei then remained silent.

Yang Tao also advised Lan Weiwei:
"Didn't you say on the way here that that scumbag was kneeling in front of you, begging for forgiveness? Okay, stop being angry."

Lan Weiwei immediately emphasized, "But I didn't soften my heart and forgive him."

When Uncle Hat at the police station suggested that the two parties settle their differences, Lan Weiwei refused outright and insisted on informing Li Wei's family and workplace about Li Wei's fraudulent activities of impersonating an unmarried person.

No matter how much Li Wei cried and begged for mercy, it was no use.

In the end, Li Wei's wife and his company leader were all called to the police station by Uncle Hat.

Li Wei's wife is making quite a scene, but it's hard to say whether she will divorce him in the future.

But judging from the company leader's cold and disgusted attitude, Li Wei was definitely going to lose his job.

Anyway, Lan Weiwei felt quite relieved and even suggested drinking to celebrate.

Yang Tao had to drive, and Wang Niulang had to go back to work the night shift, so neither of them drank.

Yang Muye didn't want to drink either.

Finally, Wang Niulang got a bottle of Red Star Erguotou from the boss, but Lan Weiwei only took one sip and then gave up.

It's too spicy; I can't drink it at all.

After finishing their hot pot, Wang Niulang escorted Yang Muyi and the other two to the entrance of the alley.

Wang Niulang's two rooms in the courtyard were small and dilapidated. In addition, he rarely lived there, and a layer of dust had accumulated inside, making it impossible to entertain guests. Therefore, he did not invite Yang Muye to come in and sit down.

However, after looking at the houses, Yang Muyi told Wang Niulang that this area would most likely be demolished in the future.

If they were lucky enough to be among those years when housing prices skyrocketed and their houses were demolished, Wang Niulang's two houses could have received a considerable amount of compensation.

“There have been rumors for a long time that this area will be demolished, but there has been no movement so far. No one in my courtyard is selling their house, but many families in other courtyards can’t wait any longer and have sold their houses and moved away. Poverty cannot be moved, that’s what I’m like.”

Even as they parted, Wang Niulang couldn't resist making a self-deprecating joke.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a woman's voice came from the alley.

"Oh, who's here again offering their insightful opinions? It's none other than our great leader, Master Wang!"

Two women emerged from the alley; they looked quite similar, likely sisters.

The taller one is the older sister; she has long hair, wears high heels, and has the air of a sophisticated urban woman.

The shorter one is the younger sister; she's still wearing her high school uniform and carrying a backpack, looking very well-behaved and sensible.

The one who just spoke was my older sister.

She and her sister also greeted Wang Niulang.

"Brother Wang Rui."

Wang Niulang responded and turned to look at his sister:

“Sun Xin, look at your sister. You, as the older sister, should learn from her! It’s true that Chu Xiaoyu and I are buddies, but he is him and I am me. No matter how much you have a problem with Chu Xiaoyu, don’t take it out on me.”

(End of this chapter)