In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

Zhang Yong and Wei Shuyun chatted in the study for a short while before all the dishes were served.

The dinner table was lively for a while.

Li Guilan cut the leanest sausage in the house in half and stir-fried a large plate of garlic sprouts with pork belly. Zhang Defa took out half a bottle of Beijing Erguotou from the cupboard and secretly clinked glasses with Wei Dabiao.

The two grown men went from being stubborn to secretly drinking a little wine, separated only by a single bite of twice-cooked pork.

After finishing his meal, Wei Dabiao glanced at his watch and stood up.

"Old Zhang, sister-in-law, I have to go back. There's another truckload of goods to load at the factory this afternoon."

Li Guilan wrapped a bag of sliced ​​sausages in oil paper and forced it into Wei Shuyun's hand.

"Here you go! This packet contains very little salt; it'll be ready to eat after steaming."

Wei Shuyun tried to push it twice but failed. Clutching the oil paper package, she followed Wei Dabiao downstairs.

In the courtyard, Wei Dabiao started the tricycle, which sputtered and emitted black smoke. He stuck half his head out of the window and shouted at Zhang Yong.

"Yongzi! I'll make preparations for the tasting event as soon as I get back! Come over and help me oversee the selection!"

"Okay, Uncle Wei, drive slowly!"

The tricycle turned out of the alley, and the sound of its engine gradually faded into the distance.

Wei Shuyun pushed her bicycle and stopped briefly at the entrance of the apartment building.

"Then I'm leaving too."

"Okay, be careful on the road."

Wei Shuyun put the oil paper package into the bicycle basket and looked up at Zhang Yong.

"Thank you for what we said inside just now."

"What are you thanking me for? You already had it in mind."

Wei Shuyun pursed her lips and didn't reply. She lowered her head to adjust the bag in the basket of her bicycle, then pushed the bicycle towards the alley entrance.

After taking a few steps, she turned back and smiled.

"You still owe me the honey-glazed three-cut dessert, don't forget."

Before Zhang Yong could reply, the sound of a bicycle bell suddenly came from the direction of the alley entrance.

A tall, thin young man turned the corner and came in.

He was wearing a slightly worn white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a military green canvas bag slung across his shoulder, bulging and stuffed full of things.

It's Sun Lei.

Sun Lei had just returned from the teachers' college with his registration materials and was riding his bike into the alley when he ran into Wei Shuyun.

When he looked up, he almost bumped into the wall.

But when Wei Shuyun walked past him, she didn't even glance at him.

Sun Lei stood there, gripping the handlebars, stunned for a long while.

He has also seen beautiful girls.

When the teachers' college held its registration meeting, the girls in the Chinese department were quite nice. But the one in front of me—is different.

She had her hair tied in a ponytail, wore a floral dress, had a small nose, and her lips were red, not like she was wearing lipstick, but more like she had just eaten a cherry.

A gust of wind blew by, carrying with it the scent of lanolin soap.

She turned around and smiled at the building entrance.

He almost laughed himself silly.

His blank gaze followed Wei Shuyun's smile and landed on Zhang Yong, who was standing at the entrance of the apartment building a dozen meters away.

Zhang Yong was leaning against the door frame, his hands in his pockets, watching Wei Shuyun leave.

Until Wei Shuyun's figure disappeared behind the shadow of the locust tree.

Sun Lei finally came to his senses and locked the car.

His steps were much heavier than usual as he went upstairs.

The door on the fourth floor was closed.

The voice of Sun Jian's wife came from inside.

"Son, you're back? Did you collect all the documents?"

"I've received it."

Sun Lei put his canvas bag on the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Mom, do you know that woman on the bicycle downstairs?"

Which woman?

"The one pushing the bicycle, the one in the floral dress."

Sun Jian's wife was ladling mung bean soup into a bowl when she snorted.

"That's Wei Dabiao's daughter from Tongxian Winery! I heard she got into Tsinghua University!"

She gritted her teeth and slammed the mung bean soup heavily onto the table.

"She came with her dad today to deliver a motorcycle. Guess who it's for?"

Sun Lei shook his head.

"Give this to Zhang Yong, who didn't pass the exam on the eighth floor!" Sun Jian's wife slammed her hand on the table, splashing a few drops of mung bean soup.

"A car worth several thousand! You just gave it away like that!"

Her voice grew louder and louder as she spoke.

"Tell me, tell me! Your dad's an official in the Education Bureau, and you're a legitimate teacher's college graduate. In what way are you inferior to that family on the eighth floor!"

"That Wei family girl was chatting and laughing with Zhang Yong downstairs today, and spent the whole morning upstairs with her father..."

Sun Lei mechanically picked up the bowl and took a sip of soup.

The soup was icy and sweet.

But he felt uneasy inside.

……

Late at night.

Only one streetlamp at the alley entrance of the residential area was still lit, casting a dim yellow light.

The lights in every house were off, and only the occasional chirping of crickets could be heard.

Inside the gatehouse, Grandpa Chen leaned back in his recliner, a radio playing storytelling.

The old man watched a lot of excitement today and got tired early; his snoring had long since drowned out the radio.

Fourth floor.

Sun Jian's wife tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

She stared at the ceiling, her mind a jumble of thoughts.

One minute it's Li Guilan's face as she delivers sausages to everyone, the next it's Sister Zhao's awful tone at the gate saying "five hundred yuan"—and what's most infuriating is that motorcycle, worth several thousand yuan! Just given away like that! Why should Zhang Yong have it?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

On what grounds?

Why is everyone in the courtyard so devoted to Li Guilan, who came from the countryside?

Her son is a teacher training student, a nationally enrolled student with guaranteed job placement – ​​a secure, stable job!

Who is Zhang Yong? He's just someone who failed the college entrance exam!

And that motorcycle—

She sat up abruptly and exhaled a strong urge to vent her anger.

That red motorcycle should still be parked under the shed in front of the gatehouse.

No, we can't let Li Guilan get cocky!

She gritted her teeth, quietly got out of bed, grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen, and pulled an old rag from under the sink.

The rag was made from an old jacket that Sun Jian had worn for several years until it became worn out and was eventually discarded as a rag.

She pressed herself against the window and listened for a while, but no one was there.

She opened the door and tiptoed downstairs step by step.

The hallway was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

She leaned against the wall, barely daring to breathe as she walked.

Once you exit the building, the bike shed is on your right.

The streetlights didn't reach this spot; only moonlight filtered in through the tin roof, illuminating a small patch of the red motorcycle's fuel tank.

Sun Jian's wife held her breath, squatted down, and moved closer to the side of the car.

She couldn't see clearly, but she could touch it.

Following the fuel tank downwards, I touched a bunch of lines on the side of the car, but I couldn't tell which one was which.

Before going to bed, she asked Sun Jian what the reasons were for those motorcycles that wouldn't start.

Sun Jian muttered, "If those wires break, it won't work," and then fell asleep.

With a heavy heart, she randomly grabbed one.

The scissors opened wide, and with all their might, they snipped it with a sharp sound.

The wire broke.

She chuckled silently in the darkness, then crumpled the rag into a ball, stuffed it into the exhaust pipe, and shoved it in forcefully.

After doing all this, she stood up, dusted off her hands, and quickly slipped back upstairs.

The door closed very quietly.

......