Xia Xiaolan had just walked out and burst into laughter upon hearing this:
“Want to bet Jiang Yan could shoot you with one bullet?”
Xia Xiaolan knew the owner would bring the wild boar meat, and coming down, she saw exactly that.
Kang Wei peered behind her, making Xia Xiaolan tease him: “Don’t look – Yujun is still in the ward. The resort owner ran up there, bowing and apologizing to Jiang Yan, offering generous compensation and bringing gifts. If Jiang Yan doesn’t accept, he seems ready to commit seppuku in apology. I felt so awkward standing there that I came down to look around.”
As businesspeople do – knowing when to yield. The resort owner bore responsibility; what else could he do but apologize? Wait for the resort to be torn down?
Xia Xiaolan felt not just awkward but also a bit sad – this was the way of business.
People still viewed private entrepreneurs as speculators, calling anyone who made money a profiteer, not knowing how difficult it was to make money in any trade. The owner had connections and the ability to lease the reservoir and run the resort, but how much caution did he need to exercise?
But what he did was necessary – if Xia Xiaolan encountered the same situation, she would bow even lower.
Kang Wei and Shao Guangrong didn’t understand why Xia Xiaolan came downstairs. Zhou Cheng held her hand: “My wife has worked the hardest. Others might not understand, but I feel for you.”
Kang Wei winked at Shao Guangrong – how mushy! If Jiang Yan heard this, she probably really wouldn’t be able to eat those pig trotters.
Jiang Yan was the one injured and lying in bed, yet Zhou Cheng spoke of Xia Xiaolan’s hardship.
Brother Cheng was truly harsh toward Jiang Yan, even suspecting she orchestrated everything herself, investigating again and again.
But if Zhou Cheng completely trusted and appreciated Jiang Yan, even Kang Wei would probably be disappointed – after all, Sister Xiaolan was Brother Cheng’s wife, wasn’t it right for a man to be good to his wife?
Kang Wei couldn’t resist touching the wild boar meat again – the fat pig was so oily, that one touch left his hand greasy.
Little Dan seemed to like fish yesterday, he wondered if she liked pork too. This wild boar meat was really good – he should at least get a leg for Little Dan.
Shao Guangrong couldn’t stand Kang Wei – what a hopeless fellow, first hovering around his girlfriend, now circling a pile of wild boar meat.
“Brother Cheng, are we taking all this meat back to Beijing?”
“Would you rather I take it back to the unit? What did we say yesterday – we went hiking and had an accident. Whether the academy leaders believe it or not, I need to make it convincing. You too – be careful handling things at the unit, don’t try to fool your superiors with clever tricks. They might not confront you because you’re from the Shao family, but they remember everything you do. At crucial moments, they can hold you back for years, believe it or not.”
Zhou Cheng spoke from the heart.
Could anyone say family background didn’t matter at all? Of course, it helped.
With the same qualifications and excellence, people with backgrounds like Shao Guangrong naturally advanced faster than those without.
But if Shao Guangrong grew complacent and played tricks because of this, he would eventually take a big fall. A high starting point wouldn’t help – those cautious and hardworking people were quietly closing the gap created by family background, perhaps unknowingly surpassing Shao Guangrong.
Zhou Cheng used to be somewhat arrogant himself, not bothering with his minor conflicts with Fang Shizhong, and looking down on him.
Fang was ten years older but held the same position, always harboring petty grudges – Zhou Cheng found it hard to respect him… As a result, small conflicts became big problems. Even with a good family background, didn’t he still need two years of advanced training at the academy to eliminate the negative impact?
Looking back now, bad things turned good – it truly made up for many of his shortcomings.
But having experienced it himself, Zhou Cheng hoped Shao Guangrong would avoid such detours.
Shao Guangrong didn’t argue. Zhou Cheng was still like when they were young – would hit him if he didn’t call him brother, then stand up for him after making him cry, teaching him how to fight back against bullying from bigger kids.
Might as well listen obediently – Brother Cheng was surely right.
The resort owner spent half an hour upstairs and came down looking more relaxed – seems Jiang Yan had graciously forgiven him.
Seeing Zhou Cheng’s group still by the van, the owner tried to suppress his smile, “You’re still here – where should we put this meat?”
Finally, over a thousand jin of pork was moved to the Jeep 212’s trunk. Du Zhaohui had spent who knows how much modifying the Jeep, and now it was being used to transport pork…
Kang Wei, the car’s owner, was delighted because he had discussed it with Little Dan, and she didn’t dislike pork.
Unlike domesticated pigs, wild boars weren’t castrated, making their meat quite gamey and strong-smelling. It was nice that Dan Yujun didn’t mind at all, and didn’t think Kang Wei discussing this with her was vulgar.
Food is heaven for the people – could people not eat?
Since the car owner Kang Wei had no objection to transporting wild boar meat from Ji Bei Province back to Beijing, others wouldn’t oppose either.
At most, the car would smell strong – they’d just drive with the windows open to air it out.
Xia Xiaolan was still thinking about how to care for Jiang Yan. She had planned to take leave and stay a few more days, but Jiang Yan showed no appreciation.
She wouldn’t even stay in the hospital, insisting on returning to the academy – how could Xia Xiaolan go in to care for her?
She was dreaming if she thought so – the academy wouldn’t allow it.
Jiang Yan glanced at Zhou Cheng, and facing the nagging Xia Xiaolan, showed signs of embarrassed anger: “Don’t worry that I’ll let Zhou Cheng take care of me. I just have trouble with stairs, naturally, other female trainees will help. Until my foot heals, I won’t appear before Zhou Cheng – is that good enough?”
Xia Xiaolan nodded, “That puts my mind at ease, but I was just thinking about how to help you recover – never mind, don’t worry about it, I’ll have the guesthouse staff prepare and send food.”
Kang Wei was right – wasting pig trotters would be a shame, they should be put to good use.
Jiang Yan was so angered she returned to the academy early.
Earlier she had told Zhou Cheng she wanted to understand Xia Xiaolan, but interacting with her, Jiang Yan couldn’t stand it for even two days.
Xia Xiaolan’s skin was truly thick – she could harshly scold Jiang Yan one moment and thank her with a smile the next. Jiang Yan absolutely couldn’t do the same – she couldn’t “act out” a good friendship with Xia Xiaolan… They had nothing in common to talk about, and Jiang Yan wasn’t willing to play along with Xia Xiaolan’s performance, so she arranged for early discharge.
Xia Xiaolan leaned on Zhou Cheng’s shoulder and whispered: “Can I come see you next week?”
“Not going to Peng City anymore? Little liar!”
Zhou Cheng knew Xia Xiaolan’s schedule perfectly well.
Huo Chenzhou had repeatedly urged that the South Sea Hotel’s renovation proceed over time – interior decoration be finished end of September, exterior landscaping was progressing simultaneously, and early November was set for advance completion inspection. Xia Xiaolan couldn’t avoid going.
Xia Xiaolan sighed, “If only I could split into two – no, three: one at Huaqing University, one doing business in Peng City, and one accompanying you at the academy.”
Zhou Cheng seriously discussed the feasibility: “The academy doesn’t allow family members to accompany students – how could you stay with me?”
“Do you know the foreign fairy tale ‘Thumbelina’? I could become as small as a thumb – during the day you could carry me in your pocket, going wherever you go. At night you could put a small box by your pillow for me to sleep in.”
Zhou Cheng laughed.
He’d flatten her with one roll while sleeping.
But why did his wife’s impossible sweet talk make him so happy?