“Open the door! Is anyone there? Open the door…”

The sea breeze tattered the voice, but thanks to the man’s strong hands banging on the door, making it shake, the people in the small restaurant finally heard the commotion.

Xia Xiaolan was about to go to bed when she heard the noise outside. Her room with Liu Fen directly faced the restaurant’s business area. Looking out the window, she saw two men, drenched like drowned rats, negotiating with the owner.

They also wanted to stay for the night, but the owner seemed troubled. He had been willing to let Xia Xiaolan’s group stay because she and Liu Fen appeared harmless. Xia Xiaolan was also quite beautiful, making it hard to refuse her request. However, letting two strange men stay overnight made the owner uneasy. The building wasn’t just a restaurant but also his family’s home. Eight out of ten smugglers were ruthless, and the owner didn’t want to host strangers with unknown backgrounds.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to meddle, but upon closer inspection, she recognized the two soaking-wet men as Tang Hong’en and Driver Wang!

Weren’t they supposed to be away on business?

How did they end up in a place like this?

Though filled with questions, Xia Xiaolan couldn’t just watch Wang and Tang Hong’en get turned away.

She got dressed and opened the door:

“Uncle Tang! What a coincidence to meet you here!”

Tang Hong’en’s glasses were broken, covered in cracks and rainwater, making his vision foggy.

Xia Xiaolan’s voice sounded familiar, and as she came closer, Tang Hong’en recognized her.

“Why are you here?”

Tang Hong’en was puzzled, but Driver Wang was overjoyed – nothing was more welcome than meeting a familiar face in troubled times. The restaurant owner wouldn’t let them stay, and while Young Wang could manage, how could they let Tang Hong’en travel in such weather!

“Xiao Xia, please tell this comrade that we’re not bad people.”

Driver Wang’s tone was incredibly friendly.

The owner looked between them – so they knew each other?

Seeing their bedraggled state, Xia Xiaolan quickly pleaded with the owner: “Please let them stay for one night. It’s storming outside, they can barely see the road – where else can they go? I know them both; they’re comrades with proper work units. They’re just travelers in need, and they won’t forget your kindness… At the very least, couldn’t you find them some dry clothes and serve them some hot soup?”

The owner felt awkward refusing, “But I don’t have any spare rooms!”

“That’s fine, we have two rooms – we can squeeze in.”

Li Dongliang and Liu Fen had come out too.

Tang Hong’en looked far from important in his bedraggled state. After changing into clothes borrowed from the owner and wearing his spider-web-cracked glasses, he looked rather comical, but how could Li Dongliang not recognize him? This was the leader his employer Miss Xia had waited for by the roadside – who knew he could end up in such a sorry state.

The small stove bubbled with fish soup.

The soup was loaded with ginger slices, and Tang Hong’en and Wang each drank two bowls before recovering their spirits.

Tang Hong’en never suspected Xia Xiaolan of orchestrating this “chance meeting.” Only his secretary and driver knew his itinerary, and Xia Xiaolan didn’t know his secretary, so she couldn’t have deliberately waited here.

It must truly be fate.

With broken glasses impairing his vision, exhausted from travel and rain, Tang Hong’en was feeling quite unwell.

Still, he mustered the energy to chat with Xia Xiaolan, asking why she had come to the fishing village.

“I came to the Special Zone to visit friends and brought you some local specialties from Yunan. When I called and asked for Brother Wang, they said you were away on business. Since my mother also came to the Special Zone, I thought I’d show her the sea. The weather changed so quickly that we had to stay here tonight.”

Xia Xiaolan had brought him local specialties again.

Tang Hong’en thought of those dates and yams, feeling a warmth in his heart. People tend to get emotional when in difficulty; usually, Tang Hong’en was more rational than this.

He remembered seeing her at the Yangcheng Restaurant with a middle-aged woman – that must have been her mother.

This girl was clever and sharp with a merchant’s shrewdness, yet also filial, bringing her mother to see the sea in the Special Zone… Though the sea there wasn’t much to look at, the fishing village is small and run-down.

Someone like Tang Hong’en wasn’t easily moved – plenty of people tried to give him gifts, but he usually wouldn’t accept them.

Xia Xiaolan was just lucky. Though Tang Hong’en didn’t believe in destiny, he felt her appearances always came at particularly opportune moments.

The first time was on the train from Beijing to Yangcheng when he received his transfer orders. Moving from north to south, Tang Hong’en knew little about his new work environment. Sharing a compartment with Xia Xiaolan, seeing a village girl brave enough to venture south, Tang Hong’en felt he had no reason to hesitate.

The second time was when he was considering working in the Special Zone. While still undecided, he saw Xia Xiaolan having dim sum with her mother. The village girl’s appearance had transformed dramatically in a short time, showing she’d struck gold in Yangcheng. This was the opportunity brought by Reform and Opening Up – Tang Hong’en’s opportunity too. Yangcheng was still too conservative; he wanted to come to the Special Zone, to grow from nothing alongside it.

The third time was when Tang Hong’en went to inspect a construction site. Xia Xiaolan was bold enough to try making money from construction projects.

The fourth time was now, with Tang Hong’en and Driver Wang running into Xia Xiaolan in such a remote place.

Perhaps when he was lost, Xia Xiaolan inadvertently inspired.

In difficult times, this girl lived with such vibrant energy, seemingly unfazed by any challenge, leaving a deep impression on Tang Hong’en.

Tang Hong’en didn’t explain why his business trip brought him to the fishing village. After chatting briefly with Xia Xiaolan, exhaustion overcame him and he went to rest. Tang Hong’en, Driver Wang, and Li Dongliang had to squeeze into one room.

Liu Fen, uncomfortable with strangers, asked who Tang Hong’en was. Xia Xiaolan said they met on the train and he had helped her.

Mother and daughter slept until midnight when Xia Xiaolan heard someone knocking. She woke with a start.

“Miss Xia, he has a fever.”

It was Li Dongliang’s voice!

Who had a fever?

Li Dongliang wasn’t sure how to address Tang Hong’en, “It’s Tang… Mr. Tang. He’s burning up.”

Tang Hong’en had developed a fever.

He and Driver Wang had walked far in the rain before finding the dock’s small restaurant. Tang Hong’en was middle-aged, busy with work, and lacking exercise, unlike the young and robust Wang. Though they both traveled in the rain, Wang slept deeply while Tang Hong’en developed a high fever at midnight.

Li Dongliang, trained in martial arts, was a light sleeper, and sharing a room with a leader made him even more alert.

Noticing Tang Hong’en’s irregular breathing at midnight, Li Dongliang turned on the light to find his face flushed with fever… Driver Wang was still mumbling groggily but snapped awake at Li Dongliang’s words.

Wang was panicked.

Li Dongliang could only notify Xia Xiaolan – his employer valued Mr. Tang, and Li Dongliang wasn’t stupid.

Tang Hong’en was barely conscious. Xia Xiaolan asked the owner if he had any fever medicine for immediate use.

The restaurant owner shook his head like a rattling drum, “No, no, you need to get him to a hospital quickly.”

The rain hadn’t stopped, though the wind had died down.

The restaurant owner feared his medicine might cause complications, and Xia Xiaolan couldn’t beat someone up to force them to hand over fever medicine.

“Where’s the nearest hospital?”