Chapter 115 - Only that his heart was pounding out of his chest. (1)
Uncle Zong asked abruptly, “Rugui, did the girl come on foot or on bike?”
Wen Rugui’s chopsticks paused in midair. “She took the bus.”
Uncle Zong asked again, “Did you walk her to the bus stop then?”
Wen Rugui suddenly felt that even the pickled cabbage in his mouth wasn’t tasty anymore. “…… No.”
Old Mr. Wen raised his brows and looked at Wen Rugui with grave disappointment. “Look at you being so inattentive about these things. No wonder you still haven’t found yourself a wife at your age!”
Wen can’t-find-himself-a-wife Rugui, “…………”
Old Mr. Wen was so mad that he shouted out loudly, “And you are still sitting here eating? Hurry up and grab the candies from home and chase after the girl!”
Wen Rugui quickly put down his chopsticks and Uncle Zong, to one side, also bounced up and grabbed the White Rabbit candies and snacks from their house.
Wen Rugui grabbed the stuff and, right when he was about to take off, saw the plate where the pickled cabbage and fish sat.
“Uncle Zong, can you please pour the remainder in a different container. I’ll bring this back to her, cleaned.”
Old Mr. Wen could not have been more disappointed. “You are so good when it comes to studying. Why are you such a fool when it comes to chasing girls? What is the rush of returning the plate to her? Leave it here so you have an excuse to go see her next time!”
Wen Rugui was dumbfounded. You can do that?
Old Mr. Wen waved his hand. “Don’t just stand there. Hurry up and go!”
Wen Rugui did not insist on it. He hopped onto his bike and took off.
Old Mr. Wen tsked and said, “I still have to worry about him at my age and he had the audacity in blaming me for eating his fish? That being said, Rugui wasn’t like me at all. I was so courageous when I was pursuing his grandmother back in the day!”
Uncle Zong tightened his lips and didn’t make a sound.
He, however, remembered what his dad had told him in the past. “Commander was so nervous around the old madam that he’d stutter, and he could barely walk straight. Old madam, for a while there, thought he was a fool.”
Old Mr. Wen said, “Xiao Zong, take out two pieces of the green bean cakes. One for you and one for Rugui. Bring the rest into my room. If Rugui asks later on, tell him you ate the rest.”
Uncle Zong, “……”
Commander, you can’t be that shameful!
***
Wen Rugui chased after Tong Xuelu on his bike, but Tong Xuelu had already taken off on a bus.
He recalled her telling him that she would be switching to work at the government-operated restaurant. He kicked his feet and headed toward the government-operated restaurant.
Tong Xuelu returned to Su Xiuying’s place and picked up the rest of the green bean cakes that she had made. Instead of returning to Yanqing County, she planned to go check out the black market.
It was still two years from the reform and opening and she didn’t want to just sit around and do nothing. She should at least make some more money and aim to buy their own house as soon as possible.
She had asked Su Xiuying the whereabouts of the black market.
Su Xiuying was surprised that Tong Xuelu was asking about it but she didn’t pry any further. She merely told Tong Xuelu of its location and what to watch out for.
Tong Xuelu thanked Su Xiuying and headed toward Xishui Road with her green bean cakes.
After arriving at Xishui Road, Tong Xuelu finally understood why the black market was located here.
Xishui Road was very hidden and had a lot of small branches leading into all directions. During a crackdown, people there would be able to get away easily from any of these small paths instead of everyone being caught at the same time.
That being said, the black market’s location wasn’t fixed. Once the cops had discovered it, the underground people would abandon the location and look for a new one. It was always in flux.