Chapter 16: A Hundred Bucks, You Count It

Bai Fengqin looked at the exercise book in front of her, somewhat distracted.

Beside her, Bai Fengyu was doing needlework.

During the day, she had sought out Auntie Lu from the front courtyard to play matchmaker between Ning Weidong and Bai Fengqin.

Auntie Lu was reliable in her dealings; she had just come by a moment ago and had only just left.

Although Ning Weiguo hadn't refused the night before, he hadn't shown any particular enthusiasm either.

It was quite clear that Bai Fengqin's conditions held no great appeal for the Ning Family.

Auntie Lu had come to provide a preemptive warning, to give the two sisters some mental preparation.

Bai Fengqin pouted, feeling quite indignant inside.

Originally, she had been somewhat reluctant herself, but who would have thought she would be the one looked down upon instead.

She huffed, "On what grounds! I haven't even complained that he's a rough, uncultured man..."

Bai Fengyu was much calmer; after listening to her sister's complaints, she sighed and said, "Fengqin, if you really want to prove yourself, then study hard to get accepted. As long as you get into university, all these problems won't be problems."

Speaking of this, Bai Fengqin felt a bit discouraged, puffing out her cheeks and letting out a breath.

While Bai Fengyu appeared calm and indifferent on the surface, her heart was more conflicted than Bai Fengqin's.

By now, she was completely certain that she could no longer hold Ning Weidong in her grasp.

Otherwise, regardless of what Ning Weiguo and his wife said or what their attitude toward Bai Fengqin was, Ning Weidong would have come to find her.

But today, even waiting until now, there had been no movement from Ning Weidong.

Bai Fengyu couldn't help but lose focus for a moment, then she gasped in cold air, gave a start, and hurriedly pinched her finger.

A bead of blood was pricked out by the needle tip on the pad of her finger.

Bai Fengyu stared at it, her heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.

The next day, Ning Weidong frowned as he opened his eyes.

He glanced at the alarm clock on the windowsill; it was already past eight o'clock.

He was on the middle shift today, starting at four in the afternoon.

He could have slept a while longer, but he had been woken up by a stinky fart from Ning Lei.

"Xiao Lei, yours is just too pungent." Ning Weidong looked depressed.

Who would have expected this brat to actually come out with a smug rhyme: "Tch, Third Uncle, what do you know! My fart is earth-shattering~ it blasts all the way to Italy, where the King of Italy is watching a play; he smells this fart and feels quite satisfied. Whoever farts the smelliest gets named a professor, whoever farts the loudest gets to be the principal..."

Ning Weidong looked at this wretched kid, wishing he could attach a tube to his butt and point it directly at his face, letting him consume his own production.

"You just love to run your mouth~" Ning Weidong glared at him.

He couldn't stay in the room anymore, so he hurriedly put on his clothes and got up.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he grabbed two sheets of toilet paper and headed straight outside the courtyard.

He didn't know if it was because he hadn't fully adapted to the new body yet, but he hadn't felt anything the past two days until this morning, when his stomach started churning.

By this time, the main crowd of commuters had already left, so there was no need to queue at the public toilet in the alley.

Just as Ning Weidong stepped out of the Moon Gate, he saw a man wearing a green cotton-padded jacket, sticking his rear end into the water meter well to put something inside.

Although the water faucet in the middle of the courtyard had been removed, there was still a water meter well nearby, about a meter deep; it had water pipes running through it, warm in winter and cool in summer, much like a refrigerator, so some people who didn't want to move small amounts of vegetables to the Cellar would just store them there.

The man looked up after placing the item and happened to see Ning Weidong, so he hurriedly called out, "Dongzi, you've come just in time."

"Second Brother, haven't you gone out to pull your cart yet?" Ning Weidong stopped and replied.

The man stood up and said with a chuckle, "Leaving right away. By the way, what shift are you on today?"

This man was named Zhou Kun; because he was the second child in his family, outsiders were used to calling him Erkun. He was a Cart Puller who sold his labor and pedaled a tricycle, usually waiting for work near the Trust Store by the Fire God Temple. He was a warm-hearted person, but unfortunately, he had a loose mouth, a naturally loud voice, and loved to make a fuss over nothing.

If that were all, it would be fine, but he also couldn't understand when someone was trying to help him; sometimes when he encountered trouble, even if people were clearly speaking up for him, he would instead bite the hand that fed him, lashing out at those who were helping him.

Because of this personality, he was already twenty-seven and still hadn't found a wife.

The original owner had a pretty good relationship with Zhou Kun, likely because they were birds of a feather—one a reckless youth, the other a muddled fool.

Zhou Kun put the well cover back, his brows furrowed with worry as he mused, "Middle shift, huh~ then tomorrow is the night shift?"

Seeing Ning Weidong nod, he continued, "Well then~ I've managed to get a carp. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll finish my shift early and stew the fish, and we brothers can have a drink..."

Ning Weidong was surprised; for no reason at all, inviting him to stew fish and drink was definitely suspicious~ The original owner had a good relationship with Zhou Kun, but Zhou Kun wasn't generous; the money he earned from his hard labor was counted to the last cent, every bit of it blood and sweat.

Especially since it was just after the New Year and every family was eating lightly, for him to be stewing fish and drinking, it would be strange if there wasn't something going on.

If it were the original owner, hearing about fish and alcohol, he would have agreed without a second thought.

Ning Weidong, however, kept his guard up and said with a smile, "Second Brother, if you have something to say, just say it; why do we brothers need to beat around the bush?"

Zhou Kun waved his hand, "There is something, but it's hard to explain in a word or two. I'll tell you in detail tomorrow, gotta go~"

Without waiting for Ning Weidong to say anything more, he slipped away in a flash.

Ning Weidong frowned but didn't call out to him again.

Seeing how secretive he was, it certainly wasn't something easy to discuss out in the open, and even if he had forced him to stay, it wouldn't have been clear.

More than ten minutes later, Ning Weidong returned from the public toilet.

Fortunately, it was winter, so everything was frozen; there was no smell and no small animals.

He first went to the earthquake shelter, got the brat who carried his own poison gas bombs up, and went to the Upper Room to have breakfast.

Wang Yuzhen had prepared everything before she went to work, leaving it on the table, and it hadn't gotten too cold yet.

After eating, Ning Lei ran out to play.

Ning Weidong was left to tidy up the table, and he checked the time; it was just past nine.

It would probably be the afternoon when Wang Jingsheng came over to deliver the money.

Yesterday, when Wang Jingsheng and his wife said they didn't have cash on hand, Ning Weidong had guessed they wanted to verify some things.

For example, whether he works at the Red Star Steel Factory, and whether Ning Weiguo is at the Mechanical Bureau.

After all, they haven't been in touch for several years; it's impossible for the other party to believe whatever he says.

But he still underestimated the efficiency of Wang Jingsheng.

It wasn't even noon yet, just a little past ten, when he heard someone in the courtyard shouting, "Ning Weidong~ Ning Weidong~"

"Over here~" Ning Weidong replied from inside the earthquake shelter and immediately pushed the door open to come out.

Sure enough, it was Wang Jingsheng standing in the middle of the courtyard, holding his bicycle.

Ning Weidong smiled and told him to go to the Upper Room.

"Tea or just plain boiled water?" Once they sat down in the room, Ning Weidong headed toward the thermos.

"Plain boiled water... alright, I'll get it myself~" Wang Jingsheng didn't stand on ceremony; seeing the white porcelain water pot on the tea tray, he flipped over a cup and poured himself a glass.

Seeing this, Ning Weidong didn't bother with the thermos and returned to sit by the Eight Immortals table.

Wang Jingsheng was truly thirsty and downed a glass of water in one breath.

He wiped his mouth with his hand, fished a roll of money out of his pocket, and slapped it down in front of Ning Weidong: "One hundred yuan, count it~"

(End of this chapter)