Chapter 18: A dung beetle sitting on a roof beam, and he's even putting on airs

Ning Weidong is on the middle shift today, clocking in at four in the afternoon and handing over at midnight.

With time during the day, it's the perfect chance to tidy himself up.

From the very first day he transmigrated, Ning Weidong wanted to cut this bird's-nest hair; it was quite long and not washed often, greasy all over, and a single scratch with a fingernail would bring up a layer of oil-grime.

Then there was changing his outfit; it didn't need to be fancy, but it had to be decent—at the very least, not wrinkled, dirty, or sloppy.

While pondering where to go, Ning Weidong reached out to lift the door curtain, intending to head out.

Who would have thought that just as one leg stepped out, he saw a figure flicker outside and nearly collided head-on.

Ning Weidong let out an "Oh," and upon focusing his eyes, saw it was Bai Fengyu.

Bai Fengyu was also startled and took a step back: "You scared me to death~"

"You have the nerve to say that to me? You were creeping around like someone sneaking off to plant a landmine." Ning Weidong was in a good mood, so he spoke more freely.

"Can you even talk properly? You're the one who's Watanabe sneaking off to plant landmines~" Bai Fengyu glared at him in annoyance, then twisted her hips to bypass Ning Weidong and squeezed through the doorway.

Ning Weidong turned around and followed her back in.

In truth, Bai Fengyu had wanted to come for a while; she knew Ning Weidong was on the middle shift and didn't work during the day.

She had intended to wait until Xiao Lei went out to play before coming over, but Wang Jingsheng arrived first, which is why she had waited until now.

Once inside the room, she asked: "Weidong, did your brother say anything to you yesterday?"

Ning Weidong chuckled and said: "Are you talking about that matter Lu Dama brought up?"

Bai Fengyu pursed her lips; one look at Ning Weidong's reaction told her that this matter was likely not going to work out.

She frowned and said: "You didn't take a fancy to our Fengqin?"

Ning Weidong hurriedly waved his hands: "Look at what you're saying, how could that be~ I've met Fengqin, and her looks and character are top-notch, plus she's a high school student; it's me who isn't good enough. You tell me, I'm just in a Big Collective, my monthly salary is only 17.5 Ocean Coins, and I'm squeezed in here with Xiao Lei—how thick-skinned would I have to be to have the nerve to start a family?"

Bai Fengyu was still unwilling to give up: "Cut the crap, my sister isn't after your salary or your house~"

Ning Weidong said: "Sister, that's not how you put it. Whether she's after it or not is one thing, but whether I have it is another; I really haven't considered personal matters right now. Besides, come summer, when Fengqin becomes a college student, how could I have the nerve to hold her back?"

Bai Fengyu felt stifled; how did this boy, who used to be so clumsy with words, suddenly have such a set of grand principles?

Yet she had no way to refute him, and she could see that Ning Weidong was as stubborn as a turtle eating a weight, so she could only give up, huffing: "You ungrateful blockhead! With a girl as good as Fengqin, let's see where you'll find another one later."

Ning Weidong smiled and said: "Sister, I know you're good to me, but now really isn't the time."

Bai Fengyu let out a "Hmph": "I'm done with it, there will come a day when you regret this."

Having said that, she twisted her hips and walked off, waving her hand.

Once in the courtyard, the chill hit her face, and Bai Fengyu felt icy inside.

Bai Fengqin was her final move. She had calculated that by offering five Ocean Coins, plus a beautiful maiden like Bai Fengqin, it would be enough to make Ning Weidong obediently listen and return to the 'right track.'

She never expected Ning Weidong to not buy into this at all!

She truly couldn't understand it; supposedly, Bai Fengqin's looks were not inferior to her own, and although she was younger, her body had fully developed—she had breasts and hips—so why didn't he take a fancy to her~ Bai Fengyu rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath, feeling a massive headache at the thought that in a few days, the creditors would be coming to the door again.

Ning Weidong looked at the swaying cotton door curtain, but didn't take it too much to heart.

After waiting a moment, he went out into the courtyard and didn't see Bai Fengyu.

Leaving the side courtyard, Lu Daye was in the yard fussing with honeycomb briquettes.

"Oh, Weidong, not at work today~" Lu Daye stopped what he was doing and greeted him with a smile.

"Middle shift today, I'll go in the afternoon; I'm heading out to get a haircut." Ning Weidong smiled and walked out the courtyard gate.

Just then, a middle-aged woman hurried out from the Lu family's room; it was Lu Daye's wife.

Lu Dama was in her fifties, her hair had no gray in it and was combed meticulously; because she was particularly fond of cupping and scraping, she had permanent, conspicuous red marks in the middle of her forehead and on her throat, making her highly recognizable.

"Old man, did you see the Ning boy?" Lu Dama asked as she came out, stretching her neck to look outside the courtyard gate.

Lu Daye continued to hunch over, working on the honeycomb briquettes: "Just went out~"

Lu Dama muttered to herself: "You tell me, what is that Ning boy thinking? I saw that sister of Bai Fengyu's, she's as fresh as a flower, big breasts, big butt, looks like she's good for childbearing, and she can even get into high school... Tsk tsk tsk, where are you going to find a match like that? A dung beetle sitting on a roof beam, and he's even putting on airs."

Lu Daye, however, disagreed: "You old woman, what do you know~ Why shouldn't the Ning family put on airs?"

Lu Dama was stunned; she felt that although the Bai Fengqin family's conditions weren't great, she was more than enough to be a match for Ning Weidong.

Hearing her husband's tone, it seemed there was some hidden story.

A middle-aged woman of this age loved to pry into these things most of all, so she hurriedly lowered her voice and asked: "No, what's the situation exactly?"

Lu Daye curled his lip: "I say you have long hair and short insight, and you still won't admit it."

Lu Dama glared at him, but was more concerned about the inside story: "Cut the crap, hurry up and spill it~"

Lu Daye cleared his throat: "When I was buying breakfast this morning, I ran into Section Chief Yang from the Street Office. Section Chief Yang told me that Ning Weiguo's promotion to Section Chief isn't just set in stone, but it's for a key position in a key department, understand~ The real power is huge..."

Lu Dama blinked her eyes, not quite understanding the ins and outs, but she did understand the principle that when the water rises, the boat rises too.

Lu Daye gestured with his chin toward the Ning family's side: "Once the eldest of the Ning family becomes a Section Chief, the unit will definitely allocate them an apartment. By then, those two North Rooms of theirs will all belong to Ning Weidong; this alone is enough to outshine a whole lot of people."

Lu Dama nodded: "That's true; last year when the Zhang family's second daughter in the front row got married, they had to build a makeshift shack in the courtyard, and there was even a tree inside the room—you'd bump your head just turning around, it was pathetic to the extreme."

Lu Daye knew Lu Dama didn't get along with the Zhang family's matriarch and always liked to bring them up to put them down.

He didn't like that, so he didn't take the bait and continued: "That said, that girl from the Bai family, besides being pretty, is a high school student, but what else? No father, no mother, and if she can't get into college, she won't have a job lined up either..."

(End of chapter)