Chapter 24

Shi Jinhe and Shi Yong both left,

They both have important matters to be busy, only I left in the house.

I myself sigh, life is a gamble, from birth start gambling one's fate,

If I hadn't been adopted by my aunt's husband, how would it have been,

If I didn't cause disaster, injured the most important part of my body, unable to take over aunt's husband's position.

If I didn't acknowledge a bachelor father,

Also going to Qi He, Beishan,

Knowing Qiao Jie, then going out Beishan to Niushiling to work,

In Niushiling I met Qian Niang, Li Ming, Wu Xiezi, Zhang Zong, Xia Yuan, Liu Xian, Yang Tao etc., later established Da Cheng Company.

My life changed like this.

However when I was most prosperous, a building collapse accident occurred,

I took the blame for others and went to prison.

After coming out of prison, using Xia Yuan I avenged myself,

Liu Xian went to prison, Zhang Zong fled, Wu Xiezi jumped off building,

Life ah how like a play, always exciting nonstop,

My life is like this rising and falling.

Now my life again faces a choice, signing a betting agreement with Southern Group,

Afterwards how will it be, I don't know at all.

I look out the window,

Outside the weather is already very hot, already can hear cicadas chirping.

The ward has air conditioning, I don't feel the heat.

I want to recover quickly, get better soon, hurry back to company to work.

Now more than ever it's a critical moment.

At this time, I want to find someone to talk,

I want to talk heart-to-heart with Zhou Wei. Even if she doesn't respond a single sentence, as long as she listens it's fine.

I told Dean Yang, but Dean Yang replied to me, now Zhou Wei's lungs have some infection, cannot see anyone.

Only can wait for her lungs to heal, then I can see her.

Sigh, we are in the same hospital, yet cannot meet.

My heart is very lost.

At night, I alone try to get down from bed, see how my leg injury is.

If foot can touch ground,

I will use crutches to return to company.

I strive to move my body, let the uninjured leg first touch ground,

Support it, then I move the injured leg towards under the bed.

Pain transmitted over, I endure the pain,

Strive to move leg, I want to walk quickly, want to get out of bed, want to go to company to see.

I am sweating on my body,

I grit my teeth, I Zhaoerhai have suffered much, this bit of pain what to fear.

I will not let myself become weak.

Strong belief in heart supports myself,

Really moved the injured leg to bedside.

Believe at this time having a crutch, I will definitely stand up.

I with both hands want to find a support point, let my injured leg get off bed. But body tilts, yet I fall beside bed.

I persist in wanting to get up, if cannot get up, I might directly fall under bed.

Although I have a call bell beside me, but I don't use it, I want to rely on my own strength to stand up.

I am stubborn Zhaoerhai.

Just as I strive struggling, the ward door was pushed open.

A pretty figure came in,

She saw my appearance, hurriedly walked forward, grabbed my arm,

"Chairman Zhao, what's wrong with you. Nurse hurry in."

I looked up and saw actually it's Southern Group's representative Kang Yali.

I didn't expect she would come again to the ward.

Nurse Lin quickly came in, assisted Ya Li to help me onto bed.

Nurse Lin self-reproachfully cried saying: "Chairman Zhao, if you have anything please call me immediately. Don't move like this, if you have any mishap, I will directly resign and go home."

Nurse Lin cried, I felt embarrassed,

"I just want to move my body a bit, staying in bed all day, I'm getting bored."

Nurse Lin said: "Lie down a few more days, let bones heal a bit, then I can help you get off bed, if you keep moving like this, only worsen condition."

Ya Li also said: "Chairman Zhao, you cannot do this."

I looked at Ya Li,

General Manager Kang, it's so late—how did you get here?

Ya Li didn't speak, she glanced at Nurse Lin.

Nurse Lin understood; after checking my leg and finding nothing wrong, she closed the room's door and left.

Only I and Ya Li remained in the room,

Ya Li looked at me,

Then she softly said, "Sun Yansheng, do you still remember me?"

Upon hearing her call me Sun Yansheng, I felt as if I instantly returned to the time I worked at the demolition department.

Ya Li was so young and cute back then.

I laughed and said, "Ya Li, after all these years, you still remember my name is Sun Yansheng. We haven't seen each other for almost twenty years; how have you been all this time?"

Ya Li also laughed,

"I'm fine; I like hearing you call me Ya Li. Hearing you call me Manager Kang feels awkward."

"How did you end up at the Southern Group?" I asked.

"After I finished graduate school, I couldn't find a good job in the Provincial Capital, so I went to the south. By a fortunate coincidence I got hired at the Southern Group and have been working there ever since." Ya Li said.

"Oh, Ya Li, are you married? How old is your child?" I asked.

"I'm not married and have no children." Ya Li said directly.

I looked at Ya Li and said, "In Lanling, girls your age, if they don't marry, people will look at them with strange eyes."

"What are you looking at? In the south it's like that; everyone is used to marrying and having children late, unlike here where women are seen as only capable of bearing children and nothing else." Ya Li said while looking at me.

I cheerfully said,

"How do you know women can't do anything? Ya Li, it's so late; why did you come to see me?"

Ya Li said, "Brother Yansheng, as soon as I entered the ward I recognized you, but there were many people then, so we couldn't acknowledge each other.

I thought that at night your ward would surely be empty.

So I came over from the hotel to check on you.

How did you get injured?"

"I had a car accident. A few days ago I was driving to the Provincial Capital; who would have thought that halfway there I'd get into a crash, breaking my leg, and your sister-in-law Zhou Wei is still unconscious to this day." I said helplessly.

Ya Li upon hearing,

she asked, "Zhou the technician is your wife? I remember your wife was Qiao Jie, living in the countryside, raising your two kids."

I said, "Yeah, I divorced Qiao Jie and married Zhou Wei.

You also know Technician Zhou."

Ya Li nodded,

"Oh! Divorced. Back in the demolition department I heard Wu Xiezi mention Technician Zhou; what happened to Wu Xiezi?"

"He jumped to his death; something went wrong with our demolition housing, and he jumped off a building." I sighed.

"He's dead; Wu Xiezi loved to joke. I never thought he'd jump to his death. I worked at the Great City Company for a short time, and there were also Accountant Xia, He Ping, and these people—why haven't I seen them?" Ya Li asked me about people she knew.

"Xia Yuan let He Ping be killed, He Ping was shot dead, both of them died." I answered.

After I finished speaking,

Ya Li fell silent.

These were all people she knew best, and they all ended up dead.

He Ping had even pursued her for a while.

"Don't be sad about it either; it's all in the past. Life and death are one's fate. Actually, being alive is what's painful in a lifetime."

Ya Li nodded,

"Brother Yansheng, I originally didn't plan to return to Zaocheng, but after almost twenty years I wanted to come home to see you all, to see the people I know, to see how you've been doing—I never expected that some people have already died."

"Sigh, how did you change your name to Zhao Jianqiang."

After Ya Li finished asking,

I looked at the lamp above, wondering how to answer Ya Li; after she left, many things happened—if I were to recount them one by one, I probably couldn't finish even in a whole night.