Chapter 362: A Secret That Cannot Be Told

In his first life, Shi Dadan was undoubtedly a sincere Dang Kang. Since Xu Nuo told him to hurry up and get to his house so as not to delay and get caught by Factory Manager Xu, Shi Dadan truly went at full speed, charging like a wild boar.

He clutched his lunchboxes and ran against the flow of the crowd, so fast that he even forgot he could put the boxes and the steamed buns into his bag, running all the way out of the textile factory while holding them.

Qin Huai followed behind and almost failed to keep up, nearly getting hit by the invisible wall.

I don't know why the invisible wall range for this memory of Shi Dadan was particularly narrow; as long as Qin Huai lagged even a little bit behind, he would be struck by the wall.

Xu Nuo was squatting under a large tree outside the textile factory waiting for him. Seeing Shi Dadan come out, he hurriedly waved at him, and without waiting for Shi Dadan to speak, he said directly, "Why are you holding the lunchboxes? Don't you have a bag?"

"Oh, I was in such a rush I forgot." Only then did Shi Dadan react. He slowly unzipped his satchel and carefully placed the lunchboxes inside, putting the boxes in first, then the steamed buns, and finally, he had two buns left—one he held in his hand, and the other he stuffed into his mouth.

Xu Nuo felt quite helpless.

"Is this how all you Dang Kangs are? Only active when it comes to eating, and slow at everything else. It's lucky I introduced you into the transport team. Last time, my dad even told me that your personality is suited for driving—cautious and slow to act is better than being rash and careless."

Shi Dadan didn't understand what he meant; he just kept gnawing on his steamed bun, following Xu Nuo toward his house.

They walked for a while, and after Shi Dadan finished the last two buns, he asked slowly, "Xu Nuo, what did you mean by 'rash and careless' just now? Is that an idiom?"

Xu Nuo:...

Qin Huai:...

At this moment, Qin Huai empathized with Xu Nuo. He felt that the expression on Xu Nuo's face was exactly the expression on his own face right now.

Recalling his interactions with Shi Dadan in his second life, Qin Huai suddenly felt that Shi Dadan hadn't had it easy in either life. For someone who disliked reading and studying so much to be able to communicate normally and even use idioms reasonably, he must have suffered quite a bit in his studies!

He really must have hated reading.

"Did you read the primary school textbooks I gave you?" Xu Nuo asked.

Shi Dadan scratched his head with an embarrassed smile: "I read them, but I couldn't keep going. I get sleepy as soon as I look at them. I barely managed to recognize most of the characters before I stopped."

"Then did you listen to the radio I gave you?"

"I listened. I get sleepy as soon as I listen to it. I listen to the radio every night when I get home, and it helps me sleep very well."

Xu Nuo:...

Xu Nuo stopped walking, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then raised his voice slightly: "Even if you are a Dang Kang, a beast of good omen, that's not how you undergo the Tribulation."

Shi Dadan said honestly: "But the seniors told me that as long as you are happy, that's all that matters for the Tribulation. There is a lot of good food in the human world; if you like it, stay for a few more years to eat and drink. If you don't like it, find a deep mountain or old forest to plant some crops and raise some animals. Every spirit only has one chance to undergo the Tribulation, so you must seize this opportunity to eat more good food, because you won't be able to eat it once you go back."

Xu Nuo:...

Qin Huai:...

Qin Huai could feel Xu Nuo's helplessness and speechlessness becoming tangible. He wanted to say something but stopped, wanting to speak but holding back. A thousand words gathered on the tip of his tongue, finally turning into: "Do you want to eat a fermented rice bun first?"

"Okay, okay!" Shi Dadan reached out happily. Xu Nuo took a fermented rice bun out of his satchel, split it in two, kept the smaller piece for himself, and handed the larger piece to Shi Dadan.

Shi Dadan took the bun happily and continued walking behind Xu Nuo while eating.

The textile factory's residential area was also a row of tube-shaped apartment buildings. At first glance, it didn't look any different from the one where Gong Liang lived, except that the Xu family's apartment was probably larger and in a better location, on the third floor.

No need to climb many stairs, and no worries about being on the ground floor. The layout of two bedrooms and one living room was definitely considered a large unit for houses of this era.

The two-bedroom, one-living-room layout at Gong Liang's house was partitioned by himself, but the one at Xu Nuo's house was real.

Qin Huai only took a glance, but he saw the "three major appliances" in the Xu house—a television, a refrigerator, and a washing machine—which were gradually entering ordinary households in the late 1980s. There were even two electric fans, one in the living room and one in Xu Nuo's bedroom.

In Xu Nuo's room, there was a desk, though it looked more like a dining table because there weren't many books on it, but there were two bananas, two apples, a few pieces of biscuits, a jar of fermented bean curd, a bottle of pickled long beans, and a bottle of pickles.

As soon as they entered the room, their actions were very synchronized: one closed the door, the other closed the window. The window couldn't be closed tightly, so they stuffed the gaps with folded paper, and then they both took out their bags to take out the lunchboxes.

Each took out three lunchboxes. The boxes were all identical: aluminum lunchboxes, the same model, their surfaces pitted and weathered, showing they had been dropped and knocked around plenty, but they were sturdy and durable, and they were all packed to the brim.

The three lunchboxes Xu Nuo had contained braised beans with pork, stir-fried mushrooms with pork, and vinegar-braised Chinese cabbage. The moment the boxes were opened, the fragrance wafted out. Neither the portion nor the appearance could be faulted.

As a dish of stir-fried vegetables, the vinegar-braised Chinese cabbage had been stewed in the aluminum box for so long, yet when opened, the color of the cabbage was still beautiful. The vinegar aroma was rich but not pungent, making one's mouth water just by smelling it, showing the chef's skill.

One look at these three dishes and it was clear they were stir-fried personally by Jing Lixiang. No wonder Xu Nuo and Shi Dadan had stuffed the window gaps. If the neighbors' children smelled this fragrance, their tears of envy would truly flow out of the corners of their mouths like a river.

The two didn't say much and started eating directly.

Xu Nuo also had five fermented rice buns. He gave three to Shi Dadan and kept two for himself—one to eat with the fermented bean curd and other small side dishes, and the other to eat with the Chinese cabbage and braised pork.

Xu Nuo didn't touch any of Shi Dadan's three lunchboxes; he couldn't even finish his own.

Compared to Xu Nuo's refined way of eating, Shi Dadan's was quite rough. He didn't need to put anything inside the buns; he just took a bite of the bun and a bite of the dish, chewing them all together in his mouth.

There was no such thing as pairing; he could eat anything, loved everything, and wasn't picky at all. He loved fermented rice buns, but he also loved cornmeal and black flour steamed buns. He was a man who accepted everything.

By the end, Shi Dadan was mopping up the sauce from the lunchboxes with his last fermented rice bun, cleaning the boxes until they were as clean as if they had just been washed, and then finished off with two apples.

Qin Huai stood on the side and watched the whole process, feeling it was truly a hearty meal—Shi Dadan was the main eater, and Xu Nuo was the companion.

At this moment, Qin Huai felt that compared to a real Dang Kang, Ouyang and Did Luo Luo couldn't be considered particularly big eaters. If Shi Dadan really unleashed his potential of eating 26 steamed buns, Ouyang and Did Luo Luo would probably be no match for him.

After eating his fill, Shi Dadan was perhaps a bit "carb-drunk." He sat silently in his chair to digest for a while, then suddenly remembered something. He grabbed his small satchel on the floor and took out a stack of money and food coupons, as well as a few loose cigarettes.

"This is the salary I received yesterday. I forgot to give it to you, it's all here." Shi Dadan counted them, but couldn't quite figure out the total, so he just stopped counting. "I don't know how much is left after buying the meal tickets, but it should be quite a lot. I remember the team leader telling me there was some... subsidy."

Xu Nuo didn't stand on ceremony either. He took the money and coupons and counted them before putting them into his small box for money. Qin Huai glanced at it; there was a thick stack of money in the box. "Don't you want to keep any for yourself? The transport team's salary is very high, not to mention you've already become a regular employee. Besides eating, do you have any other hobbies? For example, this jacket—it's the work uniform issued the year before last, right? Didn't they issue one last year too? Why aren't you wearing it?"

Shi Dadan grinned: "This set is comfortable to wear."

After saying that, Shi Dadan looked outside cautiously: "Factory Manager Xu should be back soon. I'll go first."

Xu Nuo sighed helplessly, stood up, and handed the two pieces of biscuits on the table to Shi Dadan: "Did you hear some gossip again, saying that we are a combination of a 'fool + spendthrift'? My dad gets high blood pressure and feels annoyed whenever he sees us together. Factory Manager Xu is wise all his life, his eldest son is excellent in character and learning, yet he gave birth to an unreliable youngest son, and has a 'foolish relative' who came to rely on him."

"No," Shi Dadan answered honestly. "I have to drive every day. Before, Brother Chen and Brother Liu took me, and they both liked to talk. Today I drove alone, so no one said anything to me."

"I just feel that since the meal is finished, I should go back. I have to drive tomorrow morning, and the team leader said I should rest well and go to bed early before driving."

Only after saying this did Shi Dadan take the biscuits Xu Nuo handed him, stuffed them all into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Xu Nuo:...

Xu Nuo choked.

"But I'm helping the meat processing plant deliver goods tomorrow, so I'm going to the countryside. You said you wanted crabs, right? I can catch them in the river in the countryside for you."

Xu Nuo:?

"Why not buy them?"

"The crabs caught by the villagers aren't as good as the ones I catch," Shi Dadan said matter-of-factly. "If you only want crabs, I'll bring a back basket. If you want fish, I'll bring a bucket too."

"Forget it, forget it. My dad won't be back that early, I'll send you back first." Xu Nuo stood up and led Shi Dadan away, with Shi Dadan following obediently.

Qin Huai noticed that when the two were closing the door as they left, a neighbor's child poked their head out curiously and shouted into the house: "Mom, the two Xu brothers have finished eating. Should I go to the factory now to call Uncle Xu back?"

Xu Nuo and Shi Dadan went downstairs and walked until they were far away from the residential area, where there was no one around, before Xu Nuo spoke slowly: "My dad doesn't hate you."

"He thinks you're a good person. Although you're not smart, you're steady and honest, a reliable person. Me hanging out with you every day is better than hanging out with bad company."

"My mom and dad have been coming home late recently because they're busy with factory affairs, and also maybe because they don't want to see us eating. Because when he sees that food, he feels I'm a spendthrift, and anger rises in his heart."

"Plus, you give all your monthly salary and coupons to me, and my dad thinks I'm cheating an honest man. Every time he sees you eating at my house, he gets a sense of guilt that his son is cheating an honest man out of his money again."

"I know Factory Manager Xu doesn't hate me," Shi Dadan nodded. Seeing that Xu Nuo didn't quite believe him, Shi Dadan nodded heavily. "I really know."

"Although I'm not as smart as you, and until now I can only write my own name, don't know how to conduct myself, can't read books, and can't go to college like you, I can feel it."

"The factory manager doesn't hate me. He also believes that I saved your life, so he tells outsiders that I'm a relative of your family, lets me learn to drive, and arranges a job for me."

"The team leader likes me very much, so he doesn't mind that I'm stupid, and spends time and effort every day teaching me how to repair cars, hoping I'll become a regular soon."

"Brother Chen and Brother Liu don't hate me either. Knowing that I'm stupid and don't like to talk, they like to tell me everything. Of course, I don't really understand a lot of what they say."

"Yeah, I know you don't think I should undergo the Tribulation like this, but I don't know how to do it either. After I came to the human world, I found that it's different from what the seniors said. Sometimes I wonder if I can really succeed in the Tribulation by following the seniors' methods? But I can't figure it out." Shi Dadan showed a confused expression. "You know, us Dang Kangs rarely think."

"The human world now is indeed different from before," Xu Nuo nodded. "If you had come 100 years earlier, you might have been able to use the methods your seniors said, but now... even I failed my Tribulation, so I have nothing to teach you."

After speaking, the two spirits surnamed Xu sighed in unison.

"You're so much smarter than me, how could you fail the Tribulation?" Shi Dadan was puzzled.

Xu Nuo: "... Maybe it's because I'm not smart enough, or maybe it's because my abilities are limited, or maybe it's because I like to meddle in other people's business."

"So you failed the Tribulation because you like to meddle in other people's business?" Shi Dadan realized and noted it down. "Then I can't be like you. I think it's pretty good now. Although I still haven't figured out how to be a 'proper person,' it seems like nobody cares."

"No matter what I say or do, or don't say, everyone thinks it's normal, saying I have 'the fool's luck'."

"Xu Nuo, those primary school textbooks you gave me are really too hard. I can't understand anything after the third grade. Can I not study them?" Shi Dadan showed a pleading expression, as if he were truly allergic to reading.

Shi Dadan might as well have carved the four characters "I am a poor student" on his forehead.

"Then repairing cars..."

"I will study repairing cars well with the team leader. I know this. If you want to be a good driver in the transport team, besides knowing how to drive, you have to know how to repair cars. You don't need to read books to repair cars, so I can learn this."

"And I quite like driving."

Xu Nuo's eyes lit up: "So you've found your interest?"

"Every time I go to other factories to deliver goods, the food is especially good. I don't dare to stay and eat there because I don't know the people, and I'm afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, but they will stuff me with steamed buns—pure white flour steamed buns!"

"I love eating steamed buns the most!"

Xu Nuo:...

"Alright, alright, I get it. Not only do you love steamed buns, but you also love steamed stuffed buns and white rice. As long as it's a staple food made of fine flour, you love it. Your glorious record of 26 steamed buns last time is now known to everyone in the textile factory."

"I ate a type of bun made with crab roe and sea cucumber in Hangzhou last month, and I've been researching it for the past few days. But we don't have sea cucumber at home, so I can only make it with crab roe."

"If you come back early tomorrow, help me catch some crabs—the kind that are fat and full of roe."

"Aren't you resting the day after tomorrow? I'll make you crab roe and pork buns—not the soup-filled kind."

Qin Huai:??

Crab roe and pork buns, and not the soup-filled kind.

What kind of brand-new combination is this? Xu Nuo, are you really that unconventional?

(End of chapter)