Chapter 12: Seeing Wu Qian Again

The sky slowly brightened. In the morning light, the mountains became lively, and the trees became lively. The birds' chirping was crisp, and combined with the sound of the gurgling stream in the distance, a kind of aimlessness that went straight to the heart spread out, and my heart trembled in an instant. My aunt and I got into the car. My aunt asked me softly: "Who is she? Quite pretty."

I said: "Our township Youth League Secretary, Little Liu."

The driver interjected from the side: "I'm afraid it's Secretary Chen's sweetheart!"

I glared at him and said: "How can you be so vulgar!"

My aunt laughed: "It really is wild game!"

Hongyan came over awkwardly, stood by the car, and asked me: "Anything else?"

I said: "Come to the city together?"

Hongyan looked at my aunt and shook her head.

I said: "My aunt wants you to come together. You two women can talk on the way."

Hongyan looked at my aunt again and said: "She is your aunt?"

I nodded affirmatively, and a blush rose on her face: "My dad didn't arrange for me to go."

Liu Quan, who was standing to the side, laughed: "Go, go, it's good to open your eyes in the city. Young people, don't be greedy for play, but appropriate relaxation is very necessary. Chairman Mao also said, the way of literature and martial arts is to relax and tighten."

I almost laughed out loud. Was this said by Chairman Mao?

Hongyan got into the car. The four of us squeezed into the driver's cab, which made the cab feel especially small. Hongyan and my aunt were close together, leaning tightly against me. I leaned one side of my body tightly against the car door, and the other side was in a semi-hugging posture, holding my aunt in my arms.

The horn blared, and I hit the road with the hope of Suxi Township.

My monkey head mushrooms arrived in Yonghe City smoothly after a day and a half of bumps. Along the way, there was warm jade and fragrant softness; either my aunt was in my arms, or Hongyan was leaning against my chest. They kept changing their sitting positions, moving their bodies in the small space, and with the bumps of the car, they kept impacting my little partner, making him stand up again and again, only to hang his head in defeat.

When I got down from the driver's cab, I staggered. Hongyan, who was standing to the side, reached out and supported me. The driver urged to unload the cargo. It was already midnight, and there was no one in the market at all.

The driver grumbled and slammed the car door. Along the way, he had asked me several times to increase the fare, but I had played deaf and dumb and ignored him. The driver understood that there was no way with me, so he proposed to give him a box of monkey head mushrooms. This time, my aunt disagreed.

The goods arrived at the destination, and life and death were up to heaven. I was annoyed by his urging and wanted to just add some money, but my aunt dragged me to the side and said: "Call Wu Qian; she has a way."

I was a bit confused. What way could Wu Qian have? She wasn't a person who did manual labor, and she hadn't dealt with people who did manual labor. What way could she have? I couldn't understand.

My aunt said: "Just do as I say."

I looked at myself. I had only been to Suxi Township for a few days, so why did I feel so out of place in this city? I even felt that the air I was emitting was earthy. I looked at my aunt and said: "Where should I go to call?"

"There are plenty of public phones outside." My aunt chided me.

"Forget it. I'll do it. Secretary Chen, just help me a little." Liu Hongyan smoothed her sleeves and said: "It's just a cart of mushrooms; how much effort can it take?"

"Better call Wu Qian over. She found this place; if she doesn't come, where should we unload?" My aunt insisted that I go make the call.

I looked outside the market; it was brightly lit. I was actually a bit timid. After a few days of kerosene lamp life, I seemed to have become very accustomed to that dimness. Facing the brilliant city night view, I felt like I had walked into a fairy tale world.

I dialed Wu Qian's number. She said very simply on the phone: "Arrived?" as if she knew I would call her.

I nodded on my end of the phone. I believed Wu Qian could see me nodding.

"I'll be there immediately." Wu Qian hung up the phone.

I handed a yuan to the shop owner as a phone fee and bought a pack of cigarettes. The owner asked me: "Anything else, Boss?"

This "Boss" made me feel infinitely warm in my heart. Damn it, I am a boss! I slapped the money into his hand and said: "Give me some drinks or something." I instantly found the feeling of a city person.

Returning to the market, I handed a can of Jianlibao to Hongyan. She took it and secretly examined it under the light. My aunt walked back and forth by the car. The driver locked the car door, and the person had already disappeared.

My aunt saw me return and asked: "Did you get through?"

I nodded and handed my aunt a drink.

We chatted for a bit, and then we saw a taxi drive in, followed by a few motorcycles and a small truck. Wu Qian got out of the car and ran straight over, opening her arms to hug my aunt, saying: "You've worked hard."

I didn't dare look at her. Ever since I broke her flower at my aunt's house last time, I hadn't called her once.

"Chen Feng," Wu Qian called me openly: "Come over, let's talk about something."

I scratched the back of my head and said: "What is it?"

Wu Qian smiled and said: "What are you nervous about? Afraid I'll eat you? You've only been gone a few days, and now that you're an official, you don't recognize us common people, right?" She laughed happily. ===== CHAPTER 13 =====