Chapter 38

However, he didn't have any jealousy. He was more happy for Su Xinghui. In his view, with Su Xinghui’s educational background and ability, he was fully qualified to serve as a deputy section-level official.

After chatting for a while, Su Xinghui also rose to leave. Zhang Kaishan was surprised, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Just eat lunch here."

Su Xinghui said, "I still have something to do with Xu Xiaoguang at noon. We already agreed to eat at his house."

Zhang Kaishan nodded, "Alright, then go."

Zhang Cheng sent Su Xinghui out the door. Outside, he secretly gave Su Xinghui a thumbs up. Su Xinghui laughed and waved at him before leaving.

After leaving the Zhang family, Su Xinghui didn't go down the mountain, but instead walked up the mountain, because Xu Xiaoguang’s house was at the foot of the mountain behind Wenmiao Mountain, and there was a small path over the mountain that led directly there.

Xu Xiaoguang’s house was a private house that Xu Haimin had bought at the foot of Wenmiao Mountain, then demolished and rebuilt into a three-story building. The building area was quite large, and a pavilion was built on the roof, which looked very imposing. Since the construction team was his own family’s, the cost was not very high.

This building covered an area of nearly 200 square meters, with a total building area of nearly 600 square meters, but it only cost over 100,000 to build. If it weren't for their own construction team, it would have been impossible to be so low.

At the foot of Wenmiao Mountain were all private houses. These private houses backed onto Wenmiao Mountain and faced the Changjiangdaqiao embankment. They were quite old. The Xu family’s three-story building stood out from the crowd in this area.

The Xu family’s gate was a hollowed-out stainless steel anti-theft door, and a large wolfhound was kept in the yard. When Su Xinghui walked to the gate, the wolfhound, which had been lying lazily in the shade, stood up vigilantly, its ears pricked up. However, when it saw it was Su Xinghui, it immediately relaxed its vigilance, whimpered softly, and wagged its tail.

Su Xinghui came and went often at the Xu house and was a familiar face, so the wolfhound naturally knew him.

Su Xinghui called out Xu Xiaoguang’s name. Xu Xiaoguang soon came out, poked his head from the second-floor balcony and said, "The door isn't locked, just come up."

Su Xinghui pushed the door, and sure enough, it wasn't locked; it opened with a push. After entering, he closed the door and went up to the second floor. Xu Xiaoguang lived at the east end of the second floor.

Entering Xu Xiaoguang’s room, he was playing a game with a remote control. His house had a Japanese-imported game console, and he was playing Contra.

He stared intently at the game screen on the TV and said to Su Xinghui, "Wait for me to finish this round."

Su Xinghui wasn't in a hurry. He opened the refrigerator himself and took out a can of frozen Jianlibao to drink. It was August, and the weather was too hot.

Xu Xiaoguang’s game character finally fell in front of the boss of the second-to-last level. He patted his thigh in annoyance, put down the remote control, and turned to ask Su Xinghui, "Xinghui, do you have something to find me for today?"

With Xu Xiaoguang, Su Xinghui didn't need to beat around the bush. He said straightforwardly, "You said last time that if I needed to borrow money, I should just ask you?"

Xu Xiaoguang nodded, "Yes, do you want to borrow money now?"

Su Xinghui said, "Yes, I want to borrow money."

"Alright." Xu Xiaoguang didn't even blink, "How much do you want to borrow?"

"Is thirty thousand okay?" Last time Xu Xiaoguang said he could borrow twenty or thirty thousand, so Su Xinghui asked for that amount.

"No problem, I’ll give it to you this afternoon." Xu Xiaoguang still said without hesitation. He didn't even ask what Su Xinghui was borrowing the money for or how long he would borrow it.

Su Xinghui said, "Don't you need to tell your dad?"

Xu Xiaoguang shook his head, "My dad is cultivating our ability to be independent. If my brother and I take twenty or thirty thousand at once, he doesn't care. If it’s more, we have to ask him. However, this is the first time I’ve taken so much money."

Su Xinghui was moved in his heart. He said to Xu Xiaoguang, "Thank you. I will return this money to you as soon as possible."

Xu Xiaoguang said, "What’s there to thank? Who are we to each other? Come, let’s play a round of games together and try to beat the game this time."

Having settled this major matter, Su Xinghui felt relieved. He nodded, "Alright!"

Su Xinghui hadn't played Contra for decades, but he was smart and had quick reactions. After playing a few rounds with the remote control, he became familiar with the basic operations. Soon, he and Xu Xiaoguang beat the game together, and the two high-fived to celebrate, "Yeah!"

After finishing the game, Xu Xiaoguang’s mother shouted from downstairs, "Xiaoming, Xiaoguang, time to eat!"

Xiaoming was Xu Xiaoguang’s older brother, Xu Xiaoming. He lived at the west end of the second floor, was two years older than Xu Xiaoguang, and was not married yet, but he was dating a girlfriend and planned to get married next year.

Both brothers came out of their rooms. Xu Xiaoming saw Su Xinghui and smiled, nodding at him, "Xinghui is here!"

Su Xinghui said, "Yes, Brother Xiaoming, I have something to find Xiaoguang for."

The three went downstairs. Xu Xiaoguang’s father, Xu Haimin, was already sitting at the dining table in the dining room. Su Xinghui called out "Uncle Xu," and Xu Haimin said with a smile, "Xinghui is here? I heard from Xiaoguang that you are working in Menguhuling and came back to rest?"

Su Xinghui nodded, "Yes, it’s Sunday today."

Xu Haimin asked, "How are you doing in Menguhuling? Are you used to it?"

Su Xinghui said, "It’s okay, I’m quite used to it."

Xu Haimin said, "That’s good. It’s a good thing to suffer a little when you are young. Like Xiaoguang, he has never suffered any hardship."

Xu Xiaoguang protested, "Dad, how have I not suffered? I carry cement and mix sand on the construction site, isn't that suffering?"

Xu Haimin said, "At least you live at home every day. When I throw you into a project department in another place and let you live there for a few months, you will know what suffering is."

Xu Xiaoguang said with a bitter face, "Dad, let’s forget about that. I won't be able to play games then."

Xu Haimin couldn't help but laugh, "I think you value the game console more than anyone. If you had the same drive for studying back then as you do for playing games, you wouldn't have failed to get into college." ===== CHAPTER 70 =====