Chapter 85: You Have to Paint Me a Picture

Song Qiaoli and Yu Gaoshan set the date for their trip to Meng Hu Ling on Friday. Early that morning, Su Xinghui ran to the market to buy a slab of pork, a fish of about four or five jin, plus plenty of eggs and vegetables. The vendors at the market all liked Su Xinghui quite a bit—every time he bought vegetables they gave him a little discount, so today, buying all this, he spent less than twenty yuan.

Lu Dama wanted to give him eggs again today, but he still insisted on paying. He told Lu Dama that today he was buying vegetables on behalf of the township government—it was public money, and she had to accept it. Only then did Lu Dama take the money.

He asked Lu Dama whether Luo Ming'an had been causing her trouble these past few days. Lu Dama said no—she hadn't even seen any of his people in the last two days.

Su Xinghui figured that Luo Ming'an had lost face that day, and his uncle's attempt to vent his anger for him had failed too, so Luo Ming'an no longer had any face to throw his weight around on the street. That was a good thing. Even though a dog can never change its habit of eating shit, being able to give the common folks a few days of peace could still be counted as a good thing.

He asked Lu Dama again whether Damn Lu Dawang had come home these past few days, and how his daughter-in-law was doing now.

Lu Dama said Damn Lu Dawang hadn't come home, but a neighbor who'd gone with him had come back and said he was doing pretty well in the county town. His daughter-in-law's health had also recovered, and she could get out of bed and move around now. This put Su Xinghui at ease as well.

Back at the township government, Huang Sao saw him carrying so many groceries and asked in surprise, "Director Su, why did you buy so many groceries today? Thinking of having a special meal?"

Su Xinghui said to her with a smile, "Today there are guests going to Ye Zhugou. One of the guests made an arrangement with me to cook a meal for her, so I bought the groceries and am preparing to take them to Ye Zhugou to cook her a meal."

Huang Sao said with a smile, "Who would have thought Director Su, a college student, could actually cook."

Su Xinghui said, "I just throw something together casually—can't compare with you, Sister Huang."

Huang Sao beamed at once, looking very pleased. Now that Su Xinghui was her direct superior, whether she could keep this cooking job long-term depended entirely on Su Xinghui's wishes. Getting a word of praise from Su Xinghui naturally made her very happy.

Su Xinghui waited a while in the Party and Government Office. Yu Gaoshan arrived—he had set off by car at five in the morning and reached Meng Hu Ling before eight. Getting up this early was routine for him; when he was in the fish trade, he usually rose even earlier than this.

Su Xinghui told Yu Gaoshan to sit for a while in the Party and Government Office; he still had to wait for Song Qiaoli and the others.

Around nine o'clock, Song Qiaoli arrived in the same large minivan as last time, followed by a small cargo truck—the truck, of course, was for hauling goods back.