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墨書 Inktalez
While watering the plants at home, Hu Ruoyun's mother, Zhao Meirong, once again asked him how things were developing with the daughter of the Party Secretary from Zhangjiazhai in Pingbei Township.
After Hu Ruoyun spoke honestly, his mother felt quite disappointed. When Teacher Shao Jianguo first proposed the match, some well-meaning people spread the news that the Lao Hu family had climbed to a higher branch. Their words were filled with envy and jealousy, and even Zhao Meirong felt a sense of pride.
However, as time passed, the news brought back by her son increasingly let her down. It wasn't that they had actually lost anything; it was more about the thought of being subjected to some snide remarks from women like Woodzi. But now that things had come to this point, reflecting on the changes over the past two years, she felt relieved: Of course, not everything good would come her way! Moreover, she had confidence in her son.
No matter what, Hu Ruoyun was still a high school student. From Monday to Saturday morning, he had to attend classes diligently. Most of our story's events would take place on weekends.
It was Saturday again. Jiang Qiuying and Zhang Meina arrived as promised, but this time Hu Ruoyun felt much calmer. Jiang Qiuying approached with a bright smile and immediately began to congratulate him, echoing Brother Biao's request: "You have to give me a copy, and it has to be signed!"
After exchanging greetings with Zhang Meina, the three of them left the school together and headed toward New Daxin.
On the way, the two girls kept asking about his "book publishing" situation. Zhang Meina seemed to have some knowledge in this area: "My brother said that many books are self-published nowadays; how much did you spend on this?"
Jiang Qiuying was surprised: "You have to pay for it yourself? That must cost a lot!"
Hu Ruoyun replied, "I don't have to pay for publishing or selling the book. The Story Collection will determine the print run based on subscription levels and distribute it through mail order... They also said they would pay me royalties based on the print volume."
Jiang Qiuying finally felt relieved: "That's good then."
Zhang Meina's concern was clearly different from Jiang Qiuying's: "Did they say how much the royalties would be?"
Hu Ruoyun genuinely didn't know: "They didn't mention it, and I didn't ask."
As they chatted while walking, they soon arrived at New Daxin's entrance. Suddenly, Zhang Meina exclaimed, "Look! That car is so beautiful!" Hu Ruoyun and Jiang Qiuying turned in her direction to see a Fukang parked across from New Daxin—a bright red body with a shiny finish that attracted onlookers who paused to admire it.
In this era, while there were many wealthy individuals, those who could afford such a car were definitely rare.
The three of them walked into the restaurant. As soon as they reached the bar counter, Hu Ruoyun spotted someone familiar: Sister Mona and a sharply dressed young man with slicked-back hair and shiny shoes. If Hu Ruoyun remembered correctly, he was Xiao Qiu, someone he had met before. He overheard Xiao Qiu generously telling Sister Mona, "Order whatever you want! Sister Zhou said you love braised fish; let's get one."
Sister Mona replied nonchalantly, "I have something to do tonight; just get one eggplant dish and one sour and spicy potato shreds. Two bowls of rice will be fine; let's eat quickly so I can head back."
Xiao Qiu remained enthusiastic: "Sister Zhou said you’re not busy these days? How about I drive you to the county later to watch a movie? There are some great films..." He reached out as if to put his arm around Mao Na's waist.
Mao Na clearly got annoyed and turned abruptly to scold him but suddenly noticed Hu Ruoyun and the two girls approaching. She greeted them somewhat flustered: "Xiao Hu! You guys are here for dinner too?"
Hu Ruoyun smiled and nodded at Xiao Qiu before responding to Mao Na: "Sister, two classmates came along; they wanted to eat the fish-flavored shredded pork we had last time."
Xiao Qiu retracted his hand and looked at Hu Ruoyun in his slightly worn school uniform with newfound amusement: "Na Na, this is Mao Jie’s classmate, right? Why don’t we all eat together? I’ll arrange it!"
Without waiting for Mao Na's agreement, he turned to the barmaid and ordered confidently: "One braised fish, one boiled shrimp, one stir-fried black fungus with dried tofu, one stir-fried mung bean sprouts... Let’s also have a cold mixed vegetable platter and half a Daokou Roast Chicken. That should do for now; if it's not enough, we can order more later. Please prepare us a private room." He casually slapped a hundred-yuan bill on the counter with flair.
The proprietress hurriedly agreed and personally came out to make arrangements.
Hu Ruoyun and the three of them were inexplicably "kidnapped."
Five people entered the private room, and Xiao Qiu unreservedly took the seat directly facing the door. He gestured to the chair on his right, saying, "Xiao Na, you sit here. Xiao Hu, right? You all can sit wherever you like."
Mao Na, without waiting for Hu Ruoyun to speak, turned to Jiang Qiuying and Zhang Meina and said, "Let’s sit together, the three of us girls. Xiao Hu, you sit inside." She then took her seat between Jiang Qiuying and Zhang Meina without giving anyone a chance to argue. With that, only two seats remained empty beside Xiao Qiu, leaving Hu Ruoyun with no choice but to sit on Xiao Qiu's left.
Xiao Qiu visibly frowned but said nothing further. He turned to Xiao Hu and asked in a casual tone, " Brother Xiao Hu, what should we drink? White liquor or beer?"
Mao Na interjected, "Forget it; they’re still students!"
Hu Ruoyun added, "Brother Qiu, you’re still driving, right? It’s better not to drink. It wouldn’t be good if the traffic police caught you drinking and driving; besides, it’s not safe."
However, Xiao Qiu became excited and raised his voice significantly, "Don’t worry! The County Public Security Bureau Chief Wang Zhiguo is buddies with my dad. The new Town Police Station Chief Qiu Sixi has to listen to my dad too... My dad even said he’d have my license plate registered at the traffic police station. By then, no traffic officer would dare to stop us; they’d salute us when they see our car..."
Jiang Qiuying seemed only partially aware of what was being said, while Zhang Meina’s eyes sparkled with interest. Mao Na frowned and shot a glance at Xiao Qiu before giving Hu Ruoyun a knowing look without saying anything.
"Qiu Sixi has been transferred to Chengguan Town as the chief?" Hu Ruoyun genuinely didn’t know this and couldn’t help but ask.
Xiao Qiu was somewhat surprised. "You... know Director Qiu?"
Hu Ruoyun replied, "I’ve met him once." She glanced at Jiang Qiuying but didn’t elaborate further.
The dishes were served, and Xiao Qiu first picked up a piece of fish for Mao Na before turning to the other three. "Come on, everyone dig in!"
The five of them ate in an awkward silence.
Xiao Qiu disregarded everyone’s advice and ordered three cans of energy drink from the waiter along with a bottle of Tuo Pai Da Qu, insisting on having a few drinks with Hu Ruoyun.
To everyone’s surprise, he drank heartily despite not having a strong tolerance for alcohol; after just two shots he turned red in the face and slurred his words before rushing to the restroom to vomit.
What should they do now?
There was no way he could return to the county town like this; how would they arrange things for the night?
Xiao Qiu still tried to hold himself together. "It’s fine, Xiao Na; you don’t need to worry about me... I’ll just lie down in your dorm for a bit... then I’ll take you to watch a movie in the county town..."
He then turned to Hu Ruoyun and said, "Xiao Hu, do you know who my dad is? Let me tell you: my dad is Qiu Mingren, the Deputy Secretary of the County Committee; aside from Secretary Li, he’s the highest-ranking one... If anything comes up in the county town, just mention my name; I’m called Qiu Chengcai... You know Zhang Shusen? He used to be the Deputy Director of the County Public Security Bureau; he’s my uncle by marriage and has a good relationship with my family! His son Zhang Lingyun is my cousin and also my childhood friend... Later on, something happened to both of them... If it weren’t for that incident, I could walk all over Annan without a care..."
Hu Ruoyun glanced at Jiang Qiuying, who looked somewhat panicked, thinking to herself: "This world is really too small; isn’t this Fate Has Brought Us Together?"
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