Qin Yang looked at one of the two letters, his eyes tender, and gave a sound of acknowledgment, seemingly agreeing with what Li Wei had said.
Li Wei drew in a breath of cool air and thought, no, he couldn’t stay with this guy any longer. He turned his head and saw Zhang Dawei, who was about to get lunch, and raised the letter in his hand.
“Da Wei, are you getting lunch? Man, I got so caught up with this letter I almost missed lunchtime. You go ahead and save me a spot; I’ll grab my food container. Can you believe my wife, that spendthrift woman, is always writing letters, letter after letter, all clingy, what is there to talk about all day long…”
The bewildered Zhang Dawei who was called out scratched his head, not understanding even after the other man walked away.
Just as he was about to move on, he saw Qin Yang coming over, “Mr. Qin, since when do we need to save spots to eat in the cafeteria?”
Not many people dine in the cafeteria anyway—most get their meals to go.
Qin Yang nodded earnestly, lifting the letter in his hand, “Yes, I got two letters from home; I don’t even know what’s written in them. Hold a spot for me in the cafeteria for a bit; I’ll go put the letters away first.”
Zhang Dawei: “…”
He couldn’t shake the feeling of being full without even going to the cafeteria.
Qin Yang returned to the office without hurrying to the cafeteria, sitting behind his desk and looking at the two envelopes.
The postmarks bore different dates.
Their side of town was quite far from the main town, so it wasn’t easy for the mail carrier to come around, and it was common for mail to accumulate.
He recognized the handwriting on the envelopes. The one with the earlier postmark was his elder brother’s handwriting, probably a letter from their parents, and the other was Lin Chuxia’s handwriting—it was also her first time taking the initiative to write to him.
A smile formed on his lips as he set aside his elder brother’s letter, opting to open Lin Chuxia’s first.
He read the contents of the letter twice, and with each reading, the curve at the corners of his mouth deepened.
He didn’t expect she had actually opened a bun shop, and business seemed to be good. That was nice; it would save her from vending in the wind, sun, and rain.
Qin Yang thought of her fair skin and cute little face, which surely couldn’t withstand being in the sun.
Feeling his face warm up a bit, he took a sip of cold water from the cup beside him and continued reading the letter.
She had also met an interesting old man and took him as her master. She said her master was his as well, and that in the future, she intended to be filial to him and hoped he would understand.
Qin Yang chuckled silently. If she said so, then his was hers too, naturally understanding and just like her, ready to respect and honor the master as an elder.
In the end, Qin Yang spread the letter out on his desk, his dark eyes filled with shimmering fragments of light.
He glanced at the calendar on his desk; they had been apart for a whole two months.
He hadn’t thought she would do so much in two months, living life so vibrantly.
He missed her; he wanted to see her little shop, her master, and her busy daily routine with his own eyes.
Picking up the other envelope, Qin Yang opened it leisurely.
His elder brother’s handwriting was as awful as ever, looking like dog scratches after reading his wife’s letter.
Heh, and it was supposed to be on behalf of their parents. Qin Yang almost lost his patience; if not for over two decades of brotherly affection, he would have tossed this pile of dog-scratched handwriting straight into the trash can.
What’s with all this about the buns made by his sister-in-law being delicious, and how capable she was, and the booming business of the bun shop?
Wasn’t that stating the obvious? How could the buns made by his wife not be delicious? And if they were delicious, wouldn’t business flourish?
Of course, with good business, she’d need to hire help… wait a second…
Qin Yang sat up, reading the subsequent content carefully, word by word.
The bun shop had actually hired a man as help, a young fellow who had returned to the city from the countryside, and the elder brother referred to him assuredly as a pretty boy.
Qin Yang unconsciously raised his hand to touch his face, realizing what he was doing, his expression darkened instantly.
He quickly flipped out a piece of stationery and poised to write back.
He had just written the character “Lin” before pausing again.
During the brief three days of contact when they got married, Qin Yang knew his wife was a woman with strong opinions. From setting up a stall to running a Bun Shop, even a man might not possess her courage and capability.
She had done so much back in her hometown, and he, her husband, had only learned about it from her letters, without having lifted a finger to help her.
What should he write back at this moment? To ask why she hired male employees? That would clearly show a lack of trust in her.
Qin Yang asked himself sincerely; he did trust Lin Chuxia’s character, but it was just that his wife was too outstanding, and he did not trust those roguish men.
Holding the fountain pen, he remained motionless for a long time, his gaze finally landing on the calendar.
…
Having finished his work, Bai Xiaoming realized it was way past mealtime; he didn’t go home but took his food container straight to the cafeteria.
There he saw Zhang Dawei sitting alone in the empty cafeteria, with his food container already empty in front of him. Puzzled, Bai inquired, “What are you doing sitting here meditating? Is your work done?”
Zhang Dawei looked at him as if he’d seen a savior, “Mr. Qin asked me to hold a spot for him in the cafeteria. Mr. Li has finished his meal and left, but Mr. Qin hasn’t arrived yet. I was wondering if I should keep waiting for him. You’re here just in time, Mr. Bai; you can hold a spot for Mr. Qin.”
“Hold a spot?” Bai Xiaoming gestured around him, “Mr. Qin asked you to do that?”
Zhang Dawei nodded, “Yes, Mr. Qin asked me to.”
Bai Xiaoming’s response was immediate—a kick, “It seems like you’re itching for trouble, making up excuses to skive off. Scram, get back to work.”
Bai Xiaoming was patient, but he was no fool.
Zhang Dawei got inexplicably kicked and covered his bottom feeling wronged, “It was really Mr. Qin who asked me to hold it, go ask Mr. Qin if you don’t believe me.”
“Not leaving yet?”
Bai Xiaoming lifted his leg again, and Zhang Dawei ran off, but after a few steps, he remembered his food container and came back timidly to snatch it away.
Bai Xiaoming scoffed and turned to the cafeteria chef to see if there was any food left.
After the chef made him a stir-fry, Bai Xiaoming was approaching the office with his food container when he suddenly made a turn and headed to Qin Yang’s office instead.
He knocked on the door twice and only entered after hearing a voice from inside.
Seeing him sitting at his desk with furrowed brows, as if pondering a difficult problem, he couldn’t help but ask, “Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet, I’ll go in a bit.”
Qin Yang finally put the cap on his fountain pen and gathered up the letter on the desk.
Bai Xiaoming then saw the letter and asked, “Something wrong at home?” It was the only explanation for such an expression.
“Nothing,” Qin Yang stood up and took his food container, then looked at Bai Xiaoming, “How many days off can we get for Mid-Autumn Festival?”
Bai Jiaoming felt intrigued; for once, the workaholic was asking about holidays.
He held up a finger, “One day. Your sister-in-law said, come over to our place on that day and join the festivities along with Li Wei.”
Qin Yang pursed his lips, choosing his words carefully, “Can I get an additional five days off?”
The trip was three days one way, six days round trip; he could go back to see her.
Bai Xiaoming leaned in close to him, “Is there a real issue?”
Seeing Qin Yang remain silent, he continued, “If there’s truly a family matter, you can indeed ask for leave. I’ll help you with the application. But after dealing with the matter, you must come back as soon as possible. You know, it gets cold early here, and by December, it might be difficult to carry on with the construction. Given the current progress of the project, we can’t afford any setbacks…”