Lin Chuxia went to a grocery store, bought a few pounds of snacks, some canned goods, and some malt extract. Seeing the apples for sale on the counter, and noticing they were quite big, she picked and bought a few bags.
Reaching a secluded spot, she first stowed some of her purchases in her storage space, then carried a bag of snacks and a bag of apples to a small courtyard not far from the Bun Shop.
The gate of the courtyard was not locked, so Lin Chuxia pushed the door open and entered, shouting as she walked in, “Master, master… Old man…”
“Yelling and yelling… Are you calling souls?” Old Sir He stuck his head out of the window, giving her an annoyed glance.
Lin Chuxia smiled at him through the window, “I haven’t seen you at the Bun Shop for days, I thought maybe you’ve found a new spring in life, so I had to call out more, just in case you bumped into something you shouldn’t have.”
“You disrespectful…”
Old Sir He threw a pillow out the window which Lin Chuxia caught steadily with one hand. Seeing Old Sir He still rummaging for more things to throw, she quickly intervened.
“Hold it, master, I can’t catch anymore if you keep throwing things. Look, my hands are full of delicious treats I bought for you.”
Old Sir He looked at the bag she raised, ultimately abandoned the idea of hitting her, and snorted before turning his head.
Lin Chuxia, holding the goods in one hand and the pillow in the other, entered the house.
Despite Old Sir He usually wearing ragged clothes, his house was neatly arranged.
Probably a habit developed from handling herbs in his younger years, everything had its place, all organized, even though his clothes and belongings were quite worn out, some seemingly used for many years.
After acknowledging him as her master, the first thing Lin Chuxia did was buy him new clothes, shoes, and even changed the bedding to new ones.
Setting the goods on the kang bed, Lin Chuxia looked at the old man’s complexion and exclaimed, “It seems you’re not sick, so why haven’t you been going out?”
Since their mentor-apprentice relationship was established, Old Sir He had stopped idly sitting at the train station and almost visited the shop daily or chatted with Granny Su.
But he hadn’t been seen for the past couple of days.
Old Sir He took an apple from the bag, wiped it carelessly, and started eating, “Disappointed I’m not sick? Well, you’ll be thoroughly disappointed. Forgot what I do for a living? It’s not easy to get me bedridden.”
“Look at you, master, I’m just showing concern, why act like a grumpy child? Since there’s nothing physically wrong, it must be something troubling your mind. Talk to your apprentice, let me see if I can help you out, hmm?”
Lin Chuxia tilted her head at him until Old Sir He couldn’t hold it any longer.
“Alright, I’m not sick anywhere, I just wanted some peace at home. Seeing you just annoys me, and now you’ve even come to bother me at home. Anything else? If not, leave quickly—I was halfway through a nap, and you’ve completely disturbed it.”
Lin Chuxia didn’t pry into the old man’s private matters, seeing he looked well she was relieved.
“Then continue with your nap, I’ll leave, is that alright? Oh, right master, just to let you know, once these days of peace are over, you have to come and join the lively Mid-Autumn Festival at my place, no staying alone at home.”
Seeing Old Sir He about to refuse, Lin Chuxia quickly made a gesture, “Stop, no rejecting, or it will affect our mentor-apprentice relationship. It’s settled then, I’m off.”
Old Sir He watched her walking out the door, the smile on his face slowly faded.
He pulled a photo from under the mattress. It was a photo of a young, handsome, tender face smiling.
Today was his son’s birthday, this year he would have been thirty. Over a decade ago, there was a tragedy at home, and his son was taken away on his eighteenth birthday. Since then, they had never had a reunion on Mid-Autumn Festival.
After the policy improvement, he thought they would reunite soon, but years passed and there was still no news from his son.
Old Sir He’s gaze fell on the snacks and fruits beside him, a tear dropped from his cloudy eyes.
…………
Lin Chuxia left Old Sir He’s place, took out a bag of apples from her space, and went directly to the vegetable station.
Upon arriving at Li Jian’s office, she knocked on the door and entered upon hearing someone inside invite her in, only to see Li Jian and two other people in the office.
The three were discussing something. Li Jian looked up at Lin Chuxia, pointed to a chair next to him for her to sit down, and then continued the conversation with the other two.
Lin Chuxia placed the apples aside and sat waiting for him. Luckily, their conversation ended soon and the other two left hurriedly after receiving some instructions.
“Looks like Brother Li has been quite busy recently,” Lin Chuxia overheard a bit, which seemed to be about expanding markets outside the area.
Li Jian poured her a glass of water, “Being busy is good, it gives life a purpose. You know, Station Chief Yang entrusted the last project to me; this is a chance for me to prove myself. If I don’t do well, I can forget about advancing further.”
Lin Chuxia took the water with a smile, “With Brother Li’s capabilities, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“You’re the only one who thinks highly of me.”
Li Jian smiled genuinely; this girl was his lucky star, his benefactor.
Recently, his busy efforts weren’t in vain, as the city’s market has mostly stabilized. At the meeting yesterday, Station Chief Yang highlighted this issue as a current priority for their station, giving him, a newcomer, an opportunity to stand out.
After the meeting, he received quite a few encouraging words; frankly, he could only dream of such moments two months ago.
“Did Brother Li need me for something?” Lin Chuxia asked proactively.
Li Jian snapped back to reality, “Oh, there is something. Wang Cheng was looking for you, let’s go and see, it’s something good.”
Upon hearing Wang Cheng’s name, Lin Chuxia had a hunch and quickly got up, “Then we better hurry.”
Wang Cheng also managed the vegetable transportation section. Seeing Lin Chuxia, he pointed at a flatbed trolley beside him, “You wanted another flatbed trolley, right? The station just got two new four-wheeled tractors, so these trolleys need to be dealt with. I thought of you and picked out a good one.”
Lin Chuxia showed timely surprise, “That’s really great, I’m in need indeed, thanks for thinking of me, Brother Wang.”
“That’s right,” Wang Cheng had little authority in the station, these old trolleys could be sold to anyone, but selling them to Lin Chuxia felt gratifying.
She was straightforward, empathetic, and who wouldn’t want to deal with such a person?
Li Jian interjected, “Look at you being stingy, pick two more, it’s not like she isn’t paying.”
Lin Chuxia, surprised, asked Wang Cheng, “Brother Wang, can I take two more?”
Wang Cheng hadn’t expected her to ask for that much; she had previously bought one, and adding another would make two.
These days, it was impressive for a family to own two bicycles; who needs so many flatbed trolleys? Got more money than sense?
Nevertheless, he didn’t hesitate, “Sure, all these need to be disposed of, but if you pick again, you won’t get ones as good as this.”
Lin Chuxia didn’t mind, “I know, Brother Wang picked the best one for me carefully, just pick any two decent ones for the others, I’ll fix them up myself when I get back. You know, our family are vegetable farmers, having flatbed trolleys really makes selling vegetables much easier.”