Cheng Tianyuan is a man who means what he preaches.
Last night I worked part-time until 10:30 p.m., then I went back to take a quick shower and go to bed. When I got up early in the morning to go to work, I asked the boss of the supply and marketing cooperative for leave in advance.
The boss was reluctant at first, but after hearing that he would be back in half an hour after lunch break, he reluctantly agreed.
The supply and marketing cooperative has a lot of moving things around. Cheng Tianyuan works hard and never slacks off. The boss is always very satisfied with him. If it were anyone else, the boss would definitely refuse.
After getting off work at noon, he rode his bicycle towards the newspaper office.
The newspaper office is in the west of the county seat, about 20 minutes' walk from the supply and marketing cooperative. He is not very familiar with it. He had asked his colleagues in the county seat before to learn about the situation nearby.
Colleagues said that the transportation here is convenient and it is close to the new development zone. Many new houses have been built in recent years.
Most of the houses here are expensive, and there are few rental houses. It will definitely be very difficult to find a house to live here.
Cheng Tianyuan considered that Xue Ling worked here and was afraid that she would have trouble commuting, so he insisted on looking here.
Unfortunately, after walking around for more than half an hour, he still couldn't find a house listed for rent.
He went around and around the newspaper office, taking a detour through a big road and several big alleys, but found nothing except a few dilapidated old houses.
Even though it was already autumn, the autumn sun was not inferior at all, which made his face feel slightly painful.
Seeing a big banyan tree at the entrance of the alley, he pushed his bicycle over and sat on the stone slab under the banyan tree. He took out an iron kettle, opened it, and drank several sips before his dry and sore throat finally recovered.
I went to work early in the morning, was busy all morning, and ran a long distance at noon. My stomach was already growling.
He took out the cold steamed buns he bought in the morning, took a few bites, drank water, and chewed slowly.
Suddenly, a pair of familiar plastic women's sandals appeared in front of me1
He instinctively raised his head - and saw that Xue Ling's forehead was dotted with sweat, his hair was slightly messy, a pair of beautiful eyes were looking at him with a smile, and his pretty face was slightly red from running.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise and swallowed the bun in his mouth.
"How did you come?"
Xue Ling gasped and explained with a smile: "I just saw you at the intersection over there. You were too far away. I called you and you didn't hear me. I ran all the way here."
After saying this, she sat down beside him tiredly.
Seeing that she was tired from running, Cheng Tianyuan quickly put down the steamed buns and opened the kettle for her.
"Drink a few sips and take a break."
There was a pause in the hand-out motion, and he suddenly retracted, rummaging in his pocket while explaining: "I drank just now. I'll find a handkerchief for you to wipe it with."
In the early 1980s, there were no such small things as tissues. Everyone carried one or two handkerchiefs with them to wipe sweat and wipe their mouths.
"No need." Xue Ling didn't care at all. She snatched the water bottle from his hand and took several gulps.
Cheng Tianyuan looked at her swallowing movements and was secretly embarrassed.
People who grew up in big cities are different. She is a carefree girl, but he, a grown man, is very shy - it just doesn't work!
He coughed uneasily and opened his mouth to break the awkward embarrassment.
"The newspaper office is on the street in front. I went around there twice just now. It's hot, why are you still out? Have you eaten?"
Xue Ling gave him the kettle with an embarrassed look on her face.
"The weather is so hot. You only have an hour's rest at noon, and you have to come all the way to help me find a house. How can I hide inside to cool down? I haven't eaten yet."
Cheng Tianyuan frowned slightly and looked at the sun hanging high in the sky.
"It's almost twelve o'clock. Let me take you to find something to eat first, or something?"
"No need." Xue Ling opened the military-colored slant bag with a smile, took out the still-warm aluminum lunch box, and said, "Let's eat together, and then we'll look for a house together."
She handed him a lunch box and opened one herself. It contained white rice and a dozen peanuts in the corner.
Cheng Tianyuan opened another one and found a large chicken leg, two kinds of vegetables, and five or six small fried meatballs.
Xue Ling smiled and replied: "Yes! I heard from my colleagues that the newspaper office is only responsible for serving one meal. The director sympathized with everyone's hard work and told the old aunt in the kitchen to make every meal more generous. There must be two kinds of meat and two kinds of vegetables. The portion cannot be less.
.I have a small appetite, so I definitely won’t be able to finish it. Please help me eat some so I don’t waste it.”
Cheng Tianyuan said: "You eat first, I brought steamed buns."
"No!" Xue Ling's almond-shaped eyes widened and he said, "Eat it together. It won't taste good when it gets cold after a while. Let's try to eat hot foods for all three meals, otherwise we will easily get gastrointestinal problems!"
After saying this, she stared at the cold steamed buns in Cheng Tianyuan's hand.
Cheng Tianyuan was stunned for a moment, and the hand holding the bun shrank unconsciously.
"...It's okay, I only eat occasionally. I've already eaten one, and I'm not very hungry."
Xue Ling reached out domineeringly, snatched away his cold steamed buns, and stuffed them back into the original cloth bag.
"Eat with me, or I won't eat either!"
Cheng Tianyuan was a little helpless. He had no choice but to pick up the chopsticks and eat the food.
Xue Ling pushed the big chicken drumstick to him with a spoon, and her tone was non-negotiable.
"You ate the fried meatballs yesterday, it's my turn to eat them today, and you eat the chicken legs."
Cheng Tianyuan looked at the fresh and tender chicken legs and was about to shake his head——
"I definitely can't finish such a big chicken leg by myself." Xue Ling said with a pout, "It's hot at noon, and it will definitely go rancid in the evening. If you don't want to eat it, then just keep it and wait for it to go rancid."
Cheng Tianyuan grew up in a rural area, and his family's finances were always tight. It was only during the holidays that he could smell a little meat.
How could he be willing to waste such a big chicken leg!
He nervously took a bite. The freshly steamed tender chicken drumsticks were fragrant and smooth with a hint of residual warmth. The taste was so good that he couldn't stop eating. He soon began to eat it.
He saw that Xue Ling only ate vegetables, thinking that she didn't dislike it at all. The two of them had shared the same kettle just now. He took the initiative to sit closer to her with his tall body, and slowly pushed the big chicken drumstick to her mouth.
"...You take a bite too."
Xue Ling raised his eyebrows, secretly surprised, but he was more happy inside. He leaned down and took a bite of a piece, eating it with a smile.
"Hmm...it's delicious!"
In these days of getting along with him, he was always neither salty nor cold, neither enthusiastic nor cold, but there was always a slight sense of alienation.
This is the first time that he has taken the initiative to sit so close to me!
Xue Ling was so happy that she went crazy!
This is a big improvement for her and him!
She smiled secretly, lowered her head to eat, and poked his arm with her elbow.
"You eat too! Eat more!"
Cheng Tianyuan nodded and gave her a large piece of chicken leg meat before continuing to eat.
The lunch box was large, with plenty of food and meat, and both of them were very full.
They had to go to work in the afternoon, so after eating, they went to look for a house in a hurry.
Unfortunately, the area near the newspaper office is in a new area, and most of the houses are newly built. Most of them live in or do business, and there are almost nothing for rent.
There are only a few places with rental signs, but they are all very old, with poor sanitary conditions and shabby houses.
Cheng Tianyuan frowned as soon as he saw it. If he was a grown man, it wouldn't matter where he lived. But Xue Lingjiao knew that winter was coming soon and she really couldn't let her live in such a leaky and dirty place.
After searching for it, Xue Ling couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
He comforted her gently: "Don't be discouraged. You can continue looking after get off work. Go to work first."