Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 254 Why is my toothpaste different from yours?

In the early morning, Zhai Da groggily sat up in bed, yawned, and scratched his head.

Lu Wei seemed to be awakened by Mr. Wall's movements. She rubbed her eyes and got up, her long hair falling over her shoulders to keep her master warm for the last time.

The two stepped out of the room and exchanged a glance.

One chuckled, the other lowered his head and blushed.

Inside the bathroom, the two brushed their teeth in unison, a scene that used to happen almost every day, but today it had a slightly different feel to it.

When feelings develop naturally, establishing a relationship is not about rushing into trying new things.

Instead, it's about finding unique flavors in every little detail of life.

Zhai Da rinsed his mouth: "This toothpaste tastes a bit off, and Mom bought the cheap stuff again."

Lu Wei asked doubtfully, "Really? Aren't they the same?"

"Try it if you don't believe me."

After saying that, Zhai Da cupped Xiao Mutou's face and kissed him.

"Well!"

There was no dodging, only a soft murmur.

Last night was deep, hot, sweet, and soft.

I just brushed my teeth with cold water today; it felt deep, cool, refreshing, and sweet.

Hearing the footsteps in the master bedroom getting closer, Zhai Da slammed the door shut with his foot.

Only after Yu Xiaoli entered the kitchen did she stop Lu Wei's little mouth.

Zhai Da smiled and said, "Oh, how about it?"

Lu Wei's voice grew softer and softer: "Mmm, it smells very good."

And it's sweet...
The taste is definitely different.
At the breakfast table, Yu Xiaoli's eyes were like little radars, glancing at Lu Wei one moment and Zhai Da the next.

"Mom, is there something you want to ask?"

Yu Xiaoli rolled her eyes: "Isn't that obvious? If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you ask?! Give me a straight answer!"

Zhai Da coughed lightly, took Lu Wei's hand and said, "That's how it is, yeah, I have a girlfriend now."

Yu Xiaoli covered her mouth and laughed, giggling, then looked at Lu Wei, who was blushing and had her head down.

My mind was racing with countless thoughts.

Then she suddenly said, "Mom can quit her job anytime."

Zhai Da: ?
Lu Wei: ?
Yu Xiaoli smiled and said, "I'll enroll in a driving school later; I'll always need it."

Zhai Da tilted his head and thought for a long time, but still couldn't understand what those two sentences meant.

However, it's always good to enroll in a driving school. After taking her sturdy old bicycle to Harbin, Yu Xiaoli bought an electric scooter.

The old residential area had no surveillance cameras, and the items were stolen a week later.

Ms. Yu was furious when she realized that the reason her bicycle hadn't been stolen from for over a decade was because thieves hadn't bothered with it.

It just so happened that a counterattack was taking place. As soon as the pressure before and after the Olympics eased up a bit, those petty thieves who had been starving for months started causing trouble again.

After that, I switched to taking the bus. Anyway, I don't have any psychological pressure at work now, so I can relax a bit.

But Zhai Da felt that it would be more convenient for his mother to be able to drive, since she now had less work pressure and could also travel.

Don't worry about not having travel buddies. Once one of the middle-aged women in a group gets a car, she'll automatically find many travel companions.

As for driving skills, besides practicing more, the only solution is to get a sturdy car.

------

Early in the morning, Zhai Da took Lu Wei out to No. 99 Luochuan Road, the former site of Utopia.

This place was once bustling with activity in the summer, with hundreds of students attending tutoring classes here every day. Traffic police would come to maintain order during school hours, and admission was extremely difficult to obtain. It was the most popular place in Dongyang County at that time.

Zhai Da can say without reservation that because of their efforts during the summer vacation, the number of students achieving good results in Dongyang this year will increase.

Those were all taught using cheat codes!

Rounding up, this is a great merit. I've been reborn in this life, so it's not unreasonable to exchange it for a time-traveling cultivation experience in the next life, right? Wouldn't it be even better if I brought the system with me?

But now, it's just a deserted, desolate courtyard in winter.

At the entrance of the alley, there is a familiar sign that reads "Customized Fine Furniture, Woodcrafts, Wrought Iron, Doors and Windows." Inside, Xu Xuejun is making gongs and drums.

This is their first stop today, to see Old Man Xu.

Zhai Da greeted Xu Xuejun from afar: "Why aren't you resting during the Spring Festival? What are you busy with?"

Xu Xuejun huffed and puffed, "A few dance partners have formed an elderly choir, and they're going to perform before the New Year."

Zhai Da asked in confusion, "Why are you welding a steel frame for the choir's performance?"

"This is the platform they're standing on, it needs to be sturdy. The six of them together weigh almost a thousand pounds."

Hearts of Steel Choir?

Tank blitzkrieg?
Xu Xuejun threw the angle iron aside, turned around to speak, and saw Zhai Da and Lu Wei holding hands tightly.

Although it's not strange for the two to hold hands, it still feels like something's off.

The old man looked around suspiciously.

Zhai Da proactively raised his hand: "I have a girlfriend."

Xu Xuejun gave a nasal hum.

"Real ink stains."

Hey~ this old man!

But then he couldn't help himself and a smile crept up his lips: "Be nice to Xiao Wei, don't bully her."

"You don't even need to tell me that," a calico cat ran out, sniffed in front of Zhai Da and Lu Wei, seemingly recalling summer memories, and started frantically rubbing against their trouser legs. Lu Wei squatted down and patted its head: "Hello, do you still remember us?"

The little calico flower made a purring sound.

Zhai Da put down a box of Six Walnuts: "I'm here to visit an elderly person living alone before the New Year. By the way, is your daughter going back to her parents' home this year?"

When asked about this, Xu Xuejun sighed: "Originally, it was said that my grandson had a winter camp in Shanghai, but we didn't want to go through all that trouble."

"and then?"

"Then I told her that I had prepared 100,000 yuan for her grandson's tutoring fees, and she said she would come back in the second year of junior high school."

"Is our guy really that materialistic?"

Xu Xuejun waved his hand: "It's not reality. I know my daughter. She and her husband are both wage earners, making only two or three thousand a month, and they still have to raise children and pay for the house. They are indeed tired, and they don't get much rest throughout the year."

"Things are different from our generation. In the past, being able to go to school meant you were well-off. Now, you have to compare yourself with others; you can't get over your own conscience if you don't."

Zhai Da nodded: "But you have to keep some for yourself, don't empty your pockets. This kind of extra education is a bottomless pit."

I often hear Xu Xuejun mention his daughter, who's known for her aggressive parenting style. She seems quite eccentric; even if she earned 4 million, she could easily squander it all.

Moreover, most of these costs are ineffective.

"Of course, I only have one daughter, so it wouldn't be a big deal to give her everything. But I'm worried that she won't understand. She even mentioned wanting to take out a loan to send her to a private school a while ago."

Zhai Da: You've gone a bit overboard!
"By contributing some money now, I can have a say in my grandson's education. I'll gradually change things around later."

"Well, you'd better try to twist it properly. If you can't, you can get a beating."

After chatting for a while, Zhai Da tentatively invited Xu Xuejun to have New Year's Eve dinner together, but the old man declined.

This generation has a kind of inexplicable persistence; they would rather stay in the workshop alone and read than visit other people's homes on important holidays.

Before leaving, Zhai Da went to Utopia for a look. Not having brought his key didn't stop him. He took out the [Master Key] from his pocket, opened the large iron gate, and led Lu Wei on a tour inside.

Not much has changed, and it's even cleaner than I imagined. Even after Fan Junwei left Dongyang, he still asked a cleaning lady to come by every few days and pay her some money.

The room still had tables, chairs, an electric fan, a blackboard, and that eerie decoration of the "Study Habit Correction Room," but the old man's television was gone.

Zhai Da was still on the podium when he found half a box of damp chalk.

I picked up a piece and weighed it in my hand. I realized it had been a long time since I had written anything on the blackboard, so I turned around and wrote three big characters on the blackboard.

"Brilliant!"

That's how cultured people are; as long as they're better at Chinese than math, that's enough.

Before leaving, Little Wooden Head whispered, "Will this place still be open?"

Zhai Da tossed the chalk back into the box with precision: "You like being a teacher?"

I loved that summer.

Zhai Da smiled and squeezed Xiao Mutou's soft hand: "Who knows? Anyway, I rented it for five years."

"Maybe one day we will all come back, or one or two of us will come back, and we will open another tutoring class here to welcome a new group of students."

As he locked the large iron gate again, Zhai Da took one last look at the courtyard. It really was a great place to have hot pot. If everything was prepared properly, and a heater was added, the atmosphere would be amazing.

Who knows, we might even be able to barbecue it!

The juicy, sizzling lamb skewers are so delicious, I can almost taste them!

I wonder how Chu Xiang's plan is going. He was so drunk last night, I wonder if he can still remember this.

Afterwards, Zhai Da went to the small shop at the intersection, the same place where he had previously sold "six irons".

Under the boss's delighted gaze, the drinks were bought by the case, and of course, Zhai Da would open each case to take a look.

Is iced tea "Bingjiang Tea"? Is Sprite "Lei Bi"? Is Pulse "Yong Dong"? Is Nutrition Express "Nutritional Wool"?

Is Crystal Love the same as "Hiroshima Charm"?

In the end, they were all moved to the roadside.

Just as he was about to call a taxi, he suddenly looked at Xu Xuejun's workshop, and on a whim, walked over and asked, "Old Xu, is your tricycle electric?"

Xu Xuejun, who was welding tank tracks, pulled back his mask: "It's electric, what's wrong?"

--------

Meanwhile, Dongyang Primary F Hospital.

Wang Guofeng looked at the materials in his hand and wearily took a sip of strong tea.

Tang Fengyi is 31 years old, so young!
He started working after graduating from high school at 18, married his high school sweetheart at 22, started a business at 23, and had a daughter, Tang Xiao Kui, at 25. He seemed like a complete winner in life.

Enviable.

The couple is a model couple, a perfect match in the eyes of those around them. They have had a deep relationship since high school, and the wife, Dong Jingyao, has always supported her husband's business ventures. Before having children, they had achieved considerable success, if not great wealth.

It seems that having a financial foundation is what led to the decision to have a child.
What followed was much more heartbreaking. Dong Jingyao suffered from long-term complications after childbirth, including fat liquefaction and gynecological diseases. She later developed severe postpartum depression, and multiple interventions were ineffective.

When the child was one year old, the man secretly stopped taking his medication for a few days while he was away on a business trip. Then, while the nanny was asleep, he jumped from the ninth floor.

The child was put in the washing machine; no one knows what she was thinking before she died.

According to the mediator, gossip began to circulate among relatives afterwards, saying that Tang Xiao Kui had cursed her mother to death.
Tang Fengyi felt guilty and forcibly adjusted his business structure to spend as much time as possible with his daughter, even to the point of being meticulous. However, his energy was limited, and his business did not perform as well as before. Soon after, he encountered an economic crisis and was heavily in debt.

Finally, about two weeks ago, the body was found floating on the river. Searching upstream, Tang Fengyi's shoes were found.

The estimated time of death was early that morning. There was no surveillance footage, no eyewitness accounts, no external injuries, and the patient had deliberately taken off her shoes. Given the background of collapsing debts, the forensic doctor initially determined that the possible cause of death was suicide and emotional breakdown.

It's not surprising, really. A single father who doesn't even have a nanny, is making more and more mistakes in his business while also taking care of his six-year-old daughter. It's normal for him to be exhausted and suffer from neurasthenia.

After that, gossip began to circulate among relatives, saying that Tang Xiao Kui had once again dragged her father down to his death.
Oh, and they also said that Tang Xiao Kui was a spendthrift, and that the problems in their family business arose after Tang Xiao Kui was born, even though Tang Xiao Kui had always lived a life of luxury.

"Living in luxury" in the eyes of relatives.

The civil affairs department took the lead in launching a rescue effort immediately, hoping to secure a portion of Tang Fengyi's remaining assets in advance, even if it was small, to at least guarantee Tang Xiaokui's basic living standards. However, they discovered that Tang Fengyi had no assets left, only debts.

Relatives and friends are also avoiding the child like the plague. Three family members living in the province of Sanxing have explicitly refused to help. The only remaining hope is a distant relative in Qinghai Province, far in the Northwest, but even that seems difficult.
Wang Guofeng lit a cigarette, feeling somewhat helpless.
That's really difficult.
(End of this chapter)