Yonghe Road

Chapter 30 Haunted House
Before Shao Feng could remember, he followed his parents out of Baile Village and went to northern Zhejiang Province and the southern shore of Taihu Lake.

It is a city with a history of more than 2300 years, rich in cultural heritage and celebrity stories. It is not only rich in historical and cultural landscapes, but also rich in natural beauty and tourism resources. It is known as the "Silk City, the Land of Fish and Rice, and the Country of Culture."

In ancient times, it was one of the starting points of the "Silk Road". In modern times, it is located in the central area of the Yangtze River Delta and is a node city connecting the north and south wings and the east and central regions. It has convenient railways, highways and inland waterway transit ports, so modern economic industries such as new textiles, special electromechanical, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals are also very prosperous.

However, the most famous industry here is the Hu brush (Hu brush), one of the "Four Treasures of the Study," with a history spanning six to seven hundred years. Legend has it that Meng Tian, a Qin Dynasty general, invented the brush here, ensuring the continued development of the Hu brush craftsmanship. Hu brushes are characterized by their roundness, smoothness, strength, and sharpness. The production process is complex and meticulous, involving twelve steps: selecting materials, basin, knotting the brush head, inserting the brush, placing a cushion, inlaying, selecting the brush, and engraving. This adds up to over 120 steps, both large and small. Each key step is handled by dedicated craftsmen, resulting in meticulous material selection, exquisite craftsmanship, and meticulous attention to detail, highlighting the uniqueness of the brush.

The local government attaches great importance to the development of the Hu brush industry and has introduced a series of policies to support the innovation and development of Hu brush enterprises, making the Hu brush industry an important pillar of the local economy. However, Shao Feng's parents made their fortune here not by relying on the Hu brush industry, but by the catering industry.

Initially, they faced numerous challenges. As new entrepreneurs unfamiliar with the local market, they needed time to adapt and understand local consumer habits and market demands. The restaurant industry was also highly competitive, making it difficult to stand out from the crowd. Furthermore, Shao Feng's parents had limited funds, so they had to control costs while ensuring the quality of ingredients and service.

They visited various areas to understand local tastes and dining habits. Through conversations with local residents, they discovered a preference for light, healthy food, reminiscent of the culinary traditions of eastern Fujian. Consequently, they focused on selecting a location, renovating the restaurant, promoting it, and developing new dishes. After years of hard work and dedication, Shao Feng's parents' restaurant took root on the south bank of Taihu Lake and grew in popularity. As their business grew and profits increased, their net worth reached several million yuan, establishing them as a model for local restaurant success.

During the years when Shao Feng's parents were working hard on their business, Shao Feng also grew up from an ignorant child to an adult. Although his academic performance was not outstanding, he was admitted to a medical college in the central and eastern part of the country and chose dentistry as his major.

Unlike his parents, Shao Feng's parents left their hometown to develop their careers, while Shao Feng, after graduating from medical school, went back to his hometown dental clinic and became a dentist.

Before returning to his hometown, Shao Feng worked in a dental clinic in Zhejiang Province for a year or two. His dexterity and skill quickly earned him a reputation. He was renowned not only for his dental skills but also for his basketball prowess. He played basketball so well that his team won the Zhejiang Provincial Dental Basketball League.

After returning to his hometown after a high-paying job change, Shao Feng toiled for several years and finally bought a Mercedes-Benz. While it wasn't as expensive as his parents' million-dollar Mercedes, for a twenty-something, owning a Mercedes worth three or five hundred thousand was a milestone. However, with his constant presence around the operating table, Shao Feng hadn't touched a basketball in ages.

Thanks to Toro's wealth, Shao Feng finally went to the "Xuefeng" club to play a long-lost game after many years, and met two masters, Wang Zian and Zhong Ziqi, which was a bit like "the meeting of golden wind and jade dew".

Shao Feng met Zhong Ziqi again. He was accompanied by Xie Anmin to the dental clinic. The rotten teeth needed root canal treatment, and the pits and fissures needed sealing. Two of his teeth were severely decayed, with gaps between the crown and the tooth body, so they needed braces to prevent the abutment from rotting. However, the entire treatment plan would take a month or so and cost several thousand yuan. However, Xie Anmin paid the fee for Zhong Ziqi without hesitation, and then sat quietly aside, taking out his laptop to type while waiting for Zhong Ziqi's treatment to end.

The treatment was finally over. Shao Feng glanced at Xie Anmin, who was sitting on the orange sofa outside the clinic, and asked Zhong Ziqi, "Is she your sister?"

Zhong Ziqi said nothing.

"The tooth has been treated. I can't eat temporarily, but I can talk." Shao Feng said.

Zhong Ziqi was in a bad mood and opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't answer Shao Feng's question about Xie Anmin's identity. He just told Shao Feng to return to Baile Village to practice on time according to the time notified by Wang Zian in the WeChat group. "Okay, I've already asked for leave," Shao Feng said, and sent Zhong Ziqi out.

Because he had several dental surgeries a day, the next patient was already waiting for him in the clinic. He couldn't take Zhong Ziqi too far, so he just took him to the waiting room, smiled at Xie Anmin who happened to be looking over, and then went into the clinic to continue the operation.

Xie Anmin packed up his laptop and followed Zhong Ziqi out of the dental clinic.

"Are you heading back to Baile Village now?" Xie Anmin asked Zhong Ziqi. "It's a rare trip to the city, so why don't you have some fun there?"

Zhong Ziqi lowered his head and said nothing.

Xie Anmin continued to ask: "Do you want to watch a movie, go to the amusement park, or..."

He is short of money and cannot host or pay for any entertainment activities. How can he express his opinion?
When people are poor, they have few ambitions and naturally speak less.

Xie Anmin understood his feelings completely and said with a smile, "Anyway, you wrote me an IOU. You treated me, and I'll put the entire fee on it later. You can't put it on the IOU when you treat your own teeth, but you won't put it on the IOU when you take me out for fun. You're borrowing money, yet you're so generous to yourself and stingy to others?"

Zhong Ziqi had no way to refute, so he had to take Xie Anmin to the only amusement park in the city.

During the day, when the temperature was high and the amusement park was deserted, Xie Anmin and Zhong Ziqi seemed to have the whole place to themselves. Sometimes they transformed into pirate captains, screaming and cheering in the sky, enjoying the thrill of speed and passion. Sometimes they experienced the weightlessness of slowly rising and then diving at high speed on the "death" pendulum. Sometimes they felt the thrill of soaring through the clouds on the rocking chair as the umbrella-shaped turntable and the middle turntable rotated in an offset manner...

Zhong Ziqi was initially reserved, but soon he was screaming and shouting along with Xie Anmin. He had never released stress like this in his life. After trying all the outdoor activities, he followed Xie Anmin breathlessly to the haunted house.

Xie Anmin stopped, looked at the eerie door of the haunted house, and said, "Forget it."

"It's my treat, how can you just let it go?"

Zhong Ziqi took Xie Anmin's hand without saying anything. Xie Anmin was stunned for a moment. This was the first time Zhong Ziqi had held her hand. When she came to her senses, she had already been pulled into the haunted house by Zhong Ziqi...

(End of this chapter)