The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 256 Member

Zhao Xiaochui scratched his head, glanced warily at the desk again, and only after confirming that the documents were covered by newspapers did he come back behind the leader.

"I was just busy with something about you," the leader added.

Zhao Xiaochui's right hand, which was about to reach out, froze again: "Me? What national affairs could I possibly be involved in?"

"The company you and that girl Yu Xiaoning started is poaching people everywhere, isn't it?" the leader said in a calm tone. "Several reports of talent loss from leading state-owned enterprises have landed me in lawsuits."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaochui breathed a sigh of relief and replied confidently, "What does this have to do with me? I'm just here to give massages."

These words left the leader speechless for a moment.

If he hadn't thoroughly investigated the kid's background and personality beforehand, he could have kicked him out immediately based on just that one sentence.

“Child,” the leader’s voice softened, “what are your thoughts on this country?”

Zhao Xiaochui was completely dumbfounded by the question.

He looked at his right hand, which seemed to be forever unable to reach out, and simply withdrew it. He turned around and walked back to the opposite side of his boss, his face straightforward: "Boss, didn't we have a massage appointment?"

The manager looked at him with a half-smile: "I'm not a member of your 'Relax and Stroll' club, so why are you giving me a massage?"

Zhao Xiaochui fell silent.

The leader's gaze deepened: "Compared to my old bones, I would much rather you use this amazing ability to take on more responsibility."

He leaned forward slightly and repeated, word by word, "So, child, what are your thoughts on this country?"

Nineteen-year-olds hate being interrogated about their life and ideals.

Zhao Xiaochui's common traits were fully aroused at this moment, and his temper flared up again.

He kept his mouth tightly shut, his young and stubborn face hardening, and suddenly turned his head to look out the window.

When asked what his opinion was of the country, what opinion could he possibly have?
Why did he jump off a building and then be reborn? Or was it because he was always being harassed by others despite working honestly?

If it weren't for the chubby receptionist, if it weren't for Liu Li, if it weren't for the workaholic Yu Xiaoning, his opinion would be...

He didn't want to share his opinion.

The leader looked at him with a smile, not urging him, letting the silence fester in the room.

Zhao Xiaochui continued to look out the window.

Outside the window, several ancient, vigorous pines stood tall like guards, while in the distance, a corner of the eaves soared upwards, skimming across a sliver of sky. It was August, and the sun blazed down, turning the grass in the yard a golden sheen, while a sticky heatwave rippled through the air.

The heat made him feel as if he had returned to his hometown on the border of Sichuan and Guizhou.

The silence was finally broken.

“In my hometown, August is like a giant steamer, but whenever the village cadres have a spare moment, they will put down their work, fan me with a palm leaf fan, and lead me into the ‘Dragon Beard Gully’ behind the mountain.”

"That stream is hidden between two mountains, with many tall bamboos. When the sunlight shines through, it turns into scattered gold, so it's very cool by the stream. The village cadre has sharp eyes; she can always find river shrimp and small crabs hiding in the cool shade among a pile of slippery pebbles."

"She would roll up my trousers to my thighs and let me play in the shallowest puddles, while she herself rolled up her sleeves and waded in the water. The stream was icy cold, but it was the best place in the village to cool off."

"She had a special skill: she would pull out a small earthenware pot from her cloth bag, along with a small packet of salt and bright red dried chili powder. She would light a fire with a few stones, and the dry firewood she had gathered would crackle as it burned. Lively river shrimp would be thrown into the pot, steam would rise, and then she would sprinkle on the salt and chili powder. The fresh, fragrant, spicy, and numbing aroma was so enticing that it could be smelled for half a mile."

“Every time, I would be hissing and laughing from the spiciness while chewing the shrimp shells until they were crunchy. The village cadre would watch me with a smile, leaving me the biggest one and only eating the small fish and shrimp himself.” The delicious aroma and warmth in his memory gradually dissipated as the young masseur spoke, and Zhao Xiaochui’s eyes refocused on the quiet and serious office in front of him.

Zhao Xiaochui looked intently at the leader and said, word by word:

“I’m still young, and there are many grand principles I don’t understand, so I can’t answer such a big question as ‘What are your thoughts on this country?’ But I will always remember what that village cadre said—”

His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet office.

She said that more than 89 million Communist Party members in the country have participated in the fight against poverty.

She said that more than 1,800 people have sacrificed their lives on this road.

She said that the newly built and reconstructed highways exceed 1.1 million kilometers, enough to circle the Earth 27 times.

She said that more than 25 million poor families had their dilapidated houses renovated, and my mud roof was replaced with tiles at that time.

She said that 108,000 impoverished schools had been newly built, renovated, or expanded across the country...

She added, "This is something no other country in history has ever accomplished. China, single-handedly, has elevated the level of civilization for all of humanity. This is a truly glorious achievement."

As he spoke, a faint smile involuntarily appeared on Zhao Xiaochui's lips, as if he had returned to that dusty, dilapidated playground, where he and the other children squatted on the ground, looking up, listening to the cadre sister on the stage reading those speeches that they didn't quite understand, but felt incredibly honored by.

His smile vanished in an instant, and his voice deepened, trembling slightly.

"Leader, the sentence I remember most is what she said when she hugged me and cried. She said, my mother... my mother shouldn't have knelt in the mud in the heavy rain and begged her to take care of me."

Zhao Xiaochui took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice steady.

"Because just a week before the accident, my mother's name had been added to the list of patients eligible for major illness coverage under the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme. The cadre sister said that if she hadn't been caught in that rain, perhaps..."

Maybe... then I wouldn't have died.

Zhao Xiaochui didn't say what came next.

The story is over.

That grand narrative about the nation and poverty alleviation ultimately rests on the most humble yet heaviest fear of a poor mother.

Zhao Xiaochui lowered his eyes again, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

“Leader, I don’t know what the country is really like. I only know that it is very big and has done many amazing things that many people don’t know about. But it is also really big, so big that sometimes… it misses a mother kneeling in the mud in the pouring rain, just because she doesn’t want to spend money on medical treatment and is worried about her son.”

His voice paused, and when he looked up again, there was no sadness in his eyes, but rather a sense of calm.

"However, it is precisely in such a large country that I, a child who has lost my loved ones, have not been overlooked."

“Under the country’s care, I grew up healthy and happy, and was also taught skills to make a living. To this day.”

He raised his head, his gaze honest and clear as he met the leader's eyes.

"Sir, I cannot answer your question."

"Because I am also a member of this big family, how could I possibly have a problem with her?"

(End of this chapter)