Wandering in the vast darkness

Chapter 71 A Large Bottle of Coke

Yu Wenhao was driving when, on the small road near the entrance of their residential area, he saw a person riding a shared bicycle ahead, the wind billowing his jacket. The back view looked familiar, so Yu Wenhao drove over, turned around to take a look, and quickly stopped his car in front of the person.

The man also gripped the brakes tightly, stood on tiptoe, and watched Yu Wenhao get out of the car, smiling at him.

"Old Yao, why are you riding a bicycle?" Yu Wenhao asked.

Old Yao waved his hand in the air, drawing a semicircle, and said, "I have to visit each and every residential area in this area. Driving isn't convenient, so it's better to ride a bike. I took the subway here and then rode my bike from here."

Yu Wenhao understood. He thought, it's not that driving is inconvenient; which neighborhood would be inconvenient to drive to? These are all newly built neighborhoods, not those old, dilapidated ones in the city center. The main problem with Lao Yao riding a bike is that he goes to more than a dozen neighborhoods a day, which means he has to pay parking fees more than a dozen times.

It had only been a day since I last saw him, but Lao Yao's face was already weathered and worn. He was no longer fair and well-maintained, but looked like he had been frozen. I wonder how long he had been riding in the cold wind, covered in dust and grime.

"Come on, let's go to my house for dinner," Yu Wenhao said to Lao Yao.

Old Yao hesitated, then said, "Going to my house would be too much of a disturbance. Let's eat up front. I'll treat you to noodles."

Yu Wen chuckled and said, "Now that we're here, I'm the host, and you're the guest. Let me treat you. I'm under less pressure than you right now. Once your company is officially up and running, you can treat me to a big meal."

Old Yao agreed, "It's a deal, I mean, we'll have a big meal."

"By the way, Lao Yao, have you told your wife about your business venture?" Yu Wenhao asked.

Old Yao said, "Yes, the post-80s generation was like this and the post-80s generation was like that. Back then, society portrayed us as a difficult group. Looking at it now, it really is difficult. Everyone is having a hard time, so how could we not be?"

"Come on, let's have a drink. What should I wish you? I'll just wish you instant success." Yu Wenhao raised his Coke and clinked it with Lao Yao's.

"I'll take you."

Cao Fang said, "Meng Zhen called and said you've become a celebrity. What happened?"

Old Yao grinned and said, "Not bad, we've already secured six neighborhoods. I have to thank your classmate and his old colleague for that. Oh, and they should be included in the big meal too."

Lao Yao was born in 1980, just like Yu Wenhao, both belonging to the post-80s generation.

"No need, no need, I'll just walk around this neighborhood first, and then I'll find a car when I come out." Old Yao pointed to the neighborhood next to him, which was the neighborhood where Brother Wang and his friends lived.

Yu Wenhao got on the car, and Lao Yao got on his bicycle. Yu Wenhao slowly drove forward, and Lao Yao followed behind on his bicycle. When they arrived at a small restaurant ahead, Yu Wenhao saw an empty space on the side of the road and parked there. Anyway, there were no parking spaces marked on the side of the road, and if the city management officers came, they could see them from inside the restaurant.

Yu Wenhao got off the car, and Lao Yao also lifted his bicycle onto the sidewalk and locked it. The two went into a restaurant that served Quzhou-style dishes. They had said they were going to eat noodles, but after sitting down, Yu Wenhao still ordered a few dishes and a large bottle of Coke.

"We have young children to raise and a bunch of elderly parents to care for. We are also the typical generation of only children, so all the responsibility falls on our own shoulders. To put it bluntly, if an elderly family member is hospitalized, there isn't even anyone to take turns staying with them in bed."

Old Yao raised his glass in greeting to Yu, saying, "You know, at schools like my son's, when they hold parent-teacher conferences, the parents just come to show off. Well, even if we don't argue for anything, we still want to save face for our son, don't you think?"

"How's it going, Lao Yao?" Yu asked.

Yu Wenhao looked at the rows of brand-new buildings in the community and wondered how many families were struggling in these seemingly respectable communities.

"Forget it, forget it, don't overestimate me." Old Yao waved his hands repeatedly. "I was forced into this situation. I spent several years doing sales before, and while I didn't have much else, I developed an incredibly thick skin. I was invincible; I dared to go anywhere, and I'd smile at anyone, no matter how unpleasant their expression was. Being forced to this point is just a matter of bringing out that shamelessness from back then again."

Cao Fang shook him awake and called him to get up for dinner. Yu Wenhao opened his eyes and was not quite sure how he ended up at home and in bed.

"I told my wife everything about how I had been laid off. She listened quietly without reacting. After a while, she sighed and said, 'I feel uneasy and insecure about attending our son's parent-teacher conferences.'"

In his dream, he dreamt he was always on the mountain, searching and searching. At first, he was looking for the old man, then it seemed like Qianqian had disappeared, and he was looking for Qianqian. Then it turned into Diandian, and he was looking for Diandian. Finally, everything got mixed up; the old man, Qianqian, and Diandian were all mixed up together. Yu Wenhao just kept searching, not even sure what he was looking for, only feeling like he was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Yu Wenhao stared at Cao Fang, speechless.

I slept so soundly that I felt weak in my limbs, and the more I slept, the more tired I became, until I was completely exhausted.

Old Yao was puzzled and asked, "What do you admire about me?"

Yu Wenhao raised his glass and clinked it with Lao Yao's. He felt a little bitter and amused. Why was it another parent-teacher conference? He kept running into parent-teacher conferences all day.

Hearing Lao Yao say that, Yu Wenhao also felt a pang of emotion. Sometimes, when he and Cao Fang were alone at home, they thought about it and realized it was true. Fortunately, Cao Fang's parents had long since passed away. Although saying "fortunately" might be a bit of an exaggeration, when they talked about it, they genuinely felt fortunate that they weren't there. And fortunately, Yu Wenhao's mother and father were still there to take care of them; otherwise, what would they have done?

"I told you, my wife said something that almost brought me to tears," Lao Yao said.

Qianqian already consumed almost all of their energy. If there were elderly people to take care of, how could they possibly manage? What else could it be but a stroke of luck? If it's about sharing the good times, that's fine, but if it's about sharing the bad times, then the one who doesn't share the bad times is truly fortunate.

After finishing their meal, the two walked out of the restaurant. The shared bike that Lao Yao had just parked had already been ridden away by someone scanning the QR code. Yu Wenhao said to Lao Yao:

When Yu Wenhao returned home, Qianqian had already finished eating and was taking a nap. Yu Wenhao went to her room, looked at her, and then went back to his own room, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep in no time.

Yu Wenhao said, "I admire your role transformation. It was so fast. You entered the role of an entrepreneur so quickly. With your drive, I feel that there is nothing you can't do."

"Please go separately, please go separately. Hey, why can't we all eat together a few more times?" Old Yao retorted, and the two of them laughed.

Putting down his cup, Yu Wenhao said with emotion, "It seems like only yesterday that we post-80s generation were born, but in the blink of an eye, we've become the biggest challenge in the workplace. It's not just you, Lao Yao. The other day I was thinking, if I leave my current job, it will be just as difficult to find another one. I've also crossed the job-seeking ceiling of 35."

Yu teased him, "What, you think you can just get rid of us all with one meal?"

Yu Wenhao looked at Lao Yao and said, "Lao Yao, I really admire you."

Thank you to Wawa Xibing and Xinghai Shuchong1977 for the generous donations! Thank you to Wawa Xibing, Jizhimi, and Actually, I Really Care about the monthly tickets! Thank you for all the recommendation tickets and reads! Good afternoon everyone!