One Yuan First Recharge: I'm Actually the Boss Behind a Fortune 500 Company

Wang Hao was driving and had only been out of the county town for a few minutes when he saw Wu Liang's car next to a gas station.

The Cadillac was parked on the side of the road with its hazard lights flashing. Wu Liang leaned against the car, smoking, the orange cigarette butt glowing in the twilight.

When he saw him arrive, Wu Liang waved.

Wang Hao pulled the car over, rolled down the window, and let the cool evening breeze blow in.

"Have you finished delivering them?" Wu Liang asked casually.

"Yes, they've all been sent back." Wang Hao nodded, without saying anything more.

Wu Liang glanced at his expression—calm, without any ripples—and didn't ask any further questions.

He knew Wang Hao well; if he really had something to hide, he wouldn't keep it to himself, and asking him wouldn't help if he didn't want to talk about it.

"That's fine then." Wu Liang stubbed out his cigarette on a roadside stone.

"Let's go, same old routine. I'll lead the way, and you follow me. We'll go back to the village together."

"Okay," Wang Hao replied.

Wu Liang turned and got into the car. The Cadillac turned on its headlights and slowly drove into the lane. The taillights left two red streaks in the twilight.

Wang Hao followed behind, keeping a distance of about twenty meters.

The two cars, one after the other, drove towards the village in the deepening darkness of the night.

The car headlights illuminated the road ahead, and in the occasional villages we passed, we could see the warm yellow light shining from the windows of a few houses.

After driving for about ten minutes, Wu Liang's voice came through the car's Bluetooth—the two had connected and talked as soon as they set off.

"Haozi, Li Na is a really interesting girl, you two seem to get along quite well?"

Wang Hao: "They're just ordinary friends, someone just hitched a ride."

"Just friends?" Wu Liang drawled. "I saw it myself; she was handing you water and candy, showing you a lot of care. You've got some luck with women, haven't you?"

"Stop talking nonsense," Wang Hao said helplessly. "Focus on driving."

"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore." Wu Liang said with a smile in his voice.

"But Haozi, to be honest, some things are in the past and you have to move on. With your looks and qualities, finding a good girl shouldn't be difficult."

Wang Hao didn't respond.

The car was quiet for a while, with only the hum of the engine and the noise of the wind.

A few minutes later, Wu Liang changed the subject:

"Tomorrow is the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, right? It's the last market day in town. Have you prepared your New Year's goods yet?"

"Not yet, I'll buy it tomorrow."

"I have to go too. My mom's been nagging me for days, saying I haven't bought any melon seeds or candy," Wu Liang said. "How about we go together tomorrow?"

"Okay."

"Then it's settled."

The two chatted casually, and time passed quickly. About forty minutes later, they came to a close approach to the village.

Wu Liang's house is at the entrance of the village. When the car reached the intersection, he turned on his turn signal, pulled over, got out, and walked over.

Wang Hao also rolled down the car window.

"Haozi, I'll head back now." Wu Liang patted the car door. "It's been a long day, you should get some rest too. I'll come find you tomorrow morning, and we'll go to the market together."

"Okay, let's eat breakfast and set off."

"Alright." Wu Liang waved his hand. "I'm off."

"..."

Wang Hao continued driving forward, passing through the quiet village road.

The streetlights were dim, and occasionally a villager would ride by on an electric bike, the headlights flashing past his window.

Turning into my own alley, the car headlights illuminated the familiar courtyard wall and the old locust tree.

In winter, the leaves have all fallen, and the branches cast menacing shadows under the lamplight.

He slowly drove the car into the yard, parked it, and turned off the engine.

It was completely dark when I got off the bus.

The courtyard was deserted. The gate of my second uncle's house was wide open, and warm yellow light shone from the main room, illuminating the bright red firecracker debris scattered on the ground—left over from the lively daytime activity, which hadn't been swept away yet.

The double happiness character hanging under the eaves swayed gently in the night breeze, and the red silk fluttered, but without the hustle and bustle of the daytime, it seemed a little lonely.

Just as Wang Hao locked his car, there was a commotion at his second uncle's house.

"Is Haozi back?" Auntie's voice came, sounding tired, but she perked up when she heard he was back.

Then, Wang Hao's second uncle and his parents came out of the main room.

"Haozi's back!" His mother, Li Xiuying, hurried over and looked her son up and down in the light coming from the main room.

"You must be exhausted. Have you eaten?"

Wang Hao shook his head: "Not yet, I came straight back after dropping them off."

"Come in quickly, the food's still warm," Auntie Er hurriedly called out, then turned and called into the house, "Xiaoya's dad, reheat the dishes!"

Second Uncle Wang Jianjun responded.

Wang Jianguo walked to his son's side and looked at him in the lamplight: "You've had a hard day. Is everything going smoothly with Xiaoya?"

"It went smoothly, Dad," Wang Hao said as he followed his family into the main room.

Once inside, it was much warmer. The stove was burning brightly, and the kettle was bubbling away.

The house had been tidied up, but traces of the wedding were still visible—red double happiness symbols on the wall, plates of wedding candies on the table, and unopened gifts piled up in the corner.

"Sit down, please sit down." Auntie pulled over a chair. "How's the hospitality with Xiaoya's in-laws? Are they doing alright?"

Wang Hao sat down at the table: "It was great. The wedding was lively, with more than twenty tables. Xiaoya looked especially beautiful today, she was smiling all the time."

Uncle smiled upon hearing this, but a hint of melancholy could still be seen in his eyes.

He rubbed his hands together, as if he wanted to say something, but then swallowed his words.

Parents feel a void in their hearts when their daughter gets married. They've raised her for over twenty years, and from today onward, she belongs to someone else's family.

Second Aunt saw through Second Uncle's thoughts and changed the subject, saying, "Haozi, are you starving? Second Aunt will go heat up some food right away."

"I'll go help," Wang Hao's mother said, getting up as well.

Two women went into the kitchen, and soon the sounds of pots and pans clattering filled the air.

There were three men left in the main room.

The second uncle took out a cigarette, handed one to Wang Jianguo, and then looked at Wang Hao: "Haozi, want one?"

"No, Uncle, I've quit."

"It's good that you quit, it's good that you quit." Uncle lit one for himself and took a deep drag.

"Today... I really owe you a lot. Xiaoya's brother is in Guangdong and can't come back, and you've taken care of everything inside and out. Your second uncle is so worried..."

"Second Uncle, you're being too polite," Wang Hao said earnestly. "Xiaoya is my sister, so it's only right that I, as her older brother, help out. Besides, I didn't do anything special, just ran errands."

"Running errands?" Uncle shook his head. "These past two days, from beginning to end, what haven't you been worrying about? Your uncle knows what's going on."

Wang Jianguo patted his younger brother on the shoulder: "Jianjun, we're family, no need for formalities. It's only right that Haozi helped. If you really want to thank him, just help him out more in the future."

My second uncle nodded, saying nothing more, but the gratitude in his eyes was genuine.