Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 330 I hate you!

Chen Hui said, "It's simple. My family makes soy sauce every year. We just need to make some for the meal. We don't need much for one table. Just make two small plates for free."

Xiao Wei glanced at Chen Hui and said, "You want to collect the money after we're done?"

Chen Hui shook his head and said, "No, the pickled vegetables and cornbread are free, but there's a limit; that's all we get for one table."

Xiao Wei smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, that's a good idea."

Chen Hui looked around and said, "Who can make money and get up this early? Look at these people, life isn't easy. It seems like more and more places aren't paying wages these days. Not everyone can run a business. Many small businesses, after paying rent and taxes, don't have much left. They can barely afford to eat, and they still have to support their elderly parents and children. Sometimes I think, how great it would be if I had unlimited money so I could help those I could."

Xiao Wei turned his head and looked at the pedestrians on the street, all bundled up and hurrying along. This is life.

The first five years of the 90s were a period of remarkable achievements in China's reform and opening up, and a period of rapid economic growth. However, for ordinary people, these five years were also the most confusing and uncertain, a period of gloom. Businesses went bankrupt, life became extremely difficult, and the future was shrouded in uncertainty. They could only struggle and be pushed forward by life.

The transformation of the entire socio-economic structure is always accompanied by countless hardships and tears from ordinary people. But what can be done?

Back at the guesthouse, the two went to their own rooms.

Xiao Wei put down the pancake, picked up the thermos and shook it; there was no hot water. He quietly opened the door and went downstairs to the water room to get a kettle of hot water. The waitress was already up, sitting at the counter tidying herself up. In this day and age, women's grooming and makeup consisted mainly of combing their hair and applying a little lotion. Younger women might draw their eyebrows, put on eyeliner and lip liner, and then apply some lipstick.

The woman on duty at the guesthouse was in her thirties. She was drawing her lips with a dark brown lip liner in front of a small mirror. Her lips were full and plump, looking quite sexy. While looking in the mirror, she chatted with Xiao Wei: "Up so early?"

Xiao Wei said, "I forgot to eat last night, and I woke up hungry."

The woman immediately broke character, drawing a long, diagonal line on her chin with her lip liner. She exclaimed "Ouch!", glared at Xiaowei, and looked down to wipe it off. Xiaowei laughed and asked, "Sis, do you have any candy?"

The older sister rolled her eyes at Xiaowei, pointed behind her and said, "Take it yourself from the kitchen stove."

Xiao Wei put down the thermos and walked into the kitchen, saying, "No need to draw anymore, it looks pretty good." His older sister smacked her lips and spat at him.

I went to the kitchen, grabbed some sugar, and then just took a pair of chopsticks and a bowl. I went out, picked up the thermos, and went upstairs.

Xiao Hong was still asleep. Xiao Wei opened the curtains a little and, using the light from the window, made a bowl of sugar water with Erwan. He stirred it with chopsticks, tasted it to check the sweetness, and then went to the bedside to call Xiao Hong, gently nudging her: "Xiao Hong."

Xiao Hong shifted slightly and continued sleeping. Xiao Wei sat on the edge of the bed and half-lifted Xiao Hong, saying, "Wake up, are you hungry? Drink some sugar water before you sleep." Xiao Hong shifted a few times to make herself more comfortable, stretched out an arm to wrap around Xiao Wei's neck, nodded with her eyes closed, and leaned against Xiao Wei before falling asleep again.

Xiaowei helped Xiaohong sit up and said, "Come on, wake up. Drink some sugar water before you sleep. I'm letting go, I'm letting go." Xiaohong shook her head, it was hard to tell if she was nodding or shaking her head. Xiaowei slowly let go, and Xiaohong fell to one side. He quickly grabbed her and said, "Are you awake or not? If you're not awake, I'll tickle you, tickle, tickle."

Xiao Hong reflexively flinched, opened her eyes, looked at Xiao Wei for a moment, then reached out and slapped him, saying, "You're so annoying."

Xiao Wei said with a smile, "Have some sugar water. You must be starving since you didn't eat last night. Drink it before you go to sleep."

Xiao Hong rolled her eyes a few times, gradually waking up. She rubbed her eyes and touched her stomach, saying, "Hmm, I'm hungry. I was dreaming about eating, and I was enjoying it." Xiao Wei smiled and went over to bring over some sweet soup, saying, "I bought some oven-baked pancakes, want some?"

Xiao Hong pushed away the bowl that was handed to her and said, "I'll eat on the floor, don't get it on the bed." She looked down to find her shoes, put them on, stood up, stretched, walked to the table, and sat down. Xiao Wei placed the bowl of sweet soup he was carrying in front of Xiao Hong and handed her the chopsticks.

After eating two oven-baked pancakes with the sweet soup, Xiao Hong put down her chopsticks and asked, "What time is it?" She turned to look at the brightly lit window. Xiao Wei checked his watch and said, "It's almost seven o'clock." Xiao Hong finished her sweet soup, put down her bowl, and said, "Where did you get the sweet soup? Did you get some for Chen Xiao? She hasn't eaten anything."

Xiao Wei said, "I got them from the kitchen downstairs. Chen Hui is up too; we went out to buy the pancakes together. Want to sleep a little longer? What are we doing today? Going on a boat trip or somewhere else?"

Xiao Hong yawned, stretched, and shook her head, saying, "I'm not going on the boat anymore. It's really not that interesting. It's dark and dirty on the other side, what's there to see? Let's just get up and head back. What's fun here? It's not even as good as Fengtian. Ah, ha, no, I'll lie down for a while longer." She swayed to the bedside, lay down, kicked off her shoes, pulled the blanket over her stomach, and closed her eyes.

Xiaowei straightened Xiaohong's clothes, covered her with the blanket, got up, took the bowl and chopsticks, and went downstairs to the kitchen. Then he went out to the backyard, jogged around the yard for a bit, and saw a cement pool with a faucet and a rubber hose in the corner. He thought for a moment, drove the car over, took out the car mop, washed the mop clean, and then plugged in the hose to wash the car.

After washing the outside, I turned off the tap, put the car aside with a mop to drain the water, then took out a towel and washed it, wiping the inside of the car from top to bottom. I took out the front and rear pedals, rinsed them with water, and put them aside to dry. I stepped on each tire to check the tire pressure.

"That car is really nice, is it yours?" Xiao Wei turned his head and looked over. The woman from before had already changed into her own clothes, apparently off work. She nodded and said, "Yes, it's mine. You're off work now?"

The older woman smoothed her hair and looked at the car, saying, "You're off work. This car is really nice. What do you do for a living?"

Xiao Wei wrung out the towel he was holding and hung it on the railing to dry, saying, "I've been doing some small business, but since I have a rural household registration, I can't work a regular job. I'm just making do. Why don't you go home after get off work?"

The older sister said, "I'm leaving now. I'll say a few words since you've been busy here. Can I have your phone number? I'll come visit you when I go to Fengtian."

Xiao Wei took a business card from the car and handed it to the woman, saying, "Okay, just call me before you go. I'll be spending more time in Longcheng, so you need to call ahead. What's your name?"

The older woman took the business card, glanced at it, and said, "My name is Guan Shuhua, just call me Sister Guan. I'm leaving now." She put the card in her pocket, waved to Xiaowei, and walked away, swaying her hips in her high heels. Xiaowei raised an eyebrow as he watched Sister Guan's retreating figure.

It took more than an hour to clean and tidy up the car inside and out. It was past nine o'clock. Xiao Wei leaned against the railing, lit a cigarette, raised his hand to touch his face, and moved the muscles in his face. It didn't hurt so much anymore. It seemed that he didn't have to go back with a swelling. Fortunately, he was worried that his parents would scold him if they saw him like that.

(End of this chapter)