Xu Xingyan's flower shop is called "Encounter". It has two floors, each forty square meters. The lower floor is decorated as a flower shop, and the upper floor is a lounge. The decoration is very exquisite. It was specially designed by a master friend of Ms. Fang Yi.
Unlike the antique and exquisite 'Encounter', the bookstore next door is much more modern, even its name is down-to-earth 'Diligent Bookstore'. It is twice the size of the flower shop and has many times more employees—the owner, six staff members, and a cat.
The owner of Qinfen Bookstore is a stunningly beautiful woman nearing forty. She spends most of her time leaning against the window, admiring her reflection in the mirror, appreciating the beauty that time has bestowed upon her. Once you get to know her, the question she asks most often is, "Am I beautiful?"
For example, right now.
The sound of the door opening caused the wind chimes to ring. Fan Ying, who was leaning against the curtains with her eyes closed, turned around and her eyes lit up. She walked a few steps with great charm. "Little Xingyan is here! Come and see, doesn't my new lipstick suit your skin tone even better?"
The cashier standing next to her looked on with disbelief and secretly rolled her eyes. Xu Xingyan coughed lightly and said calmly, "Sister Ying looks even fairer today, and her earrings match her clothes perfectly."
Fan Ying was overjoyed and said with a playful smile, "You have such good taste! You're going to buy books, right? Come on, I'll take you to get them."
Xu Xingyan followed behind her, saying, "How the Steel Was Tempered, The Stars of Humanity... and get a few more practice books for eighth grade, Chinese, math, and English."
“A few days ago, a cousin called me. Her son needed some extracurricular books and asked if I had any ready-made ones. I agreed without much thought. When I got home, I found that all the books in the house had annotations left by my grandfather. I thought I should just buy her some new books instead.”
Fan Ying glanced back at her, a half-smile on her face, "They asked you for a few books, and you gave them a stack of practice questions in return?"
Xu Xingyan refused to admit to her wicked sense of humor, and simply responded with an innocent smile.
The staircase leading to the second floor was rather narrow, and unfortunately, she bumped into a couple coming down the stairs. Xu Xingyan moved aside to avoid them, and just then she saw the woman behind her gently place her hand on the man's shoulder. The man paused, took two quick steps, and caused the slender fingers to miss their mark.
Xu Xingyan: ……
I couldn't help but take a closer look. The man was tall and handsome, and the woman was pretty and alluring.
The fallen petals yearn to follow the flowing water, but the flowing water has no interest in the fallen petals.
Before she could finish her remark, Fan Ying clicked her tongue twice and raised her eyebrows, saying, "Sister Pan was originally beautiful, but she insisted on flirting with Wu Song."
After saying that, she sighed before continuing upstairs, with a sense of regret that "she was a beautiful woman, but unfortunately became a thief."
Xu Xingyan was stunned. After a moment of processing, she caught up with him and asked, "Are they uncle and sister-in-law? How did you know?"
Fan Ying moved deftly among the bookshelves, selecting each book one by one. She then turned and had Xu Xingyan hold the books, her eyebrows raised and her red lips curving into a smile.
"My eyesight is honed from years of wandering the world. No matter who they are, once they enter my shop, I don't need to ask any questions. I can get a pretty good idea of them just by looking at their face. What's that old saying? 'Don't ask about prosperity or decline when you enter a shop; just look at their face and you'll know.'"
"So that's why there was a cow flying in the sky! It turns out it was you who blew it up there, Sister Ying!"
The young man who was halfway through moving goods from the bookshelf next door popped his head out and ruthlessly exposed her: "Sister Xingyan, don't listen to her bragging. That woman today is a regular customer of our store. She used to come in very close with a balding man, and she looks a lot like that handsome guy today. You can tell at a glance that they're brothers."
"Chen Tianhe! Go load your goods, stop eavesdropping here!"
The young man grabbed the box of books and ran off quickly, shouting as he went, "Look, look, he's even gotten angry now."
"Your bonus for this month is gone! It's all going to buy cat food for Bubble!" Fan Ying turned around angrily. "Don't listen to that kid's nonsense. Back when I was doing really well, he was still nowhere to be found!"
Xu Xingyan stood to the side holding her book, not saying a word, just smiling at them with her lips pursed.
Seeing her so obedient, Fan Ying couldn't help but pinch her cheek. With a flicker of her eyes, she smiled and said, "Just like today, when you walked in, I could tell something good was going to happen. Your face is beaming with joy. Could it be that your old flame has come to visit?"
Xu Xingyan paused in her retreating movement, looked up and met her gaze for a moment, then remained silent.
Then, Fan Ying's surprise grew even more pronounced, and she exclaimed incredulously in a low voice, "Really?!"
As it turns out, Sister Ying wasn't quite up to the task of navigating the underworld.
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Author's Note:
Upon entering a place, do not inquire about its prosperity or decline; simply observe its countenance, and you will know. —From *Zeng Guang Xian Wen*
Chapter 3 Aunt and Big Yellow
The top floor of a business building in Shanghai.
Tao Jie slumped in her chair, her voice filled with despair, "I never want to take this client's order again. It's an international business meeting, and 80% of the time you don't follow the script, and you even try to spout ancient poems to me!"
Huang Zheng hurriedly brought over two cups of hot chocolate, saying, "You've worked hard, come on, have some sugar."
Tao Jie stared wide-eyed, motionless like a dying goldfish.
Huang Zheng skillfully took a straw from the drawer, put it in her mouth, and after a slurp, Tao Jie said to him softly, "Brother Zheng, please translate 'Clouds think of clothes, flowers think of faces, spring breeze brushes the railing, dew is heavy' in five seconds, five, four, three, two, one..."
"..." Huang Zheng, without changing his expression, tried to change the subject: "Shengmiao, Shengmiao, get up and have something to drink before you go back to sleep."
"Shh! Shh!" Tao Jie quickly sat up. "Just let her sleep. I'm a little better. When it was her turn today, haha, 'Riding on a fine steed, I gallop forth, let me lead the way,' how many copies of the Li Sao has she read? If you didn't know better, you'd think we were going to a poetry competition!"
"Luckily, I was paired with Sheng Miao today. If it had been that stumbling little girl from last time, I would have wanted to die," Tao Jie leaned back again, tears streaming down her face, and choked out, "Why did I ever think of becoming a simultaneous interpreter in the first place!"
"It's not that bad," Huang Zheng tried to comfort her. "The client is very satisfied with this cooperation, and the money has already been transferred to your account. Shengmiao said she's going to take a long vacation in the next few days, so you should go home and rest for a few days and take good care of yourself."
"Shengmiao is going on vacation?" Tao Jie was taken aback, then forced herself to perk up a little. "Really? When did you say that?"
She and Lin Shengmiao were classmates under the same mentor abroad and had a very good relationship. After returning to China one after the other, they worked at the same institution. She had always known this junior sister very well, knowing her professional level and how self-disciplined and hardworking she was.
When you work in an industry for a long time, you inevitably find your comfort zone. Just like Tao Jie herself, after staying in the business translation circle for a long time and accumulating a wide network of contacts, she was not very willing to go into other industries.
But Lin Shengmiao is different. Although she has her own specialized translation industry, she is very hard on herself. She is always striving to break through and push her limits in fields such as law, medicine, education, simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting, and written translation.
While a simultaneous interpreting session is highly rewarding, it is also extremely mentally taxing. Usually, people would choose to take a break for a while, but Lin Shengmiao seemed to be driven by some ghostly force, managing to squeeze in several translation assignments during her breaks, which was truly admirable.
"I submitted the application as soon as I got off the plane yesterday," Huang Zheng said, taking Lin Shengmiao's hot chocolate for himself since she wouldn't wake up anytime soon.
"You don't know, there was a slight accident on her flight yesterday. She barely managed to land safely, so she might have been affected a bit. People always have some insights when faced with such unexpected events. I thought she had been under too much pressure, so it would be good for her to relax. I just approved a long leave."
Tao Jie frowned. "Why didn't you tell me? I was wondering why she seemed a bit off today."
After finishing a cup of hot chocolate in a few bites, Huang Zheng explained, "Weren't you busy with pre-meeting preparations? We were afraid you'd get distracted, so we didn't say anything. Anyway, you're perfectly fine, and you didn't get a scratch."
"Alright, stop lounging around here. There's a deck chair over there, go take a nap," Huang Zheng glanced at his watch. "Two more hours until we get off work. I've made a reservation; I'll take you guys out for a big meal later."
"Waaaa, Brother Zheng, I love you! You're the most handsome boss!" Tao Jie's eyes lit up instantly. She mustered her last bit of strength to flatter him, then drifted off to sleep with a blissful expression. In her dreams, there were no annoying clients, only delicious meals.
Huang Zheng snorted and happily went to wash the two cups. He then gave a few instructions to the office next door, brought back two blankets, covered the two girls who were fast asleep, drew the curtains, and then quietly went back to continue working.
...
Jiugan Village is considered an urban village in Nancheng City. However, in Nancheng City, which is economically developed, has convenient transportation, and has an excellent cultural atmosphere, it has maintained the rural form of the 1990s. There is no demolition plan or tourism development.
This is largely due to its somewhat awkward location. Jiugan Village is located on the outskirts of Nancheng City, very close to the neighboring Linhai City, making it somewhat of a 'no man's land'.
With no hope of relocation, those with connections in the village moved to the city more than a decade ago. The younger generation was also unwilling to stay. In the last two years, with the rise of social media and the pressure of finding employment outside, many young people have returned to the village to make a living by shooting short videos, and the village has gradually become lively again.
Xu Xingyan's grandfather was born here. Later, he seized the opportunity to go out and build a huge business, but he could never bear to leave his hometown. When he got old, he handed the company over to his son and returned to his old home with his wife to live out his old age. After he passed away, he was not buried in a high-end cemetery, but was buried on a cemetery not far from his home, in accordance with his wishes, so that he could live next to his father and grandfather.
"Hey, what's wrong, Big Yellow? Whose dog bullied you?" As soon as Xu Xingyan entered the courtyard, she was rushed over and pounced on by the big dog. She quickly put down what she was carrying, cupped the dog's tearful face, and said with heartache, "Tell me quickly, I'll stand up for you."
"Woof woof woof..." The country dog, Da Huang, kept nuzzling into Xu Xingyan's arms, showing no awareness of being a grown dog weighing over 40 pounds. It whimpered and whimpered as if it were a little puppy.
An old woman carrying a feather duster came out of the house. Her hair was neatly combed back. She wore a dark green embroidered silk jacket over her cotton-padded coat and black trousers. She pointed at Big Yellow and sneered, "You still dare to act aggrieved!"
Startled, Da Huang let out a howl and jumped onto Xu Xingyan. Already unsteady, it fell flat on its face with a "plop."
"..." Xu Xingyan was still a little dazed when the old lady pulled her up from the ground. Looking at the feather duster in the old lady's hand, she carefully asked, "Auntie, what did our Dahuang do wrong this time? Should we be lenient with him?"
The old lady was Grandpa Xu's biological sister, and his only sister. She had a very poetic name—Xu Qishu. Her husband passed away long ago, and she never remarried or had any children. She served as the women's director for over ten years and is now retired with honor. She spends her days at home raising dogs and playing with geese, enjoying a leisurely life.
My great-aunt grabbed Big Yellow by the scruff of its neck, pinched its dejected face, and said angrily, "This good-for-nothing brings female dogs from outside to our house to eat every day. It gives its food to them, and when it's not full, it comes to me for food. Anyone who doesn't know better would think I'm mistreating it."
"You're quite generous, aren't you? If I hadn't checked the security footage, I wouldn't have known you pulled this stunt. What, were you out there bragging to some pretty girl? How can you be so capable? If you're really that good, I'd let it go if you brought one home, but look at yourself, all the litters of puppies born in the village this year, does any of them look like yours? You should be more careful!"
Da Huang didn't dare to move, its head drooping, showing an extremely good attitude of admitting its mistake.
The aunt finally said, "You're not allowed to eat tonight!" and then turned to beckon Xu Xingyan into the house.
Xu Xingyan squatted down, looked at Da Huang with a worried expression, and said, "Really?"
"Woof!"
"Really, not a single one looks like you?"
Dahuang lowered its head, lay face down on the wall, and turned its back to Xu Xingyan.
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Author's Note:
Big Yellow: You're so annoying!
Chapter 4 A Heart Full of Kindness
Although the house where my aunt lived was generally in the style of a rural house, Grandpa Xu felt sorry for his sister and, in order to ensure her comfort, not only were the water, electricity, and heating facilities complete, but he also hired an architect to design it, taking into full consideration the safety and living experience of the elderly living alone in terms of lighting, garden layout, bathroom, toilet, etc.
The indoor heating was on full blast. As soon as Xu Xingyan entered the room, she took off her down jacket and hung it on the coat rack behind the door along with her bag.
Near the door, there were two mats against the wall, and on one of them lay a clean, large white goose, looking lazy and drowsy, perhaps because the room was warm.
Xu Xingyan went over and petted it. "Little White, your big sister is here. Are you happy?"
Little Whitey shook its wings and rubbed its long neck against her arm. Xu Xingyan stretched out her index finger and rubbed its little head, then went to the table to get a toothpick and poked a piece of apple to tease it.
My aunt came in carrying a kettle of hot water and bumped into us. She laughed and scolded, "Don't feed it, or it'll poop in the house again. Then you'll just leave and I'll have to mop the floor."
Xu Xingyan smiled, stood up, washed her hands by the sink, and then took the teacup from her aunt. "No way, I helped you peel corn all afternoon last time, and you don't even remember my kindness."
“Yes,” Auntie said with a sigh as she peeled pine nuts for her. “You peeled less than a bag of corn and your back hurt so much you couldn’t straighten up. I had to pay to take you to a traditional Chinese medicine clinic for a massage. Now that I think about it, I feel like I wasted my money.”
"Oh, by the way," the aunt asked疑惑地, "didn't your dad call earlier saying he was coming back this month? Why haven't we heard anything about it?"
“He’s back, but he’s still in quarantine,” Xu Xingyan said, holding a teacup. “There was some trouble at the mine in South Africa, which delayed things, so he won’t be able to make it to the winter solstice. When we video chatted yesterday, he even asked me to represent him and kowtow to his grandparents.”
“I knew Xu Yuming was unreliable,” the aunt frowned and said disdainfully, “All he does all day is work, what does he need so much money for? He can’t earn it all and he can’t spend it all.”
"You mustn't follow his example!" The old lady poured a handful of peeled pine nuts into Xu Xingyan's hand, gently patted her palm, and said sternly, "Did you hear me?"
Xu Xingyan said helplessly, "I heard you."
The aunt smiled kindly, her voice deep and resonant. “There used to be an old aunt in her eighties who lived near my house. She taught me a saying that I still remember to this day. She said, ‘Money is something that, if you use it, the bodhisattva will send it to you; if you save it, a hole will be waiting for you.’ The key is to keep a balance in your mind and not be too obsessed with it.”
Rough hands brushed over Xu Xingyan's shoulder, brushing away the fallen pine nut husks.
“I’ve said this to your grandfather, your father, your aunts, and now I’m saying it to you. Yan Yan, you must remember what your great-aunt says.”
“I will remember,” Xu Xingyan smiled serenely. “Dad will definitely remember too. It’s just that he took over the company from Grandpa and has so many employees under him, so naturally he hopes to achieve more results.”
My aunt first scoffed, but then laughed after a while, saying, "Your father has raised a good daughter who always sides with him."