Chickens and dogs fly in chaos and rebirth - Chapter 96
Childhood sweethearts? — But I've never seen anyone's childhood sweetheart and childhood friend eat from the same pot all the time.
It's often said that beautiful women bring trouble. Even before Qiu Shanglin possessed unparalleled beauty, there were already people secretly vying for her attention.
Brothers turn against each other either for money or for lust.
Wild animals, such as wolves, snakes, tigers, and leopards, fight for dominance only by possessing greater strength than others, and they always have to fight until they are bloodied and broken before a winner is decided.
A gentler type, like a peacock, disdains violence and uses its gorgeous appearance to compete for female peacocks.
"Ring ring ring..." The crisp bicycle bell rang. Ji Yunwen pushed his newly bought mountain bike, smiling as he waited.
It was Saturday, and he was dressed in a clean white tracksuit, pushing his mountain bike outside the building, looking quite like a young boy riding a white horse.
Xia Lin curled her lip, "Pretty boy, wicked! He used to be so close to my brother, but he's forgotten about it in the blink of an eye. He's so unpredictable."
Qiu Shanglin walked out of the building, having changed out of her school uniform and into casual clothes. It was nearly November, and the company had already delivered the latest autumn collection. Shanglin had said countless times that she was a student now, usually wearing her school uniform and rarely having the opportunity to wear casual clothes, so there was no need to waste time. But Yang Hai wouldn't allow it. He said that Qiu Shanglin represented the image of Mocha Company, and if her outfit wasn't good, people would think the company was about to go bankrupt!
She was both amused and exasperated.
Hua Qianshan no longer oversees the company's day-to-day operations. Yang Hai, who was a shop assistant in Zifang Town back then, has taken over the day-to-day operations of Mocha Company after learning, training, and experience, and is doing very well.
He possesses Hua Qianshan's boldness and drive, as well as meticulousness, which has led to Mocha Cat's profits reaching new heights.
Wearing a red and silver-gray chunky knit hoodie, khaki pants, red-topped white sneakers, and a playful baseball cap, her fair face shone brightly in the sunlight, and her dark eyes sparkled with light as they moved, making the whole world seem alive.
Seeing Ji Yunwen completely mesmerized, his eyes filled with infatuation, Xia Lin turned away and scoffed. "You're so blinded by lust, you'll regret it sooner or later!"
Ji Yunwen pushed the cart forward a few steps to greet him, a smile on his face. Just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly froze, and he stopped moving.
After taking a few steps, Qiu Shanglin turned back with a smile to talk to someone. Li Changsheng walked out of the stairwell, stood beside her, lowered his head slightly, and listened attentively to her words. They exchanged knowing smiles, their gazes revealing a perfect understanding.
The hand pushing the cart unconsciously gripped the handlebars tightly.
The three arrived at the town's bus terminal. Ji Yunwen parked the car at a familiar shop, each paid one yuan, and boarded the bus bound for Huaiqiao City.
A new amusement park opened in the city, and Xia Lin had been clamoring to go. Coincidentally, Shang Lin also needed to buy some reference materials, so they decided to go together.
Huaiqiao City has changed a lot in recent years. The government has attracted investment and developed a commercial district. Several residential areas are filled with high-rise buildings. Although it does not have the prosperous scene of later generations, it is changing rapidly compared to Zifang Town, which has remained unchanged.
The amusement park tickets weren't cheap, fifty yuan each, and the ticket seller was rather indifferent. Seeing several children huddled around the window chattering away, the heavily made-up woman looked impatient, her eyelids twitching as she gave a curt look:
"Fifty-one tickets, are you going to buy them or not? Hurry up, don't block other people's way!"
Xia Lin happened to be peering out the window when he saw what he saw and gasped, "My God, a ghost!"
Thick, blood-red lips, deathly pale cheeks, two unnatural red patches, and occasionally flickering green eyelids—how could one not be terrified?
The sales clerk was about to swear when Shang Lin quickly pressed his head down and handed him two hundred-yuan bills: "Four bills."
She glanced at the other person in surprise. The person was fair-skinned and dressed elegantly. Putting aside her contempt, she tore off four tickets with a blank expression, taking the money in one hand and the tickets in the other.
After the four people had walked away, he muttered, "These days, more and more parents spoil their kids. They're probably still in middle school, not studying properly and running around playing... What kind of behavior is this, boys and girls!"
The amusement park has a large building area and a wide variety of attractions. At the very front are a monkey mountain and a bear enclosure, making it a multi-purpose park and a typical product of the 1990s.
There were signs by the roadside leading to Monkey Mountain. Xia Lin cheered and couldn't wait.
Shanglin laughed: "When kindred spirits meet, tears well up in their eyes—Xialin has finally found his kind!"
The monkey enclosure reeked of a foul, fishy smell, indicating a lack of hygiene and inadequate management. Because the amusement park had only recently opened, few visitors had come. The monkeys on the enclosure were emaciated, their fur sparse, and they begged for food from anyone they saw.
Xia Lin held a boiled corn cob, breaking off the kernels one by one and throwing them into the monkey mountain. He watched as the little monkeys nimbly darted around following the direction of the corn kernels, their furry paws deftly picking up the scattered corn kernels and stuffing them into their mouths, then looking pitifully at the corn in his hand.
He got carried away playing and got closer and closer to the fence. Through the openwork fence, he put a corn kernel in his hand and reached inside. Shanglin shouted, "No!", but it was too late to pull back. Several monkeys grabbed him and pulled hard, their eyes fixed on the corn in his other hand.
Xia Lin screamed in terror and lashed out, enraging the monkey. The monkey's sharp claws reached for Xia Lin's face, which was pressed against the railing. Shang Lin screamed, his mind blank, and desperately grabbed Xia Lin's other arm, trying to pull him away from the danger.
Just when things seemed to be in danger, Li Changsheng snatched a popcorn from a nearby tourist and tossed it into the monkey enclosure. The golden popcorn scattered everywhere, releasing an enticing aroma. Sure enough, some monkeys abandoned their burrows and jumped to grab it. But one monkey was exceptionally stubborn, refusing to let go no matter what, clinging tightly to him.
Changsheng snatched the corn cob that Xia Lin was tightly holding in his other hand and hit it straight at the monkey's face. The corn cob spun and hit the monkey's face. The monkey let out a short scream, was forced to let go of Xia Lin, covered its eyes and jumped away, but went to grab the corn cob.
The onlookers all breathed a sigh of relief, feeling extremely fortunate.
Xia Lin clutched his hand and cried out in pain, having been scratched several times by the monkey, leaving white marks, but thankfully none that broke the skin and drew blood.
Shanglin was both shocked and frightened. Fortunately, Changsheng reacted quickly, otherwise Xialin would have been disfigured!
The monkey enclosure's caretaker arrived late, and when confronted with accusations from tourists, he retorted, "The rules say no feeding is allowed. Who told you to approach them like that?"
In his haste, Ji Yunwen was only focused on helping Shanglin hold Xialin back, and didn't have a chance to show his abilities. He was already feeling uncomfortable when he heard the administrator's rude tone and cold glare as he blocked Shanglin's path.
"Are you being unreasonable? The monkeys are starving, are we not allowed to feed them?"
He had a very arrogant tone, but unfortunately his appearance was not convincing enough.
The zookeeper sized him up and down, then said dismissively, "I don't care, these are the rules—you, and all of you, come with me to the management office. Harming animals is punishable by a fine!"
The crowd erupted in uproar.
I've seen unreasonable people before, but I've never seen anyone this shameless!
He realized that the other party was just a child, but dressed quite well, so he wanted to make a small profit off them.
The economic upheaval not only challenged people's understanding of society but also brought forth a group of cunning individuals. Unfortunately, the monkey mountain's caretaker was one of them.
One of his distant uncles was a junior manager at an amusement park. He got the job through connections after graduating from junior high school. Although the job was easy, the salary wasn't high. He also liked to smoke and drink, and occasionally gambled a little. His fixed salary was barely enough to make ends meet, so he wasn't very happy.
He's done plenty of swindling and cheating in his daily life, so this kind of using public office for private gain and turning the tables on others is a trivial matter in his eyes.
Although there were many onlookers, no one seemed interested in upholding justice. When it came to compensation and money, the previously well-meaning tourists scattered like birds and beasts—faster than the monkeys in the monkey mountain snatching food.
Ji Yunwen's face turned red with embarrassment. He had never been so humiliated in his life—especially in front of his girlfriend and Li Changsheng!
Despite his refined and fair appearance, he was no pushover, having befriended Li Changsheng, Ouyang Linhao, and others. He immediately clenched his fist, ready to strike the other man's face.
Little did they know, the other side was delighted, fearing only that you wouldn't make a move—if you dare to attack, I dare to respond. Now, it's not just the monkey that's injured; you might not be able to afford my compensation!
He was making his plans perfectly, but someone was deliberately preventing him from getting what he wanted.
Changsheng blocked Ji Yunwen and shook his head.
Ji Yunwen's anger flared even more, and he roared, "Get out of my way!"
Chang Sheng didn't give in, shaking his head: "Don't bother with him."
Xia Lin sneered from the side, "This guy's a scoundrel, he makes his living by being a scoundrel. Beating him up would just be a trap—we don't have that much money to pay his medical bills!"
She had no liking for Ji Yunwen either.
I used to think he was wise, but it turns out he's not as adept at social skills as I am!
Ji Yunwen's world is like a snowstorm in June... Xia Lin and Chang Sheng are certainly different. They grew up under the subtle influence of Qiu Shang Lin, reading books about vehicles and trucks.
To use the most vulgar language, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run. In Li Changsheng's words, he was tired of these kinds of thuggish tricks when he was nine!
Two of the onlookers didn't leave. Changsheng had just snatched the popcorn from the little girl's hand, and the little girl was making a fuss about going to the monkey mountain to get it back. Her father looked helpless; he couldn't pull her away, and reasoning with him was useless. Seeing this, Shanglin ran over and bought her another bag, squatted down to her eye level, and gently reasoned with her: "Little friend, we can't stoop to the level of monkeys."
The little girl wouldn't listen, stubbornly insisting, "It's mine!"
Shang Lin smiled and said, "Of course it's yours. But think about it, if a dog bites you, would you bite it back?"
The little girl shook her head, her voice childish: "Dogs are covered in fur, they smell!"
Shang Lin smiled and handed her some popcorn: "That's right. Now the popcorn is covered in monkey saliva, and we don't eat monkey saliva. Here, two buckets, I'll make it up to you, okay?"
Changsheng was arguing with someone, but she calmly coaxed him, showing no sign of being anxious.