Murong Yanran picked up a tissue and gently wiped the cheese from Li Haochen’s lips, who had his mouth full.
“Drink some water and eat slowly.”
“Thanks!”
Li Haochen took the water and gulped it down. The bland water tasted like honey to him.
On the other side, Zhang Guifang and Liang Minfeng were enacting a similar scene.
“Guys who get all mushy when there’s someone of the opposite sex around.”
The blatant display of affection left Chen He and Liu Dehui with sour faces. Their hearts felt envious, and the delicious-smelling pizza in their hands suddenly lost its appeal. They shoveled the food into their stomachs and left the shop.
“Aren’t you guys eating anymore? There’s still plenty!”
“Full…”
“So soon? Your appetites are usually much bigger than this.”
“…”
Chen He and Liu Dehui linked arms and squatted outside the shop, smoking cigarettes.
“Those two lovebirds are the worst.”
“Damn, so annoying.”
Chen He sang sourly, “Fellow sufferers of unrequited love… Alas!”
The two men smoked in silence, grumbling and muttering. They were more dramatic than Luo Jiaying.
Ruan Shanshan and Zhang Qianqian, who had been working part-time, knew that the pedestrian street was busiest at night. Although they were only there to help, they felt awkward about leaving after eating and drinking. Of course, the fact that there were no other part-time jobs available was also a significant factor.
“Shanshan, you two should head back if you have plans.”
“It’s fine, we’re free anyway, it’s like exercising,” Ruan Shanshan replied to Murong Yanran. She grabbed the remaining flyers and walked out with Zhang Qianqian.
“Ah…”
They were walking a bit too quickly and didn’t see Chen He and Liu Dehui squatting by the entrance. The two women tripped and fell forward.
“We’re done for.”
The moment Ruan Shanshan and Zhang Qianqian fell, they knew they would be bruised and bleeding. They closed their eyes and screamed in panic.
Their screams instantly alerted Chen He and Liu Dehui. Glancing sideways, they pushed off the ground with their feet, lunging forward. Their movements were reminiscent of Sun Feiyu diving into water, except the landing was on concrete.
Fortunately, nothing was… problematic.
“Ooh…”
Two pained cries echoed around them, sending goosebumps down everyone’s spine. Chen He’s face was flushed red, contorted in agony, and Liu Dehui wasn’t any better, with large beads of cold sweat dripping down his face.
One second, two seconds…
“Huh? Why doesn’t it hurt? Hmm, it feels soft?”
As everyone who heard the commotion rushed out, they were stunned by the scene, stuffing their fists into their mouths. The awkward positions in particular made Murong Yanran and Zhang Guifang blush furiously as they turned away, covering their faces.
Liang Minfeng chuckled, and Li Haochen smiled.
“What’s going on here?”
…
“Mom, look, what are they doing? It’s so strange!”
The young woman blushed, covered her daughter’s eyes, cursed “shameless,” and quickly pulled the girl away.
“Such indecent behavior…”
An old man, though his lips condemned the scene, his eyes burned with desire, thinking, “Born in the wrong era.”
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
Two piercing screams assaulted their eardrums. Zhang Qianqian quickly scrambled off Liu Dehui, her face burning so intensely that her earlobes felt like they were smoking. She covered her face and ran back into the shop.
Meanwhile, Ruan Shanshan had just gotten off Chen He. Startled, she stumbled, losing her balance, and her knees landed squarely between Chen He’s buttocks.
“Owwww…”
The sound was like a midnight wolf howl, chillingly miserable.
Chen He writhed on the ground like a shrimp, clutching his groin, the suffering evident.
Ruan Shanshan’s face was as red as if it could bleed. Her mind raced in panic, her thoughts a blank slate, and she forgot to even move her feet.
Li Haochen and Liang Minfeng quickly rushed over to help her up. Upon seeing the faces of the two men, now the color of liver, they could no longer contain themselves. Both of them burst into laughter, doubled over.
“Pfft… Hahahaha!”
“I’m… I’m dying of laughter…”
Chen He, still clutching his groin, had a dark cloud over his face. “Hoo… Just… Just wait until I recover, and you’ll all pay.”
“It looks like they’re okay, right?” Murong Yanran walked over and put an arm around Ruan Shanshan, who was still blaming herself. “Don’t worry, they’re jumping around, they’ll be fine.”
“Ah… Yeah!”
Liu Dehui reluctantly got up, his mind still replaying the recent contact, unable to shake off the lewd thoughts. His old face turned red, and the heavy breaths from his nostrils could ignite a match.
Seeing Chen He’s color returning to normal, Liang Minfeng nudged him. “You’ve had intimate contact, you have to take responsibility, hahaha!”
“I… I want to…” Chen He glanced inside the shop, his old face flushing again.
“Haochen, the shop’s coconut water is almost sold out. Contact someone to see if they can deliver some.”
“Oh, that fast? Alright, I’ll go contact them. Also, the ice maker is running, make more ice cubes so we can serve the coconut water faster later.”
Li Haochen said goodbye to Murong Yanran and sped home on his tricycle. Upon arriving at his farm, he began doing exercises to prevent cervical spondylosis, tilting his head back as coconut clusters fell onto the beach with thudding sounds. The sound of money was always intoxicating.
Looking at the piles of cash, Li Haochen couldn’t help but speed up. One cluster, two clusters…
He had picked quite a few coconut clusters, but instead of preventing cervical spondylosis, it gave him a stiff neck, making his neck creak with every movement.
“From now on, anyone who tells me that playing badminton can prevent cervical spondylosis will have to deal with me.”
Using the same method, Li Haochen strung the coconut clusters together with a rope. He came out of the farm and began loading them onto the tricycle, one string after another.
He estimated there were about 700 clusters.
“These few hours tonight should be enough, right!”
After thinking about it, he felt it wasn’t stable enough, so he went back into the farm to pick more.
The tricycle had ample space, but the power and load capacity were limited, so he had to make two trips.
“Caution when reversing…”
Li Haochen opened the back door and shouted inside, “The coconut clusters are here to be moved.”
“Coming! Huh… where is he?”
Chen He and the other two responded to the call but couldn’t find Li Haochen anywhere. Looking down the back street, Li Haochen was already hundreds of meters away.
“Time to get to work, brothers.”
Within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Li Haochen returned to the back door of the shop and called for the others to help move the coconut clusters inside. “Let’s get to work.”
These heavy tasks were naturally not for the girls. Ruan Shanshan and Zhang Qianqian continued handing out flyers on the street, while Murong Yanran and Zhang Guifang were responsible for sales and collecting payments.
Li Haochen cut open each coconut, Chen He was responsible for washing them, Liu Dehui for peeling them, and Liang Minfeng for trimming the bottoms. Each person had their own task, and everyone contributed. Of course, these jobs could have been done by just two people, but since the shop belonged to everyone, they all had to put in the effort.