After dinner, there was still time, so the two embarked on a little trip of daily life for a young couple—strolling and watching a movie.
The first destination was naturally Binhai Plaza. Although it wasn't the weekend, it was still packed, a definite money-guzzling beast.
Since they were here, the couple didn't forget to go up and try the stewed soup, putting on a show of affection in front of Liu Zijun, and also snagging a bowl of the new product.
“Hey, Zijun, what kind of soup is this? It’s really delicious,” Murong Yanran said, enjoying it immensely, clamoring for another bowl.
Liu Zijun walked over, stopped her, and chuckled, “You can’t drink too much, or you won’t be able to handle it tonight, hehe!”
“It’s quite good, it’s just the name…” Li Haochen looked at the words ‘鞭出欢喜’ (whip out joy), finding it strange no matter how he looked at it, and the price was also quite high, 128 yuan a bowl.
“Can it sell?”
“Tch, you underestimate me, don’t you? It’s our signature item, people flock here every day telling you, hehe!”
“Boss, one bowl of Huanxi…”
Seeing that business was coming, Liu Zijun ignored Li Haochen and the others. “Alright, you two go be romantic. Business is here, take it easy,嘻嘻!”
“This guy is so flippant, let’s go.” Murong Yanran linked her arm with Li Haochen’s, called out to the busy Liu Zijun, and then left.
The couple didn't need to buy anything, they just wanted to enjoy the warmth of being alone. They strolled for a while, and only returned to the cinema when the movie was about to start, buying some popcorn and two cups of fizzy drinks.
Quite a few people were already seated inside, most of them holding hands and looking lovingly at each other, clearly in the throes of a passionate romance.
“Chasing dreams to distant lands, one suddenly sees the vastness of mountains and seas, love flows like a stream, colorful clouds like windows in the sky…” As the theme song “You Are a Beam of Light” began, the entire venue fell silent. For 107 minutes, there were no scenes of couples getting carried away, but rather many soft sobs.
Especially during the part where the floodwaters struck. Although simple, it was very moving, making the audience’s eyes turn red.
Poverty alleviation, grateful to have you, me, and him. Born under the red flag, raised in the spring breeze, grateful for our strong motherland. Fortunate in this life to have the Chinese soul, and in future lives, we will never change our roots for ten thousand years.
When the lights came on after the end, the excitement and emotion still lingered in their hearts, not dissipating for a long time. Murong Yanran stood on her tiptoes, hugged Li Haochen, and gave him a passionate kiss. “It’s so good.”
“Mm, so good!”
As they came out, their emotions were still somewhat turbulent, so they lost the mood to continue browsing. After greeting Liu Zijun, they went home.
That night, a restless heat in their lower abdomen kept them tossing and turning, and they finally drifted off to sleep in a daze in the early morning. They woke up near noon, and both secretly made trips to the bathroom to take a shower, and of course, changed their underwear.
When she went downstairs to see Li Haochen, Murong Yanran’s face was as red as an apple. She didn't cook breakfast, grabbed her keys, and dashed out the door.
“Uh… why the rush?”
Breaking with tradition, there was no loving breakfast. Li Haochen had to fend for himself. It was getting late, so he combined two meals into one.
After eating, Li Haochen rode his bike back to Binhai Plaza. He had decided to go home the next day, and it was essential to bring back gifts. Li Family Village wasn’t large, but there were quite a few people, so there were too many things to buy.
He headed straight for the supermarket. At the customer service desk, he stated his requirements and asked for a sales assistant to help push a shopping cart. Li Haochen took out a memo over a meter long and started scanning items according to the list, item by item. “Great-grandpa likes to drink, so Maotai it is; Uncle smokes, two packs of Hua Zi; Aunt…”
There were so many items that the supermarket’s customer service department had to assign two more young female sales assistants to accompany him. Two hours later, the procurement task was finally completed, leaving everyone sweating. The two beautiful sales assistants also frequently sent admiring glances at Li Haochen, this eligible bachelor.
The goods piled up like a small mountain. Because of this, the supermarket even opened a special lane for counting and settling the bill. Even so, it took nearly an hour to complete.
Seeing Li Haochen’s large order, the supermarket manager was also good at business, making a grand gesture by offering a 10% discount and presenting him with a prestigious VIP card.
Li Haochen was extremely satisfied with this, unexpectedly saving tens of thousands of yuan. Of course, he didn’t forget the sales assistants who helped him, giving each of them a supermarket gift card worth 500 yuan.
After communicating with the supermarket and confirming the delivery time, he left.
Passing by Lao Feng Xiang, he thought about buying some gold jewelry for his cousin and future sister-in-law, but then he decided to go back to his hometown and patronize the family of their class monitor, Zhang Zilin. She had helped him a lot back then.
Back in the village, he brought all the dried bamboo home and tied ten mussel poles with aluminum wire. “It’s a bit of a shame, I didn’t complete the three-soak, three-dry process, but they should still last a couple of years. I’ll make do with them.”
He brought them all into his space and broke off some mussels from the reef area, tying them to the poles. Today was the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, the day the sea in his space receded. This timing was just right.
Li Haochen carried the poles towards the mudflat. He reached the bottom of the receding water and inserted the bamboo poles into the mud, with each one spaced two meters apart.
Looking at his masterpiece, he nodded with satisfaction. He dug up a few pounds of sand clams and then exited the space. As soon as he came out, Murong Yanran entered, startling Li Haochen, making his heart pound. “Whoa~ Almost got caught.”
“What’s wrong? Sweating profusely? Tell me, have you done anything you regret?”
Li Haochen was indeed a little guilty, so he feigned calmness and said, “What could I possibly regret? I just went to the supermarket and bought a lot of things, and I’m covered in sweat. I’m going to take a shower.”
After showering, while sitting on the sofa with a soda, Murong Yanran came out holding a damp list. “I saw this when I was washing your clothes. Why did you buy so many things?”
“I’m planning to go back home tomorrow. The people in the village have been very good to me, so I’m bringing back some gifts.”
“Isn’t it a one-day trip from Binhai back to your place? Why are you leaving so early?”
“Mm, the boat departs, so we have to leave early.”
“What? You’re going back by boat? Do you have a fever?”
Li Haochen put down his soda and looked calmly towards the door. “Our village is probably considered one of the poorer villages in the town. When you’re poor, others look down on you, and you can’t stand up straight. Now that I have some money, I have to go back in style and boost the village’s reputation. Others drive cars, so I’ll go back by boat. Isn’t there an old saying, ‘Returning home rich without showing off is like walking in brocade at night’? I want to go back high-profile and bring honor to our Li Family Village, hehe!”
“Okay.” Murong Yanran didn’t say much more, supporting him with her actions, and these actions were quite significant.
The next morning, Li Haochen was woken up by the noise outside his door. He went out and his eyes widened in astonishment. “What… what are you doing?”
Murong Yanran came out with a cheerful smile, took Li Haochen’s hand, and said, “How can my man’s homecoming be a small affair? We have to make it a big one.”