Chapter 7 The Seventh Day After Stopping Running

Chapter 7 The Seventh Day After Stopping Running

That evening, Chen Bozheng and the others were discussing things very excitedly.

Wen Chan guessed that these men couldn't sleep at this time, but she couldn't stay awake. Her body these past few days had taught her that people really do get themselves into trouble if they don't do stupid things.

She ate two fried dough sticks in the morning, thinking it was nothing serious, but now she's starting to feel a slight chest pain. She only felt better after finding the medicine the original owner had taken.

"Knock knock—"

Wen Chan turned her head to look.

Chen Bo was standing outside the door, holding a mosquito coil in his hand.

"It's you? Bringing me mosquito coils again." Wen Chan sat down beside the bed. Chen Bo came in, changed the mosquito coils for her, and then said to her, "I discussed it with Fengzi and the others. We plan to split into three groups tomorrow and go to cities like Shantou and Zhuhai to inquire about the situation."

Wen Chan wasn't surprised that Chen Bozheng could come up with such a method; if he couldn't, then his brain was wasted.

"That's a good idea. Why three routes and not four?"

“We’ve discussed it, and Fatty will stay with you,” Chen Bozheng said. “It’s not safe for you to live here by yourself.”

Wen Chan teased, "If you don't explain, I'll think you're afraid I'll run away."

Chen Bo glanced at her and said, "If you wanted to run away, why would you try to help us make money?"

Wen Chan was stumped by the question, her eyes darted around, and she pursed her lips.

She was wearing ordinary pants, revealing half of her fair and slender calves, which swayed slightly.

The lights in the room were not very bright. The landlord obviously hadn't considered providing good service when he rented it to them. The light bulbs were dim and yellow. When Chen Bo looked over, he felt that the section of the lower leg was so white that it was dazzling and he couldn't look directly at it.

He quickly looked away and said to Wen Chan, "You get some rest. I'll leave you enough money. If you want to go out, you have to take Fatty with you, okay?"

Wen Chan had never been instructed so carefully before. She scratched her long hair and said, "I know. You're so young, why are you so long-winded? People who don't know better would think you're my dad."

Chen Bozheng's lips twitched, and he turned around and closed the door.

He returned to the house, where Fatty was discussing tomorrow's plans with Lin Qingfeng and the others. Seeing him return, Fatty looked up and said cheerfully, "Brother Zheng, this time we might not only earn 80,000, but also make a fortune!"

Chen Bozheng nodded and looked at Lin Qingfeng and the monk, "Everyone be careful on the road tomorrow, and take a knife with you."

Lin Qingfeng and the monk both nodded.

With the poor public security these days, robberies are commonplace even on the main streets. Even though Lin Qingfeng and the monk are both men, Chen Bozheng was still not entirely at ease.

But this is the only option now. They need to find banks with relatively cheap government bonds as soon as possible, so they have to split up their forces into several groups.

Chen Bo was distributing the money equally among everyone, instructing them to buy a batch if the prices were similar, before casually asking, "By the way, do you think I look old?"

The monk, the fat man, and Lin Qingfeng were all stunned for a moment.

The monk frowned. "Brother Zheng, aren't you the same age as me? We were both born in 1978."

“Yes, although we don’t know which month you were born, it’s definitely 1978,” Lin Qingfeng said.

Fatty met Chen Bozheng and the others later. Hearing this, he asked curiously, "Brother Zheng, how come you don't know which month you were born?"

Lin Qingfeng tugged at the fat man's arm.

The fat guy wasn't stupid, he was just too excited today and his brain didn't process it for a moment. When Lin Qingfeng reminded him, the fat guy knew that this was a sensitive topic and quickly slapped himself a few times. "I was just asking for no reason. It doesn't matter if I know it's my birthday or not."

Chen Bozheng took it all in stride, saying, "It's nothing. I was an abandoned baby, and the old man picked me up."

He changed the subject, instructing the fat man to take good care of Wen Chan these next few days.

The fat man readily agreed, patting his chest and promising that if Wen Chan lost even a single hair, he would ask him for it.

The next day, Chen Bozheng and his group left.

When Wen Chan woke up, Fatty was peeling a fruit at the gate of the yard, chatting with his neighbor across the street.

Hearing footsteps, the fat man turned around and hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law, you're up. Zheng and the others have gone out. They left breakfast for you in the kitchen. This morning, Zheng said that you can't eat fried food for the next few days, so he left you some plain porridge and side dishes."

Wen Chan went into the kitchen and took a look; there was indeed only plain porridge and side dishes inside.

She became more obedient. She had taken the medicine last night and her chest was still aching slightly. It was a really unpleasant feeling. She picked up a bowl, grabbed a stool, and sat down next to the fat man, eating as she sat.

The neighbor across the street, Aunt Sun, looked Wen Chan up and down with a smile, "Beautiful girl, you're so young and already married, do you have any children?"

Wen Chan didn't realize it at first, but after taking a bite of rice, she realized that the other person was calling her a pretty girl.

It seems the term "beautiful girl" has been used for a while now.

She swallowed the food in her mouth and gave the other person a polite smile. "Not yet."

"You'd better hurry up and get it. I think your husband really cares about you. He even came to our house this morning to ask for our help, saying that if you're not feeling well, he'd like us to lend a hand. What's wrong with you?"

Aunt Sun said with concern, "You're so young, you need to get better as soon as possible."

Wen Chan casually remarked that they were malnourished, and Aunt Sun nodded, saying, "I can see that too. Look at you young girls, all of you are so thin just to look pretty. If you ask me, that's enough..."

The fat man chimed in with a few words, chatting back and forth with Aunt Sun.

In the end, Aunt Sun even invited them to have lunch at her house.

The fat man looked at Wen Chan and asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you think?"

Wen Chan knew that it was important to make friends when traveling. Putting aside everything else, they were from out of town, and Aunt Sun and her family had invited them to their home for a meal. If they refused, it would be inappropriate. So they said to Aunt Sun, "Then we'll shamelessly trouble you."

At noon, everyone in Aunt Sun's family except her husband came back for lunch.

Several children secretly watched Wen Chan while eating.

Aunt Sun chuckled and said, "What are you all looking at? Haven't you ever seen Aunt Wen before?"

Her youngest daughter said, "Mom, I've seen her before, but never this close. Sister Wen is so beautiful, is she an actress?"

Wen Chan smiled slightly, pursing her lips. "No."

"Why doesn't Sister Wen become an actress? I think you're much prettier than the actresses in movies and TV dramas," the little girl chattered on, sharing which actresses she thought were pretty, which actresses had small eyes, and so on.

Seeing that Wen Chan was amiable, the other children also relaxed and chatted and laughed with her.

If Wen Chan were to make friends with people, she would be quite quick to do so.

In the evening, Aunt Sun's family invited them to their home to watch TV. Many cities still use black and white TVs, but in Shenzhen, many families already have color TVs, and not only color TVs, but also refrigerators and other appliances.

The fat man was filled with envy. Aunt Sun told them that her husband worked at a garment factory and earned two thousand yuan a month.

"Two thousand yuan?!" the fat man exclaimed in astonishment. "How can it be so much?"

Aunt Sun's face showed a smug look. "Of course, my husband is the team leader. He trained all the workers in their ironing team. Other factories have offered to poach my husband with high salaries."

"Wow, you make so much money! Aunt Sun, why are you still doing those odd jobs? How much do you make per bucket of peeled ginger?" the fat man asked, puzzled.

Aunt Sun said, "Even a little money is still money. Besides, our family needs to save money to buy an apartment. Those apartments cost two thousand yuan per square meter. If my husband only earns money, it won't be enough. It's a pity I'm clumsy. I'm afraid of sewing machine needles. Otherwise, I would go to work in a factory and earn enough for an apartment in four or five years."

The fat man was completely captivated by it.

Two thousand yuan a month, what does that mean?

Fatty never dared to imagine it before. He saw Wen Chan watching "Public Relations Lady" with some children, so he went over to get close to Aunt Sun's husband.

Wen Chan wasn't initially interested in watching TV, since she had transmigrated from a highly developed entertainment era and had seen all sorts of TV dramas.

But as she watched, she became somewhat engrossed.

Aunt Sun's youngest daughter took her hand and said to her with a proud expression, "Sister Wen, isn't this TV series really good? All my classmates and teachers are watching it."

“It’s not just you guys watching, we junior high students are watching too, but our teacher said we’re not allowed to watch before the college entrance exam, and that we should focus on preparing for the exam,” said Aunt Sun’s eldest daughter.

Although he said that, his eyes were fixed on the clothes worn by the female characters in the TV series. "Dad, after I finish my college entrance exam, will you buy me one of these dresses?"

Aunt Sun's husband said, "No, you're still so young. The clothes in this TV series are for adults. What would you look like wearing them?"

"Dad, if I get into college, I'll be an adult by then. You can't expect me to wear short sleeves and pants to school like this, can you? My classmates will laugh at me to death. Lots of girls in my class dress much more daringly!"

The eldest daughter protested vehemently.

The fat man exclaimed in surprise, "You people in Shenzhen dress so daringly! This skirt is so short, how can anyone wear it?"

Wen Chan glanced at it, and even with her perspective from a later generation, she had to admit that the costumes in this TV series were quite daring: padded-shoulder suits, white shirts, A-line skirts, and high heels.

It is full of the spirit of the new era.

"What's so surprising? The clothes in Hong Kong are even more outrageous," Aunt Sun's husband said, somewhat unimpressed by the fat man's surprise. "Our factory is currently working on patterns and plans to produce a batch of this style. It's selling very well; we've already sold quite a few orders before we've even started production!"

Hearing this, Wen Chan was somewhat tempted and asked Aunt Sun's husband, "Brother Wang, do many people want to buy these clothes?"

Aunt Sun eagerly replied, "That's right, this show is so popular right now, who wouldn't want to buy it? If I weren't so old and out of shape, I would want to buy a set too."

The fat man flattered Aunt Sun, while Wen Chan stared at the TV, biting her finger and lost in thought.