Chapter 88

If possible, please put the book on the shelf. It will be convenient for you and supportive to me. Thank you very much!

Mei Yiliang helped put the bicycle on top of the bus, gave a few cigarettes to the driver, said a few words of thanks, bought some bread and ham sausage, and sent them to the bus. He watched the bus leave the station before he went back.

The bus wasn't full, so Feng Yiping found a seat at the back where no one was sitting. He moved the money he was carrying to his inner pocket and fell asleep peacefully.

He was really tired. Last night, he only slept for a few hours.

The bus jolted all the way, stopping twice to let the passengers get off and use the restroom. Feng Yiping didn't move the whole time. There was no way; he was young, and his kidneys were strong.

He had a great sleep. When the bus stopped at the county station at around two in the afternoon, he yawned and stretched, finally waking up.

He felt hungry as soon as he got off the bus. Pushing his bike out of the station's big iron gate, he smelled the aroma from the small stalls on both sides, making his stomach growl even more.

The bread and ham sausage were perfect to give to those little guys. He rode his bike, relying on his memory, and found the beef noodle shop next to the power station near the People's Square.

This legendary beef noodle shop looked ordinary, with no signboard, and the doorhead was black.

The white walls inside, which had been painted, were now a dirty yellow. There were three tables on each side, with wooden stools scattered around. The tables and stools, to put it nicely, had a sense of history; to put it bluntly, they were quite old, probably not much younger than Feng Yiping.

It seemed the workers were lazy, as there were cigarette butts and tissues on the cement floor.

If someone unfamiliar saw this, they might turn around and leave. But everyone in the county knew this was the best-tasting beef noodle shop in the entire county, with no competition. It was also the most popular, with no competition. During meal times, it was hard to find a seat.

Other noodle shops couldn't compare. Later, it was rumored that they added opium shells to their beef broth, but that didn't matter; people still flocked there.

In technical school, Xiao Zhijie paid for them to eat there twice. He later brought his wife and children a few times, always praising it.

Feng Yiping locked his bike and walked in. It wasn't mealtime, so there were no customers. Two oscillating fans on the walls creaked as they blew. A male and a female worker were each sleeping on a table, and no one greeted him.

Feng Yiping called out, "Boss, a bowl of beef noodles."

The girl sleeping on the table lifted her head, looking at him with dazed eyes. Feng Yiping smiled at her and repeated, "A bowl of beef noodles."

The girl shuffled in her slippers to the kitchen door and shouted, "One bowl of beef noodles."

Soon, a large bowl with a few chips missing was brought out. Feng Yiping picked up a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder on the table, wiped them with a paper towel, and took a bite. It was the right taste! The noodles were chewy, the meat was fragrant and tender but not greasy, and the broth was fresh and rich but not mixed.

Feng Yiping ate like he had just been released from a prison, slurping away. In no time, he finished the large bowl. He wiped his mouth and raised his hand to the girl, saying, "Another bowl."

"Takeout?"

"No, I'll eat it here," Feng Yiping said with a smile.

"Oh," the girl glanced at him, probably thinking that one shouldn't judge a person by their appearance or a meal by its size. She shouted to the kitchen again.

After two bowls of beef noodles, Feng Yiping felt satisfied and particularly refreshed. Even the girl with no service attitude seemed more tolerable.

Leaving the noodle shop, he rode his bike and slowly circled the county town.

He passed by the county government, the court, the county distillery, the experimental middle school, and the county high school, which took about half an hour.

The county government's gate, though gray and unremarkable, still had armed police standing guard, which raised its status.

The county distillery where Feng Weidong worked had a strong smell of alcohol from a distance. It was said that the river in front of the distillery had a distinct alcohol flavor.

As for the experimental middle school, he had lost to a student from there in his final exams twice. He didn't know which floor he was on.

The county high school, if he didn't get into the city's high school in two years, he would be studying there.

He also passed by the nursing school. Feng Hongbing, of course, didn't get into the county high school and was said to be studying nursing there after the semester started. He wondered what they were thinking, a big guy studying nursing.

Finally, he returned to the station, where he bought two pounds of bananas and two pounds of grapes at a fruit stall. These fruits were not commonly sold in town.

He watched the scale closely. There was no way he could trust the vendors at the station to give him the right weight if he didn't watch.

When paying, he negotiated to have the fifty cents change waived.

In his previous life, he wouldn't have haggled over such things, but now, since he was starting over, it was necessary to practice these skills.

For buses to the townships, you could buy tickets directly on the bus.

As he walked past, he saw a minibus to the neighboring county and hesitated. He had ridden this bus before.

Sigh, should he go now? To see how fat Zhang Yan had become?

But Zhang Yan's family hadn't moved to the roadside yet; they were still in the village. It would be hard to find a reason to go in as a stranger.

Besides, when he met her, their old house had already been demolished, and he didn't know the exact location. Asking around in the village would only raise suspicions.

However, he really wanted to see Zhang Yan. She was very different from her childhood self. She said she used to be very good at climbing trees.

In the countryside, children who could climb trees and loved to do so were usually mischievous and strong. For example, Feng Yiping, a well-behaved child, wasn't very good at climbing trees, while Feng Wen, who was always causing trouble, often climbed to the top of the paulownia tree to dismantle magpie nests.

He really wanted to see Zhang Yan's mischievous and strong side, preferably with a camera to capture it. Such detailed firsthand material would be very meaningful.

Should he go or not? He hesitated for a long time. In the end, he decided not to go. He already had a plan for how to meet her in the future. Going now would be too abrupt.

Besides, he was now a model student with a strong sense of right and wrong, and he didn't have any abnormal "raising" mentality.

To prevent himself from changing his mind, he immediately got on the bus to the town.

On the bus, the ticket seller, seeing his small size and good behavior, insisted on counting the bicycle as a person's ticket.

Feng Yiping saw this as another opportunity to practice. He argued with the ticket seller for a few minutes, finally negotiating the price to half. When the ticket seller gave in, he felt a great sense of accomplishment. The satisfaction was not just about a few dollars.

By around six, the bus arrived at the town. He went to the meat stall, picked out two pounds of fresh meat, and got the seller to waive the forty cents change. He felt proud of his bargaining skills today.

After another half hour, he finally rode to Mei Jiawan.

From a distance, he saw his grandfather holding Rui Rui by the roadside. When he saw him, his grandfather scolded him for being so late. He explained that he had taken a detour in the county, which delayed him.

He gave Rui Rui one of the breads bought by his younger uncle. He and his grandfather went to the public phone and called Old Cai, asking him to tell his younger uncle that he had arrived home safely.