He then moved the induction cooker to the table, set out chopsticks, passed bowls, and served dishes…
After 20 minutes of work, he suddenly realized what he was doing and turned around fiercely to scold:
“Am I your errand boy?”
“Thanks, Brother Mo! Hard work, Brother Mo!” Hua Jie, completely unfazed by his fierceness, turned to him with a cheeky smile.
Shen Mo instantly lost his temper.
“Then help me carry this over too,” she said, tilting her head and squinting at him.
“No tilting your head, no squinting, no smiling!” he said, exasperated yet obediently carrying a plate of meat to the table and arranging it neatly.
Everything was ready when Zhao Xiaolei was about to arrive.
Hua Jie clapped her hands, turned on the induction cooker, and let the spicy beef tallow broth start simmering the duck blood and old tofu, while the chicken broth pot stewed three types of mushrooms to perfection.
The aroma began to fill the air, and Shen Mo swallowed, listening to the humming of the induction cooker and the bubbling of the hot pot.
Suddenly, it felt like the New Year.
That lively, warm atmosphere, steaming with the kind of spirit only found during childhood New Year celebrations.
“Ah!” Hua Jie suddenly exclaimed, startling the young man lost in thought.
“Why is your foot cut?” she asked, looking down at his foot, which was bare because of the heat and had a bloodstain still seeping blood.
“A bowl fell this morning and cut me with a shard,” he said, waving it off as nothing serious.
“Do you have iodine or band-aids?” she frowned.
“There’s a first aid kit, it’s just a small injury.”
“Where is it? Can I take a look?”
Three minutes later, Shen Mo was sitting on the sofa with his foot cradled in the girl’s lap, as she carefully applied iodine and fixed a bandage on it.
Living with his father these years, he had almost forgotten what it was like to have a woman fuss over treating a wound.
Although the cut was more than 6 centimeters long, moving it caused pain and it continued to bleed.
He had suffered greater injuries before, injuries that could heal on their own given his youthful resilience, and he never made much of them.
Yet, watching Hua Jie carefully cradling his big foot, dabbing it with iodine and gently blowing on it as if afraid he might feel pain, stirred something inexplicably tender within him. It made him feel as if he had sustained some grave injury.
—It felt particularly painful.
Reflecting on the injuries he had suffered over the past few years, they hadn’t seemed significant before, but today they suddenly felt deeply saddening.
And there was a mix of resentment and a strange sourness.
If only he had met Little Potato earlier…
Suddenly, the sole of his foot itched, and he instinctively twitched, his toes unintentionally brushing against the girl’s chin.
Shen Mo’s face suddenly heated up; he had been preoccupied with thinking about his foot injury, and only now did he realize that this scene was a bit…
He wasn’t sure if his foot was clean. Surely it didn’t smell, did it?
She didn’t seem to show any sign of disgust, so perhaps there was no odor.
With this thought, he fixated on the girl’s profile.
She was gazing intently at his foot.
The spot she watched suddenly began to feel warm.
Especially when her warm, soft hands busied over his foot…
He couldn’t think about it; the more he thought, the more tingling he felt inside, as if needles were pricking him, as if there was a fire burning.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple involuntarily bobbing.
Certain parts of his body seemed ready to stir.
Suddenly, he couldn’t sit still anymore, his body tensed, and he instinctively wanted to pull back his foot.
Then, the next moment, the doorbell rang.
Startled, he looked up to see Zhao Xiaolei standing outside the living room window, pressing the doorbell and staring straight at him…
And her, along with their peculiar pose.
….
Leaving Teacher Shen’s house, Hua Jie didn’t head home but instead pedaled her bicycle straight to the city center.
A light layer of snow covered the ground, so she didn’t dare to ride too fast.
As she pushed her bike over the pedestrian bridge, a train passed underneath.
Standing at the top of the bridge, she watched the green train gradually accelerate, feeling an odd sense of excitement.
Looking into the distance, following the winding tracks extending to the distant mountains, gazing at the white, undulating hills enveloping the city, she felt an urge to capture this beauty.
If it weren’t so cold outside, she would definitely bring her sketchpad to capture this scenery.
Surrounded by mountains, with a river flowing through her hometown, it was unexpectedly beautiful.
After indulging in a moment of infatuation, she pushed her bike off the bridge and pedaled vigorously all the way to the Fuyun Building in the city center.
Locking her bike outside the Fuyun Furniture Store, she took off her hat, wiped away the frost clinging to her eyelashes, and pushed open the door to the shop.
Inside the shop on Saturday, there was only a couple strolling around, while the shopkeeper’s wife stood lazily napping behind the counter, with a door leading to the back room, its curtain drawn, faintly revealing the sound of a TV drama.
As Hua Jie entered, the shopkeeper’s wife glanced at her, seeing she was just a child, she didn’t say anything.
The service in small northern towns has always been casual. If you like something, you inquire about it yourself; if you don’t, they won’t push you to buy, exuding a carefree attitude about whether you buy or not.
With her sketchpad on her back and a smile on her face, she walked to the counter and sweetly said, “Hello, Auntie Yao, I’m Yao Nan’s classmate. My name is Hua Jie.”
The shopkeeper’s wife had very distinctive features, and her son looked just like her. Yao Nan was simply carved from the same mold as his mother, without a doubt.
The shopkeeper’s wife raised her eyebrows, straightened up from behind the counter, and instantly put on a smile, saying, “Yao Nan is watching TV in the back, I’ll call him.”
“Auntie, I’m not here to find Yao Nan, I have something to ask you.” With that, she lifted her left hand and placed a bag of oranges she had just bought at the door on Auntie Yao’s counter.
“Eh? Looking for me?” Auntie Yao was curious and busy rejecting, “No need to be so polite, take these back and eat them yourself.”
Hua Jie didn’t retract her hand holding the oranges, and said calmly, “Auntie, my dad is a very skilled carpenter. He has made a set of solid wood furniture in the popular antique and luxurious style of Beijing.
“But it’s not very suitable for our home, so I want to sell this brand new furniture.
“I heard from Yao Nan that you have a fantastic furniture store here, so I’d like to ask you to consign the furniture in your store.
“If it sells, I’ll give your store a five percent commission, would that be possible?”
“Oh, what’s included in the set of furniture?” Auntie Yao looked at the young girl in front of her with some surprise. She was in the same class as her son, slender and obedient-looking, but when she spoke, she was nothing like her son, who was dull.
She was clear and straightforward, appearing exceptionally clever and quick-witted.
And her manner of speaking was neither humble nor overbearing, so gentle that it was hard to refuse.
Seeing that Auntie Yao didn’t dismiss her words just because she was young, she was very happy and answered positively, “A TV cabinet, a coffee table, a simple retro folding dining table, and a double wooden sofa.”
“How much are you selling them for?” Auntie Yao asked again.
“For the whole set, 1400 yuan, but the lowest is 1360 yuan.
“If sold separately, the TV cabinet is 300 yuan, the coffee table is 310 yuan, the folding dining table is 560 yuan, and the double sofa is 600 yuan.” All the furniture was personally designed by her, and her dad crafted, carved, and painted them with care, working late into the night to make them.
“Conciseness is the route Hua Jie has long wanted to set.”
“So expensive.” Aunt Yao exclaimed.
“These are good things. Once you see them, you’ll know,” Hua Jie smiled. Her dad spent a lot of effort making a set of furniture, and it takes two weeks to make one set. Plus, with her futuristic design, it’s definitely worth the price.
Moreover, in the current year of 2000, many wealthy people are starting to rise, discontent with the level of material supply in small towns has emerged.
Furniture is not like clothes or shoes, it can’t be mailed from Beijing or Shanghai, transportation is a big problem.
The set designed by Hua Jie is far more beautiful and fashionable than the current level of furniture in Jinsong City. For a group of wealthy families with high taste who are rising, being able to easily buy such satisfactory furniture in Jinsong City is definitely a gain.
With the understanding of the development of the times through rebirth, and the strong design foundation from the previous life, there is confidence.
Next is to withstand the test of the market.
Hua Jie then reported the dimensions, colors, wood materials, and other information of several pieces of furniture, even describing the patterns carved on the furniture in detail.
Many details were provided before Aunt Yao could even ask, showing a particularly experienced demeanor.
The conversation flowed smoothly and comfortably, which made Aunt Yao grow even more fond of her.
“Auntie, the wood used for this furniture set has been seasoned for several years through sun and cold, so it won’t get damaged even if left outside.”
“If you don’t have space to display it indoors, placing it at the entrance will do,” Hua Jie had even thought about where to place the furniture for Aunt Yao.
“That’s fine, where is the furniture now?” Aunt Yao followed up clearly and directly, continuing the young girl’s line of thought.
This kid is really reliable and capable.
“It’s currently in the yard of my house on Second Street. If you agree, I’ll go hire a truck right away to transport the furniture here.” Hua Jie said with a joyful and particularly charming smile.
“No need to hire a truck, we have one at home. I’ll ask your Uncle Yao to drive over to your place to pick it up,” Aunt Yao suggested.
“That would be wonderful, thank you, Auntie.”
“Don’t mention it, you and Yao Nan are classmates after all, you should help each other out. I’ll have Yao Nan go with you, he can lend a hand with moving the furniture,” Aunt Yao said as she pulled aside the curtain behind her and called out loudly for Yao Nan in a straightforward and hearty northern style.
When Yao Nan appeared, his first reaction upon seeing Hua Jie was to freeze and ask:
“Where’s Brother Mo?”
“…” Hua Jie raised an eyebrow. She and Shen Mo weren’t conjoined twins; why did everyone always look for Shen Mo when they saw her?
“He might be at home, maybe,” she answered.
Just as Yao Nan was about to ask something else, he was interrupted by his mother, who sent him off to the storeroom to call his father.
After the young man was dispatched on his errand, Aunt Yao handed Hua Jie an orange, saying decisively:
“I’ll take this orange, but let’s forget about the commission, no need to be so formal. You and Yao Nan are schoolmates, after all, such friendships are precious as you grow up.”
“It’s no big deal for me to help you, don’t worry about it.”
“And besides, I’m just helping out; it’s not certain that it will really sell.”
“Thank you, Auntie. Yao Nan is very popular in class because he’s straightforward and always ready to help. It seems he really takes after you,” Hua Jie said sweetly as she peeled the orange.
“Really? That silly boy, I find him annoying every day,” Aunt Yao laughed heartily, clearly very happy.
While the two chatted, a couple who had been browsing in the shop walked out, and other customers came and went, but all of them just browsed quickly and left.
Ten minutes later, Yao Nan returned with his father. Yao Nan loaded Hua Jie’s bicycle onto the truck and then both of them sat in the passenger seat of his father’s truck to go to Hua Jie’s house.
Since the truck only had two seats, Yao Nan and Hua Jie squeezed together in the passenger seat.
Yao Nan sat up straight, his demeanor proper, not daring to get too close to Hua Jie, his mind replaying the scenes of how Mo Ge treated Hua Jie, feeling truly appreciative of himself.
Yao’s father was a man of few words, quite unlike the outgoing and straightforward nature of Yao’s mother.
When the car reached the entrance of the alley, he parked and followed Hua Jie to her front door. Afterward, he helped load the furniture onto the truck, working silently and efficiently, a simple and honest man of action.
Hua’s father called him inside for a cup of tea, but he just grinned sheepishly and waved his hand in refusal.
The little dog, Huan Huan, reacted completely differently to Yao Nan compared to Shen Mo. It wasn’t just aloof; it even tucked its tail and barked directly at him, eventually being locked back inside by Hua’s father, still scratching at the door, unwilling to give up and wanting to bite someone.
On the way back, Hua Jie did not accompany them. Yao Nan confidently assured her that he had everything under control.
Hua Jie repeatedly thanked them, and Yao’s father just smiled and waved his hand, then drove away.
All work, no chatter.
After sending off Yao Nan and his father, Hua Jie took out 200 yuan from her pocket and handed it to her father with a smile:
“Final payment settled.”
Holding the money, Hua’s father felt almost dazed.
He couldn’t believe he had actually made 400 yuan from making this set of furniture.
“This furniture set for 400 yuan, that’s a third of my monthly salary,” Hua’s father marveled, pushing his daughter’s bicycle into the yard, feeling infinitely emotional.
“Are they going to buy more? I can keep making them when I’m off work,” Hua’s father asked his daughter as he pushed open the door to enter the house.
Hua Jie, worried that her father might not want to continue, not believing her designs could make money, had taken out the money she saved from selling her paintings to pay him first.
Now, she had only 89 yuan left in her pocket, hardly enough to buy anything.
“They own a furniture store, if this set sells well, they will surely come back for a second one,” Hua Jie patted her father’s shoulder, “Let’s rest for now, wait a bit.”
Touching her nearly empty pocket, Hua Jie sighed.
Others might make a fortune immediately after a rebirth, but why was it so hard for her to make money?
She had come back wearing a new down jacket that Shen Mo had bought for her, the old cotton coat tucked away in a big bag, which she then placed in the laundry basket.
She carefully took off the new down jacket, patting and admiring it for a while before hanging it behind the bedroom door.
Her father was already sitting on the sofa watching TV, completely oblivious to what his daughter was wearing when she came home.
True to his nature as a straightforward dad.
Although the exams were over, Hua Jie did not relax. After taking a sip of water and resting for a moment, she went back into her room to study again.
After revising, she did practice papers, then analyzed the mistakes she made, and moved on to previewing the upcoming material.
Only after dinner did she put away her books to start painting, recalling the points she learned at her teacher’s house today. She arranged a few items to form a still life setup and picked up a drawing board she had previously prepared.
Her adolescence might seem monotonous, yet it was filled with the simplest sense of fulfillment.