Chapter 8.2

Grandma Chen invited her to sit down when they returned home. She then washed some fruit for her, and took out a photo album to show her. Zhuang Jie felt like there was a heaviness in her heart, so she didn’t dare to talk nonsense while she was flipping through the photo album.

     When she saw Chen Maidong looking like a Shamat, she raised her head and laughed. Chen Maidong was lying on the bed in his room in a daze, wearing earphones and still couldn’t block the magical laughter. Zhuang Jie laughed one after another, because she saw not only one, but six or seven of Chen Maidong, who had dyed yellow hair and smoking a cigarette, from the ‘Kill Matt’ period.

     Grandma Chen told her to keep her voice down, saying that Chen Maidong would be upset when she saw his pictures. These photos were all picked up by her after he had thrown them away.

     Zhuang Jie gently pushed open the bedroom door, and greeted him: “I’m going back home.”

     Chen Maidong closed his eyes and did not move.

     Zhuang Jie sat down again, and took out one earbud from his ear, “What are you listening to?” She said as she put the earbud in her own ear.

     Inside was Beethoven’s “Symphony of Destiny”. She thought it would blow her eardrums out, so she put the earbud back in his ear again. She got up and walked around his room, it was very clean. She flipped through two more books, then clapped her hands and said to him, “I’m leaving.”

     Chen Maidong took off the earphones and said, “I’ll see you off.”

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&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;“Nkjl obyv?”

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&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;Hbwydt Kkl zssjle yv bkx.

&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;Ubld Yykesdt vssj swv vbl nktyalvvl yde zkv kv clqsal pbl zlqv vbl assx.

&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;“Gx R clkdt qakhszswp fwpv nsxkdt vs es vbkdtp okvb usw?” Hbwydt Kkl oyp wrplv okvb bkx.

&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;&dcpr;Ubld Yykesdt vssj y ellr calyvb yde eked’v ydpola bla.

     Zhuang Jie scolded, “Bastard.” She rushed past him and went home alone.

     The two separated, unhappily.

     After smoking three cigarettes, Chen Maidong sent her a WeChat message: I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

     Zhuang Jie didn’t reply to him, she was playing with the Ji San Goose by then. She began to like the goose because it was strangely clingy to her. She didn’t care what other people said, she only listened to herself. The more she annoys it and kicks it, the more it clings to her. Even when going to the bathroom, it followed her back and forth.

     Zhuang Jie suspected that not only people can suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, it turns out that geese can too.

     But He Niao had a different view. She said that the goose was a thinking goose, it could judge the situation and know who has the most right to speak in the family. Because as long as Liao Tao bothers it, it will run to Zhuang Jie’s side. “I take care of it every day, mix food and water for it, but it never looks twice at me.”

     Zhuang Yan placed a video call and asked to see if Ji Shan Goose was there. Zhuang Jie called out, “San Goose, San Goose?”

     Zhuang Yan corrected her, it was not Ji San Ezi, but Ji Shan Ezi.

     Zhuang Jie didn’t talk nonsense with him, handed the phone to He Niao, and went upstairs to wash up by herself.

     She was brushing her teeth and looking at her phone, she saw Chen Maidong sent a WeChat message, and she didn’t plan to reply to him, who knows what kind of mood he was in tonight.

    She mixed up the warm water to wash, then she applied nursing cream to the stump afterwards, massaged for a while, and went back to the bathroom with crutches to clean the silicone sleeve. The silicone sleeve that has direct contact with the residual limb should be cleaned every day, otherwise bacteria will breed, and the sweat on the residual limb will remain inside.

     Silicone sleeves are not cheap, and they cost about 8,000 yuan to buy them from her acquaintances. Twelve thousand on the open market. The only disadvantage is that it is stuffy and easy to sweat, but the comfort is currently the best and most convenient there is available. And it makes long time wear of a prosthesis more bearable.

   The next day, she drove to pick up the yam purchaser from town. She wanted to settle this matter quickly and go back to Shanghai. She still had a hospital that needed to be visited urgently, otherwise she would get in trouble by her boss. She had been following her for several months, and she couldn’t just stay away.

     The purchaser had long studied the yam situation in Yanggou Village, but he still couldn’t agree to it right off. It wasn’t that the yams were not good, but just that several planting areas had already contacted him, and he was very conflicted about the situation.

     What an embarrassment, Zhuang Jie cursed. And at a glance, you can see where a ship is crooked. She made another time to do the purchase and have dinner, and said that she could not go back to the original factory price, but she would give him a new offer price when they have the next meeting, and then stretched out her hands to settle it.

     The purchasing expert smiled cunningly: “I’m afraid this is against the rules, right?”

     Zhuang Jie waved her hand, “Rules are meant to be broken.”

     He praised her as a straightforward person, and laughed.

     On the second meeting for the purchasing, they signed a contract with the town, paid a deposit, and just waited for the yams to mature. The price was lower than the previous price, but the harvesting of this piece is their responsibility.

     The day before Zhuang Jie’s departure, the town made a silk banner and sent it to her home with great fanfare.

     Zhuang Jie was a little smug, with a great sense of accomplishment and mission. Although she didn’t get the best offer, the farmers in Yanggou Village all think of her well.

     On the day of leaving, Liao Tao took her to drop her off. On the drive, she said that Niaoyou was not in a good mood when she went to school in the morning. The sudden desertion at home made her uncomfortable.

     “It seems so lively at home with me here.” Zhuang Jie said with a smile.

     “That’s right, you alone can support a zoo.” Liao Tao was never worried about Zhuang Jie, even if she was thrown into the zoo, she would still hold a party.

     Zhuang Jie didn’t dare to laugh out loud, for fear of eating a mouthful of ashes with her mouth. She covered her mouth with her hands and said, “I’ll let Zhuang Yan lead you to come to Shanghai during the winter vacation, and I’ll take them to Disneyland.”

     “We’ll talk.” Liao Tao replied.

     “You must not stew the three geese, Zhuang Yanhui…”

     “Okay, don’t start.” Liao Tao interrupted her.

     Zhuang Jie pondered for a while, and said, “Mom, Zhuang Yan is just a simple green bamboo, he cannot grow into a towering tree.”

     “Okay, okay.” Liao Tao parked the car, reached out to take the suitcase out of the trunk of the car, and said that she stuffed a few bags of roast chicken and special products in it, and asked her to take it back and share it with her colleagues.

     Zhuang Jie took the suitcase. She had secretly taken it out in the morning, but somehow Liao Tao had stuffed it back there.

     Liao Tao wanted to see her off all the way into the station, but Zhuang Jie said no, the family was still too busy. Liao Tao got on the bike and said, “That’s it, I’ll head on back then, and call home when you get there.”

     Zhuang Jie nodded.

     “I don’t count on Zhuang Yan. Our family still has to rely on our mother. Let Zhuang Yan do what he wants. I can give him as much as I can, while I still can, as long as I don’t starve to death later.” With a cigarette in her hand, Liao Tao got on the bike and left.

     Zhuang Jie checked the ticket and got on the carriage, followed the aisle to find her seat, tilted her head and looked, isn’t that Chen Maidong? She raised her chin at him, “Heading to the city?”

     “Or to send you off?” Chen Maidong looked at her with earphones on.

     “It’s hard to say.” Zhuang Jie laughed. Then, she put the small suitcase on the luggage rack.

     “Are you strong enough to lift it?” Chen Maidong was about to stand up, then put his arms down, when the suitcase went up.

     Zhuang Jie clapped her hands and sat down on the seat next to him. “Where is your seat?” Chen Maidong asked with his earphones closed.

     “I’ll just offer to exchange seats if someone comes later.” Zhuang Jie unscrewed the cup to drink water.

     “Should they exchange just because you say so?”

     Zhuang Jie looked at him like an idiot, “If they don’t, then  I’ll go back to my seat, what is the  big deal?”

     “Don’t we know each other? It will be more fun if we sit together.”

     Chen Maidong looked sideways out of the window, but didn’t answer her words.