In a little while, after soaking in the hot spring and finishing the barbecue, everyone had packed their bags. It was a little past 5:30, and it was time for everyone to head home.
It would take 50 minutes to drive back, and by the time they got home, it would be dark.
Xu Lin, with a cold expression, followed the girls out of the Qinglong Lake Hot Springs.
As a man, he felt somewhat humiliated having listened to them discuss half an hour’s worth of physiological knowledge, mainly about himself!
He was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say, especially when they kept asking him strange questions.
“Xu Lin, should we head straight home or go check out your store?”
“Let’s check out the store. It’s been two days since the renovation started, and I haven’t been there once. I’ve kept Uncle busy, which isn’t fair.”
“Alright. Sister Ji Yun, can we get a cab from here?”
“We’ll exit from the east gate; there might be more cabs over there.”
“Okay.”They walked along the path towards the east gate, with the setting sun casting a purple-golden glow on the people heading home.
“It’s so beautiful…”
As they reached the top of the steps and looked back at the stunning sunset, they squinted their eyes.
“Hmm, let’s end today with this.”
Above the sunset, a large expanse of cloud looked like a silk garment draped in golden-red hues, with threads of purple and blue starlight. Through the gaps in the clouds, scattered stars were embedded like gemstones. Together, they formed a perfect painting that was waiting for you to admire but impossible to replicate.
Xu Lin lifted his camera and captured the scene with a click, only then realizing that the day was coming to an end.
“Alright, I’ve taken the picture. If you want to see it, I’ll send you a copy.”
“Definitely send it.”
Su Qingwan suddenly clapped her hands as she thought of something and said, “By the way, we have classes tomorrow, and I was planning to use the sunset and evening glow as material for practicing everyone’s writing skills.”
“Are you a devil or something?” Xu Lin, as a student, looked at Su Qingwan.
“It’s a normal topic. You’ll have to write too; I’ll be checking your so-called progress.”
“It’s not that hard. My English is really quite good.”
“Oh, by the way, since the sunset is so beautiful today, how about each of us say a line of poetry about the sunset or evening glow?”
Ji Yun suddenly suggested this, and Bai Xiaoxiao nodded in agreement, as she was quite good at this.
“We’ve been graduated for so many years; we probably can’t compare to you.”
Qin Yunhe scratched her head, looking uncertain and thinking she might make a fool of herself.
“Then let Sister Qin go first.”
Ji Yun glanced at Qin Yunhe, suggesting she go first to avoid having the same lines as those who went later.
“Um… let me think.”
Qin Yunhe pondered for half a minute, and finally came up with, “On the ancient road, the west wind blows, the thin horse heads west, the setting sun sinks, and the heartbroken traveler is far from home.”
“Good.”
“Honestly, that’s the only line I know. I memorized it when the teacher asked us to back in the day.”
“Let’s continue. Who’s next?”
“I’ll go.”
Liu Qinnuan raised her arm.
Although she had been attending extra classes, she couldn’t compare to the students who were always in class.
With the most familiar line already taken by Sister Qin, she felt it was getting harder.
“Go ahead, Sister Liu.”
“Hmm, ‘The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it’s near dusk.'”
“Who wrote that?”
“Ah… I forgot.” Liu Qinnuan smiled helplessly, as she couldn’t remember it but was familiar with the poem.
“Xu Lin, it’s your turn.” Ji Yun noticed Xu Lin seemed to be thinking and quickly interrupted him.
“As long as it mentions the sunset, how about ‘In the vast desert, the smoke rises straight, and the long river’s sunset is round.'”
“Good, now it’s my, Sister Bai and Teacher Su’s turn.”
“Mountains reflect the setting sun, the sky meets the water; the fragrant grass is indifferent, still beyond the setting sun.” Su Qingwan immediately recited a line.
Bai Xiaoxiao followed up with, “The green mountains remain, the setting sun is red again and again.”
“Isn’t that a lyric?” Qin Yunhe asked, puzzled.
Everyone shook their heads.
“Is that really a poem?” Qin Yunhe felt she shouldn’t have joined this classical poetry game.
“Lastly, for me: ‘The waterfall and pine trees are often rainy, the setting sun turns the green into mist.'”
“Okay, that’s it. Let’s hurry up; the sun is almost down.” Xu Lin quickened his pace.
Ji Yun said, “This is just the first round. Let’s continue.”
“Ah? No, that’s enough,” Liu Qinnuan and Qin Yunhe immediately gave up, and Xu Lin was about to admit defeat when Ji Yun shot him a glance.
“Dear Classmate Xu Lin, aren’t you the top student in your Chinese class?”
“Um…” Xu Lin thought to himself, if only he hadn’t mentioned the sunset.
…
An hour later, they were back in the city. The air quality around them made them frown.
“The air quality is so poor.”
“Yeah.”
“Is Ji Yun’s taxi behind us?”
“Yes, it’s following. We’ve arrived; it’s the store up ahead.”
“Oh, such a good location!” Qin Yunhe observed the spot right on the main road with no obstructions and felt confident they wouldn’t lose money if they worked hard.
Getting out of the car, Xu Lin walked over and found the workers still busy. Father Bai was sitting at the entrance, leaning on a cane.
“Uncle, you came with a cane? If you had told me, I would have come directly.”
“This is our own business, so of course, we need to pay attention. But I have to say, people from big cities are indeed professional; they’re quick and good.”
Father Bai smiled and then pointed to the interior floor and talked about the ceiling and other details. Xu Lin didn’t understand much, just nodded along with “Hmm, yes, yes.”
“Dad, have you eaten?”
Bai Xiaoxiao and Ji Yun walked over with Bai Xiaoxiao holding a bag and handing it to her father.
“What’s this?”
“Some fried chicken pieces I bought on the way.”
“You bought it?” Father Bai looked at his daughter.
“Yeah, I bought it.”
“Alright then.” He opened the bag and ate a piece. “Everyone, have some too.”
“We’ve eaten. Uncle, please start eating. I’m going inside to talk to them.”
“Okay.”
Xu Lin approached the workers at the door and waved, “Thank you for your hard work.”
“It’s no trouble. You’re the boss, and you’re so young.”
“Take a break. I bought some drinks.” Xu Lin handed out some beverages he had bought on the way.
“No, no, we have our own water.”
“I should have provided meals. I’ve been so busy lately, I forgot to treat you all.”
“This is our job, and we get paid as usual. We can’t accept your meals.”
“Just take the drinks.”
Xu Lin handed over the drinks, and the young worker assembling the table took them with some embarrassment.
Xu Lin glanced around and noticed that the other 4 or 5 workers were also a few years older than him, with the oldest probably in his 30s.
Even in the renovation industry, there is a generational shift, though in a small city like Linshui, it seems to be in the phase where the old are aging and the new have not yet emerged.
Taking advantage of their break, Xu Lin chatted extensively with the renovation team.
He learned that their wages were actually quite high; for an out-of-town renovation job like this, it usually costs around 30,000 yuan, even with franchise discounts.
But Uncle Cui was really a great benefactor—providing a free store and free renovation. If he couldn’t manage it himself, he would feel like he was letting down such a patron, and he truly saved him tens of thousands of yuan.
“We’re going to continue working.”
“You can continue tomorrow; it’s already 7 PM.”
“We’ll work for another hour and then go eat.”
“I’ll treat you all.”
“No, no. Our pay includes meals. We’ll reimburse it when we get back.”
“Alright then.”
Xu Lin watched as they resumed their work and stepped out of the room, not wanting to affect their efficiency.
As he came outside, he overheard Liu Qinnuan saying, “The young lady from earlier was quite pretty. It would be nice if she could be my assistant.”
“Pretty young lady?” Xu Lin approached and asked, and Liu Qinnuan just shook her head.
“Your trip over there, it it okay?”
“It’s okay. Get ready to head back home.”
“Then I’ll visit your place today?”
“Sure, if you want to.”
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