"Stay away from me, don't touch me!"
Li Zhi embraced Dong Xiaorou's shoulder, smiling mischievously, and asked, "What are you afraid of?" No one is watching, and even if someone is, I'm single and you're not married. "What's the big deal?"
"Get your hands off me!" Dong Xiaorou said with a stern expression.
Li Zhi playfully held her shoulder, only her shoulder, as he knew Dong Xiaorou was not that casual of a person. He knew that a friendly gesture was acceptable, but if he tried anything more, he would likely end up with a face full of embarrassment.
Before his smile could fade, he suddenly felt a dizzying sensation and then heard a crash. Li Zhi found himself on the ground, unsure of how he got there, but experiencing discomfort in every part of his body.
"This is the consequence of being shameless." Are you trying to take advantage of me? If you ever lay a hand on me again, I'll make you experience the 'Red Flowers in March' for three months. Hmph! With that, she went inside, leaving a pot of stewed fish on the stove.
"Seriously, do you have to be so violent?" It took Li Zhi a while to sit up from the ground. Thankfully, it was dirt ground. If it had been a cement floor, he might have broken some bones.
The Azure Dragon descends, and the White Tiger appears, because the Azure Dragon can fly in the sky, soaring through the clouds and traversing the heavens. Li Zhi now felt as if he had no weight, not even on the ground. For now, he could only be considered a small green snake in the grass, needing time to transform into a dragon.
"Dong Xiaorou!"
Li Zhi walked in and looked at Dong Xiaorou, saying angrily, "You innocently assaulted the factory manager. Do you still expect to receive your bonus?" Do you still want your subsidies? Do you still want your travel fund? "Do you still want…?"
"Stop!" Dong Xiaorou interrupted calmly, saying, "If you keep talking to me, I'll pour out the fish stew!"
"..."
Li Zhi touched his nose, turned around, and walked out. It seemed like being ignored by the boss was the result. He filled the machines in the production workshop with raw materials and then grabbed some fish balls from the freezer before exiting the factory.
With the processing fee of sixty thousand from the Xingyue Bay Hotel, Li Zhi's confidence had increased. However, he also knew that today, thanks to Dong Xiaorou, if Zhao Xueying and Huang Pangzi had entered the scene, there would have been uncertainty about whether they would still allow Li Zhi to make the fish balls.
"Wang Auntie!"
"Little Li is back!" Wang Auntie had just shown a family a nice house. It was Saturday, so more people were coming to Fish Head Island Village these days. Wang Auntie's farmhouse inn business was better than usual.
Li Zhi had been staying on the factory side for the past few days, but he hadn't given up his room at Wang Auntie's place. Wang Auntie was a caring person and was very concerned about Li Zhi.
"Auntie, I brought you some factory-processed fish balls." "They're not worth much, but you can try them!" Li Zhi smiled and handed over the bag. He was the kind of person who reciprocated kindness. He treated others the way they treated him.
Wang Auntie happily accepted the gift, but when some guests arrived, she greeted Li Zhi and went to attend to them.
Back in his room, Li Zhi gathered some belongings and, on his way back, made a quick stop at the village's small shop to purchase a few bottles of beer.
Looking out towards the beach outside the village, he noticed that quite a few people were coming to play. As the weather warmed up, more people visited the seaside. Although Fish Head Island Village was not a famous tourist destination, it offered beaches, the sea, reefs, seafood, entertainment, and accommodation. It was close to the city and cost-effective, making it popular among locals and even attracting visitors from outside the city.
The large factory only utilized the space near the front gate. The rest of the space was vast, enclosed by walls, but the two-meter-high walls could easily be scaled by an adult. The walls could stop gentlemen, but not ruffians.
Li Zhi pondered whether he should buy a few dogs. If there were dogs in the factory, at least there would be some commotion if someone tried to enter at night. Currently, there wasn't anything valuable in the factory, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be in the future.
"Where did you go?" Dong Xiaorou asked.
Li Zhi smiled, enjoying the sensation of being at the factory. Despite its shortcomings, everything was temporarily patched up. He felt a sense of home.
"I went to the small shop to buy a few bottles of beer!"
Dong Xiaorou replied, "The food is ready, and you disappeared in the blink of an eye."
She looked like a newlywed waiting for her husband to come back for lunch. Li Zhi, who had never been married, wondered if Dong Xiaorou felt the same way.
"Wanna have a bottle?"
A small table held two plastic stools, two home-cooked yellow croakers, a plate of stir-fried fish balls, and Dong Xiaorou had served herself a bowl of rice, while Li Zhi had a bowl as well.
Li Zhi asked Dong Xiaorou if she wanted a beer, but she didn't respond. Instead, she took the beer from his hand. With her thumb, she lightly flicked the bottle cap, and it popped open.
She took a big gulp, placed the beer on the table, and said, "It's hot; warm beer isn't satisfying!"
Li Zhi widened his eyes, feeling a bit dumbfounded. He had tried several times to open the bottle cap with his fingers, but the mosquito didn't budge!
"You're useless!" Dong Xiaorou said, taking the beer from Li Zhi's hand and effortlessly flicking the cap open, letting it fall to the ground.
Li Zhi took the beer back with a wry smile, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Doesn't the yellow croaker taste delicious?"
"Yeah, it's alright!"
"Try this fish ball!"
"I have my own hands, I'll eat my own food."
"Xiaorou…"
Dong Xiaorou calmly said, "Boss, silence at meals aids digestion." Don't you understand? "Talking during meals affects the digestion of the intestines and stomach!"
"…"
Li Zhi had wanted to use the mealtime as an opportunity to bridge the gap between them, but he could see that Dong Xiaorou didn't have the same intentions at the moment.
After the meal, Dong Xiaorou seemed content, and Li Zhi noticed that her appetite was larger than his. She had eaten three bowls of rice, drank two bottles of beer, and consumed two large yellow croakers, each weighing at least one and a half pounds. She had even finished most of the stir-fried fish balls, while Li Zhi had barely eaten any.
So, Li Zhi concluded that Dong Xiaorou was thoughtful, versatile, hardworking, and had a good appetite. Most importantly, no matter how much she ate, she never gained weight. This last point would probably infuriate many women.