The happier the days, the shorter they seem. It seemed like the blink of an eye, and it was already the 20th. Feng Yiping only had ten days left in his summer vacation.
More and more students are returning to school, and my parents' business is slowly improving, but I have to get up earlier in the morning because I have to steam more buns and grind more soy milk.
That noon, after delivering the meal to his parents, Feng Yiping went to the University of Finance and Economics to find Li Jia and the others, carrying two catties of stir-fried chestnuts.
He went to the dormitory building first to look for Gao Zhiyi. Looking at the stairs and the new bicycle next to him, he shouted, 'Gao Zhiyi!'
He was already in the process of changing his voice, and the loud voice of a changing voice was not to be underestimated. After only three shouts, Gao Zhiyi poked his head out of the corridor on the fourth floor, holding a deck of cards in his hand and with a few notes stuck to his face.
Seeing Feng Yiping down there, he said, 'I'm having a lucky streak right now, come on up!'
Feng Yiping didn't say anything, just shook the paper bag in his hand. He saw that Brother Fat had quickly ducked into the dormitory, and then heard a clatter in the corridor, as if a fat person was running.
Although he was fat, he was in good shape, and in the blink of an eye, he had run down from the fourth floor, except that he was sweating a bit.
'Although I've been waiting for you to come and honour me again, you're too polite, one bag is enough.'
That being said, after accepting one bag, he wanted to take the other one. 'Brother Feng, this bag is for Sister Li Jia.'
'Oh, you don't know where she lives, so I'll help you give it to her.' While he was talking, he had already started eating.
'No, let's go together. Last time, Sister Li Jia said she would treat me to dinner, and I'm here to collect the debt.'
'Where are you up to with those two books?'
'I've reached the third article, 'Derivative Financial Instruments.
'Really?' Gao Zhiyi looked at him suspiciously, "That fast?'
'No choice, I'm a fast learner!'
During these times with Gao Zhiyi, Feng Yiping had found some kindred spirit. He understood what he said, and he could accept the way he spoke. It felt a bit like a match made in heaven, quite a stroke of luck.
The girls" building was always busier than the boys' building. At the bottom of the building, by the flower beds, under the big trees, a few boys stood scattered about. After the start of the semester, there would probably be even fewer.
Gao Zhiyi, with an evil intent, asked Feng Yiping to shout downstairs as well. Feng Yiping, of course, refused. In college, the girls' building has always been a place of high visibility. He was young and didn't want to steal the limelight.
They waited there for a while. Gao Zhiyi ran into an acquaintance and gave the girl a handful of chestnuts. He told the girl to tell Li Jia, 'She said she would treat someone to dinner, but now someone is coming to collect the debt. Tell her to come down quickly!'
After the girl had been upstairs for a while, she saw Li Jia looking down from the third floor. When he saw it was the two of them, he waved and said with a smile, 'Wait for me a moment.'
It didn't take long, just ten or so minutes, and Li Jia came down cleanly, still in jeans and a T-shirt.
'I haven't gone home yet. I thought I'd saved myself a meal.' Li Jia held the chestnuts in his hands.
'No way. It was the first time a girl had invited me to dinner, and I remember it was a lot of work!'
The three of them arrived at the small cafeteria chatting and laughing. Li Jia didn't consult with them, but went straight to the window and ordered a serving of each meat dish, then a serving of vegetables and a serving of cowpeas as a token of his vegetarianism.
Feng Yiping and Gao Zhiyi were very satisfied. They were not at all polite when it came to the meat, and they fought over it. Such a lively atmosphere is easy to drive the people around you. Li Jia followed suit and picked up a few chopsticks. After eating, she said, 'Oh no, I can't do that in the future. I can never eat with you guys because you can eat so much, and it makes me eat a lot too.'
'That's okay, you need the energy to lose weight after you eat!' Feng Yiping said.
Sure enough, the two of them immediately couldn't stop laughing.
'Classic!' Gao Zhiyi gave him a thumbs-up.
Li Jia said, "No wonder you can make money writing articles, where do you get all these wonderful ideas?'
'So smart, there's no way!" Feng Yiping said with a big smile.
'Hey, hey, hey, Gao Zhiyi, you said you're so fat, and you keep eating like this, how is that going to work? You really believe in his twisted logic? And you, Feng Yiping, if you keep eating like this, Gao's fat today is your tomorrow.'
'It's okay, fat men are secure. Feng Yiping, just try to look like me!'
'You really don't know how arrogant you are. Just keep bragging,' Li Jia mercilessly criticized him.
Feng Yiping said, 'Don't worry, I will never get as fat as Gao Ge, no matter what I eat.'
'Don't get too excited. Even if you don't gain weight from what you eat now, you will in a couple of years if you keep eating like this! By then, even if you eat a vegetarian diet, you won't lose weight, just like Gao Ge, with his big belly all the time, as if you were pregnant all year round.'
'No way, I have a secret recipe!' Feng Yiping looked inscrutable.
'Pfft!' the two men scoffed.
'Don't you believe it. I originally wanted to pass down this secret recipe as an heirloom in the future, from male to male, generation after generation. I can see that you two, especially Brother Fat, have exceptional bone structure, so today I'll make an exception and pass it on to you. If you persevere every day, I guarantee that you men will become hunks and the women will become beauties.'
'Why do I feel like I've met a travelling performer?' Gao Zhiyi laughed.
'You'll be convinced once you practise it, believe me.'
Feng Yiping then told them the key points of plank support. Gao Zhiyi looked at his protruding belly and was a little reluctant, but Li Jia thought about it and said, 'I think there's some truth in it, I can give it a try.'
They laughed and joked as they finished all the dishes. Gao Zhiyi told Feng Yiping that the two books would definitely be difficult for him, and that if there was anything he really couldn't understand, he could write to him.
After saying goodbye to these two friends, with whom he rarely found common ground, Feng Yiping wasted no time. He told his parents and went to the furniture factory to say goodbye to his brother-in-law and the others.
Now when she saw Feng Yiping, Cai Hong always immediately came running out of the workshop. It seemed that she was really impatient working in the workshop.
Cai was busy, and only came out after a while, leaving Feng Yiping to chat for a while, giving him his business card and telling him to call if he needed anything.
As for his brother-in-law, he said he would see him off in the morning.
Mei Qiuping kept him up half the night, going over and over again how he should be careful living on his own, and that he should visit his grandparents' house when he had time, so they wouldn't worry.
Feng Zhenchang, on the other hand, had only one piece of advice: study hard. Then he took out an electronic watch with an alarm function and gave it to him.
The next morning, at a little after 7 o'clock, Mei Yiliang hurried to the cabin to have breakfast with him.
He was looking forward to starting his new job as a decorator the following month, but at the same time he felt a little unsure. After all, it was a new job, and it was a very important one.
So he always asked questions, although he was asking Feng Zhenchang and the others, he was actually hoping Feng Yiping would answer.
Feng Yiping could see it, because this matter was so important, it related to whether he could successfully marry Cai Hong and whether he could make money, so his brother-in-law was a little worried about losing out. In fact, he was determined to pay attention, but he just wanted affirmation from others.
Haha, it was the same as when he later decided to go it alone.
As she watched Feng Yiping and Mei Yiliang ride their bicycles around the corner, Mei Qiuping's eyes grew red again. Feng Zhenchang held the handlebar of the tricycle to comfort her, saying, 'What's there to worry about? Boss Cai said that even if he were left alone in the provincial capital right now, he would be fine, and he might even do better than we do, not to mention being at home.
In fact, Mei Qiuping knew in her heart that they really didn't need to worry about their son right now, but as a mother, how could she not worry when she was hundreds of miles away from her son?