"Mom, that medicine is very precious. Uncle De only gave me a little bit, and I used it all on you. As for Auntie, I'll ask Uncle De for more after I get back to Zhonghai."
Zhuang Rui had no idea if his mother suspected anything. Even he had never heard of a medicine this miraculous, so he just made up a few random excuses.
Standing up, he went to the bathroom to wash his face. By the time Zhuang Rui returned to the living room, his mother was already out of her room. It seemed the injury to her waist had completely healed—she was now holding her granddaughter with a beaming smile, chatting with Lei Lei and Qin Xuanbing.
What surprised Zhuang Rui was that Qin Xuanbing, who had been cold and frosty, ignoring him earlier, was now behaving very properly, with a faint smile on her face. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly—women truly are hard to figure out.
"Xiao Rui, go call Da Chuan and tell him not to find a doctor. It's freezing cold out, and with the New Year coming, where would you even find a doctor? Go call him and tell him to come back for dinner." As soon as she saw Zhuang Rui, his mother immediately spoke, but before she could finish, a "dong dong dong" knock came at the door.
Just as Zhuang Rui opened the door, Liu Chuan rushed in eagerly. The moment he saw Zhuang Rui's mother laughing and chatting with his would-be girlfriend, he was taken aback. For a moment, he couldn't figure out how the mother, who had been in so much pain from her back earlier, could now be acting as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, Zhuang Rui noticed there was someone behind Liu Chuan and quickly ushered the visitor inside.
Snapping back to his senses, Liu Chuan first offered a seat to the person he'd brought before asking with a puzzled expression, "Godmother, didn't you twist your back? How is it already better? Bah... bah, look at my stupid mouth. Getting better is a good thing. Right, Godmother, this is Brother Wang, a colleague of my dad's. Let Brother Wang take another look at your back injury."
"It's nothing, Da Chuan. I just twisted it by accident. Xiao Rui brought some special medicine from Shanghai, and it was fine after I applied it. It's New Year's—why did you trouble Xiao Wang for nothing? Sorry about that, Xiao Wang. Have you eaten yet? Stay for a simple meal."
Zhuang Rui's mother put down her granddaughter in her arms and called for Zhuang Min to serve the dishes. However, Liu Chuan's father's colleague insisted he couldn't stay, saying he had things to do at home, and didn't even let Liu Chuan drive him. Zhuang Rui quickly grabbed two packs of cigarettes he'd just bought from the supermarket, shoved them into Brother Wang's hands, and saw him off downstairs.
"Hey, kid, Wang Ge isn't one of those coroners who's around dead bodies all day, is he?"
As soon as he came upstairs, Zhuang Rui pulled Liu Chuan, who was getting cozy with Lei Lei, into his room and asked impatiently.
"What's wrong with being a coroner? Wang Ge graduated from medical school, his hands-on skills are just as good as any big hospital doctor's. I was actually planning to go thank him properly another day, and you're not appreciating it. By the way, what was that medicine you gave him? It worked so well! My mom keeps complaining about her back pain, can you give me some to take home for her?"
So Liu Chuan had his eye on the miracle cure Zhuang Rui's mother had mentioned. Though he had a hot temper, he was quite filial. When Zhuang Rui wasn't around, if his brother-in-law was busy, Liu Chuan was always the one to help Zhuang Rui's mother out.
"The medicine's all gone. It was made by an old Chinese medicine doctor, a very complicated process. When I came, Uncle De only gave me a little bit, and I just used it all. But it's no big deal, I'll go back to Zhonghai in a couple of months and ask for more, then I'll bring some to godmother."
Zhuang Rui said helplessly. He had to keep up the lie. For one, what happened to him was too bizarre. For another, Liu Chuan was blunt and quick to speak—if he told him, in a few days even aliens would know.
As for helping Liu Chuan's mother with her back pain, Zhuang Rui had already figured it out—once the spiritual energy in his eyes was replenished, he would go "deliver the medicine" to her.
But those ancient books imbued with spiritual energy are something that can only be encountered, not sought after. Zhuang Rui was lucky enough to get this couplet and manuscript, and who knows if he'll ever have such a good opportunity again. That's why he said he would wait until he got back to Zhonghai to seek the medicine. In his mind, by getting to know some collectors and enthusiasts through Uncle De, he should have a chance to absorb spiritual energy from the items in their collections.
"Zhuang Rui, Da Chuan, come out and eat. What are you two rascals whispering about in there? Hurry up."
Zhuang Min pushed open the door to Zhuang Rui's room and called the two younger boys out to eat. Back in the day, whenever these two were holed up in a room, they'd always come up with some bewildering and amusing bad ideas. Zhuang Min knew very well the true nature of her seemingly honest younger brother.
Normally, only Zhuang Rui and his mother were home, making it rather quiet, but now with so many people here, it had a bit of a New Year's atmosphere. However, Zhuang Rui's mother's behavior today left Zhuang Rui and Liu Chuan a bit puzzled. The always kind and gentle Zhuang Rui's mother showed a side they had never seen before at the dinner table. Dressed as usual, she nonetheless exuded an air of nobility in every gesture, while Lei Lei and Qin Xuanbing also carried themselves with a hint of reserve, like heiresses from prestigious families, making Liu Chuan and Zhuang Rui feel quite awkward during the meal.
Zhuang Rui's head injury hadn't fully healed yet, so he only drank a little red wine. Liu Chuan preferred liquor, but since he had to drive, he didn't dare let him have any. Under Zhuang Rui's deliberate questioning, they finally figured out what Four-eyes had been up to all these years. Some things even Liu Chuan was hearing for the first time.
It turned out that Lei Lei's maternal grandfather had smuggled himself to Hong Kong during those turbulent times. After more than twenty years of hard struggle, he built up a fairly sizable estate there and also remarried. However, deep in his heart, he had always been worried about the wife and daughter he left behind on the mainland. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the wife he married in Hong Kong passed away, the idea of returning to the mainland to find his family arose.
Lei Lei's mother later married a policeman who happened to be a colleague of Liu Chuan's father. Of course, during their middle school years, they had no knowledge of these connections. Later, Lei Lei's grandfather found Lei Lei's mother. After learning that his wife on the mainland had also passed away, he wanted to take his daughter and granddaughter to Hong Kong. Lei Lei's mother refused, but in order to give her daughter a better education, she sent Lei Lei to Hong Kong. That was also the reason why the girl with glasses suddenly transferred schools and disappeared back then.
Over the years, Lei Lei would return to Pengcheng once a year, but always in a hurry—she would just see her parents and head back to Hong Kong. Last year, after graduating from a Hong Kong university, she interned for a while at her grandfather's jewelry company. This time, she came back to survey the mainland's jewelry market and would be staying longer in the mainland, so she made a special trip back to Pengcheng to spend the New Year with her parents.
As for Qin Xuanbing, she was the first friend Lei Lei made at school after arriving in Hong Kong, and also her best sisterly confidante. This time, she accepted Lei Lei's invitation to come to the mainland to experience the New Year atmosphere. It seemed they also had some business collaboration, but neither said much about it. Naturally, they wouldn't tell outsiders that Qin Xuanbing had followed Lei Lei to the mainland to escape some trouble.
Lei Lei's mother, who was constantly anxious about her daughter's future marriage, seized every opportunity. In just a few days since Lei Lei's return, she had already arranged several blind dates for her, but Lei Lei didn't feel a spark with any of them.
Just as Lei Lei was about to lose patience, her dad introduced her to a colleague's son. The moment they met, Lei Lei recognized Liu Chuan, and having fairly vivid memories of this mischievous classmate from middle school, Lei Lei agreed first. To her surprise, after spending a few days together, they clicked quite well. Especially the occasional hint of tenderness and thoughtfulness that big man Liu Chuan revealed actually won the favor of Miss Lei. Even Liu Chuan himself found it hard to believe that he had so easily captured the beauty's heart.
……
"Lei Lei, what projects are you back to investigate？ Let Dachuan go with you to check things out. Pengcheng has developed quite well over the years. If there's any business, you can consider developing it here too. You're a Hong Kong businessman now, so you should also help stimulate the mainland economy." Zhuang Rui poured a cup of tea for Lei Lei and Qin Xuanbing, saying jokingly.
After lunch, Zhuang Rui's mother and Zhuang Min went to put Nannan down for a nap, while the young people sat on the sofa chatting. It was almost New Year, and this period was both the busiest and the most leisurely time of the year for everyone.
"My grandfather runs a gold and silver jewelry business. He has several small shops in Hong Kong. Business hasn't been great in recent years, so he wants to expand into jade and gemstone products. However, in Hong Kong, these products are basically monopolized by a few big jewelry chains. Since the mainland's economy has been growing very fast, my grandfather wants to adjust the company's strategy and gradually shift the business focus back to the mainland. I'm just a scout, testing the waters."
Lei Lei paused here, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, glanced at Liu Chuan, and continued, "Oh, right, Zhuang Rui, I heard from Dachuan that you're working in Zhonghai now, right? That's our main destination for inspection. When we get to Zhonghai, you'll have to treat us, you know."
The situation at Lei Lei's maternal grandfather's company isn't great right now. With the international gold price rising in recent years and the Hong Kong economy taking a hit, the purchasing power of citizens has dropped significantly, so developing the mainland market has become the top priority. Lei Lei is carrying a heavy burden this time she's back.
Zhuang Rui wasn't interested in jewelry or the like at the moment, and joked in response： "So Miss Lei is a Hong Kong capitalist now. When you come to Zhonghai, be sure to look me up, but if the gentleman by your side isn't Da Chuan, I won't be playing host."
"No need to trouble Mr. Zhuang. We have a branch office in Zhonghai."
Qin Xuanbing, who had been sitting beside Lei Lei listening more than she spoke, suddenly said lightly, which left Zhuang Rui a bit embarrassed. If you have a branch in Zhonghai, why come looking for a nobody like me? He didn't know that the 'we' Qin Xuanbing referred to had nothing to do with Lei Lei.
Liu Chuan could also see that Qin Xuanbing seemed a bit hostile to Zhuang Rui, so he quickly changed the subject and said： "Lei Lei, since you rarely come back, how about we organize a junior high school reunion tomorrow？"
"Junior high reunion？？？" Lei Lei and Zhuang Rui were both stunned. They hadn't expected Liu Chuan to make such a suggestion.