mtlumby2d Chapter 196 70s 24
Chapter 196 70s 24
He Shen was able to enjoy the rabbit-themed thank-you meal that very evening.
Wang Guifang even felt she should thank He Shen properly, but fearing that eating with the children would make him uncomfortable, she unusually refrained from asking to eat with them, and instead gave each family two bowls to eat in their own rooms.
Normally, they would just take their bowls and eat in the crowd, but since it was rabbit meat, which belonged to the public, they couldn't go too far.
Only Xie Xixing, Xie Qingyu, and Secretary Xie remained here as a token of their gratitude.
When Wang Guifang started cooking, she asked Xie Xixing to call He Shen and tell him to come over in half an hour and not to eat at the educated youth settlement.
He Shen did not come empty-handed.
Wang Guifang glanced at the malted milk powder he was carrying and told him to put it away.
"It was sent from home. I'm a man, so I don't need to drink this. If you have children at home, Qingyu can benefit from it. It's better than leaving it here with me." He Shen knew it wasn't appropriate for him to bring it, but he still wanted to.
It must be said that He Shen's words were indeed useful.
At least this touched Wang Guifang's heart.
"I'll get you the money later," Wang Guifang said.
"Auntie, please don't be so polite with me. I also have something to thank the Party Secretary for his help with." As soon as He Shen said this, Wang Guifang fell silent.
He Shen didn't feel embarrassed. "My grandfather isn't in good health. I didn't know what was going on when he sent the telegram. I wanted to use the team's phone more often these days so that I could hear my grandfather report that he's safe every day."
After He Shen finished speaking, Secretary Xie took a puff of his pipe and said, "This is nothing serious, it's only natural, you don't need to bring anything over."
“That’s right, you’re being too polite. I was going to thank you today, how could I accept your gifts?” Wang Guifang said.
"If it really doesn't work out, I'll just come here for a couple more meals in the future," He Shen joked.
"Alright, come and eat here a few more times. At least the food here is better than what you educated youth ordered."
Wang Guifang also knew about the situation at the educated youth settlement.
When people from all over the country gather together, there isn't much trust, and conflicts are more likely to arise.
We were forced to eat together, and since everyone had to take the same amount, everyone wanted to eat less, so the food we made was barely enough to keep us from getting hungry.
"Third brother, go to my room and bring me that jar of wine," said Secretary Xie.
Wang Guifang glanced at him but didn't say anything.
"Can you drink? My son and I will have a couple of drinks with you," Secretary Xie asked.
"I can drink a little." He Shen smiled, but it was hard to tell whether he could actually drink or not.
Seeing this, Wang Guifang went to prepare some cold dishes to go with the drinks.
Xie Qingyu doesn't drink alcohol, and she sat down to eat with Wang Guifang.
Wang Guifang couldn't stay idle; after eating a little, she went back to work.
Xie Qingyu asked her to sit down and eat something, but she refused.
Xie Qingyu had no choice but to follow her closely. Only in this way could Wang Guifang stop what she was doing and sit down at the table to eat properly.
Wang Guifen's rabbit meat was indeed very good; Xie Qingyu ate a few more bites of rice than usual.
By the time Xie Qingyu finished eating, both Xie Dongxing's and Xie Beixing's families had finished eating.
After finally having eaten meat, with a bit of grease on my lips, I'm definitely going to go out and chat.
Seeing that Secretary Xie was drinking with He Shen, the two brothers also came and had a couple of drinks with He Shen before leaving.
Xie Qingyu played with the three little ones at the door.
He Shen was good at talking; he could make Wang Guifang happy and chat with Secretary Xie about official matters and farm affairs. Secretary Xie looked at him with increasing appreciation and said that they would drink together when they were in a good mood.
Secretary Xie usually has a drink or two when he's at home, but today he was probably in a good mood and couldn't stop drinking.
Xie Xixing's alcohol tolerance was average, and he was clearly getting restless.
"Alright, you've made the third brother drunk." Wang Guifang went up to persuade him.
"Next time you come, ask your aunt to cook her specialty dishes for you!" Secretary Xie said, still wanting more.
"He Zhiqing, are you drunk?" Wang Guifang asked.
"It's alright, Auntie," He Shen replied, his voice sounding perfectly normal.
"That's good. Your uncle likes to have a drink now and then, I was just worried he might get you drunk too." Wang Guifang felt a little relieved seeing him like this.
It wouldn't be good if he went home drunk and no one took care of him.
He Shen stood up. "Auntie, I'll head back now."
"Okay, good." Wang Guifang looked around and asked, "Can you walk by yourself?"
"I'm fine." He Shen swayed a couple of times as he was about to leave.
Before Wang Guifang could react, he had already regained his footing.
"I'll take him back," Xie Qingyu said as she approached.
Wang Guifang hesitated for a moment, then said, "See if your eldest or second brother is around on the way. If he is, let him go, and then you can come back."
"I understand." Xie Qingyu didn't step forward, but stood still and looked at He Shen, asking, "Can we walk?"
Wang Guifang also looked at He Shen. If He Shen couldn't leave, she would absolutely not let Xie Qingyu see him off.
"No problem." He Shen shook his head and even managed a smile at Wang Guifang. "I'm sorry to have worried you, Auntie. I'm fine."
"Let's go," Xie Qingyu said.
"I'll ask your older brother to take them later." Wang Guifang still had to take care of the two drunk people, but she didn't forget to call out to Xie Qingyu, "If you run into your sister-in-law, you can go with her too."
"Okay!" Xie Qingyu replied.
Wang Guifang looked at Xie Xixing, who had already collapsed to the ground, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She couldn't count on him at all with that little bit of drinking capacity.
Xie Qingyu walked ahead, with He Shen following slowly behind.
Xie Qingyu had promised when she left that she could ask her family members to see her off if she met them on the village roads.
But the path she took wasn't the one where she would encounter people.
There were only a few places in the village where people gathered to chat at night, and Xie Qingyu didn't go in those places at all.
The educated youth settlement was separated from Xie Qingyu's home by an entire village.
Xie Qingyu chose a route that went around the village's perimeter, the route she usually took to go to the union, where there would definitely be no one around at this time.
He Shen had no objection to her leading the way and followed closely behind her.
There were no lights in the village at night, but fortunately the moonlight was bright enough to make it easy to see the road ahead.
As she walked, Xie Qingyu noticed that there was no movement behind her. She turned around and saw He Shen standing motionless about five meters away from her.
"What's wrong?" Xie Qingyu asked as she returned.
"It's too dark." He Shen said this calmly and in a very ordinary tone.
???
Xie Qingyu was stunned for a few seconds.
"Are you drunk?" Xie Qingyu asked hesitantly.
"No," He Shen replied matter-of-factly.
.......
Reasonable suspicion, but not certainty.
"Who am I?" Xie Qingyu asked.
"Nan Nan." He Shen's voice was low, and he seemed to smile as he uttered those two words.
"You've had too much to drink," Xie Qingyu concluded directly.