Chương 83: Chapter 84 : The Pickle Jar Farts—The Sourness Reaches the Sky!

Zhou Yan came home late today, just in time for the factory to close. He had been busy until now and hadn't had dinner yet. The little one was eager to go to the banquet, and refused any rice offered to her.

"Alright, let's see if there's any rice left when we get back." Zhou Yan smiled and took out a brightly wrapped orange-flavored hard candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and handed it to Zhou Momo's mouth.

"Have a candy to tide you over."

" Aww!" Zhou Momo opened her mouth wide and took the candy in one bite, immediately smiling. Her eyes crinkled as she mumbled, "So sweet! Thank you, brother." Aunt Zhao filled a lunchbox with leftover rice, carried it in a net bag, and put it in the basket hanging on the back of the bicycle along with three pairs of shoes. Zhou Yan slung his cloth bag over his shoulder, which contained all his belongings, and pushed his bicycle out the door.

After locking the door, Aunt Zhao looked at Zhou Momo and asked, "Do you want to sit on the back or the front bar?"

"In front! I want to chat with Guoguo!" Zhou Momo leaned closer to Zhou Yan.

"Come on." Zhou Yan bent down, lifted her up, and placed her on the front bar. The little one expertly grabbed the handlebars and happily shouted, "Let's go! Let's go!" Zhou Yan pedaled his bicycle along the riverbank, riding towards the setting sun. The sky was ablaze with red clouds, merging seamlessly with the river, a breathtaking sight.

"Guoguo, look! It's Yaoyao's painting!" Zhou Momo pointed to the sunset with delight, her big eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, she probably saw it too." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.... At this moment, in room 302 of the Sichuan Beauty Academy's dormitory, a girl sitting by the window, gazing at the sunset in a daze, sneezed.

"Yaoyao, are you cold? Put on a coat, it's still a bit chilly after the sun goes down." Deng Hong's concerned voice came from behind.

"No, I just sneezed suddenly," Xia Yao said with a smile, pulling her thoughts back from the horizon and scribbling a few lines on the paper with her pencil.

"Has Zhou Yan not replied to your letter yet?" Deng Hong asked with a gossipy look. Zhu Yuyu, who was braiding her hair, stopped and turned to look at her with concern.

"Letters don't arrive that quickly. I don't even know if he's received it," Xia Yao said with a smile.

"Besides, he's so busy. He'll probably only be able to reply when he has time."

"That's true. The mountains are high and the roads are long. Even if it's a letter, it will take many days to arrive," Deng Hong nodded.

"Deng Hong! Deng Hong—" A drawn-out voice sounded from outside the window. Deng Hong's eyes lit up, and she immediately rushed to the window to look down. Ma Xingye, carrying three thermos flasks above his head, grinned at her, "I've brought you hot water."

"Okay! I'll be right down!" Deng Hong replied, her face beaming. Turning back to the two of them, she said, "I'll go get the thermos flasks for you."

"We'll go get them, it won't stop you from holding hands and strolling around the playground," Zhu Yuyu and Xia Yao said with giggles.

"What? We weren't holding hands..." Deng Hong blushed, shyly saying. It was a ten-minute walk from the girls' dormitory to the cafeteria, and hot water wasn't always available. These past few days, thanks to Deng Hong's passionate romance, they'd been spared a lot of trouble getting hot water. Ma Xingye had gone from being the captain of the college basketball team to becoming a well-known warm-hearted guy in the art academy's girls' dormitory, a super warm-hearted guy carrying three thermos flasks at once....

Under the tree at the entrance of Zhoucun village, a group of middle-aged women were still sitting, chatting. Today, their crickets are mainly being caught at the Zhou family's house, which is preparing a feast. Sitting under the tree, you can see the steaming bamboo steamers at the entrance of the Zhou family's house, layer upon layer, stacked higher than a person, with four in a row, quite a grand display.

"Zhou Lao Er's wedding procession is quite something! I heard that the old village cook, Liu Lao Ba, broke his hand, so they hired two new chefs—one the head chef from the textile factory, and the other the head chef from Rongcheng Restaurant."

"Their connections are really something else; they managed to hire such skilled chefs even on short notice! I heard that the head chef was hired by Zhou Yan, supposedly his mentor."

" Isn't Zhou Yan still heavily in debt? Everyone says his restaurant is doing well, but I haven't seen him pay it all off. I think he's just bragging."

"Gao Cuihua, don't talk nonsense. I just went to fetch water, and my cousin-in-law told me that Zhou Yan just paid off everyone's debts today; he doesn't have a single penny left. You just need to worry about your Zhou Liangliang." A hush fell over the area under the tree, and the expressions of the old women became quite interesting.

"He's paid it all off? Didn't you say it was only eight or nine hundred?"

"Exactly! Didn't you say his restaurant business was bad, and it only started to pick up in the last two weeks?"

"Running a restaurant is that easy to make money? Zhou Yan is really something!" Gao Cuihua's face darkened upon hearing this. She and Zhao Tieying had always been at odds, arguing countless times when they were younger, but she never won an argument, nor could she beat him in a fight; she was always one step ahead of him. A while ago, she was overjoyed to hear that Zhou Yan had lost money running his restaurant. She found her son much more agreeable, at least he hadn't squandered her retirement savings.

But then Zhou Liangliang, a few days ago, seemed to have been bewitched, insisting on setting up a stall selling noodles and soup outside the textile factory. This resulted in him losing over a hundred yuan and even asking her for eighty yuan back, which broke her heart. Now, hearing that Zhou Yan had made money and paid off all his debts, and thinking of Zhao Tieying's smug look, it was worse than death for her. Zhou Yan rode his bicycle back to the village entrance.

Zhao Tieying glanced at the crowd under the tree and spotted Gao Cuihua. She quickly tugged at Zhou Yan's clothes and whispered, "Slow down." You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Huh?" Zhou Yan turned his head and saw Zhao Tieying pull two pairs of leather shoes out of her basket and hold them in her arms. He immediately understood and slowed down.

"Zhou Yan's back! Haven't seen you in so long!" someone greeted Zhou Yan. Some sharp-eyed people noticed the two oil paper bags Zhao Tieying was carrying and casually asked,"What treasures are you carrying, Tieying?" Zhao Tieying sighed and said, "Zhou Yan bought a pair of leather shoes for me and my husband. They're a Shanghai brand, soft and breathable, very comfortable to wear. That kid isn't frugal at all; he spends his money recklessly."

As she spoke, Zhao Tieying took the pair of women's leather shoes out of the bag and waved them around. The glittering gold buttons were still eye-catching even in the evening. The old women under the tree had their eyes light up. Leather shoes! Gold buckles! The style was really nice! There was n't a hint of disdain, just pure boasting. Gao Cuihua, standing to the side, was so angry her nose was crooked, and she turned her face away, refusing to look.

Zhao Tieying took in everyone's reactions, her mouth almost stretched to her ears, and she tugged at Zhou Yan's clothes again.

"Aunties, we'll head back now, we still need to help my second uncle." Zhou Yan said with a smile, hopping on her bicycle and riding away.

"Aunties, goodbye." Zhou Momo waved her little hand at them. Once the bicycle was far away, Zhao Tieying put the shoes back in her pocket, laughing heartily. Today was truly a day of triumph! It felt great! Especially seeing Gao Cuihua's dark face, her nose crooked with anger, made her feel even more refreshed. All the pent-up frustration finally dissipated in one go! Zhou Yan smiled, happy that Zhao Niangniang was happy too.

"Mom, what are you smiling about?" Zhou Momo asked curiously.

"Mom is happy because life is so good, getting better every day," Zhao Tieying said with a smile, tilting her head back and holding back the tears welling up in her eyes. She was supposed to be a strong woman, why was she so easily moved to tears today? How embarrassing!

"Tieying is so lucky! She's even wearing leather shoes!"

"I saw them at the department store, they cost over twenty yuan a pair, and she bought two pairs at once!"

"Zhou Yan is such a filial son, willing to spend money on his parents. Tieying and Lao Si would never buy leather shoes for themselves." The crowd under the tree started chatting again, their words full of envy for Zhao Tieying and praise for Zhou Yan.

"A pair of leather shoes, what's so special about that?" Gao Cuihua scoffed, got up and walked towards home, already planning to call her son and daughter-in-law over that evening for a lecture, demanding they buy her a pair of leather shoes too!

"Like a pickle jar farting—the sour smell fills the air!" an auntie commented sharply after she'd walked a distance. A burst of laughter erupted under the tree, and the atmosphere became harmonious and cheerful again. The old-fashioned bicycle stopped in front of Uncle Er's door. The people who had come to help had filled four tables and were eating dinner when they saw Zhou Yan and his group arrive, and a whole bunch of them stood up. Zhou Yan first lifted Zhou Momo and put her on the ground.

Zhou Momo looked at everyone who had already eaten half of their meal, pouted, and said a little aggrievedly, "You... didn't you wait for me? I haven't even eaten yet."

"Oh, Momo, we didn't know you were coming so late. I saved you a bowl of meat dumplings."

"Come, come, Uncle has some candy here, specially saved for you."

"Guoguo has some oranges here, sweet."

"Momo is so good, your little braids are so pretty today."

"Your chubby cheeks are like perfectly risen steamed buns." Her uncle, aunt, brother, and sister-in-law swarmed around her, one offering candy, another offering oranges. Zhou Momo's pockets were full. She pulled up her clothes with her little hands, revealing pockets overflowing with wedding candy, melon seeds, and oranges. She called out in her childish voice, "That's enough! That's enough! It's full!" Zhou Yan smiled beside her. Was this the charm of being the darling of the family? Zhou Momo was truly blessed.

Zhou Momo, carrying a pile of snacks and candies, smiled so broadly her eyes were almost closed. She politely nodded to everyone, "Thank you everyone, and congratulations on your marriage! May you all have a baby soon!" Everyone laughed.

"You should say that to your brother Hao; he's the groom," Zhao Tieying said with a helpless smile. She had spent the whole afternoon teaching Zhou Momo how to say auspicious words to the bride and groom the next day, and Zhou Momo was already eager to use them tonight. Zhou Yan greeted everyone and then went to his master's table. Zheng Qiang and Xiao Lei sat together, having drunk some wine, and were clearly a little tipsy.

Zheng Qiang pulled Xiao Lei aside and started chatting: "Brother Xiao, your cooking skills are truly amazing! You're so thoughtful and organized; I want to learn from you. But my master is also very skilled, a national first-class chef. I think you're a bit like him, so I felt an instant connection with you..."

"Come on, Master Zheng, let's have a toast to our instant connection," Xiao Lei said with a smile, raising his glass to clink with his.

"Let's... let's have a drink." Zheng Qiang picked up his glass, tilted his head back, and downed the wine in one gulp. He swayed and collapsed onto the table. Zhou Yan, who had just arrived, saw Zheng Qiang drunk and slumped on the table, his expression a little strange. He whispered, "Master, did you get Master Zheng drunk? Isn't he supposed to be up early tomorrow morning to work?"

"Drink him my ass! He poured himself a small amount of wine, drank it, and then collapsed here. He's just trying to scam us." Xiao Lei shook his head with a smile.

"You should ask your brother to get him to sleep. With this little bit of alcohol, he can wake him up at whatever time he needs to tomorrow morning, no problem."