"Shanshan, who are you talking to?"
Just as Wang Longhu and Lin Shanshan were chatting, a middle-aged man with a big head and big ears, a large belly, and a round waist walked out of the food stall. He was holding a cigarette in his mouth, his head slightly bald, with a few unruly bangs hanging on his forehead, swaying in the wind.
Seeing Wang Longhu, the middle-aged man's eyes showed some doubt: "You look unfamiliar."
"He is my junior high school deskmate, Wang Longhu. We used to be quite close, and he often came to my house to play on the computer. If it weren't for him, I probably would have dropped out and gone to work. This is my husband, Dong Fangtao, from the same year as us, but he was in the experimental class, so you probably don't know him." Lin Shanshan smiled and pulled the middle-aged man over to introduce him to Wang Longhu.
"This is your hus...?" Wang Longhu couldn't hold it in; he would have thought this man was Lin Shanshan's dad if she hadn't introduced him.
You're telling me this guy was in the same year as me?
He certainly matured a bit too quickly.
But what surprised Wang Longhu even more was that Lin Shanshan was already married, and to such an unremarkable man of indeterminate age.
What kind of overwhelming advantages does this guy have to win such a beautiful and shapely wife?
Even if he had taken a bullet for Lin Shanshan, it wouldn't justify such self-deprecation.
"Hello, brother. I've heard Shanshan talk about you before. Thanks for not bullying her during school. If you have time, come over to eat at my place; you'll always get a 30% discount." Dong Fangtao smiled and offered Wang Longhu a cigarette from a pack of Zhonghua.
"No thanks, I don't smoke. Is this food stall yours?" Wang Longhu declined politely and then looked around at the roadside establishment named "Sai Xianwei Food Stall."
This was a three-story food stall. On either side of the ground floor entrance, there were glass cabinets housing a large amount of seafood, kept alive with oxygen pumps.
You could see crabs, mantis shrimp, ribbon fish, monkfish, and soft-shelled turtles. Calling it a food stall didn't quite suit it; a restaurant would be more fitting.
"Yeah, it's been passed down through generations. My grandfather opened it when he was young, then passed it to my dad, and now it's my business. I'm not saying this to brag, but in Dong County, if you want fresh seafood with a clean and quiet environment, my place is the best choice.
I have three fishing boats. I personally drive with employees to the dock to meet the boats when they return, loading the catch directly into oxygen tanks for transport back. It's 100% fresh." Dong Fangtao said proudly, patting his chest.
Wang Longhu, who had been calm, couldn't stay calm anymore when he heard about the three fishing boats.
Those boats capable of going to sea for fishing all have to be custom-made at a shipyard, with prices starting at 800,000 and potentially limitless.
Three boats and a restaurant—don't be deceived by Dong Fangtao's greasy, ordinary appearance; he's definitely a wealthy second-generation in Dong County.
Only then did Wang Longhu notice the Panamera parked by the roadside. He looked at Dong Fangtao, then at the car, and it was likely his.
"If I buy a larger quantity of ingredients from you, can I get a discount?" Wang Longhu asked sheepishly, rubbing his hands.
The fishmongers at the market sell seafood too expensively, and now that he stumbled upon a supplier who catches his own fish, he didn't want to miss the opportunity.
"Of course, Wang Longhu, are you planning to open your own shop?" Lin Shanshan answered directly before Dong Fangtao could speak.
Clearly, Dong Fangtao was quite fond of his wife. Seeing that Lin Shanshan had spoken, he nodded in agreement without saying anything.
"No, I'm just buying more to stock up at home for personal use; this way, I don't have to keep going to the market."
"That's fine. From now on, we'll give you a huge discount when you buy fish from us." Lin Shanshan chuckled.
"That's really great, thanks a lot."
Wang Longhu quickly thanked Dong Fangtao and Lin Shanshan, chatted for a bit more, then bade farewell.
Although his request was a bit shameless, with his account balance being tight, every saving mattered. Wang Longhu didn't care too much about pride; saving money was what counted.
Watching as Wang Longhu left, Dong Fangtao smoked and said, "Maybe we should invite him for a meal sometime. If it weren't for Wang Longhu helping you avoid bullying during school, you might have dropped out. We wouldn't have met in high school, and I wouldn't have been able to marry such a good wife. He's my lucky star."
"Alright, don't be so over the top. Besides, hand me the keys. I need to go pick up Xiaobao from kindergarten." Lin Shanshan poked her husband on his forehead and reached out for a Porsche key.
Just as Wang Longhu suspected, that Panamera on the roadside was indeed Dong Fangtao's.
...
After getting home and taking a shower, to avoid any trouble from old lady Song, Wang Longhu hid in his bedroom to practice the Three-Body Pose.
He practiced all the way until lunchtime when Wang Longhu received a message from the big monk.
The matter of taking a group of incense worshippers to Mount Putuo was very important and could not afford any carelessness. As the person in charge, the big monk recently had no free time, so he wanted to quickly send all those stray dogs to Wang Longhu's grandmother's house.
This way, it would be one less thing to worry about.
Originally, Wang Longhu planned to cook some sea cucumber porridge, but now had to forgo that plan. He quickly packed up sheets, blankets, pillows, and some cleaning tools, standing by the roadside waiting for the big monk to come pick him up.
Soon, a Wuling van stopped in front of Wang Longhu. The window of the passenger seat was open, and he could easily see that the driver was indeed the big monk.
Wang Longhu got in the car and looked back to see that all the back seats had been removed. At this moment, a dozen dogs were obediently lying in the back wagging their tails, silent and well-behaved. As Wang Longhu leaned in to look, they immediately all sat up, panting with curiosity, their tails wagging even more eagerly.
"This is the car we use to buy vegetables at the temple. Some worshippers come to have vegetarian meals with us, so we took out the seats to load vegetables," the big monk explained, shifting gears with one hand and driving towards Changkeng Village.
The van passed through the city, reaching the countryside in less than ten minutes. Gradually, instead of three or four-story modern buildings, there were now mostly one or two-story houses with tiled roofs.
The blue sky stretched above, with several towering mountains standing at the edge of the earth, clouds lingering around their waists, their peaks unseen. Flocks of birds flew in and out of the clouds, resembling a fairyland.
"The environment here in Changkeng is indeed nice. Staying here to practice martial arts is much easier to find peace than living in the city," the big monk said, his left arm resting on the window sill, holding the steering wheel with one hand while admiring the rural scenery.
Driving into Changkeng Village, after passing the village entrance, a stone bridge appeared ahead. Underneath the bridge, a stream flowed continuously, and to the right was a farmland the size of a soccer field, planted with cabbage, corn, and radishes.
The stream ran through the farmland, and looking upstream, one could see a gray dam. Behind it was Dong County's largest reservoir, the Changkeng Reservoir.
Because fishing has long been strictly prohibited here, it's said that there are a lot of fish in the reservoir, and many strange stories have occurred.
Following the only cement road in the village that leads to the mountain top, they quickly reached Wang Longhu's grandmother's house.
At the moment they got out of the car and saw the scene in front of them, both Wang Longhu and the big monk fell silent, the atmosphere unusually quiet.
"Are you sure you want to live here?" the big monk asked uncertainly.
"I guess so," Wang Longhu gulped.
They saw a dozen old houses built along the slope ahead, all with doors and windows tightly closed. In front of the wooden doors were piles of stones, inexplicably looking somewhat like graves.
The window glass was long shattered and covered in cobwebs, with roofs full of holes and beams exposed, and the cement road's surface overgrown with wild grass.
All signs indicated that this place had been uninhabited for many years.
The surrounding big trees had withered leaves, lifeless with branches full of cracks, bark peeling off.
A scene of desolation, a scene of deathly stillness.
Those who knew would know this was Wang Longhu's grandmother's house; those who didn't might think it was some haunted village.
"Master, do you believe there are ghosts in this world?" Wang Longhu, choked with emotion, couldn't help but ask.
"No, I don't think so. Anyway, I've never seen one. People fear the unknown all because of a lack of internal strength. Don't be afraid; now that you're practicing martial arts, your internal strength is quite strong."
The big monk patted Wang Longhu on the shoulder: "Don't overthink it. You're now a Ming Jin expert. Believe in science."
"Master, you say that, but perhaps you could leave a consecrated Buddha statue for me to borrow for a while. I saw you have a string of Buddhist Beads hanging on your car's rearview mirror; why not lend me that too."
"Eh! Why make it so complicated, it's all for peace of mind anyway. Here, take this." The big monk handed Wang Longhu a folded leaflet from the car.
Wang Longhu suspiciously opened it and saw over twenty large red characters, instinctively reading out: "Prosperity, democracy, civility..."
Realizing what it was, Wang Longhu folded the leaflet back up and put it in his pocket, looking exasperated: "I really appreciate it, thank you."