Chapter 123: Chapter 122 Farewell
Shi Yang was so busy that it was already New Year’s.
This year for New Year’s, Zhao Meimei followed her father to her grandma’s house in the south.
Her grandma was ill; initially thought to be a gastrointestinal disorder, she had diarrhea and vomiting. Later it became severe, with a bit of blood in her stool, so they rushed her to the hospital. Just upon entering, the doctor had her admitted saying there was a tumor in her rectum, and now they were waiting for test results. The whole family was anxious.
The old lady has three daughters and one son, and she has always favored her second son, Zhao Dazhuang, since he was young. The three daughters are married and live in their hometown, while the old lady and her husband rotate staying with each family for a few days.
Zhao Dazhuang lives far away, and the holidays at his factory are short. Liu Xiue is tied up with business here, especially busy during the New Year and holidays. The elderly couple understands well and doesn’t urge him to return home.
Zhao Dazhuang only took Zhao Meimei back twice when she was little, and the thought weighs heavily on his mind. Upon hearing his old mother was ill, he became anxious. Fortunately, his factory had already started handling the buyout, and Zhao Dazhuang managed to be in the first batch, both assisting the factory leadership and receiving his owed buyout money, processing all the paperwork smoothly, and finding leisure.
From receiving the news to buying the train ticket, Zhao Dazhuang only took one day. When Zhao Meimei was notified that the next day she would pack and return to her grandma’s house in the south, she was lying on her bed messaging Brother Yangyang.
Shi Yang is getting busier and busier now, so Zhao Meimei, wanting to reach out to him, can’t get through when calling because he’s either busy or occupied.
Zhao Meimei knows he just switched fields and is especially busy, so she doesn’t dare to interrupt frequently.
The messages she sends, Shi Yang doesn’t reply to every one anymore. Instead, he responds once for several when he can, concise and straightforward.
Zhao Meimei felt a bit lost at first but slowly got used to it. She developed a habit of sending messages whenever she missed him, the content varied, complaints about exams before they happened, fun TV shows during holidays, occasionally asking about his work situation.
Liu Xiue entered the room to see Zhao Meimei lying on the bed playing on her phone, immediately frowning: "Why are you lying down playing with your phone again? Don’t you care about your eyes?"
Zhao Meimei quickly got up from the bed and sent the edited message: "Mom? Why are you back so early?"
Liu Xiue’s face didn’t look good as she sat on the bed, saying: "Your grandma is sick, your dad went to the train station to buy tickets."
Zhao Meimei’s eyes widened: "My grandma? What kind of illness? Dad went to buy tickets? So urgent? Am I going too?"
Liu Xiue sighed, quite worried herself, having gotten along well with her mother-in-law’s family, with the old lady treating her particularly well. Upon hearing the elderly was ill, she too felt anxious.
Liu Xiue instructed: "Okay, stop playing now. Let’s go to the store to pack up things; we’re going for a long time this time, sort the goods, return what can be returned, and see about giving away or handling the rest."
Zhao Meimei didn’t care about sending messages anymore, she followed her mother to busy around the grocery store all afternoon to pack everything properly.
Zhao Dazhuang returned midway and had bought train tickets for tomorrow at 4:30 PM. After handing the tickets to Liu Xiue, he turned to the factory to settle the remaining paperwork.
Upon learning Zhao Meimei’s grandma was ill and the family was heading south, Shi Yang’s family drove over that night, bringing big bags of gift items, picking practical and easy-to-carry things.
It’s been over a month since Zhao Meimei seriously saw Shi Yang.
Shi Yang wore a mid-length down jacket, removed it upon entering the house, revealing a wool suit, he looked thinner, eyes a bit sunken, but his spirit was particularly good.
The heating in the residential building was poor, pipes too old, poor factory benefits over the years, nobody took care of it, workers made a fuss over unpaid wages, but complained privately about these life details, and left it at that.
Shi Yang rubbed his hands, just sat on the sofa, when Zhao Meimei reached out and covered his face.
Zhao Meimei’s hand was warmly chubby, she wore a down vest, cotton pajamas inside, thick cotton pants below, her face slightly blushed from excitement.
Shi Yang’s family sat on the sofa, Zhao Meimei’s family sat on chairs around, adults chatting together, Zhao Meimei squeezed next to Shi Yang on the armrest of the sofa.
Zhao Meimei held Shi Yang’s face, frowning: "Cold? Your face is so chilly."
Shi Yang pulled her hand down, afraid she’d freeze: "It’s fine, I’m not cold. Is everything packed?"
Zhao Meimei nodded: "Packed, helped my mom organize the store goods in the afternoon, my mom packed the luggage in the evening, leaving tomorrow afternoon, in time."
While they were talking, Shi Yang’s father said: "Yang Yang, you and Meimei should go rest in the bedroom, you’ve been tired all day, aren’t you sleepy?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Dazhuang and Liu Xiue promptly urged them into the room for rest.
Shi Yang cooperatively led Zhao Meimei to the bedroom.
Zhao Meimei unconcernedly entered, heading for the bed, Shi Yang followed behind, reaching to close the door, hearing his dad quietly say: "Old Zhao, we’re not outsiders, so I’ll be frank, I have a friend who’s a chief at the central hospital. With your mom’s situation, it’s best to mentally prepare."
Shi Yang quietly sighed, gently closed the door tightly.
Shi Yang took off his shoes and leaned against Zhao Meimei’s bedhead, the single bed was narrow, as he leaned, raising his leg, Zhao Meimei leaned on his leg, her own legs dangled over the bed edge, occasionally swinging.
Zhao Meimei turned to glance at Shi Yang.
Shi Yang’s hair had been newly trimmed, he never liked leaving his hair too long, the overhead bright white light cast a faint shadow in his eyes, there were dark shadows from eyelashes and dark circles from poor rest.
Zhao Meimei asked worriedly: "Brother, how long will you be busy?"
Shi Yang reached out to rub his temples: "Probably for another half year."
Shi Yang was truly busy lately, rushing back and forth everywhere, franchising was relatively easy, as long as money was there and work was secured. A phone call to Li Shuren and the goods were immediately shipped, arriving from the provincial city in half a day.
The most urgent need now is customer sources, given this is a new venture, with only scattered stalls in the city parks, riverbanks, and open-air. None are settled in malls yet.
Shi Yang recently went to the provincial city again and toured the Naughty Castle invested by Li Shuren, located on the second floor of the city’s largest mall, large in area but somewhat remote in location.