Chapter 3: Elusive Dreams Twenty years of true and false, also hard to distinguish three

  Look at the time, it's already past 6 o'clock in the evening. In Jieliang County, located in the north, the sky had already darkened, and except for the duty room, the county committee office building was empty. Shen Yang opened the drawer of his desk, rummaged through the things inside, and packed a few things that he might need in the next few days, such as the confidential communication records of county and city leaders, notebooks, pens, work permits, deposit slips, etc., into a bag. He carried the bag out of the county committee office compound from the back door.

  In the office, I didn't feel the chill of the weather. As soon as I stepped onto the street, a cold gust hit me in the face and Shen Yang Mei shivered. She quickly tightened her collar and hailed a three-wheeled motorcycle taxi. Sitting in the simple rear compartment, Shen Yang Mei subconsciously wanted to light up a cigarette, but after searching all her pockets, she was surprised to find that she didn't have any cigarettes on her. It was only then that she remembered that she hadn't developed the bad habit of smoking and drinking yet, and couldn't help but laugh awkwardly.

  "Teacher, where are we going?" The thick accent made Shen Yangmei feel exceptionally familiar. In his previous life, after resigning from the county committee and starting a business, Shen Yangmei had been wandering around cities like Beijing, Donghai, and Nanguang with Luo Shuai. Unless necessary, he rarely returned to Jialiang County, a place that brought him sorrow. So in Shen Yangmei's impression, such a native accent was something he hadn't heard in a long time. As for the title "teacher", it was like "mister" or "comrade", a respectful term used by people from Quyang to address strangers.

  "Mi Xiang Ju." Shen Yang Mei replied. Mi Xiang Ju was a restaurant not far from Shen Yang Mei's dormitory, although the sign was not big, it was said to be an old shop with more than 50 years of history, and its handmade dumplings were considered one of the best in Jia Liang. In his past life, Shen Yang Mei was a regular customer of this small restaurant, and he also had a good relationship with the owner.

  Before long, the tricycle stopped in front of Mihuangju. Shen Yang, as usual, ordered half a catty of Sanxian dumplings and two bottles of beer, chose a corner by himself, and slowly savored his food with relish.

  When paying the bill, Shen Yang raised an eyebrow and casually asked, "Boss, is there a phone here?"

  The boss, a local man in his 40s, searched for change while bitterly smiling and said: "It's there! I just spent several thousand yuan installing that thing, what a waste! If you don't install it, you'll be fined, this is some kind of government policy, what the heck is this policy?"

  Shen Yang raised an eyebrow and shook his head, ignoring the boss's complaints. He smiled and asked, "Big brother, how about using your phone to make two calls?"

  "There's nothing wrong with that," said the boss, pointing to the back room of the restaurant. "It's in there, just go and get it."

  Yang Shen raised an eyebrow, not expecting the boss to agree so readily, and was taken aback for a moment. Only then did he remember that this wasn't the twenty-first century with its strong utilitarian colors and rampant money worship, but rather the early 1990s when customs were simple and honest, and people didn't pick up lost items on the road.

  The back room of the small shop was surprisingly clean, and on the octagonal table in the center, a statue of the God of Wealth was actually being worshipped, with a red telephone placed in front of it. This mismatched combination made Shen Yang's eyebrows twitch with amusement.

  Shen Yangmei first made a phone call home, although the telephone was still a novelty at that time. As the deputy director of the county committee office in Jiaoliang County, Shen Yangmei was not a big or small leader, and he didn't need to say anything for people below him to arrange for a telephone to be installed at his home. When Shen's parents first heard about this little thing that cost several thousand yuan, they were shocked and treated it like a treasure, specially asking the village carpenter to make a small wooden box for it. Usually, it was covered with a brand new towel and not used or dared to be used, except when Shen Yangmei's sister occasionally returned home and called Shen Yangmei's office number to report her safety.

  Shen Yangmei's parents were both honest farmers who worked with the land every day, and the ups and downs of life in the county town would not affect their lives. It was Shen Yangmei's mother who answered the phone, and Shen Yangmei simply asked about the situation at home. Her mother naturally said that everything was fine and told her to take good care of herself. As she listened to her mother's warm reminders and nagging on the other end of the phone, Shen Yangmei thought back to when something had happened to her in the past, and how her parents had been helpless and at a loss. She felt a surge of emotions and her voice became choked with sobs. Her mother seemed to have detected that Shen Yangmei's voice was not normal on the other end of the phone and repeatedly asked if she had encountered any problems. Shen Yangmei quickly reassured her that everything was fine, told her parents to take care of their health, and asked about her sister's situation at home. Her mother naturally said that everything was good.

  Shen Yangmei's sister, Shen Hongmei, and her husband, Wang Hongjun, were also honest and kind-hearted farmers. At that time, Sister Shen Hongmei did not get into college, and through the matchmaking of the villagers, she married Wang Hongjun, who was not particularly handsome. At that time, Shen Yangmei was still in college, and his family did not tell him about his sister's engagement. Later, when Shen Yangmei returned home for summer vacation, he met Wang Hongjun, who was honest and kind-hearted but short in stature. Looking at his brother-in-law, who was humble and cautious in front of him, and then looking at his gentle and considerate sister, Shen Yangmei really couldn't understand why his sister would agree to this marriage. Just for this matter, Shen Yangmei blamed his parents a lot, and also asked his sister if she had agreed to the marriage under pressure from her family, saying that if his sister did not agree, he would not agree to the marriage either. At that time, Shen Hongmei just smiled and shook her head without speaking.

  It turns out that Shen Hongmei's vision is not bad! Wang Hongjun, although his body is not very good, but his temper is surprisingly good. After marriage, he is extremely obedient to his elder sister and takes care of her in every way. Every time he goes to school to visit Shen Yangmei, he always brings big bags and small packages with him, and each time he secretly leaves some money for Shen Yangmei. Although the amount of money is not much, but every time she receives the warm cash from Brother-in-law Wang Hongjun, it moves her deeply.

  Later, Shen Yangmei graduated from university and entered the county committee office. Wang Hongjun's brain was still relatively flexible, relying on Shen Yangmei's care, opened a small retail store in the town. Although he couldn't make much money, with the family's few acres of land and this small retail store, at least they could guarantee that the whole family had no worries about food and clothing, and usually could save some savings.

  In his previous life, after Shen Yangmei got into trouble, he was heartbroken and spent his days drinking to drown his sorrows. His sister and brother-in-law couldn't help much, but they didn't complain at all, and were busy with household chores.

  Later, after Shen Yangmei resigned and went into business, his sister and brother-in-law sold their own retail store and gave the money to Shen Yangmei. Until Shen Yangmei had some wealth, due to various reasons, he rarely returned home, and his parents didn't want to live in the city, so Shen Yangmei's parents were always taken care of by his sister and brother-in-law.

  Thinking of these things, Shen Yangmei's eyes couldn't help but redden again. He tried hard to control his thoughts, and after reminding his mother a few words about taking care of her health, he hung up the phone.

  After understanding the situation at home, Shen Yang calmed down his emotions. He slowly dialed the phone number of Luo Shuai's office in his previous life. In his heart, he prayed that nothing unpredictable would happen to his life because of his rebirth, and prayed that Luo Shuai, that "thousand-year-old" scoundrel, must still be alive and still be his iron brother, good brother.

  After several long rings of waiting tone, the phone was answered.

  "Hello, who are you looking for?" A sweet and greasy voice came from the other end of the phone. Suddenly, Shen Yang's eyebrows had a feeling of being struck by five thunders, could it be that something really changed? The hand holding the receiver couldn't help but tremble slightly.

  "Hello, this is Jia Liang Victory Building Company's Luo General Manager office. May I ask who you are?" The sweet and sticky voice of the woman came into my ears again.

  "Damn it!" Shen Yangmei couldn't help but blurt out a curse into the receiver, "I'm looking for Luo Zong, tell him I'm Shen Yangmei."

  "Please wait!" said a sweet and polite female voice.

  After a moment, the phone transmitted Luo Shuai's signature sly laughter, "Hehe, Yangzi, how is it? My style isn't inferior to your director's, right? I've even got a female secretary now."

  "Get out! You, Luo Zhen, have become so arrogant after just a few days. When I call you, it has to be relayed through your female secretary. Are you holding onto the 'noble' ideal of having a secretary for everything?"

  "Haha! When there's something to do, the secretary does it; when there's nothing to do, the secretary is idle. You're indeed our great talent! Only you could come up with such a high-level phrase that's both concise and impressive! By the way, I decline the title of 'despicable person' and give it to you instead."

  "Alright, stop joking around. You know everything about what's going on over here, right?"

  The Luo Shuai on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, and then said with a sigh: "I heard from the old man that things are busy on your side, so I didn't bother you these days. The old man's thoughts are clear to me - isn't it because we're brothers and he's afraid of getting into trouble? My thoughts are clear to you too - if you need my help, you'll definitely call me. If you really treat me like an outsider and don't want me to get involved too deeply, that can only mean you don't consider me a true brother in your heart!"

  Lu Shuai's words caused Shen Yangmei's heart to fluctuate again. Good brother, this is what a true good brother should be like. However, Shen Yangmei knew that now was not the time for brothers to reminisce about old times, so he calmed down his thoughts and said, "Scram! Is it sour or not? Alright, this time I really need your help with something, hurry to Quyang tonight, you come with me to take care of some business, remember to bring our brother's 'stuff'."

  "Hey! You're still going to bring 'that guy', aren't you? Didn't you always emphasize that everything should be solved with brains, not brawn? How come this time you're resorting to violence? Let me tell you, I'm a civilized person now, and I don't do physical labor anymore. I have people under me for that. I'll let you in on a secret: the old man just hired two security guards, real special forces types. They went through some drills with me the other day, and our half-baked methods wouldn't even pass muster. If you really need something done in this regard, brother, I can arrange it for you. Guaranteed to be satisfying, and they won't break a single rib more than necessary. How about it?"

  "No way, it's not like you think, just the two of us will go, don't worry, absolutely no danger!"

  "Are you kidding me, Yangzi? What do you think I am? Remember when we were the dynamic duo of martial arts and never feared danger? Back then, for Ye Wen's sake, we didn't back down from a fight against over a dozen thugs from the sports department. Now you're talking to me about danger?"

  "Alright, I understand what you mean. You're worried that something will happen to me, right? Don't worry, nothing will happen tonight, you don't know me, I always plan carefully before acting, how could I do something reckless?"

  "Damn! You planned and then acted, I spit it out! That time for Ye Wen being beaten by a group of thugs from the sports department was also your plan and then act, wasn't it?..."

  "That was an accident..." Shen Yang said to Luo Shuai on the phone, but in his heart, he was thinking that last time it was for Ye Wen, this time it's also for Ye Wen, last time was an accident, hoping this time there won't be another accident.