Chapter 185 The world is just a face wiped clean of makeup

Zhang Xiaonan's days at No. 1 Middle School in the city were peaceful and happy.

She taught classes at the junior high school of the No. 1 Middle School every day. She used to live in her second uncle Zhang Guoxiang's house, but later found it inconvenient. It happened that there was an unused teacher dormitory at the No. 1 Middle School, so she moved back to the school. The students she taught were the first grade of junior high school. They were a group of half-grown naughty children and difficult to discipline. However, Zhang Xiaonan liked this job. At a very young age, she was determined to become a people's teacher.

Since the Zhang family moved to the city to open a fish meal shop, Zhang Xiaonan's personal life has gradually become richer besides teaching. After school, she often goes to Zhangji Qifengdu Fish Meal Shop. When there are many customers in the fish meal shop, she will help with some chores. When she is free, Zhang Yunfeng will accompany her for a walk, visit the park, chat, and talk about the past.

In fact, after living together for so many years, Zhang Xiaonan knows very well that in terms of feelings, this brother Yunfeng who grew up with her is a blockhead. He can't say anything and has no opinions of his own. He is very different from his brother Yunqi who is thoughtful and has a high emotional intelligence. It is estimated that people who don't know them will find it difficult to recognize that they are from the same mother. No matter what the matter is, Yunfeng will do whatever she tells him to do. But as a girl, there are some things and some barriers that she cannot take the initiative to speak up and break through.

However, even so, Zhang Xiaonan is already quite content. She never thought that Yunfeng would go to the city to work hard, and even near the school where she teaches! When she learned about this at the beginning of this year, she felt that a new chapter had opened in her life. Yunfeng, who never took the initiative to say anything, was already expressing this love with practical actions.

This is enough!

Zhang Xiaonan knew very well that it took a farmer who had never seen the world and had no connections to come to the city from a remote rural area to work hard. She still remembered that when Zhangji Qifengdu Fish Powder Shop just opened, Yunfeng had no experience in business for the first time. She was afraid that the business would be bad and something would happen, which would completely destroy the future she had been looking forward to in her heart. But the facts later proved that she had thought too much. Now Zhangji Qifengdu Fish Powder has opened chain stores in the No. 2 Middle School in the city. The business is booming. It is estimated that it will not be long before there will be a third, fourth, and fifth store... No one in Yunxi Village will look down on Yunfeng, including her father. This farmer proved with practical actions that he is not only a good farmer, but also a top-notch seller. This really made the villagers look at him sideways! Many young men who did not want to work in the fields and came out to work hard for their careers took him as an example.

Although Yunfeng was busy with his career, especially after the opening of the No. 2 Middle School store, the two had fewer opportunities to meet, but Zhang Xiaonan always felt content. She knew that everything was developing in a direction that she had never dared to hope for. However, she never expected that a stranger would suddenly break into her life at this time.

His name is Marin.

Ma Lin was introduced by her second uncle Zhang Guoxiang. It may not be accurate to say that they were introduced, because when they first met, it was actually an "accident". One day about two months ago, Zhang Xiaonan went to her second uncle Zhang Guoxiang's house for dinner, and Ma Lin and her mother happened to be there. At that time, Ma Lin's mother, a hospital director who was a little too enthusiastic, kept holding her hand and chatting, and her eyes looked her up and down repeatedly like a scanner.

Since then, the second aunt would invite her to dinner every now and then. Every time she went, Ma Lin "happened" to be there. Out of courtesy, Zhang Xiaonan was always polite to Ma Lin, talking about things she was not interested in. Later, in order to avoid Ma Lin, she simply stopped going to the second uncle's house. When the second aunt called, she said that she had too many things to do at school and couldn't go. But what she didn't expect was that Ma Lin would come directly to the school to find her. Every time he came, he would talk for a long time. Every time he left, he would ask her if she wanted to buy anything. She said no. In her heart, she was a little annoyed with this person. She was fed up with his submissive and unmanly appearance, which was not like a people's policeman at all, but she was embarrassed to express her disgust because his parents worked with her second uncle and aunt, and his mother was her second aunt's leader!

Compared with these helplessness, what makes Zhang Xiaonan even more anxious is that she clearly knows that this Ma Lin was arranged by her father through her second uncle Zhang Guoxiang. One weekend last month, she went back to Yunxi Village on vacation. She saw Ma Lin's car parked at the door far away from her home. Her face darkened at that time, but her father Zhang Guorui was very happy that day. He and her mother Li Jinfeng slaughtered chickens and ducks, just like it was Chinese New Year. Her father, who had quit drinking for many years, even dragged Ma Lin to drink several cups of local bayberry wine.

Since then, Ma Lin came to Yunxi Village every once in a while, and sometimes called her, but she said no. She really couldn't stand this man using her parents' feelings to force her, but Ma Lin didn't get angry and ran away alone with a thick face. At this time, she couldn't help but worry, afraid that Ma Lin would say some inappropriate words when he went home. However, in fact, Marin did not do so.

Zhang Guorui is old and has difficulty doing farm work and housework. His wife Li Jinfeng is ill all year round and he can't take care of her. The children are not around. The life of the two elderly people is not easy. Now with the "future son-in-law" Ma Lin, the life of the two elderly people seems to be bright and lively.

Every time Ma Lin went there, he not only carried large and small bags of things, but also rushed to do the work, such as fetching water, burning manure, feeding pigs, and cleaning the yard. When he had nothing to do, he would chat with the two old people and talk about things in the city. Ma Lin was a traffic policeman in the city. He was often outside and was knowledgeable. He could always find some interesting news that interested Zhang Guorui.

At that time, most people in Yunxi Village used firewood to cook and were reluctant to burn coal, which was only used for drying tobacco. Zhang Guorui was no exception. He was a man in his sixties and had to drag his rusty body to the town to collect firewood. Once he was met by Ma Lin, he drove his car to the town to drag a truck of coal and made coal balls without saying a word.

In the yard that day, Zhang Guorui looked at Ma Lin, who was shirtless and making coal briquettes under the scorching sun. This strong man from Yunxi Village felt an indescribable feeling in his heart and asked him, "How are you and Xiaonan getting along?"

Marin, sweating profusely, said with a smile: "Uncle, it's fine, it's fine."

Zhang Guorui sighed, rolled up the dry tobacco stick in his hand and stomped it under his shoe sole: "You always say this every time I ask you, why did Xiaonan never come back with you? What did she do wrong, tell me!" Ma Lin wiped his sweat, turned his head and said to Zhang Guorui: "Uncle, Xiaonan teaches in school and is also the head teacher. She is busy with work, taking care of so many children by herself. How can she have time if she doesn't have a holiday?"

Zhang Guorui looked at Ma Lin and suddenly didn't know how to speak, smoking his pipe sullenly. Although he was old and couldn't take care of many things, and couldn't remember many things clearly, always forgetting this and that, sometimes he didn't even know he had put on his socks backwards when he got up in the morning, but he couldn't help but worry about his daughter's lifelong event. What kind of girl Xiaonan was, he, as a father, knew better than anyone else!

This gave him a difficult problem to solve. He couldn't eat or sleep well during those days. After thinking it over, he felt that this would not work. Finally, he made up his mind to go to the city. No matter what, this time he was going to have a face-to-face talk with the kid from the Zhang family!
The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching.

The weather is getting cooler.

On Friday afternoon of this week, one day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Yunqi took advantage of the holiday to ask Ji Ling to go to the movies together in the evening. This girl was used to being alone and it was difficult to see her. However, Zhang Yunqi knew that Ji Ling often played badminton with Chu Jian in the gymnasium.

After school, Zhang Yunqi ran to Ji Ling's class. As expected, Ji Ling was still lingering in the classroom, fiddling with her guitar. This girl had studied music for a while during the summer vacation and was serious about it. She was going to take the music major exam and become an art student. Zhang Yunqi walked in and called her, saying that he would treat her to a movie in the evening.

"The sun rises from the west!" Ji Ling widened her eyes, with a few strands of bangs swaying in front of her, so beautiful that it made people tremble with fear.

Zhang Yunqi looked at Ji Ling like this and just smiled.

The two ran to the Ximen Street Cinema, which was the only cinema in Jiangchuan. It was not big and quite simple. Zhang Yunqi saw the poster of "Farewell My Concubine" at the door and decided to watch this movie. When buying the tickets, he thought about it and bought four tickets, two for tonight and the other two for the Mid-Autumn Festival tomorrow night.

After buying the movie tickets, there was still some time before the movie started, so Zhang Yunqi and Ji Ling strolled around Ximen Street, had dinner, bought a bucket of popcorn and two glasses of juice, and went into the cinema to watch a movie at the appointed time. Zhang Yunqi had seen the movie "Farewell My Concubine" several times in his previous life, and it was really touching. Many girls cried after watching it, but Ji Ling just lay on Zhang Yunqi's arm and ate popcorn nonchalantly.

When they came out of the cinema after watching the movie, it was almost eleven o'clock. Ji Ling didn't like staying up late. Once she did, she would feel listless and depressed. She walked in front of them carelessly, kicking stones with her hands in her pockets. Zhang Yunqi asked her, "What do you think of this movie?"

Ji Ling thought for a moment and said, "I only remember one sentence: the human world is just a face wiped clean of makeup."

Zhang Yunqi said: "It's quite profound. If I ask ten girls, nine of them will probably tell me that it's what Cheng Dieyi said: It's a lifetime! One year, one month, one day, one hour less, it doesn't count as a lifetime."

Ji Ling pouted: "This sentence is not a promise, it is a plea. What kind of relationship is it that needs to be pleaded? What's the point of such words?"

Zhang Yunqi thought it made sense and was surprised that a girl like Ji Ling could say such a thing, but it was quite consistent with her strong and proactive personality. However, he didn't say anything. He stopped a taxi on the side of the road to send her home and made an appointment to go out and play together during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

When Zhang Yunqi returned to his home, it was already early in the morning. His mother, elder brother Zhang Yunfeng, and two younger sisters were all asleep. Zhang Yunqi walked to the door of Zhang Yunfeng's bedroom and knocked, but there was no response, although his snoring was quite loud.

Fortunately, the bedroom door was not locked. Zhang Yunqi pushed the door open and walked in. Without waking up Zhang Yunfeng, he took out the two movie tickets for tomorrow night at 8:30 from his pocket and put them on the bedside table.

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(End of this chapter)