The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 501 The Evil Beast (Part 8)

Qin Huai had originally wanted to see Luo Jun rant for a while, but unfortunately, Luo Jun's outburst was just too spectacular. Normally, Luo Jun would use this state to furiously berate Chen Huihong, but today the target of his rant was Qu Jing, and Luo Jun had taken it to a whole new level and height.

Although Qu Jing has been somewhat influenced by Chen Huihong recently, Qu Jing is fundamentally different from Chen Huihong, and their approaches to dealing with things are also different.

Qu Jing genuinely felt that Luo Jun was acting strangely. Despite Luo Jun's tirade, Qu Jing remained attentive to her patient as a doctor. Years of medical training and clinical experience had made Qu Jing's emotions extremely stable; she had reached the pinnacle of "you can yell all you want, I'll ask all you want," almost driving Luo Jun to the brink of collapse.

Although reluctant to part with such a wonderful storyline, Qin Huai was more eager to see Gong Liang's memories.

Qin Huai has now developed a problem where he feels uncomfortable if he doesn't look at his memories/dreams immediately after gaining them.

Seeing that Luo Jun was still passionately speaking with great energy, Qin Huai felt that Bi Fang wouldn't be angry for a while, so he got up to interrupt Luo Jun's crazy output: "Excuse me, I'm going to the restroom. Mr. Luo, please continue."

After saying that, Qin Huai quickly left.

The spirits present who had awakened clearly understood what Qin Huai's words meant. Seeing that their hard-earned performance had paid off, Luo Jun was no longer so angry and stopped scolding. Instead, he crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, raised his chin slightly, and stared at Qu Jing with a standard villainous expression and disdainful eyes.

Qu Jing: ...

The little bird didn't understand, but it didn't speak.

Seeing that Luo Jun had stopped cursing, Gong Liang quickly tried to mediate: "Mr. Luo, please calm down. At your age, don't get angry so easily; it's really bad for your health. Have some tea to calm down. What kind of tea would you like? I'll get it for you."

Luo Jun glanced at Gong Liang, then stopped acting and said in a tone that said, "You should also keep quiet. You'll only have 5 minutes at most. If things go well, you'll be the next one to get scolded."

Gong Liang: ?
Even the top sales champion, Gong Liang, felt a bit lost at this moment.

Gong Liang thought: The rumors were indeed true; Mr. Luo was indeed eccentric.

But his temper is a bit too strange, and he says things that are hard to understand.

Qin Huai, inside the restroom, paid no attention to the commotion outside. He knew that from the moment he stood up, everyone present would be waiting for his return; time was of the essence, and the task was urgent. Qin Huai immediately opened the game panel, selected [Gong Liang's Memory], and then chose Yes.

[Loading memories—]
"Corn, freshly boiled corn, still warm, fragrant and sticky!"

"Tea eggs, fresh and flavorful tea eggs!"

"Roasted sweet potatoes, sweet, delicious, cheap, and filling!"

The first thing you see is a bustling train station.

All sorts of vendors crowded onto the platform, selling food to passengers still on the train. Passengers getting on and off the train were packed together, some with children, some carrying luggage, and some separated from their companions...

The noise, clamor, hawking, crying, and shouting all blended together into an indistinguishable cacophony. Qin Huai looked around for a while before finally spotting Gong Liang, who was dragging two large snakeskin bags as he squeezed off the train in the crowd.

Surprisingly, Gong Liang is quite strong.

Dragging two large snakeskin bags, Gong Liang squeezed out of the train station and found Section Chief Chen, who had come to pick him up, at the exit. Compared to the Section Chief Chen that Qin Huai had seen in Gong Liang's memory last time, this Section Chief Chen was obviously a few years older. Not only were there more wrinkles on his face, but his black hair was also starting to be mixed with sparse white hairs. However, he looked much more energetic, which showed that he had been living a good life in recent years.

"Section Chief Chen, what brings you here?" Gong Liang was pleasantly surprised to see Section Chief Chen, clearly not expecting anyone to come to the train station to pick him up.

Section Chief Chen chuckled and said, "You're retired now, just call me Old Chen. You're the section chief now, Xiao Gong. I've heard that you went to Qiongzhou all by yourself and closed a huge deal. I'm retired and have nothing to do, so I came to pick you up at the train station when I heard you were coming back today. Qiongzhou is an island, and it's far away. You must have had a lot of trouble on the way, right?"

Gong Liang gave a naive smile, like a new employee: "It was a bit of a hassle. I took a train and then a boat. I was sick for several days as soon as I arrived in Qiongzhou. I was so delirious in the hospital that I missed the agreed time. I thought the trip was a waste, but when the other party's boss heard that I had come all the way from Suzhou, he was considerate of my hard journey and specially extended the deadline and waited for me for a few more days before we were able to close the deal."

"Section Chief Chen, guess what I bought back from Qiongzhou this time?"

"What?" Section Chief Chen asked cooperatively, his gaze falling on the two large snakeskin bags that Gong Liang was dragging.

"coconut!"

"What is a coconut?" Section Chief Chen asked.

“There’s a kind of fruit in Qiongzhou that you can drink. After drinking the coconut water, you can eat the coconut meat. You can also press oil out of the coconut meat. And the coconut shell can be cleaned and used as a bowl for children.”

Section Chief Chen chuckled: "Oh, there's such a good thing. It's a pity I retired last year, otherwise I would have definitely gone to Qiongzhou with you to see it for myself."

Gong Liang untied the rope sealing the snakeskin bag, revealing a bag full of coconuts inside: "No need to go to Qiongzhou, I specially brought these back for everyone. I asked, these coconuts can be kept for a while, we can eat them in the next day or two, they won't spoil."

As Gong Liang spoke, he took two coconuts out of the snakeskin bag and handed them to Section Chief Chen: "Section Chief Chen, these coconuts are hard. There's a technique to opening them. I'll teach you how to open a coconut when we get back."

"Let's go."

Gong Liang waved his hand and gasped for breath: "I can't go. These coconuts are full of water and too heavy. Just dragging these two sacks of coconuts off the train almost killed me. I called someone to pick me up a few days ago. Let's wait for them to arrive."

"You little brat, you look down on me, a retired old man, don't you? Haven't you heard? Before I joined the sales department, I was a porter unloading goods at the factory. All I had was strength. Two bags of fruit..." As he spoke, Section Chief Chen took two bags of coconuts from Gong Liang and was about to lift them up to prove that he was still as sharp as ever.

As soon as he picked up a bag, Section Chief Chen silently put it down.

“At this age, you can’t do heavy physical work. Have you heard about Old Li from logistics? Last week, he insisted on moving a bed at home and strained his back. He ended up in the hospital and I heard he needs surgery. It’s both hard and a waste of money. Xiao Gong, how many people did you call? It won’t be possible to move this back without three or four people.”

Gong Liang laughed heartily.

Gong Liang and Section Chief Chen waited at the train station for seven or eight minutes before the people carrying the coconuts arrived.

Zheng Da, Huang Shengli, and several neighbors carried the two sacks of coconuts. They were heavy, but with many people sharing the load, they could manage. Zheng Da didn't quite understand why Gong Liang had traveled such a long way by boat and train to bring back two sacks of hard-shelled fruit. He complained as he carried them:
"Gong Liang, what were you thinking? When other people come back from outside, they bring a radio or a TV, or at the very least, a couple of changes of clothes. But you, you brought back two sacks of fruit."

Gong Liang rolled his eyes in annoyance: "I'm not going to Guangdong to get you a radio. You should be grateful for the coconuts. Have you ever seen a coconut? Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Are you going home to eat it or coming to my house?"

“Let’s eat at your place.” Zheng Da said without hesitation. “I’m a full-fledged chef now, and I’m a pastry chef. The state-run restaurant will be selling fresh meat mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. I don’t have time to go home for dinner. Besides, my family won’t wait for me to come home for dinner. They don’t wait for me during the Spring Festival, let alone the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

"Even if they leave me some food, they won't leave me anything good. I'd be lucky if they left me some broth from the braised pork to mix with my rice." "...If you had stolen fewer of the grain coupons, sugar coupons, and cloth coupons from home a few years ago, your parents might have been willing to leave you a couple of pieces of meat."

"How can taking things from home be considered stealing?"

Huang Shengli, who had been silently carrying coconuts, finally couldn't help but say to Zheng Da after listening to Gong Liang and Zheng Da's conversation the whole way: "Zheng Da, you can talk, but can't you do something? You haven't even put your hands on the sacks!"

Zheng Da chuckled and stopped slacking off to get to work.

Section Chief Chen, who was holding two large coconuts in his arms, was genuinely happy to see the young people laughing and joking. He only joined in the conversation after Gong Liang finished talking.

Through their more substantial conversation, Qin Huai roughly pieced together a timeline. This was the point in time when Gong Liang was about to reach his first peak after experiencing a low point in his life.

Last year, Gong Liang completed two major life events: a promotion and a wedding. His father's condition also improved. He went from being completely paralyzed in bed to being able to occasionally get out of bed and take a few steps. He is still not completely able to take care of himself, but it is much better than before.

After Gong Liang and Guo Mingzhu got married, they did not move out. In those days, housing was scarce, and living at home was better than living in the company dormitory. Gong Liang and Guo Mingzhu were an only child, which was very rare in this era, so living at home was more spacious.

Due to the nature of his work, Gong Liang spends eight out of the year traveling for business. Newlyweds seeing each other so often should theoretically lead to significant family conflicts, but Guo Mingzhu was at the peak of her career. As a dancer, Guo Mingzhu was currently in her prime, and although married, she didn't want to have children too early. Gong Liang's frequent business trips suited her perfectly.

Gong Liang's parents were not in a hurry to have a child. Gong's father was in a critical period of recovery, and Gong's mother focused all her energy on him. If Guo Mingzhu were to get pregnant and give birth at this time, the elderly couple would not have time to take care of the child.

Guo Mingzhu's parents doted on their daughter. Since she didn't want to have children so early, and her husband and in-laws weren't in a hurry either, they were happy to accept it. Plus, when Gong Liang wasn't in Suzhou, Guo Mingzhu would come home to stay, so her parents were too happy to even think about pressuring her to have children.

This amazing couple lived a leisurely life that young couples could only enjoy decades later.

After listening, Section Chief Chen couldn't help but marvel: "I was wondering why you two had been dating for so many years, since you got married last year, and Mingzhu hasn't shown any signs of pregnancy, and neither of your families is in a hurry. I was even thinking that maybe one of you two has a health problem, and I was thinking of introducing you to a doctor."

"These young people nowadays are really hard to understand," Section Chief Chen shook his head.

Gong Liang said with a smile, "It's mainly my fault. I'm always traveling for work all year round. My mother also told me to stay at home more, but I just became a section chief. You and Deputy Factory Director Li recommended me to the leadership against all odds, and I don't want to let you down. I have to achieve something."

"You……"

While Gong Liang and Section Chief Chen were chatting, Qin Huai noticed that Zheng Da kept giving Huang Shengli meaningful glances, seemingly trying to send some signal. However, Huang Shengli completely ignored Zheng Da and focused solely on moving coconuts. This led a young man who was also moving coconuts to ask Zheng Da if his eyelids were twitching, which angered Zheng Da so much that he didn't say a word to Huang Shengli the entire way.

The train station wasn't too far from Gong Liang's home. After arriving home, Gong Liang reminded the others not to forget to come to his house that evening to pick up the coconuts. In addition to the coconuts, he had also brought some other Hainan specialties, which he would share with everyone later.

Gong's mother was cleaning the house when she saw Gong Liang return. She greeted him with a smile and first looked at the coconut with great curiosity for a long time. She even tapped the coconut on the ground to make sure it was hard before putting it back in the sack and taking out the coal stove to boil water for Gong Liang.

For Gong's mother, these novelties she had never seen before, even the fruit, were precious. If they were bumped or damaged, it would be a waste of money, so she would avoid touching them if possible.

"Xiao Liang, Mingzhu hasn't gotten off work yet. Don't forget to pick her up later. You've been away in Qiongzhou for over a month. There are some pastries Master Jing made recently in the cupboard. Take them to pick up Mingzhu and say some nice things to her. Mom has already tidied up your rooms. We'll have braised pork and chestnut chicken for dinner tonight," said Gong's mother, beaming. "Tomorrow night we'll go to the state-run restaurant for dinner."

"Go to a state-run restaurant?" Gong Liang was somewhat surprised. "Even for the Mid-Autumn Festival... there's no need to go to a state-run restaurant, is there?"

“Master Jing is treating us,” Gong’s mother said. “Didn’t Zheng Da and Shengli pick you up at the train station? They didn’t tell you that Master Jing has retired.”

"Master Jing has retired?!" Gong Liang exclaimed in surprise. "Why would he suddenly retire? Didn't Master Jing say during the New Year that he wanted to work for another two years before retiring?"

"It happened about two weeks ago. About two weeks ago, Master Jing caught a minor cold. It wasn't anything serious at first, but he coughed for about 10 days without getting better. Later, when he went to the hospital, the doctor said it was because he had been staying in the kitchen for too long, which was bad for his throat or something. Now that Shengli and Zheng Da have been promoted, they advised Master Jing to retire early and take good care of his health at home, so Master Jing retired early."

"But I haven't completely retired. I still go to state-run restaurants every day during this period, but I don't cook much anymore."

"Master Jing said that he has worked as a chef in the state-run restaurant for so many years, always alone, and has received a lot of help from his neighbors over the years. Now that he is retired, he wants to gather all the neighbors together and treat everyone to a reunion dinner at the state-run restaurant."

“We should have had this meal half a month ago, but you’ve been in Qiongzhou and haven’t come back. Master Jing said we’d have another meal when you got back. Four days ago you called home and said you’d be home today. It just so happens that tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, so we decided to have it tomorrow.”

"I thought Zheng Da and Shengli would talk to you about this. What did you two talk about on the way back? If you ask me, Zheng Da is not young anymore. Now that he has a permanent job, he should find a girlfriend and settle down instead of being so irresponsible all the time."

"You have no idea how much people have complained about Zheng Da's fermented rice buns lately. You should try to comfort him when you have time. He's a pretty optimistic kid, don't let him get depressed from all the criticism."

From the moment Gong Liang returned home, his mother chattered incessantly, a stark contrast to her previous quiet, sighing, and gloomy demeanor. Qin Huai only now realized that Gong's mother was a real chatterbox.

Indeed, a silent couple cannot raise a talkative, top-performing salesperson.

"I understand, Mom." Compared to his mother at this moment, Gong Liang seemed so taciturn.

Just as Gong Liang finished speaking, Zheng Da's chattering voice came from outside the door: "Gong Liang, my master asked me to bring you some freshly baked meat mooncakes. Could you open one of the coconuts you brought back? I just asked my master, and he said he's eaten fresh coconuts before, and the coconut water is quite delicious. Let me have a couple of sips first, I have to go to work right away."

The door to Gong Liang's house was ajar. Zheng Da pushed it open with a gentle push and walked in casually. He said nonchalantly, "Oh, right, there's another good news I forgot to tell you."

"My master is officially retiring tomorrow and is treating everyone to a meal. This Mid-Autumn Festival, I don't need to come to your house for a free meal; it's your turn to eat at our state-run restaurant and try my fresh meat mooncakes!"

"Oh." Gong Liang remained unmoved.

Zheng Da was stunned for a moment, then became furious: "You know? You actually know about something so important? I told them a thousand times not to tell you this beforehand, that I had to tell you. Who told you? Was it Huang Shengli? I knew he would tell you secretly. Did he just steal it? I'm going to find him!"

Zheng Da rolled up his sleeves and stormed out, refusing to drink his coconut. As he ran, he muttered, "I've eaten at your house for so many Mid-Autumn Festivals, and it's only your turn to eat here once in a long time, and I wasn't even the one to ask first! This is too much..."

Gong's mother: ...

"Old Gong, the sun is shining brightly outside today. Why don't I push you outside for a walk?" Gong's mother lied through her teeth, looking at the overcast sky outside. "And while we're at it, let's take a couple of coconuts to Zheng Da."

"That kid is really something, always rushing around. He just said he wanted a coconut, but he didn't even stay inside for two seconds, and left without even glancing at the coconut."

"Let's go deliver coconuts to Zheng Da."

(End of this chapter)