Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 99 Party
Yan Hui put his jacket back on.

This outfit is cold in Northeast China this season, but hot in Southern Fujian. But Yan Hui doesn't care about that; he has to wear such an expensive outfit no matter where he is.

Around 11 a.m., Yan Hui and Lao San each rode a motorcycle, taking Lao Er and Lao Da with them, and arrived at the entrance of Sun Kai's restaurant.

The motorcycle Yan Hui was riding wasn't his second uncle's Jialing motorcycle at all; it was a Suzuki GS125 borrowed from his eldest uncle's family. His eldest uncle's family had stopped pursuing motorcycles; this 125 was their only option. Of course, his eldest uncle's family also had two cars, but Yan Hui simply couldn't drive them.

If it could have been opened, it would have been opened long ago.

A red Suzuki motorcycle was the coolest thing to ride in those days. As soon as Yan Hui's motorcycle stopped at the door, Chang Mingchao, Sun Kai and others gathered around to watch.

"Your village is really impressive. I think you even have a Suzuki 250 in your village now?" Sun Kai's family runs a restaurant, so he has seen all kinds of motorcycles.

The side of the vehicle says "GS125", so you can tell the model at a glance.

"Yes, but driving a car is still the best way to get a driver's license these days. I'll try to get one next year or the year after," Yan Hui said, following Sun Kai's lead and starting to boast.

"You're no problem! You're the best among the classmates. Hey! Liu Yu, you're here!" Sun Kai said, seeing the girls at the door, and immediately greeted them.

When Yan Hui heard the name, his heart skipped a beat, his smugness vanished instantly, and he even stiffened as he turned around.

But as soon as he turned around and saw the familiar figure, Yan Hui immediately returned to normal: "It really is! Everyone's here too!"

When Liu Yu arrived, the first person he saw was not Yan Hui, but the second son, Yan Yongkang.

Following Liu Yu's gaze, Yan Hui also looked at the second brother, only to find that the second brother's expression was very calm, and Liu Yu was equally calm, as if nothing had happened.

Seeing that Yan Hui was looking at Yan Yongkang and herself, Liu Yu glanced at Yan Hui, greeted him, and then went into the house with a few girls.

Today's gathering includes lunch and dinner. In the afternoon, everyone plans to play cards and games, and a few boys are planning to go out for a motorcycle ride.

A dozen or so people arrived at noon. They moved two square tables together and sat very close to each other.

Whether it was arranged by someone or not, after Yan Hui sat down, he found that the boss was sitting to his left and Liu Yu was sitting to his right.

As soon as Yan Hui sat down, he noticed his second brother winking at him, and he immediately understood what was going on. It was obvious that his second brother had arranged the seat.

Sun Kai's family must have made preparations in advance, because as soon as the students sat down, four or five dishes were served.

"Let me make this clear first," Sun Kai stood up, "Today's meal wasn't on my behalf. It was arranged by several of our classmates who have started their own businesses! We must thank them! I contributed 50 yuan, Chang Mingchao 50, Yan Yongkang 100, and Yan Hui 200 yuan! Thank you all!"

In southern Fujian, large-scale events such as road and bridge construction or ancestral hall renovations always have donation lists, and many of these lists are even engraved on steles. While people may not be as sophisticated as some others, they've still managed to imitate this practice quite well.

After Sun Kai finished speaking, everyone immediately started clapping, and then everyone's attention was focused on Yan Hui.

"I heard that Yan Hui rode a Suzuki King when he came today!" a classmate exclaimed.

"Didn't you see they're even carrying pagers? They're definitely heading up north to make their fortune!" The second son chimed in at the opportune moment.

Yan Hui is a low-key person. This time, he only borrowed a pager from his cousin. He had originally planned to borrow a mobile phone from his family!
Borrowing a pager isn't a problem; Yan Hui isn't local, and pagers can't be used for cross-province calls, so he can easily decline if someone asks for his number. But a mobile phone is a different story; if he gives that number to someone else, it'll be awkward if his classmates call.

"Pagers? Those things are so expensive! I couldn't even save up for one after working for half a year." "Pagers are alright," another classmate who had a pager showed off his pager at the right time, "You have to have one to do business, there's no other way."

"Yeah, there's nothing we can do." Yan Hui shook his head slightly, glancing at his classmate with the pager. Neither of them actively asked for the other's number, and Yan Hui roughly understood that his classmate had borrowed it too.
The pager he used to hit the eldest son of the Xiao family was probably borrowed.

"Haha, it's all good news!" Sun Kai was good at livening up the atmosphere. "Come on, pour some wine, come on, come on."

The girls mostly don't drink alcohol; they drink soda instead. Yan Hui, who had quit drinking long ago, also took a bottle of soda.

"Don't you drink?" Liu Yu asked Yan Hui for the first time.

“I drank too much and ended up in the hospital once back in Fengtian, and I’ve quit ever since,” Yan Hui said, picking up Liu Yu’s cup and pouring her a glass.

Two and a half years after graduation, Liu Yu has hardly changed; she is still the same as before.

Liu Yu always sports a single ponytail hairstyle, with all her hair tied back without any bangs. Despite this, her skin and face shape are excellent, allowing her to easily pull off this hairstyle. She looks very energetic, and her smile radiates youthful vitality.

"Thank you," Liu Yu said, bringing the cup to her side and taking a sip.

Yan Hui poured himself a drink and took a sip; it tasted really sweet!

Soda, isn't that a million times better than beer?
"Yan Hui, you've been in Fengtian for two years now, right? How's it going there? I heard Fengtian is a big city!" To Liu Yu's right sat another female classmate named Liu Qiaoqiao, who had a pretty good relationship with Yan Hui back in school.

"Fengtian? It's fine anywhere there, but it's too cold in winter, minus twenty degrees Celsius. Once it snows, it's difficult to go anywhere." Yan Hui described to everyone how cold it was there, but many people couldn't understand at all.

"Snowing?" Liu Yu asked curiously. "Will there really be such heavy snow? And is the ice cream in Fengtian that you mentioned particularly cheap?"

"Yes, people sell popsicles and ice cream in winter, but I've only ever bought them in the summer." Yan Hui had actually seen ice cream sold in winter; there were some near Factory 724, sold directly on the street.

"Does anyone still eat ice cream when it's so cold?" Liu Yu asked, somewhat skeptical.

"Families with heating eat at home." Yan Hui is quite knowledgeable.

"Snowing." Liu Yu said with a hint of envy, "I've never seen snow before."

"You can come visit me anytime you have time. It snows heavily here every winter!" At this point, Yan Hui was no longer concerned about whether he was in Fengtian or not.

How far is it?

Liu Yu was somewhat tempted.

“It takes two days by train, but you can take a plane, it only takes three hours. It departs from Gaoqi Airport!” Yan Hui himself had never flown before, but if Liu Yu wanted to go, he was willing to buy a plane ticket right now!

"Oh? You've even flown on an airplane!" Liu Qiaoqiao exclaimed with even more envy. "Yan Hui, you can't be biased! I want to fly on an airplane too!"

"Haha, hahaha." Yan Hui picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and gave it to Liu Qiaoqiao. "Eat, eat."

(End of this chapter)