Volume One, Chapter Fifteen: Yangtze 750

“Where’s Deputy County Chief Zhou? Is he up yet?” Zhang Shengli asked.

“He’s been up for a while, reading documents. Every weekend when he comes home, he has to meet a lot of people and handle many matters. There’s no time for him to sleep in,” Zhou Ling replied with a smile. “Come inside quickly, let’s have breakfast together!”

“Alright.” Zhang Shengli entered the house and saw Zhou Yun dressed in a sweater with a coat draped over his shoulders, sitting on the sofa in the living room, engrossed in paperwork.

Seeing Zhang Shengli come in, Zhou Yun smiled, “Xiao Zhang, you’re up? How did you sleep last night?”

“I slept well,” Zhang Shengli nodded with a smile.

Zhou Ling sliced up a honeydew melon and brought over a plate of steamed buns, saying, “Let’s have honeydew melon and buns for breakfast today!”

“Good. After you finish eating, hurry up and go register. There’ll probably be a lot of people, so don’t waste time,” Zhou Yun nodded.

After a simple breakfast, Zhou Ling pushed out a Forever bicycle and had Zhang Shengli ride it, carrying her along to the Shacheng County Education Bureau.

Since most people registering for the correspondence exam were working adults, the Education Bureau worked overtime on weekends to make registration easier.

Zhang Shengli and Zhou Ling entered the registration office to find it packed with people, but only two female staff members were on duty.

As Zhou Ling stepped forward to ask a question, one of the women snapped irritably, “What are you crowding for? Go queue up in the back!”

“You…” Zhou Ling glared at the staff member, then pulled Zhang Shengli out of the office.

“Why are you leaving again? Let’s just queue up in the back,” Zhang Shengli said.

“Queue up? Come on, I’ll take you to see Uncle Liu!”

Zhou Ling dragged Zhang Shengli to the Education Bureau director’s office, knocked casually, and pushed the door open.

“Lingzi? What brings you here? You haven’t visited me in ages!” A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair hurriedly got up from his desk, greeting them warmly.

“Hello, Uncle Liu! I’ve been interning in Qinghu Township lately, only home for a day on weekends. My mom grabs me for laundry and cooking, so I haven’t had time to visit you!” Zhou Ling laughed.

“Ah, you’re a grown girl now, earning a salary!” The man smiled and looked at Zhang Shengli, frowning slightly, “And this young man is…”

“He’s my friend. He wants to register for the correspondence secondary school exam. I just went to the office and hadn’t even spoken before your staff scolded me!” Zhou Ling said, annoyed.

“Haha, you’re still so fiery, even at work…” The man chuckled, “It’s the weekend, and they’re working overtime, so they’re in a bad mood. They don’t even smile at me, let alone you!”

“We’re from Qinghu Township, it’s not easy to come here. If we queue all day and don’t get it done, who knows if we can come next weekend,” Zhou Ling pouted.

“Uncle Liu, you’re the director—can’t you help me with such a small favor?” she pleaded.

“You little rascal, you’re testing me, huh? Fine, I’ll go talk to them and get you sorted first!”

The man got up, leading Zhou Ling and Zhang Shengli back to the registration office. He said to the staff, “Xiao Cui, these two are from Qinghu Township. It’s a long journey, and they need to return in the afternoon. Register them first.”

“Oh, yes, of course!” The woman’s face brightened immediately. She turned to Zhou Ling, “Got all your documents?”

“Prepared ages ago!” Zhou Ling replied, annoyed, retrieving the paperwork from Zhang Shengli’s satchel and tossing it onto the desk.

“Alright, I’ll process it right away!” The staff member smiled awkwardly and swiftly completed the registration, filling out the admission ticket for Zhang Shengli.

Zhou Ling triumphantly put away the ticket and smiled at the middle-aged man, “Uncle Liu, it’s all done. Thank you!”

“You little troublemaker, you need to work on your temper, or you’ll never get married,” he joked.

“Great, you always tease me!” Zhou Ling blushed and smiled coyly, glancing at Zhang Shengli before saying, “We’ll be off now. I’ll visit you again soon!”

“Alright, give my regards to your parents,” he waved them off and returned to his office.

Outside the Education Bureau, Zhang Shengli finally asked, “What’s Director Liu’s full name? Is he close to your family?”

“Uncle Liu’s name is Liu Shan. He and my dad were classmates at Lanzhou University after the college entrance exam resumed, and they’re best friends…” Zhou Ling paused, “His son works at the Public Security Bureau and often visits our house.”

“Oh…” Zhang Shengli pondered, picking up on Zhou Ling’s implication and finally understanding her subtle intentions.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to the market!” Zhou Ling pulled Zhang Shengli along, riding to the South Street market in Shacheng.

It was the weekend, and the market bustled with crowds. Stalls lined the streets, selling food, sundries, and there were even monkey shows and street performers…

Whether from the city or countryside, everyone had a bit of spare cash now, so they wandered the market, snacking, buying daily necessities, and enjoying the lively atmosphere.

Ten years had passed since the reforms, and even this remote county in the northwest had undergone dramatic change.

Zhou Ling bought two popcorn sticks at the entrance and shared them with Zhang Shengli, then stopped at a stall selling liangpi noodles.

“Xiao Zhou, you’re here? Come, take a seat!” The woman selling liangpi greeted Zhou Ling warmly.

“We just had honeydew and buns for breakfast, and lunch isn’t far off. Let’s skip the liangpi,” Zhang Shengli suggested.

“This is the best Tian family liangpi in Shacheng. I come every week for a bowl. You have to try it!” Zhou Ling insisted.

She sat Zhang Shengli down and said to the vendor, “Aunt Tian, two bowls of liangpi as usual, extra chili and vinegar!”

“Coming right up!” The woman grinned and generously loaded two bowls with liangpi, topping them with plenty of vinegar and chili oil, handing them to Zhou Ling and Zhang Shengli.

Zhang Shengli noticed his portion was much larger than everyone else’s.

The taste was indeed tangy and delicious.

After eating, they watched a monkey performance for a while. As noon approached, Zhou Ling bought some groceries, and the two rode home.

At the door, they saw a “Changjiang 750” sidecar motorcycle parked outside.

The vehicle was painted blue and white, with the Public Security insignia on it, radiating authority.

A tall, sturdy young man was unloading a large bag of vegetables from the sidecar.

“Dapeng, why aren’t you patrolling the streets? What are you doing here?” Zhou Ling asked, sounding a bit impatient.

“My mom called and said Aunt Su is working overtime today, so she asked me to help you cook for Uncle Zhou!” The young man replied with a friendly grin, carrying the groceries.

“What do you know about cooking? We have a master chef today!” Zhou Ling laughed.

“Master chef? Where?” The young man was puzzled.

“Right here, under your nose!” Zhou Ling pulled Zhang Shengli over and smiled, “This is Zhang Shengli, the culinary master from Qinghu Township government. His cooking is superb. He came with my dad yesterday and is staying at our house!”

“Uh…” The young man eyed Zhang Shengli suspiciously.

Zhang Shengli stared back, bewildered.

“He’s Liu Dapeng, Uncle Liu’s son from the Education Bureau this morning, the one I mentioned,” Zhou Ling explained to Zhang Shengli.

“Oh…” The sensitive Zhang Shengli frowned.

The relationship between the Zhou and Liu families was exceptional. Su Qiong had called Liu Dapeng’s mother, asking him to help Zhou Ling cook. The intention was clear: to remind Liu Dapeng to pay attention to Zhou Ling’s relationship with Zhang Shengli.

Liu Dapeng was extremely attentive to Zhou Ling and clearly liked her very much.

But Zhou Ling insisted on bringing Zhang Shengli to town to register, as if to announce to everyone that she had found someone she liked, gently turning down Liu Dapeng.

Zhou Ling appeared carefree, but her thoughts were meticulous.

Her world was clearly not one that Zhang Shengli, the rural bumpkin, could easily enter.