Chương 33: I'll write to you,

Comrade Zhou. Are you really going to buy fish at the market if you can't catch any? Zhou Yan pursed his lips, looking at Comrade Zhou, who was making quite a few small moves. It was a bit difficult for him to lie.

"Really good, this crucian carp is perfect for braised." Zhao Tieying picked up a crucian carp, nodding repeatedly, and looked at Zhou Miao, saying, "Then you should go fishing whenever you have time. I love eating fish, and Momo loves it too. Then our family can eat fish more often."

"This… that…" Zhou Miao hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Zhou Yan almost burst out laughing. It was clear that Comrade Zhou's savings were running low; it would be really difficult for him to buy two fish every day. Zhou Yan was thinking of secretly slipping him some money. Comrade Zhou had received plenty of help from Comrade Zhou in the past. [Ding! Side quest triggered: Initial investment in food supplier. The Air Force needs understanding and support to provide financial assistance to Zhou Miao, supporting him to suffocate for his passion!] 【 Task Reward: Agastache Crucian Carp Recipe】 【Accept: Yes/No】 A system task suddenly popped up. Good, good, good, the system is really brave, even the air force investor dares to take on this task. But of course he had to accept such a good task. He could even have agastache crucian carp tonight.

"Old man, kill these two crucian carp and the eel, you're good at this, we'll cook them for dinner." Zhou Yan chimed in, helping Old Zhou out of his predicament.

"Okay." Zhou Miao replied, carrying the crucian carp to the side. Zhou Yan then said to Zhao Tieying, "Mom, go pick some agastache leaves, shall we have agastache crucian carp tonight?"

"Okay, agastache crucian carp is delicious." Zhao Tieying went out and walked in the opposite direction. Zhou Yan picked up the small bucket of eels and followed Old Zhou.

"Slicing eels requires some skill, do you want to learn?" Zhou Miao threw the crucian carp into the bucket and grabbed an eel first. The slippery eel was caught between his two fingers, unable to escape no matter how much it twisted and turned.

"Learn, it's always good to have more skills," Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

"I'll learn to fish with you in a couple of days. This fish looks really good." Old Zhou paused, glanced in the direction Zhao Tieying had gone, and pondered, "Fish? They're not that easy to catch. I was lucky to catch one today. It doesn't happen every day."

"If you want the fish to come ashore, trade it for grain," Zhou Yan said with a smile, pulling out a large denomination bill and stuffing it into Zhou Miao's pocket.

"What?" Zhou Miao touched his pocket, looking at him with suspicion.

"Why are you giving me so much money?"

"Old man, don't I know your skill level?" Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"Today I sold 160 bowls of noodles and 100 bowls of braised beef. This is my personal donation for you to go to the market, so you can hold your head high in front of Mom later." Zhou Miao blushed, not expecting Zhou Yan to have noticed. He coughed twice and said, "Well... I just lost a big one, otherwise I wouldn't have needed to buy any."

"Hmm, I believe you'll catch one next time. It must be a problem with the hook, line, or rod. Go to town and get some better equipment when you have time." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile.

"I fully support your hobby. Anyway, you'll be fishing when you're old. Start fishing now and you'll avoid decades of detours." Old Zhou doesn't gamble or drink; what's wrong with liking to fish? Besides, he only goes fishing after finishing his work and arranging things at home, no more than four times a month.

"Why buy any equipment? A bent embroidery needle can be a fishing hook, a duck feather can be a float, dig up some earthworms, and you can fish with a bamboo pole—it's the same. Keep the money you earn safe and pay off your debts first." Zhou Miao shook his head, took out some money, and was about to hand it back to Zhou Yan.

"Keep it safe, or I'll tell my mom you bought these fish." Zhou Yan took a step back and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I can pay back the loan in two months, including the five hundred yuan you owe."

"This is your secret stash. I won't tell my mom; it's a secret between men." Zhou Miao held the large bill in his hand, looking at Zhou Yan with a complicated expression and mood. After a while, he nodded, "Okay, then I'll keep this money to buy fish."

"Then you go and clean the eels; I want to learn some techniques." Zhou Yan said, looking at him.

"Slicing eels is simple, just recite the rhyme." Old Zhou grabbed an eel, pressed it against a wooden board, hammered a nail into its head, took out a small knife, and chanted, "An eel with a yellow belly, a pointed head and a long tail, a nail in its head, and the knife sends you to meet the King of Hell..." In a few swift movements, five eels were killed. Zhou Yan understood, but he certainly couldn't do it so smoothly. Old Zhou's knife handling was too steady; he conceded defeat.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Zhou Momo's voice rang out. Zhou Yan turned around; Zhou Momo was running towards them, clutching a doll in her hand, with Xia Yao following behind.

"Look! The doll that Sister Yaoyao gave me!" Zhou Momo held up the blonde Barbie doll in her hand.

"Isn't it pretty?"

"Yes, it's pretty." Zhou Yan nodded with a smile, looking at Xia Yao and saying, "You've spent money again."

"I saw it at the Jiaozhou Department Store. It's so cute, so I thought I'd get one for Momo." Xia Yao smiled and said, "I can tell she likes it too."

"Yes, yes, I love it so much." Zhou Momo nodded.

"This is my first doll."

"Good girl, I'll get you another doll next time." Xia Yao patted her head.

"Yes, thank you, Sister Yaoyao." Zhou Momo said obediently, then took the doll to find Fanwa. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Are you going back to Shancheng tomorrow?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at her.

"Yes, the sketching trip is over, and we're going back to school." Xia Yao nodded. Zhou Yan wasn't good at saying goodbye and couldn't come up with sentimental words.

"You're staying at the factory guesthouse tonight, right? It's a bit far from here, how about I take you there?"

"No need, it's quite close on foot..."

"I'll go get the bike, it's getting dark, it's not safe for you to be alone as a girl." Zhou Yan turned and left, pushing the bicycle out of the shop, with three bags of rice candy hanging from the handlebars.

"Suji doesn't have many local specialties, these are rice candy, you can take them and eat them on the way." Zhou Yan handed the rice candy to Xia Yao.

"This... isn't that too much?" Xia Yao hugged the three bags of rice candy, a little bewildered.

"I also prepared some for your friends, you can share them with them." Zhou Yan got on the bike, "Get on."

"Okay." Xia Yao responded, sitting on the back seat, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned. He was quite thoughtful. The bicycle rode along the riverbank, the setting sun casting long shadows of the two of them. Xia Yao turned her head slightly, staring blankly at Zhou Yan's profile.

"After graduating from university, are you planning to go back to Hangzhou or stay in Chongqing?" Zhou Yan asked.

"Huh?" Xia Yao paused, then shook her head.

"I haven't decided yet. I might go back to Hangzhou, or I might go to Beijing."

"That's good. They're both big cities, suitable for designers like you," Zhou Yan nodded.

"What about you?"

"What?"

"Do you plan to open a restaurant in a big city someday? Like Chengdu?" Xia Yao suggested earnestly.

"I think your cooking is especially delicious. You'd have a better chance of success in Chengdu. Suji is nice, but it's a bit small."

"I don't know when I'll be able to go to Chengdu, but that day will come," Zhou Yan smiled slightly.

"Chengdu is big, but there's no place for me right now."

"You're a clear-headed and optimistic person," Xia Yao said thoughtfully. They rode their bicycles slowly, chatting about many things along the way—ideals, future plans, even literature and music. In this era without cell phones or the internet, the world after dark was silent, as if it had been switched off. A sense of loneliness was inevitable. Zhou Yan realized for the first time that he also had a desire to confide in others.

Communicating with peers was pleasant and gave him a more realistic feeling about the world. It felt like a drifting ship had finally found its anchor. Or perhaps it was because the other person was a beautiful girl? Xia Yao spoke eloquently, and many of her ideas transcended the constraints of her time, so modern that they surprised him. They weren't so different, except that he had a little more knowledge of the future. The bicycle slowly came to a stop in front of the guesthouse.

Xia Yao got off and smiled, "Thank you for bringing me back."

"You're welcome." Zhou Yan looked at her, then turned his bicycle around.

"Zhou Yan." Xia Yao took a step forward and called out to him.

"What?" Zhou Yan turned to look at her.

"I'll write to you." Xia Yao looked at him, her demeanor graceful, "I hope I'll receive a reply from you."

"Okay." Zhou Yan nodded and smiled, "Then remember to include your address." Xia Yao smiled and waved to him, "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Zhou Yan raised his hand slightly and pedaled away. Xia Yao watched him disappear around the corner before turning and entering the guesthouse. As Zhou Yan turned the corner, he almost bumped into someone.

"Brother Zhou! It's you! I was just about to come find you!" Ma Xingye grabbed Zhou Yan's arm, beaming.

"It's done?" Zhou Yan looked at the radiant Ma Xingye and asked with a smile.

"It's done! Deng Hong said she likes me too." Ma Xingye nodded, then stuffed an oil paper bag into Zhou Yan's hand.

"This is a little something from me. If you come to Chongqing to see Xia Yao, be sure to look me up. I'll take you to eat the best food in Chongqing."

"I'm really happy you two got together, but you don't need the gift..." Before Zhou Yan could finish speaking, Ma Xingye had already run off.

"Brother Zhou, be sure to call me when you come to Chongqing!"

"Okay, I'll definitely call you." Zhou Yan shook his head helplessly. The paper bag in his hand was heavy; it probably contained a glass bottle of cola. He tossed the bag into the car basket; getting back to the restaurant to cook was the most important thing.

"... Zhou Yan brought you back? Yao Yao, what were you two talking about at the door? We saw everything, confess and we'll be lenient."

"Oh my, he brought you so much food? He's so thoughtful!" As soon as Xia Yao opened the door, Deng Hong and Zhu Yuyu crowded around.

"This is for you, one bag each, rice candy, a specialty of Suzhou, from the best shop." Xia Yao put down the things and then gave each of them a bag of rice candy.

"Zhou Yan is really nice, he even thought of us." Zhu Yuyu exclaimed.

"Yes, he's very considerate, and he took good care of Yao Yao too." Deng Hong nodded in agreement, unwrapped a piece, took a bite, and looked at Xia Yao, saying, "So, did he confess?"

"Eat yours, we're still just friends." Xia Yao put her bag of rice candy into the box, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. Zhou Yan really was an interesting person. He was humorous, knowledgeable, and his imaginative ideas even amazed her. Although he was a chef, she felt they were no different. He was even more like an artist than she was.