Chapter 123: That Subtle Fragrance

At this moment, the canteen staff member served the worker behind Liu Yanran. It wasn’t that the portion was small, but compared to what Liu Yanran had received, the difference was staggering.

The woman behind her immediately started shouting at the service window, "What is the meaning of this? We have the same meal tickets and ordered the same dishes. How come you give her such a large portion and give me so little? What, do you think I’m not as pretty as her? Where is your supervisor? Get him out here! I want to settle this right now!"

Zhou Da, hearing the commotion, hurried out and quickly handled the situation. He was well-versed in such matters, having dealt with them many times before. The rest of the queue continued to move forward.

Watching this scene, Xiao Weiguo thought to himself that Zhou Da was a man worth knowing. He had asked him to serve Liu Yanran a little extra, and he had truly delivered. From now on, the First Canteen would be his top priority for purchasing supplies.

It was well known that there was fierce competition between the factory’s canteens. If one canteen consistently failed to satisfy the workers' palates, there would inevitably be trouble. The current mantra was that everyone was equal; in theory, a lowly worker held the same status as the factory director, and any worker could speak up about factory affairs. Therefore, if the First Canteen managed to procure good ingredients, it could naturally allocate more of them to provide the workers with more meat dishes, thereby boosting satisfaction.

Lunch that day consisted of stir-fried spinach, celery stewed with pork cracklings, and steamed buns made from a blend of flour. As Xiao Weiguo was carrying his meal and looking for a table, he saw Liu Yanran eating alone. He walked over and asked, "Yanran, why are you sitting here by yourself?"

Liu Yanran looked up, and upon seeing Xiao Weiguo, her face flushed red. She had been feeling a whirlwind of emotions lately, and her mind was a mess. She had never spent time with a man her own age before, and no one had ever taught her how to handle such situations.

"The two girls I work with are on the mid-shift and night-shift today. I’m on the day shift, so I’m eating alone," she explained. "I’ve finished washing your clothes; I’ll bring them to you in a bit."

Xiao Weiguo sat down with Yi Xiaohe on the other side and began to eat. Hearing this, he remembered he still had a set of clothes with her. He wondered where the young girl found the courage to wash a man’s clothes in the dormitory. It would surely invite endless gossip and prying from her roommates and fellow female workers.

"That’s great, thank you for the trouble."

After this exchange, the two fell silent, and the conversation hit a dead end. Yi Xiaohe watched them, his eyes filled with irrepressible curiosity. His intuition told him that something was definitely going on between them, and he decided he would gossip about it to Sister Ling later.

After finishing his meal, Liu Yanran told Xiao Weiguo to wait for her and hurried off toward the residential area. Xiao Weiguo had Yi Xiaohe take his lunchbox back to the office while he followed her. The distance to the residential area was not short, and he worried she would wear herself out running back and forth. This girl was truly too earnest.

Following her into the female dormitory area, he had to admit that the textile factory’s living quarters were well-built, with excellent facilities and landscaping—basically on par with some of the residential communities of the future. From time to time, groups of female workers could be seen strolling and chatting; they were likely the ones on the mid-shift and night-shift.

Xiao Weiguo spotted Liu Yanran rushing out with a parcel and quickly intercepted her. "Yanran, I followed you here. Don't run so fast; you'll make yourself sick."

Seeing Xiao Weiguo, Liu Yanran stepped forward shyly, handed him the clothes, and said, "I have to get to work now. There isn't much time left in the lunch break."

Suddenly, a window in the dormitory building where Liu Yanran lived erupted with noise. Looking up, he saw several heads frantically peering in their direction. The sounds reached Liu Yanran’s ears, turning her face bright red. Xiao Weiguo saw them too, but he didn't mind. "Don't rush," he said, "let me walk you over."

They walked slowly toward the factory area, chatting about work. After watching Liu Yanran enter the workshop, Xiao Weiguo returned to the office with the clothes. He was immediately surrounded by Yi Xiaohe, who started prying for gossip, but Xiao Weiguo brushed him off with a few words.

In his heart, it was just a regular, friendly colleague relationship. Why did everyone else assume that whenever a single man and woman got together, something scandalous had to be happening? He supposed it was the era—a time when people could be introduced in the morning and married by the next day. Sometimes, with a single command from the organization, two strangers would be married on the spot.

He realized he would have to be more careful in the future. He didn't personally care, but he didn't want to affect Liu Yanran’s reputation. Until things were truly settled, it was better to be cautious.

Since he had gotten his clothes dirty while moving pigs earlier, he decided to change. He found an empty room, locked the door, and quickly changed. Ah, the feeling of fresh clothes was wonderful, and a faint, pleasant fragrance drifted into his nose—it smelled lovely.

It was the same scent he associated with Liu Yanran—a bit enchanting.

There wasn't much going on in the factory that afternoon, so Xiao Weiguo decided to head home early. He thought he might find some time to visit Old Man Yang Mo-guang; he still had a pig he intended to handle through that connection.

Coincidentally, as he was nearing home, he bumped into Zhou Xiaoming on the street—the young man he had helped sell goods at the black market last time. He had previously considered testing him.

Upon seeing Xiao Weiguo, Zhou Xiaoming was thrilled. He ran over and blocked Xiao Weiguo’s Flying Pigeon bicycle. "Brother! I’ve been looking for you for days. You didn't leave an address, and you were so hard to find! Come on, let’s go to my place. I need to give you your money; I’ve been so anxious holding onto it these past few days."

Xiao Weiguo recalled their agreement—a total of twenty yuan. He had wanted to see if the boy would keep it all for himself. Since he had nothing else to do, Xiao Weiguo followed him to the tenement courtyard where Zhou Xiaoming lived.

The layout was similar to his own courtyard. When they entered his home, he saw a small room of about ten square meters, cluttered with all sorts of things, looking more like a messy storage shed.

A voice called out from inside, "Is that Ming-ming?"

"Mom, it’s me. I brought a friend over to take care of some business. You just rest, Mom. If you’re thirsty or hungry, let me know," Zhou Xiaoming called out toward the back of the room.

It seemed that was his bedridden mother. He apparently had a younger brother and sister, though they weren't home. The situation at home looked quite miserable; it was likely that the lack of an adult woman to help manage the house was why it looked so neglected.

Zhou Xiaoming rummaged around for a moment and pulled out two ten-yuan notes, thrusting them into Xiao Weiguo’s hand, as if afraid Xiao Weiguo would refuse.

Xiao Weiguo was surprised by his straightforwardness. After all, the boy could have easily kept the money or lied and given him less. It seemed this young man was quite reliable; perhaps further cooperation was worth considering.

Xiao Weiguo gave Zhou Xiaoming a look and headed back outside. Zhou Xiaoming followed him out.