Chapter 121 Sun Yaoliang's Thoughts
"Third brother, what have you been busy with these days? You're nowhere to be seen after class."
In dormitory 302, Sun Yaoliang, who was lying on the upper bunk reading a book, heard the door open and looked out. He saw Song Yuanchao coming back and asked with a smile.
Song Yuanchao smiled without explaining. Lu Jun, who was sitting at the desk below, immediately rolled his eyes at Sun Yaoliang: "Are you asking this even though you already know the answer? Are you the principal or the dean? Why does my third brother have to report to you after class?"
"Yes, yes, yes, look at my pig brain, hahaha." Sun Yaoliang patted his head and laughed. Everyone knew the reason behind this laugh. After all, the relationship between Song Yuanchao and Lin Yan was no secret in school. It was normal for couples to stick together after class. How could they be like these single dogs who had no one to care for them and no one to love them?
"Why are there only two of you? Where are the others?" Song Yuanchao scolded Sun Yaoliang with a smile. He looked around the dormitory and it was almost eight o'clock, but the others had not returned yet.
"Second brother and Zhang Jian went to a gathering with some fellow villagers today. Xiao Lu is probably still hanging out in the library. Boss Cheng hasn't been seen since dinner. I don't know where he went."
Nodding, Song Yuanchao pulled a chair and sat down, took out a bag from his schoolbag and threw it to Lu Jun beside him: "Then they will miss out on the treat, here!"
"What good stuff?" Sun Yaoliang quickly got off the bed and ran to Lu Jun's side barefoot. He saw Lu Jun open the oil paper package, revealing a bag of steamed buns that was still steaming inside.
“Dalan Huoshao! It’s stuffed with leeks and pork!”
Sun Yaoliang had a nose like a dog. He could tell what the filling was at once. He cheered and reached out to pick one up and put it in his mouth.
"Delicious! Really delicious!" Chewing with big mouthfuls, Sun Yaoliang was grinning from ear to ear: "I felt a little hungry just now, but I didn't expect that Third Brother would feed me. My stomach, my stomach, you are enjoying yourself today..."
Seeing Sun Yaoliang patting his belly contentedly while eating, Song Yuanchao and Lu Jun laughed out loud. Sun Yaoliang was really a funny guy.
While he was eating, the door opened again, and Pan Xiangdong, Zhang Jian, and Lu Hairong came back together. Seeing them coming back, Sun Yaoliang quickly picked up another saddle bag fire cake and stuffed it directly into his mouth, chewing while asking vaguely: "Why are you guys back?"
"Great! Are you eating it alone while we're away?" Old Pan had sharp eyes. He smelled the aroma of Dalan Hot Roasted Bamboo Slices in the air as he entered the door. Then, looking at Sun Yaoliang chewing it in big mouthfuls, he understood what was going on. He immediately pounced over and stretched out his hand to grab the Dalan Hot Roasted Bamboo Slices on the table.
The other two were not willing to be left behind and rushed forward at lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, the burning bag in the oil paper package disappeared instantly, leaving only the people in the dormitory chewing with a satisfied expression.
"It's delicious, really delicious, but it's a pity that there's not enough." Zhang Jian licked his lips with satisfaction and took another look at the empty oil paper bag.
"You idiot, are you really planning to eat this?" Old Pan scolded with a smile, then nodded at Song Yuanchao: "Thank you, Yuanchao, for always bothering you to bring us things. I'll treat you some other day and find a place to make some special dishes from my hometown, Sichuan Province. By the way, my best dish is Fuqi Feipian. I'll let everyone taste my cooking skills then."
"Great! Second brother is wise. Unfortunately, I don't know anything and can only wait to eat." Sun Yaoliang quickly gave him a thumbs up. Seeing him like this, Lao Pan scolded him with a smile, and then he noticed that Cheng Mengshan was not there.
"Where's Lao Cheng? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
"I don't know. He disappeared after returning from the cafeteria after dinner." Lu Jun shook his head.
"It's already past eight o'clock, nothing will happen, right?"
"What could happen in school? Besides, you know the boss well. He's probably sitting somewhere reading a book." Zhang Jian interrupted.
Nodding, Lao Pan said nothing more. He walked to the side, picked up the thermos and shook it. There was not much water left in the bottle. He said he would go get some water and walked towards the door. Before he reached the door, the dormitory door was pushed open from the outside. Everyone looked closely and realized that Cheng Mengshan was not coming back.
"Oh, are you all here?"
Cheng Mengshan didn't expect the dormitory to be so lively. Everyone had come back and were chatting and laughing together.
"Boss Cheng, you came back a little late. It would have been better if you came earlier." Sun Yaoliang pointed at the empty oil paper bag and said regretfully.
Cheng Mengshan understood at a glance and said with a smile: "It's too late, and if I eat one less, you can have one more. Isn't that good?"
"Brother is brother, I really admire your awareness!" Sun Yaoliang gave a thumbs up and praised sincerely. Although he was laughing, he also regretted that he had said hello to everyone and left one for Cheng Mengshan to try. Who would have thought that the wolves, including himself, snatched it up and ate it without paying any attention. They only remembered it after they finished eating.
Waving his hand, Cheng Mengshan sat down on his bed near the door. There was no sign of anger on his face. On the contrary, he was smiling and looked very happy.
"Boss Cheng, Team Leader Cheng, what good things happened to you today? You seem to be in a good mood." Lu Jun couldn't help but ask when he saw his expression.
"Haha, it's nothing, just a small matter... just a small matter..." Cheng Mengshan shook his head happily and said so, but his expression of uncontrollable joy did not indicate that there was nothing good.
Everyone immediately became curious, including Song Yuanchao, and they all asked Cheng Mengshan what good thing had happened to him.
Unable to resist everyone's enthusiasm, Cheng Mengshan had no choice but to tell the truth. It turned out that the Student Union notified him to go there after dinner today. After he went there, he found out that in addition to part of the student subsidies he had previously applied for, the Student Union had added an extra quota as a special case considering his actual situation, which means that Cheng Mengshan also received a subsidy.
Everyone knows Cheng Mengshan's family situation very well. Among his roommates, Cheng Mengshan's family is the most difficult. Usually, everyone will help Cheng Mengshan intentionally or unintentionally in private, but everyone also knows that Cheng Mengshan has a strong personality and a strong self-esteem, so they also take this into consideration while helping him.
This is indeed something to be happy about. Although the subsidy is only five yuan per month, this money makes a difference to Cheng Mengshan who is living in difficult conditions.
Hearing the news, everyone was happy for Cheng Mengshan and congratulated him. Cheng Mengshan nodded happily and accepted everyone's congratulations happily.
After talking for a while, as time passed, everyone prepared to rest.
Old Pan continued to carry the bottle to fetch water, while Lu Jun and the others found basins and went downstairs to wash their faces and feet. Song Yuanchao waited for a while and also went out with the basin. As soon as he reached the corridor, he heard Sun Yaoliang's voice from behind him. He turned around and saw Sun Yaoliang, who smiled and said, "Let's go together."
The two of them went downstairs and went straight to the hot water room on the east side of the first floor. At this time, there were many students queuing in the hot water room. Sun Yaoliang looked at the long queue and said to Song Yuanchao: "Third brother, how about we go smoke a cigarette and come back later?"
"Okay!" Song Yuanchao nodded, and he and Sun Yaoliang walked out of the building directly, came to the open space opposite the building, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and then lit it with a match.
"There's no outsider here. Tell me, what do you want from me?" After taking a puff of cigarette, Song Yuanchao spoke directly.
"Third brother, are you the worm in my stomach? How do you know I have something to talk to you about?" Sun Yaoliang looked surprised, holding a cigarette in his mouth.
Song Yuanchao rolled his eyes at him and said, "Isn't it obvious? I'm not a grown-up girl. I don't think I'm attractive to men. I'm just getting some water to wash my face, but why did you come here to join in the fun?"
“Hehehe…” Sun Yaoliang laughed awkwardly after Song Yuanchao exposed him: “Actually, I really have something I want to discuss with you.”
Song Yuanchao didn't say anything, just waited quietly for Sun Yaoliang to speak.
"You know what I did before. I've been thinking about doing something these days, so I decided to discuss it with you."
"Do something? What?"
"It's...it's similar to my previous job." Sun Yaoliang scratched his head and smiled.
"Are you planning to do business?" Song Yuanchao asked with some surprise.
Sun Yaoliang looked around and nodded when he saw that there was no one around.
"Why did you suddenly think of doing this?" Song Yuanchao asked in surprise.
Sun Yaoliang hesitated for a moment before telling Song Yuanchao the origin of his idea.
Compared with Chang'an in the northwest, Yanjing, as the capital, is more open and prosperous. Especially since the National Day, the entire Yanjing's private market has suddenly opened up like a spring breeze overnight. Now the streets and alleys are full of active small vendors, and there are even many individuals who have broken through walls to open shops.
Having worked in the supply and marketing cooperative for so many years, Sun Yaoliang is more likely to pay attention to this point than ordinary people. In his view, this is an era of great change and also an era full of opportunities . As the ancients said it well, learn to apply. As a college student majoring in economics and also as a grassroots cadre who once worked in a supply and marketing cooperative, how could Sun Yaoliang not be tempted when he saw such changes?
Sun Yaoliang's family conditions were naturally much better than Cheng Mengshan's, otherwise he would not have worked in the supply and marketing cooperative. Moreover, Sun Yaoliang knew himself well. Although he was now a college student at the Imperial University and was considered a child of destiny in the eyes of outsiders, Sun Yaoliang had a problem that he could not overcome no matter what, and that was his unattractive appearance.
There is a phrase often seen on the Internet in later generations, which is the so-called "era of looking at faces".
In fact, not only in later generations, but even from ancient times to the present, no matter what era it is, people have always considered appearance. The only difference is the slight difference in aesthetic views.
From a female perspective, women are all different in terms of body shape, but appearance still comes first.
The same is true for men. From ancient times to the present, people with handsome looks have always had many advantages in many aspects. However, someone like Sun Yaoliang, who has a pointed face and monkey cheeks, is not worthy of the people's dignity. Whether in movies or on TV, he can only play villain roles and can never become a positive character.
Sun Yaoliang himself is very clear about this. Although he usually looks cheerful and optimistic, his inner distress is actually unknown to ordinary people.
When he was in the supply and marketing cooperative, Sun Yaoliang was not bad in ability or education, but he was never promoted by his superiors. Good things never came to him. After working for several years, he was just a grassroots clerk. On the contrary, people who were not as good as him surpassed him one by one and became his leaders, which made Sun Yaoliang deeply helpless.
Being admitted to university was a new opportunity that Sun Yaoliang had obtained through his own efforts. However, Sun Yaoliang knew in his heart that even if he was assigned a job after graduating from university, he probably still wouldn't be able to go far in his career. Instead of doing that, he might as well try another path.
