Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: I’ll Help, Just Feed Me

After working at the shop until five, Xu An rode his tricycle home with his younger brother and sister.

After dinner, he gave his grandmother a sponge bath, bathed his younger siblings, and washed their dirty clothes. By the time he was done, it was already eight o’clock at night.

There was still an hour before bedtime. Xu An moved a rocking chair out and lay down under the longan tree. Looking up, he realized the longans were ripe. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed, despite coming and going these past few days.

’I’ll have to find some time to pick all the longans tomorrow. Otherwise, they’ll all be ruined if it rains.’

’Tonight, I’ll just mess around on my phone. Time to experience the long-lost feeling of surfing the web.’

Just as he pulled out his phone, he heard the RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE of a motorcycle engine approaching from the distance. It finally stopped right at his gate, and then someone knocked.

’It’s already eight o’clock. Who would be looking for me now?’

A little curious, Xu An got up and opened the gate. The visitor was Lin Xu Yang.

"Came to have a chat." Seeing Xu An, Lin Xu Yang raised the clear plastic bag in his hand, which held a few cans of beer.

Xu An nodded, let him in, and brought him a chair.

CLICK. The two of them opened their beers.

He took a light sip. The sweet aroma of wheat rushed through his mouth, and the cold liquid traveled down his throat to his stomach. Xu An couldn’t help but shiver.

Perfect!

After chugging a can of beer with a GLUG GLUG GLUG, Lin Xu Yang finally started talking.

"The sentences for the Zijing Garden construction site food poisoning case are out. The main culprits basically all got three years or more. The rest got anywhere from a few months to a year, and a few who were completely clueless were acquitted."

Xu An wasn’t sure why Lin Xu Yang had come to him so late at night to talk about this. But he could clearly sense that Lin Xu Yang was in a bad mood and probably just needed someone to vent to. Xu An just happened to be a convenient choice.

Xu An let him ramble on without interrupting, just sipping his beer from time to time, nodding, and making a few noncommittal sounds.

Lin Xu Yang rambled on about this and that. Maybe he thought that since Xu An was just a stall owner, it didn’t matter if he heard a few things. Or maybe it was the alcohol, because he gradually started talking about what was behind the food poisoning case.

"But we still haven’t found the true source of that batch of food. We only found one den, but we don’t dare make a move for fear of tipping them off. That den is also good at laying low; there hasn’t been any movement for a long time."

Xu An’s hand, holding the beer can, suddenly tightened. The can was still full, and his grip sent some of the beer spilling out, splashing onto his pant leg.

He frantically shook the remaining beer off his pants, but the damp, sticky feeling was uncomfortable. Xu An went back inside to change into a new pair.

’I think I understood what Lin Xu Yang was saying just now. The den he’s referring to must be the Anxin Food Processing Company.’

Lately, when he went to pick up goods from Bald Chen, the place was always packed with people. Before, at two or three in the afternoon, you would rarely see a soul.

If Bald Chen hadn’t specifically set aside some good meat for him, he would have only been able to buy scraps.

Xu An had asked Bald Chen why business was suddenly so good. Bald Chen’s explanation was that besides the Anxin Food Processing Company, there were some smaller, more timid shops that specialized in selling near-expired food.

Near-expired food is food that is still within its shelf life, but with only half a month or just a few days left.

Because of the Zijing Garden food poisoning incident, food safety inspections had become much stricter. These small shop owners were afraid of getting into trouble, so now they all came to the wholesale market to buy their ingredients.

And then there was that time in Beitun Town when he saw the boss of the Anxin Food Processing Company meeting with an employee from the Qiansheng Group. Plus, the Qiansheng Group would have its own food scandal next year.

’If the den Lin Xu Yang mentioned is the Anxin Food Processing Company, then the source of all this food must be the Qiansheng Group.’

When Xu An returned to the yard, he found that Lin Xu Yang had already finished all the beers he’d brought. He was dead drunk, lying sideways on the rocking chair.

Lin Xu Yang had come by motorcycle. Now that he was this drunk, there was no way he could be allowed to ride back.

But there was no place for him to sleep at Xu An’s house. He couldn’t just let him sleep on the rocking chair, could he?

Just as Xu An was getting a headache over the situation, he suddenly thought of Xu Heping.

Previously, when Zhou Qi was hesitating because he lived too far away, Heping had told Xu An that he had a spare room at his place.

’If it was okay for Zhou Qi, it should be fine for Lin Xu Yang, right?’

Xu An took out his phone and called Xu Heping. Together, the two of them carried the dead-drunk Lin Xu Yang to Xu Heping’s house.

’This guy really can’t handle his liquor but loves to drink. Getting drunk off just two or three beers. If you have such a low tolerance, drink at your own home! Drink up, and then pass out in your own bed.’

After finally getting him settled, Xu An turned off the light and was about to leave. In the moment before closing the door, as if possessed, he said to Lin Xu Yang, "If the Anxin Food Processing Company is the den, you might want to look into the Qiansheng Group. You might find something."

After speaking, Xu An stood at the door for a moment. Seeing no reaction from Lin Xu Yang, he closed the door, said goodbye to Xu Heping, and left.

Lin Xu Yang really was drunk. This wasn’t one of those scenes where his eyes would snap open the moment Xu An left.

However, Xu An’s words did affect him. In his dreams, he dreamt that he had discovered the Qiansheng Group’s secret and was being hunted down by them.

They even captured his sister and threatened him: if he didn’t join them, they would make his sister’s life a living hell.

It was already 8:40 PM when Xu An got back to his yard. He wanted to use the remaining twenty minutes to browse his phone, but the gate was knocked on again.

’So much for that. I guess tonight just isn’t my night for browsing my phone.’

He opened the gate. This time, he saw the daughter of Guosheng’s family—Xu Lili.

She must have just finished showering. She smelled of shower gel and was holding a towel, drying her hair.

"Sister Lili, when did you get back? Is something wrong, coming over this late?"

"I just got back this afternoon. As soon as I arrived, I heard my parents say you started a little business. I just came over to see what’s up." Xu Lili didn’t stand on ceremony with Xu An. She took a long stride into the yard and sat right down on the rocking chair.

Xu An didn’t close the gate, leaving it open, and sat on the small stool that Lin Xu Yang had just been using.

"Yeah, I started a little business. Just trying to make some money," Xu An said nonchalantly, trying to brush the question aside.

Xu Lili glanced at Xu An, then changed the subject to the college entrance exams. Her voice held a hint of cunning as she spoke, "I remember your grades were always pretty good. It’s already mid-July. Have you filled out your college application? Where’d you apply? Let Sister Lili give you some advice."

’Did Sister Lili ask me about my college exams in my past life?’

’Yes, she did. But that was right before school started. She came over to ask if I had everything ready for school and even helped me check to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything.’

’In the end, she stuffed five hundred yuan into my luggage. I didn’t even find it until I was unpacking at school.’

’Why is she asking me about college so early in this life?’

Xu An was confused, but he didn’t dare tell Xu Lili that he wasn’t planning on going to college.

If he told Xu Lili he wasn’t going to college, then tomorrow, everyone in the village who could still walk would come over to have a chat and try to "counsel" him.

He cobbled together three school names from the ones Lin Xu Yang had mentioned to him, pretending they were the universities he had applied to, and managed to bluff his way through the topic.

As Xu An spoke, Xu Lili maintained a half-smiling, enigmatic expression that left Xu An completely baffled.

After listening to Xu An’s answer, Xu Lili nodded casually to show she understood. Suddenly, her eyes darted, and she leaned in a little closer to whisper, "Is your lunch box stall short-staffed? Sister Lili can come help out. Just feed me, and I’m good."

?

’Free help, just showing up at my door?’

’Is this really happening?!’

’Of course I’ll take it!’

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