Chapter Thirty-Two: Unadaptability (Please Collect)

  The house fell silent, and Zhen Niang felt a wave of loss, while Niu Niu was having fun, touching this and that, calling out "Mother, look here, Mother, look there." After a while, she took off her shoes and rolled around on the soft big bed.

  She was a woman from the mountains, accustomed to a simple and unadorned life. Suddenly seeing these countless strange things, she couldn't help but feel fear and worry in her heart. Before her eyes, clear outlines of scenery often floated: lush green mountain slopes; rolling hills with a curved moon hanging behind them; gentle streams with red and green flowers on the banks, where frogs could be seen jumping into the water, even the sound was so familiar... These beautiful scenes were simple, quiet, independent, and peaceful, completely different from the noisy and chaotic world in front of her now. Thinking that she would have to live in such an environment from now on, she felt scared and got a headache. She thought of Xiaosuo again, and also of her deceased father, and she wanted to cry again.

  "Mama, I want a poo." Niu Niu said suddenly with a bitter face.

  Oh, Zhen Niang lifted her head and looked at Niu Niu, somewhat at a loss, but the child's small face reignited her courage and hope for life.

  There was a knock at the door. "Sir, hot water delivery," the voice on the other side of the door introduced the visitor's identity.

  At the entrance stood a robust middle-aged woman, who gave Zhen Niang a slight bow and carried two large wooden buckets inside, directly into the bathroom. Zhen Niang heard the sound of water pouring into the basin. After a while, she came out carrying empty buckets and cleared her throat loudly, saying: "The hot water is ready."

  "Mama, I want to pull poo-poo." Niu Niu pulled at Zhen Mama's sleeve again.

  Zhen Niang plucked up her courage and said to the woman who had walked to the door: "That, that toilet is where? The child wants..."

  The middle-aged woman stopped in her tracks, looking at Zhen Niang with some curiosity. After a pause, she put down the wooden bucket and walked into the bathroom, pointing to the toilet and saying: "That's a flush toilet. Sit on it for convenience. When you're done, press this button and the water will wash everything clean. Oh, and that's toilet paper."

  "Thank you, thank you." Zhen Niang said awkwardly, feeling ashamed for her lack of worldly experience.

  A middle-aged woman walked out of the room with a hint of a smile, and now there's news and gossip again. A country bumpkin who doesn't even know how to use a flush toilet, haha, this can be talked about for half a day with someone who boils water.

  Zhen Niang sat on the bed, her eyes red. Here, the stinky smoke platform, and the future stinky Tianjin! The bed was soft and saggy, no big kang, no boxes, no squatting toilet, everything looked unfamiliar, nothing felt right, not even a hundred big cities could compare to the countryside! As she thought about it, she started to feel uncomfortable in her stomach.

  Soaking in the bathtub, Huang Li closed his eyes and felt the fatigue flowing out of his pores. The water was very hot, scalding comfortably, letting him temporarily forget many troubles. Life has only two paths to take: either go to empty dreams or live practically, the latter can be further divided. And what about his life path? Having lost his past, he also lost his life goal, at least temporarily.

  Fortunately, for now, he still has things to do. First, send Zhen Niang and her daughter to Tianjin and hand them over to their relatives; then go to Shanghai to find that foreign doctor, just consider it a try.

  If one's own illness is really hopeless and doesn't matter, then one will be like all the people in this world, always busy for life, struggling to fill their stomach.

  As he thought about it, Huang Li suddenly felt a bit drowsy. He stood up from the bathtub with a splash, his body red all over, like a freshly cooked shrimp...

  As the day drew to a close, Ah Lai knocked on the door. After taking a bath and sleeping for more than three hours, Huang Li felt refreshed and invigorated, of course, his stomach also felt a bit hungry.

  "Mr. Huang, the ferry to Tianjin won't be available for three days. The sea has been rough recently, and the shipping company cancelled the small boats and replaced them with bigger ones." Ah Lai said apologetically, as if the rough seas and the change in boat schedules were all his fault.

  Huang Li smiled and said, "Three days later is three days later, I'm not in a hurry, it's just that we need to trouble you, we want to add some things here, but we're not very familiar with Yantai."

  "No trouble, no trouble." Ah Lai hastily replied.

  He was delighted to accompany the young master's friend for a stroll, taking in the sights, which was much more pleasant than being busy in the shop. Moreover, Mr. Huang seemed quite generous, and following him around for a few days would likely bring some benefits and advantages.

  "It's time for dinner." Huang Li looked at the sky outside, put on his overcoat and smiled: "A Lai, what are some clean restaurants around here? Give me a suggestion!"

  "Mr Huang, there are a few good restaurants nearby, but I don't know what your taste is like?" Ah Lai said cautiously.

  Huang Li thought for a moment, pointed to the next room and said: "Wait till I ask them again."

  After locking the door, Huang Li and Ah Lai walked to Zhen Niang's room and knocked gently. The door opened quickly, and Zhen Niang's clothes were also very neat, as if she hadn't slept at all. Niu Niu, on the other hand, looked sleepy.

  "Haven't rested?" Huang Li asked with concern: "Not used to it? Or..."

  Zhen Niang didn't sleep, but Ah Lai was outside the door, so she couldn't say anything. Niu Niu slept soundly, her adaptability far surpassing hers. But in this unfamiliar room, she felt timid and afraid.

  "A Lai, wait downstairs for a while." Huang Li sent A Lai away and stepped into the house.

  For some reason, there were more calendars in the house, and immediately added a bit of anger, this was Zhen Niang's feeling.

  Huang Li looked around and remembered that there were two chairs in the house, but now they were nowhere to be seen. It was as if he didn't even have a place to sit.

  "The waiter took away your chair?" Huang Li was very angry, his face darkening, "Dare to bully you, I'll go find the hotel manager right now——"

  "No, it's not like that." Zhen Niang hastily stretched out her hand to intercept, then quickly ran towards the bathroom.

  The calendar was very puzzled, and he followed her to the bathroom, where he saw a chair in the bathroom, but its position was quite strange, on both sides of the toilet.

  Zhen Niang's face turned red as she moved the chair out, sneaking a peek at the calendar. This was really an embarrassing thing, and she didn't know if he could figure out the reason or continue to ask questions.

  I see. Although it's hard to imagine someone squatting on a chair next to the toilet to defecate, from the position of the chair, the footprints on top, and Zhen Niang's expression, he still came up with this rather strange conclusion. What's the difference between sitting and squatting? Can't you just do it while sitting on the toilet? Of course, he wouldn't delve deeper into this question or ask further.