"Brother, let’s go to the city."
"Sure," Qin Xiangyang didn’t ask why, simply changed his clothes, and prepared to take his sister to the city on the tricycle. He thought to himself, maybe his sister wanted to buy something?
Once in the city, Qin Xiangnuan had Qin Xiangyang park the tricycle.
"Bro, where’s your ID?" Qin Xiangnuan had asked Qin Xiangyang to bring it with him. If he hadn’t, they might have to go back and get it. There wouldn’t be enough time then, they would probably have to come back tomorrow.
"I brought it," Qin Xiangyang pulled out his ID from his pocket. It was a brand-new ID card just issued a few days ago, and he had been carrying it with him ever since.
Qin Xiangnuan took Qin Xiangyang’s ID. It showed he was already eighteen, though he wasn’t quite there yet. But they couldn’t wait, so she had asked the Village Chief to write a certificate exaggerating his age a bit. This wasn’t a big deal in the village; many people did this.
They would correct her brother’s age back later after finishing the business.
However, Qin Xiangyang didn’t really mind. Being one year older or younger didn’t really make a difference to him.
It had been five or six years since Qin Xiangnuan had last visited the market outside. Indeed, the state-owned enterprises were facing transformation; the once iron rice bowls were no longer as secure.
"Hey, is that you guys?" The former deputy director, who was now the director, had once thought he’d achieve great things. However, no one anticipated that with the increasing number of private businesses, the factory’s performance had been declining year by year. The factory was indeed struggling to survive. Coincidentally, the government was planning to build a road here and there was foreign investment to construct a department store. This project was massive. Not only the county but also the city and the province paid great attention to it. The factory wasn’t a problem; once the machinery was removed, the building would be an empty shell, not a pity to demolish. After all, bringing in foreign investment was an opportunity for them. There were so many people in the factory; they couldn’t all go without food.
But the issue was their marketplace, which had been leased out for twenty years. The contract was written in black and white; they couldn’t just ask the foreign investors to give up the land, which they had their eyes set on because it was close to the road with potential for development.
Who would have thought that the previously unwanted marketplace would become so attractive? The child who signed the contract had left an address; they had planned to visit them to discuss how to resolve this issue.
Coincidentally, just as he was about to set out, they arrived.
Although both children had grown up, their general appearances hadn’t changed.
However, he was quite surprised. The boy didn’t mention it, but he was tall and strong, clearly a Simple Villager. But the girl, who seemed to be around fourteen or fifteen years old, wore clothes that were not of the current fashion trend, somewhat old, and in an unattractive color. Yet, he couldn’t quite explain why, but he felt there was something about the young girl that settled one’s mind, like a strong ink fragrance, like opening a book and leaving a scent of paper and ink on one’s fingertips.
Her eyes were as big as grapes, totally black. Her hair wasn’t long, just reaching her shoulders, and it was as black as satin. The young girl actually looked quite pretty, even prettier than those in the city. No, she was more than just pretty, rather durable beauty is a better description. He hadn’t felt this way in previous years, but seeing her today made him feel it. The director couldn’t help but wonder, what would this young girl look like when she’s grown up? Surely, she wouldn’t be any less attractive than she is now.