Chapter 444: Chapter 444: Keeping the Appointment
Xiao Tong was a clever child, he got Yang Peijun’s intention and went back to spread the word.
Of course, he did not advertise it directly but began by messing up the clothes that both families were drying in the courtyard. Although it was winter and there weren’t many clothes to wash, there were still some, especially the thicker clothes which needed several days to dry. It so happened that Mrs. Lu and Aunt Qu had similar blue garments drying, which gave Xiao Tong a perfect opportunity to mix them up.
Then Yang Peijun felt that this was not enough since the two families rarely interacted. He thought they should have more opportunities to engage with one another.
The Qu family had two mischievous grandsons who were often causing trouble around the courtyard, and while the Qu family protected their grandsons fiercely, they maintained a facade of amiability. On one hand, they would apologize to others, but at home, they couldn’t bear to scold their grandsons, letting them run wild. In fact, several families in the courtyard were dissatisfied with the way the Qu family was raising their children.
One day, Qu Family’s seven-year-old grandson was playing with stones in the courtyard. The thief remembered that he had once smashed their own window. Although the Qu family had apologized, they did not educate their grandsons, and the next day they were back throwing stones again until Xiao Tong gave the two rascals a good beating, making them behave for a while. A few days later, they resumed their mischief, albeit not daring to throw stones near their own house. Today, seeing the Qu grandson’s behavior, he instigated the boy to throw stones at the Lu family’s house.
Whether it was Xiao Tong’s good luck or the child’s, a window at the Lu’s was smashed. Mrs. Lu, who was inside, was startled by the sound of the shattered glass and hurried out to see the Qu grandson running back home guiltily.
Xiao Tong then helped by calling over the Qu family’s adults. He specifically sought out Qu Fang, telling him his nephew had broken someone else’s window and now was causing a fuss about having it fixed.
Qu Fang sighed and followed him, as Xiao Tong had already run out to inform Mrs. Lu.
Mrs. Lu nodded, it could only be so; given her image in the courtyard as a friendly and generous person, she could not complain now. At that time, Lu Hailing had not yet come home from work, so Mrs. Lu had to let him move around the house fixing windows.
While Qu Fang was repairing the Lu family’s window, Xiao Tong asked him, “Brother Qu, I saw you bought movie tickets. Who are you going to the cinema with?”
Qu Fang was a bit surprised but looked towards the Shen family and smiled, “Of course, I’m going with my girlfriend.”
Xiao Tong exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Brother Qu, you’ve got a girlfriend? Who is it, who is it?”
Qu Fang smiled and said, “You’ll find out later.”
Xiao Tong yelled, “You don’t have to tell me; I’ll just follow you tomorrow and see who it really is!”
Xiao Tong’s loud voice carried throughout the courtyard where women were hanging clothes and washing vegetables; everyone heard and chuckled in approval of Xiao Tong’s plan, “Xiao Tong, make sure you stay close tomorrow, don’t lose them. We’re all waiting for your news.”
Xiao Tong patted his chest, “Don’t worry, I’ll bring a few more people tomorrow to make sure we don’t lose them!”
“That’s the way, let’s see which girl it is.”
Qu Fang only smiled in response.
The next day, as he promised, Xiao Tong followed him right after getting up. Qu Fang, seeing him following even outside the restroom, was helpless, “Alright, alright, I’ll tell you the movie time now. Stop following me, go there later instead.”
Xiao Tong ran off as soon as he got the time.
Lu Hailing found a movie ticket but didn’t tell anyone, not even Mrs. Lu.
Truthfully, she had never properly been to a cinema to watch a movie. Just a few days ago, a female co-worker at the factory boasted about her boyfriend inviting her to a movie. That sparked a discussion in the workshop where everyone talked about their experiences watching movies: what movies they had seen, what the plots were like. Only Lu Hailing couldn’t contribute; her family was so impoverished they even saved on matches, let alone spare money for movies.
But nobody asked her, as they all knew she came from a rural area. When others spoke of movies in front of her, the air of superiority was incredibly off-putting to Lu Hailing. She detested that feeling; after all, watching a movie was no big deal. Now that she had a job and a salary, why should anyone look down on her? Although that’s what she thought, when it came time to actually spend money, she felt it was unnecessary. If she were to go, it would be someone else treating her; with her talents, wasn’t it natural for someone to invite her out?
So, when she found the movie ticket, she was thrilled. Observing the date on it, which coincided precisely with her lunch break the following day right after getting off work, it seemed tailor-made for her (and she guessed right, it _was_ prepared for her).
She planned to go right after work the next day. The movie was exactly the one her co-worker had mentioned, which was supposed to be very good, even it was new and she hadn’t seen it before. Now that she could go, she’d have something to discuss with her co-worker, whose boyfriend’s family was quite well-off. It wouldn’t hurt to associate more with her.
The reason she hadn’t told Mrs. Lu was that if her mother found out, she definitely wouldn’t let her go. She’d either use the ticket as a favor or sell it.
Lu Hailing was heading to a cinema for the first time and didn’t know there was a concept of ‘buying together,’ which meant buying two tickets for seats next to each other.
When Lu Hailing got off work the next day at noon, she rushed to the cafeteria, grabbed her lunch, and hurried to the cinema.
Her co-worker saw her and knew she was going to see a movie, as they had just talked about it. Seeing her rushing, her co-worker teased her, “Hailing is running so fast, afraid your boyfriend will run away?”
Lu Hailing laughed and waved her hand, “I have no boyfriend; I’m just going with a close girlfriend. Today happens to be her birthday.”
Lu Hailing’s lie came easily, and most people believed her.
Once she reached the cinema, she found her seat by following the seat number on the ticket.
Meanwhile, Qu Fang had Xiao Tong waiting for him at the factory gate even before his shift ended, eager to accompany him to the cinema.
On their way, Xiao Tong chattered nonstop, “Brother Qu, I think you shouldn’t walk so fast. Let your girlfriend wait a bit so she will see you as more stable.”