Han Shuo was eager to make money, so for the next two days, he focused entirely on brainstorming money-making ideas with Meng Yuxiu.
If they weren’t students, it would be easy; they could just work diligently in a factory. But since they were students and only had weekends, they had to find some odd jobs.
After much thought, Meng Yuxiu finally came up with an idea.
Han Shuo was dumbfounded when he heard it, “Picking up trash?”
Meng Yuxiu corrected him, “It’s collecting waste materials.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Can you think of anything else?” Meng Yuxiu asked, “At least you can collect waste materials every weekend.”
Indeed, there was no more flexible way to make money than this. Han Shuo wasn’t opposed to collecting waste materials; as long as it made money, it was fine. He just seriously doubted whether he could find any waste materials to collect.
After all, this era couldn’t compare to the 21st century, where cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, and cans were everywhere. What did this era have? Anyway, since Han Shuo arrived here, he hadn’t seen many plastic bottles. Even if they were sold in stores, they were considered high-end goods in this era, and few people would throw away used plastic bottles and cans; they were mostly kept at home for storage.
He asked Meng Yuxiu what kind of waste materials could be collected. If Han Shuo, a recent graduate who hadn’t even started working, was clueless about this era, then Meng Yuxiu was only slightly better. He was a high school student from the 21st century with a good family background and young age. Although he was smart enough to come up with this money-making idea for Han Shuo, he didn’t know the specifics of how to execute it.
So Han Shuo had to ask his classmates from this era.
Pidan and Doufu, who were from rural areas, told Han Shuo that in their village, people who collected waste materials carried two baskets and shook a rattle. They could sell old slippers and even get a piece of candy.
Han Shuo didn’t have the skills to collect waste materials and make candy.
He then asked Pan Xiaodong, who was from Yunxi County. When Pan Xiaodong learned that Han Shuo wanted to make money, he said, “Then just take a snakeskin bag and wander around the streets and alleys. Collect anything like wire, plastic, newspapers, oh, and chicken feathers, duck feathers, goose feathers. Just pick up whatever you see, and then sell it at the recycling station.”
“Alright!” Han Shuo decided immediately to go out and collect waste materials as soon as school ended on Friday.
After school on Friday, Han Shuo first went to find Meng Yuxiu. Since his bicycle was gone, he was worried about how Meng Yuxiu would get home.
He ran to the entrance of Class One, and Meng Yuxiu happened to be coming out with his backpack. Seeing Han Shuo, he asked, “Are you going to collect waste materials today?”
Han Shuo replied, “I’m going later. I need to go to Pan Xiaodong’s house first; he’s giving me a snakeskin bag.”
“How did you tell your brother you’re not going home this weekend?”
“I asked someone from my village to pass the message to my brother.”
“Where are you staying for the next two days?”
“I borrowed the key to the iron gate from the dorm manager, so I’ll stay in the dorm for the next two days.”
“The canteen is closed on weekends. What about your meals?” Meng Yuxiu asked again.
Han Shuo said that the old man at the guard room had a coal stove, and he would bring rice and ask the old man to cook it for him while he was cooking his own meal.
After hearing this, Meng Yuxiu nodded and said he was going home first.
Han Shuo grabbed his arm and asked, “How are you getting home?”
“Walking,” Meng Yuxiu said.
“Walking?!” Han Shuo’s voice was a bit loud due to worry, “Are you a horse? Can you really walk that far?”
But after saying this, he shut his mouth. After all, it was his fault for losing the bicycle. He stood there with a frown for a while and then said to Meng Yuxiu, “Don’t go, wait here for me, I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
Han Shuo didn’t reply to Meng Yuxiu. He quickly ran up the stairs and back to the classroom of Class Seven.
Ten minutes later, Meng Yuxiu saw him running down the stairs and handing something to him.
“Take it!”
Meng Yuxiu looked down. Han Shuo had given him two twenty-cent bills and two five-cent coins, just enough for a fifty-cent bus fare.
“Where did you get this?”
“I borrowed it from someone in the class.” Seeing Meng Yuxiu hesitate, Han Shuo urged, “Just take it, or I’ll feel guilty. I can’t lose your bicycle and then make you walk home on two legs, can I?”
“Don’t worry, as soon as I make money, I’ll pay them back. Just take it with peace of mind.”
Only after Meng Yuxiu accepted it did Han Shuo breathe a sigh of relief. Pan Xiaodong was still waiting for him, and before leaving, he asked Meng Yuxiu, “How are you going to explain the bicycle to your parents when you get home?”
Meng Yuxiu said, “I’ll just tell them the truth.”
Han Shuo asked nervously, “I heard you say your parents are quite strict. They won’t break your legs, will they?”
Meng Yuxiu gave him a sidelong glance and said coolly, “Not everyone is like your brother.”
“…” Han Shuo chuckled awkwardly, “That’s good.”
After saying goodbye to Meng Yuxiu, Han Shuo went with Pan Xiaodong to his house.
Pan Xiaodong’s family was well-off, with a self-built two-story house. The walls were covered with mosaic tiles, reflecting colorful lights in the sunset.
When they arrived, his family was just making dinner, so Han Shuo shamelessly stayed for a meal.
It was Han Shuo’s first time making money, and he wasn’t familiar with the county. After dinner, Pan Xiaodong found an excuse to sneak out and didn’t forget to steal a snakeskin bag and some tools like tongs and scissors from home. There were quite a few people collecting waste materials in the county, and he had seen enough to know what tools to bring.
When they left, it was still light outside. After walking a few streets, they looked up and realized it had gotten dark without them noticing. Han Shuo and Pan Xiaodong wandered through the alleys with flashlights, picking up chicken feathers and duck feathers without caring about the quality, stuffing them into the snakeskin bag. If they hadn’t been chased and scolded, Han Shuo might have even taken the turtle shells hanging at people’s doorsteps.
Although the sanitation in this era couldn’t compare to modern times, every household treated their scrap metal like treasures. In the past, Han Shuo had seen old ladies in the neighborhood picking up a big bag of waste materials by the trash can, but now, after wandering through half the county, he only had a shallow layer in his snakeskin bag.
Pan Xiaodong, despite being playful, had to go home when it was time. He asked Han Shuo when he would return to the school dormitory.
Han Shuo, still searching carefully with his flashlight, replied without looking up, “It’s still early, I’ll go back later.”
Pan Xiaodong said, “Be careful, and don’t sell my family’s tongs and scissors as waste materials.”
“Am I an idiot?”
Pan Xiaodong laughed and went home.
After Pan Xiaodong left, Han Shuo continued to wander through a few more streets. He didn’t have a watch, so he could only observe the lights in the surrounding houses. When most of the lights were out, and the cold, quiet atmosphere of the late night set in, he guessed it was quite late and slung the snakeskin bag over his shoulder, heading towards the school with the tongs in hand.
As he walked, he unexpectedly stumbled upon a windfall. Someone careless had dropped a piece of wire mesh by the roadside.
Excited, Han Shuo ran over, untied the snakeskin bag, and took out the scissors. Otherwise, he couldn’t fit it directly into the bag.
Fortunately, it was thin wire, and with some effort, he could cut it into small pieces. After packing it up, he stood up and weighed the snakeskin bag.
“Wow, this was effortless! I’m rich, I’m rich!” Han Shuo had been walking for hours, and his big toe was sore from being rubbed by his shoes. But now, with such a big haul, he was energized and thought he might as well not return to the dorm tonight. Maybe if he collected waste materials all night, the snakeskin bag would be full.
He was so pleased with himself that he didn’t even hear the low growling not far away. When he turned around to take a step, he was startled by a shadowy figure in the corner, and his heart almost stopped.
He slowly moved the flashlight to shine ahead, revealing a snarling black dog, almost as tall as his waist.
“Shit!” Han Shuo’s scalp tingled immediately.
He had been afraid of dogs since he was a child, and even people who owned dogs would be intimidated by such a dog.
But if the dog really pounced and bit him, Han Shuo could fight back. He was just worried that the medical facilities in this era weren’t advanced, and if the dog had rabies, he’d be doomed.
He was about a hundred meters away from the dog, and he didn’t move, praying that the dog would see he wasn’t a threat and walk away.
But this dog was clearly fearless, growling with bared teeth and slowly approaching.
Damn it! Han Shuo’s hair stood on end, and if he didn’t run, he’d be waiting for the dog to bite him.
He grabbed the snakeskin bag and ran, and as soon as he ran, the dog stopped pretending and barked, chasing after him.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit!!!” Han Shuo sprinted down the empty street, and as he ran, he couldn’t help but think that in this damn 90s era, he couldn’t see a single person after running for so long.
He felt like his body was performing at its peak, his calf muscles more developed than ever, and he could even imagine his expression, similar to the dog’s, with his lips probably trembling from running.
However, two legs were no match for four, and when he glanced back, the dog was only a dozen meters away.
Initially, Han Shuo had been too embarrassed to make a sound while being chased by a dog on the street, but now he couldn’t hold back. The most crucial thing was that he had run onto a dirt road leading to the school.
He really wanted to slap himself. This dirt road was surrounded by farmland, and he would have been better off running a few more streets, where he might have encountered someone to help.
Now, even if he shouted until his voice broke…
Huh? Seeing a figure with a flashlight ahead, Han Shuo’s eyes lit up. It was no exaggeration to say that at this moment, it was like encountering a savior at the end of the world, and he almost knelt down in tears.
“Ahhhhhhh———” But he didn’t have time to cry; he screamed and ran towards the person.
Hearing such a commotion and seeing Han Shuo’s flashlight beam swinging wildly, the figure paused.
When Han Shuo reached the person, he almost knocked them into the nearby field, and the person quickly grabbed his arm.
“Shit! Brother!!!” Han Shuo gasped for breath, barely able to stand.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice.
“Han Shuo?”
Han Shuo was stunned for half a second. How could it be Meng Yuxiu!
However, Han Shuo didn’t have time to shine the flashlight, nor did Meng Yuxiu have time to shine it on Han Shuo’s face. The two of them immediately went into alert mode.
They both assumed a running posture, warily watching the dog.
Perhaps because there was now an additional person, the dog didn’t dare to act rashly, only growling cautiously, but it clearly hadn’t given up.
“I’ve been chased by it for several streets.” With Meng Yuxiu there, Han Shuo felt a bit braver, but only slightly. He caught his breath and told Meng Yuxiu, “I’m afraid of dogs.”
Meng Yuxiu calmly reassured him, “It’s okay, dogs are like this, they bully the weak and fear the strong. If you act tougher than it, it won’t dare to mess with you.”
“Oh, oh.” Meng Yuxiu’s words were like a calming injection, and Han Shuo’s courage grew a bit more.
“So what do we do now?”
Meng Yuxiu glanced at the tongs in Han Shuo’s hand, “Use the tongs to scare it, act fierce.”
“…” Han Shuo looked at the tongs in his hand, then at the dog, and silently handed the tongs to Meng Yuxiu beside him, “You do it, I think your presence is stronger than mine right now.”
“…” With the tongs handed to him, Meng Yuxiu could only take them and hold on tight, while also grabbing Han Shuo, who was slowly retreating, “You have to do it with me, two people together will be more effective.”
Han Shuo reluctantly agreed, holding the snakeskin bag and extending his arm.
Meng Yuxiu held the tongs, pointing them at the dog.
Since they needed to act tougher than the dog… Meng Yuxiu’s eyes suddenly turned sharp, his expression serious. The muscles in his forearm tensed under his clothes, as if channeling all his strength into the tongs.
He advanced slowly, like a graceful fencer, and then slowly opened his mouth.
“Qie! Qie! Qie!”
“!” Han Shuo was startled by his sudden sound. He really didn’t expect someone as elegant and proud as Meng Yuxiu to make a sound like a farmer herding cattle.
But since his teammate was going all out, he couldn’t fall behind. So he grabbed the snakeskin bag and advanced, “Qie! Get lost! Qie! Get lost! Hatui!”
Meng Yuxiu was indeed smart and calm; this method was very effective. Although the dog still bared its teeth, it was retreating.
This undoubtedly gave the two of them great confidence. Meng Yuxiu clamped the tongs, making them click like a duck’s beak, making a noise in the night.
“Damn it! Meng Yuxiu, clamp it, clamp it to death!” Han Shuo felt like he was venting his anger, “Damn! How dare you chase me!”
With Han Shuo’s encouragement, Meng Yuxiu took even bigger steps, clamping the tongs faster, determined to clamp the dog’s mouth off.
In such an exhilarating moment, they unknowingly drove the dog back to the street.
Just as Meng Yuxiu was about to deliver a final blow to the already fleeing dog’s rear, there was a commotion around them, and before Han Shuo could react, Meng Yuxiu dashed past like a gust of wind.
“Run!”
Han Shuo looked closely and saw five or six dogs barking and rushing out of the alley.
“Shit!!!”
The two of them ran back along the original path towards the school, with five or six dogs in pursuit. Fortunately, the old man at the guard room hadn’t gone to sleep yet. Hearing the commotion and seeing two male students being chased by dogs, he quickly grabbed a broom from the guard room.
The dogs were chased away, and the two of them were exhausted. Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu exchanged a look, both feeling a mix of laughter and tears.
The old man at the guard room reminded Han Shuo not to come back so late tomorrow.
Han Shuo repeatedly said he understood.
He was about to go to the dorm with Meng Yuxiu when the old man came out again, worriedly calling out, “Hey, you two students.”
Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu turned back.
The old man said, “You two are staying in the dorm over the weekend, stay in your own dorms, don’t mix.”
“Got it.” Han Shuo waved his hand and went to the dormitory building with Meng Yuxiu, chatting and laughing, “The old man is really nosy, even cares about whether we stay in the same dorm.”
The school was even quieter on the weekend. Han Shuo opened the iron door of the dormitory building, and after Meng Yuxiu came in, he locked it again. He placed the snakeskin bag on the corridor floor and went into Meng Yuxiu’s dorm.
After catching his breath, Han Shuo remembered to ask Meng Yuxiu why he was there.
“I gave you the bus fare, didn’t you go home?”
Meng Yuxiu replied, “I went home and came back out.”
Han Shuo’s heart sank, and he quickly asked, “Did your parents hit you because of the bicycle?”
“No.”
“Then why did you come back?”
Seeing Meng Yuxiu avoid his gaze, Han Shuo paused for a few seconds and then realized, “You were worried about me, weren’t you?”
Meng Yuxiu didn’t answer, just turned his back to make the bed.
But that was enough to move Han Shuo. He didn’t blame him for losing the bicycle, helped him when he was chased by dogs, where could you find such a good brother in the world?
“Meng Yuxiu.” Han Shuo sat on the bed next to him, speaking from the heart, “I really don’t know what to say, you’re such a good person! No wonder you’re my fellow villager. Don’t worry, if I make money selling waste materials, I’ll take you with me.”
Han Shuo was so excited he was babbling, “No, you just focus on your studies, I’ll take care of you in the future.”
Meng Yuxiu’s long eyes glanced at Han Shuo, and then his lips curled slightly.
Han Shuo really wanted to express his gratitude immediately, but the conditions were limited. He thought about it and remembered that there was still hot water in the thermos in his dorm, so he offered to get some foot-washing water for Meng Yuxiu.
“No need.”
“Then I’ll get you some face-washing water?”
“No need.”
Han Shuo thought for a moment, “Then I’ll squeeze the toothpaste for you.”
“No need.”
The more Meng Yuxiu refused, the more Han Shuo wanted to do something for him. Otherwise, with Meng Yuxiu’s kindness, he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. He asked Meng Yuxiu again.
“Then do you want to do the task tonight?”
“No…” Meng Yuxiu paused, stopped making the bed, and turned to look at Han Shuo, “Didn’t you say to take it slow?”
Seeing that Meng Yuxiu seemed willing, Han Shuo’s eyes lit up, and he didn’t even think about the connection between doing the task and expressing gratitude to Meng Yuxiu.
“I said to take it slow, but I didn’t say not to do it. There are hundreds of hours, we can’t finish it all at once.” Han Shuo suggested, “How about we sleep together tonight? It’ll save me from making the bed, what do you think?”
Meng Yuxiu glanced at the bed, and whatever he thought of, his expression became a bit unnatural, but he still nodded gently.
“Okay.”
Han Shuo immediately went to wash his face, brush his teeth, and wash his feet. By the time Meng Yuxiu was still dawdling in the bathroom, he had already dried his feet and crawled into bed.
With Meng Yuxiu’s actions over the past few days, he swore he would treat Meng Yuxiu a thousand times better.
So thinking about this, he moved his body to the side, leaving a warm spot for Meng Yuxiu to lie in when he returned.
After washing his face, Meng Yuxiu closed the dormitory door. The twenty or so beds were empty, except for Han Shuo, who was propped up on one, smiling at him.
Han Shuo patted the bed, “I’ve already warmed it up for you, come on.”
Meng Yuxiu hesitated for a moment in front of the basin rack, then climbed into bed.
As Han Shuo made room for him, he said, “You never really slept with me at my house before, but now we can finally sleep together peacefully.”
Whether it was the love letter or Han Shuo’s usual coaxing, he didn’t feel anything when he slept at Han Shuo’s house before.
But now, glancing at Han Shuo in his thin autumn clothes, he felt inexplicably stiff.
As soon as he lay down, the fresh scent of toothpaste from Han Shuo filled his nose.
Meng Yuxiu slowly straightened his legs, but they touched the warm, bare legs.
He stared at Han Shuo, “You’re not wearing long johns?”
“Ah, wearing those to sleep is uncomfortable, I’m wearing underwear.”
“…”
Han Shuo sat up, reached out to pull the light bulb string, and turned off the light. Then he lay back down, wrapping his arm around Meng Yuxiu’s body.
He turned Meng Yuxiu’s face and kissed his lips.
Meng Yuxiu couldn’t see his surroundings, only hearing the sound of him and Han Shuo kissing. In the quiet of the night, it seemed especially ambiguous, and he felt a rush of heat, instinctively clenching his fingers on Han Shuo’s autumn clothes.
Han Shuo paused, eyes wide open in the dark.
Meng Yuxiu suddenly felt a bit stiff, and to cover his embarrassment, he asked Han Shuo, “Didn’t you say you could react just by kissing?”
As soon as he said this, Han Shuo’s mind jolted.
Damn! He almost forgot about that…
But he never expected that Meng Yuxiu would react in less than ten seconds…
He’s not a teddy bear; it should take him some time to react…
But Han Shuo didn’t respond immediately. He was thinking… thinking about whether he, a straight man, could react to a man.
After thinking it over, he felt that with Meng Yuxiu being so kind and loyal to him, he couldn’t let Meng Yuxiu be embarrassed alone.
As a good brother, they should both rise to the occasion!
This time, he had to live up to his good brother’s expectations! He had to stand with him!
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Meng Yuxiu asked softly.
“…” At this moment, Han Shuo’s mind was filled with yellow waste material, “Wait, don’t rush. I forgot to tell you, I… take a bit longer to get up…”
Meng Yuxiu: “But you said last time that you get up quickly… and go down quickly too.”
Seriously, does he have to have such a good memory?
Han Shuo gritted his teeth, “You misunderstood, I said I get up quickly in terms of process time, but I stand up slowly…”
“It’s not easy for me to stand up…”