Afterwards, Bai Xiaoqi approached Li Tang and said that one of her sisters from her hometown wanted to apply for a front desk job in Dihong and hoped that Li Tang could help.
This kind of help was indeed convenient. Although Li Tang was a little surprised that Bai Xiaoqi would find him, he still did not refuse.
After that, Bai Xiaoqi invited Li Tang to dinner in the name of her gratitude. After dinner, Bai Xiaoqi said it was still early, so why not go to the movies? There was a new movie released recently that she had always wanted to see.
Li Tang began to think about Bai Xiaoqi’s intentions.
In fact, when Li Tang was at this age, his work and life were stable in all aspects, and it was not like he had not considered finding a suitable woman to start a family. But Li Tang had never thought carefully about what could be considered suitable.
Bai Xiaoqi’s sudden appearance made Li Tang feel that it may not be that impossible. In terms of status, both he and Bai Xiaoqi came to this city to work and made a living outside. Compared with other girls that Li Tang had the opportunity to come into contact with, Bai Xiaoqi might be more suitable for him.
So Li Tang did not reject Bai Xiaoqi. Later on, they met with each other several times in succession, which can be considered as confirming their relationship.
Hong Minhang didn’t know all this. After he took over Dihong, he wanted to build a business empire from his mind, so he made drastic changes within Dihong.
Many old brothers who used to follow Hong Xiangfeng were now idle, only relying on Dihong to support them. Hong Minhang waved his hand and asked them to go back and rest.
So many people went and complained to Hong Xiangfeng.
Hong Xiangfeng called Hong Minhang and Li Tang back together, telling Hong Minhang to restrain himself and not go too far.
Hong Minhang sat on the sofa, facing Hong Xiangfeng. “Dad, you said you’d let me handle Dihong.”
Hong Xiangfeng said, “Those are all old brothers who have been with me for decades. They put in a lot of effort when they followed me to build up the business. And now that you think they’re old and useless, you’ve kicked them all out. This is not appropriate.”
Hong Minhang answered, “I am doing it for Dihong’s good. Besides, those people even have the free time to make indiscreet criticisms. They suppress young people and dare not let them have a free hand in what they want to do. If it’s like this, then let’s just let them go back home and live a good idle life, right? I will still pay them their monthly salary, so what’s the problem?”
Suddenly, Hong Xiangjun’s voice came from the door, “Minhang, what you’re doing is wrong. According to you, we old people are all useless? Without us, there would be no Dihong today. How could a junior like you be like this?”
Hong Minhang and Li Tang stood up. They looked at the brothers, Hong Xiangjun and Hong Xiangguo, who walked in from the door.
Hong Xiangjun called out, “Brother.”
Hong Xiangfeng looked up at them and asked, “You’re here, ah?”
Hong Xiangjun and Hong Xiangguo sat down on the edge of the sofa together. Hong Xiangguo said, “Brother, many brothers have approached us. I also think that Minhang is not handling this matter properly.”
Hong Xiangfeng raised his hand. “Okay, don’t speak further. I have the final say on this matter.”
Hong Minhang said, “Dad——”
Hong Xiangfeng interrupted him, “It’s needless for you to say anything.”
Upon hearing this, Hong Minhang turned around and walked out, heading to the room upstairs somewhat irritably.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Hong Xiangfeng said to Li Tang, “You go and help me advise him.”
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Hong Minhang had already changed into a casual gray sportswear and was currently changing his pants. He didn’t stop when he saw Li Tang coming in. Instead, he continued to take off his pants and then put on his trunks. He replied, “I’m going out for a run.”
After saying that, he squatted down and put on his sneakers.
Li Tang came closer and saw that he had taken off his glasses. While his head was buried, the side of his face seemed to have returned to the gloomy and shy Hong Minhang from before. He was a little dazed for a moment, and then he told him, “I’ll take you out for a walk to relax.”
Hong Minhang raised his head to look at him and asked, “Where are we going?”
Li Tang answered, “We’ll go mountain climbing.”
Hong Minhang stood up and said, “Let’s go,” without asking where they were going.
Hong Minhang hasn’t gotten his driver’s license yet. During this period, Hong Xiangfeng’s driver drove him to and from work. Now that he’s going out with Li Tang, Li Tang naturally has to drive.
It was unknown whether it was intentional or if Hong Minhang had simply forgotten, but he didn’t wear his glasses when he went out. As soon as he got in the car, he silently turned his head and looked out the window.
There were no mountains in the urban area of Chongfeng, but if you drove north for more than two hours out of the city, you will gradually see low hills.
It wasn’t until they got on the highway that Hong Minhang asked Li Tang, “Where are we going?”
“To my hometown,” Li Tang told him.
Li Tang’s hometown was actually not far away. Chongfeng City was all the way north. Not counting the time spent in the city, it would only take two hours. However, Li Tang never went back after he came out of his hometown because his parents were gone and he had no brothers or sisters. He was all alone.
It was just a sudden idea to take Hong Minhang back to his hometown, because after all, it was also the Hong family’s hometown. Although it was not in the same county, they were still fellow villagers from the same city.
Unlike Li Tang, Hong Minhang was not born there. He had never been there, so naturally, he had no feelings for it at all.
The longer the car drove, the taller the surrounding mountains became. Hong Minhang looked outside the car window in silence, the high mountains unceasing.
It was afternoon when they arrived at the house. Now, it was already past five o’clock, and the sky was getting dark.
Hong Minhang asked him, “Where will we stay tonight?”
In fact, Li Tang never thought that it had been more than ten years since he left. He didn’t even know whether their old house was still there or whether his former relatives were still there.
It was rare for him to be so impulsive, doing this just to take Hong Minhang out to relax.
Along both sides of the winding mountain road, there were many families living here, either scattered or gathered together. They were not as dilapidated as Li Tang remembered. Many of them were two-story cemented buildings. The old houses with yellow mud walls were hardly visible now.
Li Tang stopped the car midway and asked for directions, then continued driving for half an hour and parked in front of a two-story building by the highway. It was time for dinner. The first-floor door was open, and a family was eating inside. Li Tang walked over and knocked on the door. “Is this Ding Tong’s house?”
The people in the house looked at him, so he added, “I am Ding Jiang’s son, Li Tang.”
Ding Tong was Li Tang’s uncle. Li Tang’s father died early, so his uncle took care of him and his mother. Later, Li Tang’s mother also passed away, so Li Tang followed his fellow villagers to work in the city. The key to the family house was left behind for Ding Tong. There were no mobile phones in that era, and people in the mountains were not equipped with telephones. Over time, they lost contact. This was Li Tang’s first time coming back.
The Ding family was very enthusiastic. Ding Tong even hugged Li Tang and wiped his tears. When the family saw Li Tang driving a nice car and that Hong Minhang looked more like a rich man from a big city, they immediately greeted him uneasily, afraid of neglecting their guest.
Two more seats were added to the table for them to eat together. She thought that the food was too little, so Li Tang’s aunt hurriedly cooked some bacon and sausages and served them.
Ding Tong had a son and a daughter. His daughter was already married, while his son had gone to the county town for business and would be back in a few days. He also had a daughter-in-law and two granddaughters at home.
It took over an hour to drive from the nearest county town, all on mountain roads. Since most families lacked cars, they relied on buses. People seldom descended the mountain unless it was necessary.
Li Tang and Hong Minhang both felt hungry. Although the food was not very tasty, they both ate two large bowls of rice.
At night, they could only prepare one guest room for them to stay in.
They boiled hot water on the gas stove, poured it into a kettle, and carried it upstairs to the second floor.
Hong Minhang couldn’t help but frown as he watched Li Tang pour hot water into the plastic basin.
Li Tang saw the slight change in his expression and smiled. “Let’s just make do with this to wash.”
Hong Minhang didn’t have any mysophobia, but it was obvious that the plastic basin was not new. The thought that it had been used by a stranger still made him feel uncomfortable.
But Li Tang didn’t have any concerns about that. He took a towel, put it in the basin, and said to him, “No need to take a bath. Just wash your face and feet.”
Fortunately, the towel was still new. Hong Minhang took it, twisted it, wiped his face, and asked, “Did you grow up here?”
“Yes,” Li Tang replied. “You have to go up a little further along the path over there, on the mountainside. But the old house is gone now.”
After Hong Minhang washed his face, Li Tang took the water he had used to wash his face and used it to wash his own face.
Hong Minhang sat by the bed and looked at him quietly.
There was only a pot of hot water, and Li Tang couldn’t ask Ding Tong for more. The two of them could only wash themselves one after another, lie down on the bed, and then go to sleep.
But Li Tang couldn’t sleep, so he lay quietly, not wanting to disturb Hong Minhang by tossing and turning.
There were no curtains on the windows, and there were no street lights outside the windows. It was so dark at night in the mountains that you couldn’t see anything. There were no insects chirping at this moment, and the surroundings were silent. The only sounds that could be heard were Hong Minhang’s and his own breathing.
Hong Minhang slowly turned over. Li Tang’s back was originally facing him. At this moment, he suddenly felt an arm on his waist and, at the same time, a warm breath gently brushing the back of his neck.
Hong Minhang was so close to him that Li Tang held his breath for a moment. He was not sure whether Hong Minhang was not asleep, but after waiting quietly for a long time, Hong Minhang did not move, and his breathing was slow and long. He thought that Hong Minhang was indeed asleep.
Li Tang then closed his eyes, and after an unknown amount of time, he fell asleep.
Early in the morning, Li Tang and Hong Minhang got up from bed.
Li Tang said, “Don’t you want to go mountain climbing? Let’s go.”
The two of them walked along the path up the mountain, gradually heading deeper into the sparsely populated mountain. Eventually, there were no more paths, and they could only climb by grabbing onto the plants on the hillside.
They originally felt cold when they went out in the morning, but now they were covered in hot sweat.
Hong Minhang climbed up the mountain silently, while Li Tang followed after him, watching him all the time, fearing that his feet would slip up.
It was almost ten o’clock in the morning when they finally reached the mountain’s peak. The sun came out, bright and dazzling.
The sweat on Hong Minhang’s head kept falling. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the foot of the mountain from a distance.
Li Tang leaned against a tree, panting a little. He took out his cigarette, lit it, and took a puff.
“Li-ge,” Hong Minhang suddenly called him.
Li Tang raised his head and looked at him.
Hong Minhang said, “Thank you. You have taken care of me so much since I was a child. I don’t know how to repay you.”
Li Tang smiled when he heard this. “What are you talking about? Aren’t we brothers? Isn’t it natural for an older brother to take care of his younger brother?”
Hong Minhang raised his head, sweat sliding down his neck into his collar. He did not speak, but said silently in his heart: I can only keep you by my side and spend my whole life slowly repaying you, whether you need it or not.
After going down the mountain and returning to the Ding family’s house, they had a meal. Soon after, Li Tang and Hong Minhang were ready to go back.
Before leaving, Li Tang gave Ding Tong a thousand yuan. He didn’t have much cash on him and couldn’t get more at the moment.
Ding Tong refused.
Li Tang made sure to let him accept it. He then left him a phone number, saying that if anything happened at home, he could be contacted.
Then Li Tang drove away with Hong Minhang. While the car was still on the winding mountain road, Li Tang received a call from Bai Xiaoqi, asking him to watch a movie with her tonight.
Li Tang said softly, “I’m not free tonight. Let’s do it tomorrow instead.”
Bai Xiaoqi was a very sensible person and would never chase after Li Tang, so she immediately said, “Alright, since you have something to do, just take care of yourself and eat on time.”
Li Tang smiled. “I know.”
Hong Minhang kept listening to him talk on the phone. Even though he didn’t know who was on the other end of the phone, Li Tang’s voice was gentle, and his tone was very familiar. He silently raised his hand and propped up his lips with his fingers.
