Several small vendors with carts set up stalls behind, selling cheap snacks and toys. On joyous or solemn occasions, one could also see these peddlers, who would go wherever the crowd gathered.
Some children were buying things, and even more could only stand by, enviously watching, offering their opinions to those kids with money to buy snacks.
Li Zhiyuan patted his pockets. Back when he was living with Li Weihan, Cui Guiying would give him a little pocket money regularly, but every time he got his hands on the money, he would be surrounded by his siblings, and they would go to Aunt Zhang’s small store to buy snacks for everyone.
The second day after he was sent to Grandmaster’s House to "become a monk," Li Weihan and Cui Guiying came over to bring him clothes and secretly gave him some money, which was quite a bit more this time.
Plus, Li Sanjiang also gave him pocket money, and since Li Zhiyuan didn’t have many expenses, he saved it all up.
At least among the children, he was considered very wealthy.
"Alii, sit here and wait for me."
Then, Li Zhiyuan walked up to a vendor and bought two bubble-blowing toys.
After returning, he had one, and Qin Li had one.
During the movie screening, the two of them blew bubbles non-stop at the back.
Alii was having so much fun that the bottle quickly emptied. Considering that girls liked to collect things, Li Zhiyuan bought her three more.
At the same time, he scanned three different stalls and finally bought a pair of bracelets.
Actually, there were quite a few small accessories on the stalls, like butterfly hair clips and colorful headbands, but considering that Grandma Liu personally styled Alii’s outfits every day, Li Zhiyuan felt that adding these would not look good.
Most importantly, he knew that if he gave them to her, she would definitely wear them, so he decided not to deprive Liu Yumei of the joy of dressing up her granddaughter every morning.
Alii stared at the red bracelet on her wrist; she must have liked it because she stopped blowing bubbles.
However, she quickly looked towards Li Zhiyuan’s wrist again.
Li Zhiyuan raised his hand, showing his blue bracelet, and only then did she seem satisfied and continued blowing bubbles.
When the movie screening ended, Liu Yumei and the others came out.
Run Sheng was very excited, repeatedly quoting lines from the movie, and lamented that there were no wars to fight now, otherwise he could have been a river-crossing scout.
Li Zhiyuan smiled and echoed him, though he felt Run Sheng might indeed be quite suitable for that, with his professional skills being just about right.
Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu were very silent, a feeling as if they had just attended a relative’s funeral.
Liu Yumei walked while wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
Li Zhiyuan politely greeted them, and seeing that Liu Yumei did not want to talk, he let it be.
When the group briskly walked back from the town market, they saw Aunt Zhang from the small store in the opposite village path running towards them:
"There’s a phone call, there’s a phone call for Little Yuanhou!"
The on-site research meeting on the boat lasted much longer than expected. Local comrades would certainly seize every opportunity to promote this project energetically. Luo Tingrui also brought out his expertise and began to explain some of the key difficulties of the project to the surrounding leaders.
Actually, most of the comrades on the boat didn’t understand water conservancy and engineering, but that didn’t stop them from being keenly interested.
Because constructing this bridge wasn’t just about professional aspects, but also needed to integrate shipping demands, city planning, expressway construction, and even military and other factors.
The most important aspect was the rate of social development. Lessons had been learned in the past when what was initially thought to be boldly progressive planning turned out to be too conservative after the completion of the construction.
Finally, as dusk was about to set in, the research meeting concluded.
The boat began to head towards the shore, and everyone took out their cigarettes and shared them with each other.
Xue Liangliang didn’t smoke, so he stood alone by the boat’s railing. Upon learning that the Bai family town might be right beneath his feet, he had been restless.
Suddenly, he heard movement from under the water’s surface.
He looked down and seemed to see a figure appearing below.
At that moment, a hand patted him on the shoulder, startling Xue Liangliang.
He turned around and saw Luo Tingrui.
"What’s wrong, Liangliang? You’ve been out of sorts."
"Director, I’m fine."
"You don’t enjoy these kinds of meetings?"
"No, Director, I might just be lacking rest. I understand the importance of these meetings."
"Well, if you plan to pursue this field in the future, then you need to learn to adapt. We professionals tend to look down on administrative works, but without a highly efficient and stable structure, it’s hard to implement many things. Sometimes, the more professional you are in some areas, the more amateurish you may seem in others."
"I understand, Director." Xue Liangliang knew Luo Tingrui was giving him advice.
"Let’s go, we’re ashore now. Get some good sleep on the way back, and don’t miss your class tomorrow."
Back on shore and on the bus, Xue Liangliang sat in the back row. Shortly after the bus started, he dozed off.
While asleep, Xue Liangliang suddenly felt his lower body getting cold. He opened his eyes and was shocked to find himself in the bus seat, not knowing where the water in the bus came from, and the water level had already risen to his waist.
He looked forward, the interior bus lights were on, and he could see the people sitting ahead, even hearing their quiet conversations.