Chapter 685 Letter from Yang Xiaohua
"Brother Shuzhuo!"
Wang Jianguo excitedly poked Zhao Shuzhuo's arm, his voice filled with uncontrollable excitement.
"Look, it's Xiao Liu who's delivering the newspaper!"
He stood on tiptoe and carefully identified the appearance of the person coming. Under the halo of the street lamp, the postman badge on the other person's chest flickered in the night. It was Xiao Liu, who was responsible for delivering letters in the surrounding area.
Zhao Shuzhuo's heart skipped a beat and his fingers holding the teacup suddenly tightened.
He looked at the bicycle getting closer and closer, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, and Yang Xiaohua's pretty face involuntarily appeared in his mind.
He had imagined the scene of receiving a reply letter countless times these days, but when the moment finally came, he was so nervous that he was at a loss.
Xiao Liu rode his bike into the brick factory gate, and the wheels made a "crunching" sound as they rolled over the gravel road.
Before the car stopped, Wang Jianguo quickly walked over:
"Xiao Liu, do you have any letter from Brother Zhao today?"
As he spoke, he reached out to help the other person hold the back seat of the bicycle, but his eyes were fixed on the bulging mail package.
Xiao Liu wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled as he rummaged through the mailbag:
"It really is! Captain Zhao, your letter!"
He took out a light blue envelope. On the upper right corner of the envelope was a stamp with a sunflower pattern on it. The corners were slightly wrinkled, obviously having traveled a long distance.
Zhao Shuzhuo felt his throat tighten and took a deep breath before reaching out to take the envelope.
The moment his fingertips touched the envelope, he seemed to feel the warmth of Yang Xiaohua writing the letter thousands of miles away.
The words "Details not included" were neatly written on the back of the envelope. The familiar handwriting made his heart tremble.
He carefully put the envelope into his arms, as if he was guarding a precious secret.
Wang Jianguo stamped his feet anxiously:
"Hurry up and take a look! What did Comrade Xiaohua write?"
His voice was full of curiosity and anticipation, and even the workers passing by couldn't help but slow down their pace and cast an inquiring look at him.
Zhao Shuzhuo shook his head and pressed the envelope tighter. The sunlight shone on his flushed face, creating a soft halo:
"Go back and look again."
He spoke softly, with an imperceptible tremor in his voice.
At this moment, he suddenly hoped that the road from the brick factory to the dormitory could be longer, so that he could enjoy the anticipation and anxiety that was about to be revealed a little longer.
The brick factory's searchlights drew two intersecting beams of light in the night sky, surrounding Zhao Shuzhuo and Wang Jianguo in an incandescent halo.
Zhao Shuzhuo's fingers holding the envelope trembled slightly, and the creases on the edges of the letter paper left red marks on his palms. Behind him, there were constant noises of booing, as if even the evening breeze was carrying the heat of gossip.
"Hey, Brother Shuzhuo, take a look!"
Wang Jianguo pounced on him like a hound on the loose, and the pen in his overalls pocket hurt Zhao Shuzhuo's ribs. He deliberately raised his voice to penetrate the noisy voices:
"Let us single guys see what people in relationships talk about, so we can learn from them when we are in relationships in the future!"
This immediately caused a burst of laughter. Several young workers dropped their tools and gathered around, their eyes flashing with curiosity hotter than a searchlight.
Cheng Erhua squeezed in from the crowd. The towel around his neck was already soaked with sweat, and it swung against his back as he moved.
"Yes, Captain!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice filled with undisguised excitement.
"Yang Chan and I work together in the supply and marketing cooperative every day. Apart from discussing the quantity and quality of goods, we don't even have a chance to talk to each other!"
His words caused a burst of boos from the crowd, and several old craftsmen also looked over here with interest, leaning on their shovels.
Cheng Erhua's face flushed, but he still stared at the envelope in Zhao Shuzhuo's hand:
"Let me know what it's like to be in love with someone hundreds of miles away!"
Liu Erzhu came out from behind the brick pile carrying a shovel, and the shovel head made a harsh sound as it scraped the ground.
He pounded the tool heavily on the ground, and the dust that was kicked up fell on Zhao Shuzhuo's Liberation shoes.
"Yes, Captain!"
He wiped the brick dust off his face, revealing two white marks.
"My mother waits at the entrance of the village every day, saying that the son of Mr. Li from the neighboring village has a grandson!"
The crowd burst into laughter again, but Liu Erzhu was unaware and moved closer.
"Your letter must contain some tips on how to date someone. Please show me the way!"
As he said this, he stretched out his hand to grab it, but Zhao Shuzhuo dodged it swiftly.
On the outskirts of the crowd, female workers with red hairbands were whispering to each other, bursting into laughter from time to time.
"Liu Erzhu, please stop it!"
One of the brave girls shouted:
"The last time I met the female educated youth, she couldn't even speak fluently. Do you still want to learn from her?"
This made everyone laugh so hard that they fell down. Liu Erzhu blushed and scratched his head, muttering "Stop teasing me", but his eyes never left the letter.
Wang Jianguo took the opportunity to put his arm around Zhao Shuzhuo's shoulders and deliberately lowered his voice:
"Brother Shuzhuo, look at everyone's eager eyes, just think of it as a love lesson for our production team!"
He suddenly raised his voice and shouted to the crowd:
"Let us bachelors learn from this. We can't write love letters as dryly as we record work points!"
Several young workers immediately took out the small notebooks they carried with them and prepared to take notes in a serious manner. Even a few old masters couldn't help but come forward to take a look.
Zhao Shuzhuo leaned against the brick pile, feeling the sweat running down his spine. The edge of the letter rubbed against his palm, as if carrying the warmth of Yang Xiaohua.
He glanced at the expectant eyes around him, and suddenly caught a glimpse of the slogan "Strive to improve production and eliminate bad work styles" on the blackboard in the distance. His Adam's apple moved, and he stuffed the letter tighter into his arms:
"Go away! I've never seen you guys so active while working!"
But the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise, with an unconcealable sweetness. The crowd was noisy again, and someone started to make a noise, "The captain is shy."
Amid the hustle and bustle, Zhao Shuzhuo held the letter tightly, as if he was guarding the most precious secret of the entire brick factory.
The brick factory's searchlights cast a pale halo in the night sky, distorting Zhao Shuzhuo's shadow.
Wang Jianguo's arm was still heavily resting on his shoulders. The breathing of the workers around him mixed with the residual heat of the brick kiln, condensing into a ball of hot mist in the small open space.
Zhao Shuzhuo's Adam's apple rolled, and his fingertips pinched the edge of the envelope very carefully, for fear of tearing the brown paper into pieces.
He remembered how he had checked the punctuation marks over and over again when he mailed the letter a few days ago. At this moment, those neat handwritings seemed to have turned into hot irons.
"You guys, huh, let me show you guys."
He forced a sweet smile, biting his lower lip with his teeth.
"Don't be jealous, don't be envious."
With his nails digging deep into his palms, he slowly tore open the seal of the envelope, his movements just like opening the hot door of a brick kiln.