Chapter 48: Whether It’s Cold or Hot

After a full day of work, Shi Ying and Lao Zhao successfully closed two more deals. The morning order came from a restaurant owner who took spot goods—four cases to be stocked in the shop. Though not a large quantity, there was potential for repeat orders if sales went well.

The afternoon deal was a one-time purchase—a franchise owner in his early thirties bought wine for personal use. He was getting married next month and hosting forty tables of guests, so he ordered ten cases of dry red wine in one go.

After seeing off the last group of customers, the advertising team packed up their materials. Shi Ying returned to the office first to organize the paperwork.

Lao Zhao, holding a pair of tongs, picked up trash at the barbecue site. Seeing that there were still plenty of ingredients left in the cooler and hearing Shi Ying mention earlier that a few friends would be coming over, he quickly calculated today’s earnings. Making up his mind, he dumped the trash and brought out all the leftover beef and lamb, inviting the foremen who had come to prune shrubs at the winery earlier to stay and eat.

It was a good opportunity to gather everyone together and treat them for their hard work.

When Zhou Yan’s delivery van drove into Chixia Winery, the sun had just set behind Helan Mountain.

The skewers on the barbecue grill sizzled as the charcoal fire roasted out glistening oils. Lao Zhao, wearing white cotton gloves, squatted on the ground, slicing eggplants and bell peppers placed on plastic stools.

The two foremen weren’t idle either. They dragged over a few pieces of broken wood from the nearby wild forest, tied them together with wire, piled dried grapevines on top, and built a bonfire next to the barbecue area.

As soon as the match touched the gasoline-soaked wood, the flames burst forth ferociously, shooting high into the air while dry leaves crackled and popped.

Lao Zhao, cigarette dangling from his mouth, was startled by the sudden blaze behind him. Covering his back, he cursed, “Damn it, don’t burn my undershirt!”

The two foremen, already halfway through a bottle of wine and some flatbread, laughed loudly. “Boss Zhao, why do you always wear a wool vest under your suit? And sleeveless at that—are you hot or cold?”

“Exactly! And that color—no girl in our village would dress like that. Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“What do you know!” Lao Zhao flipped the skewers, cigarette wedged between his fingers. With one hand, he roasted an eggplant over the fire and with the other, sprinkled cumin seeds on the meat. “This is cashmere, a brand name! Erdos! Warm in winter, cool in summer—not too hot, not too cold. Red is fine—it’s my birth year; I need to boost my luck.”

“Only a handsome man like me can pull off such a vibrant color!”

“Hahahaha. You’re dreaming.”

The fake handsome man continued flipping skewers, while the real handsome man, impeccably dressed in a suit, emerged from the winery gates. Backlit by the bonfire, he looked like he was strutting down a runway in the wilderness.

Zhou Yan was the first to step out of her truck.

In the morning, she had delivered appliances to the winery on behalf of Shi Ying. In the afternoon, she benefited from the winery’s connections, picking up several delivery orders heading into the city. She had no idea there were so many jobs requiring vehicles down the mountain—it was like discovering a new business avenue.

To express her gratitude, when Shi Ying asked her to give Cheng Simin a ride, she readily agreed and even refused payment.

Next came Jin Gang, leading Beibei. Originally, Shi Ying had intended to invite all the neighbors from the 12th floor, but Grandma Qi said she got car-sick easily, that her old teeth made eating unappealing, and that she didn’t want to spoil the fun for the younger crowd. She only instructed Zhou Yan to keep an eye on her grandson and ensure he didn’t cause trouble.

Finally, Cheng Simin appeared. In her left hand, she carried a bag of vegetable sticks, and in her right, she clutched her tablet. As soon as she stepped out of the car, she looked around. Spotting Shi Ying through the firelight, she immediately stood on tiptoe and waved at him.

Cheng Simin had left home in a hurry earlier, and since she needed to prepare rabbit-feeding vegetables within fifteen minutes, her outfit was a haphazard mix. A hoodie paired with wide-leg jeans looked normal enough, but underneath the hoodie’s zipper was a washed-out short-sleeved shirt printed with little bears. Pulling up her pant legs revealed dog-walking Crocs.

Her black-rimmed glasses remained perched on her nose, and her hair, held back with an oversized claw clip, had a few stray strands sticking up like a feather duster.

Even in this quintessential shut-in look, Shi Ying found Cheng Simin incredibly cute and youthful. Now, who could tell her apart from a college student? How could someone look so refreshingly unconventional just by throwing things on?

Shi Ying’s eyes sparkled with admiration for Cheng Simin, but unbeknownst to him, Lao Zhao had also been hooked after Zhou Yan stepped out of the vehicle.

Shi Ying invited the neighbors to the dining room for tea first. Lao Zhao abandoned his skewers and quickly approached Shi Ying from behind, shoving his face close and whispering, “Is that beauty your friend?”

Shi Ying tilted his head to avoid the stench of cigarettes on Lao Zhao’s breath. His eyebrows furrowed as he bluntly scolded, “How old are you? Have some shame. That’s my classmate—you don’t even think about it.”

Lao Zhao’s eyes darted, and he spat, unwilling to be outdone. “Look at you, acting all righteous. Am I that kind of person? I meant the driver.”

“Oh, Zhou Jie?” Shi Ying adjusted his tie, concealing his flustered state. Clearing his throat, he said, “Zhou Yan, my neighbor.”

“What!” Upon hearing Zhou Yan’s name, Lao Zhao’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Excited, he dropped the cigarette from his mouth, his heart pounding. “My Swallow is here?”

“You sound so affectionate. Do you know each other?” Shi Ying stopped walking and turned to ask.

“No, we don’t. But she’s not married, right? Definitely not. I think she’s great.” After months of waiting, just as he was about to lose hope and abandon thoughts of love, Swallow had suddenly manifested before him.

Shi Ying had no idea Lao Zhao treated dreams as divine commands. He thought, You’ve only just met her, and already you think she’s a good person? Looks like spending all these years alone at the winery has driven you mad.

So, with disdain, he said, “What’s this about? Didn’t you say you hated people with the surname Zhou last time? You’re incompatible with the Zhou surname.”

“Nonsense! I was talking about Zhou Rong. How can you compare Zhou Rong to Zhou Yan?” One was wood, the other a swallow. Clearly, wood suppressed him, while swallows surely brought him good fortune.

Shi Ying paid no attention to his superstitious nonsense and nodded toward the barbecue grill. “Hey, the skewers are burning.”

Lao Zhao turned back, let out a loud “Ouch!” showing his big front teeth, and hurriedly ran back to the grill to extinguish small flames on the skewers. When he turned back again, Shi Ying had already entered the dining room with the others.

Fat-wrapped lamb, tendon, lamb skewers, small yellow croakers, bell peppers, garlic eggplants—in less than half an hour, Lao Zhao brought in over two hundred skewers.

He placed the best hundred or so skewers in front of Zhou Yan, while the burnt and less appealing ones were dumped onto plates for Shi Ying and the two foremen.

As he sat down, he deliberately spoke loudly in Zhou Yan’s direction. “Everyone, try my cooking. Eat your fill—if there’s not enough, I’ll grill more. There’s plenty of meat. I’ve got crayfish and red willow branches in the fridge upstairs. Later, I’ll grill another batch of red willow skewers and make a spicy crayfish stir-fry to go with the drinks.”

Jin Gang couldn’t sit still. After munching on two corn cobs, he took Beibei outside to feed the rabbits.

Cheng Simin wanted to see the rabbits too, but she wasn’t a child. With so many people at the table and a customer relationship to consider, she had to firmly plant herself in the seat next to Shi Ying.

The six of them ate skewers side by side, filling their stomachs. Cheng Simin quickly pulled out her tablet and sat next to Lao Zhao to discuss business. But was Lao Zhao focused on the wine labels? He glanced at them twice, said nothing, and kicked Shi Ying’s leg fiercely under the table.

Shi Ying, sensing something amiss as soon as his companion moved, lowered his gaze. He was using serving chopsticks to scrape off the burnt parts of Cheng Simin’s skewers. He was sharp—knowing exactly what Lao Zhao was up to, he dodged the attack under the table, letting Lao Zhao kick the cast-iron table leg instead.

The table shook with a loud clang. Lao Zhao groaned in pain, wincing and baring his teeth as he sucked in air.

Cheng Simin thought he was dissatisfied with her design and, peeking at his expression, hurriedly added with utmost respect, “Boss Zhao, if you’re not satisfied, please let me know. I can revise it until you’re happy.”

“It’s not that.” Lao Zhao’s toes curled inside his shoes as he recovered. Before he could respond, Shi Ying snatched away the tablet in front of him.

Shi Ying put Cheng Simin’s tablet back into her canvas bag hanging on the chair. Looking up, he explained on behalf of Lao Zhao, “Boss Zhao might not like discussing work during breaks. Let’s eat first. We can talk upstairs in the office later.”

“I’ll brew a pot of good tea.”

“And we haven’t introduced ourselves yet.”

Lao Zhao wasn’t one to be underestimated. Seeing Shi Ying’s awkwardness, he knew jealousy was at play. He quickly distanced himself from Cheng Simin, saying, “Right, right, let’s not talk business during meals. Girl, go back to your seat. I don’t even know your name yet. Did Xiao Shi say you’re his classmate?”

“You two are classmates?” Zhou Yan didn’t know they had this connection. She had always called Cheng Simin “girl” and noted her as Room 1203 on WeChat. Once in the elevator, Grandma Qi mentioned the girl’s name—it was something like Chen Siming. Busy as she was, she forgot shortly after.

Cheng Simin returned to the seat next to Shi Ying. Seeing that the blackened tips of the skewers in front of her had been wiped clean, she reciprocated by pouring a drink for Shi Ying.

Taking a sip, her mouth and heart sweetened. Only then did Shi Ying lift his face to introduce everyone.

“Cheng Simin, Boss Zhao, Foreman Zhang, Foreman Li.”

Clang! Zhou Yan’s hand slipped while pouring her drink. The paper cup tilted, but Foreman Zhang quickly steadied it. However, the orange juice with pulp spilled across the table and onto Cheng Simin’s jacket.

Shi Ying quietly asked, “Are you okay?”

With his right hand, he put down his chopsticks and handed her a napkin. Cheng Simin took it nonchalantly, laughing and saying, “No problem, no problem. I’ll wash it off in the restroom.”

“All right. Second door on the left. There’s dish soap on the rack.”

Cheng Simin got up and left the table. Shi Ying continued his earlier topic. “Zhou Yan, Sister Zhou, my neighbor, drives a delivery truck. She helped us bring a TV from the city today.”

“In the future, if you need moving or deliveries, contact Sister Zhou.”

“A female truck driver? Impressive.”

“Yes, does she do long hauls too? Not easy.”

Foremen Zhang and Li were chatting when Lao Zhao squeezed between them, sitting directly opposite Zhou Yan. Somehow, he produced two bottles of sparkling wine and said, “Sister! Thank goodness for your help—otherwise, today’s event would have been a disaster.”

“Don’t listen to them calling me Boss Zhao. Look, my business isn’t big, just average. You can call me Lao Zhao. How about a drink?”

Zhou Yan shook her head to decline, her shoulder-length chestnut hair partially shielding her eyes. No one noticed the drastic change in her expression; they only heard her slightly trembling voice feigning cheerfulness. “Xiao Shi, you look about twenty-five or twenty-six. Are you born in ‘97, the Year of the Ox?”

“Yes,” Shi Ying replied absentmindedly, his attention still lingering in the direction where Cheng Simin had disappeared.

Zhou Yan followed up with another question. “And Xiao Chen—uh, I mean Xiao Cheng—is she also born in the Year of the Ox? Did you both attend primary school in Banshan?”

“That’s right.”

“Xiao Cheng, what does her family do? Why don’t we ever see her parents visiting her? Are they locals here?” Zhou Yan’s left hand, resting on her lap, trembled. The skewer she had just eaten was stuck in her throat, refusing to go down. To appear natural, she picked up a piece of eggplant and shoved it into her mouth, chewing vigorously.

After asking several consecutive questions about Cheng Simin, Zhou Yan finally aroused Shi Ying’s suspicion. He turned his head, scrutinizing her expression carefully. Without answering, he jokingly countered, “Sister Zhou, why are you suddenly so interested in Cheng Simin? Are you planning to set her up with someone?”