Chapter 1688 - 307

The big truck certainly isn't as fast as a small car, but it allows for more lingering over the scenery along the way.

Tan Wenbin offered a cigarette to Zhao Yi, who was driving, lit it, and asked with a smile:

"Heading home now, how's the feeling outside the team?"

Zhao Yi honked the horn twice and replied:

"Eager to return."

The cabin had two rows of seats, with Li Zhiyuan sitting in the passenger seat, and Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou sitting in the back row.

Run Sheng didn't want to squeeze in here; he chose to sit alone in the spacious rear compartment.

Zhao Yi: "By the way, how did you guys explain to Mr. Li that you had to leave so abruptly? Did you say you were going back for final exams at school?"

Tan Wenbin: "No, we told Mr. Li that there was an internship project in Jiujiang."

Zhao Yi: "Oh, understood. It's indeed necessary to tell him where you're going."

Tan Wenbin: "It's not how you think. When you're out, you don't have to tell the elders what you're doing, but at least let them know your exact location on the map."

As the old saying goes, if something unexpected happens while you're away, at least the family at home will know which direction to face when burning paper.

Zhao Yi: "My bad, I was too utilitarian, cough... I even specifically said goodbye to Mr. Li before leaving, saying I had urgent matters to attend to at home."

Lin Shuyou pointed to the two big bags by his feet; one bag contained candles, and the other had yellow paper and gold and silver ingots.

"Three-eyed, are these the Nantong specialties Mr. Li asked you to bring home?"

Zhao Yi: "Yeah, I told Mr. Li my mom died."

Lin Shuyou: "…"

Tan Wenbin: "So it seems your childhood was more about fatherly love?"

Zhao Yi: "Not really, mainly because Mr. Li is a nice person, and he treats me well. I'm afraid if I said both my parents died in a car accident, Mr. Li would say he'd come back to Jiujiang with me to help with the rituals."

Lin Shuyou forced himself to keep a straight face.

Zhao Yi: "Laugh, go ahead, I don't mind. What are you worried about? Don't hold it in and make yourself uncomfortable."

Lin Shuyou shook his head, still trying to hold back, and bent over to tie a knot on the two red bags.

When he went back to his hometown in Fujian from Nantong for the first time, he brought back quite a few Nantong specialties.

Nantong people have a fixed answer for their specialties, like solving a problem set; when he asked Mr. Li and Brother Bin, the initial answers were: West Pavilion Crispy Cake, Bai Pu Tea Cake…

Though Lin Shuyou never saw them eat these things in their daily lives, as if it's just a set of specialties for the sake of having specialties.

Anyway, when Lin Shuyou went back home for the second time, he found the specialties he brought last time were still in his family's cabinet, barely touched.

Honestly, it'd be better to take back some candles and ingots; at least they could be burned in the temple.

At this moment, Zhao Yi's big brother's phone rang.

Tan Wenbin picked it up to answer.

Old Tian's anxious voice came from the other side:

"Young master, how could you just leave like that? If Brother Li didn't tell me during lunch, I wouldn't have known you left already!"

"Yes, we've already left."

"Young master, why didn't you take me with you this time? My legs are fine now. Young master, I can be useful!"

"Old Tian, this time I'm returning to handle family affairs."

"Isn't that perfect? I'm also one of the Jiujiang Zhao people, young master!"

"What kind of Zhao family are you, you don't even share the Zhao surname."

There was a silence on the other end for a moment before Old Tian's aggrieved voice spoke:

"Young master, you can't use the same excuse to not take me twice."

"Old Tian, your task is to keep an eye on Liu Jinxia's family of three women at home. If there's anything unusual, inform me immediately, it's very important, understand?"

"Okay, young master, I understand."

"Alright, hanging up."

The car drove along the river, heading to the ferry terminal.

You could see many engineering ships on the river and many construction workers on the shore.

Zhao Yi asked: "What are they doing?"

Lin Shuyou: "They're constructing."

Zhao Yi glanced back at Lin Shuyou without speaking.

Tan Wenbin: "They are probably dredging."

Zhao Yi: "Dredging? Is it clogged?"

Tan Wenbin licked his lips, unsure how to reply.

Li Zhiyuan in the passenger seat spoke up: "Dredging deepens the river. There's a saying in the water transport industry: 'An inch of water depth is an inch of gold'; the deeper the water, the larger the tonnage of ships that can pass."

Zhao Yi: "So for this, they need to dig the river? That must be a huge project."

Li Zhiyuan: "This has been ongoing for decades, and in the coming years, the intensity of dredging and management will further increase. Water transport costs are very low; if well-managed, ocean ships can sail directly in, effectively creating nearly eight hundred kilometers of coastline in Jiangsu Province, transforming inland river ports into sea ports."

Zhao Yi: "Zhuangzhuang, Ah You, did you go to the same university as Li?"

Li Zhiyuan: "Some things, they just don't have the energy to look at."

Zhao Yi: "I can see that; they even have to sneak in some study to prepare for finals."

After crossing the river by ferry, they continued driving, and partway through, Tan Wenbin took over the wheel for a while.

The others took the chance to rest and recharge.

Finally, with a reminder from Zhao Yi: "Ladies and gentlemen, we've arrived in Jiujiang."

Lin Shuyou opened his eyes and gazed out the window.

There seemed to be a late mist, with distant mountain scenery shrouded in white smoke, giving an ethereal and otherworldly feel.

Lin Shuyou remarked: "The scenery is better than Nantong's."

Zhao Yi agreed with a nod: "Nantong is such a ghostly place. When I wanted to go out for a midnight snack at night, I had to go all the way to the school gate."

Last night, I had the most delicious midnight snack since coming to Nantong.

Except, the cook wasn't even from Nantong, and, well, wasn't even human.

"Three-eyed, any fun places in your hometown?"