" … … Upon seeing the signboard Ouyang Zhennan was pointing at, Huo Zai Nian's two long, sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he said with a hint of displeasure, "Zhennan, you know I don't like this kind of place."
Ouyang Zhennan patted Huo Zai Nian's shoulder and grinned, "It's not easy for the newspaper to find someone willing to pay for an advertisement spot today. They asked us to come here to discuss cooperation, so we have to give them some face. Moreover, this time the boss is from Fuk Yee Hing. We work in their jurisdiction, so we definitely have to give them this much face."
"Alright." Seeing Ouyang Zhennan say this, Huo Zai Nian could only reluctantly nod in agreement.
As the two walked into the Paramount Ballroom,
"ye shanghai (shanghai nights), ye shanghai (shanghai nights), you are a city that never sleeps…"
On the dance hall stage, a young woman was singing Zhou Xuan's most classic song, "ye shanghai (shanghai nights)."
The woman wore a light red silk-edged qipao embroidered with pear blossom patterns. Her hair was styled in the most fashionable curly big waves of the time. Beneath her two long, willow-leaf eyebrows were a pair of expressive, captivating eyes filled with tender affection. A faint smile revealed dimples at the corners of her lips, which were moist and rosy. Her alluring, yet somewhat coy, demeanor sparked endless fantasies in the hearts of the tycoons and young masters below the stage.
From time to time, people shouted loudly, "Good! Good!"
The woman's exquisite beauty captivated even Huo Zai Nian and Ouyang Zhennan, who had just entered the dance hall, with her beautiful yet not seductive, glamorous yet not vulgar appearance. Just as she turned to sing again, that Looking back and smiling (a glance back with a smile) was truly enchanting and made her an unparalleled beauty…
…Several days later, in a single room in the teachers' dormitory building,
Huo Yaowen wrote furiously, his fountain pen quickly sketching one beautiful character after another on the white stationery. A poignant love story thus emerged on the paper.
After a long while,
After finishing the initial meeting of Huo Zai Nian and Lin Wanrong, Huo Yaowen put down his fountain pen, clasped his hands together, straightened up, stretched lazily, yawned, and checked his watch. It was already noon, twelve o'clock. He felt his empty stomach and realized he was a bit hungry.
After some thought, Huo Yaowen got up and went out, planning to grab a quick bite at the cafeteria and then return to finish writing comrades: almost a love story.
Changing into his outdoor clothes,
As soon as Huo Yaowen opened the dormitory door, he heard Sai Mui Xi Mei Huo Tingting's voice, and instinctively froze, thinking it was a hallucination. However, he then saw the figures of Sai Mui Xi Mei Huo Tingting and Ming Zai appearing from the stairwell.
Huo Tingting was carrying a large paper bag, following behind Ming Zai. As she climbed the last step, she happened to see Huo Yaowen, who was about to leave, and her face lit up with joy as she happily called out, "Ah Ge!"
Ming Zai behind him also waved and smiled, "Yaowen Ge."
"Why are you two here?!" Huo Yaowen asked happily, a smile on his face.
These past few days at school, besides preparing lesson plans for the upcoming school year, he had been living a secluded life, holed up in his dormitory writing comrades: almost a love story and ghost blows out the light—Tomb Raider's Notes.
Sai Mui wrapped her arm around Huo Yaowen's, holding up the large paper bag she had carried all the way, and said, "Ming Zai brought me. Here, Ah Ge, this is the suit you ordered last time. Tailor Li finished it two days ago. I originally thought you'd pick it up yourself next time you came home, but someone called the public housing phone looking for you today, so I thought I'd bring it to you."
"Someone looking for me? Who is it?" Huo Yaowen asked, trying to take the paper bag with his right hand. He raised his hand, only to realize his right arm was being held by Sai Mui, so he had to take the bag with his left hand.
Huo Tingting's face lit up with joy, and she said sweetly, "It's the person from Oriental Daily News again. He asked if Ah Ge was here, and I told him Ah Ge went to Hong Kong University to teach. That person asked me to tell you that their newspaper will officially launch on September 2nd, and to make sure you buy a copy to read. He also said that your novel is on the front page of the supplement, very prominent."
Huo Yaowen's manuscript was going to be published in the newspaper, and on the front page of the supplement no less. It could be said to be the highest honor for a novelist, so Sai Mui Xi Mei Huo Tingting was naturally happy for Ah Ge.
In her excitement, Huo Tingting immediately ran downstairs to find Ming Zai, who was about to go out to learn carpentry, and asked him to postpone his work for the day and bring her to see Huo Yaowen.
"September 2nd."
Huo Yaowen calculated the days; there were only three days left. This happened to be the second day after school started that the newspaper would be released.
Huo Yaowen was naturally happy that his ghost blows out the light was finally going to be published in the newspaper. As for whether the content would attract readers, he was fully confident. The first thirty thousand words might be a bit uninteresting, but that was only in the eyes of a professional Chief Editor like Li Daoguang, who felt that the early plot was a bit drawn out.
But most readers who bought the newspaper wouldn't think that way. When they saw the content describing ghosts and monsters, it would inevitably spark infinite curiosity in their hearts, compelling them to continue reading.
Thinking of this, Huo Yaowen looked at Sai Mui and Ming Zai. Seeing a lot of sweat on their foreheads, he couldn't help but ask with concern, "Ming Zai, it's such a hot day, and I had to ask you to accompany Sai Mui here. Aren't you overheated?"
Ming Zai wiped the sweat from his face and grinned, "Not hot, Yaowen Ge. I'm listening to you now, working every day with the master my Dad introduced. I can basically do some carpentry work now."
"Not bad, Ming Zai, listening to Yaowen Ge is always right. Once you learn carpentry, no matter where you go in the future, you'll have a skill to rely on, and you won't even have to worry about making a living."
Huo Yaowen was very happy that Ming Zai listened to him and honestly followed his family's instructions to learn carpentry. He smiled and said, "Hmm, let's go, I'll take you guys for some ice."
Upon hearing about eating ice, Huo Tingting's eyes lit up, and she licked her slightly dry lips, saying, "Eating ice! I want mango ice!"
"I don't know if there's mango ice, but there is lemon ice."
"Lemon ice is fine too, Ah Ge, let's hurry and get some ice, I'm dying of heat."
"Alright, alright, let me put my things in the room."
…
Inside the privately run cafeteria at Hong Kong University.
Because school hadn't officially started yet, there weren't many people eating in the cafeteria. In addition, this was a privately run cafeteria, and the prices were much higher than the public cafeteria run by the school, so generally only those with good family conditions could afford to eat here.
Although the food in the private cafeteria was expensive, you got what you paid for. Whether it was the variety of dishes or the taste, it was much better than the mass-produced food in the public cafeteria.
The most important thing was that the private cafeteria didn't serve large-batch dishes. Instead, when someone ordered from the menu, the chefs would stir-fry each dish individually, making it almost like a small restaurant.
In the summer, business in the cafeteria wasn't actually very good, but there were always some students or teachers who stayed at school. So, for the sake of business, the private cafeteria also sold items typically found in ice rooms outside.
For example, coffee, pantyhose milk tea, wife cakes, small cakes, or various refreshing and thirst-quenching iced drinks, and gui ling gao.
Ice, in fact, was what later became the very popular summer slushie, except in Hong Kong it was called shaved ice, and later gradually evolved into just saying "ice," with the flavor added before it, such as mango ice, pineapple ice, lemon ice, and so on.
When Huo Yaowen led Sai Mui and Ming Zai to the cafeteria counter, the waiter inside asked with a smile, "Mr. Huo, what would you like to eat today?"
Having eaten here for several consecutive days, the new waiter in the cafeteria had already recognized Huo Yaowen.
"Are you hungry?" Huo Yaowen turned to look at Sai Mui and the others.
"I'm hungry, Ah Ge." Sai Mui rubbed her stomach and said plaintively, "We got the call early this morning and came right over. We had breakfast, but we haven't had lunch yet!"
Huo Yaowen glanced at the daily menu hanging on the wall, then at the cold drinks, and said, "Three lemon ices, three gui ling gaos, and three mixed fried rices. How much is that in total?"
The waiter said, "Three lemon ices are six dollars, three gui ling gaos are six dollars, and three mixed fried rices are nine dollars. Twenty-one dollars in total."
Hearing that such a small order would cost 21 dollars, Sai Mui stuck out her tongue and whispered to Ming Zai next to her, "It's so expensive."
Ming Zai nodded with understanding, "Yeah, it's really expensive. Last time I came with Yaowen Ge, we two spent fifteen dollars!"
"Here."
Upon hearing this, Huo Yaowen pulled out a wallet from his pocket, took out two ten-dollar bills and a one-dollar coin, and handed them to the waiter.
"Alright, Mr. Huo, here's your order number. Keep it safe, someone will call you shortly."
"Hmm."
Holding the order number, Huo Yaowen looked back at the not-so-large cafeteria, found a seat by the window and under a ceiling fan, and led Huo Tingting and Ming Zai over.
The three sat down, enjoying the cool breeze. Sai Mui, seeing no one around, whispered, "Ah Ge, the food here is so expensive. 21 dollars is enough for me to eat for a whole week."
Seeing Sai Mui's timid expression, afraid of being overheard by outsiders, so different from her usual haughtiness at home, Huo Yaowen patted her head and said with a smile, "It's alright. The price is a bit high, but the taste is really good. Ming Zai has eaten here, ask Ming Zai how the food tastes."
Ever since he confirmed he could make money, Huo Yaowen had also started to be a bit more extravagant. Oh no, that's not right, he shouldn't be called extravagant. Anyway, in his previous life, if he went out alone to eat something, it would cost at least dozens of dollars. 21 dollars for three people's worth of food wasn't actually that much.
Ming Zai nodded eagerly in agreement, "Tingting, the food here, although expensive, is really good."