Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âSis, I think you should find a boyfriend!â Wang Yao said to Wang Ru after dinner.
âYou donât need to worry about me!â Wang Ru clenched her teeth.
âYao is right, you need to have someone to keep an eye on you, in case you go crazy,â said Zhang Xiuying.
âMom, can you continue with the topic about my brother, donât talk about me!â said Wang Ru.
âAt least there is a girl who could potentially be his girlfriend. What about you? You havenât got anyone!â said Zhang Xiuying.
Mom is right!â said Wang Yao after he drank some water.
Wang Yao returned to the hill immediately after dinner in case his mother and sister started to talk about him again.
After he went back to the hill, he saw a large bird fly onto a chestnut tree. The bird had a white bandage on its wings. It was the injured eagle.
Screech! The eagle made a noise when it saw Wang Yao.
Looks like you are almost recovered.
Wang Mingbao came to the hill in the afternoon. He looked a bit sad.
âWhatâs going on?â asked Wang Yao.
âNothing.â Wang Mingbao lit a cigarette.
âSomething wrong with your business?â asked Wang Yao.
âNo, business has been good,â said Wang Mingbao.
âThen what? You canât tell me?â asked Wang Yao.
âSomething about my dad has been bothering me,â said Wang Mingbao as he was smoking. He was worried about his father but he couldnât do anything to help. All he could do was vent to his best friend, Wang Yao.
âWhatâs going on exactly?â said Wang Yao. He knew Wang Mingbaoâs father was likely to get promoted to the position of mayor. Being a mayor was very different from being a vice mayor. He could gain much more power.
âThe current mayor has left. But my dad probably wonât get promoted,â said Wang Mingbao after he took a long drag of the cigarette.
âWhat happened?â asked Wang Yao anxiously.
âSomeone else was transferred here to become the mayor. I think it has already been settled.â
âI see,â Wang Yao replies quietly.
He wanted to help but he didnât know how. After all, he was just an average joe and didnât know the decision makers in the local government.
Or maybe I do?
He thought about two people. One was Tian Tuyuan, who he met at the Shenghua hotel during the reunion party the other day. Tian Tuyuan was having dinner with Deputy Chief Dai. Maybe he could help. The other one was Guo Sirou; Wang Yao didnât know exactly who she was, but he believed that Guo Sirou was from a prominent family and she owed him a big favor.
âWait a second. Let me make a phone call,â said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao took out his phone and called Tian Tuyuan to ask whether he was available to catch up. Tian Tuyuan agreed without hesitation. They then made an appointment to catch up at Shenghua hotel.
âIâll have dinner with a friend and see if he can help,â said Wang Yao after he hung up.
âWhat does your friend do for a living? Is he reliable?â asked Wang Mingbao. Actually, Wang Mingbao didnât discuss the potential promotion with his fatherâhe heard of it from someone else. The local government hadnât announced who would be the new mayor yet, which meant that Wang Mingbaoâs father still had a chance. This was now the most important thing to Wang Mingbaoâs family.
âIâm not sure, let me talk him face-to face-first,â said Wang Yao. He couldnât promise anything until he saw Tian Tuyuan.
âOkay, do you need me to go with you?â asked Wang Mingbao.
âNo, Iâll talk to him first,â said Wang Yao.
In fact, Wang Yao and Tian Tuyuan were just casual acquaintances. It might not be appropriate to discuss sensitive issues with Tian Tuyuan, but Wang Yao was going to try for his best friend Wang Mingbao.
Wang Mingbao soon left the hill. He just wanted to vent to Wang Yao. He didnât expect Wang Yao to actually ask someone for help. It surprised Wang Mingbao but he didnât have too much faith in Wang Yao. After all, people like Wang Yao never had much to do with politics.
Wang Yao drove to town after he notified his family. When he arrived at the Shenghua hotel it was 4 pm. He booked a private room and texted Tian Tuyuan, who arrived 20 minutes later.
âHi, Yao, why did you invite me for coffee?â laughed Tian Tuyuan.
âHi Tuyuan, I...â Wang Yao looked down and kept silent for a few seconds. âI want to ask you for help.â
âWhat help do you need?â Tian Tuyuan sat at the table.
Wang Yao then told him about Wang Mingbaoâs fatherâs potential promotion.
âWhat a coincidence! I might be able to help,â said Tian Tuyuan with a smile.
âReally? What do you need me to do?â Wang Yao knew he needed to return the favor.
âWell, can you treat a patient for me?â said Tian Tuyuan after thinking for a short while.
ââWell...â
Wang Yao didnât give a definitive answer. He asked the system if he could visit a patient and the answer was still no.
âYou still canât leave the hill?â said Tian Tuyuan.
âWell, you can bring the medical notes for me to read so that I can tell you whether I can treat the patient,â said Wang Yao.
âOkay,â said Tian Tuyuan.
After chatting with Tian Tuyuan for a while, Wang Yao suggested having dinner together in the Shenghua hotel. Tian Tuyuan gave Wang Yao a VIP card which provided a 50% discount on all the meals.
âIâll ask relevant people about the position of the mayor,â said Tian Tuyuan.
âThank you very much!â said Wang Yao.
Wang Yao drove back to the village and then returned to Nanshan hill at 7 pm.
The next morning, he drove his sister to work and his mother came to the hill early to look after his herbal field.
âSis, why donât you buy a car for your convenience,â said Wang Yao.
âI canât afford it!â said Wang Ru.
âI can buy you one,â said Wang Yao with a smile.
âHow can you have so much spare money?â Wang Ru widened her eyes.
It was busy on the road on Monday morning. Wang Yao was a new driver, so it took him quite a while to take his sister to work. On his way back to the village, others honked at him all the time as he was driving slowly.
Wang Yao stopped in front of a group of pedestrians, including an elderly man and a little girl.
Boom!
The car behind him was too impatient to wait. The driver suddenly accelerated.
The road was not wide and it was extremely dangerous to overtake another car. As the car almost hit the elderly man and the child, it was hit by another car.