Chapter 50: The Escalator That Moves by Itself

Li Xiangdong was thoroughly impressed by Hou San’s self-proclaimed cleverness. He gave him a thumbs-up and said, “You really are a genius!”

He didn’t even know how to evaluate Hou San. To say he was stupid, he would show a bit of cunning from time to time. To say he was smart, just look at the things he did.

Not only did he pin the blame on his own brother-in-law, but the key was that the logic of the matter didn’t make sense!

Why would Group Leader Liu, who loves low-grade tea, swap it for Tieguanyin?

Li Xiangdong thought about it but didn’t say anything to remind Hou San.

He couldn’t just take advantage of the situation for free. He decided to do a good deed and let this foolish boy get a beating to learn his lesson, saving him from constantly doing stupid things out of self-perceived cleverness!

Hou San untied the rope on Li Xiangdong’s bundle of clothes and picked out a set of winter uniform, a raincoat, and rain boots, putting them together.

“Brother Dong, put these clothes in the locker. You’ll need them when you go out on the train. Also, the flashlight, we’ll need it on the train too. Remember to put them all in the locker.”

“The mug and lunch box go on the wooden shelf by the door. We can put them there when we’re not on the train and resting at home.”

Li Xiangdong asked, “Do I need to bring them on the train?”

Hou San said, “You do, but I find it too troublesome. Anyway, there’s no shortage of lunch boxes on the train. I always just grab one beforehand for eating and drinking.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Li Xiangdong walked to the wooden shelf by the door and saw that all the lunch boxes and mugs placed on it had a piece of white tape with a name written on it.

“Hou San, do you know who has white tape? I want to put one on too.”

Hou San thought for a moment and said, “I think only the infirmary has it. I’ll go get it for you.”

Seeing Hou San run out, Li Xiangdong took the flashlight and batteries out of his cloth bag, carried them with the clothes to the lockers, and found an empty one that no one was using.

Number 6, a lucky number.

The lockers were in columns of three. Number 6 was at the bottom. Since no one else had taken it, he guessed it was because they didn’t want to bend down to get things every time.

Li Xiangdong didn’t care about that. As a young man reborn, being able to bend down was a prerequisite for achieving great things!

He had just put the things away, locked the locker, and put the key in his pocket when Hou San came running back, out of breath. “Brother Dong, I also borrowed a fountain pen for you.”

Li Xiangdong smiled, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Brother Dong. We’re buddies, aren’t we?”

Hou San grinned, put down the pen, and tore off a piece of white tape with his teeth.

Li Xiangdong took it, stuck it on the lid of his mug, and then picked up the pen to write his name, stroke by stroke.

After getting the lunch box done as well, he saw that Hou San was sweating from running around for him.

He suddenly had a pang of conscience and decided to tell Hou San about the tea, to save him from getting a beating.

Who knew that Hou San would pick up the lunch box, look at the name he had written, and mock him, “Brother Dong, your handwriting is so ugly! My niece who just started elementary school writes better than you.”

Damn!

Li Xiangdong stared at Hou San and said, word by word, “What did you just say? I didn’t hear clearly. Say it again!”

“Hehe.”

Hou San gave a dry laugh, put down the lunch box, grabbed the pen and tape, and ran for it. “Brother Dong, I’m going to the infirmary to return the things.”

Li Xiangdong didn’t chase after him. The thought that had just arisen was scattered by Hou San’s words. He actually said his handwriting was ugly.

He took his lunch box and mug to the wooden shelf by the door and found Hou San’s name to compare.

The reality was very embarrassing for him; Hou San’s handwriting was much better than his.

He placed the mug on top and the lunch box below, then returned to the desk to reorganize the things he needed to take home. He stuffed as much as he could into the cloth bag and tied up what couldn’t fit with the hemp rope.

*Knock, knock*

“Who is it? Come in.”

Li Xiangdong saw that it was Ah Zhe who opened the door. Hou San followed behind him, step by step, each cautious step filled with hesitation.

Li Xiangdong ignored the clowning Hou San and looked at Ah Zhe, asking, “Why did you come over?”

Ah Zhe casually found a chair and sat down, “I had nothing to do, so I came to see you two. Our leader has arranged for me to go to Tianjin with the train tomorrow. Do you two have any arrangements?”

Li Xiangdong said, “We’re going tomorrow too. What time is your train?”

Ah Zhe replied, “The 10:30 AM train. Are we on the same one?”

Li Xiangdong smiled, “It’s the same train.”

Ah Zhe said happily, “That’s great. The three of us can keep each other company.”

Li Xiangdong nodded, “If you have nothing to do, you can join me and Hou San in a bit. We’ll get familiar with the train station.”

After speaking, he turned to Hou San, “Didn’t your brother-in-law tell you to show me around? Let’s go now.”

“Alright, Brother Dong. I’ll take you guys now.”

Seeing that Li Xiangdong wasn’t going to settle the score with him, Hou San felt he had dodged a bullet and quickly agreed.

Ah Zhe asked curiously, “Hou San’s brother-in-law works here too?”

Li Xiangdong nodded, “He’s also the leader of our water supply group.”

Ah Zhe made a “tsk, tsk” sound, “Anyone who didn’t know would think the Beijing Railway Bureau belongs to his Hou family. How come he has relatives everywhere he goes?”

Hou San tilted his head back and snorted, “You’re just jealous of me!”

“Pah.”

Ah Zhe expressed his disdain.

Hou San retorted, “Pah, pah, pah!”

“Alright, let’s go!”

With two troublemakers by his side, Li Xiangdong felt both helpless and tired.

Hou San led Li Xiangdong and the other man out of the office. Walking down the corridor of the office area, the marble floor was very smooth.

The three of them, wearing their leather boots, made a clattering sound as they walked.

Li Xiangdong asked, “Hou San, what’s your brother-in-law’s name?”

Hou San said, “Liu Erdan (Liu Two-eggs).”

Ah Zhe couldn’t hold it in, “Pfft! Hahahaha!”

To show respect for the leader, Li Xiangdong only laughed in his heart. He was a cautious person. What if Liu Erdan suddenly appeared?

With a smile on his face, he walked to the front. At the end of the corridor was a door. Pushing it open, they entered the waiting hall.

The noisy sounds and the bustling crowd made it seem like a different world from before.

Li Xiangdong looked around. The walls of the building were made of floor-to-ceiling glass. Even though it was cloudy outside, the entire hall looked spacious and bright.

Under Hou San’s guidance, the three of them took a tour of the first floor.

“What the hell! What is this thing!”

Arriving at the front, Ah Zhe was very surprised to see the four large escalators in the hall. “How can this thing move up by itself?”

“Country bumpkin.”

Hou San muttered under his breath. He looked up and saw Li Xiangdong looking at him.

He chuckled, “Hehe,” and quickly walked two steps to Ah Zhe’s side, putting his arm around Ah Zhe’s shoulder. In a tone full of pride, he said, “This is called an escalator. It’s made right here in our country! Come with me, I’ll take you to experience it.”