The Luckiest Man - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Rainbow

Now that she had decided to go out, Sheng Xiaoling immediately ran into the house and took out a cream colored canvas bag. She carried the bag on her shoulders before rushing to retrieve her piggy bank.

Everything she saved was to buy snacks. Shen Xiaoling was incredibly excited as she felt that her life was improving. Since she was younger, she had been watching videos shot in the 1970s and 1980s on the internet with her brother. After watching, Hong Xiaofu would say to her, “Look, although our lives are difficult, it is much better than what it was like in the past.” That comment made her feel particularly happy and at ease.

“We can buy candied gourd today, hohoho!” Shen Xiaoling poured out the contents from her piggy bank. After gathering ten coins, she was going to put the rest back as she usually shared the candied gourd with her brother—they would take turns to eat it. One for him, one for her.

That day, however, Shen Xiaoling pondered as she looked at the six five-cent coins. She gritted her teeth as she took out another four coins, “Brother’s income has doubled, so we can get two sticks of candied gourd, one stick for me, and one stick for my brother! How lavish!”

She happily packed up, and after Hong Xiaofu was all ready, they hit the streets.

Speaking of that, the pair of siblings seldom went out. In the age of materialistic desires, ordinary people who casually headed out to buy something would easily spend more than 80 yuan. Hong Xiaofu and Shen Xiaoling could not afford such luxuries. Hence, they had decided to simply not go and avoid all temptations.

But humans are social animals, and it is not good to be cooped up at home all day. So the pair would occasionally head out to the streets for window shopping. Then, they would buy the cheapest necessities before heading home.

“Shencheng Transport Authorities would like to remind you that there are thousands of roads and safety comes first. If driving is not standardized, your family will be in tears.”

In those days, the slogan by the Shencheng Transport Authorities, Wandering Planet, was trendy. As the siblings hit the main street, they could hear it blasting from the patrol cars.

Shen Xiaoling held onto Hong Xiaofu’s hands and smiled, “Brother, my classmate told me that this movie is great. It tells the story of how the sun is going to explode in the future.”

“I have heard about it, too,” Hong Xiaofu looked at his sister and said, with a wide smile, “Let’s go watch it when I receive my student grant. We would get 3000 yuan, and it would not be as crowded as it is now. Then, we will also get to enjoy the feeling of having the entire theater to ourselves!”

“Really?!” Shen Xiaoling’s eyes immediately lit up, glistening as if stars were flashing inside them, “That’s awesome! We can finally watch a movie in the cinema!”

Shen Xiaoling’s words were absolutely true. They had never watched a movie in the cinema before. The price of a regular movie ticket cost over 40 yuan and 3DMAX tickets cost close to 70 yuan. How many steam buns could one buy with that?

At that moment, upon hearing that she could finally watch a movie in the cinema, Shen Xiaoling instantly felt that her life had improved. She was such an innocent and sweet girl—she had never blamed God. She had never questioned why she was an orphan, why she had to live in poverty with no proper food and clothing, and why she had no family in a world of eight billion people.

All Shen Xiaoling thought about was how days would get better. In the past, she only ate steamed buns and pickled vegetables—now she would get to enjoy rice. Before, she had slept in a hole under the bridge, but now, she has a place to call home. Although she was born an orphan, she had someone she called her brother, who doted on her.

Shen Xiaoling only focused on the privileges she had, and how her life had improved in comparison with the past. She never blamed others, and had always been happy and content. Shen Xiaoling certainly was as pure as a piece of blank paper, and as radiant as a rainbow. God had given her a pair of beautiful eyes that were full of energy, allowing her to see the beauty of the world.

“Oh, Brother! Wait for me!” Shen Xiaoling suddenly shook Hong Xiaofu’s hands. She rushed forward and picked up an empty mineral water bottle that someone had littered on the road. She put the empty bottle in her canvas bag before running back to Hong Xiaofu’s side, “That’s one-cent in our pocket!”

It was a habit that Shen Xiaoling had developed when she had left the orphanage at the age of eight.

She knew that she was unable to make money for the family. But all diligent and hardworking people in society would not always be hungry—an empty bottle could be sold for one-cent. If she sold five bottles a day, she could make five cents, and that would be sufficient to purchase a fluffy, plain steam bun.

“It seems that we will have a good harvest today,” Hong Xiaofu laughed, “It hasn’t been long since we left the house, I feel like we should be able to pick at least ten bottles today, right?”

Shen Xiaoling pouted delightfully, “No, I want to pick twenty!”

The two strolled around Soon, the pair of siblings arrived at the nearest neighborhood mall: Tianfu Commercial Plaza. From afar, Shen Xiaoling saw a huge sign right outside the pharmacy, “Oh, Brother, look at the sign! I think it’s about the Awakening! Hurry, let’s go take a look at it!”

Hong Xiaofu turned his head immediately to take a look. In the direction that Shen Xiaoling had pointed, there was indeed a meter tall sign placed outside the pharmacy. It read “New arrival! Awakener XXXXX…” The words at the back were blocked by pedestrians, making it hard to make out.

Awakener and medicinal drug, Hong Xiaofu was caught off guard—was it the drug for those on the Awakener Quota?

After thinking about it carefully, that would be highly unlikely.

Zhao Ming had such a hard time trying to find it. It wouldn’t be openly sold in the market, would it?

For a moment, Hong Xiaofu was extremely curious: how was that drug related to the Awakening? After all, Hong Xiaofu had Awakened—hence, he was particularly interested in matters related to it.

The two of them headed toward the pharmacy. As they got closer, they finally had a good look at the sign: New arrival! Awakening drug to increase your Awakening talents! One for 4988 yuan. Awakeners, what are you waiting for? Come in and buy one!

The moment Hong Xiaofu saw the price, his jaw dropped. One for 4988 yuan?! That’s almost 5000 yuan! He would need to starve for a month. No, he would need to starve for two months before he could afford one!

Shen Xiaoling obviously knew the meaning behind the numbers. She broke into a smile instantly, “Oh, that’s so expensive. Brother, let’s just go get our candied gourd…”

As she said that, Shen Xiaoling pulled Hong Xiaofu toward the candied gourd stand.

It was evident that the best way to minimize temptations that were beyond their financial capabilities was to avoid them. It was a concept that even Shen Xiaoling understood when she was younger.

While they spoke, the siblings arrived at the candied gourd stand. The owner of the stall was a lady in her fifties, who asked cheerily, “Hey kid, what flavor do you want?”

“Two sticks of strawberries!” Shen Xiaoling answered excitedly—she would finally get to enjoy the candied gourd. Her eyes sparkled in excitement, “I want this… and that, these two are big ones!”

She said that as she took out the twenty five-cent coins. After counting them carefully, she confirmed that it was the right amount and handed them over to the stand owner. One stick of candied gourd was five dollars, two sticks would be exactly ten dollars.

The stall owner immediately handed over the two sticks of candied gourd that Shen Xiaoling had chosen. She took them carefully. Just when she was going to pass one of the sticks to Hong Xiaofu, she heard a loud voice, “Oh, Brother Fu! What are you doing here?!”

The siblings turned their heads. They saw a young man who was dressed in an expensive jacket, hair neatly combed and styled. The young man walked toward the siblings confidently.

Wasn’t he the fire Awakener, Shencheng’s one and only Li He?