Chapter 1131: Chapter 1131: Extra Story – Retirement Edition
After eating the plain noodle soup, the warmth in their stomachs made them lean back in their chairs, not wanting to move for the time being.
In their retired life, they just do whatever they want. If they don’t want to move, then they just stay put for a while.
After spacing out for a while, Nian Shutong turned his head and looked at Fu Yunhe, saying, "It’s raining. Are there a lot of fish?"
"Catch fish?"
"Sure!"
The two happily decided, but there was no rush—it was just for fun.
Next, Fu Yunhe went to wash dishes, while Nian Shutong went to the flower shop in front and opened it for some business.
They could catch fish at noon.
Just as Nian Shutong opened the door, tending to the flowers inside, the doorbell rang, signaling a customer.
"Welcome."
Nian Shutong turned with a smile to see the somewhat embarrassed Big Man entering. Nearly two meters tall and looking quite fierce, he seemed like someone who could clear a path wherever he walked.
But for Nian Shutong, there was no problem at all. Her smile was beautiful, and her voice was calm.
"Looking to buy some flowers?"
The Big Man who entered, curious about how Nian Shutong wasn’t afraid of him, asked, "Aren’t you afraid of me?"
"Why should I be afraid of you?"
Nian Shutong’s thought was that there were scarcely people in this world whom she feared, and those who could make her afraid did not exist.
"No, not at all."
The Big Man scratched his head awkwardly, glanced around at the flowers in the shop, and pointed at the red roses asking, "How much for these?"
"Three star coins each. Buy more and you can get a discount."
The Big Man thought for a moment, finally saying, "I’d like to buy a hundred."
"Sure, for a hundred, I’ll charge you two star coins each. Are they for a confession? If so, I’d recommend ninety-nine, which symbolizes longevity."
Nian Shutong squatted down and started wrapping the flowers.
"Not for a confession, I..." The Big Man felt a bit embarrassed at first, but then seemed okay with it.
"I’m going to visit a grave, she liked roses."
Nian Shutong paused her hands while wrapping the roses.
"That’s lovely, she’s sure to like them."
After quickly wrapping them up, Nian Shutong handed over a big bundle of fiery red roses to the Big Man.
"Thank you."
The Big Man paid and left.
Nian Shutong watched the Big Man leave, turned around, and sat in the rocking chair, swaying back and forth.
"What’s going on? It’s a bit sad."
Fu Yunhe came in carrying a big jar and a dustpan, looking at Nian Shutong in the rocking chair.
"It’s nothing, it’s just that someone came to buy roses for a grave earlier."
"She must have really liked them in her lifetime."
"Yeah."
The two didn’t say much more, and Nian Shutong sat up, looking at Fu Yunhe and asking, "Making wine?"
"Yes, that’s what I thought while buying them yesterday. I’ve noticed, someone drank nearly all of what was made last time."
"Can’t help it, your wine is just too delicious."
Nian Shutong flattered him, earning a roll of Fu Yunhe’s eyes.
"Fu Yunhe, your beard-covered face is less attractive when you roll your eyes than it used to be."
They chatted and laughed, starting to clean the grapes on the ground together.
Once cleaned, they layered grapes with White Sugar, not filling it too full to leave room for fermentation; otherwise, opening the lid might cause it to explode and spray everywhere.
"Ding dong."
Another customer arrived; business today was unexpectedly good.
Given the location, there were actually plenty of flowers outside, and many people just picked them themselves, rarely buying them deliberately.
Hence, they opened the shop, and it was rather leisurely.
Nian Shutong looked toward the door—it was the shy girl from yesterday, who had bought some Sunflowers to give to her neighbor in the hospital.
"Hello, what kind of flowers would you like today?"
The girl was still so shy, giving Nian Shutong a slight smile and saying, "I still want those Sunflowers, he really likes them."
Mentioning the boy she secretly admired brought more words to the girl.
"He said that inside the hospital, there’s mostly death. The color of these Sunflowers is great, very lively, and just looking at them makes your mood better."
Inside the hospital, there was much talk of death, and upon hearing this, Nian Shutong thought the girl’s neighbor probably wasn’t injured but was suffering from some illness.
However, she didn’t ask further, just inquired about how many flowers the girl wanted.
"Nine flowers, that’s nice."
Nian Shutong promptly began to gather Sunflowers for the girl, wrapping them up in a package and handing them over to her.
"Thank you, sister."
The girl politely thanked her and left happily with a bunch of Sunflowers.
"Probably a missed connection."
"Are you going to intervene?"
"No, I’m just sighing a bit."
Nian Shutong returned to the room to continue helping clean the grapes.
"There are too many of such things. If I intervened, the boy might live, but the girl wouldn’t necessarily be with him."
"Such a youthful memory is also a part of life, what’s your own belongs to you."
Fu Yunhe knew this too, but Nian Shutong had become much more sentimental compared to before, which was why he asked.
Once the grape wine was ready, they cleaned up and closed the shop, planning to go out and catch fish.
Each wore a pair of waders, grabbed a large water bucket, a net, and nothing else, relying completely on their hands.
After closing the shop, they noticed there were quite a few people outside.
"You guys are out too."
"There’re lots of fish by the small pond."
"There are quite a few small fish in the puddles over there, they’re good for frying."
Neighbors pointed out directions enthusiastically.
Nian Shutong responded one by one, feeling considerably more enthusiastic. Fu Yunhe spoke less, but everyone was used to it.
There was a lot of standing water on the road, some areas waist-deep, and even some people paddling small boats, like canoes.
The two in their long waders were quite fine.
Wading through the water, they reached the small pond where the water wasn’t particularly deep.
It was actually just a place that often had standing water.
Fu Yunhe held the net, while Nian Shutong carried the bucket, head down searching for fish.
"There."
Nian Shutong’s voice was very quiet as she poked Fu Yunhe’s lower back with a finger.
Fu Yunhe in front didn’t respond verbally, just gently nodded as his arm slowly reached out, careful not to move his feet and disturb the water, lest he scare the fish.
The net aligned above the side of the fish, ready.
With a loud splash, Fu Yunhe’s motion was quick, firm, and precise as he moved downward, swiftly raising the net from the water.
A fat carp was struggling inside the net.
"Quick, put it in, don’t let it jump out."
"Can’t—"
Just as Fu Yunhe said ’can’t,’ he saw the carp vigorously flick its tail, body leaping upward, even revealing a look of disdain.
With a splash, the carp fell back into the water, quickly swimming away, the spray hitting Fu Yunhe’s face.
It hurt a bit.
