Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 568 - Chapter 568 568. Nervous driver_1

Chapter 568: 568. Nervous driver_1 Chapter 568: 568. Nervous driver_1 The atmosphere inside the car was quite bizarre.

The taxi driver kept looking in the rearview mirror.

Because that dark-faced strong man had stopped smiling like he did when negotiating the price and instead looked quite fierce.

And all four passengers in the car were big men.

At first, they pretended not to know each other, but once on board, it was clear they were all headed to the same place, haggling so seriously, and even going to such a remote village that required navigation…

The driver inadvertently met Zhang Yanping’s eyes and instantly dared not look in the rearview mirror anymore, instead he cleared his throat:

“Ahem–well, nowadays it’s convenient to go out, it’s all about scanning codes for transfers… I haven’t received any cash for the whole day, I’ve only got fifty yuan in change in my pocket…”

Isn’t that stating the obvious? Thieves are going to be out of a job at this rate.

But well, perhaps the driver was just chatty!

Zhang Yanping expressed understanding thoughtfully, “Yes, mobile transfers are so convenient. Before, carrying cash was so worrisome, but now you don’t have to withdraw money even for tens of thousands, just move your fingers and it’s done.”

Something clutched at the driver’s heart.

He quickly said, “Ah, but there’s a downside, too. Transfer records can be traced at a glance! Once big data is networked, everything can be tracked…”

What is this driver even trying to talk about! Zhang Yanping was almost unable to follow along, weren’t they just talking about online payments and now suddenly it’s about big data?

Xin Jun silently listened from the side, seeing the driver sweating profusely even with the air conditioning on, and belatedly realized what was going on, almost laughed out loud!

He hurriedly spoke up to rescue the vigilant driver: “Qiaoqiao, we will be home soon, are you hungry?”

Qiaoqiao touched her stomach, “Hungry. But Teacher Xin, are you sure my Ultraman is at home?”

“Let me check.” Xin Jun opened his phone, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the driver’s shoulders slump as he grabbed a paper towel to wipe the sweat off his forehead, thinking to himself that Zhang Yanping sure was interesting to bring along!

While his mind was spinning and his eyes were on his phone, he quickly answered Qiaoqiao, “One has already been signed for! Another is on the way.”

“Yay, yay! Teacher Xin, which Ultraman is it? I saw Taro recently…”

As the two conversed back and forth, the atmosphere in the car visibly relaxed.

Zhang Yanping also touched his stomach, “I’m really hungry…”

At that moment, the young man sitting next to him quietly opened his backpack, revealing a bag full of chicken feet, sour plums, small bread loaves, and Oreos:

“Want some?”

Seeing these, Zhang Yanping felt even more wronged: everyone else knows to bring a bag of snacks when going out, why didn’t he bring a box!

He could only listlessly wave his hand, “Thanks, brother, but I’m craving home cooking–Oh, you’re from Yunqiao Village too? How come I haven’t seen you? Which family are you from?”

The young man thought to himself that he hadn’t seen him either!

It was the Qiaoqiao in front that looked somewhat familiar, but the person didn’t look like the silly figure from his memory…

He withdrew his gaze, “I live just around the corner from the village clinic, my dad is Zhou, Zhou Maozhu–Which family are you from?”

“Oh boy! Oh boy!”

Zhang Yanping was instantly surprised, “You’re Uncle Maozhu’s son! What’s your name again? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’m a relative of Lao Song’s family, and this year Uncle Maozhu helped our family sell a lot of tea leaves!”

“You grew up in the village too, didn’t you? Qiaoqiao, do you know Uncle Maozhu’s family?”

It was only then that Qiaoqiao turned her head for a look, then another, and then another, before furrowing her brows, “Tianyu Brother? How did you get so ugly? So thin that your face has become like this.”

He sucked in his cheeks, vividly demonstrating how “ugly” Tianyu Brother had become.

As soon as Zhang Yanping saw it, she burst into laughter!

— Qiaoqiao really had a knack for capturing the essence!

The Zhou Tianyu in front of her had a square face, but with sunken cheeks, and he looked like he lacked vigor, a typical overworked office drone…

Little did she know, Zhou Tianyu was even more surprised:

“Qiaoqiao, you… you’ve changed!”

She used to look rustic, with very clear and somewhat foolish eyes, but the Qiaoqiao in front of him now looked really… really…

He thought for a long time and finally remembered the kind of “youthful” and “clean and pure” vibe mentioned by the Star Chasing Tribe online.

However, Zhou Tianyu, as a villager who went to boarding school after junior high and was older than Qiaoqiao, now found his memories were too hazy to recall clearly, and thus he gave up. Instead, he asked excitedly, “The tea leaves my dad sent over are from your family? I came back this time wanting to buy a few more kilos to give away!”

He also sighed, “I asked my dad to send some to me, but he just didn’t want to… made me miss giving gifts for the Dragon Boat Festival.”

The driver, having listened all the way, finally found a topic of conversation!

He immediately chimed in, “Yunqiao Village… isn’t that our local tea? It’s not famous, and when you mention it people think it’s wild tea from the mountains–Buddy, your dad was right not to send it! Gifts have to be branded to make the cut.”

“Besides, if it were that kind of wild tea from the deep mountains, the kind that costs thousands per kilo, it would be worth giving some to those who appreciate it. But our tea, at most, costs a few hundred yuan per kilo; it really isn’t all that impressive…”

He rambled on, having opened the floodgates.

Zhou Tianyu, however, disagreed, “Master, you don’t understand. When I gave it away, everyone kept on asking where it was from, saying they wanted a few more kilos!”

“Wow!” The driver was also surprised, “Young man, where do you work? What do you do? It seems you’re giving it to those who understand tea…”

Zhou Tianyu replied with a polite smile, “I work in Beicheng.”

“Wow! The coast, a first-tier city–that’s impressive, right? Is the housing there really expensive?”

The two chatted back and forth, leaving Zhang Yanping feeling more and more at sea.

What kind of business does it take to give away kilos just for Dragon Boat Festival? Wouldn’t the amount have to double for the New Year? Everyone’s so young, how are they all so successful!

He asked with a hint of envy, “So, brother… what business are you in? Who are you planning to give gifts to? Aiya, Uncle Zhou never mentioned it to me, we don’t have much left in stock, but we could still spare a few kilos.”

Talking about this also gave Zhou Tianyu a headache:

“I’m just a working man–you know about adult education, right? Initially, I did high school coaching, but after the policy changes, our company shifted to early childhood education, children’s logic training, talent development… then there was another policy change, and we started doing adult college entrance exams.”

“It’s that kind where people with a high school diploma can get a university degree… Brother, do you know anyone who needs this? Our company is actually quite reliable.”

He seemed to be doing well in his business as he spoke with confidence, and now the topic swung back:

“About the tea leaves. I sent them to a few managers in my department, and after they received them, they liked it so much that they kept asking where to buy more… and then my dad, who was reluctant to spend money on gifts, insisted it was ten thousand a kilo… I know him too well! He’s tight with money!”

“Doesn’t he think, with my monthly salary of more than ten thousand, giving away a few kilos of local tea, at most a few hundred yuan, and then the increased orders that come my way, won’t it all come back to me?”