Free Web NovelChapter 30: Chapter 30: Preparations for a Thousand-Mile Journey
The sunlight was blinding as he stepped out of the outpatient building of Affiliated Hospital No. 1.
Jiang He walked along the street to a Construction Bank at the intersection.
He withdrew three thousand yuan, holding the thick stack of bills in his hand.
He wasn’t in the habit of carrying a wallet, so he stuffed the stack of cash directly into the inner pocket of his jacket and zipped it closed.
His chest felt heavy.
Three thousand yuan was a huge sum of money back in ’08.
After leaving the bank, he got off at a bus stop on the street behind the Medical University.
Tucked away deep down the back street was a time-honored pastry shop called "Xu’s."
The storefront was small, but it had been there for a very long time.
They said the shop had been around longer than Southern Medical University.
"Two boxes of mung bean cakes, please," Jiang He said, standing at the counter.
The owner, who was wearing a white apron, came over, tore off a square of greaseproof kraft paper, and asked, "Do you want it with osmanthus honey, or plain?"
"Sugar-free," Jiang He said. "No sugar at all, just plain is fine."
The owner paused and looked up at him. "The sugar-free ones don’t have much flavor. They’re pretty dry. You young people can get used to that? Is it a gift for an elder?"
"Yes, they’re for family," Jiang He said calmly. "Please wrap up two boxes, and make it secure. I have to take them on a plane."
The owner grunted in acknowledgment, neatly arranged the mung bean cakes on the kraft paper, folded it, flipped it over, and finally tied a cross knot on top with a thin red string.
As Jiang He took the paper-wrapped package, he was suddenly lost in a daze.
On so many winter nights spent burning the midnight oil, there had been packages just like this one.
A scene flashed through his mind.
In the winter of 2013, he and Shen Yu were renting a cramped, rundown apartment of less than thirty square meters.
The heating barely worked, and heavy snow was falling outside the window.
Teacher Shen, bundled up in thick pajamas, was sitting on the bed preparing her lessons.
Jiang He returned from working overtime at the lab and pulled out the kraft paper package, still warm with his body heat.
"Teacher Shen, time for a late-night snack."
Shen Yu’s eyes lit up. She tossed her pen aside, came over, and untied the red string.
Pastry crumbs fell onto her pajamas, and she used her finger to pick them up and pop them into her mouth.
"Dr. Jiang, I told you I need to watch my weight, and you still bought these!" she complained, even as she took another big bite.
"They’re sugar-free. They won’t make you fat," the younger Jiang He said with a smile as he poured a cup of hot water and handed it to her.
"Liar. You get fat from too many carbs all the same. But... it’s so delicious. Thanks, honey~"
Her eyes crinkled as she smiled, looking so bright and lovely.
The scene shifted, the warm yellow light replaced by the harsh glare of a white fluorescent lamp.
A hospital room in 2015.
The mung bean cakes sat on the bedside table, the red string still knotted tight.
Shen Yu wore an oxygen mask, an infusion port embedded beneath her collarbone. The peripheral veins in her limbs were already so fragile that it was impossible to even find a place to draw blood...
She turned her head, looking weakly at the paper-wrapped box. "Honey, I want to eat the mung bean cakes... When I get better, I’m going to eat three in one go..."
"That’ll be twelve yuan total." freewebnoveℓ.com
The owner’s voice violently yanked Jiang He from his memories and back to reality.
Jiang He rubbed his eyes, took some change from his pocket to hand to the owner, and carefully placed the mung bean cakes into his backpack.
After leaving the pastry shop, he went to get a haircut.
The posters of F4 and Fahrenheit plastered on the barbershop’s glass door made Jiang He a little worried. ’They’re not going to give me a haircut like one of theirs, are they?’
"Hey there, handsome. Just a cut or you looking for a perm? The salon’s running a promotion right now: prepay five hundred and you get an extra two hundred for free!"
A stylist in a tight black shirt approached him.
Jiang He said, "Just cut it short."
After Jiang He lay down and had his hair washed, the stylist, Tony, flicked his scissors and studied Jiang He’s face in the mirror.
"Dude, you’ve got a great face shape. How about we try a texture perm? It’s the hottest thing right now. With a little bit of styling mud, you’ll look just like the male lead in a K-drama. Or, we could do long, side-swept bangs—the kind that covers one eye. It gives you that really angsty, melancholic look."
"No, thanks," Jiang He quickly refused. "Just buzz the sides. Keep it neat and clean. Don’t try anything fancy."
Tony asked, "Are you sure? A cut like that won’t be very cool, you know."
"Positive." Jiang He closed his eyes. "Just cut it."
The electric clippers vibrated against his scalp as locks of hair fell onto the cape.
Jiang He’s eyes were closed, but the corners of his mouth crept upward in a faint smile.
In his past life, they had been poor. To save the fifteen-yuan haircut fee, Shen Yu had bought a pair of manual hair clippers from a stall at the night market.
Then, in their cramped bathroom, she would drape old newspapers around Jiang He and enthusiastically play the role of his hairdresser.
"Don’t move, don’t move! Whoops... I shaved a chunk right out of it!" she would say, clutching the clippers and laughing so hard she couldn’t stand up straight.
"Teacher Shen, I have to see my professor tomorrow, you know?" Jiang He would say with a helpless look on his face.
"It’s fine, it’s fine! I’ll just touch it up. You won’t even be able to tell."
In the end, as expected, she had given Jiang He a buzz cut.
"Actually... a buzz cut looks pretty handsome, too. My Dr. Jiang has a good foundation; he can pull off any hairstyle."
She would hug him from behind, looking at his reflection in the mirror with a smile as radiant as a flower.
"All done, handsome. Take a look. Are you satisfied?"
Jiang He opened his eyes.
’Yeah, it’s a good cut.’
He just suddenly found himself missing the back of his head with that chunk shaved out of it.
"It’s great. How much?"
"Fifteen."
After paying, Jiang He walked back to his dorm.
He took a shower, changed his clothes, and packed a universal charger and a spare battery.
He was ready to leave.
It was already two in the afternoon by the time he got on the bus to the airport.
In ’08, the city’s edge had not yet been completely covered by a dense web of elevated expressways and interchanges.
Along both sides of the airport expressway, you could still see large tracts of farmland and the scaffolding of ongoing construction.
The Olympics had just ended, and the air was filled with the ambitious, upward-looking spirit of an era defined by massive construction projects.
The bus was a little bumpy.
Jiang He leaned back against his seat, watching the scenery retreat outside the window.
From Southern Medical University to North Normal University was a journey across nearly half of China.
The physical distance was over two thousand kilometers.
But for him, what he was crossing was a twenty-year chasm between life and death.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Jiang He pulled out his Nokia; the screen showed a notification for a new update on Qzone.
He tapped open the slow-loading WAP page and went to Little Mihu’s Qzone.
The latest status had been posted ten minutes ago:
The National Day holiday has finally started! My roommates all went home, so the dorm is suddenly super empty. I went to the cafeteria for lunch by myself, and the wind felt so strong. Feeling a little lonely... But that’s okay, I’m going to channel my sorrow into my appetite! Also, rubbing my hands together and can’t wait for Little Witch’s mysterious care package to get here! [Spaced Out] [Spaced Out]
Jiang He’s gaze softened again as he read the post on the screen.
He could almost picture the nineteen-year-old girl, dressed in thin autumn clothes, walking alone down a tree-lined path on campus as the north wind howled, rubbing her hands and blowing warm air into her palms.
After a moment’s thought, Jiang He left a comment:
"It’s gotten colder recently. Remember to wear an extra jacket when you go out."
He pressed send. freewёbnoνel.com
Just then, the bus drove up a long ramp. The view ahead opened up, and the massive airport terminal glittered in the sunlight.
Jiang He put the phone back into the pocket close to his heart, his palm pressing lightly against the stack of cash through his jacket.
’Teacher Shen, no more suffering.’
’Your personal doctor and long-term meal ticket is rushing to you now, with a huge fortune of three thousand yuan...’
