Not long after, Shannchyuan arrived at his residence. When he arrived at the front gate of his house, Shannchyuan heard someone greeting him.
"Good evening Mr. Duanmuh."
Shannchyuan looked back. It turned out that someone was standing in front of the gate of the next house. He was the one who lived in that house. Shannchyuan didn't know how long that person had been standing there. He had just passed the house but did not realize that someone was standing right in front of the house's fence. It means Shannchyuan was walking dreamily. Something he did almost every day.
"Good evening Mr. Shiuander," replied Shannchyuan.
Shiuander Janji is a neighbor who lives in the house located to the left of their house. He had not been there long, only about five months. He was a man in his sixties.
"Just got home, sir?" Mr. Shiuander asked.
"Yes, Sir," replied Shannchyuan curtly.
The man raised his right hand. He looked at the watch he was wearing. He seemed to wait for someone to arrive.
"Is anyone going to visit you, Sir?" Shannchyuan asked.
"Yes. But not to visit me. Those people are going to deliver goods that I just purchased. So, this afternoon I went to an electronics store near here. I saw an interesting television. After I thought about it, finally I bought the television. They promised to send it here at three o'clock in the afternoon. I've been waiting here for over three hours. They haven't come yet."
"Just be patient, sir! I think it's the rush hour now. It's time for people to come home from work," said Shannchyuan.
"I know. Life in a big city is indeed different. We have other things to consider. It might take them a long time to get here. But three hours?"
"Have you called them?"
"Yes. They said the car carrying the goods had already left."
"Perhaps they also deliver some goods to other places. You happen to be the last one on their schedule. You'll just have to wait. Maybe they'll show up soon."
"You are right. Then I'll just wait inside the house."
Shannchyuan smiled. "I'll go inside first, sir! Maybe my friends are already waiting inside."
Shiuander Janji nodded. He smiled brightly.
Shannchyuan then opened the gate and stepped into his front yard. He walked at a fast pace. He really wanted to go into the house. After entering the house, he realized that the other four residents were already in the house.
How can I tell them I didn’t make any progress today? This is just great!
Shannchyuan took off the shoes he was wearing. He put the footwear in the shoe rack attached to one of the walls in the living room. In addition to the rows of shoes and sandals, on the shelves there were also slippers that were usually worn inside the building. The custom that prevails in their hometown was barefoot inside the house. Therefore, after taking off his loafer, Shannchyuan chose not to wear slippers. He even took off his socks. He rolled up the socks and tucked them into the shoes he had just put down.
"Dahge, How is it today?"
When Yihshyong, one of the occupants, saw Shannchyuan coming, he at once asked while putting cookies into his mouth. The other occupants had always called Shannchyuan Dahge because Yihshyong and all other people living there were younger than Shannchyuan. They considered Shannchyuan as their leader. Not because he was wiser or more experienced, but simply because he was the oldest. Shannchyuan himself sometimes felt that he was often acting so immature that he seemed like the youngest of them all.
Moreover, Shannchyuan's appearance was much younger than his proper age, so it was not uncommon for people to think that Shannchyuan was the youngest of the five or six of them. Yihshyong was the second oldest. At first glance, he resembled Shannchyuan. His stature was not much different. Their height and weight were roughly the same so that Shannchyuan and Yihshyong could easily borrow clothes from each other. In terms of appearance, Yihshyong was the second youngest.
At that time, Yihshyong was sitting on the sofa in their living room. There were three plates on the table in front of the couch. Anyone could clearly see those three plates filled with cookies. Just like Shannchyuan, Yihshyong actually didn't really like eating cookies. Maybe he was too hungry by this time, and dinner was not ready yet.
"What do you mean?" Shannchyuan asked back. Without waiting for Yihshyong's reply, he continued his own words.
"There has been no progress today. Neither a matter of residence nor work. Hahaha .... "
Shannchyuan laughed so loudly. Yihshyong was silent for a moment. Then he laughed too.
Another occupant came out from one of the three bedrooms. Looking at Shannchyuan, he said, "Iren got us good news."
"What good news?" Shannchyuan asked curiously.
"Let him explain it. Now he's taking a shower," That other occupant replied with a big laugh. He was Jenqyih, a very cheerful person. Jenqyih was the tallest person among them. He was not very tall, but because Shannchyuan and Yihshyong were relatively short, Jenqyih looked very tall.
Jenqyih then also caught up with Yihshyong and Shannchyuan sitting on the couch in the living room. As usual, Jenqyih showed a gleaming face. That is one of Jenqyih's strengths and weaknesses. People are a little difficult to guess his mood. In difficult situations where people were expected to show a concerned face, for example, when visiting someone grieving, Jenqyih often appears with such a bright face. This often led to misunderstanding because some people thought Jenqyih was insensitive in reading the situation.
While waiting for Iren to finish taking a shower, the three of them watched television in the living room. They chose to watch the evening news program because it was only to pass the time. A well-known business owner who had been missing for about two months had been found inside a rickety hut in the forest at the city's northern border. The news anchor, a lovely young lady, did not clearly inform the entrepreneur's condition, except only to state that the person concerned was in good health.
"Lately, many people went missing, then a month or two later they were found. Is this just my feeling, or do you think like that too?" Shannchyuan asked his two friends.
"Every day, there are people who disappear. That's not a new thing. It happened since I don't know when. It's always like that!" Jenqyih took a cookie from one plate right in front of Yihshyong.
"It's not the same," said Yihshyong. "Lately, a lot of public figures were reported missing. They are not ordinary people. And after they were found, they usually become quiet. Not willing to give any comments. Do you remember what happened last month? At that time, a member of the city council who was previously very vocal was found after three months disappeared. After that, he was silent, did not issue any statement. Whereas before, when something terrible happened, he always boasted on television about how to fix it. Don't you think such an attitude seemed unnatural? "
Jenqyih scratched his head. He didn't answer Shannchyuan's rhetorical question. Instead, he took more cookies. He did not stop chewing cookies. He really liked to eat sweet things. Shannchyuan had reminded him many times not to overeat sweet food. But Jenqyih always just laughed at Shannchyuan's words.
"That's what I mean," said Shannchyuan. "Such incidents are not just one or two times. Previously there were also several times. After they had been found, they refused to comment on anything. It was only three or four months later that they began to tell stories. Right after they were found, they did not feel willing to talk about what happened. Don't get me wrong, I understand. Maybe they experienced some kind of trauma. But after hearing their stories, I felt something strange. "
"What kind of weird thing?" Jenqyih asked.
"I can't explain it accurately. All I can say is that I got the impression that those people weren't telling something they had been through. Instead, they were telling something they had memorized."
Jenqyih fell silent after hearing Shannchyuan's words. Shannchyuan patted Jenqyih on the shoulder. Before leaving his hometown, Shannchyuan was a teacher. The way those people told stories was similar to the style of students when they said things they only memorized. For someone who had been teaching for almost thirty years, it was not difficult to distinguish students who really understood the lessons from students who only memorized the text without understanding the contents.
There was the sound of the bathroom door opening. The sound was not loud. It actually sounded muffled, but Shannchyuan could still hear it. Shannchyuan turned towards the bathroom door. Iren finished showering. Wearing a dark yellow shirt, he came out of the bathroom. Shannchyuan had never seen Iren wearing that shirt before. It must be new. His face was so bright. From the look on Iren's face, Shannchyuan guessed that Iren already knew that the others were waiting for the excellent news he brought.
Iren walked towards the living room. He sat next to Yihshyong. Then he said to Shannchyuan, "Do you still remember Tsaehorng?"
Shannchyuan raised his eyebrows, "Do you mean a kid who we helped six months ago?"
"Yes," Iren nodded while firmly answering.
"I met him today. He offered to help us. So, it turns out his family is the owner of Shindongchaang."
Everyone knew Shindongchaang was a large company that operated in various fields. One of the Shindongchaang business fields was warehousing. Their warehouses and lockers were scattered all over this city.
Iren stopped talking for a moment, then continued his words again.
"Although he cannot help us financially, he can lend us several small warehouses to store our belongings. We have to consider the possibility of that next week we haven't got a new place to live yet."
"We don't need a large warehouse because we don't have a lot of stuff." This time Yihshyong joined the conversation.
Iren nodded. Then he said, "He can't possibly lend us an enormous warehouse. He was not an executive or anything in his family's company. So, all he can do is lending us small warehouses. Of course, we still have to pay."
As far as Shannchyuan knew, the Shindongchaang warehousing business comprises large warehouses in particular locations. In addition, their lockers were scattered in various places, such as train stations, shopping malls, and other spots.
"We can store items in the Shindongchaang small warehouse, which is more like a locker. We can choose the Shindongchaang locker, which is at a nearby station or another station. In contrast to lockers managed by the station, which are usually only for storage of goods, because the maximum is only two weeks, this Shindongchaang locker is exactly like their warehouses; we can rent it monthly or annually. Tsaehorng said we can use it for up to three years," Iren said. He seemed overjoyed.
"So, how much do we have to pay?" Shannchyuan asked. His face was serious.
"We get a ninety-nine percent discount," Iren answered quickly. "This payment is just a formality because they can't provide this service for free, so we have to rent it."
"Wow...," Shannchyuan nodded. He was smiling. Hearing that, Shannchyuan thought they just got a jackpot.
We have solved one problem. So now we just need to find a place to live that doesn't need to be big. The most important thing is we can sleep and take a shower there.
"Eh, wait a minute," Jenqyih suddenly interrupted their conversation. "How big the locker we just get?"
"Two-by-two-by-two meters," Iren explained. That's the most enormous locker size in the station."
"Is it enough to hold all of our stuff?" Jenqyih uttered in a slightly worried tone. Among them, Jenqyih's items were the most.
"Of course, that's enough. We will rent six units. Chioujen must be agree. So each of us gets one." Iren explained clearly.
"It's awesome then," Jenqyih laughed. Instantaneously, he got up from the couch and started dancing excitedly. Shannchyuan, Yihshyong, and Iren laughed at Jenqyih's childlike behavior.
Suddenly Shinnshiow, the fifth occupant, appeared from the kitchen. It turned out he had not taken part in the conversation because he was cooking. A big smile appeared on his face. Then he said to all the people who were there. "Dinner is ready. Let's eat now."
And the five of them rushed to eat the dish Shinnshiow had prepared. Tonight Shannchyuan could sleep soundly because there was one less thing to think about.
Not long after, Shannchyuan arrived at his residence. When he arrived at the front gate of his house, Shannchyuan heard someone greeting him.
"Good evening Mr. Duanmuh."
Shannchyuan looked back. It turned out that someone was standing in front of the gate of the next house. He was the one who lived in that house. Shannchyuan didn't know how long that person had been standing there. He had just passed the house but did not realize that someone was standing right in front of the house's fence. It means Shannchyuan was walking dreamily. Something he did almost every day.
"Good evening Mr. Shiuander," replied Shannchyuan.
Shiuander Janji is a neighbor who lives in the house located to the left of their house. He had not been there long, only about five months. He was a man in his sixties.
"Just got home, sir?" Mr. Shiuander asked.
"Yes, Sir," replied Shannchyuan curtly.
The man raised his right hand. He looked at the watch he was wearing. He seemed to wait for someone to arrive.
"Is anyone going to visit you, Sir?" Shannchyuan asked.
"Yes. But not to visit me. Those people are going to deliver goods that I just purchased. So, this afternoon I went to an electronics store near here. I saw an interesting television. After I thought about it, finally I bought the television. They promised to send it here at three o'clock in the afternoon. I've been waiting here for over three hours. They haven't come yet."
"Just be patient, sir! I think it's the rush hour now. It's time for people to come home from work," said Shannchyuan.
"I know. Life in a big city is indeed different. We have other things to consider. It might take them a long time to get here. But three hours?"
"Have you called them?"
"Yes. They said the car carrying the goods had already left."
"Perhaps they also deliver some goods to other places. You happen to be the last one on their schedule. You'll just have to wait. Maybe they'll show up soon."
"You are right. Then I'll just wait inside the house."
Shannchyuan smiled. "I'll go inside first, sir! Maybe my friends are already waiting inside."
Shiuander Janji nodded. He smiled brightly.
Shannchyuan then opened the gate and stepped into his front yard. He walked at a fast pace. He really wanted to go into the house. After entering the house, he realized that the other four residents were already in the house.
How can I tell them I didn’t make any progress today? This is just great!
Shannchyuan took off the shoes he was wearing. He put the footwear in the shoe rack attached to one of the walls in the living room. In addition to the rows of shoes and sandals, on the shelves there were also slippers that were usually worn inside the building. The custom that prevails in their hometown was barefoot inside the house. Therefore, after taking off his loafer, Shannchyuan chose not to wear slippers. He even took off his socks. He rolled up the socks and tucked them into the shoes he had just put down.
"Dahge, How is it today?"
When Yihshyong, one of the occupants, saw Shannchyuan coming, he at once asked while putting cookies into his mouth. The other occupants had always called Shannchyuan Dahge because Yihshyong and all other people living there were younger than Shannchyuan. They considered Shannchyuan as their leader. Not because he was wiser or more experienced, but simply because he was the oldest. Shannchyuan himself sometimes felt that he was often acting so immature that he seemed like the youngest of them all.
Moreover, Shannchyuan's appearance was much younger than his proper age, so it was not uncommon for people to think that Shannchyuan was the youngest of the five or six of them. Yihshyong was the second oldest. At first glance, he resembled Shannchyuan. His stature was not much different. Their height and weight were roughly the same so that Shannchyuan and Yihshyong could easily borrow clothes from each other. In terms of appearance, Yihshyong was the second youngest.
At that time, Yihshyong was sitting on the sofa in their living room. There were three plates on the table in front of the couch. Anyone could clearly see those three plates filled with cookies. Just like Shannchyuan, Yihshyong actually didn't really like eating cookies. Maybe he was too hungry by this time, and dinner was not ready yet.
"What do you mean?" Shannchyuan asked back. Without waiting for Yihshyong's reply, he continued his own words.
"There has been no progress today. Neither a matter of residence nor work. Hahaha .... "
Shannchyuan laughed so loudly. Yihshyong was silent for a moment. Then he laughed too.
Another occupant came out from one of the three bedrooms. Looking at Shannchyuan, he said, "Iren got us good news."
"What good news?" Shannchyuan asked curiously.
"Let him explain it. Now he's taking a shower," That other occupant replied with a big laugh. He was Jenqyih, a very cheerful person. Jenqyih was the tallest person among them. He was not very tall, but because Shannchyuan and Yihshyong were relatively short, Jenqyih looked very tall.
Jenqyih then also caught up with Yihshyong and Shannchyuan sitting on the couch in the living room. As usual, Jenqyih showed a gleaming face. That is one of Jenqyih's strengths and weaknesses. People are a little difficult to guess his mood. In difficult situations where people were expected to show a concerned face, for example, when visiting someone grieving, Jenqyih often appears with such a bright face. This often led to misunderstanding because some people thought Jenqyih was insensitive in reading the situation.
While waiting for Iren to finish taking a shower, the three of them watched television in the living room. They chose to watch the evening news program because it was only to pass the time. A well-known business owner who had been missing for about two months had been found inside a rickety hut in the forest at the city's northern border. The news anchor, a lovely young lady, did not clearly inform the entrepreneur's condition, except only to state that the person concerned was in good health.
"Lately, many people went missing, then a month or two later they were found. Is this just my feeling, or do you think like that too?" Shannchyuan asked his two friends.
"Every day, there are people who disappear. That's not a new thing. It happened since I don't know when. It's always like that!" Jenqyih took a cookie from one plate right in front of Yihshyong.
"It's not the same," said Yihshyong. "Lately, a lot of public figures were reported missing. They are not ordinary people. And after they were found, they usually become quiet. Not willing to give any comments. Do you remember what happened last month? At that time, a member of the city council who was previously very vocal was found after three months disappeared. After that, he was silent, did not issue any statement. Whereas before, when something terrible happened, he always boasted on television about how to fix it. Don't you think such an attitude seemed unnatural? "
Jenqyih scratched his head. He didn't answer Shannchyuan's rhetorical question. Instead, he took more cookies. He did not stop chewing cookies. He really liked to eat sweet things. Shannchyuan had reminded him many times not to overeat sweet food. But Jenqyih always just laughed at Shannchyuan's words.
"That's what I mean," said Shannchyuan. "Such incidents are not just one or two times. Previously there were also several times. After they had been found, they refused to comment on anything. It was only three or four months later that they began to tell stories. Right after they were found, they did not feel willing to talk about what happened. Don't get me wrong, I understand. Maybe they experienced some kind of trauma. But after hearing their stories, I felt something strange. "
"What kind of weird thing?" Jenqyih asked.
"I can't explain it accurately. All I can say is that I got the impression that those people weren't telling something they had been through. Instead, they were telling something they had memorized."
Jenqyih fell silent after hearing Shannchyuan's words. Shannchyuan patted Jenqyih on the shoulder. Before leaving his hometown, Shannchyuan was a teacher. The way those people told stories was similar to the style of students when they said things they only memorized. For someone who had been teaching for almost thirty years, it was not difficult to distinguish students who really understood the lessons from students who only memorized the text without understanding the contents.
There was the sound of the bathroom door opening. The sound was not loud. It actually sounded muffled, but Shannchyuan could still hear it. Shannchyuan turned towards the bathroom door. Iren finished showering. Wearing a dark yellow shirt, he came out of the bathroom. Shannchyuan had never seen Iren wearing that shirt before. It must be new. His face was so bright. From the look on Iren's face, Shannchyuan guessed that Iren already knew that the others were waiting for the excellent news he brought.
Iren walked towards the living room. He sat next to Yihshyong. Then he said to Shannchyuan, "Do you still remember Tsaehorng?"
Shannchyuan raised his eyebrows, "Do you mean a kid who we helped six months ago?"
"Yes," Iren nodded while firmly answering.
"I met him today. He offered to help us. So, it turns out his family is the owner of Shindongchaang."
Everyone knew Shindongchaang was a large company that operated in various fields. One of the Shindongchaang business fields was warehousing. Their warehouses and lockers were scattered all over this city.
Iren stopped talking for a moment, then continued his words again.
"Although he cannot help us financially, he can lend us several small warehouses to store our belongings. We have to consider the possibility of that next week we haven't got a new place to live yet."
"We don't need a large warehouse because we don't have a lot of stuff." This time Yihshyong joined the conversation.
Iren nodded. Then he said, "He can't possibly lend us an enormous warehouse. He was not an executive or anything in his family's company. So, all he can do is lending us small warehouses. Of course, we still have to pay."
As far as Shannchyuan knew, the Shindongchaang warehousing business comprises large warehouses in particular locations. In addition, their lockers were scattered in various places, such as train stations, shopping malls, and other spots.
"We can store items in the Shindongchaang small warehouse, which is more like a locker. We can choose the Shindongchaang locker, which is at a nearby station or another station. In contrast to lockers managed by the station, which are usually only for storage of goods, because the maximum is only two weeks, this Shindongchaang locker is exactly like their warehouses; we can rent it monthly or annually. Tsaehorng said we can use it for up to three years," Iren said. He seemed overjoyed.
"So, how much do we have to pay?" Shannchyuan asked. His face was serious.
"We get a ninety-nine percent discount," Iren answered quickly. "This payment is just a formality because they can't provide this service for free, so we have to rent it."
"Wow...," Shannchyuan nodded. He was smiling. Hearing that, Shannchyuan thought they just got a jackpot.
We have solved one problem. So now we just need to find a place to live that doesn't need to be big. The most important thing is we can sleep and take a shower there.
"Eh, wait a minute," Jenqyih suddenly interrupted their conversation. "How big the locker we just get?"
"Two-by-two-by-two meters," Iren explained. That's the most enormous locker size in the station."
"Is it enough to hold all of our stuff?" Jenqyih uttered in a slightly worried tone. Among them, Jenqyih's items were the most.
"Of course, that's enough. We will rent six units. Chioujen must be agree. So each of us gets one." Iren explained clearly.
"It's awesome then," Jenqyih laughed. Instantaneously, he got up from the couch and started dancing excitedly. Shannchyuan, Yihshyong, and Iren laughed at Jenqyih's childlike behavior.
Suddenly Shinnshiow, the fifth occupant, appeared from the kitchen. It turned out he had not taken part in the conversation because he was cooking. A big smile appeared on his face. Then he said to all the people who were there. "Dinner is ready. Let's eat now."
And the five of them rushed to eat the dish Shinnshiow had prepared. Tonight Shannchyuan could sleep soundly because there was one less thing to think about.
