Chen Xi was awakened in the morning by a phone call from her father, Chen Hesheng.
Chen Hesheng had been restoring murals at the Wuwei Tianti Mountain Caves for the past few months, and wouldn’t call Chen Xi unless something was up.
Chen Xi drowsily saw the caller ID and knew that Ma Kechang had told him about her resignation.
The two of them chatted briefly before hanging up.
Soon after, her mother Liu Qing’s call came too.
She was working as a guest lecturer in Beijing and wouldn’t be back until the end of the month.
Liu Qing asked about Chen Xi’s resignation, and after understanding the situation, didn’t say much more.
The couple had devoted their entire hearts and souls to their careers since they were young, leaving their child for Fan Mingsu to raise.
Chen Xi had developed an independent character early on – she filled out her college applications herself, and after starting work, made all her own decisions on matters big and small.
Bai Yuning had gone to work.
In the kitchen steamer were warm eggs, purple sweet potatoes, and pumpkin.
On the dining table sat a plate of cold dishes, a plate of cut mixed fruit, a box of milk, and a package of daily nuts.
Every time Chen Xi ate breakfast at Bai Yuning’s place, she felt like she was living the life of a retiree.
The resignation procedures and work handover took an entire day.
Ma Kechang wasn’t there the whole time – he was probably accompanying Teacher Wang at the hospital for checkups.
Colleagues came to ask Chen Xi about the situation in small groups, appearing concerned on the surface but wanting to dig up some gossip.
Chen Xi was too lazy to explain and just said she was planning to do business.
Her resignation was too sudden, and the reason sounded quite puzzling.
A young woman giving up a stable and respectable official job to start her own business – anyone who heard this would think there was more to the story.
Before half the day was over, the workplace was already buzzing with rumors and all kinds of speculation.
Chen Xi finished her work handover amid the undercurrent of swirling gossip.
She cleaned out her desk, hugged a cardboard box of personal belongings, and walked out of the office building.
Following the exhibition hall that stretched like a long earthen city wall, she walked to the main entrance.
Chen Xi saw Bai Yuning’s car parked by the roadside.
She stopped and looked back at the place where she’d worked for over five years.
The sky was clear, and the museum’s main building stood like a beacon under the blue sky, looking the same as on her first day of work.
A faint melancholy crept into her heart.
She liked this place, but life was still long, and what she wanted from life was more than just this.
After Chen Xi resigned, she didn’t idle for even a day.
While negotiating prices with the landlord, she also found a construction crew.
The venue she wanted to lease was a bankrupt brewery.
It had a factory building of about 300 square meters that could be used as a repair workshop after cleaning.
The courtyard could be leveled and paved with cement to serve as a parking lot.
This morning, she arranged to meet the contractor to look at the site.
Qin Zhan came along too.
Chen Xi pushed open the rusty iron gate.
The three of them walked into the weed-overgrown courtyard.
Traces of the sandstorm from a few days ago were still visible – all the grass in the yard was grayish.
Under the dirty windows of the factory building sat several crooked wine jars covered with a thick layer of dust.
Chen Xi said to the contractor, “Pour cement in this courtyard, paint the walls white inside the factory building, and apply a coat of anti-rust paint to the windows. Give me a quote for how much this would cost.”
The contractor walked around inside the factory building and asked Chen Xi, “Apply putty?”
Chen Xi replied, “No putty.”
Her budget was limited – she had to save wherever possible.
The contractor walked outside, estimated the courtyard area by sight, and gave a rough quote.
“This courtyard needs at least three truckloads of cement, and the inside needs at least twenty buckets of paint. Including labor costs, about thirty thousand.”
Qin Zhan exploded immediately, “Thirty thousand? Just for painting walls and paving a broken courtyard?”
He turned to Chen Xi: “Sister Xi, I’ll paint the walls, and let’s not pave the courtyard for now – pull out the weeds and it can still be used for parking.”
Chen Xi looked at the contractor, “Can you give us a discount?”
The contractor smiled, “You were referred by your uncle, so I’m already giving you the real price. Can’t go any lower.”
Chen Xi lowered her head and kicked at a wilted weed at her feet.