Marrying My Bestie's Ferocious Brother - He Calls Me His Baby!-Chapter 164 - 163: Picking Up Junk? I’m Going to Build the Nation’s First Color TV!
The noise from the experimental field was finally shut behind the gates of the solitary building.
The celebration dispersed.
Yet, Dean Li and Professor Wang didn’t leave. The two sat in the small living room of Lin Wan Yi’s house, sipping the tea made by Wang Guihua, their faces still flushed with excitement.
"Classmate Xiao Lin, no! Wanyi!"
Dean Li slapped his thigh.
"This time, you have achieved monumental contributions, not just for our entire Agricultural College, but for the country’s agricultural research!"
Professor Wang nodded repeatedly beside him, looking at Lin Wan Yi as if he was beholding a national treasure of immeasurable value.
"The Dean is right! This ’Golden Red-eyed Wasp’ must be reported as a top-secret project! I’ll write up the report tomorrow! And you will be the project leader!"
Lin Wan Yi refilled the professors’ teacups.
"Professor, Dean, you exaggerate."
"The success was also thanks to the newly repaired temperature control device in the greenhouse."
Her words enlightened Professor Wang.
"That’s right! That temperature control device! It’s simply miraculous! The temperature is as stable as if it were welded in place!"
"Where did Lan find such an expert? We must thank him properly!"
Gu Lan, who was munching on an apple nearby, paused in her actions when she heard this.
She pursed her lips.
Lin Wan Yi chuckled and turned to the kitchen.
A moment later, she emerged with an aluminum lunchbox.
The sound of "gurgling" accompanied by an overwhelming fragrant aroma of meat instantly filled the entire living room.
Inside the lunchbox was braised pork, cooked until tender and glistening, each piece coated in a thick sauce that gleamed enticingly under the light.
Dean Li and Professor Wang’s Adam’s apples moved in unison.
Lin Wan Yi closed the lunchbox and handed it to Gu Lan.
"Gu Lan, this is a token of appreciation."
"Make a trip to Beijing City University of Technology, deliver this token as gratitude, and invite that expert to dinner tonight."
Gu Lan’s face immediately fell.
"Sister-in-law!"
"Spare me!"
She put the half-eaten apple on the table.
"That weirdo! He reeks of machine oil, and talking to him is like talking to a stone in the toilet—smelly and hard!"
"I never want to see him again!"
Lin Wan Yi pushed the lunchbox into her hands.
"He did us a big favor."
"We can’t be rude."
Gu Lan looked at the lunchbox in her hands, thoroughly unwilling.
But she couldn’t ignore her sister-in-law’s words.
She pouted and picked up the lunchbox.
"Okay, okay!"
"I’ll go, alright? Seriously, inviting a Rubbish King to dinner..."
She grumbled as she unwillingly headed out the door.
Beijing City University of Technology.
The air carried the mixed aroma of rust and engine oil.
Gu Lan pinched her nose, recalling the way, winding through paths until she reached the abandoned warehouse.
"Clang—"
She pushed open the creaky iron door.
The warehouse was piled with all sorts of "junk."
Rusty iron shelves, dismantled machine parts, and rolls of unidentifiable wires.
Gu Lan immediately spotted the "Rubbish King."
He was squatting in a corner, with his back to the door.
His hair was a tangled mess like a bird’s nest, and his work jacket was stained with grease.
He held something in his hand, stuffing it into his mouth.
Gu Lan moved closer.
She saw clearly.
It was a bun so dry and yellow it could almost be a rock.
He was eating it strenuously, his cheeks bulging with effort.
The mocking words Gu Lan had prepared suddenly stuck in her throat.
She stood for a while.
The other seemed completely oblivious to her presence.
"Hey!"
She called out gruffly.
The figure paused.
He slowly turned around.
It was still that machine oil-stained face, still that impatient expression.
Upon seeing Gu Lan, his brow furrowed.
"What are you here for again?"
Gu Lan slammed the lunchbox onto a relatively clean iron plate nearby.
"My sister-in-law asked me to give this to you!"
She reluctantly lifted the lid of the lunchbox.
An overwhelmingly rich aroma of meat exploded instantly.
It felt almost alive, aggressively dispelling all the scents of rust and grease in the warehouse.
Jiang Zhou paused in his movements.
He still held the half-eaten bun mid-air.
Seeing his reaction gave Gu Lan a slight sense of vindication.
She pushed the lunchbox forward.
"A token of appreciation! Thank you for your drawing or whatever it was!"
"Eat up, and hurry up to follow me. My sister-in-law invites you to dinner tonight."
Jiang Zhou said nothing.
He looked down at the shiny and aromatic braised pork in the box.
He placed the bun down.
From his pocket, he took out a pair of chopsticks, wiping them clean on his relatively clean clothes.
He picked up a piece of meat.
Put it in his mouth.
Just one chew.
His entire body froze.
Gu Lan watched him.
His chewing became faster.
One piece.
Then another.
He was devouring it like a wolf starved for three days and nights.
An astonishing contrast with his usual cold demeanor.
In less than five minutes.
The whole box of braised pork, along with the potatoes soaked in sauce underneath, was gone.
He even lifted the box, drinking the last of the oily sauce.
Gu Lan was dumbfounded. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Was this person reborn from a starving ghost?
Jiang Zhou put down the lunchbox, even licking his lips in satisfaction.
He looked up at Gu Lan.
For once, his usually impatient eyes seemed to have a hint of... light?
"Is there more?"
He asked.
The voice was a bit hoarse, but no longer aggressive.
"Pfft."
Gu Lan laughed in exasperation.
"No more! That’s all!"
"If you want more, come with me! My sister-in-law’s cooking is a hundred times better than this!"
Jiang Zhou’s Adam’s apple twitched.
He glanced at the empty lunchbox.
Then looked at Gu Lan again.
"Alright."
Gu Lan felt a burst of joy.
She finally managed to get this big shot moving.
"But, I have a condition."
Jiang Zhou spoke again.
Gu Lan watched him warily.
"What’s the condition?"
He stood up and pointed at a larger pile of scrap metal in the corner of the warehouse.
"I can’t move them by myself."
"You come once a week to help me transport these things back to the scrap warehouse."
Gu Lan’s eyes widened instantly.
She looked in the direction he was pointing.
It was a true "junk mountain."
"You... you want me to help you move junk?"
She pointed at herself incredulously.
"This isn’t junk."
Jiang Zhou’s tone regained a touch of hardness.
"This is treasure."
"You want a girl like me to join you in scavenging?"
Gu Lan’s voice rose higher.
Jiang Zhou ignored her protest.
He walked over to the "junk mountain", pulling out a torn-apart metal box.
He wiped off the dust with his sleeve.
Revealing complex coils and circuit boards inside.
"I plan to use these to build the first color TV in the country."
His voice was quiet.
Yet it struck Gu Lan’s heart like a heavy stone.
Gu Lan was stunned.
She looked at the man before her.
Though he was covered in grease and looked miserable.
When he said those words.
His eyes shone with a bright light.
Gu Lan’s heart skipped a beat.
She gritted her teeth.
"Fine!"
"I’ll help you!"
"Scavenging? Then so be it!"
