Chapter 25 (2/2)

Xia Lei laughed, “There you go again. Don’t be so formal anymore.”

Zhou Xiao-Hong smiled awkwardly, then said, “You don’t have to order delivery food for me. Y-you can just give me instant noodles.”

“How can that suffice? Xiao-An, get her some take-away from the Sichuan restaurant opposite our shop. I’ll set up her sleeping arrangements.”

“Okay,” grunted Ma Xiao-An, but he went close to Xia Lei and spoke in a low voice, “Don’t you have a spare room at home? Bring her home, then! Heh heh.”

Xia Lei stomped on Ma Xiao-An’s foot. “What rubbish! Get out!”

Ma Xiao-An was in tears and grimacing as he went to get some take-away for Zhou Xiao-Hong. He was actually joking since he knew Xia Lei was not that kind of person. He wasn’t that sort either, or he wouldn’t be friends with Xia Lei.

Xia Lei unfolded the foldable bed and put a cotton padding and blanket on it. This foldable bed had been left behind by Uncle Jiang. Xia Lei had bought new bedding and intended to use the bed for sleep when he worked overtime, but had not expected that a country girl would move in after their first day. It was a good thing she could use it.

“Boss Xia, how can I let you do the work? Let me set up the bed.” While Xia Lei was setting it up, Zhou Xiao-Hong pushed him away.

Xia Lei saw her agile hands and pondered what work to assign her tomorrow. Paying her 3,000 including room and board was partially because he felt sorry for her but he could not just hand her the money for nothing. ‘Interaction with customers will be handled by her, definitely, but this is not enough work. What if I teach her metal-working? She’s young so she will learn quickly and can start working independently in two months. Yep, let her take care of customers and clean up around the shop first and teach her welding and lathe processing in our free time.’

“These are new, Boss Xia! Can I really sleep here?” Zhou Xiao-Hong was finished but did not dare to lie on it.

“Why not? Just stay here for now and look for something else when your situation gets better.”

“Yes, Boss Xia! You are truly a good person,” Zhou Xiao-Hong added, “I… I haven’t thanked you.”

Xia Lei was tickled by her simple honesty and laughed, “It doesn’t matter if you thank me, I just don’t want you to be so formal. Oh, right, I have an idea but I don’t know if you’d agree.”

“What idea?” Zhou Xiao-Hong grew nervous. She unconsciously pulled at her half-open collar, as if trying to cover up some secret.

It was normal for her to have that sort of reaction when a strange man suddenly said he thought of something and asked if she would agree. Xia Lei, on the other hand, found her more and more interesting. He grinned and said, “I was thinking of letting you learn metal-working, welding and lathe processing. If you are diligent, you will have some marketable skill set even if you go back to your hometown. Do you want to learn?”

“Oh, you mean that?”

“What do you think I meant?” Xia Lei chuckled at her.

Zhou Xiao-Hong’s cheeks were stained red and she hurriedly said, “N,nothing. Of course! I’ve always wanted to pick up a skill but had no money to learn. My hometown is a farmers’ village and my family has no skilled workers so I could never fulfill my wish. If you are willing to teach me, Boss Xia, I will learn with all my heart.”

“That’s decided then. You tend to the customers when they come tomorrow. Pour them a drink and ask what they need. If you have nothing to do, stick close to either myself or Ma Xiao-An and learn some metal-working.”

“Will B-Big Brother Ma be willing to teach me?” Zhou Xiao-Hong looked intimidated at the thought, “I’m a little afraid of him.”

Ma Xiao-An walked in at that moment with the take-away, “Afraid of me? Will I eat you up?”

Zhou Xiao-Hong saw Ma Xiao-An and anxiously waved her hands. “No, no, no, I don’t mean that! I mean…”

Ma Xiao-An put the take-away in Zhou Xiao-Hong’s hands and smiled as he said, “Relax. As long as you’re willing to learn, I won’t hold back and I’ll teach you everything I know.”

“Thank you, Big Brother Ma.” Zhou Xiao-Hong relaxed only then.

“And, I’m a kinder and cuter person than your Boss Xia. You’ll find that I have uncountable good points.”

Zhou Xiao-Hong looked at Ma Xiao-An, then looked at Xia Lei. She pursed her lips and said nothing but she did not feel that it was so. She could tell just from their eyes that they were very different.

After helping Zhou Xiao-Hong settle in, it was dark when Xia Lei and Ma Xiao-An left Thunder Horse Workshop. Ma Xiao-An sent Xia Lei home on his ratty tatty motorcycle, then puttered off.

Back home, Xia Xue had dinner all prepared and was waiting for him to start dinner.

After dinner, Xia Lei switched on the television and selected an English channel to watch.

Xia Xue stared curiously at Xia Lei as she put the dishes away. “When did you start to like to watch English channels, Brother? Can you understand it?”

Xia Lei smiled, “Of course I understand.”

Xia Xue snorted, “Yeah, right! If even I don’t really understand it, how can you?”

Xia Lei did not bother to explain himself. He watched the programme and learnt as he went, absorbing how the people on the telly spoke. He had already memorised all the words in the dictionary and the associated grammar so he was just lacking the speaking factor. Once he got past this barrier, he would, unquestionably, be a human translation machine. Of course, he couldn’t tell Xia Xue this.