Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 507 - 506: The Eldest Senior Brother Carries Countless Blames

Chapter 507: Chapter 506: The Eldest Senior Brother Carries Countless Blames

Rong Zhiguo, with a seemingly permanent cigarette in his mouth, found everything annoying.

The eldest apprentice glanced at his master’s expression, and said cautiously, "Master, shall I go look for...?"

"Look for what?" Rong Zhiguo narrowed his eyes, "Could she get lost on the train when she’s such an adult?"

The eldest apprentice felt hurt again, silently opened his book and didn’t say a peep.

Lin Nianhe listened from behind for a while, with her lips pursed she snickered and moved closer, mimicking a voice, "May I ask who is Comrade Rong Zhiguo? A girl named Lin Nianhe has fallen!"

"What?"

Rong Zhiguo sprang to his feet, the cigarette dropped to the ground unnoticed.

"Who’s the blind fool that tripped up my disciple?"

Great, blame is thrown before even asking what happened.

Lin Nianhe gained a new understanding of her master—he had the makings of a helicopter parent.

Rong Zhiguo turned around and saw the smiling Lin Nianhe.

He paused and then smacked Lin Nianhe on the head.

He sat back down, picked up the half-burnt cigarette from the ground, casually rubbed off the ash with his fingers, then searched his pocket for a matchbox.

Lin Nianhe quickly took out a box of matches from her pocket, struck a match and handed it over.

"Hmph!"

Rong Zhiguo snorted.

"Master, I personally filled and glued this matchbox. Could you please honor me and see if the matches I made are especially easy to use?" Lin Nianhe said with a sheepish grin, bringing the flame closer.

Rong Zhiguo took the offered way out, walking down the stairs with extra assurance.

He lit his cigarette and patted Lin Nianhe’s hand twice. Leaning against the carriage wall, he asked nonchalantly, "Do you need something?"

It was best to let the previous incident slide without mentioning it; otherwise, it would be awkward for everyone.

The eldest apprentice stood up as soon as he saw Lin Nianhe, giving up his seat. He looked at Lin Nianhe as if she were his savior.

Lin Nianhe greeted the eldest apprentice with a cheerful smile. She didn’t notice Chang Jinzhong, probably because he was mingling with other Factory Directors. She didn’t ask further, sat down next to Rong Zhiguo, and presented the tea: "I recently got some new jasmine tea. I don’t understand tea; it would be a waste if I drank it. So, I brought it especially for you."

Rong Zhiguo loved to drink tea. He always had tea leaves in his tea caddy, and not just any tea but the finest crumbs, which the Old Capital City folk had lovingly named "starry sky."

Lin Nianhe presented the tin containing the tea leaves, "Would you like to take a look?"

Rong Zhiguo took the tin but didn’t open it right away. Instead, he furrowed his brow at the matchbox that Lin Nianhe had casually placed on the table.

Why is this girl pasting matchboxes? She isn’t out of money, is she?

"Master?" Lin Nianhe saw his odd look and called out again.

"Yeah."

Rong Zhiguo replied, opened the tea tin and sniffed. The subtle and refined scent of jasmine managed to overpower all the other unpleasant odors in the train compartment.

Clearly, it was top-quality tea.

Rong Zhiguo couldn’t help but be concerned, "How much is this per liang (unit of weight)?"

Lin Nianhe answered calmly, "I wouldn’t know, it was a gift."

It was a lie that it was a gift, but she truly didn’t know the price per liang. When she was stockpiling tea leaves, she cleared several tea plantations’ stocks, discussing only the total price—how could she possibly calculate the unit price?

Rong Zhiguo clicked his tongue and quickly closed the tin to avoid spoiling the aroma.

Seeing that his tea caddy was empty, Lin Nianhe offered, "Shall I go pour some water and brew the tea for you?"

"No need, I’m not thirsty," Rong Zhiguo refused flatly.

In this carriage, there were many factories from Beijing, and at least eight out of ten people were tea lovers; all familiar faces. He couldn’t bear to share this precious tea with them. To drink alone would undoubtedly invite criticism for being stingy, so he opted not to drink and hide it! Not even Chang Jinzhong would get a single piece of tea leaf!

Rong Zhiguo put the tea canister back into his bag and, turning his head, saw that Lin Nianhe still had a stack of papers in her arms, so he asked: "What’s this?"

"Hehe," Lin Nianhe laughed before answering, "I’ve drawn up a new design. I’m not quite sure about it, would like to ask for your opinion."

"Tsk," Rong Zhiguo clicked his tongue, "How come you come up with new designs one after another? Mechanical design is not as easy as you think. Everything we have now took countless people and numerous iterations to perfect. Don’t assume that just because it worked once, it will always work. Otherwise, you’ll end up crying your eyes out."

Rong Zhiguo spoke these words of warning.

He was mainly worried that Lin Nianhe, with her short period of study, always thought that machinery was a simple matter and would start crying when faced with setbacks.

It annoyed him. Really, he found the girl’s crying most irksome.

Lin Nianhe obediently nodded her head, but she did not retract the hand offering the drawings.

Rong Zhiguo pinched out his cigarette and began to carefully examine the drawings.

He had initially intended to glance over them and find something, anything, to praise in an effort to spare her feelings and avoid her making a fuss if he dismissed her work as worthless. But as he looked on, his brows furrowed involuntarily, and his expression grew serious.

The senior apprentice’s book remained on the first page. Seeing his master with such an expression, he signaled Lin Nianhe with his eyes, hinting that she must keep silent at all costs.

The master was clearly engrossed. Anyone who dared to interrupt now would be inviting a curse on their ancestors.

Lin Nianhe acknowledged the senior apprentice’s warning with a nod.

She quietly stood up and took Rong Zhiguo’s empty tea mug.

The senior apprentice gestured for her to stop and took out a packet of waxed paper from his bag. He opened it and pinched a bit of tea dust into the mug.

Lin Nianhe, carrying the empty tea mug, went to ask the train attendant for water.

She did want to demonstrate her tea-making skills, but the first step had already been ruined—the tea leaves were too finely broken, and without proper tea implements, trying to rinse the tea would probably wash away half the leaves.

She could only give up and carried the tea mug back to her berth.

Chang Jinzhong had not yet returned, and there was no one else coming by. The senior apprentice was absorbed in his book, and the master was deep in his inspection of the drawings. Lin Nianhe set down the tea mug and sat back down next to Rong Zhiguo, leaning against the carriage to rest with closed eyes.

Lin Nianhe didn’t realize when she had fallen asleep. It was Rong Zhiguo’s soft call that woke her.

"Eh? What’s the matter!"

She burst open her eyes, instinctively springing up, but halfway through her movements, her head was struck by the upper bunk, causing countless stars to flash before her eyes.

"Ow..."

Lin Nianhe clutched her head, tears streaming down as she winced in pain.

Both Rong Zhiguo and the senior apprentice were startled by this sudden turn. Rong Zhiguo instinctively patted Lin Nianhe’s back, trying to soothe her, while muttering: "Don’t be scared, it’s okay..."

This bump thoroughly roused Lin Nianhe, yet her head felt a bit woozy.

With her big eyes, excessively clear and brimming with tears, she asked in a tearful voice: "Master, did someone bomb the train?"

Rong Zhiguo: "..."

Suppressing the disdain that came to his lips, he said: "How are you feeling? Should we find the Doctor to have a look?"

He was very worried. It was rare to have such a clever apprentice; he hoped she hadn’t knocked herself silly.

Lin Nianhe shook her head and no longer feeling dizzy, she said: "I’m fine, it’s nothing serious... Master, what happened to you just now?"

Rong Zhiguo was startled.

What had he just remembered?

Forgotten.

Rong Zhiguo turned to look at his senior apprentice: "Hey, repeat what I just said to you."

The senior apprentice looked dumbfounded: "Master, you haven’t said a word to me just now!"

"What? You didn’t hear? What use are you to me every day?"

"..."