"Eat. Don't just sit there watching me and grinning like an idiot."
Wang Yan looked at Zhou Xiaobai across from him, amused. She had both hands propping up her chin.
"I already ate. You eat more," Zhou Xiaobai said. "Was it easy to get leave?"
"Easy enough. I applied for leave more than a month in advance, saying I was coming to see my girlfriend. The leaders were all quite supportive."
"I remember you said before that you were going to the Canton Fair, and afterward you were making a trip to Hong Kong Island. Did you come here directly from Hong Kong Island?"
Wang Yan nodded with a smile. "Like I said, you're smart. I came straight here—and I brought you some foreign goods too."
"The things you mailed me last time clearly cost a lot. They're too expensive. Things aren't easy for you over in Forest County, so don't spend money recklessly. Save wherever you can."
"Just tell me—are you happy or not?"
"Happy!" Zhou Xiaobai nodded sweetly. "But you should still save where you can. My mother called and said you sent them quite a few things too. She asked me to tell you not to be so extravagant. They don't lack anything. I wrote you a letter, but I mailed it to Forest County, so you probably haven't received it yet."
"The things I bought for you and your family didn't cost me a cent. They were all gifts from patriotic people over on Hong Kong Island."
Zhou Xiaobai had no idea that Wang Yan had become a one-man street-clearing tiger in Hong Kong Island. She asked in surprise, "The patriotic people in Hong Kong Island even give away skincare products?"
"That was to thank me for helping them." Wang Yan spoke seriously. "This little bit