Huayu: I Have a Doraemon

Chapter 56 Sudden Wealth

Dusk, at the convenience store.

The setting sun slanted in through the west-facing window.

Doraemon and Old Man Zhao squatted side by side at the door, each holding a large bowl.

The bowl contains noodles with soybean paste.

The noodles were hand-rolled by Old Zhao himself; they were thick and rough, and didn't look very appealing, but they were very chewy.

Doraemon buried his face in the bowl and slurped his food, leaving a ring of sauce on his round face that looked like he had grown a brown beard.

"Looking at the sky, it looks like it's going to rain again tomorrow."

Old Zhao looked up and gazed over the courtyard wall, landing on the hazy sky.

Doraemon explains:

"BJ has a temperate monsoon climate, and there isn't much rain in the fall. The rain now is probably caused by an abnormal subtropical high pressure."

Old Zhao did not respond.

He kept his head up, his eyes calm, as if he had made up his mind.

Doraemon's lips moved slightly, but he didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps echoed through the alley.

"Director Lin, please take care!"

"Where should we put these things?"

"Be careful, be careful, don't touch it!"

Doraemon looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of people turning into the alley.

Lin An is at the very front.

He was wearing a black trendy hoodie, limited-edition sneakers, carrying five or six bags in his hand, and another one hanging from his arm, making a jingling sound as he walked.

Three young men in overalls followed behind, one carrying a cardboard box and the other two pushing a trolley with three or four boxes stacked on it.

Old Zhao stood up, holding his bowl, and squinted as he examined the pile of things.

Lin An walked to the entrance of the convenience store, put the bag on the ground, let out a long breath, and grinned at Old Zhao:

"Uncle Zhao, are you eating?"

Old Zhao glanced down at the empty bowl in his hand, then at Lin An's brand-new outfit, and said nothing.

Lin An didn't mind, bent down and pulled a square cardboard box from the bag, stuffing it into Old Zhao's arms.

"For you."

Old Zhao lowered his head.

The cardboard box had a black crocodile printed on it, with "Lacoste" written next to it. He weighed it in his hand; it was probably a pair of leather shoes.

Old Zhao raised his head, his brows furrowed slightly:

"What do you mean?"

Lin An waved his hand without answering, then turned and directed the three young men to carry the boxes into the convenience store.

"Just put it over there, yes, against the wall."

Seeing someone bustling around, Old Zhao couldn't help but look down at Doraemon and say:

"Did he take the wrong medicine?"

Doraemon squinted and said, "I think he won the lottery."

……

……

The young deliveryman left, and the convenience store was piled high with cardboard boxes.

Old Zhao stood behind the counter, his hands supporting him on the surface, his gaze shifting back and forth between the pile of boxes and Lin An, his expression a mixture of confusion and wariness.

"Where did these things come from?"

Lin An was squatting on the ground unpacking a cardboard box, without even looking up: "Bought it."

"Where did you get the money?"

"Earned money."

Old Zhao was silent for a few seconds, then reached for the landline: "Did you rob a bank?"

Lin An rolled his eyes, pushed the opened cardboard box aside, revealing a suit inside.

"If I were to rob a bank, I'd buy something even better than this."

Old Zhao didn't know much about suits, but he could tell from the sheen of the fabric and the lines of the cut that this thing wasn't cheap.

His brows furrowed even more.

Doraemon squatted at the doorway, the bowl of noodles with soybean paste almost empty, licking the sauce off his lips as he curiously looked at Lin An.

That suit was clearly not someone's size, and the style didn't match Old Zhao's at all; it was most likely a gift.

Doraemon rolled his eyes, his round head looking around, searching for what might be his.

If not, he will break off all contact with that person!

Lin An has already opened all the remaining cardboard boxes.

Suits, leather shoes, down jackets, cashmere scarves... and a brand new DVD player.

Old Zhao's eyes widened.

Lin An squatted down in front of the last cardboard box, opened the lid, and pulled out an old schoolbag.

Under Old Zhao's shocked gaze, he pulled a brown paper bag from his backpack, inside which was a large amount of cash.

Old Zhao's pupils suddenly contracted.

Doraemon, standing at the door, forgot all about finding a gift and stared wide-eyed like a copper bell.

Lin An shook the last wad of banknotes out of the paper bag, looked at Old Zhao, and said calmly:

"Uncle Zhao, here is 150,000."

He pushed the banknotes towards Old Zhao.

"Give me your house as collateral."

Old Zhao finally raised his head and looked at him with a complicated expression.

There was shock, confusion, and something else that was hard to explain.

"You knew all along?" he asked.

Lin An said, "Having lived under the same roof for so long, it's hard not to know, isn't it?"

"...That's true."

Old Zhao gave a self-deprecating laugh, staring blankly at the stack of cash in front of him.

Lin An said, "It's just a mortgage. As long as you pay me back the money within three years, the house will still be yours."

Before he could refuse, Lin An continued:

"Next, I will renovate the convenience store. You will still run the store, but there will be no salary. Instead, I will give you 15% of the monthly net profit as a cash rebate."

Old Zhao remained silent for a long time before slowly asking, "Why?"

Lin An calmly said, "These days, it's not easy to find a stable, honest, and reliable shop assistant, and besides..."

He glanced at Doraemon and laughed:

"That guy looks a bit dim-witted, but he's actually very principled. If I don't help him, he'll probably nag me to death."

Doraemon paused, lowered his head, and muttered defiantly:

"I'm not stupid or dumb at all..."

Old Zhao watched the interaction between the two and fell silent again.

After an unknown amount of time, he nodded emphatically, his voice hoarse, and said:

"Thank you... thank you all..."

……

……

Late at night.

The lights on the second floor of the convenience store were still on.

Lin An pushed open the door, threw the bags he was carrying on the ground, and collapsed onto the bed, sinking into the soft quilt.

"I'm exhausted..."

He rolled over, buried his face in the pillow, and let out a muffled groan.

Doraemon followed him into the room, his two short legs moving incredibly fast.

He walked to the bedside, stood on tiptoe, poked his round head out, and stared at Lin An.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Lin An didn't move.

Doraemon cleared his throat.

Lin An still didn't move.

Doraemon coughed loudly, as if he were about to cough up his lungs.

Lin An finally turned over and said irritably:

"What are you going to do!?"

Doraemon stared intently at someone, gritting his teeth as he said:

"Where's my gift?"

Lin An looked bewildered: "What gift?"

Doraemon's eyes widened, his round face began to flush, and he shouted in a broken voice:

"You really didn't buy me a gift!!!"

Lin An trembled at his shout, sprang up from the bed, covered his ears, and shrank back.

"Keep your voice down! Old Zhao is downstairs!"

"I don't care!"

Doraemon jumped up and down in anger, clenching his round hands into fists and waving them wildly in the air:

"Buy Uncle Zhao some leather shoes!"

"Buy suits, scarves, and DVDs for my uncles and aunts!"

"You buy yourself hoodies, sneakers, and the latest phone!"

Doraemon got angrier and angrier as he spoke, his round face turning bright red:

"You bought so much stuff, but you didn't buy anything for me!?"

Seeing the blue robot cat's body begin to swell as if it were about to explode, Lin An dared not play anymore and quickly said:

"I bought it for you, I bought it for you, don't rush."

Doraemon was taken aback.

His swollen figure stopped, his anger subsided considerably, but the gloom on his face had not yet dissipated.

He narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Lin An, his voice forced out through clenched teeth:

"Where are the things?"

"Wait."

Lin An quickly rolled off the bed, without even putting on slippers, and walked barefoot to the pile of cardboard boxes and shopping bags in the corner.

He squatted down, rummaged through a pile of bags for a while, and pulled out a bulging plastic bag.

turn on.

Eggs, flour, honey, milk, red beans, white sugar... one by one, they were taken out and laid out all over the floor.

Doraemon looked down at the pile of ingredients, his round face changing from anticipation to confusion, and then from confusion to ashen-faced.

"This is...my gift?"

His voice trembled as he thought that if this guy dared to nod, he would cry!