The award ceremony for the Yuzhou Marathon was incredibly efficient because the sponsor was the Changqing Liquid Company.
Once the winners’ details were confird, the finance team wasted no ti—those with bank cards received transfers directly, while those without received cash.
At 12:30 p.m., Huang Yuzhu collected his prize for being among the top one hundred finishers, a full one thousand yuan. As for tax-related issues, those were handled by Changqing Liquid’s people.
In addition, there was a finisher’s dal. Compared to other marathon dals, the dals from Changqing Liquid Company were made of white porcelain, the sa material used for their bottles.
On the surface of the dal, a dicinal herb was engraved, representing a key ingredient of Evergreen Liquid, blending a modern and ancient style.
The finisher’s kit included a dal, a certificate, and a supply bag filled with Red Bull, purified water, chocolate, dried beans, dried fruits, beef jerky, and other snacks.
After collecting their prizes, several students from Class 8 left the hall together.
"This is great!" Guo Kunnan exclaid, envious as he saw his good friend’s finisher rewards.
Not only was there an award from Evergreen Liquid but also flowers from the pretty class monitor.
Zhang Chi inspected the finisher’s dal. The cold white porcelain felt as chilly as his mood.
He contemplated, "I wonder if this dal can be sold for money?"
Dan Kaiquan said, "Why sell it? It’s sothing to hang at ho as a symbol that I’ve run a marathon."
Zhang Chi felt he was being overly easygoing, "You got a thousand yuan prize, but I didn’t, okay?"
He was not very happy and his tone was sowhat aggressive.
Dan Kaiquan glanced at him, equally blunt, "If you’re not as good, who do you bla?"
"Damn!" Zhang Chi, who once prided himself as the strongman of Class 8, had been the sports commissioner—the toughest man in class.
He never paid attention to soone like Dan Kaiquan, who seed weak when school first started and had a slim build, thinking he could easily dominate him.
Now he took another look at him.
Dan Kaiquan was heading out into the sunshine, standing proudly with steady steps.
Zhang Chi suddenly noticed this guy’s shoulders had broadened significantly, no less than his own, the T-shirt filled out, arms now showing muscular definition, like those sports students who train on the field for years.
He rembered visiting Dan Kaiquan’s dorm several nights, seeing him either using an arm strengthener or doing push-ups...
Zhang Chi paused and eventually held back his harsh words, realizing he was no longer superior as before.
His arrogance faded, replaced by equality, and Zhang Chi indignantly made an excuse, "I didn’t rest well yesterday, wasn’t in good form today, otherwise getting into the top 100 would’ve been no problem today!"
Dan Kaiquan replied, "Sure, keep telling yourself that!"
Zhang Chi said, "Wait till next year, damn it, I’m definitely getting a big prize."
Hearing this, Dan Kaiquan solemnly said, "Let’s join next year together, hope we can get a spot in the draw."
With this year’s buzz, next year’s marathon participants will surely be nurous.
Zhang Chi volunteered, "I’m lucky, let do the draw!"
"Alright," Dan Kaiquan acknowledged, admitting Zhang Chi’s luck was indeed good.
They chatted as they walked, the atmosphere surprisingly more harmonious than before.
...
At the fork in the road, Huang Yuzhu glanced again at the marathon finish line, still not seeing Tang Jing. He called her phone, but no one answered.
Huang Yuzhu was puzzled, having promised to repay Tang Jing for covering his entry fee, but now he couldn’t find her.
Glancing at the ti—it was already 12:30, thinking of his younger siblings at ho, Huang Yuzhu clutched the marathon supply bag tightly.
He said his goodbyes, "You guys hang out, I’m heading ho first."
"Okay, see you at the evening self-study," Dan Kaiquan and the others replied.
Having won prize money and feeling exhausted from the run, Huang Yuzhu waited for the bus to take him ho.
Guangming Community was one of Yuzhou’s run-down old residential areas, even among the least desirable, due to its remote location and lack of redevelopnt value.
Huang Yuzhu got off at the station and walked ten minutes before reaching the vicinity of his community.
From the roadside, one could see densely packed six-story buildings in view, poor-quality construction, and aging structures, with li peeling off the outer walls, and myriad tangled wires cluttering together.
He followed the alley ho, the ground cracked with so areas holding dirty water, a risk of stepping into a puddle and splashing oneself.
The trash bins at the alley edge were overflowing, with much household waste on the ground, as many residents evaded paying the cleaning fees when collectors ca around.
Despite the property fee being only 50 yuan per year.
Wearing a Nike T-shirt from the marathon, Huang Yuzhu walked all the way to his doorstep.
His ho was on the second floor. He opened the door, and his younger brother and sister ran over to greet him.
Huang Yuzhu glanced at the books on the table, his siblings had been reading just now, comforting him greatly, as they were doing their best to change the family’s situation despite their youth.
He opened the supply bag and distributed the snacks to them.
His parents were working outside and hadn’t returned yet, and only his elderly grandmother, hearing the commotion, ca out of her room.
"Grandson, have you eaten?" she asked with concern.
"Not yet!" Huang Yuzhu replied smiling, having focused on the marathon and aiming for victory, he hadn’t indulged in the food along the way, so he was starving now.
"There’s so rice gruel, stead bun, and vegetables left in the stear, have so," the old lady with a slightly hunched back, slowly stepped forward to serve her grandson.
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