Chapter 332: A Pleasant Conversation

Chapter 332 A Delightful Chat

"Oh? What is it?" He grinned at Su He and asked earnestly.

By then, a line had formed at the checkout, and the two had been chatting for quite a while.

Su He glanced toward the checkout area and said, "Mr. Huang, please wait a moment. Let me ring these customers up first."

"No problem, Miss Su—I’ll wait," Huang Chaoming replied quickly.

As Su He walked away to attend to her tasks, he didn’t linger. Instead, he went to sit on a bench near the supermarket, intending to wait until she was free.

He had been in town for some time now, but the first month or so had been entirely spent in the hospital. It was only in the last two weeks that Huang Chaoming had resumed work, throwing himself back into his farming projects.

However, after more than a week of study, he hadn’t made much progress.

In Wencheng, the soil was quite fertile, but the annual harvests were not particularly impressive. Turns out, while the land was suitable for crops like sweet potatoes and corn, it wasn’t ideal for rice.

But rice was the real staple food for the people. Huang Chaoming still hoped to develop a rice variety suited to Wencheng’s soil, improving yields so the locals could get better harvests each year.

Su He spent quite some time at the checkout counter, as customers kept lining up, leaving her no opportunity to return to Huang Chaoming.

She turned her head to look in his direction and saw him sitting leisurely on the bench, sipping from a bottle of mineral water while observing his surroundings, not seeming bothered at all.

Su He exhaled, her tension easing.

"Su He, I’m here." At that moment, Su Shiming arrived at the shop fresh from his nap.

"Dad, could you take over? Someone’s here to see me," Su He said, promptly dumping her tasks on him.

Obliging without a word, Su Shiming went to work for his daughter.

"Mr. Huang, sorry for the wait—we’re swamped today," Su He said with a smile as she sat down across from Huang Chaoming.

"It’s no trouble. I hope I’m not interrupting your work."

Huang Chaoming, though a technical expert, was surprisingly down-to-earth, nothing like the bookish researcher type. In social interactions, he was a real people person.

"No worries!" Su He quickly assured him.

"Miss Su, now can you tell me what’s this crop you’re working on?" Huang Chaoming asked with a smile.

"Oranges. Pretty basic, right?" Su He countered.

"Oranges? Yes, they are indeed very common. Even in Wencheng, I believe folks here grow ’em too."

For some reason, Su He detected a letdown in Huang Chaoming’s tone.

Huang Chaoming was indeed let down. He’d hoped for another exotic find, only to find out it was just plain old oranges.

"The oranges I grow are a bit different from the usual ones. They’re called sugar oranges," Su He said, immediately reigniting his interest upon noticing his disappointment.

"Oh? How are they different? Sugar oranges? Is there such a variety?" Now he was intrigued.

"What sets it apart from regular oranges is that it's very sweet and doesn't require spitting out seeds."

"That’s it?" Huang Chaoming still felt somewhat disappointed, as the difference from durian was too significant.

"How long does Mr. Huang plan to stay in Wencheng?" Su He asked again.

"Likely long-term. Why do you ask?"

"My sugar oranges should be ripe in about two months. You’re welcome to come by then and try them and see if they disappoint you." Su He gave a confident smile.

Seeing her self-assured expression, Huang Chaoming couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, then I'll wait and see. But Miss Su, I have a favor to ask," Huang Chaoming suddenly added.

"Please go ahead. I'll help if I can."

"Could I see where you grow durians and sugar oranges for a look around? Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t disclose any of your planting secrets or anything like that," Huang Chaoming said very seriously.

Su He paused...

She didn’t have any special growing methods for these things—just treating them like ordinary trees.

The real difference was likely in the saplings.

"Sure. When would you be available? I’ll check with my family first," Su He agreed almost without hesitation.

Either way, Dr. Fu was her superior, and she didn’t care whether this agricultural expert would discover anything unusual.

"Great. Would this weekend work? Are you heading back then?" Huang Chaoming asked again.

"It depends on whether my husband’s working. If he goes back, I’ll probably go with him."

"Hmm, I’ll ask Dr. Fu then. I’ll go back with you, just as a casual visit—nothing formal." Huang Chaoming smiled at Su He, his meaning clear.

He just wanted to put her at ease. He wouldn’t report anything; he just wanted to study whether her plants might give him new ideas to improve Wencheng’s rice yield.

"Alright. If my husband is free this weekend, we’ll go back with you."

If that was the case, Su He was happy to help him.

They hit it off right away. Huang Chaoming wondered how a man like Fu Tinghua married a shop owner.

Not that he disdained merchants—it was just that in this era, government workers often kept a class divide from small shopkeepers or traders.

Usually, they’d either marry a well-bred woman who could stay home or someone also working in a state unit.

But Fu Tinghua was different. His wife owned the shop, and rumor had it he even helped out there?

Before, Huang Chaoming couldn’t understand why someone as reserved as Fu Tinghua would help sell things in a shop—it seemed beneath him.

But after this conversation with Su He, Huang Chaoming started to see that Dr. Fu’s wife was something else.

After Huang Chaoming left, Su He returned to the register.

Su Shiming eyed Huang Chaoming’s retreating back and couldn’t help asking, "Who was that?"

"Hmm, a friend of Tinghua’s," Su He replied without elaborating on his identity.

It seems these days there are indeed people targeting some of their country's senior technical personnel, aiming to take them out early.

Whether this is true or not, it's better not to go around carelessly exposing people's identities.

As for Fu Tinghua, there's just no avoiding it.

His job requires him to meet many patients—there's simply no avoiding it.

But Huang Chaoming is different. He can just focus on his research, holing up in the lab all day, barely seeing anyone.