It was time to eat. Yang Shuyi unfolded the table, a fairly large square folding table in orangey red. Dishes nearly covered the entire surface. In Sichuan and Chongqing households, New Year was never complete without sausage and cured pork. There was also cured pork hock, pickled-vegetable fish, chicken gizzards stir-fried with pickles, vinegar cabbage, and a huge basin of soft, tender douhua.
Elio’s Notes: Douhua (豆花) is very soft, freshly set tofu. In Sichuan and Chongqing it is commonly eaten as a savory dish with strongly flavored seasonings or accompaniments.
Yang Shuyi’s father opened a bottle of beer and jokingly asked, “Little Shao, want some? I’ll open one for you.”
Shao Wu quickly shook his head. “I don’t drink.”
“Shuyi, want some?”
“Oh, just drink it yourself!” Auntie Xiaojuan laughed and gave him a look. “Who goes around encouraging kids to drink?”
“Haha, I’m happy today!” Yang Shuyi’s father filled his own glass and announced loudly, “Our family went through a lot this past year. Good things, troublesome things, all kinds of things. Ah! But we made it through! They say when things hit rock bottom, they turn around, right? I think life for us is only going to get better and better…”
Yang Shuyi complained softly to Shao Wu, “This is the third time he’s given this speech.”
Shao Wu smiled.
On the other side of the table, Longlong had already picked up her chopsticks and was staring eagerly at the plate of cured pork. The pork at Yang Shuyi’s house was half fat and half lean, sliced so thin that the fatty part was almost translucent, gleaming softly like a streetlamp in the rain. Grandma was the first to pick up food with her chopsticks. “Come on, eat! Look how hungry our Longlong is.”
Everyone finally started eating. Shao Wu picked up a slice of cured pork and put it in his mouth. It was delicious. For the first time, he realized fatty pork could taste this good.
“Well, Little Shao?” Yang Shuyi’s father asked. “Good?”
“Good, really good.” Shao Wu’s cheeks puffed slightly as he chewed. “This meat smells amazing.”
“Of course it does! We brought this cured pork back from Yingxiu. Xiaojuan’s second uncle raised the pig himself. Fed it grain! Let it run around outside every day! This is good meat!”
“Little Shao, try the pickled-vegetable fish,” Auntie Xiaojuan said with a smile. “The fish was caught in the Min River. It’s just a shame it had to be frozen. Fresh would taste even better.”
Yang Shuyi’s family was simply too enthusiastic, and Auntie Xiaojuan was an excellent cook. Shao Wu learned that she had once trained in a restaurant kitchen. He ate so much that he felt painfully full, as if even the waistband of his trousers had tightened. Meanwhile, Yang Shuyi’s father kept pouring drinks for himself and seemed to be getting drunk. That only made him even more enthusiastic. “Little Shao, eat more! Eat more! Young people are still growing!”
Shao Wu swallowed a piece of chicken gizzard with difficulty. “Okay… uh.”
Yang Shuyi said, amused, “We have digestive tablets at home.”
Shao Wu: “…”
Yang Shuyi’s father really was drunk. His cheeks had gone red, and he became more talkative by the minute. “Little Shao, what do you think of our TV? Xiaojuan and I bought it when we held our wedding banquet. Such a bargain. Guess how much?”
“Huh?” Shao Wu blinked. “Five… five thousand?”
“No way it cost that much! Guess again!”
Yang Shuyi sighed beside Shao Wu’s ear. “He’s really drunk.”
“Then… three thousand?”
“One thousand three hundred!” Yang’s father laughed. “It was originally more than two thousand, but this was the last one left and I happened to catch the discount!”
Auntie Xiaojuan looked at him the way one might look at a child fooling around, a faint smile at the corners of her mouth.
“That cheap?” Shao Wu genuinely had not expected it.
“Exactly! When I brought it home, they all complained at me, saying TVs like this are probably returns and must have something wrong with them… What problem? Look, it works perfectly!”
Shao Wu nodded. “Right, right.”
After eating until his stomach was round at Yang Shuyi’s house, Shao Wu felt a little embarrassed and took the initiative to ask, “How much of your homework have you finished?” He thought he could at least explain some problems to Yang Shuyi. He could not just come over and eat a huge meal for free.
The moment he said it, Yang Shuyi’s expression changed.
“Exactly!” Grandma reached out and tapped Yang Shuyi on the forehead with one finger. “I haven’t seen you doing homework these past few days!”
His father said, “Is it because you don’t know how? I don’t see you studying properly day to day either! Perfect timing, Little Shao is here. Ask him more questions!”
Auntie Xiaojuan said, “All right, all right. Shuyi’s quick enough when he actually uses his brain… Little Shao, what fruit do you want? We have apples and oranges. You two can eat while you go over the problems.”
Longlong said, “Brother just didn’t do his homework! Eww! If you don’t do your homework, you have to stand as punishment!”
Yang Shuyi: “…”
Shao Wu: “…”
Shao Wu regretted it so much he wanted to kick himself. Had eating too much slowed his brain down? How had he forgotten that Yang Shuyi was exactly the kind of bastard who simply did not do his homework?
Shao Wu said awkwardly, “Are there any questions you don’t know? I can explain them.”
Yang Shuyi shot him a look that was equal parts reproachful and aggrieved, as if to say, I invited you over for a nice meal, and this is how you repay me?
“Come on, then,” Yang Shuyi said through gritted teeth. “There are tons I don’t know.”