Lunch was made by Mama Wang, and the food did not taste much different from what Wang Cheng cooked. After seven or eight days, Chu Yifeng finally got to eat food he actually liked again. Seeing how much he enjoyed it only made Papa Wang happier, and he kept piling food into Chu Yifeng’s bowl. Wang Cheng wanted to cover his face at how enthusiastic his father was. If Papa Wang was this easy to win over, coming out in the future definitely would not be much of an obstacle. He had already guessed that, but there was still something vaguely embarrassing about how quickly his father had surrendered.
“It’s rare to meet someone I click with. Mr. Chu, you have to eat more.” Papa Wang was still talking, looking as though he wanted the conversation to go on forever. “It’s a shame you’re probably so busy most of the time. Otherwise you could come more often. Chengcheng’s mother’s cooking isn’t something you can get just anywhere.”
“What nonsense are you saying?” Mama Wang immediately grew embarrassed. “Mr. Chu, don’t listen to him.”
“Not at all. I actually think Auntie’s cooking is excellent, about the same as Wang Cheng’s.” Chu Yifeng shook his head, and the words nearly made Wang Cheng choke on his food.
Mama Wang glanced at her second son, who was coughing nonstop, then smiled at Chu Yifeng. “Mr. Chu, has our Chengcheng cooked for you before? He hardly ever cooks at home.”
“Mom, don’t misunderstand,” Wang Cheng hurriedly explained.
“What am I misunderstanding?” Mama Wang gave him a calm look.
Wang Cheng nearly exposed himself. “No, I mean… I may have forgotten to tell you before. Boss is actually Big Brother’s neighbor. The first time I went to Big Brother’s apartment, Boss was the one who helped me out. Otherwise the security guards there wouldn’t even have let me in.”
Then Wang Cheng briefly explained how he had ended up cooking for Chu Yifeng, leaving out quite a few details.
“After running into each other a few times like that, Boss and I naturally became familiar.”
So there was another layer of connection between them. Papa Wang nodded and laughed. “Looks like Mr. Chu really has some fate with our family.”
“Our Chengcheng has received quite a bit of care from you, Mr. Chu. Thank you,” Mama Wang said. Seen that way, Mr. Chu really had helped their family many times. Even she no longer had much objection to him now. She had originally been somewhat worried because the gap in status between him and Wang Cheng was so large. If they were only an ordinary boss and employee, there was no reason he would make a special visit to their home just because he happened to be passing by.
“We do seem to have quite a bit of fate.” Chu Yifeng gave Wang Cheng a meaningful look.
All Wang Cheng wanted to say was, Boss Chu, just please stop dropping startling lines. His poor heart had already taken enough of a beating.
After lunch, Papa Wang and Chu Yifeng went to the living room to rest and chat. Mama Wang called Wang Cheng into the kitchen to help wash dishes. That almost never happened, so Wang Cheng immediately knew she had something to say. Sure enough, he had barely washed the first plate when Mama Wang spoke.
“Chengcheng, if you’ll listen to Mom, don’t get too close to your boss in the future.”
“Mom? Why?” Wang Cheng did not understand. Everything had been fine at the table, so why had she changed her attitude right after lunch? He could not help feeling surprised.
“He may have helped you, but your status is too different. You don’t belong to the same world. Mom can tell this Mr. Chu isn’t an ordinary person. The world of rich people is complicated, and I don’t want you getting dragged into trouble later.” Mama Wang spoke earnestly.
What she said made a lot of sense. Unfortunately, it was already too late.
“Mom, you’re overthinking it. I’m not a three-year-old. I can judge things for myself. Don’t worry. I know my limits.” All Wang Cheng could do now was brush her off as gently as possible. As for openly telling her about his relationship with Chu Yifeng, that day now seemed even farther away.
“As long as you know. Mom is only saying this for your own good.”
That afternoon, Wang Cheng’s family was preparing to get back to work. Chu Yifeng could not stay too long. Wang Cheng told him Mama Wang had a few reservations about how close they were, so he should leave for now. Even if he eventually wanted his parents to accept Chu Yifeng, there was no need to rush it.
Chu Yifeng had actually wanted to stay and help Wang Cheng sort fruit, but Wang Cheng’s reasoning was sound. He could tell that the person who truly called the shots in this household was Mama Wang.
“Then I’ll come see you again next time.”
“There’s going to be a next time too?” Wang Cheng’s face darkened. Every time Chu Yifeng came over, Wang Cheng felt as though his heart might leap out of his chest. “Forget it. Come if you want, but next time you absolutely have to call me first. We almost gave ourselves away today. You scared me half to death.”
“All right.”
After seeing him off, Wang Cheng returned to the courtyard. The other workers had already arrived. One woman who liked to gossip asked who the man who just left was. Wang Cheng did not mind telling her that he was his boss and had happened to pass by, so he came in to see him.
“Wang Cheng, you and your boss are really close.”
“Of course. We’re friends.” At this point, Wang Cheng almost wished he could tell everyone that his boss was his friend.
After work ended, the woman gathered with a group of women that evening and chatted. Unable to resist, she mentioned what Wang Cheng had told her that afternoon. Being able to become friends with his own boss was quite something. Nobody would have expected Wang Cheng to have that kind of ability. With so many mouths involved, the news quickly spread.
Eldest Uncle eventually heard about it too. Old Madam Wang, who had originally planned to go confront Wang Cheng again, abandoned the idea after hearing the news. She was even glad she had not acted impulsively. If anything happened to Eldest Son’s family because of her, she would never forgive herself. Madam Zhang came over later and tried to provoke them again, but thinking of the possible consequences, they held back. Madam Zhang, who did not know the truth, found the attitude of Eldest Uncle’s household and Old Madam Wang and her husband strange. In the past, none of them would ever let a matter rest. Yet this time they had chosen to endure it. Truly odd.
Wang Cheng and his parents knew nothing about any of that. The woman might have been nosy, but in a roundabout way, she had spared them some trouble.
The next day, they finally finished sorting more than a dozen baskets of fruit.
The spoiled fruit was given to people who grew plants. It could no longer be eaten, but it could still be used as fertilizer and was good for flowers and other plants. At least they would not be like the unscrupulous people who sold rotten fruit to merchants who came specifically to buy spoiled produce just to make a little money.
Papa Wang kept some fruit for the family to eat. Of what remained, seventy to eighty percent was made into jam, while the rest was used to make fruit wine, especially plum wine and persimmon wine.
Making fruit wine was even simpler than making jam. All they needed were large jars, baijiu, and sugar. The jars had to be glass containers completely free of oil and water, otherwise the wine would spoil. Papa Wang liked fruit wine and used to drink a couple of cups during holidays. The fruit wine he made was actually better than Mama Wang’s, so she simply left him to tinker with it himself.
That day, Mama Wang asked Wang Cheng to take several bags of fruit over to Grandma.
“Grandma, Mom asked me to bring you some fruit.” Wang Cheng saw the old woman feeding chickens in the courtyard. She had worked hard for most of her life and her back was slightly bent, but unlike many people in their seventies or eighties, she did not need a cane. Her spirits were good and her body remained fairly strong.
“Chengcheng, is that you? Come in, come in.” Grandma narrowed her eyes, and the moment she recognized Wang Cheng, she warmly beckoned him inside.
Grandpa was watching television indoors. He was happy to see Wang Cheng too and took the fruit from him. “It’s enough that you came. Next time, don’t bring so much.”
“We have plenty at home and can’t finish it all. Besides, eating more fruit is good for you.” Wang Cheng steadied Grandpa. Grandpa was three years older than Grandma and had worked too hard when he was young. Lately he had not been feeling very well. Mama Wang was worried and had tried several times to take him to the hospital, but Grandpa always said there was no need and that rubbing on some ancestral medicated oil would do the trick. Mama Wang was already planning that once things were less busy, she would take both elders to the hospital for a checkup no matter what. Even if nothing was wrong, getting a health examination would still be a good thing.
“Chengcheng, your timing is perfect. Grandpa was just looking for you.” The old man took his hand.
“What is it?”
“Come with me to see Secretary Guan. Let’s change the contractor’s name on the agreement to yours.” Now that everything was settled, the old man had been thinking about this for several days.
“Grandpa, there’s no need to rush. We can change the name anytime.” Wang Cheng had not realized the old man had been worrying about it.
“No, no. It has to be changed.” Grandpa shook his head. He would not feel at ease until it was.
“Chengcheng, just go with your grandpa. He’s been thinking about this for days and hasn’t even been sleeping well,” Grandma added, joining in the persuasion.
Wang Cheng had no choice but to make the trip with Grandpa. First, however, he needed to go home and get the contract, so Grandpa went with him. Their house was fairly close to Secretary Guan’s. Papa Wang and Mama Wang did not object when they heard. They had their own considerations as well. It really was better to change the name back as soon as possible, so the two of them then went to Secretary Guan’s house.
Secretary Guan was not surprised to see them. Once he heard why they had come, he handled it readily. Wang Cheng had also brought him some fresh fruit a couple of days earlier, and he had not even finished it yet.
Wang Cheng never imagined that Grandpa’s insistence would later spare him some trouble. They all trusted Grandpa, of course, but there would always be people with bad intentions. Give them the slightest loophole and they would happily exploit it, ultimately causing trouble for Grandpa and Grandma instead.
After finishing the matter with the fruit mountain, Wang Cheng finally began thinking about the medicinal herbs on North Mountain.