That evening, Wang Cheng told his family about what had happened.
Papa Wang and Mama Wang felt mostly sympathy for Guan Jiahe. His father had died not long after he was born, and his mother had never fulfilled her responsibilities as a parent. As soon as he was weaned, she ran off with another man. He had therefore been raised by his maternal grandparents from childhood, and before Mama Wang married, she had helped care for him for several years.
After graduating from high school, Guan Jiahe did not go to university. Like Wang Cheng, he did not want to add to his family’s burden, so he stayed in Shanhai City and went straight to work. They saw one another less often after that, but he still came home for holidays. After he married and had children, twins no less, he became so busy working that he returned even less frequently.
When they heard what had happened to him, Papa Wang and Mama Wang did not criticize Wang Cheng for being reckless. Guan Jiahe’s wife had to stay home and care for the children, so she could not work. The whole household depended on him alone for income. With the factory maliciously withholding his wages, his family could not be having an easy time.
“What did your cousin say?” Mama Wang asked.
“He agreed.”
“So he has a driver’s license? Good. Making deliveries may be tiring. Once things stabilize, we can hire one more person.”
Cold sweat suddenly broke out on Wang Cheng. “Since he agreed, he probably has one… right?”
Papa Wang and Mama Wang immediately glared at him. “When you asked him, you didn’t even think to check whether he could drive?”
Wang Cheng really had forgotten.
Guan Jiahe reported for work the next morning. After Wang Cheng asked, he finally confirmed that his cousin could drive. The first year after graduation, Guan Jiahe had worked as a truck driver. Several supermarkets had just placed another order with them, so Wang Cheng handed him a slip of paper with the supermarket addresses. The two loaded the goods onto the truck, and before Guan Jiahe left, Wang Cheng gave him a few reminders.
“Cousin, there’s no rush with the deliveries. Take your time and get familiar with the truck first. Safety comes first.”
“Relax. I’m not three years old.”
Papa Wang was watching the shop, so Wang Cheng no longer had to stay there constantly. The days of running around nonstop had finally passed. Now that he suddenly had time to spare, he actually felt a little uncomfortable. He sorted out all the goods Zheng Jingen wanted, then went over to Mama Wang’s side. In addition to jam, the warehouse was filled with fruit. Tangerines were the most plentiful. Because they were a little sour, they planned to turn all of them into marmalade. Wang Cheng picked out several kinds of fruit from the warehouse. Although pomegranates were already out of season, there were still some available at this time of year, so he chose four.
Carrying the fruit, Wang Cheng went to his maternal grandparents’ house. His grandmother was delighted to see him, and his grandfather came out from inside as well. “Chengcheng, come in.”
“Grandma, Grandpa, I picked out some fruit for you. It’s very sweet. I came today for two reasons. First, I wanted to see you. Second, I want to take the little pig back,” Wang Cheng said after sitting down.
“Coming to see us is enough. Why bring fruit too? Are you not as busy lately?” Grandma asked affectionately.
Wang Cheng and his parents had all been so busy recently that no one had time to care for the miniature pig, which loved scampering everywhere. They had therefore left it with his grandparents temporarily. Now that everything had more or less settled down and they were no longer quite so busy, Wang Cheng intended to take it home.
“We’re not busy anymore. Yesterday I hired someone to help with deliveries. Grandma, guess who it is. You know him too.” Wang Cheng picked a tangerine out of the bag and peeled it as he spoke in a deliberately mysterious tone.
“My, I’m old now. I can’t guess,” Grandma said, waving a hand.
“It’s Cousin Jiahe.”
Grandma and Grandpa immediately looked astonished. “What happened?”
Wang Cheng promptly told them how he had run into Cousin Jiahe. When the two old people heard how the factory had tried to cheat their grandson out of his wages, they became furious. Fortunately, he had run into Wang Cheng and had not suffered the loss in the end. Heaven still protected good people after all.
“Good thing Chengcheng was there this time. But isn’t Guanjia Village rather far from the city? If something happens at home and Lili has to look after two little children by herself, will she be able to manage?” The two old people already worried about them. After this incident, they were even more concerned.
Chen Li was Guan Jiahe’s wife. She was also from the countryside and had many sisters, all of whom were already married with children. Two days earlier, the family’s only son had also married, and his wife was already pregnant. If their parents were going to help care for anyone’s child, Chen Li would hardly be the one getting that help.
Grandpa said, “Chengcheng, why don’t you persuade your cousin-in-law to move back to Guanjia Village? Your cousin is delivering goods for you now, so living here would be more convenient. Everyone could also look out for one another.”
“When Cousin Jiahe comes back, I’ll ask him.” Wang Cheng thought the suggestion was good. One little child was already a burden for an ordinary household. With two, they really needed someone to help. Grandma and Grandpa might be old, but both were still in very good health, so helping with the children should not be a problem. And if that still was not enough, there were Eldest Maternal Aunt and the others.
When Wang Cheng left his grandparents’ house, he led the miniature pig home. During its stay there, the pig had eaten and drunk extremely well and had grown noticeably fatter. It was not as active as before, though its gluttonous habits had not changed. On the way, it spotted someone selling sweet potatoes and stood motionless a short distance away, its two piggy eyes fixed on them. No matter how Wang Cheng told it to move, it refused. In the end, he simply dragged it home. He was not Grandma, who indulged it in everything. From now on, he also planned to put it on a diet and cut back its food.
No one was home, so Wang Cheng did not dare leave it there alone. He took it to the shop instead. Guan Jiahe had just finished his deliveries and returned, and Papa Wang told him to rest inside for a while.
“Cousin,” Wang Cheng greeted him.
“Is that a miniature pig?” Guan Jiahe leaned toward the doorway and immediately saw the little pig trotting in first on its four tiny hooves.
“Yeah. I left it with Grandma before, but now that I have time, I brought it back. Oh, right. I told Grandma about what happened to you. Grandpa asked me to see whether you wanted to move back. Cousin-in-law can’t manage two children by herself. If you come back to Guanjia Village, there’ll be people around to help and things will be much easier. I think Grandpa’s suggestion is pretty good.”
“Well…” Guan Jiahe hesitated. It was not that he had never thought about it, but the two old people had worried about him for so many years that he felt bad continuing to make them fret over his affairs.
“No ‘well’ about it. There’s room in the house for a few more people, and Grandma and Grandpa usually have nothing much to do at home. With Cousin-in-law and two adorable little ones around, they’ll be happy too,” Wang Cheng cut him off.
“Chengcheng is right. Jiahe, stop hesitating. It’s hard for your wife to care for two children alone,” Papa Wang added.
“All right, then.” Guan Jiahe finally nodded.
Mama Wang cooked lunch and brought it over herself. Now that the workshop had hired workers, she no longer had to stay there at all times, and Eldest Maternal Aunt was there as well, so her burden had become much lighter. Knowing Guan Jiahe would be there too, she made a more lavish lunch than usual. She had specifically slaughtered a free-range chicken. Part of it went into chicken soup, while the rest was fried until fragrant and golden, leaving everyone’s mouths greasy from eating.
“Cousin shows up and the rest of us get to enjoy the benefits too.” Wang Cheng sighed happily as he bit into a chicken leg, his lips shiny with oil.
Guan Jiahe smiled. A simple, ordinary life filled with warmth was the most precious thing. He had been mistaken before. The city might be good, but it was also too noisy and hectic.
*
After discussing it, Guan Jiahe and his wife finally decided to move back to Guanjia Village. Grandma and Grandpa were both delighted and started cleaning the room the day before. Their sons and daughters had either married out or started families elsewhere, leaving the rooms empty for so long that they had gathered a thick layer of dust.
Wang Cheng drove the truck and went with him to move. The couple rented a two-bedroom apartment with a living room and one bathroom, just right for a family of four, and the rent was not expensive. Cousin-in-law knew they were coming and had been waiting for them. She was a modest, shy woman. Because she was not very familiar with Wang Cheng, she seemed a little restrained around him.
To save time, they began moving furniture the moment they entered. Cousin-in-law had already packed their clothes and stacked everything in a corner. The couple did not own many clothes. Most of the belongings actually belonged to the two children, since there were two of them.
“Jiahe, Cousin, take a break and drink some water before you keep moving.” Seeing sweat flying from their foreheads, Cousin-in-law took out two cups and poured them some warm water.
“Thank you, Cousin-in-law.” Wang Cheng accepted a cup and thanked her.
“We’re family. No need to be so polite with me.” She smiled shyly.
After drinking the water, Wang Cheng went to the bathroom. Unexpectedly, trouble broke out in the short time he was gone. The doors were thin, so he clearly heard his cousin shout angrily.
“What are you doing?”
Wang Cheng ran out and saw Zhang Wei leading several men inside, smashing things around the apartment. His cousin tried to stop them but was hit instead, and one eye immediately turned black. Cousin-in-law screamed in fright, and the two little children burst into loud sobs. The whole place descended into chaos. Without another word, Wang Cheng walked toward the man who had hit his cousin and dropped him with one punch.
Seeing this, Zhang Wei and several others immediately surrounded him, planning to use their numbers against him. But Wang Cheng could hold his own against Chu Yifeng in a fight. A few little thugs were barely enough to warm him up. Zhang Wei suffered the worst of it. Wang Cheng directly dislocated both of his arms.
Just then, the police arrived.