Papa Wang could not understand how his son had somehow managed to turn a simple moving trip into a visit to the police station. When he received the call, he was so anxious he wished he could fly over immediately. But he was the only person at the shop, and the miniature pig had only recently been brought back. He could not leave, so he contacted Mama Wang instead.
Mama Wang was even more alarmed when she heard. She immediately found Eldest Maternal Aunt, and the two sisters rushed to the shop together. Their plan was to have Eldest Maternal Aunt watch the shop while Mama Wang and Papa Wang went to the police station to see their son. But they were still slower than Chu Yifeng. They had barely reached the shop and had not even set out yet when the phone rang.
“Chengcheng? How are you now? Is it serious?” At Mama Wang’s urging, Papa Wang immediately answered and fired off a string of questions. “Oh, oh. Good, good. I understand. Then hurry back.”
After he hung up, Mama Wang quickly asked, “Well?”
“Chengcheng said everything’s fine. The police didn’t make things difficult for him, and he’s already out of the station. He said Mr. Chu picked him up.” Papa Wang smiled broadly. He really had not misjudged the man.
“Then we absolutely have to thank him properly.”
Mama Wang and Eldest Maternal Aunt both relaxed. The call had frightened them badly. They had thought Chengcheng might have offended someone and gotten arrested. As long as he was fine, that was all that mattered.
Papa Wang nodded. He had long wished he could treat Chu Yifeng as a kindred spirit. “Chengcheng said they’re already on the way back. Jiahe and his wife are driving the truck, and Chengcheng is riding in his boss’s car, so they should be back soon. Wenfang, why don’t you go home with Eldest Sister first? I’ll let you know when Chengcheng gets back.”
“All right.”
Meanwhile, Wang Cheng felt as though his head was about to split. The reason was none other than the baby in his arms. The baby was his cousin’s son, the older of the twins. Since they had to travel by car, Cousin-in-law could not easily manage both children while Cousin Jiahe was driving, so Wang Cheng had volunteered to hold one of them. The moment the little boy could no longer see his mother, however, he cried nonstop the entire way, to the point where Wang Cheng felt like crying too.
A one-year-old had already begun recognizing familiar people. The child was not afraid of strangers, but if he went too long without seeing his mother or father, he started crying. At first Wang Cheng had found him interesting. The tiny baby sat on his lap, turning his little head this way and that, curious about everything. That lasted only a short while before the crying became a piercing assault on the ears.
“Boss Chu, why don’t you drive up alongside them so he can see Cousin-in-law? If this keeps up, I’m going to start crying too.” Wang Cheng held the baby, supporting his little bottom with one hand while gently bouncing him and patting his back with the other. The child still cried without pause.
Chu Yifeng remained perfectly calm. “He’ll be able to see her but not touch her. Are you sure that’ll make him happy?”
The moment Wang Cheng heard that, his face collapsed.
“Children are very cute as long as they’re with their parents,” Chu Yifeng said.
Wang Cheng glanced at him. “Never would’ve guessed Boss Chu likes kids.”
“My second uncle’s son is already married and has a son. He’s a year older than your cousin’s children. He’s very smart and rarely cries.” What Chu Yifeng did not mention was that the little boy loved clinging to him. Every time he went home, the child would toddle over on his two short legs looking for his uncle. Since he neither cried nor made trouble, Chu Yifeng usually tolerated having him around.
“Depends whose kid it is. Huh? He stopped crying.” Wang Cheng had barely finished speaking when he noticed the crying had stopped. Looking down, he found the child’s watery eyes fixed curiously on Chu Yifeng.
Chu Yifeng noticed as well, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
The child seemed to have discovered a whole new world. He babbled in a language only he understood, clapping his chubby little hands again and again.
“Looks like he really likes you. How about we switch places? You take care of him and I’ll drive.” Wang Cheng made the suggestion because he was genuinely afraid the child might start crying again.
Chu Yifeng ignored him outright.
Wang Cheng pursed his lips. What was so impressive about that?
Fortunately, the child did not show any sign of crying for the rest of the drive. Still, Wang Cheng had to use every trick he knew to keep him entertained. When they passed Chengping, they stopped first at the jam shop. Papa Wang had been standing at the entrance waiting so long he practically looked through the road. The moment Wang Cheng got out of the car, he stuffed the child into Papa Wang’s arms.
“Dad, this is Cousin Jiahe’s son. He’s the older twin.”
It was not Papa Wang’s first time seeing the children. Guan Jiahe had brought his wife and sons back to visit relatives several times, so Papa Wang had seen them once or twice. At their age, he and Mama Wang naturally wanted grandchildren. Their sons had not fulfilled that wish, so they treated Jiahe’s children almost like grandchildren of their own. Seeing the little boy looking so obedient and adorable, Papa Wang’s face bloomed into a huge smile.
“So this is Mingming. You’re getting cuter and cuter. Come, let your great-uncle hold you.”
“Uncle.” Guan Jiahe and his wife walked over after getting out of the truck.
Papa Wang looked at the child in Cousin-in-law’s arms. “This must be Langlang. He looks exactly like his brother.”
“Yes, Uncle,” Cousin-in-law answered softly. The elder brother was named Guan Ming, nickname Mingming. The younger was Guan Lang, nickname Langlang. Their names had been chosen by Grandpa.
Papa Wang then handed Mingming back to Guan Jiahe and walked over to Chu Yifeng. He said sincerely, “Mr. Chu, I really have to thank you this time. If not for you, our Chengcheng might not have gotten back so quickly.” Completely unaware of the truth, Papa Wang also credited Chu Yifeng for his son’s quick release.
“It was a small matter, Uncle Wang. No need to keep it in mind.” Chu Yifeng smiled.
Wang Cheng rolled his eyes at him.
“What are you doing? Is that how you treat your benefactor?” Papa Wang happened to catch the gesture and smacked his son on the head without hesitation.
Wang Cheng mentally added that slap to Chu Yifeng’s account.
“Mr. Chu, if you don’t mind, come have dinner at our house tonight. I’ll ask the children’s mother to buy a few more dishes. Consider it a small expression of our thanks for helping out. I hope you won’t refuse.” Since Chu Yifeng had even driven his son back, Papa Wang guessed he had time and warmly invited him home for dinner.
Of course Chu Yifeng would not refuse. It was a perfectly legitimate chance to enter Wang Cheng’s home openly.
The moment he nodded, Papa Wang became even happier. He closed the shop on the spot and returned to Guanjia Village with them. Because Guan Jiahe was still in the middle of moving, they stopped first at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Everyone helped unload the truck into the house before heading back to Wang Cheng’s home.
Mama Wang already knew they were back, and she also knew there would be an extra guest. Before returning home, she made a trip to the market and bought plenty of ingredients for a lavish dinner. Because she went early, she was lucky enough to get more than ten small whitebait. They were considered nutritious, and whenever they appeared at the market, people snapped them up quickly, so the price had risen quite a bit.
She also bought bamboo shoots, a local specialty. The bamboo shoots grown around Guanjia Village were fresher and more tender than those from other places, with little fibrous residue and a crisp texture almost like radish. During holidays or when entertaining relatives and friends, people often made a fragrant pot of pork stewed with bamboo shoots.
Mama Wang also kept bamboo shoots from Guanjia Village preserved at home, some in brine and some dried. The process was simple and used no preservatives, coloring, or sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate, an industrial bleaching and reducing agent sometimes known colloquially as “diaobaikuai.”
Finally, there were several Chinese mitten crabs. They were expensive and seasonal. As the saying went, “males in the ninth month, females in the tenth,” referring to the best time to eat them, though some people preferred waiting until the eleventh month. It was currently the ninth lunar month, right when crabs were plentiful.
In previous years, Mama Wang had rarely bought Chinese mitten crabs. For one thing, they were expensive. After her eldest son’s company failed, the family ate them even less often. For another, her second son had not yet returned then, and eating them without him never felt as satisfying.
Mama Wang returned home carrying everything and, unsurprisingly, found her husband chatting animatedly with their guest in the living room. Wang Cheng was nowhere to be seen and was probably upstairs. After greeting them, she went straight into the kitchen. Before long, Wang Cheng came in.
“Mom, I’ll help.” Wang Cheng rolled up his sleeves.
“Then help me wash the fish.” Mama Wang did not refuse. She emptied several tightly bound crabs into the sink and started cleaning them.
“Wow, Mom, why did you buy crabs? They must be expensive right now.” Wang Cheng vaguely remembered eating them once in the past. At the time, a jin had cost more than a hundred yuan, and a jin only contained one or two crabs. A slightly larger one could weigh nearly a jin by itself.
“Why do you care whether they’re expensive? Didn’t you say you wanted to help? What are you standing around for?” After washing the crabs, Mama Wang put them into the steamer. Steaming crab was simple. If you were particular about the flavor, you only needed to add a few aromatics, such as ginger, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns.
Seeing that she did not want to answer, Wang Cheng stopped asking. He picked up the bag and went to wash the fish. Dinner was obviously going to be lavish, and he did not need to guess why. He thought bitterly that Chu Yifeng was really getting the better end of this deal. Because of that man, Wang Cheng had started lying to his parents and even helping him take advantage of his own family. He was beyond saving.
In the living room, as though he could somehow feel Wang Cheng’s resentment, Chu Yifeng glanced toward the kitchen doorway.