Mama Wang was gone at Grandma’s house for only about an hour. When she came back, she was carrying a bamboo basket containing more than twenty newly hatched chicks. Grandma’s family had hatched them themselves, having started preparing nearly two months ago. The timing was just right now. When Grandma heard that Mama Wang wanted to raise more chickens, she told her to come over today and pick some up.
Newly hatched chicks were fragile and needed careful tending. Once they grew stronger, they would not require nearly as much attention. Mama Wang had also been relatively free lately, which was why she had the time for it.
When she returned, Chu Yifeng still had not left. Mama Wang did not find that strange. Around three o’clock, Wang Cheng told her he and Chu Yifeng were going to the jam shop, and the two left together.
At the jam shop, Guan Jiahe and Guan Ying had been out making deliveries since morning. They had only just returned when Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng arrived.
As orders for jam and other dried goods increased, the two were no longer as idle as when they first started. They had shipments to make almost every day and came back exhausted each time. Even Guan Jiahe could feel the strain, much less Guan Ying. Her small face looked completely drained of energy.
“Dad.” Wang Cheng walked into the shop. Papa Wang turned at the sound of his voice and was about to speak when he spotted Chu Yifeng coming in behind him. “Why did Xiao Chu come too?” “On the way,” Chu Yifeng said. With Papa Wang, he did not need to explain much at all. One sentence was enough for the man to believe him. Wang Cheng wanted to remark that his father sure had changed forms of address quickly. Last time it had been Mr. Chu, and now it was already Xiao Chu. Mama Wang had probably called him beforehand.
Papa Wang immediately turned to Guan Jiahe. “Jiahe, why don’t you and Guan Ying get off work early and go home? Chengcheng is here now, so he and I can watch the shop. You two have been running around outside all day. You must be tired. Go to bed early tonight.”
Seeing the hesitation on their faces, Wang Cheng chimed in, “Dad’s right. Cousin, you two should head home first.”
Only then did Guan Jiahe agree, leaving together with Guan Ying.
Papa Wang immediately began entertaining Chu Yifeng. Whenever customers came in, Wang Cheng was the one who dealt with them. He had already resigned himself to his fate. Every time Chu Yifeng was around, his father automatically forgot about his own son. After seeing a customer off, Wang Cheng took out some paper he had bought earlier, found a thick marker, and rewrote a help-wanted notice.
He planned to hire two more employees, preferably men, with priority given to anyone who knew how to drive so they could take turns going out with his cousin on deliveries. He had thought too simply at first and never expected his cousin to work himself so hard. Everyone had it rough when they were trying to earn money to support a family. Once he finished writing, he used glue to paste the notice outside the shop.
“Chengcheng, what are you putting up?” Papa Wang leaned over when he saw what his son was doing.
“A help-wanted notice. Oh, right, Dad, where’s that stupid pig? Why haven’t I seen it?” Papa Wang had brought the fragrant pig with him when he came over that morning.
“It should still be at the bun shop next door. Go take a look.”
Wang Cheng went over and, sure enough, found it inside. It was playing with the bun shop owner’s four-year-old son. The boy was small, but he was extremely playful. He used a bun to tempt the fragrant pig, then tugged on the rope around its neck to stop it from reaching the food, as though watching it struggle were great fun. Wang Cheng raised a brow.
“Oh, Wang Cheng. You’re here for your little pig, right?” The bun shop owner’s wife saw him and immediately greeted him warmly.
“Yeah.”
“Wait a second. I’ll have Qiangzai give the pig back to you.” As she spoke, the woman walked over to her son. She had assumed he would hand the pig over, but the moment he heard that he had to give it back, Qiangzai refused. Though he was only four, he was surprisingly strong. He yanked the fragrant pig toward the back of the shop while shouting that he would not give it back. His mother angrily grabbed him and smacked his bottom twice. “You little brat! How can you take something that belongs to someone else? Give it back right now.”
“No! No! This little pig is mine. I’m not giving it to him!” Qiangzai burst into tears, clutching the fragrant pig tightly in his arms and refusing to let go.
Wang Cheng silently watched the scene. He knew this child. His grandmother had spoiled him into being rather domineering. Wang Cheng remembered once seeing the boy’s grandmother bring over a puppy only a few months old for him to play with. But the child had not played with the puppy so much as played with the puppy as a toy. He pulled its tail, tried to cut its fur with scissors, and even wanted to squeeze its neck. Perhaps the puppy had finally been provoked beyond endurance, because it scratched his face. His family panicked and hurriedly took him to get vaccinated. Wang Cheng never saw that puppy again after that. Some time ago, he had forgotten to warn Papa Wang not to let this child play with the fragrant pig.
Qiangzai’s mother looked deeply embarrassed. Children might speak and act without restraint, but behavior like this still showed that the adults had failed to teach him properly. Ignoring whether her son was willing or how loudly he screamed, she simply took the fragrant pig out of his arms and handed it to Wang Cheng.
“Wang Cheng, I’m really sorry. I’ll discipline Qiangzai properly.”
“It’s fine.” Wang Cheng took the fragrant pig, glanced at the wailing Qiangzai, and turned back toward the shop. Qiangzai tried to chase him, but his mother caught him.
“What happened?” Chu Yifeng stood at the threshold, his gaze falling on the half-dead-looking fragrant pig in Wang Cheng’s arms. He had probably heard the commotion next door. Seeing Papa Wang busy with a customer, Wang Cheng walked over and explained quietly, “Nothing. Ran into an annoying brat. This stupid pig almost got played to death. It should know how good I am to it now.” His last sentence carried a smug note. If he had not happened to come over today and Papa Wang had been the one trying to get the pig back, he definitely would not have managed it. His father was too softhearted.
Papa Wang saw the customer off while the brat next door was still wailing. Not knowing what had happened, he shook his head and sighed. “Children these days really can’t be spoiled. Qiangzai’s grandmother has spoiled him rotten. He cries and throws tantrums every day, and if something doesn’t go his way, he hits people. Yesterday he even hit a customer.” Later, when Papa Wang had grandchildren of his own, he would become exactly like Qiangzai’s grandmother, spoiling them to no end and completely forgetting he had ever said these words.
“If you ask me, a brat like that just needs a beating.” Wang Cheng added, “If I had a son and he dared act like that, I’d beat him to death. Good thing I probably won’t have children anyway.”
“Keep your voice down.” Papa Wang was worried Qiangzai’s parents might hear and take offense. They were all neighbors. There was no need to make their relationship awkward.
Wang Cheng shrugged. “Dad, you’ve been busy all day too, right? Leave the rest to me. Why don’t you go home first?”
“What about you? You don’t seem to have driven here.”
“I don’t care. There’s a bed here at the shop, and I can sort out dinner here too.” If Chu Yifeng had stayed until now, he certainly was not going to leave easily.
“All right, then. And…”
“And don’t neglect Mr. Chu, right? I’ve heard you say that plenty of times. You don’t need to worry about it anymore. I know.” Wang Cheng did not even have to guess what his father was about to say.
“As long as you know. I’ll tell your mom that you’re staying at the shop tonight.” Papa Wang gave him several more reminders before finally leaving, taking the stupid pig home with him. Wang Cheng turned around. “Boss Chu, satisfied now?”
Chu Yifeng moved closer until the distance between them was tiny. “I’ll repay you properly.”
One second, Wang Cheng was nervously scanning their surroundings, afraid someone might see them. The next, Chu Yifeng’s words left him speechless. “A dog really can’t change its habit of eating shit.”
“Then the shit must smell good.”
Chu Yifeng smiled.
“You’re the shit.” Wang Cheng looked as though he had just eaten some himself.
A little after five, Wang Cheng saw there were not many customers and told Chu Yifeng to stay and watch the shop for a while while he went to buy groceries. The market street was not far from the shop, only a short walk away. There would be only two of them for dinner. Since lunch had been fairly heavy on meat, he planned to keep dinner simple.
But when Wang Cheng came back with the groceries, the normally quiet space in front of the jam shop was packed with people, and ninety percent of them were young women.
What the hell was going on?
Thinking something had happened to Chu Yifeng, Wang Cheng hurriedly pushed through the crowd. Several women he jostled complained, but he ignored them. Once he got inside, he discovered that the women were lined up to buy jam, and the person selling it to them was none other than Chu Yifeng.
“Aren’t you going to come help?” Chu Yifeng had already spotted him.
Wang Cheng immediately went over. “What happened? I was only gone for a little while. How did all these people suddenly show up?”
“I don’t know either. Didn’t you tell me to watch the jam shop? Not long after you left, a few women came in. Then more and more gradually followed.”
Wang Cheng immediately understood what had happened and spat, “You really do attract women wherever you go.”
Because of the sudden flood of customers, the two were busy until six-thirty before they finally saw everyone off. Wang Cheng was afraid another crowd like that would arrive and turn dinner into a midnight snack, so he shut the shop without hesitation.
The jam shop’s kitchen was nowhere near as fully equipped as the one at home, nor was it as nice-looking, but at least it was clean. Having gotten used to luxurious kitchenware, Wang Cheng found it a little awkward using these things again. He quickly cooked two generous bowls of dragon-whisker noodles, adding two braised eggs to each. Besides beef, there were also ribs he had cooked himself. The flavor was rich and the aroma irresistible.
After dinner, Wang Cheng remembered they would need to shower that night. Chu Yifeng did not seem to have any clothes with him, yet in the blink of an eye, the man went to his car and came back carrying a bag of clothes. This guy really had prepared in advance!