Someone in the village discovered that the Wang family’s jam had appeared in the newspaper, and it had even been featured on the news. Word spread wider and wider. Before, only a small portion of Chengping knew about the Wang family jam shop. After this incident, nearly ninety percent of people had heard of Wang Family Jam, and many came specifically because of its reputation. Business at the jam shop flourished. Mama Wang had quite a bit of experience and insight when it came to jam, and she had also discussed it with Grandma, so she occasionally went to the jam factory. Papa Wang wanted to accompany her, which meant he had not been coming to the shop these past few days. Wang Cheng had no choice but to fill in himself.
The family bought another delivery truck. His cousin and Uncle Liang each drove one, while Song Hai rode in the passenger seat as Uncle Liang’s assistant. Guan Ying stayed behind to help at the shop.
Although it was called a jam shop, the variety of food sold there was gradually expanding. Jam was naturally the best seller. Fruit came second. Their fruit came from the fruit mountain, naturally grown and pollution-free. Quite a few villagers who had tasted it said it was very sweet, and whenever they put fruit out for sale, it was usually gone in less than half a day.
After seeing off the last customer, Guan Ying ran inside and poured herself a large glass of water. Once she finished it, she rubbed her shoulder and said to Wang Cheng, who was doing the accounts behind the counter, “Brother Cheng, there were so many customers today. If this keeps up, we could open a second jam shop.”
Wang Cheng paused. He had considered the idea, but they could barely keep up with one shop at the moment. Opening a second would require proper planning. He glanced at Guan Ying’s rosy face. “Guan Ying, I heard you’ve been going home with Song Hai a lot lately. Have the two of you become boyfriend and girlfriend?”
He had a reason for asking so directly, and Guan Ying, who was not particularly thick-skinned, immediately turned red. Her face burning, she said, “Brother Cheng, I was talking to you about the jam shop. How did the conversation suddenly turn into Song Hai?”
There was a reason Wang Cheng had asked. Guan Ying used to accompany his cousin on deliveries all the time because the shop had been short-handed. But later, his cousin’s wife had indirectly mentioned to Grandma that one of them was married and the other was unmarried, so the two spending every day together was not entirely appropriate. Grandma told Mama Wang, and Mama Wang passed it on to him. Wang Cheng agreed and separated their duties. Later, though, he realized they had probably worried for nothing. From what he observed, Guan Ying clearly liked Song Hai, and Song Hai seemed quite fond of her too. Wang Cheng had seen the two laughing and chatting together several times. The affection was already mutual; all they lacked was someone breaking through that final layer.
“If you both like each other, what’s wrong with saying it out loud?”
“Brother Cheng, I’m ignoring you.” Guan Ying’s face went even redder. Without answering, she ran off.
Wang Cheng shrugged. What an easily embarrassed girl. Admitting it would not hurt her. If the two simply talked things through, everyone would be happy.
That afternoon, Guan Jiahe and Uncle Liang returned one after the other with the two trucks. Wang Cheng poured them each a large bowl of water. After checking the remaining goods, he let them get off work and go home. Guan Ying would not finish until a little later. Song Hai immediately said he would wait before leaving too, only to receive a glare from her.
“What?” Song Hai was completely confused by the look.
Wang Cheng patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, “Girls are more thin-skinned. You’re the man. You should take the initiative.”
“Brother Cheng, how did you know?” The moment Song Hai heard that, he realized Wang Cheng already knew he and Guan Ying liked each other. He finally understood why Guan Ying had glared at him.
“My eyes aren’t decorations.” Wang Cheng said. He was not the only one who had noticed. Uncle Liang and his cousin had probably seen it too. They were merely considerate enough not to point it out in front of the pair. Song Hai scratched his head awkwardly and grinned. “As expected of Brother Cheng.”
“Look at that stupid grin. Don’t say I’m not considerate. I can watch the shop myself. You and Guan Ying can leave together.”
“Thanks, Brother Cheng!” Song Hai shouted and immediately ran off to find Guan Ying. Guan Ying insisted they come back and say goodbye properly before the two finally left together.
After Wang Cheng finished the accounts he had not had time to complete yesterday, the sun was already setting. With no customers coming in, he was preparing to close the shop when Chu Yifeng arrived. Wang Cheng did not even react with surprise anymore. This was already the Nth time.
“Why are you here so early today?”
The previous few times, Chu Yifeng had not arrived until nearly eight or nine. By then, Wang Cheng had already eaten dinner and showered and was preparing to go back to his room. Every time the man appeared, Wang Cheng had to fire up the stove again and heat water for him. Fortunately, the weather was not below freezing. The bathroom had a solar water heater, and after it had been switched on for half an hour or so, it could still provide hot water.
“Boss Chu, didn’t you say you’re a clean freak? Your apartment is a lot cleaner than this place. Aren’t you tired of running over here every day?” Wang Cheng leaned against the bathroom doorframe and watched Chu Yifeng switch on the hot water. Under that steady stare, Chu Yifeng showed no embarrassment at all. Instead, he began undressing right in front of him.
“If you stayed at the apartment, I wouldn’t need to come here every day.” Chu Yifeng placed his removed tie in the washbasin he always used.
Wang Cheng watched him unbutton his shirt, the firm muscles of his abdomen gradually coming into view. They were the sort of abs Wang Cheng envied. He had muscles too, but the two men trained differently, so the results were naturally different, and Chu Yifeng’s were obviously a little better. Then came the trousers, revealing long, straight, muscular legs, and above them the heavy bulge outlined by his underwear. Wang Cheng decided to preserve at least a little dignity. Just as Chu Yifeng was about to take off the last piece, he turned and walked away, pulling the bathroom door shut behind him.
He could almost hear Chu Yifeng laughing from inside. Wang Cheng clicked his tongue, took an apron down from the wall, tied it on, and went to the kitchen to make him dinner.
By the time Chu Yifeng finished showering and came out, Wang Cheng’s dinner was ready. It was a fragrant bowl of large, grass-green wontons. Chu Yifeng had seen colored wontons before, but this was the first time he had seen Wang Cheng make them.
“These are shrimp-and-asparagus wontons I wrapped during the day. I was planning to save them for breakfast tomorrow, but now you get the bargain.” Wang Cheng wore an expression that plainly said, You got lucky. He had not made many because he had expected to be the only one eating them. Now he would have to think of something else for breakfast.
“Then I’ll have to taste them properly.”
Chu Yifeng picked up a wonton with his chopsticks and bit into it. The broth that had soaked inside immediately spilled out. Wang Cheng had specially prepared a mushroom stock, simmering it with plenty of ingredients for three or four hours starting that afternoon.
“How is it?” Wang Cheng asked expectantly. It was his first time making this kind of stock. He had tasted it himself and thought it was fine, but he wanted someone else’s opinion.
“Very good.”
It was only two words, but Wang Cheng was satisfied. In Chu Yifeng’s mind, good was good and bad was bad. He never bothered with polite, indirect praise. If he said it was good, then it definitely was.
Chu Yifeng glanced at his pleased expression. “Since you enjoy experimenting with food so much, why did you never think of opening a restaurant?” The first time he learned Wang Cheng could cook so well, Chu Yifeng had assumed that if Wang Cheng ever started a business, it would probably be related to food and drink. He had never expected him to end up as a fruit farmer.
“Forget that. I only like cooking for people around me. I wouldn’t enjoy being stuck in a kitchen every day.” Wang Cheng did not particularly like the smell of cooking fumes.
Hearing that, Chu Yifeng said no more and lifted the large bowl, drinking the mushroom broth to the last drop.
At that moment, a car was parked not far from the shop. Smoke clouded the air inside and blurred Zheng Jingen in the driver’s seat, but his eyes remained fixed on the already closed jam shop. He had arrived earlier than Chu Yifeng and had personally watched the man go inside and never come back out.
Zheng Jingen had already suspected that the two shared an unusual relationship, but he had not expected it to reach the point where Chu Yifeng could openly stay under the same roof as Wang Cheng, with Wang Cheng clearly accepting him. After finally finding the younger brother who had been missing for twenty-five years, he discovered that another man had already carried him off, and that man was Chu Yifeng. Zheng Jingen had no idea how he was supposed to explain this to his father.
After their last conversation, Papa Zheng’s position was that since they had confirmed Wang Cheng was his son, they should bring him back as quickly as possible. He had even wanted to come in person, but Zheng Jingen stopped him. If he had been able to learn that Wang Cheng was adopted by Papa Wang, he had naturally also learned how close their family was. Wang Cheng’s current parents treated him as their biological son, and Wang Cheng had always regarded them as his biological parents. If he learned the truth, Zheng Jingen did not believe Wang Cheng would simply leave them and return to his birth family. Their interactions some time ago had already shown him clearly that Wang Cheng had a mind of his own.
But now, the biggest problem was no longer how to acknowledge this younger brother. It was his relationship with Chu Yifeng. Given Zheng Jingen’s status and social circle, relationships between men were hardly unheard of. Many of the wealthy second-generation or officials’ sons around him had tried men before, but not one had truly dared to build a life with another man. Their parents would not allow it, society would not allow it, and prevailing morality would not allow it. If the relationship became public, they would face more than pressure from their families.
Chu Yifeng might not care, but what about Wang Cheng?
What worried Zheng Jingen even more was that public opinion would mercilessly attack this young man of only twenty-five. He was afraid it could destroy the younger brother he had only just found. Zheng Jingen, who had never feared difficulties, suddenly had no idea what to do. He leaned back weakly against the seat and remained there for a while before finally driving away.