Chapter 5.8 Running Account (Part 1) (Extra)

Fatty immediately changed his tune as soon as he heard that there was no alcohol, since it was also a big deal for him not having any alcohol during New Year’s. He smiled and said to the elder sister, “You’re lucky, elder sister. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t respond to you. Do you know why? Because it told me that you’re its mother, ah no, its leader.”

The two of us went back and forth and put on a show that we wanted to compensate her for the chicken but didn’t have any change, so she should add a few bottles of wine. Alas, the price of a bottle of wine was too high, so I would lose a bit of money after everything was calculated. In the end, we successfully made the aunt feel that she had hit us hard with only a chicken and a few bottles of wine.

The taste of local wine was different from one jar to the next, and the brewing method depended entirely on one’s imagination. Some people added things indiscriminately, while the fermentation time and temperature set by others was entirely dependent on their moods. As a result, the taste after opening the jar couldn’t be guaranteed, and could only be used as a temporary measure. But there was one thing that wouldn’t change—the alcohol concentration wouldn’t be low. For me, this was enough. We could get drunk quickly and forget all about the troubles.

After Poker-Face removed the chicken feathers and internal organs, I washed the organs, cut them into diced pieces to make stir-fried chicken giblets, and put a little pepper on them. My grandmother especially loved cooking this dish because it tasted absolutely delicious.

Fatty was standing close by in “chef mode” as he boiled the tofu and vegetables in a pot of water. He opened one of the wine jars directly and poured himself a small bowl. After drinking and stirring the pot, he said to me, “Hey, when I went down that grave robbers’ tunnel just now, I felt like I was coming home. Do you think we should display our skills for old time’s sake? You have to know that we’ll lose our status in the underworld if we don’t do anything after a while.”

“Are you a weasel? What do you mean you feel like going home when you go down a grave robbers’ tunnel?” I asked. “Stop eating and go find a wife to plant your seed in as soon as possible. At this rate, you won’t even be able to reproduce.”

“Hey now, Mr. Naive, when is it your place to doubt my reproductive abilities? Let me tell you, this Fat Master has beat three of the Five Sacred Mountains, and planted seeds all over China. Do you know why the sea is salty? It’s because—”

“It’s because you were bored!” I said angrily. Fatty fished out the tofu and vegetables, picked up a rag, wrapped it around the pot, and started to stir-fry. It was very loud, so I didn’t catch what he said after that.

I actually knew better than anyone why Fatty said this. It was just like those people who suddenly liked taking pictures once they reached a certain age. They felt like their youth was about to disappear and their pure beauty was about to be lost. The stage of “there’s still time, but I’m starting to see the loss” was the most confusing one, so people subconsciously wanted to keep their beauty during this period. Fatty was the same. Taking risks made him feel like he was still young. Even though his skills were still top-notch, he should already be feeling his age sinking in.

I was better off than him. Since I hadn’t been good at it since I was a child, the feeling of being powerless was always with me. Some say that people in their thirties act like they’re in their sixties, and I wasn’t all that different.

Two-thirds of the dishes had been started when the sound of a gong rang out at the entrance of the village. The village’s terrain was very complicated, so Fatty had set up a gong there and told them to hit it when they arrived. The gong was so loud that it felt as if the devil had entered the village. Fatty wiped his hand on the apron and said happily, “Coming, coming!”

The two of us left to go greet them and arrived at the village entrance, where we saw Xiuxiu first. She was wearing a red dress, and looked like she was freezing as she looked around dully. When she saw me, she waved happily and called out through chattering teeth: “Brother, isn’t Fujian in the south?”

When I got closer, she came up and hugged me. I knew that she was really happy. She had taken over many of the Huo family’s affairs, so it was rare for her to see this kind of rustic country village. But her attire made her look like a candle stub. It was easy to see that she had bought cotton-padded clothes from a random shop on the road.

All the people behind her saw us and called out a greeting. We went over to pick up the New Year’s goods and help carry them back. When we saw my parents, I immediately changed from the rain village’s little downtown prince and future money maker to my parents’ son. I couldn’t smoke too much and had to be subtle when introducing my friends. I went up and introduced Fatty as my agricultural products investment partner here. We were preparing to make some local ecological products. I also introduced Poker-Face as Fatty’s assistant and said that they were brothers so my parents wouldn’t ask: “Why didn’t you go home for New Year’s?” This kind of question would be a direct hit to the Zhang family, although now my parents were worried about the fact that the eldest brother seemed to suck all the nutrients away.

Uncle Two had already seen through everything and lit a cigarette. He had come up with an idea to try and get me to go back to the city, but didn’t start his attack since he had just arrived. I avoided his eyes.

Xiao Hua was also very happy to see me. He looked around at the village and called me a liar. I had described it as a once-in-a-thousand-years paradise, but all he saw was a crude village. At least the sound of the never-ending waterfalls was easy to calm people, though.

When I took them to my house, Xiao Hua also showed a surprised expression, “Although it’s less than desirable, I can still see you put some effort into it.”

“Why don’t you come and stay, too?” I challenged him.

“Whether it’s the indistinct big city, or indistinct small field, my Peach Blossom Spring (1) should be in my heart.” Xiao Hua touched my greasy table, rubbed his fingers together, and then glanced at me, “Don’t you have a tablecloth?”

I muttered to myself that life in the village was inconvenient and I had to do a lot of things by myself, so there wasn’t a need for something like that. Xiao Hua continued to examine everything and looked at the ingredients I had prepared. He silently took off his jacket, pulled an apron from his backpack, put it on over his shirt, and started helping.

The room warmed up instantly with more people, and the moisture started to fog up the glass. Xiuxiu prepared melons and fruits for the elders, Poker-Face was cracking walnuts, and Fatty and Xiao Hua bickered back and forth about the two-yuan supermarket kitchen utensils. My eyes got a little watery and I kept feeling like everything was so surreal.

At this time, my phone vibrated. I picked it up and saw that Lei Benchang had sent me a short message.

He was an old-fashioned person who didn’t use WeChat, so the text message didn’t display anything when it popped up. I pressed my finger to open it, but hesitated.

<Extra 5.7> <Table of Contents><Extra 5.9>

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TN Notes:

(1) A hidden land of peace and prosperity. Think of it like your own personal Nirvana.