Chapter 33: A Man's Drink (Thanks to Watermelon Seed and Cloud Edge Anlan for their comments)

Chapter 33: A Man's Drink (Thanks to Watermelon Seed and Cloud Edge Anlan for their comments)

Fang Yuenian thought he could sleep until the next morning, but when he woke up, it was just getting dark.

His mind went blank, and it took him a while to realize that he had already finished his middle school entrance exam and gone home.

His books were scattered haphazardly in the room, all of which he had brought back from school before the exams. There were also many other things from his dorm room that he had mostly tidied up, but some odds and ends were still not organized. In the dim light, the room looked particularly messy.

He got up, rubbed his face, opened the door and went out; the main room was quiet.

The lights were off, two chickens were scurrying around outside the gate, the kitchen door was tightly closed, and there were clattering sounds coming from inside, along with the faint aroma of food.

He then turned and went to the back door, ran a few steps to the wharf, and looked across in the twilight.

It was dark and there seemed to be no one there, but just as Fang Yuenian was about to give up and leave, Cheng Bing's figure suddenly emerged from beside the pear tree.

Fang Yuenian was so excited he almost shouted it out, but then he stopped abruptly and started waving instead, "Cheng—Bing—" he called very softly, waving his arms, "—Look over here—"

Cheng Bing was rebuilding the support frame for the pear tree that had been through a thunderstorm. He was always focused on whatever he was doing, and Fang Yuenian's hands were getting sore from waving around before he finally looked over.

Fang Yuenian quickly tried to gesture, but Cheng Bing didn't seem to understand what he meant and stood there with a puzzled look.

"I said, come here—row the boat over to me—"

Fang Yuenian gestured for a long time, then got tired and muttered angrily, "Is it that hard to understand? Are you pretending you didn't hear me?"

Despite saying that, he still refused to give up and continued gesturing, pointing at the boat in his direction and making exaggerated rowing motions. After a lot of fuss, Cheng Bing seemed to finally understand.

He steadied the wooden support by the pear tree one last time, making sure it could hold steady for the time being, then confidently stepped down to the dock, pulled out the mooring pin, and with a light leap, jumped onto the boat and floated away with the current.

Fang Yuenian waited with her arms crossed.

Once the boat was right in front of him, he spoke clearly and deliberately: "Let me interview you. How did you spend your first afternoon after graduating from junior high school?"

Cheng Bing used only one oar. He neither put the oar back nor went ashore, but just stood there in the water, looking speechless. "You called me over here just to ask this?"

“No, no, no,” Fang Yuenian said, “I wanted to ask when we can start making the cabinets? Jun’s college entrance exam results are out.”

"You just finished the first day of exams, aren't you tired?" Cheng Bing was quite impressed by his enthusiasm. "Don't you want to sleep for a few days to recover?"

"I'm not tired, I'm full of energy," Fang Yuenian replied earnestly. "I have something else I want to ask. After Sister Jun fills out her college application and receives her acceptance letter, is your family going to have a banquet? Judging from the dates, there shouldn't be much time. Do you think we can get everything ready before the banquet?"

A child getting into university is a very celebratory event for the villagers. Even if they don't hold a big banquet, they will still have a few tables set up among relatives and friends to celebrate. This is very common in Shuibiwan. If a family doesn't hold a banquet when their child gets into university, they will be gossiped about behind their backs. Besides, social interactions are an art. The importance of getting ahead is comparable to weddings and funerals, and it is one of the most common reasons to give and receive favors.

"It's about the same, but you..." Cheng Bing paused, "you need to talk to your family first."

Fang Yuenian paused for a moment, "Oh, of course, you, you can rest assured about me..."

"Don't break your head again."

Cheng Bing spoke calmly, in a tone that resembled muttering.

Fang Yuenian was taken aback, but his expression immediately relaxed. He quietly craned his neck to observe Cheng Bing's expression and said cheerfully, "No, don't worry! You, you should go back now. Just call me whenever you want. Oh, by the way, how long is Sister Xiaoxiao staying at home?"

"I'm not leaving for now; the future is still undecided."

"Okay, I got it. Let's go, be careful."

Cheng Bing was summoned first, and then rushed back.

Fang Yuenian was satisfied. After watching Cheng Bing successfully return to the other side, she sauntered back to her house.

They chatted for a while at the wharf. Wang Jing, who happened to be throwing out the trash, heard the noise but didn't say anything. When her son came in through the back door, she called from the kitchen, "Niannian! You're up?"

Fang Yuenian agreed: "Okay!"

"Why don't you take a shower first? Mom made your favorite chicken feet for dinner tonight. Take a shower and then you can eat them clean and refreshed."

Fang Yuenian really wanted to take a shower and try out the new solar water heater installed in her home, so she agreed, went back inside to find two pieces of clothing, and went to take a shower.

Presumably treating tonight's dinner as a welcome-back feast for Fang Yuenian, Wang Jing specially brought out the glass turntable that she only uses when guests come over. Not only was a table full of dishes laid out, but she also ordered an alcohol stove to heat a small pot, and even bought two bottles of drinks. When Fang Yuenian came out after taking a shower, she was astonished by this display.

"Who are you inviting to dinner tonight?" he asked.

Wang Jing hadn't taken off her apron yet. Standing by the table, she took out the disposable paper cups and put them away, saying with a smile, "No need for invitations, just family. We're happy today, so these are all your favorites. But Nian Nian, your aunt has been asking you to come over for dinner after your exams. Why don't you go see your mother-in-law and aunt tomorrow?"

"OK."

"How was the shower? Was the water hot enough? Was the water pressure stable?"

"Oh, that's great, very convenient."

“That’s it,” Wang Jing said proudly, “It will be much more convenient to take a bath from now on. Not only will it be convenient in the summer, but you can also turn on the bathroom heater in the winter, so you won’t have to burn the bath pot and squeeze in to take a bath.”

Fang Yuenian smiled and said, "Yes, Mom, you've worked hard."

Wang Jing paused for a moment, a hint of emotion flashing across her face, before quickly smiling again. "What's the big deal? We only got to use it today... Alright, go call your grandma and your dad. They're playing cards at Hongmei's house and don't even know to come home for dinner."

Fang Yuenian gave a slight, expressionless twitch at the corner of her mouth. "Oh."

Whenever Wang Jing goes to great lengths to cook, Old Mrs. Fang would, as usual, not say anything unpleasant to her daughter-in-law. Fang Wu would be even less likely to do so; food and drink were more likely to keep him quiet than anything else. He even slurred and suggested that Fang Yuenian have a bottle of ice-cold beer with him.

Just as Fang Yuenian was about to say "I don't want to drink," Grandma Fang agreed, saying, "Just a small cup won't hurt. My Yuenian is all grown up now, a little man, he can have a little."

Fang Yuenian really didn't understand why he had suddenly grown into a man. "I don't drink, I want to get drunk."

Wang Jing smiled and placed a well-cooked braised chicken foot on his plate. "Niannian, you can't drink recklessly when you're out, but since we're at home today, why don't you have a drink? If you don't like it, that's fine."

Even she said that, Fang Yuenian looked at the table of dishes and then at the faces of the three of them, and suddenly realized that at this moment she really seemed to be treated as an adult. This feeling... was too strange.

"Here, I'll pour you some!" Fang Wu casually poured the orange juice from the paper cup in front of Fang Yuenian into an empty bowl next to him, and then poured a full glass of beer.

Seeing how heavy-handed he was, Wang Jing shouted, "Pour less! Don't you know your limits? Are you trying to get him drunk?"

Fang Wu chuckled twice: "Never mind that, how could my son not be able to drink?"

Grandma Fang: "That's right! I'll have a son every year, he'll definitely be better than his father!"

Fang Yuenian was caught in a dilemma. He looked at the glass of wine with a conflicted expression, thinking about the time when his roommate had failed to win over a girl and secretly brought a bottle of beer back to the dorm to drown his sorrows over the weekend. He ended up vomiting after drinking it all, so this kind of wine was definitely not something you could just drink casually. However... he was a little curious, so he coughed, picked up the glass, and said, "Fine, I'll drink it."

Wang Jing smiled and instructed, "Slow down, take a small sip and taste it."

Fang Wu scoffed, "If you're going to drink, drink it in big gulps, don't be so hesitant!"

Fang Yuenian brought the glass to his lips and smelled the cool yet slightly strange aroma of beer. He didn't find it too offensive, so he took a big gulp. The icy liquid went straight down his esophagus to his internal organs, making him shiver.

Fang Wu laughed loudly, "That stuff is worthless, it makes you shiver after just one sip."

Grandma Fang couldn't stand this and said sternly, "Stop talking nonsense. Is this the little guy's first time drinking? Do you think he's as clumsy as you?"

Wang Jing was also unhappy and said to Fang Yue Nian, "Sad? If you're sad, then don't drink. Eat your vegetables, eat more vegetables."

Fang Yuenian: "It's okay, it's okay, but I don't think it tastes very good."

Wang Jing: "Do you still want to drink it or not? If you don't want to drink it, that's fine, just leave it there."

“I can drink it,” Fang Yuenian said.

Fang Wu chuckled and said with a sidelong glance, "Drink if you want, don't make excuses. Let me tell you, drinking beer and then letting out a satisfying burp is incredibly pleasant."

Grandma Fang slapped him on the shoulder and scolded, "Set a good example, don't corrupt your son!"

Fang Yuenian ignored Fang Wu's words and focused on eating his food. After a while, he picked up his glass and carefully took a small sip. Wang Jing kept serving him food. She felt a sense of satisfaction watching her son grow up. She thought that since he had just finished his exams and had worked so hard, it was okay for him to have a little drink to cheer himself up, so she let him be.

Everything was normal after dinner, and Fang Yuenian didn't feel anything was wrong after brushing his teeth.

Wang Jing came over to check on him twice and found that he acted as if nothing was wrong, so she smiled and said, "Not bad, you're not shameless."

However, when night fell and everyone in the house was quiet, Fang Yuenian was wide awake and sat on the floor of her room to start tidying up her books.

He had never been so enthusiastic about collecting books before—he boldly spread them out, carefully arranged them in the cabinet according to subject and even size, then rummaged through the test papers and put them into the test paper folder, and pieced together the broken pen one by one... He was so busy that he didn't even notice that his face and neck had turned an abnormal red, and that fine beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

Suddenly, he stopped.

He saw the notes Cheng Bing had given him before.

Many students in the class have Cheng Bing's notes. The teacher saw that his notes were really good, so after asking for his permission, he printed out a copy and posted it on the bulletin board at the back as an example for everyone. Many students either copied it or shamelessly asked for copies to be printed. The top student's notes are widely circulated. He knows what he's doing and doesn't hide his abilities.

But only Fang Yue Nian had Cheng Bing's handwritten notes.

Moreover, these were not copies made by Cheng Bing himself and given to Fang Yuenian. He specially spent time making them for Fang Yuenian based on her needs.

Fang Yuenian stared at the beautiful and clean handwriting on it, and inexplicably, he felt happiness.

It wasn't the overwhelming joy of first receiving it and thanking him profusely; he was simply happy, extremely happy. He stared at the notes, grinning foolishly for a while, when suddenly a brilliant idea struck him.

Let's go find Cheng Bing and have some fun!