Wang Shouren had never actually been to Tianjin.
The fat man had invited him to come over a long time ago.
This fat guy was none other than Wang Kaifang, Wang Shouren's roommate. Back in Beijing, he was the most talkative guy in the entire dorm. His family worked in the local street office, and his father was a minor section chief there. I heard he later retired with the待遇 of a bureau chief, which was pretty good. He himself was just average academically.
So after graduation, I obeyed my family's arrangements and went to work as a clerk in the neighborhood office. Over the years, I've experienced ups and downs, and I'm quite good at talking. I've managed to get to the position of section chief.
He was always cheerful and didn't seem to have much interest in power.
Adhering to the idea of getting by as long as possible, he lived a relatively easy life.
Back in 1966, I went to Beijing. After returning home, my family arranged several blind dates for me, but none of them worked out.
In 1968, he found a girl, got married, and moved out of his family home.
At that time, Wang Shouren was unable to come out, so he specially asked someone to send him a gift.
Later, she had two sons and one daughter.
Following the address the fat man gave me, I quickly found his address.
To be honest, Fatty's place is really nice. It's right next to the Liberation Bridge, and you can see the Haihe River in Tianjin just downstairs—it has a unique charm. Walking down the road, you reach Fatty's place. I don't know how he managed to build it, but he's got a small villa, and he even installed a doorbell on the outside. I rang the doorbell, and the door opened from the inside.
It was a woman, who looked to be around thirty years old, tall and thin, with delicate features.
Upon seeing Wang Shouren, he paused for a moment, then realized what was happening.
He smiled and said, "Is this Wang Shouren, Comrade Wang?"
"It's me. Is this Wang Kaifang's home?"
"Yes, I am Yu Rouya, Wang Kaifang's wife. Kaifang went out to buy things and hasn't returned yet. Please come in and sit for a while," Yu Rouya said softly, completely unlike Wang Kaifang. Wang Shouren had no idea how these two had gotten together.
"Hey, no rush. Can you tell me where he went? I'll go look for him. I can also take a look around Tianjin while I'm at it. To be honest, I've never been here before." Wang Shouren smiled. He only knew that Wang Kaifang had moved out of the family home and was living independently. He didn't know if anyone was still at home. If he went in rashly, it wouldn't matter since he was just here to relax. But if people gossiped about it, it wouldn't be good for Wang Kaifang.
"He'll be back soon, please come in..."
Before Yu Rouya could finish speaking, the fat man's voice came from behind her: "I thought there were magpies chirping on the branches today. Turns out it's you, Director Wang. Haha."
Wang Shouren turned his head and saw that, good heavens, this Fatty Wang hadn't changed much compared to back then, except that he had gotten a bit fatter.
The two hugged, and the fat man helped Wang Shouren carry his things while saying, "Come on, come on, come on in, make yourself at home."
It wouldn't have mattered if it hadn't gone in, but once it did, it really startled Wang Shouren.
The fat man's small villa was decorated like a standard villa, with a large chandelier in the middle. As soon as he went in, several children came out. The oldest was about ten years old, and the youngest was only three years old. They called out "Daddy" in their childish voices.
“Come here, call me uncle…wait, who’s older between us?” The fat man picked up his baby daughter, who was speaking in a childish voice, and turned to ask Wang Shouren.
"I was born in 1946." Wang Shouren chuckled and took out a few candies from his pocket, handing them to the two little boys. He also took out a can of milk powder he had brought from Hong Kong and gave it to them.
This move made Yu Rouya somewhat hesitant to accept it.
White Rabbit milk candy is fine, but the milk powder, with all the labels in English, is quite expensive.
“How could I not know you were born in 1946? I was born in March, so calling you uncle is fine. Here, just call me uncle. Take this, big boss. Their factory is often seen in the newspapers and on TV.” Fatty Wang noticed his wife’s hesitation and said.
"Sister-in-law, don't worry about it. I've been good friends with Kai for many years. You don't need to care too much about these things," Wang Shouren smiled and offered a word of advice.
Yu Rouya then accepted it.
These days, when it comes to gifts, most people give practical things, like food and drinks, which is fine.
I haven't heard of them giving anything else as a gift.
The two men sat down, and several children played nearby. The fat man pulled out a hot jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) from somewhere: "Here you go. Eldest brother, and second brother, come here, this one is for you."
"Thank you, Dad!" The two little ones ran over excitedly, the older one taking a bite and the younger one taking a bite, before going to eat on the side.
"So, how about my house? Is it decent enough?"
"That's great, you're really something." Wang Shouren gave a thumbs up.
“Let me tell you, back then, nobody dared to want this place!” Wang Kaifang’s voice trailed off. “It’s said that this place is haunted, and there was that movement going on around that time. So it was left unused. Later, when things were reopened, the local government was also having a headache with these houses, and the people themselves didn’t dare to come here. Who would dare to live in a house like this?”
“They’ve all been scared off.” Wang Shouren nodded.
“That’s right.” Wang Kaifang patted his chest: “Look at me, Fatty. I took it without saying a word. You might not believe it, but this whole set cost this much.”
The fat man made an "eight" shape with his hands.
"Eight thousand?" Wang Shouren raised an eyebrow.
"What are you thinking!" The fat man rolled his eyes. "Big boss, are you out of touch with reality? This isn't Beijing, it's only 800! Just 800, I'll take it. After taking it, I found it's really comfortable to live in. There's just one thing, it's too big, I often have to hire people to come and tidy it up."
"It's worth it. Putting everything else aside, as the population grows, it might even leave a legacy for future generations." Wang Shouren nodded. No matter what, buying a house during this period would likely result in significant appreciation in future generations. The house occupies a considerable area; if it were to be demolished, it could potentially generate a substantial profit.
“That’s right, that’s what I was thinking too. So, how long are you planning to stay here this time?” Wang Kaifang said.
"Let's play for three to five days," Wang Shouren said with a smile.
"Oh, sure, that's perfect. I've been pretty free these past few days, so I've been showing you around. You don't need to leave tonight either; all the rooms in the house have been prepared. You can stay here."
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