Chapter 60: The Swallow's Life
Chapter 60: The Swallow's Life
It was already noon when he got home. He had called ahead, and Wang Jing had started preparing early in the morning, making all sorts of food and even taking out the bedding from his son's room to air it in the sun. Even though it was just for one night, she couldn't make do with what she had.
—Once he entered high school, especially in the city, where it's not easy to come back, to the villagers of Shuibiwan, this child is considered an adult. As soon as he and Cheng Bing entered the village, the acquaintances they met all asked, "Xiao Yuenian/Xiao Bingbing's family is here?" Their tone was as if they were wanderers who had been away from home for a long time and had finally returned.
When Fang Yue Nian returned home, she found a plate of steaming fried chicken wings on the table in the main room, along with two or three kinds of vegetables that were not common in this season. So she went to the kitchen, poked her head in, and called out, "Mom?"
Wang Jing was busy wearing an apron when she turned around and saw him, and immediately smiled.
"Oh dear, how did you get home so soon? I didn't hear a thing!" She quickly put down the shovel she was holding. "Come on, put your bag down first, wash your hands and have something to eat. I've poured you some water. Are you hungry? Are you dizzy from the ride back?"
"I'm not dizzy, I'm not dizzy," Fang Yuenian said after washing her hands. She was pushed to sit down in the main room. "Mom, why did you cook so many dishes?"
"Oh, is this all you have?" Wang Jing smiled but put on a serious face. "This is the first time I've ever fried chicken wings. I don't know if they'll taste good. Just try them and see. I saw these at a wedding banquet yesterday, and they looked pretty good, so I came back to learn how to make them. This lettuce was brought by your Aunt Hongmei. Last night I casually mentioned to her that you were coming over today, and she insisted on bringing some vegetables. I thought you like to eat them, so I cooked them. Come on, try them and see how they taste."
Fang Yuenian was given a pair of chopsticks, so she could only smile and say, "Okay, I'll eat slowly."
“Okay, you eat. I’m still cooking a chicken foot,” Wang Jing said as she walked into the kitchen. “You just eat. Your dad isn’t home, and your grandma went out to play cards. I’ve already prepared the food, so don’t worry about it.”
“Okay,” Fang Yuenian replied.
Wang Jing was busy in the kitchen, while Fang Yuenian ate a couple of bites of food, took a chicken wing, and went to the kitchen to chat with Wang Jing.
"Mom, which family is celebrating a happy occasion?" He wanted to talk about the phone, but then casually found another topic to start the conversation.
"Do you remember her? She's the one who used to teach you," Wang Jing smiled. Now that there was no one else around, she stopped shoveling. "She's the one who used to be close to your sister Jun. Isn't her mother called Xiao Ai?"
Fang Yuenian thought for a moment and said, "What happened to her?"
“It’s a wedding,” Wang Jing said. “The banquet was held at the bride’s parents’ house yesterday, and the bride was picked up early this morning. There were a lot of little kids on the way who stopped the car and asked for candy. We were too late to see your family.”
Fang Yuenian frowned.
"Swallow... Sister?" He was confused. "I remember her... and how old is she?"
“She’s twenty,” Wang Jing smiled. “That’s her, the one who can’t hear.”
Twenty is the Chinese age reckoning. Yanzi is Junjie's elementary school classmate. She is the one who commemorates the book in her normal year, so she is two years younger than Cheng Junjun. She should only be eighteen years old this year.
Fang Yuenian's expression stiffened.
Wang Jing said, "She is a bit young, but her husband seems honest and decent, treats her very well, and has a respectable appearance. Her mother is very satisfied with this son-in-law. Yanzi is deaf in one ear and is a bit dull. They all say it's already amazing that she found this man."
Fang Yuenian didn't seem to be listening to these words.
He could clearly remember some things from his childhood, such as a little girl with braids wearing a floral cotton-padded jacket in an alley one winter, and a fierce-looking mother named "Xiao Ai".
Wang Jing's chicken feet were ready to be cooked and the sauce had reduced. "Hey, she's married now, and her mother-in-law looks like she's from Cining. She'll probably have a good life in the future. Come on, get me a plate."
Fang Yuenian was dazed. Wang Jing called him twice before he heard her and hurriedly went to get a plate to serve her food.
Seeing him lost in thought, Wang Jing said, "Speaking of which, she was your sister Jun's classmate, but her grades didn't go well later on, and she didn't finish high school. She's not very bright either, so she definitely can't compare to others."
Fang Yuenian twitched the corners of his mouth but didn't say anything. After a while, just as Wang Jing was about to take the chicken feet out, he said, "Mom, there's something I want to tell you."
"Huh? What is it?"
Fang Yue Nian threw the chicken wing bones into the trash can and reached out to take the plate of chicken feet. "Mom, do you remember I told you before that I wanted a cell phone?"
Wang Jing said, "I remember, have you decided what kind you want? I saw Xiao Hui had one a couple of days ago, and when I asked him about it, he said it was quite useful."
Fang Yuenian shook her head: "Don't buy it, Mom, I already have a cell phone."
Wang Jing was surprised: "Huh?"
“It was here a few days ago,” Fang Yuenian said as she walked out, put the chicken feet on the table, and pulled Wang Jing to sit down. “Last month, Cheng Bing’s father went to the school and brought me a cell phone. He said that Sister Xiaoxiao bought it for me.”
Wang Jing was stunned. She had been smiling the whole time since she saw her son, but now she was completely dumbfounded.
Fang Yuenian continued, "It's the number I used to call home last night. After I got the phone, I called Sister Xiaoxiao, and she told me to study hard."
Wang Jing's eyes darted around, and she nervously wiped her hands on her apron again and again. "This, this girl is really something... She just started working, she must have bought one for Cheng Bing too, right? That must have cost a lot of money..."
Fang Yuenian patted her shoulder: "Mom."
Wang Jing smiled bitterly at her son and instructed him, "Niannian, don't tell your grandma and dad about this, so they won't gossip and cause trouble, wasting Xiaoxiao's efforts. You also need to remember that neither Xiaoxiao nor Jun is obligated to be good to you. You should remember their kindness and not take it for granted, understand?"
Fang Yuenian nodded: "I know."
“And Cheng Bing,” Wang Jing added, “you two are close, so you need to take good care of him. Don’t argue or fight, just be good to each other, okay?”
Fang Yuenian smiled and said, "I know, I would never argue with him."
He wouldn't argue with Cheng Bing; there's someone else who likes to argue.
When Fang Wu returned in the afternoon, he started arguing with Wang Jing again for some reason. He kept bringing up things like opening a shop and making investments, probably because he had some unreliable ideas again.
The argument was fierce, but this time Old Mrs. Fang didn't remain neutral and directly sided with her daughter-in-law. The two of them launched into a tirade against Fang Wu, making a great scene, which Cheng Bing on the other side of the river heard.
Seeing that the two sides in this verbal battle were clearly of equal strength and that it was unlikely to escalate into a physical fight, Fang Yuenian buried himself in his workbook in his room. When things finally quieted down, he couldn't stop thinking about Yanzi and couldn't help but send Cheng Bing a text message: "Do you still remember Sister Yanzi? She was Sister Jun's classmate and she used to take us to and from school when we were little."
Cheng Bing replied after a while: "Yeah, I heard she got married today."
Fang Yuenian's heart sank. After hesitating for a long time, she quickly pressed the key: "Are you doing your homework? I want to come and do it with you."
"I'm not doing my homework now, let's do it together tonight. Come to the carpenter's shop after you've eaten."
"Okay, I understand."
Today, Cheng Bing helped Cheng Qiuyan fry meatballs and fried tofu at home.
His family always prepares these fried foods earlier than others every year because Cheng's father-in-law and Lin Guohui both like to eat fried tofu in small pots. In addition, Cheng Bing is coming back today, and Cheng Qiuyan wants him to eat something fresh, so she has prepared them.
The tofu used for frying tofu wasn't the usual soft, watery tofu, but a drier, thinner type of firm tofu. Cheng Bing knew how to make it and was very skilled at it; even Cheng Qiuyan had to step aside and let her son do it. Cheng Bing was also meticulous in his work. He held the tofu, cut it into pieces with his palm, and rolled it into the hot oil along the edge of the pan, his movements quick and skillful.
Grandma Cheng was initially worried that he would burn his hands, but seeing how steady he was, she smiled and complained, "Young man, a student, still busy with these things, people will laugh if they hear about it."
Cheng Qiuyan moved a basket of fried tofu that had just been taken out of the pot to the table next to her and said with a smile, "Mom, this is not right. If he can do it well, let him do it. Bingbing, you can cut two more pieces and then stop. I will cut them. Come and eat a few while they are hot. This chili sauce was made by your mother-in-law a couple of days ago. Try it."
"Okay," Cheng Bing replied, still busy.
He was listening to the arguing on the other side of the river.
Fang Yuenian hasn't been home for over a month, why can't he even have a moment's peace on this one day?
After the fried tofu was finished, the argument on the other side of the river also stopped.
He waited for a while and finally received news from Fang Yuenian, but just then, Cheng Jiagong and Lin Guohui returned.
Upon entering and smelling the delicious aroma, the two were overjoyed. Cheng's mother-in-law then mentioned that Cheng Bing had fried all the tofu balls today, and Lin Guohui patted his son on the shoulder: "You're really something!"
Cheng said, "Not bad, not bad, just like when I was young. Come on, let me have some of my grandson's fried tofu fritters. Guohui, get some wine?"
“Make some, make some,” Lin Guohui immediately agreed, his eyes crinkling with a smile. “You should eat a lot of these; our high school student fried them himself.”
I had no choice but to have dinner with my family first.
After finishing their meal, Cheng Bing said she was going to the carpenter's shop to do her homework. Cheng Qiuyan asked if she wanted to bring some fried tofu and glutinous rice balls to eat on their own, but Cheng Bing said no.
Fang Yuenian can't handle spicy food, so when he eats fried tofu, he just chews it dry and can't fully appreciate the delicious essence of the tofu coated in chili sauce. So we won't let him eat it anymore.
Fang Yue came a little late. Cheng Bing had been writing for almost half an hour before he arrived. As soon as he entered, he sniffed his clothes and said, "No, I can still smell smoke."
Cheng Bing asked, "What did you do?"
"No, just some people came to my house," Fang Yuenian said, putting down her books and papers and taking a pen out of her pocket. "They were smoking so much, it was suffocating me."
As he was complaining, he suddenly smelled something different here. He sniffed hard but couldn't figure it out, so he asked, "What's that smell? Is it on you?"
As he spoke, he suddenly leaned closer, pressed his face against his collar, and sniffed him several times.
Cheng Bing was so startled by his movement that she instinctively leaned back: "You..."
Fang Yuenian raised her eyes: "Smells of cooking oil, what did you do?"
Cheng Bing was already sitting in the corner against the wall, and he couldn't move aside. He was almost forced to sit against the wall by this person. He was a little stiff because this person was too close: "It's the smell of cooking oil. My family was frying tofu this afternoon."
Fang Yuenian straightened up and said, "Oh."
Cheng Bing breathed a small sigh of relief. "Sit down."
Fang Yuenian then sat down opposite him, but her expression was not very relaxed.
"Brother Cheng," he began, "have you inquired about Sister Yanzi's matter with Aunt Qiuyan? Did your family attend any wedding banquets?"
Cheng Bing nodded. "I went yesterday," he paused, "and my mom said the man's family is very nice."
Fang Yuenian gave a faint laugh.
"Do you remember when we bumped into each other in an alley when we were little, and you gave me candy?"
Cheng Bing nodded: "Mm."
That was the first time the two of them truly spoke, and they both remembered it vividly.
"I met Sister Yanzi first that day. She was slapped several times by her mother, who said she had taken money from the family."
Cheng Bing frowned slightly.
"Everyone in the village knows that Sister Yanzi's ears were damaged by her mother, and she also suffered some physical problems from the beatings, I mean, intellectual problems."
This is indeed something everyone in the village knows. Yanzi's parents had bad tempers and often beat her when she was very young. They didn't know their own strength and often hit her face and head. Later, Yanzi became dull and couldn't hear in one ear.
Fang Yuenian put on a nonchalant expression.
“I’m just a little, um, a little relieved. Thinking of Sister Yanzi, I suddenly thought of Sister Jun. You probably don’t know, Sister Jun…” He stopped halfway through his sentence, his expression turning cold, “Sister Jun went to your house because she was beaten by my grandmother.”
Cheng Bing's eyes darkened.
He put down his pen: "You weren't even three years old then."
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