Chapter One Hundred: Keeping a Low Profile

As for that old verse about rain beating on banana leaves and sorrow clinging to the foliage, with hearts and moonlight alike too shy before a human gaze, there is no need to dwell on poetic imagery here.

Last night had already been destined to be a sleepless one for the Chen household, and by early morning Mrs. Chen’s face was rosy and bright, like a ripe red apple. She got up to prepare breakfast and even made each person in the family a bowl of egg drop soup.

When Xiaoyu saw her eldest sister-in-law, she noticed that even her skin had become smooth and glowing.

And no wonder. Before, the woman had not been ugly, exactly, but her complexion was always dull and yellow, as though she were a worn-out old matron, lacking any luster at all.

But this morning was different. Her face was blooming with peach-red color, and even the eyes and brows carried a hint of alluring charm.

When Chen Liang sent Xiaoyu off to work, she clung to him affectionately, pressed tightly against him, reluctant to leave his arms.

After tasting that once, Chen Liang had developed a severe case of anxiety.

Although six hundred jin sounded like a lot, he had not forgotten that he had promised to deliver a whole vat of it to the Zhang brothers in the Northeast.

After comforting Xiaoyu and letting her rest on her own, Chen Liang hurried off to see Old Lu and brought him another pot as well.

The herbs in the supermarket were not enough to soak two more vats, so Chen Liang went out first to buy more. He followed the same order as before, bought the same medicinal ingredients, and once he was done, seeing that there was no one else on the street, he stored everything back into the supermarket.

When he got home and saw Foolish Zhu finally able to get out of bed, Chen Liang immediately went over to tease him.

"Feeling better, Foolish Zhu?" Chen Liang asked, giving his lower body a lewd glance.

"Better your grandmother's leg. You don't know why?" Foolish Zhu shot back irritably. "Liangzi, what the hell kind of medicinal wine did you give me? It was way too fierce. A person can't take that!"

"Heh. Foolish Zhu, do you know how pigs die?"

"How would I know? Starved to death? Fell to death?"

"Heh, neither. Pigs die from stupidity!"

Foolish Zhu did not understand what a modern joke was, and looked at him blankly. "Liangzi, are you saying I'm stupid?"

"Isn't that obvious? How much of that wine did you drink yesterday?"

"One cup!" Foolish Zhu answered honestly, even holding up one finger for him to see.

Twenty years later, just on the strength of that one finger, I would slap you across the face, believe it or not.

"How much is one cup? One tael or two?"

"Two taels."

When Chen Liang heard that, he immediately gave him a thumbs-up. "Damn, impressive. I only dared to drink half a tael. The fact that you didn't die on the bed proves you're a real man."

"You should've said so earlier..."

"And you didn't ask me!" Chen Liang snapped. "You want to blame me for that too? Can we be reasonable here?"

Foolish Zhu was left speechless. True enough, he had only known it was a virility wine; he had never asked Chen Liang how much he was supposed to drink.

Still, if Foolish Zhu could admit fault, that would be the real miracle. "You were clearly trying to make fun of me on purpose. You deliberately didn't say anything!"

A dead duck with a stiff beak. Chen Liang rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. Listen, Foolish Zhu, you overdid it this time. For the next few days, drink a bit each morning, noon, and night to build yourself back up. Don't do anything for now. If you do, I'm really afraid you'll end up impotent early one day."

When Foolish Zhu heard that, he panicked at once. "Is that true? Liangzi, don't scare me!"

"It's fake. Believe it or not." While handling the herbs, Chen Liang said to him, "If you've got nothing to do, come help me. This wine is so good I have to soak two more vats."

But Foolish Zhu kept shaking his head. "Liangzi, my legs are still weak. I really can't help. You handle it slowly yourself. I need to go back and rest a while!"

Pah. What a spineless weakling, and he still had the nerve to compare sizes with him all day. Useless.

After having once gained experience sorting medicinal ingredients, Chen Liang processed them even faster this time and finished everything in one afternoon.

Once the Chen household and Foolish Zhu's place were both filled with the smell of medicine, Chen Liang did not care. He found Foolish Zhu basking in the sun by the doorway, sipping goji-berry tea, and said, "Foolish Zhu, remember to go to the food store and order another six hundred jin of sorghum liquor."

"No problem. But Liangzi, you really don't need to pay. How about treating this wine as my share in the business? I don't want much. Just let me have a little every day."

Foolish Zhu refused the money Chen Liang handed him, then immediately began eyeing the wine. "Hey! If anyone says you're stupid in front of me again, I'll slap him twice for you. You're so shrewd you'll outwit a monkey once you've got fur on you."

Foolish Zhu did not care. "Just tell me whether it's okay or not."

Chen Liang was not a petty man. As long as he had the recipe, he could soak as much of the stuff as he wanted.

"Since you've already opened your mouth, what else can I say? It's settled, then. But I'm not paying for the sorghum liquor."

"That works perfectly. Come on, Liangzi, have some water. I put goji berries in it." Foolish Zhu happily pushed over a teapot.

That evening, when the Chen family came home, they caught the strong smell of medicine in the air and each of them lowered their heads in tacit understanding to eat their meal, not even Mrs. Chen saying a single word.

So the foundation of a harmonious household must be a man's ample strength.

Foolish Zhu was quite efficient. The very next day, still with weak legs and leaning against the wall, he stubbornly ran to the food store and ordered six hundred jin of sorghum liquor.

On the third day, he dragged Chen Liang along to help carry the liquor back. Then the two of them secretly soaked it in the Deaf Old Lady's room, filling the whole place with the smell of alcohol until the Deaf Old Lady raised her cane and tried to beat them.

Enduring the old lady's cane blows, Chen Liang and Foolish Zhu finally sealed the mouth of the vat with mud, then fled in disgrace.

At last the important task was complete. Chen Liang and Foolish Zhu were covered in mud and sweat, so the two of them went together to the bathhouse to wash up.

When Chen Liang arrived at the public bathhouse, he did not even bother to buy a ticket. He leaned his head straight into the ticket window and said, "Hey, Little Turtle, give me two tickets."

"Brother Liang, you're here. Two tickets, right?" After briskly tearing off two tickets, Little Turtle clearly had something to say, but Chen Liang waved him off. "Later. I'm covered in mud right now."

Ever since that last soak, Chen Liang had successfully evolved into a bathhouse addict. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would come here to soak, scrub off the grime, drink tea, and watch people play chess. An entire afternoon could pass effortlessly like that.

Inside the changing room, he familiarly tossed a Red Pagoda Mountain cigarette to the elderly guard at the door, then carried a small bamboo basket off to change clothes.