Chapter Eight: Only the Best Eat Well!

When Chen’s mother saw the rice jar and flour sack filled to the brim, she immediately grabbed Chen Liang’s hand. “Son, you didn’t do anything bad, did you?” Otherwise, how could you possibly have so much money? The total cost of these was nearly equal to her monthly wage.

“Oh, come on! I just helped a friend out before, and when he made a profit, he gave me a share. He just gave me the money today, so I spent the whole afternoon stocking up these things. Not bad, right, Mom?”

Chen Liang, conjuring up a friend out of thin air, spun his story so convincingly that his mother believed him without question.

When an honest man lies for the first time, even if the evidence is right there, people still tend to believe him. What’s more, this could even be called a harmless white lie, and a few casual words were enough to put his mother’s doubts to rest!

“Oh, my good son is so filial. All right! I understand. Tonight, we’ll have a proper meal!”

Hearing this, little Chen Hong beside them couldn’t help but let a greedy tear slip down her cheek. “Grandma, Grandma, can we have rice with pork cracklings tonight?”

“Of course! Just wait. Son, take Chen Hong outside for a bit, I can handle things here alone!”

With that, she began to wash the rice, steam it, and render the pork fat. Then she caught sight of the heaping basket of eggs. By now, Chen’s mother was used to such abundance, and with a loving touch, she fried an egg for each member of the family.

When everything was ready, the delicious aroma of eggs fried in lard drifted through the entire courtyard.

Other families in the compound looked on with a mixture of envy, jealousy, and longing. “Wow, the old Chen family is really living it up, aren’t they? First, they’re making pork cracklings, and now they’re frying eggs—what a treat for them!...”

Before the words were finished, someone nearby snapped back, “Jealous? Then go home and cook for yourself. Old Chen is a level-eight worker, and the whole family earns their keep. What’s it to you if they eat something good?”

“Hey! What’s wrong with being a little envious? Can’t a man even say so?”

“All right, a little envy is fine! But in our courtyard, we don’t gossip behind people’s backs. If you want to talk, go apply to the street office and move to the next courtyard—they’ll let you gossip all you want!” someone else chimed in, though their words were laced with mockery.

The one who’d been muttering behind others’ backs immediately fell silent, not daring to utter another word, afraid that he might really be sent to the neighboring courtyard.

Heavens, that place wasn’t fit for people to live in—it was like a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den.

Everyone in the neighborhood knew who was who, and in the next courtyard, the so-called upright manager, Old Master Yi Zhonghai, was notorious for his hypocrisy.

There was also the second master, Liu Haizhong, obsessed with officialdom and fond of beating children for amusement, and the third master, Yan Buguai, such a miser he’d squeeze water from a passing frog! Who would dare move there?

Best not to stir trouble. Our own courtyard is quite fine, thank you. Better keep quiet from now on.

By the time Chen’s mother brought dinner to the table, Chen Hong, who had already been half-filled with snacks by Chen Liang, felt she had reached the pinnacle of her young life!

Snacks before dinner, and a proper meal afterward—could anything be more delightful? Surely she was blessed by fate!

The steaming white rice, topped with crispy golden pork cracklings and a drizzle of soy sauce, was simply irresistible.

Unfortunately, Chen Hong had fallen into Chen Liang’s clever trap and, already half full, could only manage half a bowl before she had to stop, watching her uncle devour his meal with a tear of regret at the corner of her mouth.

Oh! Oh! I’ll never trust Second Uncle again. What kind of elder tricks his own niece just to get an extra helping at dinner? Unforgivable!

After the satisfying meal, Chen’s mother handed Chen Liang a lunchbox filled with rice, pork cracklings, and a splash of soy sauce. “Go! Take some over to your sister. We can’t forget her when the family has something good to eat!”

“All right, I’ll go now!” Chen Liang slung his little satchel over his shoulder, tucked the lunchbox inside, put on his dogskin cap and gloves, and was just about to head out when Chen Hong, already bundled up, latched onto his leg. No matter what, she insisted on going with him!

“Fine, take little Hong with you. I have to go out soon anyway to ask about Teacher Xiaoyu, so you’ll save me a chore!” Chen’s mother didn’t mind in the least. In her eyes, it was wonderful that Chen Hong was so attached to her uncle.

“All right, let go! Don’t you want a piggyback ride?” With his mother’s approval, Chen Liang scooped up Chen Hong and got ready to leave.

After skillfully climbing onto his usual seat, the uncle and niece set off, playing and laughing all the way to the entrance of the compound. As they reached the gate, they saw Old Zhang pushing his bicycle inside.

Chen Liang greeted Old Zhang and, after stepping out of the courtyard, turned back. “Grandpa Zhang, are you heading home?”

Old Zhang was momentarily taken aback. Where else would I go but home? But he answered, “Yes! Work’s over, I’m hurrying home for dinner.”

“Oh! Grandpa, are you still riding your bike? Could I borrow it for a bit?”

Old Zhang realized at once—so that’s what this kid was after all along, a chance to borrow the bicycle!

“I’m done with it; I don’t need it after work! If you want to use it, take it!” Old Zhang was a generous sort, so he just took the little bag off the handlebars and handed the bike over to Chen Liang.

As he slung the bag over his shoulder and was about to leave, Chen Liang called him back. “Grandpa, wait a moment! I’m not finished yet!”

“Hey! Why so many requests? I’ve already lent you the bike!” Wasn’t that enough?

“Oh, don’t get upset, Grandpa! Here, this is a little snack for Xiao Teng. You mustn’t refuse!” Chen Liang pulled out a handful of pine nuts with a rich milky aroma from his satchel.

This satchel really was handy. Whenever he needed a snack, he could just reach in and pull one out—couldn’t be easier!

“No, no, take it away! You’re always giving out these little snacks!” Chen Liang’s hands were big, and this handful must have weighed over half a pound.

Roasted pine nuts cost three or four yuan a pound—just borrowing a bike wasn’t worth such an expensive treat. How could Old Zhang accept?

“All right, I’m not giving it to you, old man; why refuse? Just take it, let your grandson enjoy a treat—what’s it to you?”

Chen Liang, imitating the bluntness of Second Fool Chen, became impatient after being rejected once.

“Ha! I thought you’d finally learned to be polite, speaking so formally. All right, hand it over and be on your way!” Old Zhang knew well that Chen’s second son was a stubborn one; if he got angry, he’d really toss the bike aside!