Ever since Auntie Shi heard that an airport was being built in Wencheng, she started waiting every day for her son to send her news. But she waited and waited; over half a month passed, and still no message came from either her son or her husband.
Worried sick, Auntie Shi asked Qiao Lanshu for another two hours off. Qiao Lanshu was pregnant and often felt sleepy, so she took An'an for a nap and told Auntie Shi to just come back before dark.
Auntie Shi quickly grabbed a vegetable basket, filled it with some greens she had grown herself, and hurried home.
When she got back, her husband, son, and daughter were all there.
Seeing her come in, her son looked a bit guilty.
Auntie Shi asked, "How did the job thing go? When are you reporting for duty?"
Her son hung his head and said, "The job didn't work out."
Auntie Shi: "..."
Her heart sank. She pressed further, "And the money? That five hundred yuan—did you get it back or not?"
Her son said impatiently, "No! Mom, five hundred isn't enough. They said jobs are scarce now, and everyone's looking. The prices aren't what they used to be. For a foreman's job now, you need at least eight hundred. My five hundred would only get me some ordinary labor job..."
Then, sounding annoyed, he added, "A few days ago, they arranged for me to start, but it wasn't a good job. They made me haul bricks. It was too exhausting, I couldn't take it, so I came back."
Auntie Shi: "..."
She exchanged a look with her husband, who was smoking his pipe with a worried expression.
Clearly, the Old Man had known about all this all along, but he couldn't argue with their son, so he just let him come home and laze around.
Auntie Shi was nearly fuming. She couldn't help scolding her son:
"I found you a temporary job before, and you turned up your nose at it—said it wasn't respectable, the pay was too low, and it made it hard to find a girlfriend. So this time, I gave you money to pull some strings for a proper job. How could you come back so easily? At least you should have gotten the money back! That was five hundred yuan!"
Five hundred yuan—she had saved it up through all sorts of hardship. Money wasn't easy to come by. She and her husband had scrimped and saved, one person's earnings going to food and expenses, the other's to savings, just to scrape together that five hundred.
And now her son had taken that money to "buy" a job. They had promised him a foreman's position, but when he got to the worksite, it turned out to be manual brick-hauling. He quit after two days.
And he hadn't even asked for the money back.
Auntie Shi stared at her son, her eyes red with anger.
Her son, still stubborn, said:
"Mom, it's all your fault for not helping me. If you'd just gone to that brigade commander and asked him to get me a job at the mining area, it would have been as easy as a word from him! He's a brigade commander! You have such a big connection and you won't use it, but you make me go pay someone else for a job. Who do I even know? They all look down on me for having no backing and give me the cold shoulder."
Auntie Shi was trembling with rage. "Your mother is just a nanny! And you know he's a brigade commander—do you really think he's going to help me? I don't have that kind of face."
She paced around the room a few times, then asked, "Who did you give that five hundred yuan to? Take us there right now. We'll go ask for the money back."
The Old Man put down his pipe and said gravely,
"Son, we really ought to get that money back. After all, you didn't take the job, did you? Five hundred yuan—if we get it back, we can still look into other connections for you later. If we don't, then the next time there's an opportunity, your mother and I won't have the money to help."
The couple took turns reasoning with him, and finally their son nodded, though still reluctant. "But I already handed over the money, and I reported for the job. Now going back to ask for a refund—where's my dignity in that? How am I supposed to hold my head up in the future?"
Auntie Shi was so mad she wanted to smack him. "Is your face worth five hundred yuan? Stop talking nonsense. Let's go before it gets dark and get our money back!"
...
Qiao Lanshu woke up from her nap and found it was already four in the afternoon. An'an had woken up a little earlier and was playing on the kang by herself.
Qiao Lanshu had some water, prepared a bottle of milk for An'an, and then carried her out to the courtyard for a stroll.
It was already five o'clock, and Auntie Shi still hadn't returned. So Qiao Lanshu, holding An'an, called the guard outside the yard and went to the kindergarten to pick up Niuwa.
Qin Yuanzheng happened to be there picking up Niuwa too, so the couple brought the two kids home together.
Qin Yuanzheng asked Qiao Lanshu, "Why did you bring An'an out? Isn't Auntie Shi home?"
Qiao Lanshu said, "Auntie Shi asked to go home this afternoon, but she hasn't come back yet. I'm not sure if something's come up at home."
Qin Yuanzheng was easygoing. Auntie Shi was a good person, thorough in her work, and he wouldn't fault her for being late.
He squeezed Qiao Lanshu's hand. "Are you hungry? What do you want for dinner? I'll cook for you."
Ever since they got married, and even before they hired Auntie Shi, Qin Yuanzheng had always been the one to cook.
Before Qiao Lanshu could answer, Niuwa piped up loudly, "I want chive flower rolls! I'll have three! And I want dough-drop soup, cucumber salad, pickled radish, and steamed egg custard."
Qin Yuanzheng looked at him with disdain. "That much? Can you even finish all that?"
Niuwa nodded vigorously. "I can! I'm so hungry. The aunties at kindergarten won't let me eat enough. I ask for seconds, but they say no. They're so mean."
Qin Yuanzheng snorted. "That's because you already ate three bowls of rice. They didn't dare let you keep eating, for fear you'd burst your belly. Comrade Han Ye, listen to me: from now on, don't eat so much, or you won't be Niuwa anymore—you'll be Piggy. Do you know what a pig looks like? White and fat, and come New Year, it gets butchered for meat."
Niuwa: "..."
Niuwa swallowed nervously and hugged Qiao Lanshu's arm, whispering, "Mom, I'm not a pig. I'm not fat at all."
Qiao Lanshu laughed and ruffled Niuwa's head. "Of course, our Niuwa isn't fat at all. But still, try to control yourself a bit. Three bowls is plenty. We don't need to ask for more, alright?"
Niuwa hesitated, then nodded.
He didn't understand. Was four bowls really that much?
But he felt like he could still eat. He was always hungry.
In fact, Qiao Lanshu had been observing Niuwa. She thought his big appetite might be natural.
Niuwa was just born liking to eat more than other kids, with a bigger appetite.
Also, it probably had a lot to do with his activity level.
Niuwa was naturally a high-energy kid. Every day he'd be racing around with the dog, jumping all over the place without ever getting tired.
And now, every evening, Qin Yuanzheng took him to practice boxing for over an hour.
With such high energy expenditure, of course he needed to eat and sleep more.
Plus, Niuwa was already half a head taller than other kids his age—he was shooting up fast.
Qiao Lanshu gently ruffled Niuwa’s hair and said to Qin Yuanzheng, “Niuwa is growing fast, so it’s only natural he eats a lot. He can have more during the day, but less at night. A bottle of milk formula before bed and another in the morning should be enough for his nutrition.”
When Qin Yuanzheng heard this, he looked at Niuwa again and let out a long sigh after a moment.
He said, “Who knows when Han Wenlin will finally catch those Zheng siblings and bring them back? This can’t go on forever. Leaving such a handful of a son with us while he’s off living it up somewhere.”
Qin Yuanzheng wasn’t really complaining about Niuwa.
He was mostly worried about Qiao Lanshu.
She had to take care of An’an, was pregnant, and already exhausted—and now she had to look after Niuwa too.
Still, Niuwa had been fairly easygoing lately and was very obedient during boxing practice, which made Qin Yuanzheng rather fond of him.
On that note, Qin Yuanzheng suddenly added, “Oh, by the way, the house Han Wenlin applied for has been approved. It’s a small, standalone courtyard in the housing authority’s residential complex. Once Han Wenlin gets back, Niuwa can move in there.”
As soon as Niuwa heard this, he said anxiously, “Ah, who is Han Wenlin? I don’t want to live with him. I want to live with my Mother Qiao!”
Qin Yuanzheng: “…”
Qiao Lanshu, holding An’an in one arm and Niuwa in the other, felt a little helpless too.
If Niuwa was acting like this, Han Wenlin must be even more miserable.
His own son would rather claim someone else as his parents than go back with him.
Putting herself in his shoes, Qiao Lanshu found it hard to accept.
The family of four returned to their small courtyard.
Auntie Shi still hadn’t come back, so Qin Yuanzheng changed his clothes, washed his hands, and started cooking.
Even though he kept saying he resented Niuwa and wanted to send him away, as soon as they were home, he went out to cut a few bunches of chives, came back to knead dough, and began steaming chive flower rolls.
Worried that Niuwa might overeat again, he deliberately made the rolls smaller—each one tiny and round, only the size of Niuwa’s fist. Qiao Lanshu couldn’t help but praise him, “Brother Zheng, you’re amazing! The flower rolls you make are so beautiful.”
Qin Yuanzheng found himself working even harder after her compliments.
He steamed the flower rolls, made drop soup, and prepared smashed cucumber salad. He skipped the pickled radish because the radishes Auntie Shi had planted were still too small to harvest.
At dinner, Qiao Lanshu turned on the electric light. Watching the darkening sky, she said worriedly, “It’s almost seven in the evening. Why isn’t Auntie Shi back yet? Nothing’s happened to her, has it?”
Qin Yuanzheng set the dishes on the table, glanced outside, and replied, “It’s fine, don’t worry. If she’s still not back by nightfall, I’ll have someone go to her house and ask.”
He had already looked into Auntie Shi’s home address, how many people were in her family, and what work they did. It wouldn’t be hard to send someone to check.
Qiao Lanshu nodded and ate with the children. After the meal, she first helped An’an freshen up and then put him to bed.
Qin Yuanzheng, on the other hand, took Niuwa to wash the dishes and mop the floor. Then he led Niuwa to the yard for training—punching the sandbag and running.
Around eight o’clock in the evening, the guard from the front gate of their compound came by to deliver a message: “Brigade Commander Qin, someone just came by to say your housekeeper had an urgent family matter tonight and can’t return. She’ll be back by noon tomorrow.”
When Qin Yuanzheng heard this, he asked, “Did the person say what happened at Auntie Shi’s home?”
The guard shook his head. “No, they only said those two lines. Commander, shall we go check on Auntie Shi’s place?”
Qin Yuanzheng was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “No need. Since she said so, there’s probably nothing serious. I’ll ask her when she returns tomorrow. You can go back now.”
The guard turned and left.
Qin Yuanzheng locked the courtyard gate and put out the fire beneath the stove where food was kept warm.
Then he took Niuwa to bathe.
With Auntie Shi gone for the night, Qin Yuanzheng would have to put Niuwa to bed himself.
Looking at the grimy boy beside him, Qin Yuanzheng sighed silently to himself.
