“That’s it, it’s all sold out. There’s no need for those behind to continue waiting. Everyone who wants to eat, please come back tomorrow!” Liu Yu shouted to the crowd in a voice that sounded slightly shrill.
Once he finished, Zhou Yu silently handed him a water bottle. Too thirsty to care whose it was, Liu Yu tilted his head back and drank his fill. His voice, which had turned hoarse from thirst, gradually returned to normal.
Liu Yu sat on the ground and said unhurriedly, “How was it? Are you accustomed to this level of intensity, Brother Zhou?”
Zhou Yu replied, “It’s fine, not too tiring.”
To him, this job was not tiring at all—at least, there was no comparison to his previous work as a porter. As long as one was agile and quick-witted, it was easy to manage.
Liu Yu fanned himself with a piece of waste cardboard and, hearing this, said with relief, “That’s good. Let me rest for a while, and then we’ll head back.”
The fried dough sticks had sold even better than Liu Yu had imagined. He never expected they would be snatched up the moment they were brought out.
On the way back, Liu Yu skipped with joy, his tone uncontrollably excited: “Brother Zhou, I should have known to make more fried dough sticks today. I really didn’t think so many people would love them.”
“You should have realized that sooner; the food you make is undoubtedly the best,” Zhou Yu said warmly.
Liu Yu lowered his head and covered his face, feeling shy. What could he do? If Brother Zhou kept killing him with kindness like this, he would sooner or later become overly confident.
“Brother! If you keep praising me like this, I’ll suffer a huge psychological blow if nobody buys my food anymore!”
“That situation won’t happen. And even if it did, I would always be the one buying your food.”
“Really? You aren’t allowed to lie to me, Brother!”
Liu Yu loved cooking; one could see the enjoyment he derived from the process. However, Zhou Yu could also see the deep-seated inferiority complex within him. He did not understand why such a young child, who was so skilled at making delicious food, was not as confident as he appeared to be on the surface.
He had pondered this for a long time last night, ultimately concluding that the root cause was the child having lost his support system too early, growing up without encouragement or validation from family.
But that was fine. Liu Yu was only a teenager; the emotional value required for his growth was something he could provide.
Zhou Yu curved his lips into a smile and reached out to gently stroke Liu Yu’s hair. Liu Yu tilted his head and looked at him in confusion.
A breeze blew, sending ripples across the pond by the roadside, reflecting the figures of the two walking slowly, moving further away until they disappeared from sight.
In the blink of an eye, it was mid-December. Yesterday night, snow began to fall without warning. When Liu Yu woke up in the morning, he saw that everything outside his window was blanketed in silver, so he hurriedly cleared the snow from the doorway.
Zhou Yu was still at the stove, building a fire to cook red bean and peanut porridge. As the weather grew colder, they could no longer just eat a few bites to get by as they usually did. Every day, the two of them would cook a pot of porridge, eating until they were warm before heading into town.
Liu Yu sipped his porridge blankly with squinted eyes and said, “Brother, I’m so sleepy! I was frozen awake last night and didn’t sleep well at all.”
Zhou Yu used his chopsticks to place some cold, dressed radish greens into Liu Yu’s bowl and said, “Once we close the stall today, I’ll go get a thick cotton quilt padded for you. Your bed is too thin; you can’t cover yourself with it during the winter.”
“What about you?” Liu Yu had been to Zhou Yu’s place and taken afternoon naps there a few times; he remembered that Zhou Yu’s quilt was even thinner than his own.
“Don’t worry about me. Just take care of your own little body. Eat up! Once you’re done, walk around a bit, and you’ll wake up.”
“Oh! Alright!”
They say it is coldest before the frost and after the snow. Liu Yu felt like he was freezing to death even while the snow was still falling. Zhou Yu had wrapped him up in layer after layer until he looked like a meat dumpling, yet he was still shivering uncontrollably.
The streets were bustling with people who had all switched to wearing thick cotton-padded coats.
There were even more people lining up at the snack stall than usual. According to Zhou Yu, it was because the food was so delicious that everyone who tried it became a repeat customer, and over time, the clientele had grown.
Liu Yu, however, believed it was because fried food was high in calories and more popular in the winter.
Because of this, the quantity of breakfast items Liu Yu prepared increased to 700 spring rolls and 200 fried dough sticks. This was Liu Yu’s limit, not the customers’, and even though he kneaded dough until his hands felt like they were smoking, there were still some customers who arrived too late each day and couldn’t buy anything.
Last month, he had even given Zhou Yu a 20-yuan raise. Besides doing his own duties, Zhou Yu now accompanied him in making breakfast until dark and helped him with farming, weeding, and tending to the stove.
Liu Yu no longer viewed him merely as a hired employee. In his eyes, Brother Zhou was a big brother who cared about his life and a solid, reliable partner.
However, Liu Yu had been troubled lately. Brother Zhou would always act nonchalant and ask him questions like, “Would you be willing to develop your career in a big city in the future?” and would describe how great big cities were.
Liu Yu was just lazy about thinking on ordinary days, but he wasn’t a small child; how could he not understand what that meant?
Brother Zhou was likely going to return soon.
Seeing that Zhou Yu had been exchanging letters with the outside world more frequently lately—and never trying to avoid his notice—Liu Yu felt all the more distressed.
He couldn’t bear to part with Brother Zhou, but he also couldn’t bear to leave Grandma Er, his little friends like Liu Wenyu, his dog kennel home he was used to, or the vegetable garden he tended to with such care.
In his past life, he was the type of person who sought stability rather than seeking advancement, so he had secured a secure government job right after graduating from college, planning to live out the rest of his life peacefully.
Since arriving here, living a life without intrigue, where he didn’t have to deal with complex people, and spending his days in a repetitive but fulfilling routine, his ambition had been eroded even further. He felt both longing and fear toward big cities.
A pair of warm, large hands suddenly covered his face, interrupting Liu Yu’s thoughts.
“No need to be too conflicted. Everything I said before was just to let you consider it well. Whether you are willing or not, I will respect your choice,” Zhou Yu said, gently soothing him as if he had seen through Liu Yu’s heart.
Liu Yu stayed silent, pursing his lips and giving him a faint smile in return.
Seeing this, Zhou Yu felt a pang of heartache.
Last week, news had come from J-City: the old man’s condition had improved again, and the eldest branch of the family was busy tearing into the company’s shareholders. Those various shareholders held 34% of the company’s shares; as long as they colluded, the company wouldn’t be solely controlled by the eldest branch.
Now that the situation was a mess, the old man happened to wake up, and this was the perfect time for him to return. As long as he could appear in J-City openly, the eldest branch couldn’t do anything to him for the time being. Everyone with eyes knew that the two branches would be fighting over the inheritance. Unlike dying outside, if Zhou Yu disappeared while in J-City, whoever stood to gain the most would undeniably be the murderer.
Even if the eldest branch’s methods were clean, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the public outcry. What kind of place was J-City? Even if a leaf fell there, it could brush against several high-ranking officials. That was unless they didn’t care about their reputation and dignity.
Therefore, Xu Shaobo had urged him several times, his words filled with excitement and urgency.
Zhou Yu had also made up his mind to leave this place; his reason told him this was a safe time to return to J-City. However, he couldn’t bear to leave Liu Yu. He worried that after he left, the child wouldn’t find a suitable helper and would be left alone again.
“I have to return to J-City in two days. If you don’t want to go, it doesn’t matter. Once I go back, I will keep in touch with you often.”
“Brother,” Liu Yu decided to speak up, “I’ve thought about it. I can’t go with you for now; this is too sudden for me.”
Zhou Yu said warmly, “Alright, if you don’t want to go, then don’t. Whenever you want to go, just write and tell me.”
Liu Yu tugged at the corner of his shirt and said, “Brother, I will miss you. When I’m not busy, I’ll go to J-City to visit you.”
While the cotton was being padded, Zhou Yu took Liu Yu back to the rented room to pack up his quilt and daily necessities, tying them onto a handcart. Except for returning to sleep at night, Zhou Yu’s three meals were basically covered by Liu Yu, so the belongings he had added were pathetically few.
Though it was said he would set off in two days, Liu Yu knew very well that Qinghe Town didn’t have a train station. To get to J-City, one had to take a several-hour bus ride to the provincial capital, H-City, before being able to board a direct train.
Therefore, his Brother Zhou had to leave by noon tomorrow at the latest.
Liu Yu reluctantly held Zhou Yu’s hand and said, “Brother, stay at my place tonight. I’ll make you some dried food for the road. I won’t set up the stall tomorrow either; I’ll go to the station with you in the morning.”
Zhou Yu nodded with a smile: “Alright.”
In the afternoon, the two returned with their luggage and the newly padded quilt. Since the handcart wasn’t big enough to hold everything, Liu Yu carried a kettle in each hand.
The journey home was silent. Once they arrived, he had no mood to tidy up; he walked straight into the kitchen. He wanted to make dried food for Zhou Yu to eat on the road.
Yesterday, he saw that the meat stall had brought in a significant amount of beef, and many people were buying it. Liu Yu had followed along, and his eyes caught the beef shank meat mixed in. In the end, he spent a fair amount of money to buy two pieces.
He had originally wanted to wait a few days to stew it with Zhou Yu at home, but he hadn’t expected him to leave so hastily, so it came in handy.
A hotpot stew was definitely out of the question, so Liu Yu prepared to make braised beef. Without much soup or liquid, it would be convenient for Zhou Yu to carry.
He blanched the beef clean and sautéed rock sugar, cinnamon, and star anise to bring out the fragrance for the braising sauce. Zhou Yu liked spicy food, so Liu Yu grabbed a handful of dried chili peppers he had dried himself and put them into the pot with the beef, then covered the pot and left it alone.
Aside from the braised meat, he also had to make some staple food. Rice was definitely not an option, so he started kneading dough to make buns.
He had pickled quite a lot of salted vegetables and sauces; among them, Zhou Yu loved pickled long beans and chili sauce the most. With these two, he could normally eat three big bowls of rice plain. It was perfect—he could bring a few extra jars to eat with the buns.
Seeing him rushing around in the kitchen alone, Zhou Yu didn’t try to stop him. Being busy was better; it was better than him overthinking things.
At night, Liu Yu and Zhou Yu nestled in the same bed. This was the first time he had hosted someone overnight, and at first, he wasn’t used to it, tossing and turning in bed.
In the end, it took Zhou Yu reaching out to hold his waist still for him to finally settle down.
Liu Yu’s body movements were forced to stop, but he couldn’t control his brain or his mouth.
In the darkness, he looked at Zhou Yu’s facial silhouette and asked, “Brother, can you tell me about yourself? You’re about to leave, and I only know your name and hometown; I know nothing else. What if I go to J-City to visit you later and can’t find you?”
Zhou Yu felt helpless: “I will tell you whenever you want to know.”
“Have you heard of the Zhou Group?”
Liu Yu shook his head decisively, leaving Zhou Yu speechless for a moment.
After a long while, Zhou Yu continued, “It’s okay if you don’t know; it’s a real estate group that started in J-City. I’m the second in the latest generation of the Zhou family; there is also a cousin above me.”