The house Xu Qiguang had asked Doctor Tian Dongmei to rent for them wasn’t spacious.
It was a single room near the county hospital, less than twenty square meters, partitioned into an inner and outer section.
The original owner must have been a very kind and well-to-do person.
Before they even pushed the door open, just after unlocking the padlock on it, the father and daughter could see at a glance that the small outer room had all the essentials.
There were pots, ladles—everything one might need.
Even the short door curtain hanging between the rooms, though it looked old, had been washed clean.
They could smell the fresh scent of soap before they even got close.
This was a rare find.
A pot was a pot, no matter how small or old, and you couldn’t buy one without industrial coupons.
On top of that, the owner had even left behind a coal briquette stove.
When Xu Changqing heard they were coming here first, she had planned to roll up her sleeves and give the place a good cleaning.
But now that she’d arrived, she realized there wasn’t much for her to do.
Entering the inner room, she saw that while there was no bedding on the kang brick bed, there was a sleeping mat.
She ran her hand over its surface.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t dirty—just a little dusty, barely noticeable.
Since Bai Xiulan didn’t yet know they had rented the room, and since she wouldn’t be moving in right away, the father and daughter were of the same mind: they would hold off on cleaning for now.
In a few days, when her mother—his wife—moved in to await the birth, she would be bringing supplies from home like rice, grains, and vegetables.
It wouldn’t be too late to sort everything out and clean up then.
What Xu Changqing didn’t expect was that after her father left most of the yarn and fabric they’d bought at the rental, he dragged her on another detour, this time into the department store.
They didn’t stay long this time either, but her dad’s spending was even more impressive than before.
“Comrade, two bags of malted milk extract, two jars of canned fruit, and two pounds of walnut pastries, split into two bags.”
Always one to cut to the chase, Xu Changqing mentally summarized her father’s spree.
The key items were two bags of malted milk extract, two jars of canned fruit, two pounds of walnut pastries, and oh, two bottles of liquor.
She didn’t need to do the math to know.
Today alone, her free-spending dad had blown through a full two hundred yuan.
‘That’s several times more than the private savings I’ve hoarded for years,’ she thought, ‘and he just spent it all.’
‘What can you do when you have a father like this?
Absolutely nothing.
That’s several months’ salary right there.
Looks like if we’re ever going to get a bicycle, it’s up to me to make it happen.’
Once they were outside, Xu Changqing lowered her voice and said with a teasing laugh, “Dad, are you keeping a lot of secrets from Mom?
Like where this money came from and how you’re going to explain spending it?”
Xu Qiguang shot his daughter a sidelong, amused glance.
“Feeling the pinch again?
Today, I’m going to show you how the money we spend comes right back to us.”
Completely unconvinced, Xu Changqing raised an eyebrow.
“Just you wait.”
“Where are we going?” Xu Changqing asked.
Seeing her father take yet another detour—it clearly wasn’t the way to Old Principal Yu’s house—she shot him a puzzled look.
“Someplace good.”
For a time, the two walked on in silence.
The detour lasted about ten minutes until, finally, they walked through the gates of a scrap yard.
“Hey, Old Yu, get out here!
Xu is here to see you!” Before they even saw who was speaking, an old man poked his head out of a doorway and bellowed.
Xu Changqing recognized this old man.
His surname was Shi.
She knew him both in her dreams and in real life; they were more than just casual acquaintances.
Unlike Doctor Tian Dongmei, whom she’d only met once, she was the one in her family who frequented this place.
That was mostly because it had the largest collection of old books and newspapers.
Furthermore, Old Principal Yu, her father’s former mentor and the retired principal of the county middle school, was a good friend of this Grandpa Shi.
Since retiring, Old Principal Yu spent his time here every few days.
Grandpa Shi often teased his old friend, saying the old pal was so henpecked by ‘the missus’ that he had to sneak over to his place just for a drink.
He’d say he was better off as a free-living widower.
“Grandpa Shi.”
Xu Changqing greeted him from behind her father.
As she watched the old man emerge from one of the warehouses covered head to toe in dust, she felt a complex mix of emotions.
“You’re here?” Old Principal Yu nodded at his former student, a young man who brought him both pride and a sense of regret.
“I figured you’d be back in the next day or two.”
Xu Qiguang smiled.
Once his daughter had greeted the two old men, he pointed toward the warehouses in the back, signaling for her to go look for books and newspapers.
Though Xu Changqing was bursting with questions, she knew she couldn’t linger.
But after watching her father and the two old men disappear into the gatehouse, she didn’t wander off too far.
In the yard, Xu Changqing found a spot a short distance from the gatehouse, next to a pile of unsorted scrap, and squatted down.
‘I don’t mean to eavesdrop,’ she thought, ‘but I have this strange feeling… I think my dad is in there discussing something incredibly important with those two.’
Inside the gatehouse, Old Principal Yu seemed more the host than the guest.
He walked straight into his old friend’s private room, and before he even had a chance to sit cross-legged on the kang, he asked, “Have you made your decision?”
Xu Qiguang responded not with words, but with an apologetic smile.
The moment he saw that expression, Mr.
Shi knew the outcome.
He wasn’t particularly surprised.
‘Who wouldn’t be attached to a job they’ve had for nearly twenty years?’
‘A lot of things that look like the best of both worlds aren’t always so great.
This is just Old Yu worrying needlessly, being too soft-hearted.’
‘So what if the other guy’s the boss’s son-in-law?’
‘Just because he’s got connections, Xu has to step aside?
Bullshit!
Are kids like us from poor families just supposed to stay put and never get a chance to advance?!’
‘Let that little bastard just try and make a move!’
“You’re not going to change your mind?” Old Principal Yu tried one last time.
“When two tigers fight, one is bound to get hurt.
It would be so much better to transfer back to the county.
The job is stable, and you could be with your family.”
Xu Qiguang nodded.
Old Principal Yu let out a few silent sighs.
“Well, since you’ve made up your mind, you just have to move forward.
Get your family affairs in order, too.
This business of living in two separate places was never a long-term solution.”
“I understand.
It’s just…”
Before Xu Qiguang could finish, Old Principal Yu cut him off with a wave of his hand.
“He is him, and you are you.
He may have many years on you, but if he doesn’t have the skills, he has no one to blame but himself.”
‘Finally, some sense…’ Mr.
Shi smacked his lips and reached for one of the two bottles of liquor on the small kang table.
As he started to open it, he let out a sigh.
“Ah, in the future, I’m afraid my liquor supply is going to dry up.
And I’ll be short one person to help this old man out with his work.
This is a loss, a huge loss.”
“Don’t be in such a rush to open that,” Old Principal Yu said, rolling his eyes irritably at his old friend.
He pushed himself off the kang with both hands.
“I’ll be right back,” he added as he got to his feet.
Xu Qiguang moved to follow him.
Old Principal Yu waved him back with his right hand.
“Changqing is outside.
You just stay here and keep an eye on Old Man Shi for me.
Make sure he doesn’t sneak a few gulps before I get back.”
“Get outta here!” Mr.
Shi shot back with a laugh, shaking his head at Xu Qiguang.
“I’m not you, scared of the missus at my age.”
“Who’s scared?
I’m indulging her.
You wouldn’t get it even if I explained.”
“Like I’d want to!”