“Little stingy”
Jiang Zhi’s reaction was far more soft-hearted than Fu Yunting had predicted.
For Jiang Zhi, such a cliché tragic story was surprisingly effective. Fu Yunting’s mind wandered, feeling his hand patting his shoulder one after another, as if he were soothing a child licking their wounds.
Later, Jiang Zhi seemed to be tired too. He didn’t know when he had fallen asleep resting on the man’s shoulder, and the warmth blew against Fu Yunting’s ear in gusts, making him unable to let go for a long time.
Feeling Jiang Zhi’s whole body go limp, Fu Yunting lay down accordingly, letting him attach himself to him like an octopus.
When Jiang Zhi woke up afterwards, he almost jumped into that endless lake in front of the village. This kind of mistake was simply fatal; it was like someone in a sober state being “corpse-picked” (picked up while drunk/unconscious) at a bar.
Unforgivable!
During the day, Fu Yunting was chatting with Grandma Si downstairs, while Jiang Zhi was lying on the window upstairs facing the vast stretch of rural houses, angry with himself. He had pulled out more than half of his hair before he could barely suppress this regret.
By the time he looked downstairs, Fu Yunting was actually weeding the courtyard together with Grandma Si.
“Fu Yunting, do you need my help?”
The man straightened his body and looked up, “It’s not easy to come out for once, you go play your own games.”
Here, there was no roaring of cars or noisy human voices. As soon as Jiang Zhi became conscious in the morning, he heard the chirping of insects and birds, as well as the ding-ling, ding-ling sound of wind chimes whenever the wind blew.
It was very much like the natural white noise he used to listen to during meditation, which hooked all the “lazy bugs” all over his body. Since this person wouldn’t let him move, he would just keep nesting in the room.
Having grown tired of looking at the scenery in front, he lay on the back window. After watching the puppy in the back street fight for a while, he finally da-da-da walked down from the wooden stairs.
At this time, the courtyard had already changed its appearance.
The grape trellis was revealed in its original state, and there were several small flower pots and two floor cushions on the corridor, looking a bit like a homestay.
He squatted down and looked at the several bunches of flowers placed outside the pavilion that hadn’t been cleaned up yet; it seemed he had seen them all on that small road yesterday.
“Fu Yunting, shall I come help you arrange the flowers?”
The man, wearing gloves, turned his head and looked at him, “They are just for you to play with. There are many empty bottles in the house, go in and find a few.”
Jiang Zhi raised an eyebrow, “So many? Specifically for me to play with?”
“These are all left over after Grandma Si finished the morning market. Seeing that we were still holding flowers when we came back yesterday, she specially brought them all to us,” Fu Yunting explained.
“Thank you, Grandma Si.” Jiang Zhi hurriedly thanked the old woman with a sweet mouth.
“Oh, you kids from the city, every time you open your mouths, it’s ‘thank you.’ We don’t have that many rules here, no need to thank.” Wearing a sun hat, Grandma Si chatted while weeding the courtyard with Fu Yunting, her movements looking no slower than the man’s.
Jiang Zhi went to the room to find vases. Just as he turned to the living room, he saw his bunch of wild grass from yesterday. This thing was now completely inserted into a transparent vase.
Hmm… he didn’t feel it yesterday.
Looking at it today, the visual effect was really jarring.
He rubbed his nose and grabbed a few pottery jars at random before returning to the courtyard.
It was only when he sat cross-legged on the floor cushion that he discovered these pottery jars were a bit different from the vases he usually saw.
The texture was a bit rough, but the patterns on them were very interesting.
Some were simple line drawings of a girl, some were of a boy, but more were auspicious phrases.
Peace and joy.
Laughter and happiness.
Smooth future…
Each one had a corresponding date written underneath. Jiang Zhi did a simple calculation; they were all made in the six months before Fu Yunting was born, seemingly expectations for the unborn child.
He frowned and looked at the bottom of the bottle again.
Signature: Cloud.
So, these were all made by Fu Yunting’s mother by hand.
Jiang Zhi thought of the story the man told yesterday and suddenly felt a bit bitter. That woman was so looking forward to the birth of the child back then. If she hadn’t passed away, the mother and son should have lived happily in this courtyard.
He actually didn’t understand flower arranging, and even less about color matching. He was just doing a random puzzle, putting whatever looked pleasing to the eye where it should go, just wanting to fill these things one by one.
By the time Fu Yunting had completely finished his work, seven or eight vases had already been placed in front of Jiang Zhi. Seeing this, Grandma Si laughed until she trembled, “This little doll is so cute. If you like them, Grandma will bring you more tomorrow.”
Jiang Zhi felt awkward for a moment; he didn’t know whether “little doll” was a compliment or an insult.
Both of them slept until they woke up naturally today. By the time the courtyard was tidied up and the vases were placed everywhere, it was already mid-afternoon. Jiang Zhi’s hands were covered in mud, but he wasn’t in a hurry to wash them, just blankly cupping his cheeks and zoning out.
He didn’t know if it was the environment, but he had been in a daze several times today.
When Fu Yunting came out and saw his gaze losing focus again, he checked the time and pulled him out the door.
“Let’s go out for dinner.”
“Okay.” Jiang Zhi didn’t really want to let Fu Yunting cook anyway; eating out made him seem like he wasn’t a “lazy bug.”
However, this village was located in a remote area and wasn’t a tourist attraction. There was only one specialty restaurant at the entrance of the village, which was actually just homemade farmhouse food.
After entering the restaurant and sitting down, Jiang Zhi felt quite fresh; the first time the two met, they ate at the top restaurant in Yuncheng.
“It’s hard to imagine you would actually come to this kind of place to eat.”
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Otherwise, one would have to drive at least two hours to the provincial capital.” Fu Yunting handed the simple menu provided by the boss to Jiang Zhi, “Take a look, what do you want to eat?”
This menu was printed on A4 paper and simply laminated at a print shop, very casual.
“Wow, this place is so cheap.”
“What?” This restaurant had many flaws, but Fu Yunting didn’t expect his focus to be on this.
“This grilled fish is only 28. Even if we ordered all the dishes, it would probably only be a little over a hundred.” Jiang Zhi calculated, “Living here must have very little pressure, right?”
“It’s not big.” Fu Yunting looked out; people coming and going were all simple farm folk, “But contrary to your idea, most people here want to go out.”
“What’s so good about big cities? High pressure, mental stress. Many people can’t buy a house of their own in their whole lives. Why not just go with the flow?” Jiang Zhi ordered a fish, and Fu Yunting asked for the specialty stir-fried yellow beef and vegetable soup.
“You really think openly. If you were required to live here for a lifetime, would you be willing?” Fu Yunting asked him.
“Life has no ‘ifs’.” Jiang Zhi said, “My parents and brother are all in Yuncheng. The nature of my work is destined to keep me on the stage. Are you trying to make me return to farming and planting flowers? Grandma Si said today, don’t look at these flowers growing in the field, they are actually very difficult to grow.”
The man was helpless, “You have always been someone who knows how to talk.”
After the meal, Jiang Zhi paid the bill by scanning the code very generously, “I’m treating this meal.”
Fu Yunting found it funny. He increasingly felt that Jiang Zhi had a bit of a “little stingy” temperament. He still remembered that before, when paying the bill at a hot pot restaurant, he insisted on using some coupon.
If this meal today were to be calculated according to the usual standards, Jiang Zhi wouldn’t have scanned the code so readily.
“Is it tasty?”
“Um… it’s alright.” Jiang Zhi said, “The point is it’s really cheap. You can try any restaurant in Yuncheng, let’s come here again tomorrow, I’ll treat.”
Fu Yunting, “.”
There were no entertainment activities here, so the two walked back along the small road after the meal. Passing the flower field from yesterday, Jiang Zhi tugged on Fu Yunting’s sleeve, “You stand there, I’ll take a photo of you.”
The man frowned, “Must I take it?”
“Of course, if you’ve been here, you have to leave a trace.”
“I come here once every year, I don’t feel it’s rare. Shall I take one for you first?” After Fu Yunting finished, he took his mobile phone out of his back pocket, “Come here.”
Jiang Zhi subconsciously covered his face to prevent him from taking it, “Oh, I’m talking about you!”
“Tit for tat, this is fair.” Fu Yunting raised his eyebrows, “How about it? Still taking pictures?”
“Take it!” Jiang Zhi rolled his eyes and changed to a compromise method, “Let’s take it together.”
Fu Yunting raised an eyebrow, watching the two of them enter the frame together.
Selfies have requirements for angles. Not only did both people need to be in the frame, but the sea of flowers around them also needed to be in the frame. Jiang Zhi was a bit shorter; if he were to handle the camera, it would be a bit strained.
Fu Yunting took the phone accordingly, “I’ll do it.”
The two of them had been too boundary-less in their interactions over these two days. Fu Yunting standing behind Jiang Zhi like this resulted in Jiang Zhi not even feeling that there was any problem.
Even to coordinate with the light, when the man leaned forward, he leaned backward as well, just as if… the two of them were meant to snuggle together.
Looking down at the photo, Jiang Zhi suddenly woke up.
He subconsciously looked up at Fu Yunting. This person was looking at the distance in a daze. In the past, Fu Yunting didn’t speak much either, but these two days he seemed especially prone to zoning out.
Jiang Zhi thought for a while and secretly picked up his phone to snap several photos of the man.
Fu Yunting inherited his mother’s appearance, with excellent bone structure, especially his profile; any random shot was like a blockbuster.
The person was good-looking, and the scenery was also good-looking.
It’s just… if only he could smile a little more.
Fu Yunting caught a glimpse of his movements from the corner of his eye, and with a lift of his hand, snatched his phone away.
“Stop editing (P-ing).” After finishing, he looked at the screen, “When did you learn to play the ‘sneaky shot’ game?”
“Where is it a sneaky shot? I was clearly taking it openly and honestly.” Jiang Zhi snatched the phone back, “Let’s go, I’m sleepy, let’s go home to sleep.”
“It’s only okay to sleep when the sun is high in the morning, and you’re already going to sleep now? Such ambition!” Fu Yunting was helpless.
“We came here to relax in the first place. The ancients said it well: whatever worries or pressure you have, just have a sleep and it can all be solved!” Someone said shamelessly.
“Is that so? And which ancient said such a sensible thing?”
“…Anyway, it was a very famous ancient person. As for the name, I can’t remember it for a moment.” Jiang Zhi picked a withered rose before leaving, “Why is this rose not quite the same as the ones usually seen?”
“This is a variety used for food; it’s a bit different from ornamental ones.” The man explained.
“Oh…”
The two chatted casually, and two days passed in a flash. Jiang Zhi had work the next day, and was picked up at the airport by Fu Yunting early in the morning.
Before leaving, Jiang Zhi was still wearing the tie-dye clothes and pants made by Grandma Si herself; the pure cotton texture was especially comfortable to wear.
“Then I’m going? Are you okay by yourself?” Jiang Zhi swung his slightly long sleeves, unsure if Fu Yunting’s mood had gotten any better.
“Why wouldn’t I be? Did you feed me or dress me while you were here?” Fu Yunting teased him deliberately.
“Neither!” Jiang Zhi said stiffly, “Don’t know who has nightmares all day and all night, and needs people to coax them before they can fall asleep.”
“Oh, then let me be scared to death by nightmares alone.” The man looked down at the time, and then mercilessly said, “Go, it’s time for you to board.”
“Oh…” He angrily carried the rags he had collected here, turned around, and walked away.
Watching the person disappear into the passage, the smile on Fu Yunting’s face disappeared without a trace. Zhuang Xuan’s phone call came through on the way.
“The things you wanted to do have all been done. When are you ready to come back?”
“No hurry.”
“Still no hurry? Really not coming back to see Grandfather?” Zhuang Xuan was a bit worried, “The old man is about to be buried.”
“I know what I’m doing. Jiang Zhi is back in Yuncheng, watch him.”
“Alright then.”
The interaction over the past few days seemed to show that the two had made no progress, but in reality, the conversation at the airport had explained everything.
For every day Fu Yunting stayed here, the situation of the Fu Corporation would worsen by one point on the surface, while silently, Jiang Zhi’s worries would grow along with it.
Even… it was very likely he would return again.