Chapter 18: What’s Wrong with Your Dad?

“Little Linzi, do you even know how to knock? Can’t you change this stinking habit you’ve had for so many years?”

Li Xiangdong walked over, pushed Xiang Lin behind him, grabbed the copper ring on the gate, and knocked twice, neither too lightly nor too heavily. Hearing no movement from inside, he knocked three more times.

“Coming, coming, who is it?”

The hurried voice carried a hint of probing as the gate was slowly opened.

A thin, gaunt young man first peeked out from the side, then pulled the gate wide open and cursed, “Xiang Lin, you grandson, I knew it was you pounding on the gate without even having to guess!”

The gaunt young man was none other than Ah Zhe, Li Xiangdong’s childhood friend, whose full name was Shi Zhengzhe.

After cursing, Ah Zhe stepped forward and fist-bumped Li Xiangdong and the others one by one.

When it was Xiang Lin’s turn, Ah Zhe missed the fist and punched him directly in the chest.

Xiang Lin rubbed his chest, “Is it that serious? I just knocked on the door and you have such a big reaction.”

Ah Zhe gave a dry laugh, not knowing how to answer. He changed the subject, “Little Linzi, why did you get a convict’s haircut? You didn’t just get out of the joint, did you?”

Xiang Lin said with dissatisfaction, “Cut the crap, Zhezi. Your buddy here is learning to be a barber from an old master.”

“How many times have I told you not to call me Zhezi!”

“Forget it, Zhezi sounds so much better. Ah Zhe doesn’t roll off the tongue.”

“Even if it doesn’t, you have to call me that. My mom has called me that since I was little.”

As Ah Zhe spoke, his eyes reddened. “I really didn’t expect you guys to remember to come and see me. Thanks, brothers.”

Li Xiangdong walked up and put an arm around his shoulder. It was bony and uncomfortable to the touch. It seemed he hadn’t had it easy these past few years.

“You’re something else. Not only did we come to see you, but we also brought you good stuff. Is your uncle not at home?”

Hearing Li Xiangdong ask about his father, Ah Zhe glared at Xiang Lin and said with some embarrassment, “My dad’s in the house. It’s all this guy Xiang Lin’s fault. His loud pounding on the gate just now scared my dad. Little Linzi, can you learn some manners next time you visit?”

Xiang Lin clasped his hands in a gesture of begging for mercy, “I’ll definitely be more careful next time, my friend.”

“Alright, stop fooling around. Let me see what good stuff you brought.”

Ah Zhe walked over to the bucket, looked down at the big, white, plump pig’s head, and almost drooled. He quickly swallowed a few times, a smile spreading across his face as he greeted them, “Come on in, welcome brothers to my humble abode.”

“Stop acting all cultured. ‘Humble abode,’ can you even write those four characters?”

“Dongzi’s right about that. Ah Zhe, don’t be embarrassed to admit it. Although your dad is a university professor, we’re all the same. School was suspended when we were studying, so now we’re all semi-literate.”

“What the hell, don’t touch me, be careful not to spill the wine in the enamel mug.”

“I was wondering why I smelled wine. So the enamel mugs are filled with wine!”

The group laughed and joked, and the feeling of distance from being apart slowly disappeared as they pushed and shoved each other into the courtyard.

Hearing their laughter, Ah Zhe’s father came out of the house.

“So it’s you boys. Here to see Ah Zhe, are you? You guys have fun, I’m going back to my room to read for a while.”

Li Xiangdong and the others only came to their senses after Ah Zhe’s father had entered the east wing room. They almost didn’t recognize him!

When Ah Zhe’s father was a university professor, he was full of vigor, his shoulders held straight. Even after Ah Zhe’s mother left, he was only a little dejected.

He was nothing like he was now, with graying hair, a hunched back, and an unsteady gait.

He was clearly only in his forties, but he looked like a sixty-year-old man.

“This…”

Li Xiangdong had something to say but didn’t know how to put it.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about my dad. Let’s get started, I’m starving.”

Ah Zhe tried to liven up the atmosphere, urging everyone to get to work.

Li Xiangdong and the others sighed and started to get busy.

Qian Bin went to the kitchen to have a look and came out saying, “The pot in Ah Zhe’s house is a bit small. We can make do with the bucket, but his stove is no good. The single burner will take too long.”

Ah Zhe pointed to a pile of junk in the corner, “There are some bricks in there. If it doesn’t work, we can build a stove. I’ll tear it down later when we’re done.”

“That’ll work.”

Li Xiangdong put down the enamel mugs and followed them over to start rummaging. They found bricks for the stove and also pulled out some wood for burning.

Under the command of the professional, Qian Bin, the stove was successfully built.

Li Xiangdong contributed the matches. After igniting two pieces of waste paper to light the wood shavings, the three of them retired from their work.

The rest was up to Qian Bin. Li Xiangdong and the other two followed Ah Zhe into the main house.

“Whoa, this room is really spacious.”

The main house was empty, with only a few pieces of furniture. Speaking loudly even produced an echo.

Ah Zhe beckoned them to the table, pulled out the long benches from under it, took out a few cups, and poured water from the thermos.

“There’s no tea at home right now, so you brothers will have to make do with plain water.”

“It’s fine, it’s all the same what we drink.”

Li Xiangdong took out the Daqianmen cigarettes and passed one to each of them.

After lighting his cigarette, his eyes swept around and saw a square stool behind the door. His heart skipped a beat. He walked over, picked it up, and looked at it.

It was rosewood, and the carved patterns on it were exactly the same as the table in his house!

Damn it, could the rosewood table in his house be from Ah Zhe’s family?

But then he thought about it, and the timing didn’t add up. When his grandfather found that table, Ah Zhe’s family hadn’t had any trouble yet.

He asked, “Ah Zhe, where did these square stools come from?”

Ah Zhe glanced at them and said nonchalantly, “The subdistrict office brought them over. The furniture that was confiscated from my house couldn’t be found because it’s been too long, and the registration list is also gone. Everything in the house now was just pieced together from the subdistrict office’s warehouse.”

Li Xiangdong breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. If these were really Ah Zhe’s family’s things, he would have felt terrible whether he returned them or not!

Ah Zhe continued, “I would have forgotten if you hadn’t asked. My dad is still a bit paranoid now. He says they’re old rosewood furniture and worries that keeping them at home will cause trouble. He told me to find some time to throw them out. But now it’s easier, we can just take them to the courtyard for Qian Bin to use as firewood.”

What the hell!

Using old rosewood furniture to stew a pig’s head in. This was the same damn character as his big nephew Li Xiaojiang, a total spendthrift!

This was just outrageous. He was even worried if his stomach could digest it after eating.

Li Xiangdong quickly stopped him, “Don’t waste good things. If you don’t want them, I’ll take them. I’ll take them with me when I go home tonight.”

Ah Zhe asked curiously, “Dongzi, what do you want them for? Although my dad said these square stools are rosewood and old furniture, he also said they’re not worth much now.”

“I know, I just simply like them, not for any other reason.”

Of course, Li Xiangdong knew these things weren’t worth much now, otherwise he would have been too embarrassed to ask for them.

Ah Zhe said indifferently, “If you like them, just take them. Anyway, my dad won’t let me keep these things at home.”

Hearing Ah Zhe agree, Li Xiangdong held the square stool and admired it for a while. He sat back down at the table, pulled his arm, and asked in a low voice, “How did your dad end up like this?”