Chapter 147: Home Visit

"Your youngest aunt and the others have all gone out to have fun, so what about the shop?" The father was slightly scratching his head over the headcount.

"Oh, it won't be for many days anyway. You can't just work all the time, you need a balance of work and rest. My oldest aunt and youngest aunt probably don't care about that little bit of money." Hong Tao completely distanced himself from the matter, acting purely as a messenger.

"It's just people with too much money to burn..." The father had nothing more to say. Leaving behind this remark, he returned to his study to read.

"Mom, why don't you also take a few days off and come with us?" Even though Hong Tao knew very well that his mother couldn't go, he still had to put on a show of inviting her.

"I certainly can't go. If you all are going out, you must pay attention to food hygiene! Remember to wash your hands before eating, don't blindly buy things to eat outside, and eat fewer popsicles..." The mother had a unique superpower: no matter what the topic was, she could always quickly steer it back to her profession.

The next evening, the father brought back good news for Hong Tao. The school agreed to let Hong Tao and the others join this summer trip. However, aside from Hong Tao, who only needed to pay a nominal fee of just over 30 yuan, everyone else needed to pay a little over 80 yuan for food and lodging. The transportation fee was waived since the school provided its own vehicles. Because they went to Beidaihe every summer, the school faculty and their dependents weren't particularly enthusiastic about it, leaving plenty of empty seats.

"I... I actually want to go... Can one more person be added?" When the younger maternal uncle heard that they could go play by the seaside at Beidaihe during the summer vacation, he was only happy for two seconds before instantly becoming full of anxiety, wanting to speak up but feeling too embarrassed.

"I've already counted the stinky big sister's spot, but whether she can actually go depends on you asking her!" Hong Tao looked at the younger uncle's pathetic expression and decided to stop teasing him.

"You're a real friend! ... But what if her family doesn't let her go?" The younger uncle was still not entirely at ease.

"If they don't let her go, then she doesn't go! Who can do anything about that? Why don't you go to her house and discuss it with her family? Do you dare to go?" Hong Tao looked at the younger uncle with deep contempt, realizing this guy couldn't bear to be apart from her for even a day!

"Stop joking, I wouldn't dare go to her house. Wait for my word! I'll talk to her this afternoon and have her ask her family." True to form, the younger uncle lacked that kind of courage.

Aside from the minor trouble on the younger uncle's end, Zhang Dajiang also lacked the authority to make decisions on his own. However, Hong Tao was much bolder than the younger uncle. After school that afternoon, he directly bought a bottle of good liquor and, as Dajiang instructed, purchased a pound of braised pig's head meat. Then, he called upon Grandpa Na and Dajiang to return to Dajiang's home to see his grandfather. Word had it that in Dajiang's household, the old man's word was law!

Dajiang's home was located directly opposite the main entrance of the Lama Temple, separated from the clothing store and the hair salon by just a street. Their family of four lived in two main rooms and a small kitchen, which was still considered quite spacious. However, from a modern perspective, the location of his house was quite poor, situated right against the street. Even in broad daylight, the curtains had to be drawn, otherwise everything inside the room could be seen by pedestrians on the sidewalk.

"Grandpa! This is my classmate Hong Tao, and he says he bought meat for you to eat!" Dajiang led Hong Tao into the inner room. Sitting in a rattan chair was an older version of Zhang Dajiang fifty years into the future, holding a small teapot and nodding his head to the Peking opera playing on the radio.

"Oh! My good grandson is back... Come, come, come, come in and sit down. Hong Tao, right? I know you; those two storefronts across the street are opened by your family, right? Remarkable! Good business! And this is..." Hearing his grandson's voice, the old man opened his eyes and saw his grandson's classmate entering. Without putting on airs, he patted the bed beside him to invite Hong Tao to sit down, then noticed Grandpa Na at the doorway—a completely unfamiliar face!

"Greetings, old brother. I am the manager of that curiosity shop across the street. My surname is Na, you can just call me Old Na." Grandpa Na raised his hands in a traditional greeting and briefly introduced himself.

"You are Grandpa Na? The second young master of that old gentleman who used to run the car yard?" Dajiang's grandfather had actually heard of Grandpa Na's reputation and stood up from his chair.

"Please don't, you are older than me, just call me Old Na." Grandpa Na stepped forward with a supporting gesture, intending to let Dajiang's grandfather sit down first.

"So you really are Grandpa Na! This is a rare guest indeed! Come, come, come, sit on the kang, sit on the kang!" Dajiang's grandfather was quite surprised and hurriedly urged Grandpa Na toward the bed, as there was only one rattan chair in the room.

"You are too polite! You sit, you sit..." Grandpa Na was not about to take precedence and insisted that Dajiang's grandfather sit down first.

"..." Standing to the side, Hong Tao watched the two old men yielding back and forth to each other with a sense of utter helplessness. The older generation had their own lifestyle habits; these superficial courtesies were simply too troublesome. Especially upon a first meeting, they could spend half an hour just debating seniority, neither willing to take the slightest advantage of the other. In the end, when it came to the actual business, it was utterly useless—hence why it was called superficial courtesy, entirely empty.

"So you and Hong Tao are..." Dajiang's grandfather also recognized Hong Tao. Although they hadn't met directly, he had likely heard his eldest grandson mention him more than once, and Hong Tao frequently hung around the shop across the street, visible right through the window.

"Well, speaking in the old terms, I am the manager of his family's household. That curiosity shop on the second floor across the street is opened by his family, and I help manage it. He counts as my boss, I suppose? Heh heh heh." Grandpa Na didn't try to hide anything, nor was he afraid of losing face; he spoke the plain truth!

"Ah! I've always been puzzled by that shop sign. Curiosities? What kind of curiosities? I wanted to go up and take a look, but I was afraid of making a fool of myself. So it's something you set up!" Dajiang's grandfather finally understood how Grandpa Na and Hong Tao had ended up together.

"Old brother, I came here today dragged along by the boss here. Since his father is a university teacher, the school is organizing a trip to the Beidaihe seaside this summer vacation, and the shop's employees are all going too. He gets along well with your eldest grandson, so he thought of bringing him along as well. But not knowing whether your family would agree, he dragged me over here, saying he wanted me to act as his lobbyist." Once he was seated securely, Grandpa Na laid the matter right out in the open.

"Beidaihe, a good place. Only leaders get to go there. Can people from a small, humble household like ours go? Is it expensive?" Dajiang's grandfather was quite direct as well, asking about the price first.

"Grandpa, it doesn't cost money, it's free!" Hong Tao hurriedly chimed in.

"Well, that's a good thing, but won't it be too much trouble for you all? Dajiang has never traveled far from home!" Dajiang's grandfather didn't seem particularly opposed to his grandson going on a long trip with others.

"No trouble at all. The teachers from my dad's school are going, and our shop's employees are going too, so we'll have company. With university teachers looking after us, what trouble could there possibly be? Don't you agree?" Hong Tao directly took over Grandpa Na's role and started chatting familiarly with Dajiang's grandfather.

"That's true too! Dajiang, do you want to go?" Dajiang's grandfather felt that what Hong Tao said made sense; with so many teachers tagging along, there shouldn't be any safety issues.

"I want to go! Hong Tao told me there are big crabs to eat there, and also called... what was it called again?" Hong Tao had told Dajiang a lot about the ocean, but the only thing he remembered was the crab.

"Sea cucumbers!" Hong Tao prompted him from the side.

"Right! Sea cucumbers. I've never eaten sea cucumbers before, I want to go!" Dajiang didn't even know what a sea cucumber was, but as long as it was something edible, he had no intention of letting it slip by.

"Hahahaha, good, good, Grandpa agrees. Go on, go! It's rare for you to make such a good friend, Grandpa won't hold you back. Hong Tao, Grandpa is grateful to you from the bottom of my heart. Ever since my grandson started nursery school, I've heard him talk about you. Our Dajiang is a bit different from other kids, and I've always worried he would be bullied by others. Ever since he had you, he comes home from school smiling every day, which makes me, as his grandfather, happy too. Don't hold it against that aunt of yours; she's just a homemaker with a narrow perspective. Matters between us men are beyond their understanding! From now on at school, I'll have to ask you to keep helping him out!" Dajiang's grandfather looked just like an older Dajiang from fifty years later, but his mind was much clearer than his grandson's.

"Old brother, you can rest easy. This boy understands things better than ordinary kids, acting just like a little adult. Sometimes even I can't outmaneuver him. With him around, your eldest grandson won't get the short end of the stick. This must be fate! Well, my mission is accomplished, so I won't stay long. By the way, I noticed you have two birdcages hanging in the outer room—those are hwameis, right? Tomorrow or the next day, you should come over to my place for a visit. I keep one too, and the two of us old fellows can talk shop!" Seeing that the matter was settled, Grandpa Na lifted his backside, ready to leave.

"Grandpa Na! Don't be in such a rush. You have to take these things with you. There's no reason you should help our child and still have to spend your own money—that's just not right! I'll come over to find you tomorrow. My bird is almost ruined by my poor care; since you're an expert, with your words, I can finally set my mind at ease!" Dajiang's grandfather blocked Grandpa Na from leaving, picking up the liquor and paper-wrapped meat from the table, refusing to let him take back the gift.

"Come on, old brother, I must insist! Consider it me dropping by to pay you a visit; you can't just chase a guest away like this. This is just a greeting gift, it has nothing to do with the younger generation's affairs, you must accept it..." Grandpa Na certainly wasn't going to take back something he had already given away, and began declining it.

"There's no such logic. If anyone's visiting, it should be me visiting you. Take your things back, and another day I'll buy some pastries and come see you..." Dajiang's grandfather was not one to yield either, rattling off a whole set of logical arguments.

"..."

"..."

"Grandpas, let's stop arguing. How about this: Grandpa, I heard Dajiang say that your cooking skills are even better than his uncle's. I've tasted his uncle's cooking, and it's top-notch. Why don't you just whip up a few dishes for us yourself? I haven't had dinner yet, and you and Grandpa Na can have a couple of drinks, so it won't even count as a gift. What do you think?" Seeing the two old men starting to decline each other's offers all over again while murmuring endlessly, Hong Tao suddenly recalled something Dajiang had mentioned—that his father's culinary skills were taught by his grandfather. It would be much better to let the old man cook a few dishes so he could satisfy his own cravings. (To be continued...)