Hu Pan was supposed to be on duty today, but Chen Jian let her go rest.
After everyone finished their small glutinous rice balls, they all dispersed. Hu Pan went to sleep, and Sanbing and Chen Erhu patrolled the guesthouse once before also going to sleep. After turning off all the necessary lights, the entire first floor was left with only Chen Jian sitting at the front desk.
There was a dog bed under the front desk. Mushroom was currently curled up inside with its eyes closed, but it wasn’t asleep. As soon as Chen Jian moved, it would open its eyes and start to whimper.
There usually wasn’t much to do at this time. Chen Jian opened the lounge chair next to him, scooped up Mushroom, and placed it on himself before lying down.
Mushroom walked back and forth on him a couple of times before finally choosing to lie down on his stomach and close its eyes.
Chen Jian also closed his eyes.
But sleeping was impossible. He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep at all tonight.
There were many things he wouldn’t think about if he could avoid it. He would evade them if he could. As long as it didn’t affect his life and his ability to make money, everything could be put aside for now.
But starting from that hug today, everything had changed.
He could no longer maintain that state of pretending nothing had happened.
The moment he reached out and hugged Shan Yu, the balance was broken.
Chen Jian closed his eyes and frowned.
He was very scared.
And also very flustered.
In the past, when something happened, he would keep it to himself. Time would wrap it up, and once it had a patina, it would disappear. Later, when something happened, whether at the guesthouse or in his personal life, although he didn’t necessarily want to confide in anyone, he would at least hope that Shan Yu was there.
But this matter… was the exact opposite.
A small pain came from his stomach.
He opened his eyes and found that Mushroom had started by sucking on his clothes, and finally, through the fabric, had nipped his belly.
“Are you looking for milk?” Chen Jian used his finger to pry open Mushroom’s mouth. Mushroom bit his finger again, both biting and sucking. He sighed. “Don’t you already know how to eat dog food? Why are you still like this? Do you miss your mom?”
Mushroom didn’t speak.
Chen Jian didn’t speak either, nor did he pull back his finger that was being held by Mushroom.
The night was very quiet. The wind outside was strong. In the silence, you could hear the sound of tree branches snapping and falling, and the faint, rustling sound of something being blown across the small path by the entrance.
The sound itself was chilling.
Chen Jian grabbed the jacket he had thrown aside and covered himself with it.
He had sat under the tree for a long time today, thinking about many things, but he didn’t know what he was thinking about. A jumble of thoughts was like the small glutinous rice balls tumbling up and down in boiling water—it seemed like they were everywhere, but when he tried to focus on one, it would definitely disappear.
It was much quieter now. He no longer had to consider whether to think about it in detail.
All the chaos had turned into two words.
What to do.
Oh, three words.
What to do?
When Zhao Fangfang came to work in the morning, Chen Jian realized he had actually fallen asleep that night, and had even slept quite soundly.
He only woke up when Zhao Fangfang was almost done making breakfast. He hadn’t heard any of the previous noises at all.
“Morning, Sister Zhao,” Chen Jian lifted his jacket. At some point, Mushroom had been squeezed out from under the armrest, wrapped in the jacket, as if it were hanging from the chair.
When Chen Jian pulled it out, it scrambled on all fours and ran to the garden to pee.
“Wear more today,” Zhao Fangfang said. “I was freezing when I came over this morning. I heard from the people at the guesthouses on the mountain that it snowed up there.”
“Really,” Chen Jian stood up, put on his jacket, and folded the chair. “If it snows a bit more, we’ll get more tourists.”
“Panpan said she had a bit of a headache yesterday, maybe she caught a cold,” Zhao Fangfang said. “You kids, you just won’t wear more until your bones are freezing.”
“She had a headache?” Chen Jian pressed. He hadn’t noticed at all yesterday.
“It started in the afternoon. She even went to take a nap for a bit. I covered the front desk for her for two hours,” Zhao Fangfang said.
“She didn’t tell me…” Chen Jian glanced towards the stairs.
“She’s very strong-willed. She never says anything when something’s wrong,” Zhao Fangfang said. “Look at her family matters, she never talks about them. Sometimes we only hear a sentence or two when we’re chatting. Just like you.”
“I’m… alright, I guess,” Chen Jian said.
“You’re also someone who doesn’t talk when something’s wrong,” Zhao Fangfang said. “Not like me, I talk a lot. I can’t hold it in.”
Chen Jian smiled.
Sanbing was off duty today. He came down from upstairs early in the morning.
“Going to get my bike,” he asked as soon as he saw Chen Jian. “Shall we go?”
“…What’s your hurry?” Chen Jian said. “You haven’t had breakfast.”
“We can eat when we get back,” Sanbing said. “My bike has been in the village alone all night.”
Chen Jian was a little speechless. “So when it’s parked at the guesthouse, it has company? It gets lonely being in the village alone?”
“I’m afraid it’ll get stolen,” Sanbing said. “Did you see where Boss Shan parked my bike?”
“At the entrance of Xiao Dou’er’s yard,” Chen Jian said.
“He didn’t even park it in the yard,” Sanbing said.
If it really gets stolen, you can ask Boss Shan for a new one…
“Let’s go.” Chen Jian didn’t argue with Sanbing anymore. Sanbing’s family’s financial situation was just so-so. He had had this bike for several years and had always maintained it well. He loved it very much.
“Wear thick clothes!” Zhao Fangfang shouted again before they went out.
“Thick ones!” Chen Jian also shouted.
His thick clothes were still at Xiao Dou’er’s house. He could grab a couple of thick jackets today.
The temperature must have dropped last night. The moment he stepped out today, he could feel it was much colder than yesterday.
As soon as the motorcycle started moving, Chen Jian’s clothes immediately puffed up into a ball, filled with wind, freezing his empty stomach into cramps.
He pulled the zipper all the way up, but it didn’t help.
“I’ll help you.” Sanbing hugged him from behind, one hand around his waist, the other a little higher around his chest, tightening the clothes around him. It immediately became much warmer.
Perhaps because they heard it had snowed on the mountaintop last night, on the way to the village, they even encountered two self-driving tour cars heading up the mountain early in the morning.
“Let them freeze,” Sanbing said.
“Let’s freeze first,” Chen Jian said through gritted teeth to avoid the wind.
Sanbing laughed for a long time behind him. He didn’t know what was so funny, it was as if he had been frozen silly.
But when the motorcycle arrived at Xiao Dou’er’s house, Sanbing’s happiness instantly vanished, replaced by anger.
“Fuck!” he jumped off the motorcycle and started cursing. “Who the fuck did this!”
Someone had poured what looked like pig feed or some other messy stuff all over Sanbing’s motorcycle. It was a mixture of water and dregs, emitting a foul smell.
It wasn’t just Sanbing’s motorcycle; Xiao Dou’er’s door and yard were also covered in it. A dirty bucket was thrown on the ground.
Chen Jian jumped off the motorcycle and rushed into the yard.
Xiao Dou’er’s grandparents were in the yard, hosing down the ground. Xiao Dou’er was squatting on the steps, pouting.
“Grandpa, what happened?” Chen Jian asked.
Grandpa sighed and didn’t speak.
“What else could it be,” Grandma frowned. “Yesterday, Grandpa went to watch people play cards and ran into Big Snot’s grandpa again. They exchanged a few words, and this morning they came and made such a mess.”
Big Snot’s grandpa was the grandfather of Big Snot. The two families of elders had always had conflicts. Xiao Dou’er’s grandfather usually avoided them when he saw them. He couldn’t win an argument, nor could he win a fight. He probably couldn’t avoid them yesterday.
“Damn it,” Sanbing, furious, picked up the bucket, turned, and went out. “That old bastard!”
Chen Jian didn’t speak, turned, and followed him out.
“Chen Jian! Chen Jian!” Grandma quickly chased after them. “Don’t go! Forget it! Just hosing it down is fine…”
“We can’t let it go this time,” Chen Jian said.
Grandpa and Grandma had always let it go before. They even let it go when Big Snot’s grandpa smashed a hole in their roof with a rock. Chen Jian had spent over two hours on the roof fixing it.
Today, they couldn’t let it go. They were pushing their luck.
Sanbing was in front with the bucket. When he turned back and saw Chen Jian behind him, he was taken aback. “You’re coming too?”
Sanbing probably thought this was a troublemaking activity he was conducting as a member of the Pigpen Gang. Chen Jian, who had always kept a clear boundary with them, following along made him a little surprised.
“This isn’t the first or second time they’ve bullied Xiao Dou’er’s family,” Chen Jian said.
“Damn it, let’s go!” Sanbing turned and went forward.
The family structure of Big Snot’s grandpa’s house was the same as Xiao Dou’er’s—an old couple with a grandson. The difference was that the entire family was no good.
Sanbing kicked open their courtyard gate and swung the bucket in his hand, smashing it inside.
A loud “clang.”
There were still dregs in the bucket. Chen Jian was standing behind. If he hadn’t dodged quickly, he would have been covered.
“Who is it!” Big Snot’s grandpa roared and rushed out of the house.
“It’s your granddaddy!” Sanbing also roared, kicking the bucket on the ground again. The bucket hit Big Snot’s grandpa’s leg, and the last of the dregs all fell onto his pants.
“What are you doing!” Big Snot’s grandpa continued to roar. After realizing what was happening, he pointed at Chen Jian. “You’re looking for trouble, aren’t you!”
Chen Jian didn’t speak. He took off his gloves and stuffed them into his pants pocket.
“It’s your granddaddy who has business with you!” Sanbing yelled, getting right in Big Snot’s grandpa’s face. He instantly returned to the state he was in when he used to hang out with Chen Erhu on the streets. His skills were not rusty at all.
Chen Jian lifted his hand and knocked over a few baskets stacked in Big Snot’s grandpa’s yard, then picked up a chair and smashed it on the ground. The chair leg broke. Chen Jian, holding the broken-legged chair, went on a smashing spree in the yard.
Sanbing also started making a mess in the yard, knocking over everything hung on the walls and stacked on the ground—vegetables, beans, all over the floor.
There was nothing of value. When Sanbing wanted to go towards the pigpen, Chen Jian stopped him. Just the miscellaneous items they had knocked onto the ground were enough for Big Snot’s grandpa’s family to clean up.
Although the level of destruction was not high, the level of chaos was sufficient.
Big Snot’s grandpa had been a bully to the weak and afraid of the strong his whole life. He usually wouldn’t provoke people like Chen Erhu. Faced with this scene, he was immediately dumbfounded.
He picked up a hoe and chased after them, swinging it, but his movements were clumsy. Sanbing and Chen Jian dodged around the yard, and he didn’t manage to land a single hit.
Big Snot’s grandma ran out of the house, holding Big Snot, crying and shouting that someone was being murdered.
A few neighbors gathered around, but seeing the scene in the yard, no one came forward to intervene.
Only one grandma asked from outside the gate, “Who is Big Snot’s grandpa killing?”
Us.
Chen Jian still didn’t speak. Seeing that it was about enough, he finally kicked the bucket, patted Sanbing, and turned to walk out of the yard.
As Sanbing followed him out, he pointed at Big Snot’s grandpa. “If my bike is broken later, I’ll tear the roof off your house!”
Big Snot’s grandpa didn’t dare to chase after them, just stood in the yard cursing.
“Why did you stop me just now? I would have torn down his pigpen!” Sanbing said as he walked, still not quite satisfied.
“Know your limits,” Chen Jian said.
“You’re the one who has too many limits!” Sanbing said. “As long as I’ve known you, only Chen Dahu could push you to your limit.”
Chen Jian clicked his tongue and didn’t speak.
Limits or not, he was actually feeling quite refreshed right now, as if he had found a chance to vent.
But as for why he needed to vent, he couldn’t say for sure.
Anyway, he wouldn’t have been like this before.
Back at Xiao Dou’er’s house, Grandpa had already hosed down Sanbing’s motorcycle, making both the seat and the bike sparkling clean.
“This bike…” Grandma was wiping the seat with a rag.
“It’s fine, it won’t break,” Sanbing took the rag and continued wiping. “Anyway, that old bastard won’t dare to come this way for a while. If anything happens in the future, just let us know. We’ll beat him to a pulp!”
Sanbing said this as if they had already given Big Snot’s grandpa’s family a thorough beating, which stunned Grandma.
“Hey,” Chen Jian glanced at him. “Scaring them over there is enough. Why are you coming here to scare people now?”
“We didn’t hit anyone, don’t worry, Grandma,” Sanbing said.
Chen Jian helped sweep the dirty water out of the yard, then went inside to get a couple of jackets.
His phone beeped. A message from Shan Yu came through.
Chen Jian glanced at the time. Usually, he wouldn’t be awake at this hour.
[Fa Dan Ke Chen]: Where are you?
[Chen Yuluoyan]: Came back to get a thick jacket.
[Fa Dan Ke Chen]: Do you have an extra one? Lend me one.
[Chen Yuluoyan]: ?
[Fa Dan Ke Chen]: Which word don’t you understand?
Chen Jian hesitated for a few seconds, then directly called him.
“Do you need to confirm this over the phone?” Shan Yu’s voice was nasal.
“You don’t have a thick jacket?” Chen Jian asked.
“It was still autumn when I came,” Shan Yu said.
“So you didn’t think of bringing one back this trip?” Chen Jian found it hard to understand.
“I didn’t bring one. Why don’t you call the police,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian laughed at that and sighed. “Alright, I’ll find one for you… Do you have a cold?”
“No,” Shan Yu said. “I just woke up. My nose is still asleep.”
Chen Jian packed the two thick jackets he had planned to take anyway. Whether Shan Yu asked to borrow one or not, it would be these two. He didn’t have any others.
But it was still better than the boss, who only had one piece of clothing, scientifically named a jacket.
After packing the clothes and giving Shan Yu’s gift to Xiao Dou’er, he went into the kitchen again.
“Thanks, Brother Chen Jian,” Xiao Dou’er followed behind him.
“You should thank Brother Boss. He bought this for you,” Chen Jian said.
“He’s not here,” Xiao Dou’er said.
“I’ll pass on the message,” Chen Jian said.
“Okay,” Xiao Dou’er nodded and said again, “Thanks, Brother Boss!”
When he got back to the guesthouse, Brother Boss was surprisingly sitting in the dining room, with a bowl of noodles in front of him.
Shan Yu rarely came down to eat. Usually, Chen Jian would bring food up to him. Today, probably because he had been on a business trip for a few days, he came down to say hello to everyone, but it was just…
Chen Jian glanced at the variety of breakfast items. There were steamed buns, and soy milk with fried dough sticks, but Shan Yu had specifically gotten a bowl of noodles.
“Twirl it up with chopsticks and eat,” Hu Pan was giving him advice from the side. “Just like how foreigners eat noodles.”
“How about a fork?” Sanbing came over with a few buns.
Shan Yu looked up at Chen Jian.
Chen Jian was about to speak, but for some reason, that look from him made him a little flustered. A simple sentence came out stumbling over itself. “Eat… what’s it called, eat buns, can’t you?”
Shan Yu leaned back in his chair and laughed silently.
“He wants to practice,” Hu Pan said. “It makes sense. His hand will be like this for a while. He can’t eat buns every day. It’s good to practice with his left hand.”
“How about…” Chen Jian hesitated for a moment, then took out the utensils he had prepared for Shan Yu but hadn’t planned to give him in front of so many people from his bag. “Use this. I just washed it.”
He handed a pair of pink bear-themed children’s chopsticks to Shan Yu.
“Where did you get this?” Shan Yu looked at him in shock.
“…From Xiao Dou’er,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu took the chopsticks, looked at them, and let out a sigh. “You’re really… impressive.”
“Hey, this is great! How come we didn’t think of it!” Hu Pan laughed so hard her bowl almost tipped over.
“No need to practice anymore,” Sanbing said, laughing as he ate.
It had to be said, these chopsticks were quite useful. Although Shan Yu ate slowly, he managed to finish the bowl of noodles smoothly.
“I brought the clothes,” Chen Jian said. “You can try them on later.”
“Mmm,” Shan Yu replied.
“You don’t have a cold?” Chen Jian heard his voice was still normal, but he was still a little worried. “You slept on the sofa yesterday.”
“Mmm,” Shan Yu looked at him. “Someone knew to turn off the lights when they left but didn’t know to let me go into the room to sleep on the bed.”
“…Don’t you have trouble falling asleep?” Chen Jian was a little embarrassed and scratched his head. “You finally fell asleep.”
Shan Yu still looked at him. After a while, he laughed. “Fuck, I can’t even argue with that.”
Chen Jian wanted to say something else, but a guest went to the front desk to complain. He quickly got up to go over. After taking two steps, he turned back and pointed to his bag. “The clothes are in there.”
“Go handle it,” Shan Yu lifted his chin.
The guest was an older lady, and she was dissatisfied that no one had sent two bottles of water to her room last night.
“I’ve stayed for three days. I need two bottles of water every night. You only have a few guests here. Can’t you even proactively fulfill this small request of mine?” the lady said. “Do I have to call?”
“It was our oversight. Someone will bring the water up to you shortly, along with a small snack,” Chen Jian didn’t argue with her. “Thank you very much for your support of our work.”
The lady complained a few more times, then turned and went upstairs.
“I almost got into a fight with her,” Hu Pan pouted.
“No need. Take some of those snacks you guys don’t like and send them up to her, then go back to your dorm and rest.” Chen Jian was in a good mood right now. He glanced back at the dining room and found that the boss had indeed run off, carrying his bag with the two jackets inside.
“Why should I rest?” Hu Pan said.
“You have a headache, don’t you?” Chen Jian looked at her. “Go rest. I’ll watch the front desk.”
He didn’t know if it was because it had snowed on the mountain, but the number of calls for room reservations had clearly increased this morning. Around noon, a few more tourists who had spontaneously come from the city arrived.
After Chen Jian finished checking them in, he stretched and hesitated whether to go upstairs and ask Shan Yu if the clothes fit…
Chen Erhu, who was standing at the entrance, turned his head and said, “A nice car is here.”
Chen Jian looked outside but couldn’t see what kind of nice car it was. But he caught a glimpse of the license plate.
The license plate was from Shan Yu’s hometown.
Actually, there weren’t many out-of-town cars in this area, especially since the snow season hadn’t arrived yet. Most were local self-driving tours.
Seeing this license plate, Chen Jian didn’t know if he was being too sensitive, but he immediately thought of the things Shan Yu had gone home to deal with and the injury on his hand.
He didn’t know how Shan Yu’s matter was handled, or what the outcome was…
He walked to the entrance.
A man wearing sunglasses got out of the driver’s seat, looked up at the guesthouse’s sign, then looked back at Chen Jian.
“Welcome to Da Yin,” Chen Erhu said. “Do you have a reservation?”
“No hurry,” the man said, then walked back out of the courtyard gate. “Not sure where I’m staying yet. Are there other guesthouses inside?”
Chen Erhu was stunned and looked back at Chen Jian.
If you’re not staying, why did you park at my house?
Isn’t this looking for trouble?
“Then please pay the parking fee,” Chen Jian said.
“What did you say?” The man stopped and turned to look at him.
“Ten yuan,” Chen Jian said.
