From a distance, Zhang Xiangping kept her eyes on them. Though she could only see Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang’s backs, and Bai Ting holding a cookie tin as she came out, she knew the box surely held money—without a doubt, it was the earnings Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang had made this trip.
Zhang Xiangping’s thoughts shifted, and immediately she slumped to the ground with a look of grievance, crying out dramatically: “Why is my life so bitter? The son I raised for eighteen years belongs to someone else now. They’ve acknowledged him, and he doesn’t even recognize us anymore…”
Bai Ting looked up. Wang Chuang turned his head in surprise, but Jiang Luo remained expressionless.
The people downstairs, who had been leaving, paused to watch the spectacle again.
Zhang Xiangping beat her legs as she wailed, “I raised him with so much care for eighteen years, cleaning up after him, giving him food I wouldn’t eat myself, money I wouldn’t spend on myself—and in the end…”
Seeing Jiang Luo stride toward her, rolling up his sleeves like he meant business, Zhang Xiangping quickly sprang up and bolted inside, slamming the door behind her.
But Jiang Luo didn’t stop. He marched straight to the westernmost apartment, knocking loudly: “Open the door! You smashed the truck window—don’t you need to fix it?”
He said firmly, “Pay up! I want the money for the truck window! Pay up!”
………………..
Inside, Zhang Xiangping glared at Jiang Jianmin. “Are you crazy, smashing the truck?”
Jiang Jianmin glared back: “I just did it!”
Zhang Xiangping snapped: “Now you have to pay for it!”
Jiang Jianmin scoffed: “Pay him? I don’t have the money!”
Outside, Jiang Luo kicked the door. The thin wooden panel rattled violently, the lock wobbling.
Zhang Xiangping dared not open it. She knew Jiang Luo’s temper and his size—if they confronted him, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
Jiang Jianmin, however, seemed fearless. He gestured for Zhang Xiangping to open the door. She refused. He tugged her aside, fiddled with the lock, and just as Jiang Luo kicked again, the door swung inward, hitting Jiang Jianmin in the knee. He doubled over in pain.
Ignoring everyone, Jiang Luo strode inside.
“Hey, what are you doing?!”
Zhang Xiangping made no attempt to stop him.
Jiang Luo went straight through the front room to an inner room and to a desk with a drawer. He tried the drawer—it was locked. He yanked again, harder, and finally forced it open. Reaching in, he grabbed the money.
“What are you doing? You’re stealing money!?”
Zhang Xiangping rushed in, screaming, but Jiang Luo dodged her and had already taken two hundred yuan, holding it up to show, saying, “I’m not stealing—it’s money you owe me.”
He tucked the cash into his pocket and turned to leave.
“Give me back the money!”
Zhang Xiangping screamed again, lunging at Jiang Luo, grabbing his arm and striking him.
Jiang Luo easily shoved her aside, sending her sprawling onto the bed in the middle of the room.
Jiang Jianmin appeared at the bedroom door: “Who told you to take money from the drawer?”
Jiang Luo raised his fist toward him. Instinctively, Jiang Jianmin raised his hands to protect his head.
Jiang Luo didn’t even glance at him and walked past.
“Stealing money!”
“You little brat!”
Shouts and curses echoed from Jiang Jianmin and Zhang Xiangping in the room, but Jiang Luo ignored them and walked out.
He called Wang Chuang, and the two went downstairs to the truck.
In the corridor above, Zhang Xiangping and Jiang Jianmin continued their wailing: “He’s stealing money! He broke the drawer lock!”
“You little bastard! Go to hell!”
Someone downstairs shouted, “Hey, who told you to smash the truck? If you break it, you should pay! A truck window isn’t cheap.”
Jiang Luo had already turned the truck around and drove out of the complex.
As everyone headed to work, the crowd dispersed. No one cared about Zhang Xiangping and Jiang Jianmin’s screams anymore. In the neighborhood, everyone knew the couple’s character, and most didn’t like them.
Zhang Xiangping wailed for a while, saw that everyone had left and Jiang Luo had gone, and quickly returned to the house to count the money in the drawer. Seeing that two bills were missing, she realized Jiang Luo had taken two hundred. She then turned to grab a bag and the car keys, intending to go to the branch office and call Su Lan.
This son was out of her control.
Who’s someone’s son is up to them!
Jiang Luo took the money, and Su Lan would return it.
Right! He’d return it to the Zhao family!
In the truck, Wang Chuang sat in the passenger seat, his expression careful, voice cautious: “Hey, don’t get mad. You’re not going back to that home anyway. Just think of it as getting bitten by a dog.”
“Tonight, I’ll take you out to dinner.”
“We’ll go to Huating.”
Jiang Luo drove, tugging the corner of his mouth: “You only ever think about Huating.”
Then he looked at Wang Chuang and said casually, “I left the empty envelope on the truck on purpose. I knew Jiang Jianmin might smash the window.”
“Ah?”
Wang Chuang was naturally surprised.
Jiang Luo’s eyes stayed on the road ahead, calm, as he hummed: “Just waiting for a chance to hit him.”
Wang Chuang didn’t see it as outrageous and laughed: “You little guy.”
He asked again: “Was it satisfying?”
Jiang Luo snorted: “What’s satisfying about it?”
Those two scoundrels had taken a full million from him last life.
Thinking about it, Jiang Luo wanted to smack himself for giving them money.
Wang Chuang waved it off: “Enough of that. Boring. Let’s talk about something fun.”
Then he added: “That short-haired girl in the dance hall yesterday—she danced so hot.”
Jiang Luo chuckled: “Hot, my foot.”
Someone else advised, “Pull yourself together. Don’t drift off, don’t get wild. If you meet a good girl later, chase her properly—until you marry her.”
Wang Chuang leaned back, hands behind his head. “I know, I’m just teasing you.”
Jiang Luo snorted. “Get lost.”
The two of them first went to get the truck window repaired.
The truck was empty—no goods left, all sold—and they were waiting for the new shipment from Wencheng.
After the repair, around noon, they went out for steak. Once they finished, they found an arcade, parked on the street, and spent the afternoon playing games.
While they were at the arcade, Jiang Luo’s pager went off from time to time. He glanced at it but didn’t pay much attention, focusing on the games—until a call came from Huo Zongzhuo.
Jiang Luo went next door to a tobacco shop, handed the owner a coin, and borrowed the landline.
He dialed, and soon Huo Zongzhuo’s warm, slightly laughing voice came through: “Still selling dolls?”
“Nope.”
Jiang Luo leaned against the glass counter, lounging.
“All the dolls are sold. The toy factory hasn’t shipped new stock yet.”
“I found an arcade with Wang Chuang. We’re playing games there.”
Huo Zongzhuo said, “Arcades don’t have air conditioning, right?”
Jiang Luo: “Of course not. Air conditioning’s expensive—just electric fans.”
Huo Zongzhuo asked with concern, “Must be hot, huh?”
It was already June.
Jiang Luo’s tone was casual, almost boastful: “Hot? So what. We’re not working—we’re just playing. Fun’s enough. Don’t sweat the rest.”
Huo Zongzhuo laughed on the other end.
Jiang Luo asked, “Where are you?”
“Kunming.”
“Why there?”
“I’m coordinating nationwide daily goods. It wasn’t enough here, so I had to go a bit farther.”
Jiang Luo: “Planes are so expensive, and you’re swapping goods for goods?”
They chatted casually for a while. The tobacco shop owner started looking impatient, so Jiang Luo casually tossed him five yuan from his pocket. The owner took it and let him continue.
Before hanging up, Huo Zongzhuo said, “Tonight, you and Wang Chuang should go to Huating. I’ll reserve a table for you. June’s here—loofahs are in season.”
Jiang Luo laughed: “You remembered I like loofahs?”
Huo Zongzhuo’s voice was gentle: “I never forget my own, even if I forget others.”
“Alright, thanks. Tonight I’ll take Fatty to Huating.”
After hanging up, Jiang Luo returned to the arcade.
Wang Chuang was dominating a machine. Seeing Jiang Luo come back, he said while playing, “Who were you talking to? So long?”
Jiang Luo: “Huo Zongzhuo. He’s taking us to Huating tonight.”
Wang Chuang tilted his head: “Well, that’s great. I’ve never eaten at Huating—finally I’ll get the chance.”
After finishing at the arcade, around five o’clock, Jiang Luo and Wang Chuang left, got in the truck, and headed to Huating.
At the silk factory apartments, Su Lan, Zhao Guangyuan, and Zhao Shuo had already arrived.
They came because earlier in the day, they had received Zhang Xiangping’s tearful call and learned that Jiang Luo had returned from Zhejiang Province.
By coincidence, Su Lan and the others had just gotten out of Zhao Shuo’s car, and Bai Ting had just finished her morning shift.
Seeing Su Lan, Bai Ting noticed how the woman’s features were very similar to Jiang Luo’s and immediately understood exactly who the family in the car was.
Bai Ting greeted them: “This is Jiang Luo’s biological parents?”
“Yes.”
Su Lan looked at Bai Ting: “You know Jiang Luo?”
“Yes. My son’s been doing business with Jiang Luo recently.”
Bai Ting smiled, parked her bicycle, and walked over.
She knew the morning’s commotion had prompted Zhang Xiangping to call them over and said, “Come upstairs to my place. Jiang Luo and the others haven’t returned yet. Wait at my house until they get back.”