dmims Chapter 27 Returning to 1990
Chapter 27 Returning to 1990
"Wan Chao, Wan Chao, wake up, don't sleep here, you'll catch a cold."
Zhang Yuanchao, who was lying on the table, woke up groggily. For some reason, he felt a burning anger inside him.
"You don't even know to knead the dough in advance when there's no one at the noodle shop. If it gets crowded at night, you won't be able to handle it."
Fu Hongxia straightened Zhang Yuanchao's collar; his black cuffs were stained with a lot of white flour.
If you can't get it clean by patting it with your hands, then turn around and wipe it with a wet towel.
Zhang Yuanchao, sitting there, was somewhat stunned, looking at his young wife in front of him, speechless for a moment.
"Hongxia, how come you look so young?"
"You rascal, are you still half asleep?"
"I'm already in my mid-twenties, how much younger can I be? Our son's in the other room, you get up and get to work, I need to go breastfeed!"
Fu Hongxia tossed the towel on the table, rubbed Zhang Yuanchao's head, and then turned and went inside.
The noodle shop in front of me looks brand new, as if it had just been renovated.
Zhang Yuanchao didn't know what to do for a moment, but when he heard his son sleeping in the room, he wanted to rush over and hit him.
But through the small pane of glass on the restaurant's wooden door, workers across the street were busily carrying cement.
"Is the Second Hospital planning a renovation? After all these years, they've finally remembered to do a major overhaul."
I got up and stretched, and my usually sore lower back was surprisingly flexible today, and the dryness and pain in my chest were gone.
The old calendar on the wall looked somewhat unfamiliar.
Opposite, the wall where the electronic perpetual calendar used to be placed has been turned into a large mirror.
The person in the mirror was both familiar and unfamiliar. Zhang Yuanchao hadn't seen him for a long time; it was himself from thirty-six years ago.
"My God! Have I been listening to too many e-books? How could I possibly be reborn like this?!"
Zhang Yuanchao rubbed the corners of his eyes desperately in front of the mirror, but there wasn't a single trace of makeup.
Not a single white hair on his head, lush and green, so thick you can't even pull it.
Through the mirror, Zhang Yuanchao could still make out the numbers on the calendar:
January 18, 1990.
It was the one-year anniversary of his layoff, and only six months after his wife was laid off.
"Yuan Chao, what are you looking at in the mirror for!"
"Let me tell you, those workers over there have huge appetites. We're counting on them to earn our food stamps!"
"Coming! I'll go knead the dough right away!"
Three large basins of noodles were covered on the cutting board. Fu Hongxia looked at her old man humming a song while folding the noodle bags, and she was very puzzled.
Her son was still sucking his fingers in the crib; normally, she, as his mother, would have pulled him out long ago.
But this time, Fu Hongxia stood there blankly against the wall.
"Wen Chao, you don't mean you want to have another child, do you!"
Our noodle shop was just renovated, and we really can't afford the fine!
Zhang Yuanchao didn't explain, but stuffed the folded flour bag to the door without washing his hands.
He cupped his wife's face in his hands and gave her a big kiss on the lips.
With a smile on her face, she acted as if nothing had happened and continued kneading the dough at the workbench.
But Fu Hongxia screamed and ran out:
"Is there a doctor?! My old man has gone mad!"
Just three minutes after 5:30, the wooden door of the noodle shop was pushed open, and a construction worker with cement still stuck to his pants plopped down on the noodle shop's bench.
"Old Zhang, a big bowl of chicken noodle soup, with some seaweed salad!"
"Alright, the beer's at the door, help yourself!"
As more and more people left work, the noodle shop quickly ran out of seats.
These people were all construction workers from state-owned enterprises. They were generous and prepared their money and food coupons in the short time it took to wait for the noodles.
"Old Zhang, I told you you should have left the factory a long time ago. Isn't that better than clinging to a fixed salary?"
Zhang Yuanchao nodded slightly as he accepted the grain coupons, but pushed the cigarette back to Zhang Yuanchao.
"What's so great about it? Doing it yourself is too much trouble. Unlike you, Brother Liu, who has it easy. You can eat out when you don't want to eat in the cafeteria and it doesn't bother your family."
The diner smiled slightly, tucked the cigarette behind his ear, and left with a flourish.
By the time the last table finished eating, it was already 8:30.
There was still half a bowl of kneaded dough left in the kitchen, and the pot of noodle soup was still on, since many more people would be coming after the video arcade ended.
"Yuanchao, my maternity leave is almost over, and I have to go back to work next week. Can you manage all the work by yourself?"
After putting the beer bottles back into the box, Fu Hongxia patted her back.
The Jinchuan Textile Factory where she works has been shutting down every few days for the past two years. There are no orders, and even paying wages is a struggle.
The two chose this time to have the child.
"Why don't you just quit? We can open a shop together as a couple. It's better than you sitting idle in the factory."
"Me, idle? Don't all the factory's accounts, big and small, still have to go through me?"
"Yes, you're busier than your factory manager."
If Zhang Yuanchao remembers correctly, the textile factory is now only one step away from bankruptcy.
But he couldn't say anything, since his wife was still receiving a salary from the factory.
The last bus was coming from the bus stop at the entrance, and a dusty-looking child carrying a small bundle got off.
Standing at the door, not daring to go in, she timidly fidgeted with her fingers.
The streetlights were dim, but the more Zhang Yuanchao looked at the little guy, the more familiar he seemed. He got up and took a bowl of noodle soup and went over to him.
"Child, where are your parents? What are they doing here so late at night instead of going home?"
Backlit, the child couldn't see the person's face clearly, but he stared at the noodle soup in Zhang Yuanchao's hand and swallowed.
"Have a drink. If you get hungry, let's go inside and I'll make you a bowl of noodles."
He seemed to be extremely thirsty from not having drunk any water along the way. Upon hearing that he could drink some, he picked up the bowl of noodle soup and gulped it down, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, almost choking on the noodles inside.
"Cough cough cough!"
Zhang Yuanchao quickly patted the child's back. As a father himself, he naturally couldn't bear to see his child suffer.
Fu Hongxia, who was counting bottles of wine inside the house, also heard the noise at the door. She covered the box with a tarpaulin and quickly went to the door.
The child, who had regained some of his senses, saw the proprietress's tall figure. He gripped the bowl of noodles tightly in his hand, his legs went weak, and he knelt down on the ground.
"Auntie, I'm Fan Qiusheng!"
Upon seeing his family, the child could no longer hold back his tears and knelt at the door, sobbing uncontrollably.
Fu Hongxia's face also froze.
Fan Qiusheng, isn't this her second cousin's youngest son?
"Qiusheng, get up quickly! Uncle, hurry up and cook the child a bowl of noodles!"
Fu Hongxia rushed to the child's side and picked up the bundle for Fan Qiusheng.
The child was very thin, weighing less than fifty pounds including the bundle. In the light of the room, his face was sallow, clearly indicating that he hadn't eaten meat for a long time.
"Give me two ounces of braised pork noodles first, and I'll have more if that's not enough."
Looking at the bowl of noodles on the table, Fan Qiusheng hesitated to reach for it. After all, back in his hometown, they could only eat meat during the Spring Festival.
Sitting to the side, Fu Hongxia thought the child didn't like to eat, so she turned her head and looked at Zhang Yuanchao with a gloomy face.
"You didn't even ask the child what he likes to eat before you made this? Qiu Sheng, if you don't like it, I'll have your uncle get you another bowl."
Don't worry, you're home now.
"No, no, I love to eat it!"
After saying that, Fan Qiusheng picked up his chopsticks and put them in his mouth without even blowing on them.
The noodle soup was very hot, and the meat had just been taken out of the pot, but he didn't utter a sound.
"Qiusheng, where are your parents? Why didn't they come with you?"
Didn't they bring you any food coupons when you went such a long way?
Speaking of grain coupons, Fan Qiusheng, with noodles in his mouth, almost burst into tears again.
"Auntie, can you not tell my mom?"
The train was crowded, and for some reason, halfway through my ride, the cover of my bag tore...
Looking at the torn wrapping, Fu Hongxia affectionately patted Fan Qiusheng's head.
"Don't worry, Auntie isn't that bad."
"You can stay here for now. I'll personally take you home if I'm not busy these next couple of days."