Chapter 29: Guests from Afar

Sunlight shone on Feng Yan's face, and he felt it a bit glaring; he blocked the sun with his right hand while slowly getting out of bed.

Then he brushed his teeth, washed his face, woke Chen Hao up, and had breakfast.

Feng Yan's grandmother looked at the two, as if she had something to say; Feng Yan directly asked her, 'Is something wrong, Grandma?' 'Hmm, after you finish eating, go buy some vegetables—there are guests coming today,' Grandma replied to Feng Yan. 'Whose family is coming?' Chen Hao asked again. 'It's your maternal grandfather,' Grandma answered, 'that is, your father-in-law.' Feng Yan lowered his head and stopped speaking; he had an innate aversion to this person, not knowing why, always feeling that such people were not as kind as his grandmother in memory.

A fragment flashed in his memory: it was during National Day, Feng Yan had stayed alone at his grandmother's house for a few days, and incidentally helped her gather rice stalks; Feng Yan and his maternal grandfather piled the rice stalks into small stacks. Then Feng Yan asked his maternal grandfather, 'Grandfather, shouldn't we also put these rice stalks into bags?' 'All right, let me see, wait a moment,' the grandfather said. He examined carefully, thought for a while, waved his hand, and called the grandmother over. The grandmother brought a bag that looked heavy; the grandfather opened it, revealing yellow sand inside, then he sprinkled the sand onto the rice stalks and said, 'Now that's proper!'

'I've already eaten, I'll go buy vegetables first.' Feng Yan hadn't eaten much; he drank a bowl of congee, then put down his bowl and chopsticks.

Feng Yan and Chen Hao walked together down the street, went to the vegetable market, bought what they needed, returned home, and told his grandmother, 'Grandma, I've bought all the vegetables you wanted; I'm going out for a walk.' The grandmother didn't answer, but he knew that soon she would let kitchen smoke rise from the chimney, and the whole house would fill with the aroma of food. Feng Yan said somewhat happily, 'When Grandma was young, her cooking was superb; as a child, instead of letting me snack, I would beg for Grandma's lunch.' Recalling this, Feng Yan was obviously pleased, thinking of those warm childhood memories, which were also the time when he still had his parents.

'Then what about your parents?' Chen Hao asked.

'They're gone; they haven't come back for several years. Perhaps they think I'm doing fine, so they only send me clothes and shoes—as you can see, all brand-name goods.' Feng Yan said, feeling a bit down, his eyes losing their luster.

'Feng Yan…' Chen Hao didn't know what to say; facing his former classmate who had once been seen as a symbol of wealth, his home was actually so impoverished, with parents long absent, all to give their child a better life.

'So I envy you all who have both parents at home; although life is a bit hard, at least you have companionship, whereas I only have some expensive brand-name clothes—though not cheap, I would rather wear cheap clothes and the ugliest shoes to school, just hoping my parents could accompany me for a few days in high school.' Feng Yan said somewhat dejectedly, looking at Chen Hao with eyes full of envy and jealousy.

'Well then,' Feng Yan said as he stood up, 'let's go; I'll take you to a place—my secret base.'

Chen Hao followed Feng Yan's steps into a grove; this was Feng Yan's favorite place from childhood, and even now, whenever he has free time during holidays, he still comes here, lies on the grass, closes his eyes, and listens to the wind whispering in his ears. The wind blew Feng Yan's hair; Feng Yan turned his head and asked Chen Hao, 'Do you know why I'm called Feng Yan?' Chen Hao indicated he didn't understand; Feng Yan laughed and said to Chen Hao, 'It's because I can hear the wind speak—perhaps it's just my imagination—but I believe everything in the world has life; understanding the myriad spirits of things, does that mean humans can dominate other animals? I've pondered this question, but I also think perhaps other animals are the same: animals pursue prey to seek survival, while we seek maximization of profit, and only thus can survival become life.'

'Is that the difference between life and mere survival?' Chen Hao looked at Feng Yan, lowered his head, and fell into contemplation.

The wind swept through the grove, producing a sound; Feng Yan closed his eyes, listening to this beautiful melody. He was completely immersed, then lay down directly on the grass, shielding his eyes with his right arm; scenes flashed in his mind—those called unfair—but in this grove he didn't think of them; he simply lay on the grass, listening to the wind rustle the leaves, feeling time slip away bit by bit from between his fingers.

After a while, Feng Yan stood up, looked at the path ahead—the fields on either side had been planted with wheat; the newly sprouted wheat shoots faced the winter snow, a hint of green showing through the white earth, appearing tiny yet remarkably resilient. Feng Yan and Chen Hao walked along the path; it was very slippery, as snowflakes, after a night of freezing air, had hardened completely into ice—like the ice of white snowflakes, resembling a smooth white floor.

'Grandma, I'm back.' Feng Yan opened the door and shouted happily, but upon seeing a familiar face, his smile gradually stiffened.

It was the homeroom teacher! Feng Yan stared at him, his smile still on his face, looking quite eerie; he politely asked, 'Teacher, Grandma said my maternal grandfather has come—could she be deceiving me?'

'Yes, exactly,' the teacher said, 'I had the idea of not adding psychological burden to students, so I told you—or rather, told your grandmother—to keep you from feeling too much pressure.' The homeroom teacher looked at Feng Yan and said.

Feng Yan lowered his head, clenched his teeth, then said, 'Chen Hao, let's cook; let the teacher taste the students' food.'

Afterward, they both went to the kitchen, where they saw chicken, goose, pork liver, and other ingredients. Feng Yan walked over to Niannian and said to his grandmother, 'Grandma, go chat with the teacher for a while; here I and my classmate will handle things.' 'After all, he's your teacher, I'll come,' the grandmother replied, busy with her work, without looking up. Feng Yan snatched the kitchen knife from her hand and said, 'Grandma, let your grandson take care of things; you just go keep the teacher company.' 'Okay, okay, okay.' The grandmother smiled, her eyes full of wrinkles, then slowly untied her apron and walked toward the living room.

'My grandson, Feng Yan—has he caused trouble at school?' the grandmother asked anxiously.

'No, your grandson is very well-behaved,' the homeroom teacher replied with a smile.

In the kitchen, the two were also busy: 'Chen Hao, turn up the fire a bit—this roasted chicken needs more salt.' Feng Yan's eyes were full of resentment; he thought, 'Fine, you've come—let you eat your fill!' Chen Hao, at the side stove, added firewood; the firelight shone on his face, turning it red, with fine beads of sweat appearing on his nose. Chen Hao remarked, 'Ah, a wood‑fire earthen stove is still warm.' Feng Yan stir‑fried the vegetables in his hand, plated them, placed them in the rear pot to keep warm, then added a ladle of water to the pot, bringing the fish soup to a boil. He prepared the ingredients, began slicing the pork liver, plated it, wiped sweat with his sleeve, exhaled, and said, 'At last it's done.'

Then he revealed a faint, ill‑intentioned smile.

Feng Yan and Chen Hao slowly carried the dishes to the living room; Chen Hao pulled the table over, and after a moment the dishes were all set.

'Teacher, please don't take offense—there aren't many dishes, so help yourself.' Feng Yan said with a smile, while serving the teacher a side of vegetables; to the grandmother, it seemed Feng Yan got along well with the homeroom teacher. Feng Yan first placed a piece of chicken in the teacher's bowl, then continued, 'Thank you for tolerating me.' The teacher's face was full of smiles; he happily put the chicken to his mouth, but after swallowing, his expression showed a pain never seen before—as if he had eaten raw meat.

'What's wrong, Teacher? Doesn't it taste good?' Feng Yan asked, feeling secretly pleased inside.

Chen Hao couldn't bear to look directly at the homeroom teacher; he silently ate his rice, thinking, 'May you be well, Teacher.'

The homeroom teacher struggled to swallow the chicken, then forced out a smile and said to Feng Yan, 'It's delicious; even if it weren't, it's still a dish made by students for the teacher, and I will try to eat it all.'

Feng Yan showed a smile, thinking, 'Well then, that's that.' He then said to the teacher, 'There are still plenty of dishes here, Teacher—please eat at your leisure.'

Having said that, he turned to the dishes on the plate, picking up vegetables and placing them in the teacher's bowl while saying, 'Look, these are all made by me and Chen Hao—please try them: this is chicken heart, this is pig lung, that is chicken buttocks; moreover, Teacher, look—this is a dish we invented ourselves. Since it has no name, I gave it one: Not a Dish.'

The teacher looked at the vegetables in his bowl and at the dish names Feng Yan introduced; he struggled to scoop up the food in his bowl. Feng Yan rose and said to the homeroom teacher and grandmother, 'I'll go soak the bowls and chopsticks first—this will make them easier to wash.'

After finishing his meal, the teacher rose to bid farewell to the grandmother and prepared to leave. Feng Yan picked up his phone, connected it to the speaker, and played that passage: 'Look, this is the son, this is the father, this is the father, that is the son—so which is better, the son or the father? You're looking at the dishes on the table: this is wolf heart, this is dog lung—oh my, this really is a fine spread of dishes, but while the food is good, the people might not be good folks, eh!'

'Feng Yan…' Chen Hao wanted to say something, but before he could speak, a burst of laughter cut him off.

'Hahaha…' Feng Yan laughed loudly, then continued, 'Relieving, so relieving!'

'You did it on purpose?' Chen Hao asked him. Feng Yan replied, 'Yeah, it was intentional—this cheat, this profiteer, doesn't he like to trick me? I imitated a segment from Ji Ji Kilometer and gave him this bit, though it really does feel relieving!' Feng Yan was obviously proud, laughing again. After the laughter faded, he said somewhat dejectedly, 'It's already vacation, and they've all finished their exams.' Having said that, his eyes dimmed, as if muttering to himself: 'People like us can only… be treated like that?'

'Feng Yan…' Chen Hao wanted to comfort him, but didn't know what to say; they had gone through the same thing.

Then Feng Yan lifted his head and said, 'You say people are strange—they can devise plans for others' affairs, but when it comes to their own, why do they feel helpless, with no recourse?'

The two said nothing, just quietly washing the bowls and chopsticks.

Then Feng Yan said, 'Vacation's here—you should go home too, right?' Chen Hao nodded in reply.

'Well then, I won't see you off—anyway, a relative here also needs to go to your place; you two together should be able to get home. If you need travel expenses, I'll send them from my phone later.' Feng Yan said.

'I understand.' Chen Hao said, 'You also need to be careful—after pulling this stunt, the homeroom teacher will likely come looking for trouble later.'

Feng Yan nodded, watched Chen Hao get into the car and return home. He just sat in the house until dark, when his phone buzzed with a message that read: 'It has begun.'

'I know, don't rush me.' Feng Yan laughed, 'Then let's begin.'