Chapter 5: Trouble Brewing

Twilight spilled through the branches of the old locust tree, dyeing the stone slabs gold. The sound of a bell drifted from afar, and the evening wind, carrying the sweet fragrance of steamed rice cake, floated into her nostrils.

Jiang Yanwan got off the bus and saw the tricycle selling steamed rice cake: the old man had a banquet to attend that evening, so with only her and Lin Mingzhi left, they might as well make do.

Subconsciously, she thought of Lin Sicheng again: the little rascal hadn't been back in over two months; she wondered if he had lost any weight.

Would six hundred yuan be too little, enough to last a month?

If she had known, she should have let Gu Ming bring a bit more.

As these thoughts turned, the old man pedaled the tricycle to her, and Jiang Yanwan bought two jin.

Carrying the steamed rice cake into the residential compound, a "beep" sounded behind her; an aging Accord stopped at the entrance, and Lin Mingzhi poked his head out.

Jiang Yanwan checked her watch: six-ten?

The Funeral Home closed at six, and it was over twenty kilometers from home; in the past, it would have taken Lin Mingzhi at least half an hour to drive back.

"Why so early today?"

"Left early!"

"Why?"

"Your precious son is home."

Jiang Yanwan's eyes lit up: "Really?"

"My dad said so, could it be fake? He said Lin Sicheng called him, and he even pushed back his dinner plans for the evening."

"That little rascal, has he finally grown a conscience?" After cursing, Jiang Yanwan happily sat in the passenger seat, "Drive faster!"

"It's only a few steps, how many minutes could I possibly save?"

After replying, seeing no one on the small road, Lin Mingzhi stepped on the gas.

……

The stairwell was narrow, the terrazzo reflecting a dazzling light. Jiang Yanwan strode with her long legs, taking three steps at a time.

Lin Mingzhi followed behind, staring worriedly at his wife's high heels: if she twisted her ankle, she'd be bedridden for at least half a month.

As these thoughts turned, the two reached the third floor, and Jiang Yanwan took out her keys, glancing back once more.

Her gaze was slightly cold, carrying a few traces of warning, and Lin Mingzhi understood instantly: "Don't worry, I promise not to lecture him today."

Jiang Yanwan didn't move, her expression remaining cold.

Lin Mingzhi thought for a moment and sighed helplessly: "I promise not to bring up the graduate school recommendation, and I won't let Dad bring it up either, alright!"

"Can you even control your father? But if you dare to chime in today, I'm not finished with you..."

Lin Mingzhi raised his hands in surrender: "Alright, alright, alright!"

Snorting through her nose, Jiang Yanwan opened the security door.

The range hood was running in the kitchen, mixed with the sound of a knife chopping vegetables, and a unique fragrance of Steamed Pork floated into her nostrils.

Jiang Yanwan let out a sigh of relief: it must be her father-in-law cooking.

Being the only grandson in three generations, the eldest grandson was his lifeblood. But extremes meet; it was precisely because her father-in-law was too strict and meticulous that he had stirred up Lin Sicheng's rebellious nature.

It just so happened that the grandfather and grandson had personalities cut from the same mold, equally stubborn. Over time, a rift had formed.

But it seemed her father-in-law was in a good mood today; she would have Lin Mingzhi persuade him later to try not to mention graduate school recommendations or job arrangements after graduation, and just coax the little rascal home first.

As these thoughts turned, she changed into her slippers, passed through the living room, and paused.

Her father-in-law was sitting on the sofa, staring at a bottle of liquor in his hands, his eyes unfocused as if he were daydreaming.

A case of liquor sat by his feet, the characters for Moutai particularly eye-catching.

"Dad!"

Lin Zhangqing snapped back to reality: "You're back?"

"Yes!" She put down her bag and glanced toward the kitchen.

Through the frosted glass, two blurry figures were gathered around the kitchen counter.

"Who is in the kitchen, Lin Sicheng and Gu Ming?"

"Yes!" The old man put down the bottle, "Chengwa wouldn't let me in, saying he wanted to show us what he could do!"

"What? Him show us what he can do? Whether it's even edible is a question..."

Before she finished speaking, Lin Mingzhi took an elbow to the stomach.

Jiang Yanwan glared at him: even if he serves up a Bowl of whatever, you are to take a whiff and call it fragrant.

Lin Mingzhi understood instantly, grunted, and slid open the kitchen partition.

Gu Ming was clumsily chopping garlic sprouts, while Lin Sicheng was tossing the wok; "Whoosh," a burst of fire flared up, then "whoosh," it flared up again.

It was a bit noisy, and no one noticed the people standing outside the kitchen.

Smelling the mouth-watering fragrance and looking at her son's thin profile, Jiang Yanwan's eyes grew hot, and her hand reached toward her husband's waist.

Lin Mingzhi was feeling incredibly amazed, thinking to himself that his son actually had this skill. Suddenly sensing something was wrong, he moved with lightning speed and grabbed his wife's hand: "What are you doing?"

"He's even learned to cook, which shows how much the boy has suffered! It's all your fault..."

Of course, the one most to blame was her father-in-law, but since Lin Mingzhi was the son, the husband, and the father, if she didn't pinch him, who would she pinch?

"Jiang Yanwan, aren't you being ridiculous: he's attending university, not a vocational school!" Lin Mingzhi sneered, "Why don't you ask who he learned it from, and how he learned it so well?"

Huh?

Tears welled up in her eyes, only to be held back by Jiang Yanwan: has the little rascal started dating?

Otherwise, who would have taught him?

Hearing the noise, Lin Sicheng turned his head and froze for a moment.

His dad was still the same, carefree and devil-may-care. His mom was only just past forty, yet there were already faint lines at the corners of her eyes. Her eyes were misty, looking as if she were about to cry.

Lin Sicheng remembered his past life: it took several years after graduating from university to resolve his inner conflict, and only then did he start coming home more often. But within two years, his grandfather passed away, his parents gradually aged, and he began his life drifting in the north.

Since then, his career had grown, he earned more money, and his fame increased, yet the time he spent with his parents became less and less. Sometimes, they wouldn't even manage to meet once throughout the entire year.

Now thinking again: is it worth it?

His nose couldn't stop stinging, and Lin Sicheng bared his teeth in a smile: "Dad, Mom!"

Jiang Yanwan sniffed: "Leave it to me!"

"Mom, it's already done, just the mutton left, five more minutes!"

Looking at the dishes already prepared on the stove, the tears Jiang Yanwan had just held back began to well up in her eyes again.

Lin Mingzhi sensed something was wrong and retreated two steps.

"What are you dodging for? Why aren't you serving the dishes?"

"Oh, oh~"

……

There were meat and vegetable dishes, chicken and fish, and the main course was hand-grabbed mutton, which was exceptionally fresh.

Lin Sicheng opened the wine, and the clear liquid slid along the wall of the cup, pulling out silver threads like spider silk. The aroma of the wine gradually diffused, fragrant and rich.

After pouring, he placed a cup in front of each person.

Four people, young and old, eight eyes, blinking, blinking.

Being able to make this table of dishes was enough to be surprising, but the key was Lin Sicheng's expression: pious, serious, relieved, apprehensive, or even a bit uneasy?

The old man took the wine cup and smiled gently: "Did you cause trouble?"

"No!"

Although his grandson was stubborn, he never lied to him, so the old man smiled again: "Are you seeing someone?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "Grandpa, no, not that either!"

The old man nodded, trying to use a joking tone: "This wine isn't cheap, it costs more than a month of your dad's salary. Did you strike it rich?"

Lin Mingzhi and Jiang Yanwan were both stunned: they had thought that the case of wine was bought by the old man.

A case cost three thousand, and Lin Sicheng's monthly living expenses were only six hundred; where did he get the money?

It couldn't be that he had gone down some crooked path, could it?

"I didn't have class this afternoon, so I went to Xiaodongmen with Gu Ming to find Grandpa. Grandpa wasn't there, so I just wandered around..."

Lin Sicheng was concise and gave a rough account of what happened. The old man was still relatively calm, but the couple's eyes widened.

Lin Sicheng spent thirty, picked up a book, and then turned around and sold it for ten thousand?

The problem was, their son's tone and expression were just like he had earned ten yuan?

More importantly, what he meant was: they wouldn't need to give him living expenses in the future; he could support himself by relying on this.

Lin Sicheng, what kind of joke are you making? Even your grandpa wouldn't dare say he could build a family fortune just by picking up leaks without needing his pension.

Thinking about his son's performance at school, Lin Mingzhi wrinkled his face as if he had eaten something foul: A blind man peeling a sheep's pizzle, you're just talking complete nonsense!

He looked left and right, reached into his pants pocket, and pulled something out: "Come, take a look, look closely and I'll give it to you... If you really want to rely on this to make money in the future, I definitely won't stop you!"

Jiang Yanwan curled her lip: Even if you wanted to stop him, would you be the one calling the shots?

Including the fact that she didn't call the shots either, because the old man had long since paved Lin Sicheng's path ten years into the future...

Lin Sicheng put down his chopsticks: an egg-sized glass bottle, with a pond, reeds, and a pair of mandarin ducks painted inside.

The color scheme was quite good, but the painting skill could only be considered average.

Lin Sicheng smiled: "A Jing School Inner Painting Snuff Bottle, painted quite neatly."

"Don't say half and leave half, speak clearly!"

"It has the form, but no spirit!" Lin Sicheng thought for a moment, "It should be that the master painted the base outside the bottle, and the apprentice traced it inside the bottle."

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand!" Lin Mingzhi turned the bottle body, "See that? Jing School master Liu Shouben!"

After looking at the colophon on the other side, Lin Sicheng almost laughed out loud: If Master Liu had this level of craftsmanship, he would have been cursed to death long ago.

"It definitely wasn't painted by Liu Shouben, and even the base drawing outside the bottle wasn't painted by him. At most, it was a base painted by his apprentice, given to a worse apprentice to practice on, and then the Inner Painting was added!"

"What did you say?"

Lin Mingzhi was just about to argue, but seeing the old man's eyes light up with a "flash," the words choked in his throat.

What Lin Sicheng said was... correct?

"No... Dad, I've been handling this for so long, why didn't you remind me?"

"Something picked up for a few hundred yuan, did you think it would be a genuine piece by Liu Shouben?"

The old man was unhurried and poured himself another cup, but his eyes were shining.

Jiang Yanwan was beaming and took a jade pendant from her neck: "Come, help Mom look at this piece of Jade."

Lin Mingzhi glanced at it, and his heart skipped a beat: "Don't mess around, how would he know how to look at Jade?"

"Shut up!"

Jiang Yanwan glared at him: "Son, look at it carefully!"

Lin Sicheng didn't understand, but he looked very seriously: "Machine-carved product, the craftsmanship is passable, but the jade quality is not. It's just ordinary Afghanistan Jade, the kind you can buy two jin of for a hundred yuan!"

Jiang Yanwan was stunned and squinted her eyes: "Machine-carved, not hand-carved?"

"There isn't a single trace of grinding tool marks, it's definitely machine-carved!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "It looks like it was produced in Nanyang, and it has a patina soaked in acid and machine oil... Should we let Grandpa take a look too?"

The old man's face was flushed, his eyes were frighteningly bright, but he shook his head like a rattle-drum: "I'm not looking!"

Jiang Yanwan was stunned for a moment; how could she not know what was going on?

Lin Sicheng wasn't lying: he really knew his stuff; otherwise, someone as steady as the old man wouldn't have been unable to control his expression.

Lin Mingzhi was even worse, his mouth agape, as if he had been frightened.

But why was she so angry?

She gritted her teeth: "Lin Mingzhi, I remember when you gave me this Jade, you said it was top-quality Hetian Ancient Jade, and you spent a full eight thousand yuan on it?"

Lin Sicheng's heart jumped: Oh no, did Dad get swindled?

Huh, that's not right, what's with that resentful little look?

Haha, my mouth was too fast, I've caused trouble...