Qian Xiaoke knew he had done something pretty stupid and had been feeling down about it for quite a while, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.
“Don’t talk about me anymore,” Qian Xiaoke muttered, “I’m already very upset.”
He curled his lips and squatted on the ground in frustration. He exuded an unmistakable air of melancholy.
Jiang Tongyan looked down and watched Qian Xiaoke squatting and fiddling with a discarded rose someone had left on the side of the road.
“Isn’t it dirty?”
“Huh?” Qian Xiaoke looked up at him.
Jiang Tongyan looked down at him, “Maybe the flower has been stuck with poop.”
“… Jiang Tongyan, are you disgusting!” Qian Xiaoke suddenly felt that he was dirty.
“I’m kindly reminding you not to touch anything.” Why is he like a child, so careless?
Jiang Tongyan said, “By the way, isn’t the place you’re living in currently illegal? If you keep staying there, wouldn’t that make you a lawbreaker?”
“Shh!” Qian Xiaoke quickly stood up and covered his mouth, “Can you stop saying stuff like that?”
He was nearly scared to death!
Jiang Tongyan frowned, “Take your stinky hands away!”
He couldn’t believe Qian Xiaoke had touched that dirty flower and then used the same hand to touch his mouth! Even someone without a germaphobe would lose their mind over this.
Qian Xiaoke reluctantly took his hand away, “Don’t yell, I’m scared.”
“Why can’t I see that you’re scared?” Jiang Tongyan said, “If you’re so scared, why are you still living there? You’ve got some nerve.”
“What else can I do? I’ve already paid the rent, the agent ran off, and we can’t find the landlord. What choice do I have?”
Jiang Tongyan, who had lived a comfortable life, couldn’t quite comprehend Qian Xiaoke’s situation. He then said something that made Qian Xiaoke want to punch this rich guy in the head.
Jiang Tongyan said, “It’s just a bit of rent. What’s more important, money or safety? Don’t you have any sense?”
“…” Qian Xiaoke was visibly displeased.
Normally, Qian Xiaoke was a good-tempered, warm, and easygoing person who never argued with others. But Jiang Tongyan’s comment struck a nerve.
“Jiang Tongyan, you are really not a good person.” Qian Xiaoke turned around and walked away. His back screaming: very angry, do not disturb.
While Qian Xiaoke fumed, Jiang Tongyan remained clueless.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong with what I say?” Jiang Tongyan followed, “What’s with your temper? You get angry when you disagree with me!”
“My temper? Did you even listen to what you said? Is that a human language?” Qian Xiaoke’s face was full of unhappiness, and he looked back at Jiang Tongyan, “Do you know there is a saying called ‘Why not eat meat’?1This references an idiom from ancient Chinese history. It describes a tone-deaf remark from someone in privilege, similar to Marie Antoinette’s “Let them eat cake.” It conveys how disconnected a person is from the struggles of others. The question you just asked is practically the same thing.”
Jiang Tongyan certainly was clueless, “What does it mean?”
“Look it up yourself. I can’t be bothered to explain.” Qian Xiaoke shook his hand and walked away with a step that didn’t recognise his relatives.
Qian Xiaoke left, and Jiang Tongyan followed closely behind him. While following him, he looked up the meaning of the sentence behind him.
After checking, he began to reflect on himself and asked, “How much do you earn a month?”
“After deducting the five social insurances and one housing fund, the actual salary is barely 3,000 yuan.”
“How much is the monthly rent for your house?”
“1,500 yuan.” Qian Xiaoke turned around, “Do you understand now?”
“…I understand.” Jiang Tongyan was a little annoyed, thinking that what he had just said was simply stupid. “I’m sorry.”
Qian Xiaoke was stunned.
“Huh?” A few seconds later, his face was full of question marks, “What did you say just now?”
Jiang Tongyan wasn’t the type to apologise easily. It wasn’t about pride—he simply rarely made mistakes. His earlier blunder was so elementary and was the first time in his life. It became a stumbling block even in his own mind.
“Did you eat dinner tonight?”
Qian Xiaoke hugged his bread tightly.
“I’ll treat you to dinner.” Jiang Tongyan said, “Malatang, the kind that costs 36 yuan a bowl.”
As the saying goes, “No reward without effort.”
Qian Xiaoke remained cautious, suspecting Jiang Tongyan might want to poison him.
“Why would you treat me to a meal for no reason?” Qian Xiaoke asked. “Didn’t I already say today’s session was a trial and totally free?”
Jiang Tongyan frowned, “What are you thinking? I’m… apologizing to you.”
“Ah?” What? Qian Xiaoke didn’t understand him.
“Didn’t I make you unhappy just now?” Jiang Tongyan said, “I’m treating you to a meal. I haven’t eaten yet, either.”
After processing for a moment, Qian Xiaoke suddenly grinned. “For real?”
“If you don’t want to eat, forget it.” Jiang Tongyan thought to himself that it was lucky it was dark; otherwise, this brat would have noticed his face turning red—how embarrassing!
“Eat, eat, eat!” This time it didn’t feel undeserved—Jiang Tongyan was expressing a sincere apology. If he didn’t accept, wouldn’t that mean he wasn’t willing to forgive him?
Qian Xiaoke gave himself a sufficient reason.
Jiang Tongyan sneered, “You shameless foodie!”
Qian Xiaoke didn’t hear what he said and happily led him out of the neighbourhood.
He was happy, and Jiang Tongyan was inexplicably happy too.
Jiang Tongyan found that Qian Xiaoke seemed to have magic that could influence other people’s emotions.
It was pretty awesome.
How did he do it?
Jiang Tongyan also wanted to learn.
The two of them walked out of the neighbourhood, and Qian Xiaoke said, “We’ve already eaten spicy hot pot today. It’s not good to eat it again, right?”
Jiang Tongyan glanced at him sideways, thinking: I said I want to eat spicy hot pot because you like it. What’s wrong with you?
But since he had already upset Qian Xiaoke earlier, Jiang Tongyan, not being the kind of person who intentionally stirs up trouble, spoke cautiously as he was trying to make amends. “So, what do you want to eat?”
Qian Xiaoke looked around and then pointed to the barbecue stall on the side of the road.
Jiang Tongyan frowned.
“This…” He looked at the roadside stalls and was indeed somewhat sceptical about the sanitary conditions. Still, he had already upset Qian Xiaoke, so Jiang Tongyan spoke very cautiously, “Why this all of a sudden? Or… I noticed a pretty decent restaurant on the way here. How about we go there?”
Qian Xiaoke didn’t want to; he just wanted to eat barbecue.
When he passed by earlier to buy bread, he had already drooled over the place. He had resisted buying it then, but now that someone was treating him, he intended to eat it to his heart’s content.
Qian Xiaoke twisted his little face and said, “I’m not going. I just want to eat this barbecue.”
Those big meat skewers, just looking at it, made him feel good.
He pulled Jiang Tongyan’s sleeve, “Chairman Jiang, let’s just eat this.”
Qian Xiaoke also added, “The average cost per person won’t even exceed 50 yuan, I swear. I’ll control myself!”
It wasn’t about the money, but that comment made Jiang Tongyan feel a little uncomfortable.
He had never known Qian Xiaoke well before, so he thought that this guy was mentally abnormal and very troublesome. However, on the other hand, he had to admit that Qian Xiaoke was not a bad person. After all… he was willing to take responsibility for him.
After what happened just now, Jiang Tongyan was suddenly moved by the poor guy’s hard work. It was not easy for him to live so lively with so little income.
Fine. Let’s eat.
I’ll sacrifice my life for you.
Jiang Tongyan said, “Let’s go.”
With that, he followed the cheering Qian Xiaoke to the slightly grimy barbecue stall, “Don’t hold back. Eat all you want. If you want, we could even rent out the whole stall.”
Qian Xiaoke just laughed and didn’t think deeply about it.
He thanked him repeatedly, then trotted to the barbecue stall. He then found an empty seat, sat down, and wiped the stool opposite obediently.
“Chairman Jiang, sit down!” Qian Xiaoke was in a good mood when there was something delicious, and now he liked Jiang Tongyan.
Jiang Tongyan was a little disgusted, and the smoke from the barbecue next to him drifted over, choking him and rolling his eyes.
“Why do you have to go to this place when you don’t want to go to a good restaurant?”
“It’s delicious,” Qian Xiaoke said, “You don’t understand, this kind of roadside stall has the best taste!”
Jiang Tongyan thought: Well, I don’t understand, and I don’t want to understand.
“And barbecue is something that you have to eat for the atmosphere.” Qian Xiaoke suddenly raised his hand and shouted to the boss, “Boss, order!”
The boss came over with a plastic menu. Qian Xiaoke ordered a lot and handed it to Jiang Tongyan after ordering, “Chairman Jiang, do you want to add more?”
“No, you can take care of it.”
Qian Xiaoke laughed and decided to order these first and add more if it was not enough.
“Chairman Jiang, do you know what you must have with barbecue?”
“What?” Jiang Tongyan had hardly eaten it. With his status and position, he would go to high-end restaurants with an average cost of several thousand yuan per person!
“Garlic!” Qian Xiaoke mysteriously grabbed a head of garlic from the table next to him and put it on the table for the two of them, “Also, ice-cold draft beer!”
He stretched out his hand, “Chairman Jiang, give me 20 yuan.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll buy draft beer,” Qian Xiaoke said, “10 yuan a cup, it’s delicious!”
Jiang Tongyan wanted to complain that he was stingy and didn’t even want to pay 20 yuan.
But since he was treating, he had to pay.
He gave Qian Xiaoke a hundred yuan and then watched the boy run away like a rabbit.
When Qian Xiaoke returned, he was holding a large glass of draft beer in one hand, and the change was still in his palm.
He put the draft beer on the table and returned the rest of the money to Jiang Tongyan.
“Can this thing taste good?” Jiang Tongyan has drunk a lot of beer, but this is too cheap. 10 yuan for such a big cup, won’t it upset your stomach after drinking it?
“It tastes good,” Qian Xiaoke said, “Try it.”
In the autumn, the breeze was already quite cold at night. After a sip of iced draft beer, Jiang Tongyan got goosebumps.
But!
It tastes really good!
Jiang Tongyan was very surprised, “Not bad.”
“See! I told you, you rich people are ignorant!” Qian Xiaoke said, “In fact, not all expensive things are necessarily good, and not all cheap things are necessarily bad.”
Jiang Tongyan actually thought that what Qian Xiaoke said at this moment carried a certain wisdom.
“The quality of things in this world can’t always be measured by money,” Qian Xiaoke said with a faint smile, holding the large beer cup in both hands. He took a sip, leaving foam all over his mouth. “What suits you best is what’s truly good.”
Support the author by buying the author’s works and/or throw some bombs~
(It’s very easy to buy for jjwxc because they support Paypal payments~)
We have a discord server for those who want to receive an update ping and various announcements~
Join here ^^
And please buy me some kofi if you like the translation~
Also leave some ratings if you like this series here~
Leave a Reply