Volume One, Chapter 13: I'll Remember This for You When You Go to Find a Wife in the Future

Last night’s stir-fried clams I made myself were just okay—nothing compared to the variety you get at a restaurant.

“I’ll treat you. Go get my brother; he’s around here anyway.”

Little Tiger wanted to say he’d pay, but Ye Cheng gave him a sharp tap on the head. “You don’t have much money. Hurry up and go get my brother, or he’ll have to get back to work soon.”

Ye Guowei worked as a laborer at the dock, with irregular hours—loading and unloading cargo when there was work, otherwise just waiting around.

Seeing Ye Cheng approach, Ye Guowei looked surprised and quickly came over. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Brother Guowei, Cheng said to come eat with you.”

“Hmm, alright, let’s go, brother. Let’s eat out,” Ye Cheng said happily—money in hand, his mood was good.

Ye Guowei frowned. “Eat out? Where would the money come from? How about we just have some boxed meals here? Three yuan—cheap and tasty. If not, five yuan for a better one with an extra meat and vegetable dish.”

Boxed meals—that was a distant memory.

Ye Cheng remembered that when he was young, boxed meals were quite popular. At construction sites and markets, they sold boxed meals ranging from two to six yuan—fried fish, meatballs, spicy stir-fried pork—they actually tasted pretty good.

But most boxed meals were for laborers like Ye Guowei, heavy on oil and salt, using ordinary fish and meat—fresh fish was out of the question. Usually, it was dead fish, masked with strong seasonings.

“Brother, come on. Little Tiger and I earned some money gathering seafood this morning. Treating ourselves to a meal out once in a while won’t hurt.” Ye Cheng grabbed Ye Guowei’s arm and showed him the money in his pocket.

“That much?” Ye Guowei’s eyes lit up in envy. How had this no-good younger brother suddenly made money?

“You guys? Gathering seafood?” Ye Guowei found it hard to believe.

“Yes. A friend happened to have a batch of sea worms and sand worms this morning, so we sold quite a bit. Let’s go.”

“Alright then, I’ll change clothes. Still gotta wear my work clothes.”

“You’re getting fancy just to eat,” Ye Cheng laughed.

Ye Guowei changed into a simple short-sleeved shirt, just cleaner-looking.

“Brother, where shall we eat?” Little Tiger asked.

Ye Cheng searched through the original owner’s memories and remembered they often went to a restaurant called Fatty’s.

The owner’s surname was Wu, and he was chubby, so the place was named Fatty’s Restaurant, right in the town.

As soon as they stepped inside, Ye Cheng saw a plump middle-aged man sitting behind the counter, with a round face and big ears—definitely a symbol of wealth in these times.

“Yo, the second brother’s here!” Seeing Ye Cheng, Fatty Wu greeted warmly. The original owner had clearly been here often.

“Yes, the three of us. Let’s order.” Ye Cheng casually picked a table.

“Xiao Chen, take their order.” Fatty Wu called out, and a pretty young girl came out from the kitchen—she was the waitress here.

Xiao Chen’s eyes turned timid when she saw Ye Cheng. She held the menu and stood as far from him as possible.

Ye Cheng was curious when Fatty Wu spoke up. “Xiao Chen, it’s Brother Cheng ordering. Why are you standing so far? Last time he was drunk—it doesn’t happen every time.”

Uh... so the original owner hadn’t always behaved well.

Ye Cheng noticed Xiao Chen was simply dressed in coarse cloth but had a natural beauty typical of a fishing village girl.

He cleared his throat. “You can stand closer. We’re familiar now.”

“I’ll have braised duck, kidney slices, stir-fried pork intestines, smashed cucumber, and six bottles of beer.”

Ye Cheng ordered casually, no vegetables except the cucumber to go with the drinks—all hearty dishes.

“The duck is 14 yuan, kidneys 12, intestines 12, cucumber 3, beer 18. Plus three servings of rice—total 62 yuan,” Xiao Chen promptly quoted the price, then stood frozen.

Before Ye Cheng could react, Little Tiger slammed the table. “What’s this? We have to pay before eating?”

Xiao Chen quickly stepped back, putting more distance between herself and Little Tiger.

Ye Cheng looked at Fatty Wu, who hurriedly explained, “Second brother, you still owe quite a bit from before. Why not settle it all now?”

Damn, turns out they were on credit. No wonder the kitchen hadn’t started preparing food—he was worried about more debts.

Ye Guowei’s face reddened, a little embarrassed. “A Cheng, how about just some noodles? Tell me how much you owe, I’ll pay it for you.”

Ye Cheng waved him off. “Fatty, how much did I owe before?”

Hearing Ye Cheng was ready to pay, Fatty Wu hobbled out from behind the counter, holding several handwritten menus.

“This was what you ate alone last time.”

“This one’s for you and Little Tiger.”

“And this is…”

Ye Cheng grew impatient. “Just give me the total. No need to read every single one.”

“Alright, altogether it’s 122 yuan. Add today’s 62, that’s 184 yuan.”

“That much?” Ye Guowei exclaimed. Two hundred yuan already! His little brother was really generous.

At first, Ye Cheng didn’t care, but hearing his brother’s reaction made him a bit embarrassed. He quickly pulled out two large bills.

“Here, is this enough? Hurry up and serve the food—we’ve got to get back to work soon.”

Fatty Wu took the money, rubbed his hands together in delight.

“Alright, right away.”

“Xiao Chen, get the kitchen cooking.”

Only then did Xiao Chen take the order to the back.

“A Cheng, you...” Ye Guowei started to lecture, but Ye Cheng pulled out the rest of the money, took a hundred-yuan bill, and handed it all to Ye Guowei.

“Brother, take this to pay off the debt.”

Seeing the thick stack of bills on the table, Ye Guowei was at a loss. He’d only glanced before, not expecting so much.

He carefully counted and said happily, “A total of 1,400 yuan—that’s like a whole month’s wages for me. I’ll keep track of it for you. Use it when you’re courting a wife.”

“Brother Wei, be generous. Cheng and I earned this in just two days,” Little Tiger boasted.

Fatty Wu’s expression changed as he watched Ye Cheng. How had this kid suddenly gotten so rich? He used to always get a little money from his older brother.

“Yeah, Little Tiger’s right. Brother, this is to pay off your debt. Give it to your wife so she won’t worry. Don’t worry, I said I’ll pay the money back. I’ll figure something out.”

Ye Guowei looked at Ye Cheng with a fatherly smile and chuckled, “Good, good, A Cheng’s come into his own.”

He was eight years older than Ye Cheng, so it was natural he felt like a father figure.

Over the years, Jiang Yunxiang had often given him a hard time because of Ye Cheng’s troubles, but he had no choice—this was his own brother.

He never expected his younger brother to actually come through and hand him 1,400 yuan.

The more Ye Guowei thought about it, the more moved he became, tears welling up in his eyes.