Fang Yuanming placed his briefcase by the sofa and sat down. Old Zhao and Old Zhou followed suit, sitting on the wooden chairs beside him.
Chen Jianguo wiped his hands vigorously on his undershirt, then pulled an unopened pack of Red Pagoda Mountain cigarettes from the coffee table drawer.
He tore open the pack, took out a cigarette, and offered it with both hands.
"Teacher Fang, please have a smoke."
Fang Yuanming waved his hand and smiled.
"Thank you, but I quit many years ago. Please, go ahead."
Chen Jianguo didn’t press the issue and placed the pack on the table.
The aroma of braised pork from the kitchen grew stronger.
Liu Xiuying came over with a few clean glasses, poured hot water into them, and added some tea leaves.
"Teachers, please have some water first."
Chen Jianguo glanced at the wall clock, then at Fang Yuanming, and said while rubbing his hands.
"Teacher Fang, Teacher Zhao, Teacher Zhou, it’s almost five o’clock—dinnertime. The braised pork in the pot is tender, and all the vegetables are chopped. You can’t possibly leave today. Just stay for a simple meal. I’ll go stir-fry a couple of dishes, it won’t take long!"
Old Zhao was just about to decline.
But Fang Yuanming smiled and nodded.
"Alright. Smelling that delicious pork is making me a little hungry. I’ll be thick-skinned and impose on you for a meal. We can talk while we eat."
Since Fang Yuanming had said so, Old Zhao and Old Zhou couldn’t very well refuse.
When Chen Jianguo heard this, he was so happy he slapped his thigh.
"Excellent! Teacher Fang, you just sit and rest for a bit. I’ll be right back!"
Chen Jianguo turned and dove into the kitchen, looking as if he had boundless energy.
Before long, the SIZZLE of hot oil hitting the wok echoed from the kitchen, and a fragrant aroma filled the air.
In less than half an hour, the meal was served.
A folding round table was set up in the center of the living room.
A large bowl of glistening, ruby-red braised pork sat in the middle, surrounded by stir-fried pork with garlic scapes, scrambled eggs with tomato, cold-dressed cucumber, and a steamed sea bass.
They were all home-style dishes, but the portions were generous and steaming hot.
Chen Jianguo took out a bottle of Xifeng wine that he had saved for several years and insisted on pouring some for the teachers.
Fang Yuanming didn’t refuse this time. He took a small cup and poured a little, and Old Zhao and Old Zhou poured themselves a glass as well.
Everyone sat around the table. Chen Zhuo sat next to Fang Yuanming, quietly eating with his chopsticks.
"Teacher Fang, this braised pork is my wife’s specialty. Please, try some."
Chen Jianguo urged enthusiastically.
Fang Yuanming picked up a piece of pork, took a bite, and nodded with a smile.
"Mm, it’s rich but not greasy, and stewed to perfection. This is much better cooking than my own paltry skills."
After a few cups of wine, the atmosphere at the dinner table gradually loosened up.
The tension and awkwardness of their initial meeting had largely dissipated amidst the aroma of the hot food.
Chen Jianguo took a sip of wine and put down his cup. His gaze fell on Chen Zhuo, who had his head down, eating the scrambled eggs with tomato.
"Teacher Fang."
Chen Jianguo began to speak, his voice soft.
"For this child to get such good scores, to be able to go to Huake University... this is the kind of good fortune that makes our Chen Family ancestors’ graves smoke. But... look at him. He’s only ten, just a little kid."
Chen Jianguo sighed and rested his chopsticks on the rim of his bowl.
"At home, his mother washes all his clothes. Sometimes he gets so absorbed in a book he even forgets to eat. The university is full of eighteen and nineteen-year-old kids. His daily life... who’s going to look after him?"
Listening from the side, Liu Xiuying’s eyes suddenly reddened, as if a thought had struck her.
She put down her bowl and looked at Fang Yuanming.
"That’s right, Teacher Fang. When he goes to the cafeteria to get food, if he has to jostle with the older kids, he’ll never be able to push through. And if he gets sick, with a cold or something, there’ll be no one around to take care of him."
The table fell silent. Old Zhao and Old Zhou exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Fang Yuanming put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
He looked at Chen Jianguo and Liu Xiuying, his expression gentle, like that of an elderly neighbor.
"Master Chen, Madam, I completely understand how you feel as parents. Anyone would be worried, sending a child this young so far away from home."
Fang Yuanming’s voice was calm and steady, neither rushed nor impatient.
"However, our Gifted Youth Program at Keda hasn’t just been around for a year or two. The university has a dedicated system for handling these younger children."
Fang Yuanming looked Chen Jianguo in the eye and explained seriously.
"The children don’t live in the regular undergraduate dorms. The Gifted Youth Program has its own dedicated building, and every floor is assigned a resident advisor.
These advisors are like half-parents. They’re on duty twenty-four hours a day. They’ll teach the kids hands-on how to do laundry, fold their blankets, and keep their rooms tidy, gradually helping them learn to be self-sufficient.
If anyone gets a headache or a fever at night, the resident advisor will take them to the campus clinic immediately. There will be no delay."
Fang Yuanming picked up his glass of water and took a sip.
"The same goes for the cafeteria. There’s a special service window just for the Gifted Youth Program, so they don’t have to queue up with the upperclassmen. The meals are planned daily by a nutritionist to ensure these growing kids eat well."
Hearing this, the heavy anxiety that had been weighing on Chen Jianguo and Liu Xiuying finally eased a little.
Chen Jianguo rubbed his hands together, picked up the wine bottle again, and added a little more to the small cup in front of Fang Yuanming.
"Teacher Fang, with the room and board arranged so meticulously, what about the cost...?"
When it came to this topic, Chen Jianguo’s demeanor was much calmer. He was a key technical worker at his factory, and Liu Xiuying was a long-time employee at the textile mill.
While their family wasn’t wealthy by any means, they had managed to save up a fair amount by being frugal over the past few years.
"Tuition, room, and board... no matter how much it costs, our family can afford it. The two of us never got much of an education in our lives. We saved this money precisely to support his studies."

Comments

Loading...