He put the money into the plastic bag, along with the household register and ID card.
He stuffed the plastic bag into an inner pocket, pressing it securely against his body.
Even in the height of summer, Chen Jianguo didn’t feel the heat as he walked outside.
He only felt a heavy weight on his chest.
Twelve-thirty in the afternoon.
The security door on the second floor was ajar, and the wooden door behind it was half-open.
The standing fan in the living room was whirring away.
Chen Jianguo walked his bicycle to the base of the apartment building, parked it, and went upstairs.
He walked into the apartment and pulled the door shut behind him. Inside, Liu Xiuying was just placing two dishes on the dining table.
Chen Zhuo was sitting on the sofa, remote in hand, flipping through the channels on the television.
Chen Jianguo went over to the washstand, turned on the faucet, and washed his hands and face.
He walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. From his inner pocket, he took out the plastic bag containing ten thousand yuan in cash and the household register.
He placed it on the table.
Liu Xiuying came out of the kitchen with three sets of bowls and chopsticks.
She glanced at the plastic bag.
"All taken care of?" she asked.
"All taken care of."
Chen Jianguo picked up a towel and wiped the water from his face.
"Director Ma personally approved the request, so I was able to get the cash directly from the finance department."
Chen Zhuo switched the TV to a channel playing a martial arts drama, set down the remote, and walked over to the dining table to sit.
Just then, footsteps sounded in the hallway outside, followed by two soft knocks on the door.
"Jianguo, you home?"
Old Zhao’s voice came from outside the door.
Chen Jianguo stood up and went to open the door.
Old Zhao was standing in the doorway, fanning himself with a folded paper fan. Tucked under his other arm was his old briefcase.
"Teacher Zhao, perfect timing. We were just about to eat. Come in and join us."
Chen Jianguo stepped aside to let him in.
Old Zhao smiled, waved a hand in refusal, and stepped into the apartment.
"I can’t stay. My wife’s already made dinner, so I’ll be heading back soon to eat."
Old Zhao walked over to the coffee table.
He set his briefcase on the coffee table and unzipped it.
From inside, he took out a thick envelope and a gridded financial form.
"Jianguo, the principal just got out of a meeting at the Bureau of Education this morning. The moment he returned to school, he called my office."
Old Zhao placed the envelope and the form together on the coffee table.
"The principal said that you settled things with Director Ma at the bureau, and that the city-level commendation has been canceled."
Old Zhao looked at Chen Jianguo.
"Since the city has set the tone to keep this low-key, our school won’t be making a fuss either."
Old Zhao pointed to the manila envelope.
"This is the five-thousand-yuan reward the school promised Chen Zhuo. The principal had the finance department approve the payment directly."
"He asked me to drop it off on my way, to save you a trip to the school’s finance office under the hot afternoon sun."
Old Zhao pushed a receipt and a pen in front of Chen Jianguo.
"Just sign this receipt, and I’ll take it back to the finance department to close this out."
Chen Jianguo nodded.
He picked up the pen, glanced at the contents of the receipt, and signed his name in the blank space in the bottom right corner.
Old Zhao picked up the receipt, blew on the ink to dry it, folded it, and put it back in his briefcase.
He turned his head and glanced at Chen Zhuo, who was sitting at the dining table.
Chen Zhuo was just using his chopsticks to pick up a piece of vegetable and put it in his mouth.
"Chen Zhuo, make sure to get some rest. Pack your things for Huizhou ahead of time, so you don’t forget anything at the last minute."
Old Zhao added.
"Got it, Teacher Zhao."
Chen Zhuo replied after swallowing his food.
Old Zhao zipped up his briefcase.
"Alright, business is done. I’ll head home now. You all go ahead and eat."
Chen Jianguo saw Old Zhao out.
"Thanks for taking the trouble, Teacher Zhao, especially for making the trip in the middle of the day."
"It was on my way."
Fanning himself, Old Zhao headed downstairs.
Chen Jianguo closed the door.
He walked back to the coffee table and picked up the manila envelope.
He returned to the dining table and sat down.
He placed the envelope on the table, then pulled a red envelope containing three thousand yuan from his pants pocket.
Ten thousand from the municipal bureau.
Five thousand from the school.
Three thousand from the factory.
Eighteen thousand yuan.
He separated the money into three piles, arranging them on the edge of the dining table.
Liu Xiuying put down her chopsticks and stared at the three piles of money.
The only sounds in the room were the whirring of the fan and the clash of swords from the television.
Chen Jianguo didn’t pick up his chopsticks. He stared at the money, tapping his fingers twice on the tabletop.
"I don’t feel comfortable keeping this money at home."
Chen Jianguo looked up at Liu Xiuying.
"This afternoon, I’ll ask for time off from the workshop again, take the household register, and go deposit this money in the bank."
Liu Xiuying nodded.
"Good. It’ll be safer once it’s deposited."
After lunch, Chen Jianguo found a black cloth bag and put all the money from the table inside it.
Taking the household register with him, he wheeled his bicycle out the door.
The afternoon sun was even more punishing.
Chen Jianguo rode his bike to the nearest Industrial and Commercial Bank.
「By evening.」
The sky gradually darkened, and the summer heat in the family’s residential compound began to fade a little.
In the first-floor courtyard, someone was watering the ground with a hose. As the water hit the parched earth, it kicked up a loamy scent.
Dinner was set on the Chen family’s dining table.
A dish of sliced tomatoes sprinkled with white sugar, a plate of garlic stir-fried vegetables, and the few pieces of salted hairtail fish leftover from lunch.
Chen Jianguo came home from work.
After washing his hands, he sat down at the dining table, and Liu Xiuying placed a bowl of rice in front of him.
Chen Zhuo sat across from him and picked up his chopsticks.
He picked up a slice of the tomato and put it in his mouth.
He chewed a couple of times, raising an eyebrow.
Chen Jianguo didn’t pick up his chopsticks. Instead, he reached into his pants pocket.
He pulled out a small passbook with a red plastic cover.
A savings passbook from the Industrial and Commercial Bank.

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