Chapter 5: Running Straight Into Trouble
After leaving the secondhand market, Su Ruizhe was once again a penniless pauper with only a few dozen yuan left in his pocket.
Sighing, he quietly smuggled a large bag of fruits and vegetables out of his space and headed toward Uncle Wu’s barbecue shop. He’d already agreed to deliver vegetables to Uncle Wu every day. The money wasn’t much, but no matter how small a mosquito was, it was still meat—he certainly wouldn’t turn it down.
As soon as he reached the front of Wu Qi’s shop, Wu Qi spotted him. His eyes lit up when he saw the bag in Su Ruizhe’s hands, and he said with a smile, “Little Zhe, here to deliver vegetables to Uncle Wu again?”
“Yes, Uncle Wu. Take a look—are these vegetables fresh enough?”
“Fresh! Of course they’re fresh!” Wu Qi said cheerfully as he took the large bag of vegetables, then pulled out two red bills and handed them to him. At the same time, he asked, “Little Zhe, how much of those homegrown fruits and vegetables do you still have left?”
Su Ruizhe blinked, a hint of delight appearing on his face. “All added together, probably around a hundred jin or so. Uncle Wu, do you want them?”
“I have an old friend who’s opening a small restaurant on East Street tomorrow,” Wu Qi said with a smile. “I was thinking—your vegetables are fresh and taste great, so I’d like to recommend them to him.”
“No problem. I’ll sort everything out at home and deliver it to him tomorrow,” Su Ruizhe said happily. Selling in bulk was always more convenient than selling retail. What’s more, all these fruits and vegetables were readily available in his space—zero cost for him. It couldn’t be easier.
“That’s good, that’s good,” Wu Qi said. He took out his phone, called his friend, then gave Su Ruizhe an address, telling him to deliver the vegetables and fruit to the restaurant early the next morning.
Having bought weapons suited to himself, earned two hundred yuan, and secured another deal, Su Ruizhe was quite satisfied with the day’s gains.
He found another spot to set up a stall and sold vegetables during the evening rush hour. Only after that did he casually eat two large bowls of fragrant sesame-oil wontons at a street stall before heading home.
As soon as he opened the door, he found another note—naturally, left by his aunt. Judging from the forceful handwriting that practically carved into the paper, it was clear she’d been furious when she wrote it. The note sternly criticized Su Ruizhe for being disobedient and treating his relatives’ concern as nothing. It then pointed out that school would start the day after tomorrow, and that they needed to discuss what to do about his tuition. They knew he was in difficulty, understood how hard things were for him, and were willing to help him through this tough time—asking him to be sure to come to their place for dinner tomorrow night.
The wording was so earnest that, if not for his memories of his previous life, Su Ruizhe might really have believed his aunt to be a kind and loving elder.
Unfortunately, he knew full well that what awaited him was a Hongmen banquet [1]. Those so-called family members had never truly accepted him—they only saw him as a pawn to be used.
He casually tore the note to shreds and tossed it away, then slipped into his space to harvest the freshly ripened fruits and vegetables from the garden and orchard, carefully packing them into bags.
After a quick wash, Su Ruizhe lay down on the bed. Tomorrow’s deal should earn him seven or eight hundred yuan. Combined with his earnings from selling vegetables at the market, he’d be able to go to the supermarket and stock up on some cheap daily necessities first.
The next day, Su Ruizhe got up early, dragging a heavy little cart loaded with over a hundred jin of fresh fruits and vegetables to the newly opened small restaurant on East Street that Wu Qi had mentioned.
Inside Xu’s Restaurant, a plump middle-aged woman in a chef’s uniform was busy in the kitchen, while a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six stood in the dining hall, constantly peering outside.
“Ah, why isn’t he here yet? Mom, is that friend of yours reliable?” the young man asked anxiously as he walked to the kitchen window.
“Of course he’s reliable. It’s not even time yet—what are you in such a hurry for?” the middle-aged woman replied calmly, tidying up the kitchen as she waited for the ingredients to arrive so she could start preparing lunch.
As if to prove her words, Su Ruizhe appeared at the entrance of Xu’s Restaurant, dragging his small cart and carrying over a hundred jin of fruits and vegetables.
“Hello, excuse me—are these the vegetables your place ordered?” Su Ruizhe poked his head in politely and asked.
“Yes, yes! You’re the one Uncle Wu introduced, right? Come in, quick!” The young man, who had already been growing impatient, immediately waved him inside.
Once Su Ruizhe brought the bags of produce into the hall, the young man eagerly took them and opened each one to check. To his surprise, all the fruits and vegetables inside were extremely fresh—large, plump, varied in type, and with excellent appearance. The restaurant sometimes served fruit after meals, so besides common fruits like cherries, mangoes, oranges, and bananas, Su Ruizhe had even brought two large watermelons.
“I heard from Uncle Wu that you grew all of these yourself at home?”
“Yes, I did. They’re all from my own vegetable plot. Don’t worry—no pesticides, and they’re very fresh.”
The young man nodded, casually picked up a tomato, wiped it on his clothes, and took a bite. The sweet-and-sour juice immediately filled his mouth—the texture was excellent. Too busy enjoying it to speak, he repeatedly gave Su Ruizhe a thumbs-up. With ingredients this fresh and tasty, there was no worry about the restaurant lacking customers.
The middle-aged woman in the kitchen finished washing her hands and came out. When she saw that the person delivering the vegetables was actually a teenage boy, she was momentarily surprised, then filled with pity. One look at his thin frame and worn school uniform was enough to tell that his circumstances were far from easy.
“Aiya, you child—look how much sweat he’s dripping, and you don’t even think to give him a bottle of water!” the middle-aged woman said, nudging the young man.
The young man stuffed the rest of the tomato into his mouth in two or three bites, then went to the freezer, took out a bottle of ice-cold cola, and pressed it into Su Ruizhe’s hand. “It’s hot out—have some cola.”
“Thank you.”
They chatted a bit more. From the conversation, Su Ruizhe learned that the two were mother and son: the mother was named Xu Min, the son Xu Jie, and they were the owners of the restaurant. Xu Min was very satisfied with the vegetables Su Ruizhe had delivered. After counting the produce, she paid him a full seven hundred yuan and agreed that he would come to deliver vegetables once every two days in the future.
Having a steady income every two days, Su Ruizhe naturally agreed without hesitation.
After leaving Xu’s Restaurant, Su Ruizhe pulled his cart into an empty alley. When he came back out, the previously empty cart was once again filled with fruits and vegetables.
Back at the entrance of the East Street vegetable market, as soon as Su Ruizhe sat down and set up his stall, quite a few aunties and grannies swarmed over, scrambling to buy his produce. After setting up his stall there for several days in a row, the regular shoppers at the market had already recognized Su Ruizhe as the young man who came every day. The fruits and vegetables he sold were extremely fresh and of excellent quality. Although his prices were a little higher than others’, they were still willing to accept them.
“Su Ruizhe?” However, just as Su Ruizhe was happily collecting money, he suddenly heard a hesitant call.
He looked up and saw his aunt, Chen Huizhen, standing not far away, staring at him in surprise as he ran his stall.
Having been caught red-handed, Su Ruizhe couldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen her. He could only sigh inwardly at his bad luck, then stand up and greet her. “Aunt.”
“You child!” Chen Huizhen said with an expression of frustration at wasted potential. “You’re a perfectly good student—what are you doing setting up a stall here?! How embarrassing! Come on, come home with your aunt!”
As she spoke, she reached out to grab him.
Su Ruizhe had no intention of going with her and quickly stepped back two paces, dodging her hand.
Quite a few passersby had gathered to watch. Chen Huizhen couldn’t very well tug and pull at a child in the middle of the street, so she simply laid everything out bluntly. “You child, why are you so disobedient? How many times have I gone to your place? I even left you notes several times—did you see them or not?”
“I saw them…”
“You saw them, so why didn’t you come to my house? Are you deliberately avoiding your aunt? I already told you—your tuition will be covered by your uncle and aunt, and you can come live at our place! Just think about it: you lost your father when you were little, your mother ran off with someone else, and your grandfather worked so hard to raise you. He’s only been gone a few days, and you’re already giving up on yourself like this—how can that be? School starts tomorrow. With just this money you make selling vegetables, can you really scrape together enough for tuition?”
Chen Huizhen’s voice was loud to begin with, and now she was airing everything out clearly in public. Standing there, Su Ruizhe felt as though he’d been stripped naked and put on display—utterly humiliated.
After hearing this, the people around them all showed pity toward Su Ruizhe and began trying to persuade him to go home with Chen Huizhen. In their eyes, having an aunt who cared about him and was willing to help him like this was a blessing earned over several lifetimes.
This was something Su Ruizhe couldn’t explain—and had no way to explain. He couldn’t make a scene with his aunt in front of so many people; otherwise, he’d end up being labeled an ungrateful, heartless brat.
Curling his lips inwardly, Su Ruizhe knew there was no avoiding it today. He forced a smile and said to Chen Huizhen, “I know you mean well, Aunt. I was planning to go to your place after I finished selling my vegetables today anyway. Look, I’m almost sold out—could you wait for me a bit?”
“Sure!” Seeing that he’d finally agreed to go to her home, Chen Huizhen immediately broke into a broad smile and waited off to the side.
Footnotes:
[1] The Hongmen Banquet (Hóngmén Yàn) was a pivotal, treacherous feast in 206 BCE where rival warlords Xiang Yu and Liu Bang met after the fall of the Qin Dynasty; Xiang Yu, urged by his advisor, planned to assassinate Liu Bang, but Liu Bang’s cunning escape allowed him to regroup, eventually defeating Xiang Yu and establishing the Han Dynasty, making the event a classic Chinese metaphor for deadly plots disguised as hospitality.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
