CH 43

Ch 43: The Cash Stash

On New Year's Eve, Fiona prepared a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner for the two brothers.

In the past, every New Year's Day was the happiest day for Yin Chang, because no matter how busy Yin Dong was, he would not take on any work New Year's Eve through the first three days of the Spring Festival. This was a rare time for father and son to be together.

Also, Yin Dong loved Fiona's signature dish, Eight Treasures Dumplings, so she would make a big pot of dumplings every New Year's Eve, despite the fact that Yin Dong was no longer with them.

"The dumplings are ready!"

After Fiona came out of the kitchen with a plate of freshly boiled dumplings, Yin Chang was momentarily stunned at the scene unfolding before him.

"Jun Ling, have you ever had dumplings before?" Fiona turned the handle of the spoon towards Shao Junling Lingwith a smile, "Come come, you're the youngest, you try it first! You should eat more and grow taller."

Fiona used to say this to Yin Chang when he was a child, but in the blink of an eye, the recipient of this special treatment had changed.

Yin Chang, of course, wouldn't be jealous of his younger brother for such a trivial matter. He was just a little sentimental about the special care this old nanny had given to the younger generations of the family, as if it were a tradition.

"Fiona, stop working, come and eat with us." Yin Chang looked up.

"Alright, I'll dish up the pork trotter soup and come." Fiona smiled and turned around.

"Brother..."

Hearing Shao Junling Ling's voice, Yin Chang turned his gaze back, "Hmm?"

He saw the little guy tremblingly scoop the first dumpling into his brother's bowl with a big spoon, "Eat."

Yin Chang: "..."

The three of them sat down and had dinner together. Afterwards Fiona cleaned up in the kitchen while Shao Junling Ling sat on the sofa playing with his phone.

It seemed he'd exchanged WeChat with his classmates, and now he was typing slowly on his phone to chat with them.

Yin Chang went to the bedroom, took out two red envelopes that he'd prepared in advance from the drawer, and went to find Fiona with the thicker one, "Fiona..."

Fiona was in the midst of washing the dishes and was startled when she registered what Yin Chang was handing her. "Oh my, what are you doing?"

Yin Chang explained, "This is a little something from me, Happy New Year."

In the past, Yin Dong, as the employer, would give Fiona a big red envelope every New Year's to thank her for her hard work throughout the year. After Yin Dong passed away, all these things fell on his shoulders one by one. Although they were small matters, he couldn't help but care about them when his role in the family had  changed from a care recipient to a responsibility bearer.

Fiona accepted the red envelope, tears shimmering in her eyes, "Silly child, you're still young, but you're already learning your dad's ways... Ah, I'm all alone here, eating your food, drinking your drinks. I don't spend much money on a regular basis, and yet your dad still gives me such a high salary... I've deposited all of it in the bank. Maybe when I'm old and can't work anymore, I can use it to find a better nursing home for myself..."

Yin Chang hugged her. This old nanny who was almost fifty years old had been with him for nearly twenty years. In his heart, she was already family. In the next ten years, or even twenty years, he hoped Fiona would still be there. Even if she was too old to work, he would take care of her in her old age.

Fiona held his hand and persuaded him, "Xiao Chang, today is New Year's Eve. I know you've had a tough time in the past half year. As the saying goes, 'bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.' After tonight, let's leave the past behind, okay?"

Yin Chang said calmly, "I understand. Don't worry, I will."

Fiona watched his departing figure and sighed lightly. The events of the past half year had forced this young man to grow up overnight.

She gently brushed the wetness from her eyes and continued wiping the stove.

After Yinchang came out, he saw Shao Junling still lying on the sofa playing with his phone, but he didn't call him. Instead, he took another red envelope with New Year's money and went to the study, preparing to quietly place it under his pillow.

But unexpectedly, when Yinchang lifted Shao Junling's pillow, he found a stack of thick ten yuan bills underneath.

Yinchang: "???"

He suddenly remembered what Shao Junling had told him at the Shaojun Peak Observation Hall. His face immediately turned dark.

"Shao Junling!?" Yinchang panicked and didn't care whether this invaded Shao Junling's "privacy" or not. He called him loudly to come over.

The little guy heard his brother's call and ran in excitedly. He thought it was something good, but as soon as he entered the room, he saw his brother holding his secret money in his hand... He looked at him with a dark expression and questioned, "Where did you get this?"

Shao Junling stammered, looking around anxiously. Under Yinchang's piercing gaze, he knew he couldn't escape this. He could only confess honestly, "I, I... bet with other kids..."

...As expected!

"You only won ten yuan from betting with Xue Zhiwen for grades, right? Why's there so much? What tricks did you use to win money from him?" Yinchang had a terrible headache when he realized that this kid had swindled Xue Zhiwen into giving him so much money without his knowledge.

"N-no, no, no," Shao Junling stammered in a hurry, "I, I bet with other, other kids..."

Yinchang: "???" This kid didn't just trick Xue Zhiwen out of money, did he?

"Come here," Yinchang took a deep breath and tried to calm his irritable mood, calling Shao Junling to come to him. "Sit here and explain yourself properly!"

Shao Junling sat in front of Yinchang and honestly confessed, "This one is Dong Chengtian's, this one is Yan Jiapin's, this one is Sun Wan's, this one is Kong Nanlei's, and also Yang Mengshan's..."

Yinchang: "..." All of these are ten yuan bills that look exactly the same, and this kid can actually remember who gave each one?

...Wait a minute, that wasn't the point!

The point was that this brat actually bet with so many kids and won their money!?

He's only eleven years old!

Does Teacher Lin know about this?

Shao Junling continued explaining nervously, "These few are won from betting on grades, and these few are won from betting on what color clothes Teacher Lin wears...this one is from the sports class, betting on the competition..."

"What about these?" Yinchang pointed to the several five yuan bills clipped inside.

"These, these are from Luo Pengtao, Ji Han, and Yu Wenmao..." Shao Junling reported five or six names, then glanced at Yinchang's expression cautiously and said, "It's their protection fee."

Yinchang: "????"

Yinchang: "Protection fee????"

This kid dared to collect protection fees from others???

Shao Junling noticed Yinchang staring at him, and he shrank his neck. If he had known earlier, he would have never said it.

De International had small classes, except for PE. PE classes were four classes combined, and the PE teacher taught the kids to play football, basketball, and regularly organize large-scale competitions.

If your class had some tall and imposing boys, everyone's morale would soar and their advantage would be multiplied during the competition. If not, once they entered the field, they would inevitably face provocation, bullying, and even ridicule from opponents after the match.

Before Shao Junling entered Class 1A, there was not a single boy in the class who could play. The only one who was arrogant in front of others was Xue Ziwen, but he was just a paper tiger. Therefore, their outdoor activity scores had always been at the bottom of the grade, which also caused them to be unable to hold their heads up in front of the students from other classes.

But since Shao Junling started participating in the team competitions of Class 1A, the kids found that their disadvantaged status was gradually changing.

Although this transfer student was not burly, he had a domineering aura. As long as he stepped onto the field, no matter how strong the opponents were, he charged straight through. After opponents suffered losses a few times from him, they dared not confront him head-on. Over time, Shao Junling on the field was considered invincible.

With Shao Junling helping Class 1A win more and more victories, his popularity and status skyrocketed.

The students at De International were not short of money at home. The boys admired Shao Junling from the bottom of their hearts, and they tried to please him with money, jokingly calling it a protection fee. The friends discovered this also imitated it one by one. Some even frequently gave Shao Junling delicious and fun things.

Of course, Shao Junling wouldn't tell Yin Chang in such detail, and he didn't understand others' thoughts either. He just spoke his mind.

For example, someone voluntarily gave him money, someone sent him a bottle of probiotic drink every day, someone treated him to sausages at the school canteen from time to time... He had also received a bunch of game point cards, but he didn't know how to use them.

When Shao Junling explained these things, he also showed a straightforward look of "I don't want it, but they insist on giving it to me", which made Yin Chang feel both amused and angry.

"Listen..." Yin Chang picked up the stack of money and waved it in front of Shao Junling, with a smile that was not quite a smile at the corner of his mouth, a hint of anger between his eyebrows, "Today is New Year's Eve, I don't want to be angry with you. As for this matter, I'll say one thing - the kindness shown by your classmates towards you on ordinary days is earned by your own ability, so you can accept small gifts, but you absolutely cannot accept money."

Moreover, if others knew that Shao Junling cared so much about this trivial amount of money, they would think that he, the older brother, was mistreating him.

After Yin Chang finished speaking, he took out a red envelope that he'd prepared. "This is your New Year's money that I'm giving you. I was originally planning to put it under your pillow... You're a boy, and boys should have integrity. How can you casually accept money from classmates? Take it, and in the future, if you need money, just ask me directly. You're not allowed to accept money from others again, whether it's for bets or protection fees, understand?"

Shao Junling's attention was entirely on the red envelope Yin Chang gave him, and he absentmindedly replied with a "Mmm."

Yin Chang was afraid he'd forget, so he thought for a moment and said, "I won't report this to Teacher Lin for now, but if I find out there's a second time... I'll send you back to school to live."

Upon hearing this, Shao Junling suddenly raised his head and quickly promised, "I won't accept anymore."

Yin Chang used this as a threat to test Shao Junling's reaction, and seeing him so nervous, he was somewhat surprised.

He seemed to have confirmed something... Was that Shao Junling's weak spot?

The next morning, Yin Chang personally drove Shao Junling and Fiona to visit Yin Dong's grave.

After the memorial service, he and Yao Manhuai had picked a spot with good feng shui[1] in the most expensive private cemetery in Haicheng. They buried Yin Dong with a set of his clothes in a Chinese redwood casket made with gold and silk as his final resting place, for family and friends to come and mourn.

Early in the morning of the first day of the lunar new year, most people were with relatives and friends. Even though the private cemetery was small, it was sparsely populated, making it appear desolate and cold.

The three of them stood in front of Yin Dong's tombstone. Fiona lit candles, offered incense, and placed fresh flowers and fruits. She murmured in a low voice, "This is the first time I've come to see you since you left, I'm really sorry..."

She kept talking, her eyes red, and her tone filled with sadness.

Yin Chang listened to Fiona muttering for a while. She vaguely mentioned a name, but because her voice kept growing softer and he didn't quite catch it. He just stared blankly at the tombstone.

After Fiona finished speaking, she wiped her teary eyes and motioned for Shao Junling to kowtow to Yin Dong.

As Yin Chang was feeling sentimental, he heard Shao Junling call out to the tombstone, "Uncle Yin."

Yin Chang frowned, "What did you call him?"

Shao Junling hesitantly repeated, "Uncle..."

Yin Chang became angry and lightly smacked the back of his head, "Call him Dad!"

Shao Junling: "..."

Shao Junling had no choice but to say, "Dad..."

Vignette

Xue Ziwen (voice message): "What are you doing?"

Shao Junling (struggling to type, takes three minutes to type three words): "Nothing."

Xue Ziwen (voice message): "Have you eaten yet?"

Shao Junling was in the middle of typing "Yes, I have," but another voice message from Xue Ziwen has arrived.

Xue Ziwen (voice message): "I'm having dinner at my grandpa's place. My cousin just taught me a really fun game called King of Pesticides. Do you want to play together?"

Shao Junling: "???" King of Pesticides? What is that? How do you play?

He deleted the unfinished sentence and continued to struggle to type a new one...

Xue Ziwen (voice message): "Why aren't you replying to me?"

Shao Junling: "..." I'm still typing, dammit!!! I'm done talking, not interested anymore!!!

Xue Ziwen told her cousin, "My classmate is really aloof. He didn't reply to me. He probably doesn't want to play with me, cry cry..."

Vignette 2

Shao Junling: What should I do if my secret stash of money is discovered by my older brother? Trembling with fear!!!

Yin Chang: What should I do if I find out my little brother, who is a school bully, is extorting money from classmates? How should I educate and correct him? Seeking advice from experts, waiting online.

Vignette 3

The little guy is clearly a wolf cub, but Yin Chang insists on treating him like a little lamb and educating him.

He's also pretending hard in front of his brother.

...But what can he do?

After all, he's only 1.2 meters tall now.

Can't be a pushover. ╮(╯_╰)╭