Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

After catching their breath, Xu An and Xu Guosheng quietly slipped away. By the time the crowd reacted, they only saw a small pool of blood and some stains on the ground; the two men were nowhere to be seen.

On the way back, Xu An couldn’t help but hum a song, and Xu Guosheng joined in with his gravelly voice. They were both in incredibly high spirits.

They snuck back into the courtyard, washed the bloodstains off by the well, and changed into clean clothes before going to Third Granny’s house to bring Xu Kang and Xu Le home.

The rest of the evening proceeded as usual: cooking, washing dishes, giving Grandma a sponge bath, and bathing Xu Kang and Xu Le...

The next day, business at the restaurant was normal: 1,412 box lunch orders, 70 portions of braised meats, and 382 cans of apple cider vinegar, for a total revenue of 13,282.5 yuan.

Everything was normal for Xu Guosheng as well. He finished up at his meat stall at nine, went fishing for half an hour, headed to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant to help with deliveries, and finally bought two portions of braised meats to take home.

Back in the village after closing up, it was the same familiar longan tree and the same familiar rocking chair. And, as usual, Xu An was dozing in it.

Suddenly, the clamor of gongs and drums and the crackle of firecrackers erupted from outside the village, startling Xu An awake.

Curiosity prompted Xu An to open the courtyard gate. He found quite a few people already standing outside, all looking in the same direction.

Following their gazes, Xu An saw a long procession. Leading the way was a powerfully built man in his sixties who was a full head taller than anyone around him, making him stand out conspicuously.

Behind the old man were two young men holding up a banner stretched between bamboo poles. They were too far away for Xu An to make out the words written on it.

Behind the banner were six musicians beating gongs and drums, flanked on either side by a young man setting off firecrackers as they walked.

Then came the main event. Following the musicians were four burly men carrying a massive... pig.

Judging by its size, the pig weighed no less than 350 pounds.

The pig had already been slaughtered. Its four legs were tied with red cloth to a wooden frame, a large red flower was fastened around its midsection, and its tail was wrapped with a red envelope. Its head, propped high with wooden sticks, made for an impressive sight.

Bringing up the rear were some onlookers, many of whose faces were unfamiliar. The procession must have walked for quite a while to get here.

Xu An leaned against the courtyard gate with great interest, curious to see what this procession was all about.

To his surprise, the procession made a turn and headed straight into Xu Family Village, striding toward the crowd.

As they drew closer, Xu An got a clear look at the imposing old man in the lead. His snow-white hair was tied neatly at the back of his head. His most distinct feature was his eyebrows, which were so long they reached his nose. Paired with a goatee, he looked just like an enlightened master out of a wuxia novel.

’Isn’t that Second Grandpa? Is his family celebrating something? I haven’t heard anyone in the village mention it!’

Xu An glanced at the villagers and saw that they were all as dumbfounded as he was, with no idea what was going on.

How very strange.

Second Grandpa led his procession before the crowd. His hawk-like gaze swept over everyone, pausing for a split second on Xu An and Xu Guosheng. Once he confirmed they were both present, he spoke, his voice booming like a great bell. "I’m sure you’re all curious about what this procession is for, aren’t you?"

"To thank their saviors!" a fifth-grader in the crowd shouted, raising his hand after reading the words on the banner.

"Yes, that’s right." Second Grandpa nodded and continued, "Yesterday, our village produced two unsung heroes. They made the right choice at the right time and saved a family!"

Seeing the slogan on the banner and hearing Second Grandpa’s words, Xu An instantly understood the purpose of the procession.

He glanced at Xu Guosheng out of the corner of his eye and saw him grinning foolishly, looking like he was thoroughly enjoying the show, not yet realizing he was one of the stars.

’Uncle Guosheng, you handle this! I’m making a run for it!’

Xu An had just taken a single step back over the threshold into his courtyard when Second Grandpa locked eyes with him.

"You little rasc... Anzi, where do you think you’re going?" Second Grandpa beckoned to Xu An with a hand as large as a cattail fan. "Get over here."

At Second Grandpa’s words, all eyes fell on Xu An. Caught in a bind, he could only brace himself and walk toward Second Grandpa with an awkward yet polite smile.

The moment he got close, Second Grandpa clamped a hand on his shoulder. Even with all the strength Xu An possessed in this life, he couldn’t break the grip.

His struggle, however, brought a look of pleasant surprise to Second Grandpa’s face. "Not bad, kid! You’ve gotten so much stronger. Now *that’s* more like a man from our Xu Family Village. You were so thin and frail before, it was just depressing to see."

As he spoke, he clapped Xu An on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off balance.

Second Grandpa was the chief of Xu Family Village. In other villages, a chief might be chosen for their connections, their wealth, their patience, or their strategic mind...

But in Xu Family Village, the chief was chosen for his fighting ability.

His reputation as a fighter dated back to the fifties. Back then, just after the Liberation, living conditions were harsh, and some people were fond of taking crooked paths.

With a population of less than a hundred—mostly the elderly, women, and children—Xu Family Village became a target for many of these unsavory types.

But! Under Second Grandpa’s leadership, anyone who dared to steal got their hands broken! Anyone who dared to cause trouble was tied up and sent straight to the police!

*You have more numbers? We’ll risk our lives!*

Especially Second Grandpa. He could really take on ten men at once, always charging at the front. He would grab the ringleader and beat them to within an inch of their life.

As the old saying goes: the soft fear the hard, the hard fear the rash, the rash fear the unreasonable, the unreasonable fear the ruthless, and the ruthless fear the one who isn’t afraid to die.

Second Grandpa was ruthless, reckless, vicious, *and* unafraid of dying. Over time, that was how he made his name.

Of course, this was a society ruled by law now, so such situations no longer occurred.

Even so, other villages still wouldn’t dare touch anything that rightfully belonged to Xu Family Village, a testament to Second Grandpa’s lingering influence.

"All this fanfare today is to thank those two unsung heroes!" Second Grandpa beckoned to the still blissfully unaware Xu Guosheng. "Guosheng, you come over here too."

Once Xu Guosheng walked over, Second Grandpa grabbed both their hands and raised them high. "These are our village’s two unsung heroes—Xu An and Xu Guosheng!"

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!

Everyone present, whether they knew the two or not, broke into applause.

"This pig! It weighs a total of four hundred and eighty pounds! It’s the biggest, fattest pig from the farm, and it’s a gift to thank our two unsung heroes!"

After speaking, Second Grandpa released their hands, took a step forward, and turned to face Xu An and Xu Guosheng. A man from the procession put down the gong he was holding, stepped forward, and gave the two of them a deep, ninety-degree bow.

"Thank you, my benefactors, for saving my child just in time. If not for you... if not for you, he would have been separated from us by death, and it would have become a lifelong regret for me!" By the end, the man’s voice was choked with emotion.

"Please, don’t. We just happened to be there. Anyone else would have done the same," Xu An said, hurriedly stepping forward. He and Xu Guosheng flanked the man and helped him up. "How is your child doing now?"

"He’s stable, but they aren’t sure what cut him, so he has to stay in the hospital for a few days for observation." The man added, looking a little embarrassed, "My wife is at the hospital with him and can’t get away. Once he’s discharged, we’ll bring him over to thank you both in person."

"There’s no need, really. You’re being too polite."

After a few more pleasantries, the grand thank-you ceremony came to a close for the time being.

Xu An and Xu Guosheng looked at the 480-pound pig before them, a bit stumped. How in the world were they supposed to handle it?

After discussing whether to sell it and split the money or just cut it in half, they made a final decision: they would host a whole-hog feast and invite the entire village to eat!

Second Grandpa was extremely supportive of their decision. He immediately called the township’s professional banquet caterers, then began directing the villagers to set up tables and wash dishes. The village was instantly filled with a joyous, festive atmosphere.

The man was persuaded to stay by Xu An and the others and was now sitting in their family’s courtyard.

To prevent any awkwardness, Xu An and Xu Guosheng stayed in the courtyard to chat with the man. As they talked, the conversation naturally drifted toward Xu An.

"My nephew here, don’t let his age fool you, he’s got a great head on his shoulders," Xu Guosheng boasted to the man about Xu An’s accomplishments. "He only started a little stall selling box lunches at a construction site back in June. We all thought he just wanted to make some pocket money for the family, so we didn’t think much of it. Next thing we know, he’s already opened two restaurants this month, and business is booming!"

The man picked up on Xu Guosheng’s cue and lavished praise on Xu An. His compliments were so smooth and eloquent that even a seasoned workplace cynic like Xu An felt a little light-headed.

If Xu An were truly just an eighteen-year-old, he would have been floating on air by now.

As the conversation wound down, the man casually asked, "How’s the business of selling box lunches at construction sites?"

"It was pretty good. The workers loved the food." Xu An paused for a moment. "But I’m not serving the workers anymore. I’m mainly focusing on the office-worker crowd now."

"Oh? You said it was going well, so why did you stop?" the man asked, his curiosity piqued.

"The main construction site I was selling at had a food poisoning incident not long ago," Xu An explained. "Now, the site provides its own catered box lunches. The food they offer isn’t bad and it’s filling, so fewer workers come out to buy their own meals."

The man found Xu An’s story very familiar. He pressed on, "Which construction site were you selling at before?"

"The Zijing Garden construction site," Xu An answered without hesitation.

’Zijing Garden?’ The man glanced up at Xu An but saw no flicker of emotion in his eyes. He lowered his head and mulled it over for a while before finally asking, "Are you familiar with Xuguang Real Estate Company?"

"I am," Xu An nodded. "Xuguang Real Estate Company is the developer for the Zijing Garden site."

"I have a friend who works there. He’s a junior executive," the man said, deliberately emphasizing his friend’s status before continuing. "It seems Xuguang Real Estate is planning to cancel the catered box lunches and give the workers a meal allowance directly instead."

!

Xu An’s eyes flew open, and his breathing quickened. "Does that apply to all of Xuguang Real Estate Company’s construction sites...?"

The man nodded.

In that instant, Xu An’s heart was definitely pounding at over 180 beats per minute.