Chapter 29: The White Moonlight, Rooted Up by a Pig

The three of them sat together, but they had absolutely nothing in common to talk about. Li Wenwen was fond of literature, Haitang preferred trendy and modern things like photography, and the man named Zheng Fei enjoyed painting.

The best way to ease the awkwardness was to eat. Zheng Fei enjoyed this meal thoroughly; in the past, he had always felt a bit guilty spending Haitang’s money. But this time, since he was paying for it himself, he felt no such burden. After finishing his meal, he ordered two more pork cutlets to go.

Seeing Zheng Fei order two more cutlets left Haitang speechless. Her wallet was now running low on cash, and she figured she would have to borrow money from Wenwen. However, before the meal was even finished, Zheng Fei stood up and took the initiative to pay the bill.

The waiter smiled and said, "That will be eleven yuan and fifty cents."

A meal costing eleven yuan and fifty cents was quite an extravagant affair in this day and age. At the private "Delicious House" restaurant, that amount of money could easily feed an entire family a full seafood feast—the kind where everyone leaves stuffed.

The waiter, whose name was Zhou Haisheng, was from Pudong; he had only secured this job through his family’s connections. From the moment he first saw this young man, he knew exactly what kind of person he was—after all, the poor understand the poor best. He clearly had no money yet insisted on acting like a big shot; he would surely be unable to pay the bill and would end up forcing the two young women to cover it.

But to his surprise, the man pulled two "Big Solidarity" bills from his pocket and said with an air of pretension, "Sorry, I don't have any small change."

When he said this, many of the old-timers nearby looked over. Was a little over a yuan considered "small change"? Zheng Fei wasn't actually trying to show off, but to him, in his current state, a little over a yuan really was just pocket change.

Zhou Haisheng was stunned for a moment, but he still took the money with a smile. "I'm sorry, but according to the regulations, you also need to provide five jin of food coupons and two jin of meat coupons for this meal."

"Ah..."

Zheng Fei only then remembered that his coupons had all been taken by Auntie Huang to be sold for cash. Since Shanghai residents were only allotted 2.5 jin of meat coupons per month, and this one meal had consumed two, it seemed that even with money, he wouldn't be able to eat pork cutlets every day.

Seeing Zheng Fei’s dilemma, Haitang immediately came to his rescue. "Did you forget your coupons? I have some here."

The waiter gave Zheng Fei back over eight yuan in change. After watching the three of them leave, he felt a mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment. He had always liked the young woman named Haitang. She was a regular at the shop; from his first day on the job, he had seen her sitting there, lost in thought. Zhou Haisheng knew that someone like him could never be a match for such a girl, but he never imagined that the "moonlight" in his heart would be snatched up by a pig.

...

After the three stepped out of the café, Haitang suddenly turned serious; she was worried that Zheng Fei was just putting on a brave face to look wealthy. She knew all too well how stingy he usually was; for him to spend so much money to treat them to a meal was simply inconceivable.

"Comrade Zheng Fei, didn't you tell me last time that you were an unemployed youth? How are you suddenly so well-off?"

Zheng Fei replied, "Didn't you accompany me to take photos a while back?"

"Yes," Haitang nodded.

"Actually, I went to photograph the temple murals to help some villages on Chongming Island restore their temples, so I earned a little money."

"Oh, so that’s it."

Haitang suddenly understood. But as soon as Chongming Island was mentioned, she became a bit excited and hurriedly asked, "Is the scenery good over there?"

"It’s quite nice. The village we went to was by the sea, and there was plenty of seafood. We couldn't even finish all the crabs."

Haitang’s eyes lit up. "I love eating crab too. If I have the chance, I must go to the island to see it."

"Sure, I'll take you."

Li Wenwen, looking utterly resigned, gave a hollow laugh. "You guys keep talking; I’m heading back."

Haitang immediately grabbed her. "Wenwen, why are you leaving? Aren't we going to the Xinhua Bookstore?"

Li Wenwen rolled her eyes at her. "I’m sleepy after eating; I want to go home and sleep." She already owned a copy of "The Scar"; saying that earlier was just an excuse to avoid being a third wheel for these two.

"Wait, I’ll walk with you."

After the two women had walked a short distance, Li Wenwen scoffed, "So you like eating crab now, too?"

Haitang blushed. "People always change."

Li Wenwen sighed, "You certainly have changed."

When Haitang returned home, a middle-aged woman in an apron chattered, "Where did you wander off to again? The food is cold; I'll heat it up for you."

"I already ate out."

"You child, there is food cooked at home, and you don't eat properly, always eating out. If this continues, I won't cook for you anymore."

After Haitang got home, she hid in her room, and before long, she actually started singing. The middle-aged woman eavesdropped for a while, then went into the living room and spoke to the old man who was reading the newspaper.

"Something’s not right. A while ago, she was always losing her temper for no reason, but she’s in such a good mood today. Do you think our daughter might have... you know?"

The middle-aged man, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a Zhongshan suit—looking every bit the official—replied, "Let her handle her own affairs. We shouldn't interfere."

But despite what he said, he had recently called Li Wenwen’s father into his office to talk, telling him to ask Wenwen what had been going on with Haitang lately. Seeing her skip and jump back home, he was certain something was up. "I’m going to go find Old Li to play chess."

The middle-aged woman looked at him speechlessly and then said, "By the way, Haitang’s uncle asked if Haitang should go study abroad."

"Discuss that with Haitang yourself. Is such a big decision something I can just make?"

The woman looked at him with disdain. "You really have no authority as a father. If I didn't educate her often, you probably would have spoiled her rotten."

Everyone living in this lane knew that Hai Xianfu was a high-ranking official who managed many people, and everyone feared him. But there was only one person Hai Xianfu dared not control or scold: his daughter, Haitang.

...

On his way back, Zheng Fei happened to hit the peak of rush hour. The road was filled with "twenty-eight-inch" bicycles. He was constantly being passed by people ringing their bells.

*What’s so great about that? It’s just a beat-up bike. When I drove a BMW in my past life, I never looked down on you guys.* Zheng Fei thought to himself that once his submission was accepted and he earned legitimate money, he would definitely buy a Phoenix bicycle and have Haitang sit on the back, making everyone else green with envy.

By the time Zheng Fei returned to the alley, it was already dark. Now that the weather had turned cold, Old Man Sun no longer liked sitting in the hallway but sat by the doorway instead. Since his retirement, he had nothing to do, so he spent his days chatting with the neighbors. Sometimes he would do some carpentry work, building a chair or two. The one Zheng Fei was sitting on now was a gift from him.

Seeing him staring blankly, Zheng Fei handed over a brown paper bag. Even before it was opened, the rich aroma of meat wafted out. Catching the scent, even a man who had nearly become the second-in-command of a textile factory couldn't help but swallow his saliva. He looked at the logo on the paper bag.

"The Donghai Café over by the Bund?"

"Yes."

Old Man Sun frowned and looked around before lecturing him on the spot, "I know you've made a lot of money in Chongming, but you must keep a low profile. If the neighborhood committee finds out, it will be a real headache to deal with." It seemed Captain He and Old Man Sun were still in touch privately.

"I know, I'll be careful."

Seeing Old Man Sun sighing, Zheng Fei couldn't help but say, "If you look down on these pork cutlets, I'll buy you pig trotters another day."

Seeing Zheng Fei about to take the bag back, Old Man Sun immediately snatched it. "You kid, you still know how to respect your elders. I'll accept this."

Back before the "unspeakable years" arrived, when he was young, he had been a regular at the Donghai Café. After getting the pork cutlets, he hurried to give them to his wife, smiling from ear to ear. "Xiuli, come look at this. What is this?"

"Where did this come from?"

"Guess where these pork cutlets are from."

Auntie Chen, who was wiping the table, replied, "It couldn't possibly be from that place we used to eat at, could it?"

"Exactly, it’s the Donghai."

"Where did you get them?"

"That kid Zheng Fei gave them to me."

Old Man Sun had met her at that very café. Back then, she was young and beautiful, working as a dishwasher there. Back then, he was in his prime, pulling a rickshaw at the door. Back then, the world was in turmoil, and they would look at each other through the glass.

In the neighboring room, Brother Hong was eating the delicious pork cutlet, feeling somewhat disillusioned. *Is this really something I’m allowed to eat?*

Little Yun, being very sensible, said, "Brother already secretly gave me some to eat last time. Dad, Mom, Grandma, you guys just eat it."

Today, he held a copy of the *Reference News* in his hand. In a prominent position, there was a set of data that was quite heart-wrenching: "According to statistics, in 1980, the average annual income of urban residents nationwide was 762 yuan, while the average annual net income of farmers was only 191 yuan..."