"Bro~ I figured you'd be in here. Uncle told me to come get you. It's getting late, and you need to go downstairs and greet the relatives!"
Su Chen, who had just been dozing off, heard the voice by his ear and opened his eyes with a sigh of resignation.
Looking at the grinning Su Qingya before him, Su Chen felt like punching her.
The past two days had been exhausting for Su Chen; he'd barely had any proper rest.
He was constantly busy, running up and down, either driving out to buy things or going somewhere to pick someone up.
Fortunately, the birthday banquet was fully catered, so the family didn't have to buy groceries or drinks. Otherwise, Su Chen's legs would have given out.
"Sigh, you're really something else, you little troll!" As the eldest grandson of the Su family, Su Chen had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of greeting the relatives.
As soon as he went downstairs, he saw the entire courtyard bustling with activity. The tables were already set up, and the folks who had arrived early were playing mahjong with friends they knew.
A few years ago, the neighbors would have all pitched in to help. It was nothing like now, where everything was catered and they didn't have to worry about a thing.
Before Su Chen could take in the lively scene, a firm hand clapped him on the shoulder.
"Su Chen, you punk! When did you get back!"
Su Chen turned to see a round, middle-aged man, no taller than about five-foot-seven, grinning at him.
"Hey, Second Uncle, when did you get here? How come I didn't see you earlier? Here, have a smoke!" Su Chen quickly pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered it to him.
His Second Uncle was amused by this and laughed as he took a cigarette. "Didn't see me? I've been here for ages! I walked around a few times and couldn't find you. It wasn't until I asked your dad that I found out you were upstairs sleeping."
"Hehe, well, you know how it's been the last couple of days. I haven't been resting well, so I was just taking a little nap."
"Right. Well, you go on and greet the relatives. We can talk later."
"Alright."
With a quick word, Su Chen headed into the crowd. For relatives he recognized, he would go over to say a few words, offer a cigarette as a simple gesture, and then tell them to find a seat.
But there were even more relatives Su Chen didn't recognize, which was awkward. He didn't know how to address them and could only go along with whatever they wanted to talk about.
Some would introduce themselves right away, saying it had been a long time since they'd seen Su Chen and that they remembered when he was "only this tall," gesturing as they spoke.
They made him relive all the mischievous things he did as a child.
After going through this enough times, Su Chen's skin had thickened. He'd walk up to any older person, address them as an elder, and pull them into some small talk.
'Aiya, this is killing me. If I'd known it would be this exhausting, I never would have agreed to Dad's proposal.' As noon approached, Su Chen finally had a rare moment of free time.
Rural birthday banquets were usually very simple. The uncles in the family had originally wanted to hire a band or something to sing and liven things up.
But in the end, his grandfather put his foot down, saying there was no need to waste money like that. Su Chen's father and uncles argued for a while but ultimately lost to the old man.
There was no need for any major ceremonies; Su Zhuyun would just go up as a representative to say a few words, and that would be it.
"Welcome, friends and relatives, near and far. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my..."
Watching Su Zhuyun giving the speech not far away, Su Chen felt a complex mix of emotions. 'Perhaps years from now, I'll be standing in that same spot, saying the same things.'
...
"Ah, finally, it's time to eat!" After waiting through two rounds of guests, Su Chen finally got a seat at a table.
Seeing the braised tiger-skin pork knuckle on the table, Su Chen swallowed hard several times. This was his all-time favorite banquet dish, especially the skin. One bite was pure satisfaction!
Seeing that everyone had started eating, Su Chen also picked up his chopsticks and reached them sinfully toward the pork knuckle.
The moment the soft, springy pork skin entered his mouth, his mind was flooded with childhood memories.
'Mmm, that's right, this is the taste. Delicious!'
By the time Su Chen snapped out of his reverie and looked back at the pork knuckle in the center of the table, only a bone and some lean meat were left.
As for the pork skin... Su Chen glanced at Su Qingya next to him, who was still chewing her piece, and felt a pang of annoyance.
'At such a crucial event like a banquet feast, how could I waste time reminiscing? What a failure!'
Thoughts aside, Su Chen dutifully joined the feasting army.
Feasts in the countryside are all about speed. The food comes out fast, and people eat fast. In less than ten minutes, Su Chen was already squatting in an empty spot nearby, puffing on a cigarette.
"Xiaochen~"
Su Chen followed the voice and saw his Second Uncle walking slowly toward him, big belly first, constantly wiping sweat from his brow with a tissue.
"Second Uncle, why don't you go inside and rest? It's pretty hot out here."
Although there were awnings set up in the yard, the weather was still quite hot and especially unfriendly to those with a rounder build.
"I came to tell you something, then I have to go!"
"Go? Second Uncle, you're not staying a bit longer? I get that First Uncle and the others couldn't make it since they're out of town, but you're leaving right after eating? Anyone who didn't know better would think we were poor hosts!"
Hearing this, his Second Uncle laughed. "You little rascal, getting clever with your uncle, are you!"
"Hehe, I just want you to stay a little longer!" Su Chen had been planning to chat with his uncle in the afternoon; he hadn't expected him to leave so soon.
"You punk..."
Second Uncle patted Su Chen's shoulder, paused for a moment, then continued, "Are you going back to Shanghai after this trip?"
"Yeah, if nothing else comes up, I'll head over in a few days. My sister got into Shanghai University, right? I want to go early to help her get familiar with the place."
"Mhm, if you have time, go see your grandma on your mom's side. She's always talking about you!"
"Of course. I was planning to visit her after Grandma's birthday banquet is all wrapped up. It's been a few years, and I really miss her."
His Second Uncle nodded in satisfaction. "Good. When you come, your uncle will make you something delicious!"
"It's a deal then. I want river fish!" Su Chen said with a slight smile.
"River... river fish? No problem!" His Second Uncle hesitated for a moment but still nodded in agreement.
Su Chen knew his uncle was wincing at the cost. It couldn't be helped. That river fish was expensive, eighty or ninety yuan a pound, and even then, it was rarely available. You had to know someone and book it in advance.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then his Second Uncle left in a hurry. He said his company had called several times, telling him he absolutely had to attend a meeting that afternoon.
Su Chen's mother had three older brothers. The eldest and the third worked in the Suzhou-Hangzhou area. They had been living out of town for many years and only came back for Chinese New Year.
Only Second Uncle's family stayed behind, working at a local factory and taking care of the elders at home.
The couple's combined monthly salary was less than eight thousand yuan, which sounded like they were doing okay.
In reality... they were just scraping by.
His Second Uncle's son—Su Chen's older cousin—had only been married for two years and had a child who was about a year old. It was a time when expenses were high.
And his cousin's job had just stabilized, with his monthly income barely covering his own expenses.
As for the mortgage, that burden fell onto his Second Uncle.
The reason Su Chen knew all this so clearly was all thanks to his mother, Chen Shufen.
Chen Shufen had brought it up during a casual chat with him a while ago, specifically telling Su Chen to help out more if he got the chance.