Chapter 21: Candied Chestnuts

Chapter 21: Candied Chestnuts

She wondered if the audience would see these boring work scenes.

Song Xilan’s comment was actually a test, to see if she could find out some things she wanted to know through the live comments.

She looked at the live comments and was pleasantly surprised to find that someone was actually responding.

"Isn’t it wrong to promote the idea of getting something for nothing?"

"What’s wrong with that? I bet everyone watching has dreamed of finding money at least once."

"I don’t know where you can find money, but there are valuable treasures hidden in your own home!"

Song Xilan was shocked. Treasures in her home? What treasures!

Her family was one of the first to own a TV, having bought a black-and-white Panda-brand TV in the 1960s when she was less than ten years old. After watching a TV drama about family heirlooms, she asked her father if they had any heirlooms to pass down to her.

Her parents burst out laughing. Her father gave her a worthless rock, tricking her into thinking it was a family heirloom, and she kept it as a treasure for years. Only when she grew up did she realize it was just her father teasing her.

Her parents were from poor farming families, so there couldn’t be any ancestral treasures. Even when their financial situation improved later, most of their income went toward food, drink, and raising her, so there was no extra money to buy gold or silver treasures.

They only had a handful of valuable items at home: a TV, a radio, a sewing machine, a bicycle, and a watch. There was nothing more. If someone claimed there were treasures in her home, she’d be the first to doubt it.

But those commenters didn’t know she could see their messages, and they had no reason to lie to her. What treasures could there be in her home?

The frustrating part was that the comments stopped, likely because her inventory work was too boring, so this part of the plot was skipped and not broadcasted.

Song Xilan sighed, pulled herself together, and got back to work.

Before long, it was time to clock out. The inventory wasn’t fully completed, but overtime wasn’t an option—it wasn’t allowed.

The boss said, "We’ll finish tomorrow," and everyone hurried to leave.

Song Xilan glanced outside but didn’t see Jiang Chengxiao, leaving her a little disappointed.

Wasn’t it agreed to meet at five? He didn’t keep his word.

Working at the store was seen as an easy, cushy job. Almost everyone working there was a family member of the factory’s cadres, and they all lived in the factory’s dormitory compound.

Juan Zi offered to walk back with Song Xilan, but Song Xilan excused herself, saying she needed to buy something.

She waited for a while outside the closed store but still didn’t see Jiang Chengxiao. Just as she was about to get angry, she suddenly heard a cheerful voice: "I won again, all of these are mine now."

Song Xilan followed the voice and saw why he was missing—he was playing with some kids!

He was squatting on the ground with a few snot-nosed kids, not minding the dirt, sweeping a pile of cigarette packs towards himself.

One of the kids started crying, sitting on the ground and kicking his legs: "No fair, no fair, I’m not playing with you anymore. Give me back my cigarette packs!"

Jiang Chengxiao: "A bet is a bet. I won, so these are mine now!"

Song Xilan walked over: "Why are you bullying kids?"

Jiang Chengxiao looked up with a bright smile: "Just playing around. Kids, I’m not teasing you anymore. Here, take your stuff back!"

The kids happily crowded together: "Mine, this is mine!"

"This is mine, that one is yours."

It looked like an unfair distribution was about to start a fight.

Though all just cigarette packs, they hold different values in the eyes of the children based on the brand and the condition of the cigarettes. They’ve got it all figured out!

To prevent a brawl, Jiang Chengxiao had to step in again: "Come on, don’t fight, I’ll distribute them."

He gathered the cigarette packs together and handed them out one by one to each child: "This Firecracker is yours, Red Plum is yours, your Peony is the big one, his is the small one, these two small foreign ones, yours is newer, the old one is his—everything’s correct, right?"

The kid who got his prized cigarette pack back looked at him with admiration: "Correct, your memory is so good—how do you remember so clearly!"

The kid who tried to swap his lousy pack for someone else’s good one was left speechless and frustrated.

Song Xilan couldn’t help but chuckle. She hadn’t played this since she was in middle school, and here was a grown man getting a kick out of playing with the kids.

Jiang Chengxiao stood up, brushing the dust off his coat: "Done with work?"

"I’ve been waiting for you—thought you weren’t coming!" She didn’t even realize her voice had a playful, flirty edge.

Jiang Chengxiao felt a tingle, quite pleased: "Men and women are different. I was worried that always dropping by might not look good for you, so I didn’t come over."

Song Xilan felt a pang of guilt, remembering the cold words she had said at noon: "There’s no rule against men and women being friends. What’s wrong with that? Besides, we have serious matters to discuss. Oh, never mind that—let me tell you about Jiang Jingru’s situation!"

"Just standing here talking?"

Song Xilan thought for a moment: "There’s a small park over there—it should be quiet at this hour. Let’s head over there and chat while we walk!"

At this hour, everyone was rushing home to cook, and the small park was indeed empty. It was Song Xilan’s first time walking in a park alone with a young man, and she was nervous but tried to play it cool, so much so that she didn’t even notice she was walking with her hands and feet in sync.

Jiang Chengxiao, on the other hand, saw a vendor selling sugar-roasted chestnuts and bought a bag, handing it to Song Xilan: "Hold this—it’ll warm your hands."

With something warm in her hands, she walked more naturally.

Jiang Chengxiao walked and naturally took a sugar-roasted chestnut from the paper bag in her hands, peeling it as he spoke: "Let me first tell you about my comrade’s situation."

He handed the peeled chestnut over, his actions so natural that Song Xilan almost didn’t think, just took it and ate it. The chestnut was roasted to a soft texture, sweet and fragrant.

"I was thrown to the Xisha Islands border defense by my old man two years ago to serve as a soldier," Jiang Chengxiao said.