Chapter 101

Chapter 101

This residence was allocated to Han Jiming when the Han family divided their assets.

At that time, Han Jiming was not in the country. His two elder brothers acted as representatives on his behalf during the division.

Initially, when Old Master Han announced that Han Cheng would receive a larger share of cash, no one reacted much. But when it came to assigning this house to Han Jiming, even the usually composed Han Boyuan was visibly moved—because this house was the true ancestral home of the Han family.

Though the two elder brothers, who received a Western-style house in Shanghai and a high-end mansion on Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels respectively, appeared equally prestigious, everyone silently agreed that the old man was banking on the mainland's growth and had reserved the best for his youngest son.

Neither of the elder brothers objected.

The eldest, Han Boyuan, had long shifted his career focus to Shanghai, so a property in Beijing would be of little use to him. The second brother, Han Shuping, was in finance and was meant to work in Hong Kong. The one who remained in Beijing to care for the old man in his later years was, in fact, his favorite son.

Han Jiming only learned of his father’s decision after returning to the country.

Han Jiming, who was repairing a watch, wore frameless glasses, giving him a somewhat bookish but mischievous vibe.

Xu Meng had been casually browsing a magazine when her gaze inadvertently drifted toward him. The sunlight cast shadows on his profile, making him look like a painting come to life. She stared at him for a long time until Han Jiming, feeling tired, finally looked up.

Their eyes met, and Xu Meng, embarrassed, lowered her head.

“That captivating?” His low voice cut through the quiet.

“Huh?”

Xu Meng played dumb, as if she hadn’t been staring at him at all. “What are you talking about?”

Geez, way to kill the mood. Couldn’t he just pretend not to notice?

Han Jiming smiled faintly and reached out to hand her the repaired watch. “I tested it, and it seems fine now. Try it on and see if the strap fits.”

Earlier, changing the strap had seemed like a simple task, but adjusting its length turned out to be more involved. Xu Meng soon realized that even something as mundane as replacing a watch strap could be turned into a flirty situation by him. He measured the circumference of her wrist with his fingers, inch by inch, until they were both a little breathless before finally stopping.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he coolly slipped on his glasses and carefully swapped out the strap.

Xu Meng took the watch and fastened it around her wrist. “It fits perfectly.”

It couldn’t have fit any better.

Han Jiming said, “If you come across another suitable strap in the future, buy it, and I’ll replace it for you.”

He had actually considered buying her a new watch, but since she genuinely loved this one, he dropped the idea. A nice strap, however, would make a fine gift.

The time spent changing the watch strap became a rare chance to be alone together. Before heading out, Han Jiming told her, “You can come here if you need to find me in the future.”

This place was quieter, with fewer people around, and he had already moved in.

Only thing was, the house was too large, making it feel somewhat empty when living alone.

They took a walk outside. In this season, the northern landscape was pretty much dead, with only a red plum and a white plum tree by the courtyard wall still hanging onto their leaves. The rest of the grounds were bare, making the place feel even lonelier. Han Jiming only stayed here occasionally.

“Your family’s house is crazy old,” Xu Meng remarked. “When was it built?”

Han Jiming dropped a bombshell. “We initially thought it was from the Ming Dynasty. But during renovations this year, the craftsmen discovered markings on the main beam—it dates back to the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty.”

As a history geek in her final year of high school, Xu Meng quickly calculated how many years had passed since Emperor Wanli’s reign.

“Over four hundred years… This house is four hundred freaking years old!” The history geek blurted out. “No way! Then the gate I touched earlier—is that an antique too?”

"Not all parts of the house are from that era. Years ago, it was ransacked, and many of the furniture inside were taken away. Many doors were also smashed beyond repair. Later, new doors made of the same material were installed, but the craftsman thought they clashed with the surroundings, so they ended up renovating the entire estate."

Xu Meng spent the entire tour gushing "Wow!" over everything.

Han Jiming grinned like a doting uncle the whole time, not finding her reactions the least bit inappropriate.

Previously, some senior labmates had brought a few girls over for a visit. Though their eyes couldn’t hide their awe, they still insisted on saying things like, "This house is actually nothing special. A friend of mine has one even bigger than yours."

But perhaps it wasn’t just that—maybe it was because he liked Xu Meng that everything she did seemed delightful to him.

The two wandered around the house for a while, getting familiar with it.

Xu Meng kept bouncing from one thing to the next, full of curiosity. When she saw the lotus pond, she even asked if they could dig for lotus roots.

And so, the two actually started wading into the muddy pond to dig. To their surprise, they managed to unearth some lotus roots. By the time Sister Wang came rushing over, horrified, Han Jiming was already kitted out like a proper lotus-root digger, his hands covered in mud, while Xu Meng sat by the pond, eyes wide with excitement. "There’s so much!"

"Oh, Jiming, why did you go down there yourself? You’ll catch a cold in this weather!" Sister Wang hurriedly called him out of the pond, fussing over him like a kid. She pulled out a large towel from behind, made him wipe himself clean, and urged him to take a shower. Turning to Xu Meng with an exasperated smile, she said, "He’s always like this—so curious about everything."

Xu Meng doubled over laughing.

Sister Wang would probably never know that Han Jiming had jumped into the pond just because Xu Meng had offhandedly mused, "I wonder if there are any lotus roots down there..." Once Sister Wang left, Xu Meng shot him a knowing wink. "So, you were quite mischievous as a kid too, huh?"

Who would’ve thought? Not at all what she expected.

So much for his cool, collected image. Where was the domineering CEO?

By the time Han Jiming finished showering, it was already afternoon.

Xu Meng checked the time. "I should head back."

Han Jiming offered to see her off. "Here, take these home."

Looking at the pile of roots, Xu Meng couldn’t help but laugh. "You went to all that trouble to dig them up—aren’t you going to eat any yourself?"

Han Jiming replied, "I dug them for you. Take them back. If your mom asks, just tell her you bumped into a lotus-root vendor on your way to get your watch fixed, and that’s why you were delayed."

Her mother was quite caring, though he wasn’t sure how strict their household rules were.

In a few days, senior year would begin, and with schoolwork ramping up, Han Jiming decided to meet her less often.

Only half a year remained—studying was more important.

As they spoke, he asked Sister Wang to scrounge up a burlap sack for the lotus roots.

Xu Meng was curious—did such a fancy-pants house really have something as rustic as a burlap sack? But as soon as Sister Wang heard the request, she dug out a few, quick as a wink, packing them while grumbling that if Han Jiming ever craved lotus roots, he should just tell her instead of digging them himself.

Xu Meng just gaped.

Han Jiming explained, "This pond produces a lot of lotus roots every year. In the past, when the family ran out of vegetables, we’d come here to dig some up. Sister Wang has always lived here—she’s the one who usually does the digging."

And yet, when she had asked earlier, he had played dumb and insisted on trying it himself!

Xu Meng was still giggling her way home by the time she neared home.

————

Feng Yanwen returned home after class, but Xu Meng hadn’t come back yet.

After chatting with Huang Xiaoying in the kitchen for a while, she finally heard movement outside. Stepping out to look, she saw Xu Meng hauling a bulging burlap sack full of lotus roots.

"Where'd you score all these lotus roots?"

Last winter, vegetables were expensive throughout Jingshi, and the family had been eating cabbage and radishes for who knows how long. Now, everyone’s burps reeked of cabbage. This trip back to their hometown was no different—dumplings had fillings like cabbage-pork or pickled cabbage-pork, almost every meal revolving around cabbage.

Feng Yanwen had just been saying to Huang Xiaoying about getting some fresh vegetables, like tofu.

Last winter, as vegetable prices soared, beans stayed cheap, so tofu and bean sprouts went flying off the shelves. The family had at least one meal with soy products every two days.

City life had perks—even soy products came in all kinds. Huang Xiaoying had just been talking to Feng Yanwen about going to the market early the next morning to buy some tender tofu for mapo tofu or some firm tofu for stewing when they spotted a giant sack of lotus roots.

Lotus roots were a pricey veggie this season.

Not to mention this year’s vegetable scarcity, where lotus roots were selling for more than pork.

Even in previous years, lotus roots were among the most expensive vegetables.

Feng Yanwen’s first reaction: "Did the price of lotus roots drop?"

As northerners, they wouldn’t buy just one segment of lotus root.

But for Xu Meng to drag home dozens of pounds like this was way over the top.

Earlier, Han Jiming did all the heavy lifting of the sack from the car to the house, so Xu Meng hadn’t realized its weight. Once he left and she tried dragging it herself, her jaw dropped—this sack had to weigh at least fifty pounds.

Unable to move it at the doorstep, Xu Meng yelled for backup.

Feng Yanwen quickly changed clothes and came to assist, but even she couldn’t drag the sack alone. Together with Xu Meng, they still couldn’t lift it.

So they carried the roots inside chunk by chunk, starting with the largest ones. The remaining half sack was manageable for Huang Xiaoying and Xu Meng to drag in together.

Feng Yanwen estimated, "There’s at least fifty pounds here. Later, we’ll give some to Chang Xi’s family, some to the neighbor Sanshu, and some to Sister Liu. They’ve helped Xiaoying out a ton recently."

These families often helped them out too.

Xu Meng nodded along.

Feng Yanwen then asked about the price of the lotus roots.

"They were free. A friend has a lotus pond and gave them to me."

"Your friend from Daxing? That Wei Xiang girl?"

The friend from Daxing referred to Wei Xiang. Feng Yanwen could only think of this one friend of Xu Meng’s who lived in the countryside. Her own hometown also had lotus ponds, but the roots were dug up last winter, and buying them during the New Year had been expensive too. "Make sure to look after her when school starts."

Xu Meng couldn’t very well tell her mother that the lotus roots had been dug up from Han Jiming’s property. "Mm."

"That classmate of yours must have it tough. She’s from out of town, so bringing food and supplies isn’t easy. She probably wanted to give you some lotus roots so you’d look after her daughter. When school starts, remember to share your food with her—don’t hog the good stuff."

Xu Meng deadpanned, "I know, I’ve got her back."

Huang Xiaoying glanced at her aunt and then at her cousin, side-eyeing her.

Feng Yanwen then noticed her wristwatch. "Did you get your watch fixed?"

The strap was adjusted even better than last time. Previously, too few links had been removed, leaving it loose on her wrist. They had considered asking the watchmaker to remove two more links for a better fit, but the man had given them the stink-eye.

This time, the strap length was just right. Feng Yanwen remarked, "This guy knows his stuff."

Xu Meng, thinking of the watchmaker, turned pink.

Huang Xiaoying stared at her face curiously for a while and said to Feng Yanwen, "Have we been using more coal than usual at home lately?"

After dinner, she went to deliver lotus roots to the neighbors. For Yang Sanshu next door, it was simple—just drop it off directly. But the Changs and Sister Liu lived farther away. When she arrived, Chang Xi was having dinner with Granny Huang, as her parents were not home.

"My parents are on a business trip, so I've been eating at the canteen lately. We won’t get through all these lotus roots at home," Chang Xi said, pointing at the food in her bowl. "Lately, I’ve been grabbing meals from my parents’ work cafeteria."

Changchun Street was closest to the train station, so fetching meals was very convenient for her—just a ten-minute round trip.

Granny Huang had worried she’d struggle after moving out, but she was actually doing quite well at the Changs'. Since Chang Xi’s parents were often away on business, they had more meal vouchers than they could use. Now with Granny Huang joining, it balanced out perfectly. Granny Huang paid Chang Xi at market price, and the two got along very well during this time.

Unlike Liu Jin and his two brothers, Chang Xi preferred making the trip to her parents’ canteen to get fresh meals every day.

Xu Meng set the lotus roots on the table anyway. "You can cook hot pot with them. Still got that hot pot base I gave you before New Year’s? If not, come to my place and take another one."

Chang Xi was lazy, but she couldn’t resist lotus roots, so she took them gladly.

Next was Sister Liu’s home.

When Xu Meng arrived, Sister Liu happened to be standing downstairs, chatting with someone around her age. She was so deep in conversation she didn’t notice Xu Meng, leaving Xu Meng awkwardly standing there, unsure whether to leave or stay. Only after the other person left did Sister Liu finally notice Xu Meng waiting nearby.

"What’s up?"

"A friend gave us fresh lotus roots—thought you’d like some," Xu Meng said, handing over a section of lotus root.

Sister Liu’s eyes lit up, and after a polite refusal, she accepted. "When did you and your mom get back?"

She figured they’d brought the lotus roots from back home.

Xu Meng replied, "We came back yesterday. What were you talking about just now?"

Sister Liu, never one to hold back, chatted easily with Xu Meng. She waved her hand and said, "We were talking about Granny Huang’s house."

Xu Meng was intrigued. "Is she really planning to sell it?"

"Of course! Why hang onto it when everyone’s after it? She should’ve sold it long ago. That house isn’t doing her any favors—better to cash out and use the money for retirement," Sister Liu retorted. "Was there anything else?"

"I just haven’t seen you in a while and wanted to chat. Doesn’t have to be about anything specific," Xu Meng said, still more interested in the house. "I’ve noticed people coming to see it these past few days. Has anyone made an offer?"

She and Feng Yanwen couldn’t swing it yet, but keeping an eye on the market and learning more wouldn’t hurt.