In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 183: The Cool Dad in the Apocalypse (13)

As the end of the year approached, having gone through so much over the past months, Qi Sheng decided to take the opportunity of the New Year to bring his family out for a big holiday shopping trip.

The old man, hearing his plan and glancing at the weather outside, said, “You take Xiaoyue and the two kids. These old bones of ours can’t handle the cold out there.”

Though the old lady wanted to go shopping, she was also worried about whether her body could take it, so she declined as well.

And so, Qi Sheng’s family of four bundled up in thick down jackets and snow boots, then climbed into a car with a cozy heater and set off in comfort for the Greenwater Park Trading Center in the city.

Since Qi Hang was still very young, Qi Sheng hadn’t taken him out in the past few months. Qi Lei had gone out with him twice, but Qi Hang had long been upset about being left behind. Now that he finally got to go out and stretch his legs, he was beyond excited.

All the way there, he acted like a little bird just let out of a cage, looking around in awe and shouting excitedly even at the snow-covered fields.

Tian Yue had a headache from all the noise her silly son was making, but she was in a great mood herself today and, for once, didn’t try to stop him.

Due to the importance of transporting agricultural products, the government had prioritized several main roads into the city, so Qi Sheng wasn’t worried about encountering any criminal elements on the trip.

They arrived at Greenwater Park a little after 10 a.m., and the place was even livelier than it had been a year ago.

Daily necessities were in high demand. To survive, the remaining factories had been working overtime to produce goods, which brought some circulation and vitality back to the city’s economy. Vegetables and daily goods were plentiful, but meat and fruit had become extremely scarce. Qi Sheng circled the market and finally found only a few stalls selling live chickens. Beef, pork, and lamb—meat from large livestock—had become luxury items.

Qi Sheng said, “I’m planning to buy two chickens. Let’s add two more dishes for New Year’s Eve dinner.”

Tian Yue glanced at the prices set by the chicken vendors—one chicken cost about fifteen jin of rice or thirty jin of potatoes—and said with some heartache, “Isn’t buying chickens too wasteful? We still have a decent amount of eggs at home.”

“Eggs can’t compare to chicken meat. Let’s get two. We can still afford it.”

Qi Hang hadn’t eaten meat in ages. Hearing that they were buying chickens and adding dishes, his mouth instantly started to water.

“Mama, let’s just listen to Dad, okay? Grandma won’t let us kill the hens at home, and I’m starving just thinking about meat!”

Tian Yue actually wanted to eat meat too. With the whole family craving it, not buying seemed like an unforgivable offense. She no longer objected, and Qi Sheng successfully completed the transaction with the chicken vendor.

With meat settled, Qi Sheng wanted to look for some fish. Even though they were in an inland area, with the ingenuity of the working people, it wasn’t possible that natural resources like river fish were just left untouched.

Sure enough, after walking around a bit, he really did find a fish vendor.

Qi Sheng looked at several plump carp in a big iron basin and asked the teenage vendor sitting nearby, “Hey, little boss, how much are the fish?”

Zhao Xiaofei was currently buried in a novel and didn’t even lift his head. “Five jin of rice per jin of fish. If you want to trade for something else, we can talk.”

Qi Sheng quickly calculated the cost—one fish was even more expensive than a chicken. But with scarcity driving value, rare items fetched higher prices. He decided to pick out a big carp to bring home and roast for the family.

As Qi Sheng bent down to choose a fish, Qi Lei wandered over and was surprised to see the teen sitting on the small stool.

“Xiaofei!”

“Brother Lei!”

The two close buddies were thrilled to see each other. After the excitement, Qi Lei asked curiously, “What, you’re selling fish now?”

“It’s my uncle’s stall. He asked me to help watch it for him. See over there, that bigger daily goods stall? That’s his too.”

Qi Lei followed Zhao Xiaofei’s finger and saw a middle-aged couple talking to customers in front of a relatively large stall. He turned back to look at Zhao Xiaofei again, noticing that he didn’t look too different from a year ago, and felt relieved.

The two had stayed in contact online, but since Zhao Xiaofei used to be a rich second-generation kid, Qi Lei had been a bit worried about how he was coping with the drastic change in circumstances. But seeing all the goods they had now, it seemed like their current life wasn’t too bad.

It was the first time Zhao Xiaofei had met Qi Lei’s father. After greeting Qi Sheng, he pulled Qi Lei into a quiet corner, clearly with something on his mind.

“Brother Lei, are you still going to do anything about Su Xue?”

“Her?”

“Yeah. Things haven’t been good for her lately. And… her mom too. I heard they’re having a really rough time.”

Qi Lei had met Su Xue by chance in middle school. Back then, he helped her when she was being bullied by a little delinquent girl. The timid Su Xue had admired and even idolized the cool and handsome Qi Lei ever since, often sneaking over to his school to catch glimpses of him.

She had been experiencing her first stirrings of teenage affection, but unfortunately, Yang Ning found out about it. When she later discovered that the person she liked was actually her biological brother, it had left her heartbroken… yet also strangely happy.

Later, both of them knew about their relationship. On the surface, Qi Lei kept his distance from Su Xue, but whenever he actually saw her being bullied, he would step up without hesitation. Just like when Su Xue was forced to become the school bully’s girlfriend, Qi Lei didn’t think twice before fighting the guy.

Thinking of that fragile little girl who always tried to get close to him, Qi Lei couldn’t help but frown.

“What happened to her?”

Zhao Xiaofei saw his expression and knew Qi Lei still cared. So he replied, “Her? Well, at the beginning of the disaster, her dad was unfortunately injured. Though he didn’t die, he was basically crippled and bedridden now. Social order changed, and the money they used to have doesn’t work anymore. Their family’s situation plummeted, and then…”

Zhao Xiaofei hesitated, unsure how to continue. Qi Lei immediately understood what he meant.

“And then? Just say it.”

Zhao Xiaofei gathered his words awkwardly: “Then Mrs. Su took Su Xue away. Su Xue’s father was sent to a relief station. The conditions there are poor, but at least there’s a place to stay. But Mrs. Su’s situation is worse. At first, she still had money to buy food, but then it all ran out. With no one to support her, she completely lost her source of income. And then… well, Su Xue, still so young, often gets harassed by all kinds of men and can’t escape.”

What Zhao Xiaofei didn’t say was that Mrs. Su — that is, Yang Ning — later became a prostitute. She didn’t mind doing it herself, but to live a little more comfortably, she even started to push her own daughter into it.

She didn’t intend to let Su Xue truly fall that far, but thinking that Su Xue inherited her good looks, in such desperate times, why not use her beauty to cling to a wealthy patron and secure a stable life?

Yang Ning basically laid out their mother-daughter predicament bluntly and openly shared her thoughts. She thought a few more talks with her daughter would make her listen, but the usually timid little girl actually showed some backbone this time!

After multiple failed attempts to communicate, Yang Ning finally got harsh. She stopped protecting Su Xue and even coldly looked on when nearby perverts made lewd remarks toward her daughter. One can imagine the kind of life Su Xue is living now.

Qi Lei had roughly understood everything. This disaster plunged the entire world into crisis. He had some idea what the outside world was like.

Thinking about this, Qi Lei couldn’t help but recall his own experiences over the past year. He had returned to his hometown right at the start of the disaster and hadn’t really suffered much.

Although the food was a bit monotonous, his dad was an excellent cook who could make a variety of dishes with just two or three ingredients.

Qi Lei glanced at his father, who was already waiting with the fish he had picked out. Thinking about the peaceful life they’d had over the past year, and how his father spared no effort to make sure they lived without worry, and their family days spent holed up in the library reading and painting, he found it almost laughable that this disaster, hated by everyone, was actually the start of his happiness.

He pushed the unusual thought out of his mind and frowned, asking, “Where is she now?”

Qi Lei didn’t have much emotional connection to Su Xue, but their relationship was special. After it became clear between them, Su Xue had even cautiously tried to win him over.

Qi Lei knew what it felt like to want to get close to someone, so within his means, he still wanted to help Su Xue, though it seemed beyond his abilities.

“They usually stay in a shelter in the northern district, but recently they might be around here.”

The trading center was a good opportunity for Yang Ning to find wealthy clients, especially now near the New Year. The Chinese people traditionally value the Spring Festival, and after a hard year, they would not hesitate to spend lavishly during this brief good time. The more generous the spender, the more Yang Ning targeted them.

But she hadn’t come yesterday, and Zhao Xiaofei wasn’t sure if she had already found a new patron.

Qi Lei turned back and glanced at Qi Sheng, who was choosing spices at a nearby stall, and couldn’t help but worry.

Although Qi Lei was told not to blame the adults’ problems on Qi Sheng, given his past troubles, Qi Lei was still concerned that Qi Sheng might be provoked—and if that happened, he’d be the one to suffer!

Thinking of this, Qi Lei smiled bitterly. Now, forget about helping Su Xue—it seemed if Qi Sheng ran into Yang Ning, even he wouldn’t be safe.

After chatting with Zhao Xiaofei a bit more, Qi Lei walked over to Qi Sheng to help carry some things.

Qi Sheng had finished buying the spices. After they finished talking, he paid for the fish he had picked, carrying it in his hand, then said to Qi Lei, “Did you find anything you wanted to buy? Once we load the stuff into the car, we’ll come back to shop.”

Both sides now used food as currency. Qi Sheng had just traded twenty jin of rice and a large bag of cooked eggs for the chicken and fish. Though this barter system was cumbersome, no one wanted to use paper money, and even gold wasn’t necessarily accepted. Despite government controls for a long time, it had little effect because in the disaster, people didn’t trust anything intangible when food itself was scarce.

Qi Lei had just spotted a pair of snow boots he wanted to buy but now didn’t dare mention it.

“Dad, I don’t need to buy anything. Let’s go home.”

“We’ve only been here a short time. Why go back so early? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, it’s just that I don’t feel like we’re missing anything.”

Qi Sheng smiled at this and said, “How can that be? It’s been more than a year. You should have some new clothes by now. Look at your little brother—he’s probably already picked out a bunch of things he wants to buy.”

As he spoke, Qi Sheng looked around, trying to find his youngest son to see where the little rascal was.

Qi Lei watched his father searching anxiously, his heart pounding. But just as he feared, not far ahead, a deliberately dressed-up Yang Ning was flirtatiously patrolling her target, with Su Xue also well-dressed but keeping her head down beside her.

Qi Lei’s heart raced for a moment, but after calming down, he oddly found himself curious, waiting to see how the people in front of him would react.

Qi Sheng also saw the familiar women ahead. Despite the hardships and trials life had thrown at them, the once well-maintained wealthy lady still retained her charm after careful grooming.

Yang Ning naturally saw Qi Sheng too. More precisely, the first things that caught her eye were the two chickens in his left hand and the big fish in his right. Her eyes lit up briefly, but before she could get excited, seeing the owner’s face made her charming smile finally falter.