Chapter 52: A Winter’s Feast and Growing Pains

“Give me one!”

“Don’t hog them!”

“You’ve eaten so many already…”

In the Song family’s living room, a group of people gathered around a small table, each one sweating from the heat and covered in oil.

Of the two large basins of spicy crayfish on the table, one was already scraped clean, with only a thin layer remaining at the bottom. The youths at the table held a peeled one in their hands, their eyes still fixed on the basin, unwilling to look away.

Hu Hengzhou had cooked a large pot of shrimp, nearly filling their family’s largest rice basin. He decided to divide it into two portions: one for his three companions and one for his own family.

It wasn’t due to any particular etiquette. He simply feared that if they all started snatching, Song Wenbin might feel awkward due to his seniority and hesitate to join in. The others might also feel constrained. It was better to separate them and let them scramble amongst themselves.

Indeed, as soon as the crayfish arrived at the table, everyone began salivating at the sight of the fiery red, glistening crustaceans. The pungent, spicy aroma only intensified the flow of their saliva. After Xu Hengzhou declared, “Start eating!” the three boys immediately grabbed a crayfish each, disregarding the heat, and shoved them into their mouths for a taste.

Hu Hengzhou had prepared authentic spicy crayfish, with a rich, numbing, spicy, and fresh broth. A single slurp filled their mouths with an intense flavor. Even before tasting the meat, the boys were already captivated by this extraordinary taste.

The portion of crayfish on Xu Hengzhou’s side was actually smaller. He always ate in moderation and never overindulged. Xiang Chen, being young and having a delicate stomach, wasn’t allowed to eat too much. Xu Hengzhou only let him have a few to taste, leaving the rest for Song Wenbin, which should have been plenty.

Song Wenbin had never tried this before either. This particular dish was notoriously difficult to prepare, offered little meat, and was cumbersome to eat. Only children would typically spend the time to fill their bellies with it.

However, after Xu Hengzhou’s preparation, Song Wenbin could tell by the aroma alone that it would be delicious. He was now utterly convinced of his nephew’s culinary skill, secretly believing it surpassed even the best chefs at state-run restaurants.

Once the crayfish were served, Xu Hengzhou first took one and peeled it for Song Wenbin as a demonstration. He had already removed the vein and cut open the back, making it easy to peel with the right technique. Song Wenbin watched as his nimble fingers separated the shell, pulled out the tail, and then fed a perfectly intact piece of shrimp meat into Xiang Chen’s mouth.

“Delicious!” Xiang Chen mumbled indistinctly, his mouth full of shrimp. After his praise, he busied himself with eating, chewing and swallowing quickly, then reached out to grab another shrimp himself.

Hu Hengzhou raised his arm to block Xiang Chen’s, his hands still working. “I’ll peel it for you. Be careful not to cut your hand.”

Song Wenbin watched and felt he had learned. He took one to peel, but it broke in half. He looked at the tiny bit of meat on his hand, a little disdainful, finding it barely enough to fill a tooth gap.

Yet, the moment he put that morsel into his mouth, his eyes widened. From that point on, he no longer cared about the small amount of meat. He even crushed the claws to suck out every last bit of flesh.

Their side ate relatively peacefully, but the table next to them had already descended into a fierce scramble.

The boys, each with a different personality, approached the crayfish differently. Initially, they all tried to emulate Xu Hengzhou’s method of peeling the shell and pulling out the tail. But once they truly tasted the flavor, they began to snatch, abandoning all pretense.

Wang Dong’s eating style was particularly savage. He would shove an entire crayfish into his mouth, bite down hard, and a loud crunch would resound as the shell shattered into small pieces. The only remnants he spat out were the toughest parts; the rest he chewed and swallowed.

Li Ming was impatient and found peeling bothersome. However, he didn’t have teeth as strong as Wang Dong’s to eat the shells. So, he resorted to using both hands and mouth, biting off the head to suck the roe while peeling the meat with his hands. He’d then bite the tail, using his teeth and tongue to extract the meat, while his fingers dug for the roe.

Among the three, Zhang Xingye was surprisingly the most refined eater. His fingers were remarkably nimble. After observing Xu Hengzhou’s technique just once, he quickly mastered it, achieving nearly perfect results. With a few deft movements of his fingers, a complete shrimp meat emerged in a short time. He would toss the tender, spicy shrimp into his mouth, then take a deep suck of the roe, eating with unimaginable delight.

Song Wenbin’s pace was also swift. His portion was slightly smaller. After Xiang Chen ate a few, Xu Hengzhou wouldn’t let him have any more, so he could only watch wistfully as his elder uncle devoured them one by one with unparalleled focus.

The fragrant, numbing, and spicy aroma still lingered in the air. Song Wenbin looked at the bare bottom of the basin and sighed, “It’s a bit wasteful of oil, but the taste is truly superb. It’s definitely worth having occasionally.”

The boys licked the oil from their fingers clean, almost wanting to pick up the basin and lick it clean.

Li Ming picked up a dried chili segment and chewed it, gasping from the spice as he said, “Brother Xu, I’m truly impressed, brother. This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten. For this meal alone, I’ll do anything for you!”

He was a few years older than Xu Hengzhou, but ever since losing a fight, he had started calling Xu Hengzhou ‘Brother’. The other two followed suit. Zhang Xingye was fine, but Wang Dong, with his imposing build, sounded almost comical calling him ‘Brother’.

They all nodded in agreement.

Hu Hengzhou chuckled, scolding them, “Pathetic. One meal is all it takes to buy you over? Life is long, and you’ll always get to eat better things. What’s the rush?”

Zhang Xingye quietly said, “The best meals we’ve had are always with Brother Xu.”

Wang Dong, who was never very eloquent, simply nodded, clearly agreeing with Zhang Xingye.

Hu Hengzhou smiled, not replying. Seeing the small amount of oily broth left, and knowing his family wouldn’t reuse it like some others, he fetched a few steamed buns, one for each of them. With the summer heat, the buns could be eaten cold, and simply wiping them through the oily broth made them incredibly flavorful.

Even the few cloves of garlic and chili segments from the seasoning were the best side dishes, and they were also eaten completely clean.

After the meal, the boys helped clear the table and wash the dishes. Song Wenbin, holding a cup of tea, leisurely sipped it while watching his nephew gather his followers.

Throughout the summer, Xu Hengzhou led the three boys, traveling across Qingjiang and several larger surrounding counties and towns. They ate crayfish a few more times, and no shortage of other wild game either, solidifying the boys’ bond.

When the weather was at its hottest, Xiang Chen suffered from the summer heat and could barely eat anything. Xu Hengzhou brought back some mung beans and cooked mung bean soup for him every day.

There was a well in the old family compound. Cooling the freshly cooked mung bean soup with the cold well water made it incredibly refreshing to drink in the summer heat.

Hu Hengzhou was incredibly busy, and Xiang Chen’s small tutoring class was also proving very effective. He first assessed the learning situation and weaknesses of his initial students, then provided targeted instruction. After a period of his tutoring, all the children showed significant improvement.

The parents were overjoyed. Word spread like wildfire that the little genius was running a tutoring class, and people vied to send their children there.

Xiang Chen wouldn’t dare accept them. Not only did he question his ability to teach so many, but his home also couldn’t accommodate that many children.

Furthermore, he could help his few companions improve their grades because there were so few of them, allowing him to provide personalized tutoring. Second, they all listened to him and diligently completed the exercises he assigned.

However, with more students, it would be different. He was young, and other children he didn’t know might not necessarily listen to him. Besides, he didn’t have the energy or capacity to teach so many students.

Fortunately, Song Wenbin was very understanding, prioritizing whether Xiang Chen would be overly tired. When parents came knocking, he initially didn’t want to agree, but still asked Xiang Chen for his opinion. Knowing that Xiang Chen was also unwilling, he flatly refused.

Some parents were reasonable; after hearing Song Wenbin’s explanation, they understood and took their children home. Others gossiped afterward, wondering why he could tutor those families’ children but not theirs.

The parents who had spread the word immediately regretted it deeply, fearing that the Song family would be angry and prevent their children from attending. They even brought gifts to apologize and say kind words to Song Wenbin and Xiang Chen.

Song Wenbin naturally refused the gifts, politely seeing them off. When he returned, his face was beaming. Seeing how outstanding his little nephew was, it even earned him, the elder uncle, respect from others.

The summer vacation passed in a blink, and after school started, Xiang Chen and Xu Hengzhou reported to the Mechanical Factory Affiliated Middle School together.

Among Xu Hengzhou’s companions, Wang Dong was preparing to enlist in the army this year. His physical fitness was excellent, and joining the military would be a good path.

Li Ming and Zhang Xingye were both continuing their education. Li Ming was entering his second year of junior high, while Zhang Xingye, like Xu Hengzhou, was a first-year junior high student.

Xiang Chen’s enrollment once again caused a minor stir. The affiliated middle school primarily admitted children of local factory workers, as well as students who tested in from other areas. Xiang Chen’s reputation as a genius was widely known in the mechanical factory, but students from other places were not aware of it.

Hu Hengzhou had originally planned to skip grades once he entered junior high. He was still thinking about the turmoil that would erupt a few years later. Calculating the time, it would coincide with their college entrance exams. If he couldn’t finish university before then, he would have to give up on the exams and wait another decade or more.

However, now that Xiang Chen had already skipped a grade and was in his class, Xu Hengzhou weighed his options and decided not to skip grades. He would diligently follow the normal path through middle school.

At Xiang Chen’s age, skipping another grade would certainly not be appropriate, and it was also uncertain if he could adapt. Xu Hengzhou wouldn’t feel at ease leaving him alone in a class where all his classmates were significantly older.

Besides, he didn’t absolutely have to attend that particular university. Time was too tight. To finish early, skipping one or two grades wouldn’t be enough. Skipping too many would inevitably earn him the label of a genius, and when chaos erupted later, this label might not be beneficial.

Their family already had one genius in Xiang Chen, and furthermore, Xiang Chen was young; even in a few years, he would only be around ten years old, making him less conspicuous.

With a clear mind, Xu Hengzhou revised his plans. The focus for these next few years would be on accumulating money and resources.

Easy days always passed quickly. As the weather grew colder, autumn came and went. When the first snowflake drifted down, Xiang Chen welcomed his first snow since transmigrating.

In half a year, both Xu Hengzhou and Xiang Chen had grown a little taller.

The cotton Xu Hengzhou had sent back earlier proved very useful. Song Wenbin took it to someone who made several thick cotton quilts, and people they met on the road kept asking where such good cotton came from.

The remaining cotton was used to make a set of padded clothes for everyone. Worn over the thick woolen sweaters Xu Hengzhou had sent back last time, they were incredibly warm.

The winter boots were something Xu Hengzhou brought back after a trip. Over the past six months, he had met Xu Youliang several times. Telegrams sent home informed Song Wenbin that he knew someone from Haishi, and the two had some friendship. Xu Hengzhou used Xu Youliang’s name to acquire a pair of thick boots for each of his family members.

Every day, the students would take their rations to the school cafeteria to heat them up. Those with money would buy a penny’s worth of cabbage soup; those without would eat their steamed buns with hot water.

As the snow deepened, Xiang Chen and Xu Hengzhou stopped going home for lunch. The accumulated snow made the roads difficult to traverse, and it was cold outside. Rushing home for a meal only to hurry back to school again was inefficient.

Song Wenbin wanted to pick them up, but their schedules didn’t align, and it involved a detour. So, they simply didn’t return for lunch.

Even though they weren’t eating at home, Xu Hengzhou still found ways to ensure his family ate well. He prepared many fillings—cabbage and pork, pickled cabbage and vermicelli, radish and tofu—and made a large batch of steamed buns. He would steam them all at once, and each person would take two in the morning.

At the factory and school, the cafeterias had designated areas for steaming food. The buns would be piping hot when taken out for lunch.

The cafeteria offered soup and dishes. Xu Hengzhou and Xiang Chen would get a clear broth, and sometimes a vegetable dish depending on the situation. Compared to their classmates, their meals were already quite good.

The weather grew colder and the snow fell heavier. Amidst such biting winds, Xiang Chen celebrated his second fifth birthday since his transmigration.

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