Chapter Five: Father

  Some things are destined from the moment we were born.

  Ouyang Mubo, a child who grew up in the countryside, was treated poorly at home because he was the second son. Every time he saw children from the city wearing nice clothes and using good stationery, he would cry alone in the corner. His father never asked about his well-being, and his mother only cared about his basic needs, not paying attention to anything else. They focused all their energy on his older brother, who seemed useless to him. He didn't understand why he always had to play with hand-me-down toys and use pencils that his brother didn't want. He decided to work hard and study well, eventually getting into a prestigious high school in the province. However, his father told him that they couldn't afford to pay for anything except tuition, as all their money was spent on buying a house for his older brother. So he lived frugally, eating only one bun and a package of pickled vegetables every day for three years. Finally, he got into college in the city, which was a great honor for a child from the countryside. His father was proud and paid for his tuition for three years. After graduating, Ouyang Mubo continued to work hard and eventually became the general manager of an automobile sales company in District D. He had become a middle-aged man with a family of his own, but he still had to travel frequently for work and couldn't spend much time with them. However, he didn't regret his choices, as he saw it as a way to get back at his parents. Since moving to the city, he never went back home for Chinese New Year. His wife was very understanding and never complained about him not spending enough time with their child. He knew he owed her and their son a lot, so he recently started researching a business project with an old friend and colleague, hoping to open a restaurant and make some money. If the business succeeded, he planned to spend more time with his family. This time, when he returned from a trip, he needed to take care of some formalities, mainly resigning from his position as sales manager. Ouyang Mubo was an ambitious person who didn't want to be limited to one city, so he and his wife decided to invest almost all their savings in the project. "If we make money this time, I'll spend more time with my wife and child," he thought to himself. His son was about to start middle school, and his wife wanted him to attend a school in the city district. Ouyang Mubo's impression of his son was stuck at the age of two when they went to the park together and his son fell down while taking pictures with him. He wondered if his son would still recognize him after all these years. Thinking about this, he smiled and took out the keys to open the door.

  Facing this way, his skin was slightly dark, he wasn't very tall, a bit thin and small, but his two eyes stared fixedly at his child, saying "Son, Dad is back."

  Yes, it's Ou Yang Mu Bo, he is the father of Ou Yang Chen Xi.

  "Father!" Little Ouyang was excited to see his father, Feng Hongyan walked out of the kitchen, looking at this man who had not returned for a long time, and couldn't say anything for a while.

  "Uh, what do you want to eat? I'll go make it for you." After a while, Feng Hongyan said with her head down, not daring to look directly into her husband's eyes, fearing she would lose control and burst into tears.

  "Hey, what's for dinner at home? Now that I'm back, let's go out to eat!" Ouyang Mubo said "Son, what do you want to eat?"

  "I want to eat the buns from that bun shop!" Little Ouyang said without hesitation. This bun shop, Ouyang Mubo knew about it. When he was on a business trip, his wife would say that she and their child had breakfast at the bun shop during the day. It seemed that this restaurant had been around for some years. According to his wife, everyone in the bun shop now recognized Little Ouyang. Whenever they went there, they knew exactly what to order: one bowl of mung bean porridge, half a tray of buns and a dish of pickled vegetables.

  "But it's not suitable to go there at night," said Ouyang.

  "It doesn't matter, they have stir-fried dishes at home tonight," Feng Hongyan said

  "Alright, I'd like to try some too. What kind of baozi is it that you can eat every day?" Ouyang said, finishing his sentence, then put down his things and went out with his wife and child.

  At the same time, Feng's family,

  "Where's Mum and my brother?" A child's voice came from the kitchen, followed by a sound of munching.

  "Your uncle is back, probably went to the restaurant downstairs. Hurry up and eat, finish your homework after you're done." The voice was Feng Qinglian's.

  "Ah, Old Auntie is back, what's she back for?" Mais said, while not forgetting to pick up another piece of meat and put it in his own bowl.

  "It seems like discussing your younger brother's junior high school matters." Feng Qinglian replied.

  "Hei Zi is going to attend which junior high school? Is it the same one as mine?" The "Hei Zi" in Mais's mouth was Chen Xi's nickname, because his skin tone was relatively dark, and he had been called that by his family since childhood.

  "It's probably time to move to the city for school. You'd better take care of yourself, Mais. Alas, our old building... who knows when it'll be demolished?" Feng Qinglian muttered to herself again. The Feng family's building was about to be demolished and a new one would be built soon, supposedly this month. She wondered where she and Mais would go live.

  In the restaurant, Ouyang had dinner with his parents and felt very happy. In his impression, having dinner with his father and mother seemed to be a luxurious thing. He was delighted to talk about his primary school days with his father, who sometimes responded with a few words and sometimes burst out laughing. His father was a straightforward person, and Ouyang understood him well. That's why he had many quarrels with his mother.

  "So you've decided which of these three junior high schools to attend?" asked Ouyang Mubo after taking a sip of tea.

  "Hmm, I prefer Fengmao Middle School. After all, it's the closest to here, and the transportation is convenient. Plus, many of his classmates are going there too." Feng Hongyan said while wiping Xiao Ouyang's mouth.

  "I want to go to Fengmao, Wang Lin and Li Jun are all there. I want to go to another school alone, it's not fun at all." Little Ouyang also spoke up.

  "Alright then, since both of you mother and son want to go, then go ahead. What about the tuition?" Ouyang Mubo continued to ask.

  "6,000 a year, private schools won't be that cheap." Feng Hongyan replied.

  "How can I let my precious son take the crowded bus every day, I'm worried sick." Ouyang Mubo said while teasing Xiao Ouyang.

  "His classmates wanted to contact a surrogate mother, so we just followed suit." Feng Hongyan said.

  "But after all, it's not a long-term plan." Ouyang Mubo said.

  "We'll talk about it later, if not, we can buy a house there in a year or two, what do you think?" Feng Hongyan said with a hint of expectation when she mentioned buying a house. Ouyang Mubo is a businessman, how could he not hear that? "Hmm, okay, now buying a house, I estimate that after a few years, our son will be in college and it will appreciate in value." Ouyang Mubo said, "Then let's settle on this," so the final decision was Fengmao Middle School. However, Feng Hongyan did not tell Ouyang Mubo about her plan to have her mother and Maisi come live with them, she knew that someone as selfish as him would not agree, it's better not to mention it.

  That night, just as Xiao Ouyang was about to fall asleep, he heard a noise coming from his parents' room.

  "How much are you going to take away? You have to leave some for buying a house and tuition fees."

  "Just leave some tuition fees, don't worry, I've already inquired about it on my side. At that time, not to mention C district, I'll buy you five or ten houses in A district."

  "How come I don't think this is reliable? Who can be trusted? You quit your job without even discussing it with me, you just can't change that stubborn habit of yours."

  "Ah, don't worry about it, when have I ever failed?"

  Xiao Ouyang gradually fell asleep and woke up the next day to receive a call from Wang Lin, whose first sentence was "Our school has been demolished."

  Xiao Ouyang couldn't believe it, and later found out that the school had moved to another place. The original location was going to be demolished to build a leisure plaza. After hearing this news, her mother thought it was the right thing to do, because District D didn't even have a decent leisure spot, which made it seem rather shabby.

  A few days later, Ouyang Mu Bo left. Xiao Ouyang and his mother went to the airport to see off his father. Xiao Ouyang cried miserably, not knowing when he would see his father again.

  After a few more days, there was still half a month before school started. On this day, Little Ouyang was watching TV when the TV said that their grade would be implementing new curriculum reforms, which were different from the rigid education of the past. Little Ouyang didn't understand, so she called her mother over to ask. Her mother said it was because of SARS, and the examination methods and educational methods were all different now. Little Ouyang didn't comprehend these things, but just believed what her mother said. The doorbell rang, and her mother went to open the door, then shouted towards Little Ouyang's room, "Ouyang, come see who's here!" Little Ouyang ran out to take a look, and it was Grandma and Brother.

  At dinner time, Feng Qinglian said to Feng Hongyan, "After thinking about it, I'd better come and live with you. After all, the eldest and second child are grown up now. As an old woman, I would only add trouble if I went over there. And as for the third one... sigh..."

  "Mom, what are you talking about? Just treat this as your own home, we're all one family, don't be so formal. My brother isn't already buying a new high-rise in that old building's plot, is he? In two days, you can take Mais with you to draw the floor plan, and then living in a high-rise will be great." Feng Hongyan said with a smile.

  Xiao Ouyang and Mais, the two little troublemakers, got together and spent a happy half month. Then Xiao Ouyang started school. On that day, Feng Hongyan prepared a white shirt, cowboy pants, and a pair of shoes that Xiao Ouyang hated to wear the most for Ouyang.

  "Today is the first day of school, don't be disobedient, and don't fight with others on the bus. Your voice is loud, don't annoy the driver." Feng Hongyan reminded Xiao Ouyang while walking to the kitchen. "This is for you, go heat it up at school during lunchtime."

  "Mom, you'd better give me some money to eat outside!" Little Ouyang said while putting on his clothes.

  "Why?" Feng Hongyan was puzzled.

  "Because, your cooking is really too terrible," said Little Ouyang, making a face.

  Feng Hongyan ignored Xiao Ouyang, turned around and picked up the phone, "Hello, is this the music station? I want to dedicate a song to my son who's about to start school..."

  "Look at how good your mom is to you, and she even sings a song for you." A voice came from the room, "Thank you, Mom." Little Ouyang said with a smile. "My brother will start school tomorrow, right?" "Yes, so he's still sleeping now. You'd better hurry up and go, don't be late," Grandma told Little Ouyang. Ouyang put on his clothes, tidied up his backpack, and walked out the door.

  Today, the sunshine is bright and beautiful, Little Ou Yang waves goodbye to her mother and quickly walks downstairs.

  "Hehe, starting today I'm a middle school student, no need to wear the red scarf anymore." Little Ouyang thought to himself.