Chapter 172: Cold Relatives

On the other end of the phone, Lin Dongxue understood Chen Shi’s request and couldn’t help but smile wryly, “Chen, in this heavy snow, are you playing the good Samaritan again? Alright, I’ll look it up for you. Don’t hang up…”

After a moment, Lin Dongxue said, “Hmm… there are fourteen people named Wang Xifeng in Long’an City, and two of them are men.”

Chen Shi asked the old lady, “What’s your sister’s name?”

“Liu Cuizhen!”

Chen Shi relayed the name to Lin Dongxue, who said, “Got it, I’ll call the housing bureau.”

Five minutes later, an address was sent to Chen Shi’s phone. He read it out to the old lady, “Unit 1209, Building 3, Hongfu Garden, Fengning Road.”

“Thank you so much!” the old lady said gratefully.

“I’ll take you there.”

“What about the fare…”

“Five yuan will do.”

“Alright, Dog Egg, get in the car.”

On the way, Chen Shi found some candies he had bought for the New Year in the glove compartment. He grabbed a handful and offered them to the little boy, “Want some candy?”

The little boy hesitated, so the old lady urged, “Thank the uncle.”

“Thank you, uncle.”

“You’re welcome,” Chen Shi smiled. “What’s your surname, Granny?”

“Liu. It’s tough for you to be driving a taxi in this cold weather.”

“I’m not a taxi driver. I’m visiting relatives, just happened to be on the way.”

They chatted casually, and forty minutes later, they arrived at Hongfu Garden. Granny Liu thanked Chen Shi profusely as she and Dog Egg got out of the car.

After asking around, they found Wang Xifeng’s place but were blocked by the intercom. Neither the old lady nor the child knew how to use it, so they stood there until another resident came down. Granny Liu hurried to ask, “Excuse me, I’m looking for Wang Xifeng in this building.”

The person looked them over and said, “Don’t know them. Which apartment?”

Granny Liu handed over a piece of cigarette box paper with the address written on it by the kind driver. The resident dialed 1209, and a voice answered impatiently, “Who is it?”

“Xifeng? It’s your aunt. I’m here to see you for the New Year.”

Granny Liu spoke loudly into the intercom, and the resident walked away snickering.

“Which aunt?”

“Liu Cuie.”

“Liu Cuie? You’re my mom’s sister, from the countryside?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Who’s here?” Another woman could be heard in the background.

“Relatives from the countryside. Why do they have to come now…”

Granny Liu’s face showed embarrassment, but she kept smiling, thinking the intercom could see her.

“Come on up!”

The door clicked open, and Granny Liu mumbled, “City gadgets, so confusing!” She hurried inside with Dog Egg.

When they got upstairs, Wang Xifeng was at the door to greet them. She seemed to have just woken up, her hair unkempt, no makeup, wearing a silk nightgown that slightly revealed her chest. Dog Egg, having never seen such a beautiful and sexy woman in the village, blushed immediately. Granny Liu nudged him, “Quick, greet your aunt.”

“Aunt!”

“Who’s this kid?” Wang Xifeng asked impatiently.

Granny Liu smiled broadly, “He’s your cousin Shuanzai’s son. He’s never been out of the village, so I brought him to see the city.”

Wang Xifeng glanced at the dirty Dog Egg with disdain. “Why didn’t you call first before coming to the city?”

Granny Liu kept her smile, her hands fidgeting. “We took the bus early this morning and finally found this place. Thanks to a kind driver, otherwise, we might not have found it.”

“Come in, change your shoes.”

They entered cautiously. The house was quite messy, which bothered Granny Liu, who loved cleanliness. She bent over to find slippers, but there were none for the child, so Dog Egg had to wear a pair of women’s slippers.

Wang Xifeng lazily leaned on the sofa, lighting a menthol cigarette, then suddenly yelled, “Don’t wear those! Those are LV slippers, worth thousands. Are your feet clean? Wear those over there!”

Granny Liu pointed to another pair of slippers, “These?”

After changing shoes, another girl, younger than Wang Xifeng and seemingly kinder, came out and nodded to the guests, “Hello.”

“Hello, hello!”

Wang Xifeng spread out her hand and introduced, “This is my assistant, Pingzi.”

“Go to hell, when did I become your assistant?” Pingzi laughed and threw a cushion at Wang Xifeng.

“Then should I say you’re my wife?”

“You’re always taking advantage of me!” Pingzi reached for a cigarette on the coffee table.

Dog Egg tugged at Granny Liu’s clothes, “Granny, I need to poop.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Granny Liu scolded in a low voice, “Hold it in, we’ll leave soon.”

“I can’t hold it.”

“Can’t do anything about you.” Granny Liu asked, “Xifeng, where’s the bathroom?”

“Over there,” Wang Xifeng said, playing with her phone without looking up.

Seeing the clean bathroom, Granny Liu felt embarrassed. She told Dog Egg to sit on the toilet, but he said he couldn’t poop sitting down, so he had to squat on it. Granny Liu whispered, “Hold your little wee-wee down when you pee, don’t make a mess.”

Dog Egg nodded, blushing, as he tried to balance on the toilet, feeling uncomfortable in his thick clothes.

Suddenly, the bathroom door burst open, and Wang Xifeng stormed in like she was catching someone in the act, eyebrows raised, her shrill voice shouting, “I knew it!”

Granny Liu kept smiling, “The child isn’t used to this.”

“Couldn’t poop outside, had to come here? What, not wasting anything on outsiders?”

Both Granny Liu and Dog Egg turned red with embarrassment. Pingzi came over to console, “Don’t scare the child.”

Wang Xifeng looked disgusted, “Remember to clean the toilet after you’re done.”

While Dog Egg was in the bathroom, Granny Liu brought a sack from the door inside and began unpacking it on the coffee table. “These are dried bamboo shoots, black fungus, and pickled snow cabbage, all homemade. Brought them for you to try.”

Pingzi said, “They look nice.”

Wang Xifeng still looked disdainful, “You can buy everything in the city. No need to go through the trouble.”

“It’s a little token of my heart,” Granny Liu smiled and rubbed her hands. “Your mom’s been gone for almost a year, right?”

“Yes, almost a year.”

“Sigh, it wasn’t easy. She struggled in the city, married twice, and finally managed to leave something for the younger generation.”

Wang Xifeng coldly said, “When my mom died, she left nothing. I had to spend tens of thousands on medical bills. This house is my own.”

“Xifeng, where do you work?”

“I run my own business,” Wang Xifeng answered vaguely.

“That’s good, that’s good. You’re capable, just like your mom. Not like us.”

“So, why did you come all this way?”

“No reason, no reason!” Granny Liu said quickly, as if to prove her innocence. “I just thought we don’t see each other often. Relatives should visit each other more, so I came to see you. Next time you have time, you can come to our place and visit your cousin.”

Wang Xifeng looked disdainful, “I wouldn’t go to the countryside!”