Chapter 17: You’re Still the Boss

Early morning.

Old Man Sun sat in the hallway, wearing his reading glasses and reading the *Xinmin Evening News*. Upon seeing Zheng Fei stretching, he let his glasses slide down slightly and peered over them. "Why haven't you been carrying that easel of yours out lately?"

"I've changed professions. I don't paint for people anymore."

Old Man Sun was quite surprised and a bit displeased. "You just started, how can you just quit like that? Always fishing for three days and drying nets for two."

Zheng Fei chuckled. Seeing raw peanuts in a plate beside the old man, he picked one up, cracked it open, and popped it into his mouth.

Old Man Sun, whose full name was Sun Zhisheng, held a fair amount of prestige in this neighborhood. Over a decade ago, he had almost become the deputy manager of the textile mill. The mill had offered him housing, but he had given it to his own children, and after retirement, he lived in this shantytown with his wife. Every day, he would read the newspaper and chat with neighbors during his leisure time.

To outsiders, Tanzi Bay was synonymous with misery, but Old Man Sun enjoyed it, often saying: "People should be content. Don't complain about this or that all day long. Compared to the 'rolling dragons' of the past, Tanzi Bay is much better now."

After finishing a peanut, Zheng Fei found them quite sweet and grabbed a handful to stuff into his pocket.

"Those peanuts are fertilized with manure. You’d better boil them. If you eat them raw, watch out for worms in your belly."

Zheng Fei froze for a moment, then instinctively touched his stomach. Could there really be big worms in there? "Old Man Sun, you’re well-informed. Let me ask you something: are there any ruined Mazu temples in the area around Tanzi Bay?"

Old Man Sun was taken aback. The moment he heard this, he immediately understood. "You want to be like Zhao Dagang and make some money off that?"

Zheng Fei nodded. "If I didn't want to make that money, why would I have become his apprentice?"

Old Man Sun fell silent for a while. That was true enough, but he clearly remembered that Zheng Fei had only become Zhao Dagang’s apprentice because his background left him with nowhere else to go.

Old Man Sun sighed and began to lecture him on the spot. "Young man, it’s better not to have your head in the clouds. Religious painting isn't an easy task. When Zhao Dagang was learning from your grandfather, he’d get scolded at least eight days a week, and in the end, he was kicked out of the apprenticeship for being too slow-witted."

"Wait." Zheng Fei raised a hand. In that split second, he felt overwhelmed by the amount of information. "You just said that Zhao Dagang learned to paint from my grandfather? Did my grandfather used to paint murals too?"

Old Man Sun sighed with emotion. "Your grandfather was quite impressive in his younger days; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to teach your father."

"Damn."

Zheng Fei had been completely unaware of such an important fact. Now he finally understood; no wonder that half-baked master had such inexplicable resentment toward him and had always refused to teach him how to paint. So that was it.

Zheng Fei continued, "If I say I paint better than Zhao Dagang, would you believe me?"

Old Man Sun certainly didn't believe him, but it was hard to say for sure; the Zheng family seemed to have quite a bit of artistic talent. After some thought, Old Man Sun said, "As for Mazu temples, there are more in Pudong and Chongming Island. I'm not familiar with Pudong, but I do have acquaintances in Chongming."

Zheng Fei smiled. "Could you introduce me?"

Old Man Sun gave him a look of disdain. "I don't even know what you're capable of. If I recommend you and you mess it up, what am I supposed to do when they come to settle the score with me?"

"That's easy. Let me show you my skills."

Zheng Fei dragged Old Man Sun into his room. When the old man saw the statue of Lord Guan on the wall and the table full of line drawings for Mazu murals, he truly couldn't believe his eyes. He had watched this child grow up. How had he changed so much in just one month? It felt as if he had been reborn, like a completely different person.

"How about it? Not bad, right?"

Old Man Sun nodded. "Barely, it's acceptable. But compared to your father, you're still quite far off."

Zheng Fei twitched his lips. Even though his father had "disappeared," the legends about him in Tanzi Bay were still very much alive.

Old Man Sun took a pencil and wrote an address on a blank piece of paper. "When you get there, go straight to the production brigade and look for a man named He Guangliang. Just tell him I referred you."

"Old Man Sun, you really have connections."

*The old man is still the old man!*

Zheng Fei looked at the note and casually remarked, "Your handwriting is really beautiful."

"When I was young, your grandfather taught me."

Zheng Fei: ...

In truth, he really wanted to complain—if these two were so talented, why were they still living in a shantytown instead of having moved to Jing'an long ago?

...

By the Suzhou Creek wharf, Zhu Xiaotao, having just finished unloading a boat of cargo, finally gathered the courage to have a showdown with his father.

"Dad, I'm not working for you anymore."

"If you don't do this, what do you plan to do?"

"Anyway, nothing illegal or immoral. I won't cause trouble for the family, that's for sure."

Zhu Guohe sat down to rest, took a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket, took one for himself, and tossed another to Xiaotao. "When I was your age, I was already married to your mother. Decide your own affairs."

Zhu Xiaotao didn't expect his father to be so reasonable today. He rubbed his fingers together. "I'm about to go out on my own; can you give me a little something to help out?"

"No use talking to me about it. Go talk to your mother."

"What's the point of talking to her? To get my brother married, she’d practically sell me off too."

The middle-aged man waved his hand. "What can I do? The money isn't in my hands. I barely have enough for cigarette money myself."

"Tch, useless."

The middle-aged man immediately picked up a small stick. "Rebellious brat! Do you want to work or not? If you don't, get lost right now."

"Fine, I'm leaving."

Zhu Xiaotao was in high spirits. This must be what they called "splitting the family," even though he hadn't received a thing. From now on, the money he earned would be his own; he wouldn't have to turn it over to the family to prioritize his two older brothers' marriages. He had also told Zheng Fei and Qiusheng to keep it a secret—they absolutely couldn't let his mother and brothers know he was making forty yuan a month, or they would definitely latch onto him.

After the showdown, Zhu Xiaotao went home to pack his things and then arrived at Zheng Fei's room.

"Brother Fei, I'm free."

"From now on, I'm your dog. Your room is quite big—how about I sleep here with you tonight?"

"Get lost."