Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Is this considered meeting the parents?
'Why are you here?' Feng Yiping was a little surprised as he pushed the cart over, and for some reason, he felt that the cold wind seemed to have softened a bit.
'Oh, this is my dad's dormitory at work!' Huang Jingping, who is always more lively and bold outside the school than inside, says, 'Why are you guys just now back? I've been waiting for a while.'
Oh, yes, Huang Jingping's father is not at the forestry station in the countryside? I really didn't notice that this is the dormitory building of the forestry station before.
'Oh, we played table tennis after waiting for someone to leave. You could have just told us at school!'
Huang Jingping didn't take the bait. At school, she always took the alternative, quiet route. Although she always wore a smile when meeting people, she actually had little to do with boys, especially those in her class or other classes who were obviously interested. She never had anything to say to them.
'Didn't you invite me to sing? Where's the cassette?' Huang Jingping held out her hand to Feng Yiping, who laughed when he saw it. The black, furry gloves looked like a bear's paws.
'What are you laughing at? It's so cold here, and you don't have the tape with you?'
'What's your house number? I'll bring it to you later,'
'Why don't I go with you?' Huang Jingping thought for a moment.
This is a bit too direct, Feng Yiping quickly thought back to when he left in the morning, did he pack some 502? 'Are your parents home? Why don't we go and visit them first?'
'My mother is at her hometown, and my father went to an uncle's house after dinner. There's no one at home now, but it's good to go up and identify the door, so you don't have to look for it later.'
This building is equivalent to a kind of high-rise building. It's broad daylight, but the light in the hallway is not good, and the aisles are crammed with sundries and stoves from each household.
Huang Jingping led Feng Yiping and Wang Changning to the fifth room on the right side of the third floor. It was a single dormitory. The largest item was a bed, with a wardrobe against the wall and an old-fashioned writing desk with three drawers by the window. These large pieces of furniture were mainly distributed by the unit, as seen from the style and paint, especially the faintly visible white painted Arabic numerals.
In the empty space by the door, there is a small table for eating, and boxes and bags are piled up in the corner, making it a bit messy. At a glance, it is a place where a rough man sleeps.
It is also the turquoise curtains that bring a touch of warmth to this room.
Feng Yiping and the others sat down on the stools next to the small table. Huang Jingping poured them two cups of hot water and retreated to the desk. 'My father lives here alone. They usually set up roadblocks outside, so they don't come back a lot. That's why it's a bit messy. Don't laugh!'
'I understand, but if you replace the bed with a double one, and put things on the second floor, the room will feel a bit emptier,' Feng Yiping subconsciously offered his opinion.
'Haha, I've also mentioned this to my father, and he probably won't bother to do anything about it as he'll be transferred to the town next.'
They didn't say much before the door was pushed open and a middle-aged man wearing a black semi-long woolen overcoat walked in. 'Xiaoping, is a classmate here?'
This was the owner of the house, Feng Yiping and Wang Changning quickly stood up, "Hello, uncle!'
Huang Jingping came over to introduce, "Dad, this is my classmate Feng Yiping and Wang Changning, where did you just go?'
'Oh, sit down!' Huang Jingping's father greeted them with a smile.
To be honest, Feng Yiping was a little surprised when he saw him for the first time, and immediately remembered the "next-door Wang" anecdote.
Huang Jingping's father also had a gentle smile on his face, but he was really quite unattractive.
God really favoured Huang Jingping, as she only inherited his father's big eyes, which were the only outstanding feature of his appearance.
'I was playing mahjong nearby, but I heard from Director Wang's wife that you have a classmate visiting,' Huang Chengzhong said to his daughter.
It was clear that this was also a father who kept a close eye on his daughter.
'Feng Yiping, right? I often hear them talk about you. Not only do you have good grades, you're also quite capable,' he said to Feng Yiping with a smile.
'Not at all, I was just lucky. Unlike your classmate Huang Jingping, whose grades are very stable and who is among the top in several liberal arts subjects.' He praised her, and of course Feng Yiping had to return the compliment.
Feng Yiping felt that although Huang Chengzhong was smiling, he was looking at her like the truck drivers he stopped on the road, with a faint air of scrutiny.
Feng Yiping then pretended to be very interested, asking Huang Chengzhong about his work, and from time to time he made exclamations of admiration and longing. Wang Changning also cooperated, and the somewhat detached Huang Jingping looked at the three men in the room, especially Feng Yiping's little servile and flattering appearance, and she wanted to laugh.
Feng Yiping handled these clerks from a rural township that didn't even have a joint-stock level cadre with ease. As a father, he was very sensitive when it came to his daughter, but in other respects, a few words had greatly increased his favourable impression of Feng Yiping.
After all, for a middle-aged civil servant at the bottom of the ladder who has wasted half his life, but still believes he is capable and ambitious, being looked at with admiration by two young kids while talking about the boring things he does at work is immediately rewarded with looks of 'You're so awesome, you're really amazing!'
This time, it was a real high, and it was even better than the few days a month when his wife is on her period.
Huang Chengzhong was in the mood to chat, and while smoking, he told them about his work with a beaming face. He couldn't stop for a while, but Huang Jingping interrupted him, 'Dad, they need to talk to me about something. Besides, they haven't had lunch yet!'
'Oh, I'm sorry, I lost track of time when I started talking. You guys go back first, and come over whenever you have time in the future.' Huang Chengzhong stood up a little reluctantly.
'Dad, I'm going with them. We still have to learn the song. We have to perform it on New Year's Day.' Huang Jingping came over and took her father's arm.
'Huh?' Huang Chengzhong became alert again. 'What performance?'
'The school is holding a New Year's Eve party, and the teacher told us we have to perform. We're going to sing a song. Feng Yiping has a tape there, so I want to go listen and learn.'
Seeing this, Feng Yiping hurriedly said, 'Uncle, we don't live far from here, just diagonally opposite the hospital dormitory. Why don't you come over and take a look?'
'Oh, that's fine, I'll come over and take a look, I hope I'm not disturbing!'
'It's fine, it's just the two of us living here.' Hearing Feng Yiping say this, Huang Chengzhong's smile faded, and he gave his daughter a slightly sharp look.
After entering 502, Feng Yiping showed them around. Huang Chengzhong saw that the house was quite tidy and clean, and he finally softened a bit.
There was nothing he could do; this was just the way their generation was. They couldn't do things well themselves—for example, his own nest was a mess—but they naturally expected their children to do a good job.
Wang Changning went under the kitchen, where he was good at making fish noodles.
Feng Yiping stayed in the living room chatting with the Huang family father and daughter, but Huang Jingping grew impatient after listening to them for a few words and told Feng Yiping to take her to listen to some music. Feng Yiping had no choice but to take her to his room, load the cassette tape and put the headphones on her.
When he returned, Huang Chengzhong was leaning on the sofa, and the topic changed. They started talking about the harvest in the countryside this year, and then asked about Feng Yiping's family situation.
Feng Yiping gave a general account of the situation at home. When he heard that both his parents were in the provincial capital, Huang Chengzhong immediately asked, 'What do they do there?'
'They have opened a noodle restaurant.'
'Oh,' Huang Chengzhong said, a little disheartened. Out of politeness, he casually asked, 'Is business good?'
'It's OK. We're averaging nearly a thousand yuan in revenue per day, and we're preparing to open a second restaurant.' For some reason, Feng Yiping couldn't help but brag.
'That's really good, a noodle shop?'
At this time, Wang Changning's noodles were ready, so he came over in his apron and invited everyone to eat. Huang Chengzhong went to the kitchen to taste it and thought it was good, so he praised it a bit.
However, unlike Feng Yiping and the other two, Huang Chengzhong was not at the age where he was growing, and even if it was Huang Jingping, who had just eaten lunch, after tasting the noodles, he decided to have another bowl, but he couldn't.
He knew the place, there were three other people in the room, and he had a pretty good idea of Feng Yiping's character. Plus, knowing his daughter, nothing bad would happen. So Huang Chengzhong said goodbye and went back to play mahjong. As he left, he told Huang Jingping, 'Come back early!'
Feng Yiping saw him off to the door and watched him go downstairs. He always felt that today's scene was familiar. Was it quite like the scene when he first went to Zhang Yan's house?