“Five hundred a month? All the way until that Ding guy graduates middle school?”
In the Ning family’s living room, Zhao Jingwen was so shocked at Fan Xia’s words that he nearly spilled his beer outside the cup.
“Ding Zheyang,” Ning Xiaobei said, taking a bite of stir-fried shrimp.
Ning Jianguo’s stir-fried shrimp was crispy and fragrant; each bite was full of savory soy sauce flavor. It was Xiaobei’s favorite dish.
“Wow…Old Ding. How much does, Xiao Mei, the live-in housekeeper that you got for Xiaobei’s grandma costs? Your teacher is something else. Five hundred? At our factory, a first-year apprentice earns five hundred a month. Tsk tsk… impressive.”
Zhao Jingwen clicked his tongue in admiration.
“See? No fancy gifts can compare. Even if you gave a big color TV, like Lin Zhiying’s dad did for your class, it’s maybe two or three thousand yuan at most. Nothing like this consistent, long term investment.”
“It’s ‘Lin Ziying’,” Fan Xia corrected.
“Eh, whatever,” Zhao Jingwen waved him off and clinked cups with Ning Jianguo.
“This time, Uncle listened to Xiaobei and didn’t give anything at all. And look at you, you still got to be some kind of sports committee member, right? Not bad, not bad. Who cares if it’s what others left over? When I was in school, I never even got to be a small squad leader. And your mom? She barely graduated middle school. Now you’re the biggest official in our family, and a ‘committee member’ to boot.”
Zhao Jingwen had a unique way of giving compliments.
“But the class monitor seat should have been Xiaobei’s. That little rascal Ding Zheyang only got it through cheap tricks. It’s disgusting.” Fan Xia said, his face dark.
“I don’t care at all,” Ning Xiaobei shook his head helplessly.
“Boss, listen. In middle school, the positions of class monitor and secretary are linked to whether you can participate later as an outstanding student leader in the district or city. This isn’t something you can just say ‘I don’t care’ about. It’s a matter of honor.”
Once he said that, not only Ning Xiaobei, but also Ning Jianguo and Zhao Jingwen had to look at him with newfound respect.
Fan Xia finally understood some of the ways of the world after starting middle school. Not a total newbie anymore.
“Xiaobei, is what Xiao Xia said true?”
“I can get into high school without relying on those things.”
Ning Xiaobei kept his head down, picking at his food.
“But… why did that four-eyed Ding Zheyang snatch your honor? Ugh…”
Suddenly, Fan Xia clutched his stomach, cold sweat pouring down, his dark face turning gray.
“I’m running to the bathroom!”
He said this and bolted like his pants were on fire.
“Fan Xia, are you okay? You’ve already gone three times this afternoon. Want some medicine?”
Ning Xiaobei anxiously asked Ning Jianguo, “Dad, do we have any ‘Xie Ting Feng1Literally “diarrhea-stop-seal.”’ at home?”
“Ah?”
Ning Jianguo was taken aback.
Isn’t that the Hong Kong singer who just debuted last year and became a sensation overnight?
“I mean ‘Xie Li Ting2 over-the-counter medication for diarrhea. (In January 2025 due to safety and efficacy issues, the drug’s production, sale, and use have been discontinued.) ’.”
“I’ll go get it.”
Fan Xia floated out of the bathroom, legs shaky, and Ning Xiaobei quickly handed him the pills with some warm water.
“If you go again, we’ll have to see a doctor. Diarrhea can lead to dehydration, it can be dangerous.”
Zhao Jingwen said, clearly worried.
This nephew of his was usually healthy and rarely sick. How could he suddenly have diarrhea?
“Xiaobei, you didn’t sneak him out to buy snacks while resting, did you?”
Ning Jianguo looked at his son reproachfully. “I’ve told you. Those snacks from the stalls outside the school are filthy. You shouldn’t be eating that stuff. But of course, you like it…”
His son was perfect in every other way; studious and polite, no worries at all. Yet Ning Xiaobei seemed to have a flaw: an unusual love for the school gate fly stalls.
In elementary school, he would buy 50-cent packs of plum powder or one-yuan bowls of osmanthus lotus root starch. Now in middle school, right outside No. 1 High School was a whole street of snack stalls. Along the way were fried pork fillets, grilled lamb skewers, sugar candy, stinky tofu, and roasted squid, all set up for students.
During the twenty-minute afternoon break, Ning Xiaobei often dragged Fan Xia along to visit these stalls. Sometimes after school, when he was hungry, he couldn’t resist grabbing a snack before going home for dinner. Despite being scolded many times, he never changed his habit.
Ning Xiaobei thought to himself, Dad, is this what you call junk food? This is pure nostalgia!
A few years down the line, when Shanghai cracked down on the areas around schools and cleared out all the side businesses, these little snack stalls would be hard to find.
Strangely enough, although Ning Xiaobei was weak and prone to illness, essentially a male version of Lin Daiyu, he had a steel stomach. Everyone else would get diarrhea from the same food, but he could eat anything without a problem. This was probably what Grandma always meant when she said, “Being able to eat is a blessing.”
“Dad, I swear, I didn’t eat a single snack today. The Business Bureau had so many people patrolling the school gate, not a single stall dared show up.”
Ning Xiaobei raised both hands to show he was innocent.
Fan Xia couldn’t eat a bite this time, sitting on the sofa and grumbling.
At that moment, there was a sudden, urgent knock at the door. Ning Jianguo went to the entrance, puzzled.
“Who is it?”
Seeing the visitor, Ning Jianguo was shocked.
Ning Xiaobei tilted his head to peek. It was Wang Yihong.
What was she doing here?
Wait, when did she officially move in?
“Hello… I… I live on the second floor, apartment 220. Last time when we moved, you helped me out.”
“Yes… what brings you here?”
Hearing the woman’s voice, Zhao Jingwen quickly walked to the door.
“Ah, sir! You’re here too, that’s great.”
Aunt Wang’s tone was full of urgency.
“The thing is, my daughter, ever since she came home from school, she’s been vomiting and having diarrhea. I gave her medicine, but it won’t stop. I just moved here, I don’t know the area, I don’t even know where the nearest hospital is. Could you please help me?”
“Your daughter has diarrhea too? Which school does she go to?”
Ning Jianguo felt that something was off.
“She’s a student at No. 1 High School. Today’s the first day we officially moved in here. I even prepared a lot of food, planning to celebrate when she got home from school. Who knew the poor kid would be this sick.”
Wang Yihong said this, helplessly covering her mouth, her eyes glistening with tears.
“Don’t worry, we’ll help you right now. Can your child still ride a bike? The nearest is the local district hospital. Go back home and grab her medical card first. Jianguo, you carry the child. I’ll go get the bike from the shed.”
Hearing this, Zhao Jingwen hurriedly put on a jacket and prepared to go downstairs to help.
“Dad, it’s bad!”
While the three adults were rushing around, Ning Xiaobei pointed at Fan Xia on the sofa and shouted loudly:
“Fan Xia, he’s foaming at the mouth!”
………………
With help from neighbors, Zhao Jingwen and Wang Yihong finally got the two children to the nearest local hospital. To their surprise, the emergency room was packed; parents everywhere, all with children. Asking around, they discovered they were all parents of No. 1 High School students.
The local hospital was already cramped. It had originally been the private villa of a pre-liberation-era capitalist. Now, with so many students and parents flooding in, it was total chaos.
“What? Another food poisoning outbreak? No, we can’t take any more patients here. The hallways are full of kids lying down. You’ll have to take them to a children’s hospital or a bigger secondary or tertiary hospital. If you wait, they won’t be able to take anyone either.”
At the nurse’s station, the phone rang nonstop. Everyone calling was a parent from No. 1 High School.
“Apparently, the first batch of kids were sent to the hospital before they even finished afternoon classes. It seems the cafeteria lunch wasn’t clean. Not only students, even teachers got sick.”
Zhao Jingwen came out from the infusion room, hands on his hips, breathing heavily.
Fan Xia, despite being just a teenager, was fairly big and heavy. With no elevator at the hospital, Zhao Jingwen had been running up and down stairs carrying him for tests and check-ups. Even with good strength, it was exhausting.
“Ning Xiaobei, are you sure you’re okay? Your stomach may be strong, but it’s not indestructible. Maybe you should get tested too?”
Ning Jianguo spoke anxiously.
“Lunch was curry chicken. Dad, you know I don’t like curry, so I didn’t touch it at all.”
But Fan Xia loved curry, so he ate every last bit…
Ning Xiaobei looked embarrassed.
“Don’t your school cafeteria even check food hygiene? So many students got sick, let’s see how your principal explains this to the parents!”
Zhao Jingwen was furious.
And indeed, it was hard to explain.
The district’s prestigious school, No. 1 High School, had such an incident barely a month after classes started.
The next day, hundreds of parents gathered at the school gates, demanding answers.
Both the middle school and high school cafeterias had been affected. Most of the adults at the gate were parents of students preparing for entrance exams, kids treated like “golden treasures” or “little princesses,” who they would kept safe and sound. And now, with food poisoning striking at a critical time, how could the parents not be furious?
Even the school’s swimming and badminton team members were victims. With city-level and national-level selections coming up next month, the main athletes were all in the hospital. Missing these selections could affect their futures forever.
“Ji Guozhen, you get out here!”
“You think hiding inside will save you? If my daughter fails to get into Z University this time, it’s on you, you cowardly turtle! My whole family won’t forgive you. Even my late grandma will come haunt you at night!”
“Turtle bastard! Get out here!”
The parents at the school gates pointed at the top floor of the administration building, shouting abuse. The usually respected Principal Ji Guozhen had fallen from grace, now facing the united wrath of the parents.
The only thing missing was for the parents to make big posters and banners declaring, ⟬ Ji Guozhen, eternal sinner! ⟭
“Ah… what are we supposed to do now?”
Ning Xiaobei tore his gaze away from the window and looked around the empty classroom.
………………
Back home, Ning Xiaobei hadn’t even opened the door when a clanging, crashing noise came from inside.
He furrowed his brows and pushed the door open.
In front of the TV, Fan Xia was sitting on the floor wrapped in a blanket, fully absorbed in the game controller.
From the TV came the sounds of whoosh whoosh ha ha, as two little characters traded flashy moves on the screen. Behind them, a colorful background flashed four Chinese characters: ⟬ Fēng Lín Huǒ Shān⟭ (Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain).
Ah, of course, they were playing 《Street Fighter.》
Finally, after Chun-Li executed a “Spinning Bird Kick,” the man in the Japanese judo uniform on the other side was completely KO’ed, crashing heavily to the ground.
“Hooray! I won!”
Fan Xia dropped the controller and cheered loudly.
The device on the floor had been delivered a few days ago by Fan Xia’s father: the latest model of the Little Tyrant Learning Machine, supposedly for practicing English typing.
Kids born in the ’80s and ’90s all knew the truth. This thing wasn’t for learning at all; it was a game console. Modeled after Japan’s classic Nintendo Famicom, you could plug in a cartridge and play hundreds of games: 《Street Fighter》, 《Adventure Island》, 《Super Mario》, 《Tetris》, 《Contra》—you name it.
In that era before computers and smartphones, the slogan 【Little Tyrant, endless fun!】 was the first thing most of them remembered about video games.
“Fan Xia, weren’t you sick and about to keel over? Why aren’t you upstairs lying down? Why are you here playing games… and sitting on the floor? Your stomach okay now?”
Ning Xiaobei asked while washing his hands.
“Hey, the new big TV at your place makes gaming way more fun. The TV at Uncle’s is too small, and the sound is terrible. Besides, I’m wrapped in a blanket, so I’m not cold.”
Fan Xia sprang up from the floor with a whoosh! and lit up when he saw the jar of syrupy canned peaches Ning Xiaobei had set on the table.
“Boss, you got me canned peaches? Perfect, I’m hungry. Let’s eat it now!”
“Nope, you’re not fully better yet. Who just came back from the local hospital this morning hooked up to an IV? I’ll heat dinner in a bit. let’s eat that instead.”
“I’m fine already… haven’t had a single episode all day, seriously.”
Fan Xia stared longingly at the jar tucked into the glass cupboard, patting his little belly.
“Great! Tomorrow, you’ll go to school with me. Staying home just playing games isn’t as good as learning.”
Ning Xiaobei smiled and stepped into the kitchen to light the stove.
A steamer sat on the burner, filled with the dinner Ning Jianguo had prepared earlier. Ning Xiaobei just needed to heat it up.
Actually, in his heart, Ning Xiaobei thought, hand me the spatula and I could whip up three dishes and a soup for you right now.
Back when Ning Xiaobei first started working, he had been sent to Beijing for a six-month internship. That was when the pampered eldest son, who’d never lifted a finger at home, learned to cook and do laundry.
But to avoid scaring Ning Jianguo, he kept his cooking skills hidden.
Because of the food poisoning incident, the school had held an emergency parents’ meeting today, so Dad and Uncle Zhao were probably already at the school.
“Come to think of it, I’m still a bit dizzy. I’ll lie down on the sofa for a bit. Boss, can you take care of the game console…”
Fan Xia said this, one hand on his forehead, staggering weakly to the sofa, lying down with a clear ‘I refuse to go to school’ vibe.
Ning Xiaobei shook his head helplessly.
This kid really was tough. Aunt Wang’s daughter was still in the hospital downstairs, and here he was acting like nothing happened.
Come to think of it, in the real world, when Ning Xiaobei knew Aunt Wang’s family, her daughter was already in high school. He hadn’t realized they had once been in the same middle school.
Aunt Wang’s daughter had been in Class 2 from the day she entered school until graduation. Ning Xiaobei, as a kid, had been pretty introverted. He hardly got along with anyone in his own class, let alone cared about anyone in other classes. That’s why he never noticed.
“Fan Xia, I’m sorry.”
Ning Xiaobei pulled over a chair and sat across from Fan Xia on the sofa, looking at him. “It’s all my fault… I made you eat a double portion of curry chicken.”
In the real world, he had gone to No. 1 High School for seven years and eaten in the cafeteria for seven years. Sure, the food had never been especially tasty, but a mass food poisoning like this had never happened before.
He had been careless, and Fan Xia had paid the price.
“Eh, you didn’t know either, right? Besides, I’m your ‘food crusher,’ anyway.”
Fan Xia waved it off casually, stating the fact without fuss.
Ning Xiaobei couldn’t help but laugh.
Though Ning Xiaobei had a decent appetite, he was actually a picky eater. Curry was just one thing he avoided.
Anything with radish, red or white, made him want to vomit just from the smell. He also wouldn’t touch cilantro, celery, or chicken feet.
No matter how much Ning Jianguo threatened or bribed him, he refused them. Even if he had two lives, he would never eat them.
Unlike the high school division, where students could choose their own meals, the middle school cafeteria served a fixed menu. So whenever radishes, cilantro, or other forbidden items appeared, Fan Xia would volunteer to handle them.
He never complained, had a huge appetite, and could eat at least three bowls of rice at lunch every day. After finishing his own portion, he would clean up Ning Xiaobei’s unwanted dishes, proudly calling himself the “food crusher.”
“Besides, getting diarrhea means you get two days off for free! What’s wrong with that? After these two days, it’s the weekend, even longer than the National Day holiday, haha, so great! Boss, I love you!”
The more Fan Xia talked, the happier he got, accidentally revealing his true feelings. Ning Xiaobei could only roll his eyes to the ceiling.
Little did they know, back at No. 1 High School, a full-blown conference on “Principal Ji Guozhen — Food Poisoning Incident” was raging, even catching the attention of local TV reporters.
………………
Author’s Note:
Middle school was fine, but high school lunch… honestly, it’s hard to even describe… I’ve accidentally eaten steel-wool, cigarette butts…you name it. The worst part? Whatever we dissected in biology class, we ended up eating for lunch… orz3Internet emoticon showing a person kneeling and bowing deeply, expressing despair or frustration
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